(4)

Within seconds of ending his call with Rainbow Dash, Lee's cell phone exploded with notifications and alerts. All at once, ten new notifications appeared, followed closely by text messages, and a few emails.

Frowning at the list, Lee noticed that all of them had something in common: they were all from Matthew Coulson. The most recent text message was rather belligerent, but he supposed that it was rather called for, considering he neglected to answer any of his summons.

Checking his watch, he groaned inwardly. "There's still time to do this."

Sure it was already after nine at night, and sure, he was several hours late, but that didn't mean he couldn't still pull something out of his ass at the last minute. Tossing his cell phone on the edge of his desk, he landed in his chair with a huff, and brought up his writing software.

Selecting a new document, he decided it was best to start with the obvious.

To the esteemed, Matthew Coulson.

Here's the review.

Pinching the bridge of his nose, he ran through a few well placed words in his head, and settled on the simplest solution he could think of. Less was always more, and what better way to satisfy his agent, and get out of any bald-faced lies than to just write the thing.

Winter's work is fresh, new, and elicits raw emotion.

Bringing up his email, Lee saved the document and attached it. No reason Matt would have to have him killed now.

Within seconds of typing out the email and sending it on its way, his cell phone rang, and he picked it up, knowing what waited.

"Why hello there," Lee said, doing his best to sound as though his day were uneventful.

"For the love of Jesus and the dancing quartet! Where in the hell have you been?"

"Before you start, let me first be given the opportunity to defend myself."

"Okay, you have exactly sixty seconds to plead your case before I go Charles Bronson on your ass."

"Wait... Death Wish 2 or that shitty Death Wish 4?"

"You have thirty seconds."

"Alright, geez! I've been having serious issues with my cell phone today. Apparently, it wouldn't register any calls."

There was a short pause, and Matt came back with, "Seriously? That's the best you can do?"

"I am being serious. It started right after I got off the phone with you this morning."

"That is very convenient," Matt said; his voice seething with doubt. "I thought you were dead."

"Don't be so melodramatic," Lee said, chuckling.

"No, I'm serious. I know you've been in a funk lately, buying all this imported shit, and avoiding people. Hell, your move back to Texas was a cry for help if ever I saw one."

"I'm not depressed," Lee assured him.

"I can see the headlines now, 'Semi-famous writer found drowned in his bathtub this morning, five miles from Bumfuck, Texas.'"

"I am far from semi-famous," Lee argued. "I'm at least somewhat famous."

"If you don't want to tell me what you were doing, that's fine," Matt said. "But don't put me in a bind here, okay? I've got a job to do, and whether you want to acknowledge it or not, it includes watching out for you."

"I'm moved."

"I'm serious."

"I'm fine. It was a phone thing, like I said. Maybe there were summer solar flares or something affecting the signal or reception, or whatever it is that goes on in the atmosphere."

"So," Matt said, changing the subject. "This is the review you want to submit?"

"Yup."

"It's a bit light."

"I can change the font, if you want."

"I meant the word count, stupid. It's barely a paragraph."

"It's the most I could feel comfortable saying, without actually lying."

"Your concrete morality is a beacon of hope for all humanity."

"I know, don't make me all teary-eyed."

"I managed to get the print held off one more day, so if this is really what you want to put down, I can get it in there."

"It is," Lee said. "I'm not saying the kid doesn't have some kind of talent, but he needs to work a little harder on it. And, you're right, saying he sucks isn't exactly my place."

"Okay, well, I'll remember you said that the next time a critic tears one of your books to shreds."

"There is a difference, you know," Lee said. "Critics aren't writers, if they were, they'd be writing." As an after thought, Lee said, "Listen, if you try and call tomorrow, and I'm not answering, then it means that I'm having trouble with the reception again. Just call me on the land line."

"You have a land line?"

"Yeah, I'll forward you the number."

"You know you can call me, if you're in trouble? I'm not just an agent; I'm a third dan black belt in karate."

"Who are you, Jason Statham?"

"I see myself more as the Pierce Brosnan of James Bonds."

"That's funny, 'cause you strike me more as the James Bond no one talks about."

"I kick way more ass than, George Lazenby."

"Didn't I just say, we don't talk about him?"

"Fine, I'm outta here. Seriously though, call if you need something. I hate that my best writer is all the way down south in the village hidden in the guns."

