TANTIBUS

CHAPTER FIVE

Covered in sweat and anguish Twilight immediately rose up into a sitting stance, nearly pushing her bed sheets over the edge of the bed. This nightmare was by far the most intense out of all of the recent Tantibus dreams.

She tried to relax herself and her constant panting, but thoughts of the events and the screams from her nightmare stuck like glue in her mind, making her gasping for air so much more frequent. Because unlike last night, she this time had her nightmare fresh in memory.

She took a cloth from the bed sheets and patted her forehead and around her horn. It was very soothing.

This nightmare had taken the darker turn with the horrific details on the murder of ‘Dawna’. The way she collapsed to the floor with no muscles reacting in her body whatsoever, the red puddle that kept expanding, soaking into the cracks of the wooden floor, and the screams. The panicking screams and realizations of the fact that the game had started, with no going back.

But there was one pony, whose terrified screams clearly outmatched the rest, whose screams went out seeking help from above with desperate and heartbreaking cries for mercy. The screams… of the killer himself.

Being a spectator and listener of not only his eyes and ears, but also his mind; Twilight was the only pony to ever hear or see Maverick’s side of things in this game.

Even though his eyes showed nothing but a thirst for blood, his mind was breaking down into desperation and begged for mercy. As his puppet body took action, his mental state went through the three standard phases that usually every ‘selected’ Tantibus individual experiences.

Phase 1, Confusion;

What is happening? I can’t seem to control myself. I can’t move! Someone help me! HELP! I can’t talk either. What is this? Wait, where am I going? What is happening to me?!

Phase 2, Realization;

Oh my goodness! The sword… I’m going too... Oh please no! Somepony! Something! HELP ME!

And finally…

Phase 3, Desperation;

SOMEPONY HELP ME!!! GAAAAAHH!! RUN! RUN AWAY FROM ME!!! PLEASE!! CAN ANYBODY OUT THERE HEAR ME??!!! PLEASE! I’M BEGGING YOU!! THEY ARE INNOCENT! THEY DON’T DESERVE TO DIE! MAKE ME KILL MYSELF INSTEAD! PLEASE!!! I’m begging you. Oh god no! Help me...

Twilight was there, she could hear him, every word, every scream and every cry. But just as Maverick was to his actions, Twilight was helpless and couldn’t do anything but to watch and witness.

Maverick became the ‘selected’ contestant. You see, it is an unwritten rule that is put to action in almost every Tantibus round. Whenever somepony’s life is at risk, the ponies in the surroundings will do anything to save it. This, naturally, causes every contestant to refuse competing in the contest.

That is where Tantibus’ trick kicks in. As a final resort to boost the ‘action’, one individual will be chosen to ‘start’ the game. They become a puppet, they become the ‘selected’.

By now, Twilight Sparkle had this figured out by her hoofs, comparing the similar puppet-like actions Flaming Ace took to those of the more recently Maverick.

Twilight took a glance out the small rounded window by her bed. It was starting to get lighter and dusk was on its way. She then caught eye contact with her alarm which was going to go off in a half hour’s-time from that point.

“There no way I’m going to be able to snooze after that…” Twilight Sparkle spoke with the typical rusty morning-voice she usually had.

On steady hooves Twilight slowly got out of bed, deactivated her alarm and went down the stairs. Coming down the stairs Twilight saw the saddle bag she had prepared lying on the small, rounded wooden table. She decided to kill time by going through it one more time.

Everything was there, including the one train ticket she had received from Celestia. It was good for one trip to, and return from, the center of Canterlot. In her saddlebag she could also get a glimpse of Aeon’s note one more time. She stopped and looked at it for a while.

“With Maverick on that murderous path, how the heck did you survive?!” She put the badly smelling note back in the bag. “I guess I’ll find out today, if he really is located at the Canterlot Mental Institution. I still can’t get it through my head that he is still alive to this day!”

Twilight sealed up the waterproof saddlebag and continued her morning by entering the kitchen. She got going with her own breakfast, something she had not counted on she would actually have the time for but now she had a few extra minutes at her disposal.

A nutritious breakfast later she finished up her chores for the morning and got ready to head out in the vast and beautiful morning. Before she left, she trotted over to her number one assistant and gave him a kiss on the cheek. She did not now that that kiss of love and respect would be the last thing she would ever do for her most loyal friend in the world before he were to have his heart broken for seemingly forever.

With that done, she went outside, closed and locked the door and commenced her journey to the capital.

---

A puddle made a clear splash as the purple hoof stepped off the train. The first step into Canterlot for weeks and it was raining. Luckily, Twilight’s errands in the capital weren’t outside. But she did have plans for some sightseeing while she was there.

