Rock the Nation, Rap it in a Pretty Bow

Chapter 4: Nightmares and Noises

Time: 10:30 AM August 9th, 1989
Location: San Diego Airport, San Diego, CA

"But whyyyyy?"

"'Cause it's grown up stuff."

"But I am grown up!!"

"Not yet. Plus I don't wanna see you get hurt. There's gonna be a lot of fire out there."

The two going into an argument was a small 3 foot tall reddish-brown skinned four year old and a 5'6" man. The man had a far fairer tone in in his skin, although there was some tan in his skin. He wore a polo t-shirt, a set of light denim jeans, a pair of hipster glasses on his lightly bearded face, and a clean pair of Nike's. They stood outside the airport, the man carrying two suitcases. As the two bickered, a pure brown skinned woman with silky black-brown hair walked up to them.

"Cesar, we're going to be late!"

"In a minute!!" The man called out as he got on a knee and looked at the boy, saying, "Listen, l’il man. This rap tournaments gonna be tough. I know you're gonna miss us, but you gotta remember the truth."

The boy sniffled and nodded, "Soldiers gotta rap to keep the souls alive..."

The man smiled and nodded. "That's right. Keep outta trouble okay?"

Suddenly the boy hugged him, tears rolling down his face. Slowly, Cesar hugged him back. After what seemed like eternity, they slowly let go. Running over and hugging the woman, eyes closed, the boy said quietly, "Bye mom..."

"Hugging back, she said, "Don't worry, we’ll be safe…”

“Safe…”

“Safe..."

The boy opened his eyes to the sound of her mothers voice echoing. He realized he was hugging nothing, and felt a hot sensation beside him. All of a sudden, he felt his body turn on an axis as before him lied a burning, twisted pile of metal. Empty, hollow screams could be heard around around him as time slowed around the innocent child who gazed upon a melting pair of glasses…

“Hahahahaha…”

The boy froze in place. That laugh… That horrible, horrible laugh… The ground below him cast a gargantuan shadow, the shadow of a beast. A monster… The boy took off as quickly as he could. He didn’t want to look at it. He couldn’t look at it!!

“Go away!!” The boy screamed, as he ran. The world around him began to melt away into darkness. The noise of distorted laughter and screeching music more akin to the ambiance of a horror film played from all around, surrounding his mind and crushing his thoughts. He didn’t care anymore. The boy wanted to leave this place. He wanted to go away! Far away!!

“You’re evil!! Leave me alone!! Why won’t you just DIE?!?!?”

AWAKE.

Flash!!

Time: 8:30 AM
364 days Remaining
Location: Vinyl and Octavia's House, Ponyville, Equestria

E woke up in a cold sweat. His vision was blurry. His head ached. What happened last night? he thought to himself. Where am I?... Oh right... Magical pony land... God damn, why's it gotta happen to me? Why not 2Chainz? Or Big Sean?

The worn out rapper checked a clock on the wall, which read 8:30 AM.

Six hours of sleep… Good enough, I guess… E yawned as he got up from his makeshift bed, composed of a couch, some clothes, and several random objects he had apparently obtained from Sugarcube Corner, a memory that he could only remember because several of the items read “Property of Sugarcube Corner.”

“Great, now I actually gotta be doing something this morning,” he muttered to himself as he picked everything that didn’t belong to him and placing it in a backpack. Slipping the pack onto his back, he suddenly remembered that he wasn't the only one known for drunken kleptomania. However, looking around, he didn’t catch any sight of his spirit sis, only to remember Vinyl saying she would offer the guitarist a bed to sleep instead of the small couch E currently occupied.

Lucky little chica…, E grumbled as he climbed the stairs. Then again, I do prefer the small size of a cou-ow-ow-wow… As the human DJ entered Vinyl’s room, indicated by the music and name etched on the door, he found no stolen items, but something just as valuable. He saw Nika, the hardened rocker chick, was snuggling the snow white unicorn as the two peacefully slept.