"Close. This is Huntsvegas... the village hidden in the prisons. And I will... call if I need something. I promise."

The mechanical alarm clock beside her bed began clacking, and Rainbow Dash roused up enough to bring her hoof down on top of it as hard as she could, without hurting herself.

It was morning already. She wasn't ready for morning; didn't want anything to do with morning.

The night before was long, tedious, and filled with several hours of her laying on her back, staring up at the ceiling, and counting the stupid puffs in the texture.

Then to make things more annoying, she was up in her kitchen every hour on the hour, digging for food or something to drink. It was four in the morning when she finally nodded off. Thank the gods that she didn't have that stupid dream on top of it all.

"Ugh... I hate you world," she mumbled, lifting herself out of her bed and dropping to the floor on all four hooves. With a hefty yawn, she drug herself to the bathroom, and switched on the light. The crank was dead, she'd have to do her morning routine in the dark.

Standing in front of the bathroom mirror, she regarded herself, while she brushed her teeth.

I'm not pretty! she thought. I don't have time for that!

Pretty was something other ponies were. It was for the mushyheads and the heartthumpers. It was just so, not her.

Rinsing the toothpaste from her mouth, she spit and regarded herself once more. "Who in the world would, right?"

Slapping both sides of her cheeks with the sides of her hooves, she blinked a few times; mentally scolding herself. She didn't have time to start feeling sorry for herself. It was a new work day, and there were no doubt knuckleheads to destroy. Besides, once her shift was over she could go grab some take-out, and have dinner while she talked with Lee. Provided he hadn't been lost forever.

Slapping herself once more, she said, "Cut that shit out, Rainbow Dash! Be more positive."

Once she was finished with everything, she gave her house a quick once over, making sure that it wasn't too messy. She'd have to do something about the clutter later. Grabbing her flight bag and giving the inside a final look, she closed the door and took off in the direction of Sugarcube Corner.

She was barely within sight of the bakery when she saw Twilight waving to her in the distance from one of the outdoor tables.

Landing next to her, Rainbow Dash regarded the long line, then looked back at her friend. "Hey, Twilight. What's up?"

"Do you have a minute, Rainbow Dash? I've got something here, that I think you'll want to see."

"Uh... well, I'm really in desperate need of my morning coffee," she said, looking between them.

"It's not a problem," Twilight said, pointing a hoof.

Following the direction that Twilight was pointing, Rainbow noticed Maude coming from the front of the line with a serving tray of coffee and several glazed donuts. "I knew you'd be in a hurry, so I took the initiative."

"That's awesome, Twilight," Dash said, scooting out a chair for Maude as she arrived. "So what was it you wanted to show me?"

"This," Twilight said, as Maude placed a cup of coffee in front of each of them, and opened the bag of fresh warm glazed donuts. Reaching beside her, Twilight brought up a book, and opened it at the bookmark for Rainbow Dash to see.

The page was full color, and depicted a long figure.

"What's this?"

"It's a h'yoomen," she said, taking a bite of her donut.

Rainbow was right in the middle of opening her mouth for a bite, when she let the baked good fall back to her napkin. "What!?"

Grabbing the book from in front of Twilight, Rainbow Dash poured over the page taking the depicted scene. The color page was a reproduction of a painting, apparently lost to antiquity. It showed a tall figure clad in metal armor, holding a sword drawn back in combat. Next to the figure, was a representation of a unicorn pony dressed in a starry gown.

"This is a very old story," Twilight said, "from long ago in Equestria lore. Apparently, Star Swirl the bearded encountered a h'yoomen during his travels. The h'yoomen was a lost wayfarer from a place Star Swirl writes as being called, Britannia. The h'yoomen was a knight; sent on a quest by his king to locate and retrieve a holy chalice."

Pointing her hoof at the picture, Twilight rested the tip on the illuminated floating goblet depicted in the artwork, just out of reach of the knight.

"'A grand prowess and strength emanated from the stranger, like light pouring forth from a morning daybreak. Likewise were his manners unaccustomed to me; speaking as though he knew not the languages of the realms, but of a stammered iteration of our common tongue.

"'This same, Sir Perceval, Knight of the Order of the Round Table, did sojourn as my companion two and one half seasons, and proved a most honorable just, and righteous acquaintance.'"

Never in her life could she have possibly imagined what a h'yoomen looked like. The image of the figure in the painting was tall, striking, and regal. There was something almost graceful about the features.