Without pauses, she set trail for the Mental Institution immediately. She looked up to the sky and saw a few of the weather ponies working with adding moisture to Canterlot’s fields.

“Today out of all days?” she pretended to yell at them and continued. “I guess I’ll be saving even more time now.”

She kept galloping through the different streets that she had memorized the night before. But after running through a few blocks she saw that she had long ago left the trail and the obvious had happened; she had gotten lost.

If this was a few years previously, Twilight would have no problem at all navigating the city. But years had passed and much reconstruction had taken place, mostly to fit in new rails for the trains. The streets still had their names but this particular street must have been new, as she had not heard of its name before.

She placed herself underneath a nearby awning to take a moment of well-earned rest. She was surprised on how much could really change during those few years, but after all; this was the capital and center of evolution. She had even read in the Equestria Inquirer the other day that researchers of Canterlot’s Scientific Institute (CSI) are performing experiments on other ways of conserving lightning than clouds. Just a few centuries ago, ponies barely new how to control clouds in the first place. It truly is fascinating.

She glanced across the street and saw a sign. It read Canterlot Tourist Agency. “Perhaps they can provide me with a map and directions?” Twilight ran off and opened the door into the agency.

Behind the counter in the store stood a fairly bored mare. She had light-pink fur with a combed mane. The mane had two different dyes of green matching her equally green eyes. Her cutie mark was a magnifying glass, usually the sign of adventure.

“Can I help, you?” She spoke gently.

“Yes, do you have maps of Canterlot?” Twilight responded.

“Of course! This is a tourist agency isn’t it?” she said with a giggle and turned around to retrieve a map from the high shelves, proving to be difficult.

“Otherwise, I could do that for you.” Twilight offered her help, but the cashier neglected it.

“Nah, just because I’m an earth pony doesn’t mean I’m completely hopeless!”

Finally, she pushed the map down from the shelf and she caught it. “See!”

“Thanks.” Twilight immediately rolled up the scroll to have a check. “Do you happen to know where the Mental Institution is?”

“Oh yeah. It is right over here, see.” The pink pony stroke a cross over a building in the nearby area with a quill. “My uncle lives there.”

Before Twilight could say anything, she continued vastly.

“He is not mad or anything! He is just… It is just that his wife passed away and he hasn’t been feeling very well lately about it. He seems fine but he insisted on that he ‘needed’ the treatment.” She looked up at Twilight. “If you are going there, say hello to him for me will you? His name is Luthus Regenard.”

“I will, don’t worry." Twilight assured her, "Very fancy name he’s got.” she giggled.

“Yeah. I love him; he is like an extra father to me. My real father is good, but he just doesn’t seem to care about me as much as uncle Luthus does.” That’s when she noticed Twilight’s cutie mark. “Your cutie mark! It is an... erhm... What is it exactly?”

“It is a sparkle. After all, my name is Twilight Sparkle! My special talent is performing magic! I’m very good at it, too.”

“Wow. I have always been fascinated around magic and cutie marks my whole life. I mean, how does it actually work?”

“I see. Your cutie mark, the magnifying glass, does it mean that you are interested in knowledge?”

“A bit, I guess. But I think it’s more for my love for adventures! And exploring! You see, that is why I applied to work at a tourist agency. I thought that it would allow me to travel and see things! Not just being stuck here as a cashier… I wanna see the world!”

“Well, are you interested in legends too?”

“Is it real?”

“I think it is.”

“Then tell me!”

Then Twilight Sparkle told the story of Tantibus and what she knew of it. She also told her that she believed that a former contestant was located at the mental institute. Of course, the light pink cashier was exited out of her mind!

“Aww… I would love to come with you, I really would! This seems really rad!” Then she proceeded with hanging her head down in shame. “But I can’t… My shift doesn’t end until closing time this evening. It’s just me here today. But I’ll check it out later, I promise!”

“That’s no problem at all! I have to go now, though. Hey, I didn’t catch your name by the way?”

“Oh it’s Avany… Avany Lace.”

“My name is Twilight Sparkle.”

“I know that. You’ve already mentioned that, silly!”

“Oh well, it’s been nice talking to you, Avany.”

“Could only say the same, Twilight.”

And so, Twilight left the small little agency to find the mental institute and the only Tantibus contestant alive. She also left the last friend she would ever make before staring into the eyes of death…

The rain had stopped; it seemed that she had been chatting with that clerk for longer than she’d thought. Avoiding puddles on her way, she continued her walk towards the institute not very far from her current position.