Must… Resist… Pictures… However, the urge was too great and E quickly pulled out his phone from his pocket, taking a quick photo before vacating the area. I know this is morally wrong, he thought, But sometimes one needs to prepare for the worst. E then left the house, intent on bringing the items to their proper owners.

Time: 8: 45 AM
Location: Marketplace, Ponyville, Equestria

Not even fifteen minutes of exiting the house, E found himself in the middle of a crowd of ponies. None of them really wanted any lost items, however.

“And… There,” the rapper sighed as he handed a pony a signed piece of paper. “Next!”

Ay Dios mio, esto es una mierda… he cursed in his head as a mint green unicorn with big, glistening eyes and a look of pure awe spread across her face.

“Hey, there,” E said, looking at her. “What’s your name?”

The unicorn said nothing. Curious, E got on a knee and waved a hand in front of her face. “Yo, you still alive?”

Suddenly, his hand was pulled towards her with great force, it being clutched in her hooves.

“I-I’m sorry, Mr. E,” she whispered in a sort of spaced out tone that freaked E out a bit. To add to that, she started to rub his hand slowly, moving every finger slowly.

“Hey, get Lyra outta here!! She’s hogging him!!” somepony in the crowd yelled as they all began to push with greater force and vigor.

“‘Ey, no pushing!!” E shouted. However, it was no use. Lyra was pushed aside as several ponies started to push each other to get closer to having an autograph signed. E backed away but soon found himself backed into a corner, trying to think of a quick way out of the situation. Suddenly, out of the corner of his eye, he spotted that friend of Pinkie’s setting up an apple stand. Her name might have been Applejacks or something. I think I called her AJ for most of the party, E thought. Noticing she was not only in a sour mood, but also missing that trademark Stetson hat. The hat, he thought, remembering that was one of the items he somehow managed to snag. Pulling it out of his bag, he made a mad dash towards the work horse, shouting, “AJ I HAVE YOUR HAT PLEASE HELP ME GET THIS CROWD TO NOT MAUL ME TO DEEEAAAATH!!!”

The blonde pony chuckled and nodded, cuing E to toss the hat, which AJ caught and placed on her head. E then jumped and dived behind the apple cart as the ponies all stopped at Applejack yelling “EVERYPONY STOP!!”, bringing the crowd to a standstill.

“Now, listen up, all of ya,” AJ said in a stern tone, “Ya’ll are forcin’ E into a corner and makin’ him feel uncomfortable!” She gestured to E, who was still hiding in a defensive position behind the cart. “Ya need tah treat him and his friend as if they were any other pony here, not an animal or a fancy lil celebrity. That make sense to ya’ll?” With that, the ponies exchanged glances amongst one another before silently before slowly breaking off one by one until the entire crowd vanished. Relieved, the youthful adult got up and walked over to AJ.

“Hey, thanks a bunch A-.”

WHACK!!

Before he knew it, E doubled over and hit the ground with a thud, an immense pain in his stomach.

“Oh, c’mon now,” Applejack smirked as she adjusted her hat. “Ah didn’t punch ya that hard, did ah?”

E said nothing, attempting to pick himself up but instead deciding to rest against the apple cart, clutching his stomach and groaning.

“Think you broke something in there… Or maybe everything… Damn…”

“Ah, c’mere,” Applejack said as she handed E an apple. “Ah know it ain’t gonna fix what’s broken in there, but eatin’ll get yer strength up.”

Without question, E took the apple and scarfed it down without a word. As he swallowed, he immediately grabbed his stomach.

“Ow… Hurts to eat.”

Applejack only chuckled and helped the man to his feet. “Anyways, ah’m guessin’ ya weren't here just to return mah hat.”

“Well… Kinda.”

E then took his pack and opened it, revealing the large number of various items, almost all from Sugarcube Corner, lying in his bag.

Applejack whistled and shook her head in disapproval, “Did ya really take all this by yerself?”

“I do some pretty stupid things when I’m drunk,” E chuckled, closing the pack and slipping it back on.

“Well, ya better head off. The Cakes’ll never forgive ya if ya didn’t hand ‘em over.”