"What happened to this, Sir Perceval?" Dash asked.

"He died. Star Swirl doesn't mention how, only that he took the body and buried it on a mountain far into the north."

Noticing Rainbow Dash's reaction to the story, and the painting, Twilight said: "So, what do you think? Pretty neat, huh?"

"I'll say," Rainbow Dash said, absently allowing the tip of her hoof to trace over the image. "I didn't know h'yoomens were so cool."

"This was the most information I could find on them, aside from the usual stuff," Twilight offered, slowly drinking her coffee. "If you'd like, I could let you borrow this book, so long as you promise to return it to me. It's on loan from the library in Canterlot, by special permission from Princess Celestia."

"Princess Celestia?" Rainbow said, looking up and giving Twilight a quizzical expression.

"Aside from Star Swirl, the only other recorded pony to have actually met Sir Perceval is Princess Celestia."

In a flash, Rainbow Dash ate her donut in three bites, then slurped her coffee down. "Thank you very much, Twilight," she said, closing the book and tossing it in her bag. "I'll bring this back in a day or two."

"Rainbow Dash!" Twilight said, too little, too late. Rainbow Dash was already airborne and flying in the general direction of the factory. "There was more I wanted to say."

"Looks like she's gone," Maude said. "She left without paying for her share of the breakfast."

"What?"

"I'm used to it. Boulder does that to me all the time."

"I was going to tell her that, Princess Celestia seemed very agitated at the mention of a h'yoomen, and of Sir Perceval in particular."

"She doesn't like h'yoomens?"

"It's possible. I know she didn't like that one."

"Why?"

"They nearly killed each other in a fight the first and only time that they met."

The first thing that Lee noticed when he woke up, was that his shoulders were painfully stiff; as was his back and neck. The next thing he noticed was that he had slept in his desk chair all night, and was folded up in a strange and obviously uncomfortable position.

The clock on his computer read, 10:44am. At least the day wasn't half gone, there were still things he could get accomplished. Most important of which was finding out more about the gazing pool in his back yard.

Stretching his back, he felt a sharp pain of discomfort spring from the base of his shoulder blades, and race all the way to the top of his scalp. Best not to over do it, or he's pull something, and be on his couch moaning for two days.

Jiggling the mouse on his desk, his computer flared to life, and he noticed the open document on his screen. The word count in the bottom corner was at five thousand and twenty-two.

Scrolling back through the pages of the document, Lee disregarded the fact that he needed to pee, and ignored his overwhelming craving for caffeine. "At the expense of sounding like a dork, you sure know how to inspire me, Rainbow Dash."

Somehow, despite how tired he was, Lee had stayed up half the night writing; and for once, writing with a purpose. He was smiling as he read over the last several pages.

It was good stuff, damn good stuff.

Guess moving back to Texas was the right choice, he thought. Now he had no excuses.

Stretching his arms out over his head, he reached beside him and checked the condition of his cell phone. It was deader than a slab of bacon. Letting out a sigh, he slowly rose from his desk, and went in search of a charging cable. Then off to take care of his morning.

Once the shower was over, the clothes were donned, and a steamy cup of coffee was in his hand; Lee stood at the window of his kitchen looking out at the half assembled pile of stones in his back yard.

If this were one of his crime novels, then the mystery would be the pool. Where did it come from? Who made it? What purpose did it serve?

Time to do some investigation.

The first thing in a long list of things to do was, get a hold of the people that sold him the gazing pool. From there it was a matter of basic detective work.

Setting his blue cup down, with the words "Keep Calm and Write On." Lee brought out the invoice from the day before, and looked over the number once more. Since it seemed obvious that whatever connection was being made between him and Equestria was because of the pool, and because it affected his cell phone, it was best to use his trusty back-up land line.

The land line was actually a new Motorola, complete with caller ID, call log, and message of the day.

Checking to make sure there was a dial tone, Lee pressed in the number for the company on the invoice, and waited.

Everything seemed to be going as planned. No irritating white noise suddenly bleeding into the earpiece, and no unexpected ponies answering.

Within seconds of ringing, a deep male voice answered, and requested to know how he could be directed.

"Yes, thank God! I need to speak with someone in your export sales department."

"Can I inquire as to the nature of the call?"

"I've got some questions regarding my recent purchase."