Shortly after that, she arrived to the old white building. It had a lawn in front of it with a big sign in it that read with green letters “CANTERLOT MENTAL INSTITUTE”. In a steady pace, she approached the old building. There was a gravel-made walkway, laid over the grass, leading up to the entrance that she was walking on.

“I guess this is it.” Twilight whispered gently, and then went inside.

Immediately she saw a small lounge around her. There were not many visitors waiting in the lounge this particular day so, luckily, she wouldn’t have to wait for too long. There was a desk far into the lounge on the opposite wall of the entrance, the first thing you see as you enter the building basically.

Soon enough, there was nopony at the helpdesk so Twilight took her chance to get her turn passed. As she approached, the colt behind the desk asked; “How can I help?”

He was a fully grown stallion with white fur. He reminded her of her own brother, Shining Armor, apart from the mane. The mane was lightly red and shortly cut, It was very fitting on him, maybe it would fit on Shining Armor as well? Twilight couldn’t help but to imagine her brother with this mane.

“Yes, I would like to pay a visit to a friend of mine.”

Fairly uninterested and with a bored tone, the stallion responded; “Name?”

“Twilight Sparkle.”

“And to whom would you like to visit?” He was preparing and signing a piece of paper.

“Aeon.”

The white and red stallion raised his right eye and took a closer look at this visitor. It was not normal for Aeon to receive visitors, and he had never seen THIS mare before. But he had a job to follow so he looked back down and wrote down ‘Aeon’ onto the paper. He then asked her to sign the paper and later ‘wait for assistance’.

She followed the instructions and took a seat in the lounge-room. It was a few very boring and teasing minutes up until a big white door opened. A nurse came out and asked for Twilight Sparkle.

“That’s me.” Twilight responded and walked out of the lounge through the white door that the nurse so gently held open.

As they were walking in the corridors Twilight noticed that the nurse was by far nicer than the stiff colt from the waiting room. While walking, they kept the conversation going in between the two.

“So, what’s the explanation for your visit?” The nurse asked nicely.

“Oh, I’m just a friend.” Twilight lied, she had already told the Tantibus story once today and she didn’t feel like doing it again on such short notice. “Why are you asking?”

“It’s just that it is so rare for Aeon to receive visits nowadays.” The nurse explained. “It’s been months now since his own relatives last visited him as well. You know, since he doesn’t talk at all.”

“Yeah, I’ve heard about that. How do you communicate with him?”

“He has a blackboard and a white chalk that he uses to draw small sentences. But even with that he doesn’t say much, usually only when it comes to important matters such as food.”

“Exactly why can’t he talk?”

“No one quite knows. We’ve had doctors come in and check on him but nothing physical is wrong with him.”

Twilight thought about Tantibus and his experiences there, “What about psychological or emotional problems?”

“It could hardly be free will when it comes to something as important as speech. The therapists we’ve had here think it’s because of something traumatizing that happened a while back… Oh, here we are; Aeon’s room.”

Both the nurse and Twilight stopped in front of the white door. The nurse knocked on the door and said, “I’m coming in, okay?”. She slowly pushed the door open and Twilight could see the inside of Aeon’s room.

“Finally, I have found him. I’m going to talk to him!” She was very excited and at the same time nervous of what was going to happen. “What if he broke down? What if he had a heart attack when going back to his memories?” Twilight took a deep breath and saw Aeon’s figure. “I’ll just have to take it slowly…”

Aeon had a light blue fur and a light-blond mane. He looked very asocial and showed almost no emotion. The room had typical white walls, there was a bed against the wall to the right and a bookshelf on the wall to the left. There was also a door on that wall which Twilight assumed lead to the bathroom. In the middle of the room, there was a table and a chair. On the wall front facing the doorway, which Twilight currently was standing in, there was a window and a large black board.

Right now Aeon was standing up and drew on the black board with a white piece of chalk “WHO?”.

Twilight glanced to her right, where she was met with the nurse nodding at her to introduce herself. “I am Twilight Sparkle, a friend.”

Aeon didn’t move as he showed no interest.

Twilight started walking towards Aeon. She had a look back and the nurse didn’t really seem to mind so she sat down by the table. “Aeon, I have something that belongs to you. Look.”

He turned around, slowly, still very stiff. Twilight opened her bag and placed the note onto the table, then proceeded in pushing it towards its rightful owner.

It was a note, a note that he had written before. Sometime long ago, before he came to this place. It was written in blood, his signature, followed by his death sentence. What he thought would be his final words. Aeon looked up in great surprise and shock as the first pony to ever see his note leaned over and whispered to him; “I know what happened to you…”