Funraiserby sevenofelevenChaptersChapter 1Chapter 2Chapter 3Chapter 1Funraiser Chapter 1 It was another great shopping day on Horston street in Manehattan. Warm buttery yellow sunlight covered the ponies strolling down the street. Some ponies stopped to gawk at the fine items on display in the windows while another pony looked at them. A grey coated, blonde maned and tailed unicorn with green eyes was checking out the plots of the cute pegasi mares that walked by him or checked out the items in the stores. He knew he should be at his desk designing new puzzles for Curiousium Products, or Curio, but Puzzlesolver, Puzzle for short, had lost his inspiration. Puzzle was out of fresh ideas for cool puzzles and games. This was his dream job but today it just seemed like Snoozeville. When he was a foal, Puzzle showed a great interest in puzzles. As a colt he even made his own puzzles and games. One of them attracted the interest of a salespony for Curio, it did not take long before Puzzle got his dream job. Puzzle’s cutie mark was of a puzzle piece. Puzzle was not too concerned about his loss of inspiration, slow periods were pretty common for him. His remedy was to just go with it for a while until the ideas started flowing again. A bit of partying at the local singles bar seemed like a good way to spark some ideas. While Puzzle was thinking about partying, his hooves led him down a dark side street. He took a look at the decrepit buildings and wondered how he got here. This is the type of place that a pony could get robbed or worse, Puzzle fearfully thought. Seeing a dirty blue stallion lying in its own filth while it drank from a bottle of hard cider did nothing to make Puzzle feel safer. While Puzzle looked around for a way out, his eyes fell upon a Curio store. His fears about being robbed evaporated while he cantered to the store. He stopped in front of a store with some interesting items in the windows. A lot of the items were worn, but they carried their age gracefully. Let's see what I can find here, he thought. Inside the store, it was dim and cozy. Puzzle wondered if the storekeep kept the lights on low to hide the flaws of the items. Something about this store seemed out of place. He again thought about heading home but curiosity got the better of him. He inspected a set of shiny alphabet cubes that were made of dark rare woods. They were so shiny, Puzzle could see parts of his face reflected on them. At sixteen hundred bits, these blocks would go right into a safe or a fancy display. No foal was going to be chewing or abusing these expensive toys. The other items looked good too, but their prices were definitely beyond Puzzle's wallet. He had an expense account but only for buying work related items or research. The pretty things in the front of the store were not in his price range. Puzzle was looking at a Chutes and Ladders board made out of mahogany and other rare pale woods, when he heard a discreet cough. He looked up and saw an elderly pegasus stallion looking at him from over the counter. The stallion was beige with faded blue eyes and dark brown mane and tail. "How can I help you Sir?" The storekeeper asked. "Do you have other games and puzzles?" Puzzle asked with curiosity. "Yes," The storekeeper pointed his left fore hoof at a ebony and ivory chess set. It featured Celestia and her court versus Nightmare Moon and her court. There was no price tag. Puzzle had a pretty good idea that the chess set was beyond his means. The storekeeper showed Puzzle a gold and black puzzle box. For a second, a voice inside Puzzle warned him to leave but he ignored it. The way the light slid around the different raised areas and slunk in the cavities entranced Puzzle. A familiar warmth started to kindle in his groin. This was something he wanted. No, desired a lot like a willing pegasus mare. Puzzle looked away to regain his composure, but each time he would look back, the desire would grow again. He thought about taking the puzzle box home and rubbing himself on it. Again Puzzle tried to calm himself down. Even taking a few deep breaths did not work too well. "Would you like to purchase the puzzle box. Sir?" The storekeeper asked discreetly. Puzzle was sure he heard something in the storekeeper's voice. Maybe a bit of hunger for a sale or something else. Puzzle knew that if he could afford the box, it was coming home with him like the mares he hooked up with. "How much?" Puzzle asked. It was going to be dear. He just knew it. "Eight hundred bits Sir," The storekeeper replied politely. The price was too expensive for Puzzle's wallet but OK for the expense account. The next few minutes were a blur like Puzzle’s mind just fast forwarded to the part where he was galloping home with his new infatuation. He tried to remember what happened in the store but the memories faded like fog on a sunny day. Puzzle's Apartment Finally, it was in his room. He toyed with drinking a brandy and turning the lights down low, but this was not that kind of party. Bright lights were needed so he could see what he was doing. The box was covered with studs and or buttons that needed to be pressed, clicked or pressed and slid. He would have to press, click and slide the buttons or studs in the right sequence and the box would open up to him like a willing mare. His hooves were too big to handle all the studs and buttons. Puzzle would have to use telekinesis on the box. Puzzle used his telekinesis to push a button.The box made a harsh noise that hurt his ears. He pulled a notepad and a quill next to him so he could take notes. After getting a few bad notes, he got a good one, the sound stroked his ears. Most of the night was spent getting the box to open. If he made a mistake, the box would go to the default cube form and he had to do everything all over again. After hours of fussing with the box, Puzzle knew he was getting close to solving it. There were two buttons left to press, if he got this one right, the other one would open the box. He touched it with his telekinesis, a sweet chime stroked him but not only in the ears but parts south of there. Puzzle was glad his coworkers could not see him in this excited state. He hit the last button and a chime sounded. It went to his core and Puzzle exploded and kept on exploding. The orgasm went on for a while. When Puzzle came out of his afterglow, he was lying in a pool of cold sticky semen. The box now looked like a diamond. The top rotated and slid down. Black metallic chains spewed out of the top. Puzzle felt barbed hooks tear into his legs and lift him up until he was spreadponied halfway