“Right.” With that, E moved briskly in the direction of the sugary shop.

“N-No, really. That’s quite alright.”

E found himself bowing and apologizing profusely, handing the items in the pack over to them. Mr. Cake, at first greatly upset that the out-of-this-world visitor had somehow taken a number of their supplies in one night without their knowledge until the morning, was now trying to keep said visitor from hitting the ground with how low he was bowing while Mrs. Cake was putting everything he had taken away.

“Please, if there is anything I can to fix this, just say the word...”

“Really, Mr. E, it’s quite alright,” Mr. Cake stated, “You gave us our equipment before the rush, so no harm no foul.”

“If you say so…” E muttered, still a bit upset with himself for his behavior. This mood was shattered once the rapper was tackled from behind by a blur of pink.

“E!! Last night was AWESOME!!”

E, picking himself up, looked and saw it was the pink party pony. “Oh hey… Pinkie was it?”
Pinkie giggled and hopped off of the bipedal and did a salute, saying, “Thaaaaat’s right!! Pinkamena Diane Pie, but ponies call me Pinkie Pie or Pinkie for short, but you can call me anything, but Diane is kinda boring, I prefer Pinkie, to be honest, what do you think is a good name for me, E-?”

“Woah woah woah!!” E realized this might go on for far longer than he would want, so in an attempt to seize the seemingly endless chatter, he placed his hand over her mouth and said, “Alright, I get it, it’s Pinkie. Don’t worry, I got it memorized.”

Pinkie looked at E as if processing what he had said and gave a wide grin behind the human’s hand.

“Hhhnkhhy!”

Smiling, the rapper removed his hand from her muzzle and patted her on the head. These ponies sure are strange, I thought, But they’re my kinda strange. Picking himself off of the ground, he looked at the mare, slipping his hands in his pockets.

“So, Pinkie,” he spoke, deciding to shoot the breeze for a bit, “You did some pretty good rapping last night.”

“Who, me? Psshaw,” Pinkie giggled, nudging the young man’s side. “That was nothin’ compared to you, Sir Rapsalot. You must’ve done a lot of rapping in your time.”

E chuckled, looking down at his feet. “You’ve got no idea…” Pinkie looked at E curiously for a brief moment as his smile dropped a little, and his look of enjoyment shifted to one of reminiscence. However, before E could even take notice, he felt a force pull his cheeks apart into a huge smile. “C’mon now!! No more sad faces!! It’s time to smiiiiile!!!”

E had to admit, it was so hard to stay in a negative mood with this ball of energy nearby. Maintaining the acquired smile, he gave the pink pony a quick hug, whispering, “Thank you.” She promptly returned the hug and and said in a cheerful tone, “You’re welcome!!”

Who says rappers gotta be cold? E thought to himself as he released Pinkie from their hug.

“So, are you here to give back those pots and pans and trays and stuff?” Pinkie inquired, causing E to look at her with shock and confusion. “Wait,” he began to inquire, “How did you know I did it?”

“Silly you!! I remember you leaving it from last night!!”

“W… Weren’t you as drunk as me last night?”

“Pinkie has a great memory, inebriated and otherwise,” Mr. Cake threw in as he tended to his two foals, Pumpkin and Pound Cake. Trying and failing to understand how such a thing was possible, he decided to give up and move on with his day. Snatching his nearly emptied satchel from the counter and nodded to Pinkie and the Cakes, saying “See ya guys. Need to make a few rounds ‘fore the days’ end.”

“Wait!!”

Pinkie slid a mug across the counter over to E, which he grabbed and took a big gulp of.

“Ahh!!” He let out a big sigh. The coffee was naturally sweetened, almost as if he were drinking coffee flavored milk and sugar. E slipped something out of his pocket and into his mouth before taking another large drink out of the mug. After finishing the cup, he felt himself feel more energized and more alert.

“Thanks, Pinks. How much?”

“For you? On the house!!” she giggled.

E smiled as he speed walked out of the building, he felt an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. These ponies, man… The man thought as he jogged around town. They don’t judge, they ain’t forceful, they ain’t even mean… I think it’s the perfect escape.