"Is there a problem with the item or items that you've purchased?"

"Uh... well. No, nothing comes to mind. I've just got some friends that might be interested in making a purchase, and asked if I'd be so kind as to get some information for them."

It wasn't that big of a lie, but still, Lee hated having to make it. There was just no way in hell he'd be able to come right out and say that something he bought from them turned out to be a magical portal to another realm.

"Do you know the name of the sales rep that you spoke with?"

"Yes I do. I need to speak with a Mister Perello, please."

There was a short pause, and then, "I'm sorry. We don't have a person by that name here. Perhaps you have the wrong name?"

"Uh, no. I was given a card a few months ago at an art exhibit there in New York, and the name on the card was, Josef Perello. I've got the card here. Even has your company's logo at the top."

"Again, I'm sorry, Sir. There is no one by that name in our directory. Could you give me your name?"

"Not unless I get some better answers than this," Lee said, standing and pacing back and forth. "This is the Rare Earth Imports, right?"

"Of course it is, Sir."

"I made this purchase three weeks ago, surely you'd have a record of someone employed there."

There was a short silence, and the unmistakable sound of "on hold" began, complete with background elevator-esque music.

Three seconds into his wait, the sound of a click, and then, "Who is this? What's your name?"

The voice was gruff, and smacked of stern authority. The sort of authority one would have if they were, for example, law enforcement, or other.

"Who is this?" Lee asked, doing his best to match tone with the as yet unidentified voice.

"Tell me about this purchase?"

"I'm more interested as to how you can lose an employee," Lee retorted.

There was another small silence, and the voice changed tones slightly, putting on a more professional attitude. "If you could give us the information from the invoice, along with the description of the items, we can get you any information you need."

"Then why didn't anyone ask for that information from the start? Why now, after I've already gone through two people?"

"I apologize for that. We've had some internal issues here with our shipping department, and our office staff have been under the hammer; I'm sure you understand."

There was something not right. Call it a huge hunch, or detective skills honed from research for six dozen crime novels: Lee wasn't buying it.

"Are you calling locally?" the voice asked.

What the fuck are you doing? They still haven't given you a name. You've been transferred, and the only contact you've had with the company is gone... missing, vanished, disappeared, erased from existence!

"Did you happen to make your purchase by certified check or by credit card?"

These questions are all wrong, dummy! He's stalling! Buying time, killing valuable seconds! Hang up the phone! NOW!

Before he could argue with himself, Lee brought his thumb down on the "end" button, and disconnected. His heart was racing, and his palms were beginning to perspire.

"What the hell was that all about?" he said out loud, looking at the invoice. "What the hell have I got out there?"

Getting up and walking to the kitchen, Lee looked out the back window at the gazing pool. Still holding the business card in his hand, he ran through a few ideas. The next step in the detective work was to figure out where the pool came from. He knew it supposedly came from Crete, and that it was supposedly a find that had been auctioned off a few years back, and ended up at the Rare Earth place.

Bringing the phone up, he punched in the number to his friend, Lloyd. If there was something to be found, information that needed to be gathered, and research to undergo, Lloyd was the man for the job.

Rainbow Dash was sitting in her office with her back hooves propped up on the corner of her desk. In her hooves she held the book that Twilight had loaned her, as she reread the story of Sir Perceval account by Star Swirl.

"What has you so lost to the world?"

Looking up, Rainbow saw one of her co-workers standing at her doorway, she was holding her lunch box, and was giving Rainbow a concerned look.

"Oh, hey, Sunshine. Is something wrong?"

"Yeah, the shift ended like ten minutes ago."

Sitting upright in her chair, Rainbow Dash jerked her head toward the clock, and let out a long low growl, followed by a string of profanity.

"Something wrong, Rainbow?" Sunshine Glimmer was giving her a concerned look.

"I was supposed to be gone, and on my way to the post office," she all but screamed, fumbling over herself as she gathered her things. "Do me a favor, and look in on the knuckleheads on your way out, please. I don't have time to waste on them today."

"Are you expecting a package?"

Stopping dead in her tracks, Rainbow Dash met Sunshine's gaze, and slowly took the book from her desk and placed it in her bag. "Not exactly."

"Well then what?"

"Can't say," she said, suddenly blazing past Sunshine.

"What in the world has her so excited?"

Author's Note

Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far.

Here's a little exit music for the chapter.