up to the ceiling. The pain was so bad Puzzle could only gasp and pant in agony. The room shook and cracks appeared in the wall in front of him. Pictures of his family and friends fell down and shattered their frames with a crash. The windows in his room started to emit darkness. A doorway appeared in the middle of the wall. Puzzle coughed when a breeze smelling of rotten candy blew on him. All he could see was shadow for a few seconds then he saw a pink pony walking through the darkness. Broken candy canes stuck out of her bald pink head. Cold blue eyes looked back at Puzzle. She walked up to him. "You have opened the box and now we will have FUN," The strange mare said with a mix of malice and glee. There was too much hunger in that statement. "W-w-who are you?" Puzzle asked with fear. "Oh, did I not introduce myself? You can call me Canehead. We shall explore Fun together," Canehead said with a giggle. The chains jerked. It hurt so bad, Puzzle almost passed out. Then they relaxed and started to lower him to the floor. They stopped when he was just above Canehead. He could smell her scent. It was a mix of frisky mare and candy with vile things mixed in. Some of the scents were attractive. Puzzle could feel himself getting aroused again. Canehead touched him with her left fore hoof. Puzzle was almost ready to explode again. The chains lowered Puzzle so his face was inches away from Canehead's. She grinned and it was like being hit with a bat of crazy. Puzzle's mind was under an onslaught of images involving ponies, candy, torture and pleasure. Ponies having their intestines turned to strawberry flavored ropes. Eyes dunked in boiling hot dark chocolate and given back to their owners to sear their heads. Other ponies being dissected by sharp shards of peppermint. It was too much, he screamed. Puzzle found himself standing in front of Canehead. The chains were gone. He did not remember how he got on his hooves. "Are you ready to come with me? We have all eternity to explore Fun together," Canehead said with such grim happiness. "No, no, no!" Puzzle screamed. "They all say that but after a while they start having Fun," Canehead said with glee. "Can we work something out?" Puzzle asked, desperation filled his voice. "Why? I want you," Canehead said with a lecherous smile and wink. That look added more fuel to Puzzle's fear. "H-h-how about I find you ponies that are willing to play with you?" Puzzle offered with a desperate note in his voice. Canehead thought for a second. "If you find me ponies to play with, I will not take you," Canehead said with a grin. "Lets seal this with a kiss!" Canehead said with enthusiasm. She jammed her face into Puzzle's and forced her tongue through his teeth. It was horrible, there was the taste of rotting candy and other disgusting things being thrust into his mouth. Some of it excited Puzzle to the point of him exploding into orgasms again. Behind the orgasms, he knew he was damned forever. Chapter 2Funraiser Chapter 2 Puzzle awoke in a sticky odorous mess of crap, blood and semen. He was going to need a cleanup. The strange puzzle box sat on a table. Puzzle wondered where the crap came from. He figured that he took a dump when the chains first tore into his legs. A quick glance out the window showed it was midday. Thank goodness, his job allowed for him to have a lax schedule. Puzzle did not feel like going to work today. He needed a shower and then the house would get cleaned up. Puzzle shuffled off to the bathroom. Hours later, the room was so clean, you could not tell what had happened. Puzzle felt bad about the pictures, he would have to buy new frames. The wall that had turned into a doorway just looked like a wall now. No cracks marred its smooth white surface. While Puzzle cleaned up the living room, he had two major thoughts. The design of the puzzle box enthralled him. He had to get to work and draw up some specs for new puzzles. The other thought was how to get Canehead off of his back. Those images she showed him were probably just the tip of the iceberg. Worse torments probably awaited him, he could not refuse and let her take him away. The idea of giving her another pony to torture was not pleasant either. He was no monster. Puzzle decided to go back to the store to see if the storekeep knew something. Two hours later, he could not find the store or that side street. How could he have made such a mistake when the gallop home was engraved on his mind? What if he went back and Canehead is waiting for him? Some of that almost excited him. For a few seconds, his fear of Canehead fought against his lust. Eventually fear won. Puzzle did not want to go home, he did not trust himself. Maybe he would just jump on Canehead and have all eternity to regret. It seemed like a good idea to him to go to a bar to think about what to do next. Half drunk, Puzzle brought home Summer Sky, a pretty yellow pegasus mare with entrancing eyes. She shook her mane sexily and posed in front of him. Yeah, Puzzle was going to party soon because he could smell her readiness. “Summer Sky, are you ready to party?” Puzzle asked. A smile and a wink was his answer. She sauntered up to Puzzle and then her eyes fell on the box. “Puzzy, whats this?” The curious mare asked. “Um, its a prototype for a game-” Puzzle’s explanation was interrupted by a big yawn. Summer’s entranced face was reflected in the shiny puzzlebox as Puzzle slowly dozed off. Puzzle almost woke up when he heard the ecstatic scream. It sounded familiar. Morning arrived and Puzzle was lying in a pool of semen and some blood. He felt drained but the feeling of Deja Vu again was annoying. Was that my blood or somepony else’s, Puzzle wondered. He sniffed the disgusted mess, yep it was his. Over the years he had been in small accidents and the blood had the same smell. If this was somepony else’s blood, Puzzle did not have a clue what he should do. Puzzle wondered what happened last night. He remembered taking a pony home, but maybe that had been a dream. After thinking about it more, Puzzle checked out his empty apartment. No mare could be found. He sighed, time to clean up, again. After Puzzle cleaned up, he took the puzzlebox to work with him. Puzzle's Office He was in the zone! Finally, he had been able to sketch out some designs. Also he was able to come up with some good ideas on necessary mechanical parts. The builders would have no problem making prototypes. Maybe instead of metal, they could use fancy woods. Mahogany and polished pine would be good suggestions. Puzzle was putting the finishing touches on a spec sheet when Punchcard