Time: 10:30 AM
Location: Vinyl and Octavia’s House, Ponyville, Equestria

Nika worked vigorously as she attempted to readjust her guitar, tuning it and making sure the spring mechanism wasn’t planning on jamming today. Her morning already came to a rough start when she woke up with both arms wrapped around Vinyl in a snuggle. When trying to slip out unnoticed, she ended up waking up the DJ, elevating the levels of awkward to insane levels for the two of them. Now, the rock-and-roll artist decided to stay a lengthy distance from her, at least for a time. God, why do I always end up in these kinda situations? she thought as she wiped her guillotine blade down. E’s never had to deal with this. SO easy for him, entitled little -OW!!

Nika pulled her hand away from the guitar, gripping her finger. In her internal ranting, she hadn’t realized her finger was coming dangerously close to the blade and, subsequently, cut her finger. Thick, red liquid was coming out of the cut, but Nika quickly gripped it, slowing down the bleeding. She needed to bandage this, but as she looked around, she couldn’t find any clear first aid. Thinking on a whim, Nika called out the first name she could think of.

“Vinyl!!” She called out, sitting on the couch. “You there?? I… Need some help.”

There was no response, which almost led the Russian rocker to think she left the house, but upon hearing some footsteps, she saw the face of DJ PON-3 herself looking a bit reserved in approaching Nika, but still walked slowly over to her, saying, “Uh, yeah… What do you need?”

“Cut myself. Bleeding.”

Vinyl’s eyes focused on the bleeding finger and almost immediately responded with “Hold on,” before running off and coming back with some band-aids. Using her magic, she placed band-aid after band-aid around her finger before sighing.

“... I think that may be too many band-aids.”

As the two gazed upon her finger, they saw how it looked more bandage than finger. They both started snickering until they couldn’t contain themselves, falling to the ground laughing. After a few moments, Nika picked herself up and took a cross-legged seated position, looking at Vinyl and speaking in a thoughtful tone, “Thanks. Means a lot to me.”

“Eh, not a problem,” Vinyl shrugged as she sat up herself. “Friends fix each other up sometimes.”

“No, I mean, thanks for getting me out of this funk I’m in.”

“Huh? What do you mean?” Vinyl looked from behind her glasses curiously.

“I’m just… I can’t help but feel upset ‘cause we’re stuck here and we’ve gotta wait a whole year to go back. I mean, I should be happy. E and I have been on the run for a long time.”

“What? You guys were running? From what, the authorities?” Vinyl asked, curious if her new friend was an outlaw, of all things.

“Oh, no. No no no, nothing like that,” Nika instantly stated so she didn’t seem suspect of any dangerous activity, “It’s… We’ve got a lot of weight from our past to carry.”

Weight?... Vinyl was getting a bit concerned.

“It’s kind of the whole reason we made the group together, why we changed our names… But to be honest, I would much prefer it if we just…. Stopped now.”

“Stop? Are you kidding me? You guys are like one of the greatest music duos I’ve come across, and I only met you yesterday!! You could do a ton of work here!! Why stop???”

Nika said nothing, instead shrugging and looking at her guitar.

“Well, if you ask me,” Vinyl said, leaning on Nika nonchalantly. “I think it would be a huge waste of talent without your, uh... What is that again?”

When Vinyl looked and pointed at Nika’s guitar, Nika gave a small giggle and picked it up, remarking, “What? Never seen a guitar before?”

Vinyl felt a bit embarrassed. She was never one-upped when it came to awesome music. Those feelings slowly left her as she heard Nika say, “Hey, I didn’t expect you to really know, since it would be hard to make rock without hands.” She strummed the guitar a few times, stating, “This is a guitar, kinda like a special harp with bitchin’ electricity running through it, giving it its tunes. There are several models of guitars, some use electricity, some don’t.”

Nika then held the white guitar out as if putting it on display, continuing, “This particular beauty is a custom-made Gibson Flying V Electric Guitar, made from scratch for peak performance with… Additional modifications.”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow in interest. “... Modifications?”