came in. Puzzle could feel the positive energy of his day drain away like whiskey from a broken bottle. Punchcard was a dark gray earth pony with a shiny black mane and tail. The word around the office was that she was a pain in the plot. Her orange eyes narrowed. Puzzle braced for what was coming next. The head of ER, Equine Resources was probably going to say something that Puzzle would not like. He did notice her orange eyes on the puzzle box though. "You know Solver, you need to familiarize yourself with the proper procedures on employee time scheduling. You do know that Curio is having money problems and one less unicorn would not be missed. You designers think you are above company procedures. This is my last warning. Comply with our schedule or face the consequences," Punchcard threatened in a soft voice. She turned around, swished her tail and left. Puzzle thought a bit, he felt betrayed. Gearbox, his boss and friend, never really bothered him about his work schedule. Most of the time Puzzle worked ten hour days or more, so a few days off or half days were OK. Well, according to Punchcard, not so much anymore. He left his office to go see Gearbox. Gearbox was an earth pony who had been with the company for ten years. He had warm brown eyes and a brown tail and mane. Curio’s recent problems were adding some gray to his tail and mane. "This time ER is cracking down, we have to hoof the line like everyone else now," the portly, beige pony said with regret. "Can't you do something to rein her in?" Puzzle asked with anger. "Things are bad at Curio. The economy has forced a lot of ponies to cut back on spending on Hearth Warming Day presents. Our toys are luxury items. I have tried to shield the designers from the harsh realities, but now I can't do that anymore," Gearbox's ears and tail drooped. "I have some ideas on how to make new mechanical puzzles," Puzzle said with enthusiasm. Gearbox perked up. This was his passion and something more interesting than worrying about the future of the company. The talk was cut short when a secretary called and said a police detective was in Puzzle's office waiting for him. "Puzzle, be careful," Gearbox warned. Why are the police here for Puzzle, he wondered. Designers were a strange lot and sometimes the cops came by. So far it was just for petty stuff like public drunkeness or bar fighting. Gearbox knew Puzzle for at least five years and figured it was something minor. Puzzle rushed out and missed Gearbox's heartfelt warning. A green coated, red maned and tailed pegasus stallion with red eyes walked up to Puzzle to shake hooves. "My name is Finder. I work for the Manehattan Missing Ponies division," Finder said professionally. Puzzle just stood and looked. He had no idea what was going on. Why was a cop in his office? Finder pulled out a picture of a familiar looking pegasus mare from his saddlebags. "Have you seen this mare recently?" Finder questioned with a neutral voice. "I took her home, we had a good time, she left," Puzzle replied. "Really?" Finder asked with curiosity. "What?" Puzzle asked. "Did you see her leave? Did you call her home?" Finder asked. "No. I was sleeping," Puzzle replied. He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice. Puzzle did not like what the cop was trying to insinuate. "Let me be straight with you Mr. Solver. Summer Sky is missing. She did not return to her home. You are the last one to see her," Finder said, his voice going up a bit in volume. Puzzle was surprised. If she was lying around his apartment, he would know. He just kept thinking, trying to make sense of the situation. "Hello? Hello? Mr Solver?" Finder said loudly to get Puzzle's attention. "Yes?" Puzzle replied. "I would like to have your permission to search your apartment," Finder asked gently. "Um, OK," Puzzle replied. He was in a bit of a daze as he followed the cop to his apartment. ________________________ Puzzle's Apartment The cops and the forensic techs went through his apartment while Puzzle sat in a neighborhood bar with a cop. Before Puzzle left, he gave a sample of blood. Finder could smell Summer Sky's scent in the apartment, she was here. Before he went to Puzzle's apartment, he checked out her apartment to get her scent. One of the forensic tech unicorns cast a blood finding spell. The blood drops glowed with a bluish tint. Finder felt like he got his murderous pony. "Sorry sir, this blood matches the occupant," The tech declared as the red glow faded from his horn. Finder was angry. He knew at a gut level that Puzzlesolver was responsible. Finder focused and pushed his anger back. What evidence did he have of any wrong doing? None so far. He took a few more deep breaths to calm himself. Finder took a bit of time to think this through. There were cases in which the last pony to see the missing alive was not the guilty party. Then again his hunches were rarely wrong. Finder decided that he had to take his time and look at this situation from another angle. Finally, Puzzle was allowed back into his apartment. Finder shook his hoof and apologized for the inconvenience. Then he left while still thinking how Puzzle was connected to the missing mare. Puzzle took the puzzle box out of his bag and carried it into his room. He called for a delivery of garlic shiitake mushrooms and lemongrass fried rice. After he ate, it was back to work on more designs. About halfway through, he started to yawn. It was getting hard to concentrate. Time for bed. Sometime during the night, he felt something rubbing him. Wow, it was going to be one of those dreams! He closed his eyes and gave in to the sensations. Now he was being sucked. It felt good but there were these stinging pains. They were not intense enough to interfere with the pleasure. Somehow, they made the slow climb to climax even better. He must have shot gallons into the mouth of the mare. Wait! Was it a mare? How did she get into his room? The burst of fear grew worse, it overwhelmed his afterglow. Puzzle turned on the light. No. He was not dreaming! Summer Sky's mutilated head was above his crotch. Her face had been changed to resemble a mare's marehood. Shiny pointed teeth glinted from inside the hole. Some blood and semen dripped off of her "face" onto his bedsheets. Puzzle screamed. Summer Sky or whatever was that thing was faded away. He thought he heard a familiar giggle. The rest of the night Puzzle could not sleep. When Monday came, Puzzle was happy to get to work. He still wondered what he was going to do about Canehead. After what happened Friday night he definitely did not want to be carried away, but giving a pony to that fiend still felt wrong. Maybe he could talk to someone at the Manehattan Mage Guild. Maybe he had a chance? Curio Puzzle’s Office Two hours into his day, the secretary called him and said he had to go to Gearbox's office. Dread crawled in his stomach. Seeing Gearbox's drooping ears and tail did not make Puzzle feel any better. "Sit down Puzzle, we have to talk," Gearbox said gloomily. Puzzle sat in a chair in front of Gearbox's desk. "I did not know that Curio was doing this bad. The rumors flying around the office were just a pale shadow of the truth. Even if your designs made this year one of the best, the company may not last beyond March. Woodshaper, the President of the company said that Curio owned a lot of money and could not even pay the interest on the loans. Even if they could pay the interest, the loans still need to be dealt with," Gearbox stopped and looked at Puzzle sadly. The news that Curio was so close to closing hit Puzzle hard. This was his dream job. "Maybe there are companies that would buy Curio? Hoofmacher & Schlepper or maybe Horsebro?" Puzzle guessed. "Hoofmacher is not too much bigger than Curio and they will not want all of that debt. Horsebro might be interested. It would complement their toy division. My Little Human has been selling well. They have enough money to cover our debt but Horsebro is a large company and it will take them too long to decide to buy us. If they want us," Gearbox sighed. "To reduce costs Curio will have to layoff ponies. I had hoped that when I retire, you would be sitting in this seat but it is not going to happen. Puzzle, I am really sorry but we have to let you go. Your tenure here will be over by Wednesday of next week. I had to twist Punchcard's leg to get you the extra days. I figure that the builders will need your help in making the prototypes. I am again so sorry," Gearbox finished and sighed. Puzzlebox felt like his whole world fell in on him. Goodbye dream job. Goodbye designing cool things. Seeing his ideas come alive in wood and or metal. A lot of other places would not let some kid come in off the street and go straight to design. Most of them had to be builders for years before moving up, if at all. "So Punchcard put my name on the list to be fired?" Puzzle queried in a cold quiet voice. Gearbox shook his head slowly. "Don't go that way. This industry is a small world. Stories get around. Just like you arrived here a class act, you should leave a class act," Gearbox said with a warning tone. "Tell me Gearbox, is Punchcard responsible for my name being on the list?" Puzzle pushed. "For some reason Punchcard has had a bad stink in her muzzle about you. I have seen her treat ponies that have done worst treated better than you. I do not understand her hatred of you. Please promise that you will do nothing to her," Gearbox pleaded. "I will do nothing to her, I promise," Puzzle said in a flippant tone of voice. Inside, he was seething with anger. Puzzle shook hooves with Gearbox and went back to his office to finish up his work. Visions of hurting Punchcard marched through Puzzle's head. He resented her interference in his career. Puzzle wished he had just a few more months at Curio. His eyes fell on the puzzle box. One side of his mind thought it would be too cruel, but the other side wanted to punish her. Puzzle raged at why that pony should be allowed to ruin his dream job. Almost without thinking, Puzzle put the puzzle box in a bag and went to Punchcard's office in ER. Nopony noticed when he put the puzzle box on her desk. Puzzle went back to his office to go over his specs for the builders. The rest of the week and weekend flew by, Puzzle focused on making sure the first prototypes would work. They did flawlessly. Now it was up to the builders to work on the final products to be sold. Puzzle helped out with that also. Monday came around and Puzzle was starting to clean out his office. He decided to not come in on his last day. There was a rumor that Punchcard who almost never missed a day of work was missing a lot of days now. It was so not like her to be late or not come in without notifying anyone. Puzzle gave neutral answers when other ponies asked him about Punchcard. Inside, he was happy that nag got what she deserved. Puzzle thought he would feel more guilty but he did not. He decided that tonight he would hit the bars and maybe bring home a mare. Since the puzzle box was gone, she would be able to concentrate on Puzzle. He also thought about the cops but had no clue why they visited him. Puzzle hoped that he would not see any more cops. ___________________________ Manehattan Missing Ponies Office Finder looked at the report. A mare was missing at Curio. Damn, that Puzzlesolver is up to his antics again, he thought. It was too much of a coincidence. He left the office to ask questions around Curio about the missing mare. Everypony at the office knew that Punchcard did not like Puzzlesolver. It was part of the hidden resentment some ponies had for designers. Finder found out that Punchcard was responsible for Puzzle's termination. That was enough motive but it was not enough for Finder to arrest Puzzle. The ponies shadowing Puzzle reported that the areas that Puzzle frequented did not overlap with the missing mare's haunts. Yeah, that is a good word, he thought. Finder did not want to fail those who needed his help. It was possible that somepony else was responsible for Punchcard going missing. Finder was quite sure it was Puzzlesolver. He headed over to ER. _________________________________________________________________ Curio ER Offices "Are you sure you did not see anything strange?" Finder asked Whiteout, the secretary for ER. The cute red eyed earth pony glanced to the side for a second. "Yeah, now I remember. Someone gave Punchcard a cool gold and black puzzle box. She was so surprised someone would give her a gift," Whiteout replied with a flirty smile. Finder was more interested in solving the case but maybe afterward he could hook up with her.. Gold and black puzzle box. He knew where he had seen one of those. Puzzlesolver's desk! Now he had to get a mage to come with him and study the box. Maybe Summer Sky encountered the same box. Finder wanted to celebrate but he kept his cool. He hurriedly left Curio offices to go back to police headquarters to find a mage. Puzzlesolver is going down! Chapter 3Funraiser Chapter 3 Puzzlesolver's Apartment He spent an half hour in a bar and came home with a cute unicorn with a beige coat, red hair and red mane, this was going to be a great evening. Her bright