Nika said nothing, instead flipping a small switch on the body, revealing at the bottom of the V-shaped body a sharp steel guillotine-like blade. Vinyl flinched a bit as the blade sprung out of the bottom of the body, but slowly rubbed the side of the blade with her hoof, admiring its gleam and durability.

“Wow…” Vinyl said quietly, looking up at Nika. “Now, I’m curious. Why do you have this in here?”

Nika sighed as she turned the whammy bar in a clockwise motion, the blade receding into the guitar with the sound of clicks. She then leaned against the guitar, looking up at the ceiling in a reminiscent fashion. Finally Nika spoke.

“My sensei taught me to always make your weapon something something you’re most familiar with, and keep that weapon close to you.”

“Your Sensei? What’s a sensei?”

“Like a teacher, a master. He was a great teacher, too. He said that people who know how to play should be prepared for anything, even insane fans, whether they mean harm or not.”

“Wow… He sounded a bit like a strict dude… But, I’m sure no fan would go so far as to kill their idol, right?” Nika said nothing, letting out a small sigh.

“Back home, musicians died a lot…” Nika sighed and looked down. “Be it from fans, brethren, themselves, or just people who want to watch music’s best die… It’s a reason to be armed.” She then raised her guitar like a mighty sword and said, “Which is why this baby is always kept close by at all times. To protect myself and my partner.”

Vinyl laughed lightly at the rocker’s actions. “Seems like you’ve got some tricks up your sleeve, like Tavi. She’s got martial arts skills.”

“Oh really?” Nika asked sat on the couch, crossing her legs.

“Yeah, she said something about being taught when she was young or something, but it’s pretty awesome regardless.”

“Heh, didn’t really peg Octavia as an action girl- er mare.”

“Oh yeah, Tavi could double as a bouncer if she could be in two places at once.” Nika laughed at the thought and Vinyl laughed with her before placing her hoof on her chin. “Hey, why don’t we go grab something to eat? I’m buying.”

Nika thought for a moment before clinching her head in pain. “Sure… Can we get coffee, too?”

“Heh heh, sure.”

After breakfast at Sugarcube Corner, Vinyl took it upon herself to show Nika the sights of Ponyville. Although there didn’t seem much to this place at first, she learned that this place had a good vibe to it that she hadn’t felt anywhere else. It felt like home. Real home. Like… With Sensei, she thought, the smallest of smiles creeping on the corners of her mouth. Yeah. The two stopped at a very frilly looking building. It displayed many variations of the color purple, mainly using many lighter shades. At the top was what appeared to be some weird kind of carousel, looking as if it were frozen in time.

“And here’s the Carousel Boutique,” Vinyl declared, motioning to the building. “It’s this fancy clothing store run by Rarity, that pony that looks like she combs her mane 20 times a day?”

Nika let out a laugh. “Oh yeah, I remember!” She got a better look at the shop itself. Even if she were a pony, it didn’t look like a place where she could get some clothes she wanted. Then again, she might know someone if she asks. Finally finished eyeing the building up, she asked Vinyl, “Mind if we have a look inside?”

Vinyl raised an eyebrow but shrugged. “Sure. Why not?” Vinyl pushed the door open, causing a small jingle. Nika ducked a bit to get inside and looked around. For a moment, she cringed a bit, observing the various, faceless mannequins covered in frothy, gem encrusted dresses, bringing back a moment in the rocker’s life she wished she didn't recall. Shaking her head, she tried her best to forget about it and look around some more. Just then, she heard a very posh voice come from the other end of the room. “Welcome to the Carousel Boutique!!” Nika looked down and saw the white and violet pony from the other day. “Oh, hello there Vinyl. Giving one of our guests a tour of the town?”

“Yeah, I offered to show Nika around here, just get her used to the place. She was curious of the inside of the place, I guess.”

“Yeah, uh, I was just wondering if you do interspecies clothing?”