brown eyes danced with possibilities. She was interested in him and not his cursed missing box. Puzzle was coming back from the kitchen with drinks and snacks when he heard a familiar set of chimes. Punchcard had the box last, he wondered how it got to his apartment. The surprised unicorn screamed, "No! No! No!" He used his telekinesis to open the door. Puzzle got a quick view of his guest being yanked away by chains before the door slammed shut in his face. He was so surprised by the quick glimpse of what was going on, Puzzle lost control of the spell making the snacks and drinks float. The items tumbled to the floor without him noticing. The door would not budge even when he used his telekinesis. "Canehead! Let her go!" Puzzle screamed at the closed door. A feeling of foreboding filled him. The door cracked open, inviting him to enter the quiet apartment. He cautiously opened the door more and looked. The puzzle box lay on the floor in the empty room. Where was that pony that was in here? Puzzle wondered. Other than glasses with lipstick on them and chewed snacks and her scent, that was it. "Canehead! You bucked up mare! Give her back!" Puzzle demanded. "Why?" Canehead replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Puzzle turned to his left and faced Canehead, he was frightened that Canehead could just appear next to him with no warning. "Because, she is not for you!" Puzzle said with anger. Even though Puzzle was angry, there was a lot of fear behind the bravado. He did not want to make Canehead change her mind about the arrangement. "Well, she opened the box, she gets the prize of FUN!" Canehead said in a matter of fact voice. "No, I can't let you take her!" Puzzle said with more anger. He stepped up to Canehead ready to do battle. His ears were lying back on his head. Canehead grinned. She smiled so widely, Puzzle could hear the skin tear like wet paper at the sides of her mouth. A pink stinking cloud of cotton candy covered Canehead. Puzzle stepped back. He had no intention of having any of that nasty smelling stuff on his coat. He stepped back some more until his plot hit the couch. "Behold me in my true glory!" Canehead whispered when the cotton candy faded away. "Oh damn!" Puzzle said with fear when he saw Canehead's real form. Her chest and long legs were covered with red and white peppermint armor. Blood leaked around the edges as though the armor was cutting into her pink flesh. A horn with a red peppermint strip jutted out of her forehead. The tip was cut off, red liquid oozed down the horn onto Canehead's forehead. Just like a princess, she had wings but instead of feathers, it was flaps of bloody muscle and flesh. Even though Canehead was bald except for the broken candy canes sticking out of her skull, she had a mane and tail of red cotton candy. The pony abomination stomped her left fore hoof twice on the floor sending echoes that slashed through Puzzle. The walls of the room fell flat like a box and the ceiling flew away. Puzzle found himself standing on soft yielding ground. It smelled like chocolate cake mixed with the remains of dead ponies and their fears. He looked up at the sky. It was a dark blue color lit by an orange glowing jawbreaker. The color felt diseased. Puzzle looked down at the ground, he had seen enough. He racked his memory for the name of the unicorn he took home. Finally he found it, Sweetmist. "I want to see Sweetmist alive and well!" Puzzle said with lots of bravado. Sweetmist appeared in front of Puzzle, she kept her eyes closed while she whimpered on the spongy ground. "What will you give me for this favor?" Canehead asked. "I will give myself to you," Puzzle said with some determination. Maybe I can talk my way out of this, he desperately thought. Canehead laughed. It was full of malice and hunger and something else. "You can't give away what you already have lost! You are not a good pony anymore. That's OK, I looove bad ponies! You will be one of the worst!" Canehead said with a hungry smile. That made Puzzle quail. It was like looking at an oncoming cart right before it hits and crushes bone. "W-w-why?" Puzzle asked with overwhelming fear. "Summer Sky was not your fault. You had no clue, but when you gave Punchcard the box, it was planned. You knew what could happen, but you did it anyway. Don't be afraid, you are a natural," Canehead purred with glee. "Also all of those designs you were making? They will allow more ponies to join me and my friends for more FUN. Yes, when the toys are made, they will be irresistible! Come to me my Consort. You have rendered me such a service that you deserve a very special treat!" Canehead urged. "Send Sweetmist back to her home," Puzzle demanded. Inside, Puzzle could feel his courage fading fast. His fate was sealed but Sweetmist did not deserve this. He decided to leave like a class act. "Why?" Canehead queried while looking at Puzzle. Crazy was beamed at him by two bright blue eyes, somehow he still smelled her desire. "Because, it would make a fine gift for your new Consort," Puzzle suggested while looking for a way out. Puzzle's hope that he could get away from Canehead was fading fast. "Fine," Canehead said blandly. Sweetmist faded away. Puzzle took a few steps toward Canehead. Now, he could see Summer Sky. She was drooling. A familiar pony appeared next to Summer Sky. Punchcard looked the same until she pointed her head at the sky and spouted a mix of dark chocolate and manure from her mouth and plot. Puzzle took some more steps until his nerve broke. He turned and ran the other way. "Yay! He wants to Play!" Canehead screamed with glee. She loped after him with her long legs. Punchcard and Summer Sky followed behind her. Outside Puzzle's Apartment Finder fumed at the delays but at least now he had mage support to take Puzzlesolver in for questioning. Two unicorns, a gray one and a blue one followed him down the hall. He was at the door when he heard Puzzle screaming in fear and pain. Finder wanted to buck the door down but the blue unicorn mage stopped him. "No! We can't handle what's on the other side of that door," The mage said fearfully, his eyes locked on the door as though something nasty was going to bust through. The gray unicorn's eyes darted all over the place in panic. The gray unicorn mage cast a paralysis spell on Finder. They waited while Finder struggled against the spell until the screams receded. When the spell faded after a few minutes, Finder gave both mages a nasty look then he bucked the door down. Finder could smell Puzzlesolver, Punchcard and Summer Sky's scents but he could not find any of them in the empty apartment. There was also the sickening scent of rotten candy but Finder ignored that. One thing that caught Finder's eye was the puzzle box. "Sorry, we will take that," The gray unicorn mage stated. He used his telekinesis to grab the box but the puzzle box faded away before he could put it in a containment device. "Did you get it?" the blue mage asked with fear. "No, it got sent elsewhere," The gray mage replied. "If you guys don't have it, who has it now?" Finder asked with anger. Finder's question was met with apologetic shrugs from the two unicorn mages. The unicorn mages looked at each other with fear filled eyes. Finder looked at them. This is going to be one hell of a report, Finder thought. Somewhere in Saddle Arabia An elderly pegasus stallion looked up as a gold and black puzzle box appeared in an empty display case. The pony's eyes flashed a bright blue. He grinned very widely.
Chapter 1Funraiser Chapter 1 It was another great shopping day on Horston street in Manehattan. Warm buttery yellow sunlight covered the ponies strolling down the street. Some ponies stopped to gawk at the fine items on display in the windows while another pony looked at them. A grey coated, blonde maned and tailed unicorn with green eyes was checking out the plots of the cute pegasi mares that walked by him or checked out the items in the stores. He knew he should be at his desk designing new puzzles for Curiousium Products, or Curio, but Puzzlesolver, Puzzle for short, had lost his inspiration. Puzzle was out of fresh ideas for cool puzzles and games. This was his dream job but today it just seemed like Snoozeville. When he was a foal, Puzzle showed a great interest in puzzles. As a colt he even made his own puzzles and games. One of them attracted the interest of a salespony for Curio, it did not take long before Puzzle got his dream job. Puzzle’s cutie mark was of a puzzle piece. Puzzle was not too concerned about his loss of inspiration, slow periods were pretty common for him. His remedy was to just go with it for a while until the ideas started flowing again. A bit of partying at the local singles bar seemed like a good way to spark some ideas. While Puzzle was thinking about partying, his hooves led him down a dark side street. He took a look at the decrepit buildings and wondered how he got here. This is the type of place that a pony could get robbed or worse, Puzzle fearfully thought. Seeing a dirty blue stallion lying in its own filth while it drank from a bottle of hard cider did nothing to make Puzzle feel safer. While Puzzle looked around for a way out, his eyes fell upon a Curio store. His fears about being robbed evaporated while he cantered to the store. He stopped in front of a store with some interesting items in the windows. A lot of the items were worn, but they carried their age gracefully. Let's see what I can find here, he thought. Inside the store, it was dim and cozy. Puzzle wondered if the storekeep kept the lights on low to hide the flaws of the items. Something about this store seemed out of place. He again thought about heading home but curiosity got the better of him. He inspected a set of shiny alphabet cubes that were made of dark rare woods. They were so shiny, Puzzle could see parts of his face reflected on them. At sixteen hundred bits, these blocks would go right into a safe or a fancy display. No foal was going to be chewing or abusing these expensive toys. The other items looked good too, but their prices were definitely beyond Puzzle's wallet. He had an expense account but only for buying work related items or research. The pretty things in the front of the store were not in his price range. Puzzle was looking at a Chutes and Ladders board made out of mahogany and other rare pale woods, when he heard a discreet cough. He looked up and saw an elderly pegasus stallion looking at him from over the counter. The stallion was beige with faded blue eyes and dark brown mane and tail. "How can I help you Sir?" The storekeeper asked. "Do you have other games and puzzles?" Puzzle asked with curiosity. "Yes," The storekeeper pointed his left fore hoof at a ebony and ivory chess set. It featured Celestia and her court versus Nightmare Moon and her court. There was no price tag. Puzzle had a pretty good idea that the chess set was beyond his means. The storekeeper showed Puzzle a gold and black puzzle box. For a second, a voice inside Puzzle warned him to leave but he ignored it. The way the light slid around the different raised areas and slunk in the cavities entranced Puzzle. A familiar warmth started to kindle in his groin. This was something he wanted. No, desired a lot like a willing pegasus mare. Puzzle looked away to regain his composure, but each time he would look back, the desire would grow again. He thought about taking the puzzle box home and rubbing himself on it. Again Puzzle tried to calm himself down. Even taking a few deep breaths did not work too well. "Would you like to purchase the puzzle box. Sir?" The storekeeper asked discreetly. Puzzle was sure he heard something in the storekeeper's voice. Maybe a bit of hunger for a sale or something else. Puzzle knew that if he could afford the box, it was coming home with him like the mares he hooked up with. "How much?" Puzzle asked. It was going to be dear. He just knew it. "Eight hundred bits Sir," The storekeeper replied politely. The price was too expensive for Puzzle's wallet but OK for the expense account. The next few minutes were a blur like Puzzle’s mind just fast forwarded to the part where he was galloping home with his new infatuation. He tried to remember what happened in the store but the memories faded like fog on a sunny day. Puzzle's Apartment Finally, it was in his room. He toyed with drinking a brandy and turning the lights down low, but this was not that kind of party. Bright lights were needed so he could see what he was doing. The box was covered with studs and or buttons that needed to be pressed, clicked or pressed and slid. He would have to press, click and slide the buttons or studs in the right sequence and the box would open up to him like a willing mare. His hooves were too big to handle all the studs and buttons. Puzzle would have to use telekinesis on the box. Puzzle used his telekinesis to push a button.The box made a harsh noise that hurt his ears. He pulled a notepad and a quill next to him so he could take notes. After getting a few bad notes, he got a good one, the sound stroked his ears. Most of the night was spent getting the box to open. If he made a mistake, the box would