“Hmm…” Rarity pondered, eyeing Nika as if mentally measuring her. “Well, I suppose I could attempt this. What sort of dress would you like?”

“Oh! Oh. Um…” Nika hesitated, making sure she didn’t offend the fashionista. Then, she suddenly remembered something. A magazine picture she cut out and put in her pocket a while back. Taking out the folded page, she unraveled the sheet and revealed a dark denim jacket, sleeves going down to the wrists. Rarity looked shocked for a fleeting moment before regaining her composure.

“Well, dear. This is… Very unique. I… I think I could manage this.” She paused, placing a hoof on her chin. “Hmm… Yes… Actually…” she muttered, a glimmer appearing in her eyes. “Idea!!” she said in a rather high pitch. “Nika, dear, do you have any other pictures of this type of clothing?”

“Huh? Oh, uh…” Nika thought for a moment, suddenly remembered of the dozens of magazines E kept in his equipment boxes. “I do, but can I hand them over later? They’re at Vinyl’s place.”

Rarity nodded and turned to put the page on a nearby desk. “Be sure to come by at some point for your measurements, dear. Oh, and I forgot to mention, your… Friend was just here.”

“Friend? Oh, E.” Nika nodded, knowing he might have been going exploring before she even got up.

“Yes, apparently he had acquired a number of other ponies’… Assets. He was spending the day returning everything.”

Nika rolled her eyes. Typical. “Well, at least he’s returning the stuff, right?”

“Indeed, dear. He seems very carefree.”

“Yeah, he likes to look at life at a different angle. Unique, but… A bit confusing.”

“Oh?”

“It’s a long story that I don’t feel like explaining. Maybe some other time,” Nika said casually, waving off the comment as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Anyways,” Vinyl said, stretching a hoof up, “We should be heading out.”

“Very well. You two have a good day!” Rarity said, waving as the two left the boutique.

Time: 1:30 PM
Location: Twilight’s Castle

E entered the castle quietly, his footsteps not making that loud of a sound, despite the whole of the area was as quiet as a mouse. After spending some time wandering a lightly wooded area for a few hours, E realized that he needed to do something important. He asked around for anyone that was good with chemistry, and everyone pointed to Twilight and her giant crystal tree castle. He looked around, silently admiring the crystal design and the stained glass windows. As he explored, he heard a soft clopping noise coming around the corner. Turning the corner, he saw that the source of the noise was that of a small purple alicorn, head in a book.

“Hey, Twilight.”

Twilight looked up from her book, smiling at the youthful male. “Oh hi, E! What are you doing here?”

E coughed and looked at his hand for a moment, and held a bottle in front of her. It was an amber-clear bottle with a white cap that rattled when shook. She could see small objects in there and a word Twilight didn’t understand labeled in bold.

“I need you to make more of these…”

Twilight looked curiously. “What… Are these?”

These, um… These are special pills that I need to, um… Well, I need them.”

Twilight took the bottle with magic. “well, what’s in them?”

“I don’t know. I was hoping you could do some research and remake it based on what you’d find… If… That’s alright.”

Twilight said nothing for a long time, simply eyeing the bottle. Using magic, she opened the bottle and took out a pill, which was a little, white pill with tiny, red print on it, saying “TH-365.” After a few moments, she said, “Sure. I’d be happy to.”

E smiled. “Thank you, Twilight. I’ll appreciate it.”

“Twilight!!”

A small, boyish voice could be heard throughout the castle. A small, purple baby dragon came around the corner, holding a scroll that had been bound in a red ribbon and stamped with a golden seal. Almost immediately, Twilight handed the pill bottle back to E, who put it back into his knapsack, and took the scroll first, reading the contents out loud.

Dear Princess Twilight,

Last night, there was a very unusual occurrence that had transgressed in the docks of Manehatten. At approximately 1:30 AM, a strange fog rolled into the Manehatten docks, nearly blinding the dock security. When it had subsided, the security team had discovered a boat that had been found parked unauthorized in one of the empty docks. There were many questions that had been asked, mainly due to the ship itself. It did not match any current ship, and historians are currently looking for see if the ship has any sort of historical connection. There was no crew on board, and the ship did not appear to be powered by any sort of sail, motor, or even ores. Many are believing it was being controlled via magic, and it would seem to be the only option.