go to the default cube form and he had to do everything all over again. After hours of fussing with the box, Puzzle knew he was getting close to solving it. There were two buttons left to press, if he got this one right, the other one would open the box. He touched it with his telekinesis, a sweet chime stroked him but not only in the ears but parts south of there. Puzzle was glad his coworkers could not see him in this excited state. He hit the last button and a chime sounded. It went to his core and Puzzle exploded and kept on exploding. The orgasm went on for a while. When Puzzle came out of his afterglow, he was lying in a pool of cold sticky semen. The box now looked like a diamond. The top rotated and slid down. Black metallic chains spewed out of the top. Puzzle felt barbed hooks tear into his legs and lift him up until he was spreadponied halfway up to the ceiling. The pain was so bad Puzzle could only gasp and pant in agony. The room shook and cracks appeared in the wall in front of him. Pictures of his family and friends fell down and shattered their frames with a crash. The windows in his room started to emit darkness. A doorway appeared in the middle of the wall. Puzzle coughed when a breeze smelling of rotten candy blew on him. All he could see was shadow for a few seconds then he saw a pink pony walking through the darkness. Broken candy canes stuck out of her bald pink head. Cold blue eyes looked back at Puzzle. She walked up to him. "You have opened the box and now we will have FUN," The strange mare said with a mix of malice and glee. There was too much hunger in that statement. "W-w-who are you?" Puzzle asked with fear. "Oh, did I not introduce myself? You can call me Canehead. We shall explore Fun together," Canehead said with a giggle. The chains jerked. It hurt so bad, Puzzle almost passed out. Then they relaxed and started to lower him to the floor. They stopped when he was just above Canehead. He could smell her scent. It was a mix of frisky mare and candy with vile things mixed in. Some of the scents were attractive. Puzzle could feel himself getting aroused again. Canehead touched him with her left fore hoof. Puzzle was almost ready to explode again. The chains lowered Puzzle so his face was inches away from Canehead's. She grinned and it was like being hit with a bat of crazy. Puzzle's mind was under an onslaught of images involving ponies, candy, torture and pleasure. Ponies having their intestines turned to strawberry flavored ropes. Eyes dunked in boiling hot dark chocolate and given back to their owners to sear their heads. Other ponies being dissected by sharp shards of peppermint. It was too much, he screamed. Puzzle found himself standing in front of Canehead. The chains were gone. He did not remember how he got on his hooves. "Are you ready to come with me? We have all eternity to explore Fun together," Canehead said with such grim happiness. "No, no, no!" Puzzle screamed. "They all say that but after a while they start having Fun," Canehead said with glee. "Can we work something out?" Puzzle asked, desperation filled his voice. "Why? I want you," Canehead said with a lecherous smile and wink. That look added more fuel to Puzzle's fear. "H-h-how about I find you ponies that are willing to play with you?" Puzzle offered with a desperate note in his voice. Canehead thought for a second. "If you find me ponies to play with, I will not take you," Canehead said with a grin. "Lets seal this with a kiss!" Canehead said with enthusiasm. She jammed her face into Puzzle's and forced her tongue through his teeth. It was horrible, there was the taste of rotting candy and other disgusting things being thrust into his mouth. Some of it excited Puzzle to the point of him exploding into orgasms again. Behind the orgasms, he knew he was damned forever.
Chapter 2Funraiser Chapter 2 Puzzle awoke in a sticky odorous mess of crap, blood and semen. He was going to need a cleanup. The strange puzzle box sat on a table. Puzzle wondered where the crap came from. He figured that he took a dump when the chains first tore into his legs. A quick glance out the window showed it was midday. Thank goodness, his job allowed for him to have a lax schedule. Puzzle did not feel like going to work today. He needed a shower and then the house would get cleaned up. Puzzle shuffled off to the bathroom. Hours later, the room was so clean, you could not tell what had happened. Puzzle felt bad about the pictures, he would have to buy new frames. The wall that had turned into a doorway just looked like a wall now. No cracks marred its smooth white surface. While Puzzle cleaned up the living room, he had two major thoughts. The design of the puzzle box enthralled him. He had to get to work and draw up some specs for new puzzles. The other thought was how to get Canehead off of his back. Those images she showed him were probably just the tip of the iceberg. Worse torments probably awaited him, he could not refuse and let her take him away. The idea of giving her another pony to torture was not pleasant either. He was no monster. Puzzle decided to go back to the store to see if the storekeep knew something. Two hours later, he could not find the store or that side street. How could he have made such a mistake when the gallop home was engraved on his mind? What if he went back and Canehead is waiting for him? Some of that almost excited him. For a few seconds, his fear of Canehead fought against his lust. Eventually fear won. Puzzle did not want to go home, he did not trust himself. Maybe he would just jump on Canehead and have all eternity to regret. It seemed like a good idea to him to go to a bar to think about what to do next. Half drunk, Puzzle brought home Summer Sky, a pretty yellow pegasus mare with entrancing eyes. She shook her mane sexily and posed in front of him. Yeah, Puzzle was going to party soon because he could smell her readiness. “Summer Sky, are you ready to party?” Puzzle asked. A smile and a wink was his answer. She sauntered up to Puzzle and then her eyes fell on the box. “Puzzy, whats this?” The curious mare asked. “Um, its a prototype for a game-” Puzzle’s explanation was interrupted by a big yawn. Summer’s entranced face was reflected in the shiny puzzlebox as Puzzle slowly dozed off. Puzzle almost woke up when he heard the ecstatic scream. It sounded familiar. Morning arrived and Puzzle was lying in a pool of semen and some blood. He felt drained but the feeling of Deja Vu again was annoying. Was that my blood or somepony else’s, Puzzle wondered. He sniffed the disgusted mess, yep it was his. Over