There is one last thing that I must address. That very night, at around 3:00 AM, a stallion was reported to have attacked a random pony in the streets in a blind rage. Although not appearing physically strong, it took several unicorns to restrain him before the Royal Guard could take him into custody. Many witnesses claim that they heard a strange sound, comparing it to a screeching. Although I do not wish to say it, I do believe that the recent events could have some sort of connection. I will be going to the Manehatten History Museum to observe the ship closer and possibly bring an origin. I suggest that you meet with me as well. Be wary, Twilight, for I fear that Equestria may be faced with a threat that may overshadow Tirek’s return.

Sincerely,
Princess Celestia

P.S. Please bring the humans as well. I wish to meet with them in person.

Twilight stared at the letter long and hard, pondering the letter’s contents. A secret vessel? Unexplained attacks? This must be serious.

“So, basically there’s some shit going down in this… Manehatten place, and we gotta investigate?”

Twilight turned to E, nodding. This got E pumped as he started bouncing back and forth on his feet. Twilight felt a tad unnerved. Why was E so excited on investigating a strange occurrence such as this, especially since Celestia told them to be wary of the whole thing. Did… Twilight thought. Did he have something to do with this? Twilight mentally stopped herself. She shouldn't judge people based on first appearance, as she did with Zecora. But... She had to know.

“Excuse me, E. I was just curious. Why are you so excited on going to this trip?”

E simply smiled and continued to bounce back and forth, saying, “Why? Cause I like investigating things I don’t know about. Simple as that.”

Twilight still felt unsure, but decided to brush off the feeling for now, making a mental note to keep an eye on E, as well as his friend. She turned to Spike and said with a stern tone, “Spike, head over to the others and tell them to prepare for a week long trip. We’re going to investigate.” Spike nodded and headed out of the castle to do his deed.

“Oh, I should tell Nika and the others!!” E turned to leave, but stopped and looked at Twilight. “Can Octavia and Vinyl come? You know, since they’ve been housing us and stuff?”

Twilight gave a matter-of-factly look at E, and replied with, “This isn’t a vacation. This is a research trip.”

“I’m not saying we have them do the research, but I thought as an act of generosity, we give them a bit of a vacation while we figure out the truth behind the boat.” E then leaned on the wall. “And if there’s another incident of assault, we have someone with them so that they don’t get harmed in any way.”

Twilight tried to object, but she found that, despite how this tan toned human appeared to be not that big of a thinker, he certainly knew how to cover his bases. “Very well... “ Twilight said. “Tell them to pack for a week, and to meet us at the train station tomorrow morning at 6:00 AM.”

E nodded and gave a salute before running off himself to tell the news to his soul sister and his new roommates. Twilight looked up at one of the stained glass windows, currently blank, with a concerned look on her face. Things may never be as peaceful as we’d like it to be…

Time: 9:30 PM
Location: Manehatten Museum of Natural History

Several ponies could have been seen escorting a ship relatively small boat, hidden under a tarp, into the back of the Museum of Natural History during the day, peaking the curiosity of the public, and naturally the journalists as well. While many were able to get pictures of the concealed vessel, at the moment unsure of what lies behind the sheet, none of the curators, historians, or even museum staff were willing to reveal any information on it, leading to such journalists to run back to the press rooms and begin theorizing. Fearing for any sort of invasion of the museum and concerned for the safety of the community, the museum officials had decided to shut down the museum and bring in extra security for the week, with today being the last day. That night, as the staff closed the museum for the night, the security crew sat in the break room, planning out how they would go through the night. The eldest, an Earth pony with a light tan coat and thin, greying hair stood by the table and said, “Alright everypony. You know the drill. A new artifact has been shipped and believed to be extremely dangerous. We’ve got to make sure nopony gets in and possibly set off any sort of magical doomsday device. It might be tough, but we gotta make sure to not have a single blind spot. Luckily, we’ve got help.”

He motioned his hoof to a couple younger ponies, both pegasus. One was a female, light blue coat and midsized lightning yellow mane and tail, with a lightning trophy Cutie Mark and a confident stature. The other pegasus was dark blue and male, with a long navy mane, and a dark thundercloud Cutie Mark. In contrast to the female, he seemed more nervous and reclusive, hiding behind the sister as the two were put into the spotlight.

“This is Gold Lightning and Dark Thunder,” the elder stallion said. “They’ll be watching the inner room while Flash Light and I will be guarding the door.”

“Hang on, Strong Guard,” The dark grey stallion with the flashlight Cutie Mark said, pointing to the two. “Why are we putting these two rookies in the room if we’ve got the room?”

“‘Cause of the damn colt that went crazy last night.” Strong Guard let out a sigh and looked at the crew. “The higher ups are worried somepony else will lose in and possibly try and break in. Petty concerns, if you ask me, but they’re the ones writing our paychecks, so we’ve got no choice to comply.”

Flash Light looked at the two newbies rather aggressively, causing the stallion to cower further, but the female to give a confident smile and determined look, saying, “Don’t worry, chief! We’ll do our best!!”

Strong Guard motioned to the rest of the security team and said, “The rest of you, go to your usual positions. Be on high alert ‘til this giant hunk of wood gets a proper use.” He gave a nod to the rest of the crew, who left the room to their usual appointed spots.

As the two newly appointed pegasus security guards entered the room, they took in the large, dark room in all of its ominous splendor. When they looked in the center of the massive room, they caught a glimpse of what they were to be “protecting.” A large wooden vessel with arcane carvings, strange shields decorated around the inside the vessel, and what appeared to be a dragon-like head carved into both ends of the boat. Trying to keep from giggling too loud, Gold Lightning pulled out a camera and began to position herself in front of the boat.

“Uh… Gold?” Dark Thunder whispered as quietly as he could. “Shouldn’t we try to be careful? I mean, we just got here, and…”

“Oh, hush Thunder,” Lightning whispered as he booped his nose. “We came here for pictures to sell. Ponies wanna know, so we’ll give ‘em what they want.”

They upbeat mare then proceeded to take various pictures of the ship, including the carved sides and the dragon heads. The timid stallion, however, listened in on the door and made sure the two eldest guards didn’t catch them in the act. He waited, listening. As he listened, he began to hear something. Whispering. He looked around sharply and found that Lightning was still taking pictures. Those stupid pictures. Why did she have to put him through with this? He hated this kind of pressure and tension. Thunder shook his head, trying to reassess himself.

Where did those thoughts come from? he thought. He then found that the whispers were getting a bit louder now. Saying things to him. Mean things. Cruel things. Or at least, that’s what he thought from what he could distinguish. The voices seemed so… Indistinguishable. Like they overlapped and said two or three different things at the same time. Suddenly, the whispers had been mixed with a series of groans and moans, like the sound of old pipes. The sounds mixed in his mind as he gripped his head. “Lightning…? Lightning, please stop… This hurts… I don’t like this…”

Lightning stopped taking pictures and looked at her friend. He was on the ground, cringing in pain while curled up on the floor. Putting the camera away, she went over to him, and whispered, “Th… Thunder? Thunder what’s wrong?” Her hoofsteps got faster, turning into a quick trot and then a full gallop as she ran to his aid. She sped up her movements with some wing movement and then skidded next to him.

“Thunder, c’mon!! Snap out of it!” The mare shook him vigorously, but to no avail. To Thunder, all he could hear was the sound of groaning pipes mixed with whispers and now screeching. He was scared, then angry, and oh so sad… Then he started to laugh. He began to laugh louder and louder, shedding tears. Lightning held her lifelong friend closer, not caring about the two guards that burst through the door at the sound of laughter. She knew what was going on. It was something that haunted her ever since she was a filly, when the fortune teller said in her dying breath. Something she tried to keep from happening.

Dark Thunder had gone insane.