the years he had been in small accidents and the blood had the same smell. If this was somepony else’s blood, Puzzle did not have a clue what he should do. Puzzle wondered what happened last night. He remembered taking a pony home, but maybe that had been a dream. After thinking about it more, Puzzle checked out his empty apartment. No mare could be found. He sighed, time to clean up, again. After Puzzle cleaned up, he took the puzzlebox to work with him. Puzzle's Office He was in the zone! Finally, he had been able to sketch out some designs. Also he was able to come up with some good ideas on necessary mechanical parts. The builders would have no problem making prototypes. Maybe instead of metal, they could use fancy woods. Mahogany and polished pine would be good suggestions. Puzzle was putting the finishing touches on a spec sheet when Punchcard came in. Puzzle could feel the positive energy of his day drain away like whiskey from a broken bottle. Punchcard was a dark gray earth pony with a shiny black mane and tail. The word around the office was that she was a pain in the plot. Her orange eyes narrowed. Puzzle braced for what was coming next. The head of ER, Equine Resources was probably going to say something that Puzzle would not like. He did notice her orange eyes on the puzzle box though. "You know Solver, you need to familiarize yourself with the proper procedures on employee time scheduling. You do know that Curio is having money problems and one less unicorn would not be missed. You designers think you are above company procedures. This is my last warning. Comply with our schedule or face the consequences," Punchcard threatened in a soft voice. She turned around, swished her tail and left. Puzzle thought a bit, he felt betrayed. Gearbox, his boss and friend, never really bothered him about his work schedule. Most of the time Puzzle worked ten hour days or more, so a few days off or half days were OK. Well, according to Punchcard, not so much anymore. He left his office to go see Gearbox. Gearbox was an earth pony who had been with the company for ten years. He had warm brown eyes and a brown tail and mane. Curio’s recent problems were adding some gray to his tail and mane. "This time ER is cracking down, we have to hoof the line like everyone else now," the portly, beige pony said with regret. "Can't you do something to rein her in?" Puzzle asked with anger. "Things are bad at Curio. The economy has forced a lot of ponies to cut back on spending on Hearth Warming Day presents. Our toys are luxury items. I have tried to shield the designers from the harsh realities, but now I can't do that anymore," Gearbox's ears and tail drooped. "I have some ideas on how to make new mechanical puzzles," Puzzle said with enthusiasm. Gearbox perked up. This was his passion and something more interesting than worrying about the future of the company. The talk was cut short when a secretary called and said a police detective was in Puzzle's office waiting for him. "Puzzle, be careful," Gearbox warned. Why are the police here for Puzzle, he wondered. Designers were a strange lot and sometimes the cops came by. So far it was just for petty stuff like public drunkeness or bar fighting. Gearbox knew Puzzle for at least five years and figured it was something minor. Puzzle rushed out and missed Gearbox's heartfelt warning. A green coated, red maned and tailed pegasus stallion with red eyes walked up to Puzzle to shake hooves. "My name is Finder. I work for the Manehattan Missing Ponies division," Finder said professionally. Puzzle just stood and looked. He had no idea what was going on. Why was a cop in his office? Finder pulled out a picture of a familiar looking pegasus mare from his saddlebags. "Have you seen this mare recently?" Finder questioned with a neutral voice. "I took her home, we had a good time, she left," Puzzle replied. "Really?" Finder asked with curiosity. "What?" Puzzle asked. "Did you see her leave? Did you call her home?" Finder asked. "No. I was sleeping," Puzzle replied. He was trying to keep the anger out of his voice. Puzzle did not like what the cop was trying to insinuate. "Let me be straight with you Mr. Solver. Summer Sky is missing. She did not return to her home. You are the last one to see her," Finder said, his voice going up a bit in volume. Puzzle was surprised. If she was lying around his apartment, he would know. He just kept thinking, trying to make sense of the situation. "Hello? Hello? Mr Solver?" Finder said loudly to get Puzzle's attention. "Yes?" Puzzle replied. "I would like to have your permission to search your apartment," Finder asked gently. "Um, OK," Puzzle replied. He was in a bit of a daze as he followed the cop to his apartment. ________________________ Puzzle's Apartment The cops and the forensic techs went through his apartment while Puzzle sat in a neighborhood bar with a cop. Before Puzzle left, he gave a sample of blood. Finder could smell Summer Sky's scent in the apartment, she was here. Before he went to Puzzle's apartment, he checked out her apartment to get her scent. One of the forensic tech unicorns cast a blood finding spell. The blood drops glowed with a bluish tint. Finder felt like he got his murderous pony. "Sorry sir, this blood matches the occupant," The tech declared as the red glow faded from his horn. Finder was angry. He knew at a gut level that Puzzlesolver was responsible. Finder focused and pushed his anger back. What evidence did he have of any wrong doing? None so far. He took a few more deep breaths to calm himself. Finder took a bit of time to think this through. There were cases in which the last pony to see the missing alive was not the guilty party. Then again his hunches were rarely wrong. Finder decided that he had to take his time and look at this situation from another angle. Finally, Puzzle was allowed back into his apartment. Finder shook his hoof and apologized for the inconvenience. Then he left while still thinking how Puzzle was connected to the missing mare. Puzzle took the puzzle box out of his bag and carried it into his room. He called for a delivery of garlic shiitake mushrooms and lemongrass fried rice. After he ate, it was back to work on more designs. About halfway through, he started to yawn. It was getting hard to concentrate. Time for bed. Sometime during the night, he felt something rubbing him. Wow, it was going to be one of those dreams! He closed his eyes and gave in to the sensations. Now he was being sucked. It felt good but there were these stinging pains. They were not intense enough to interfere with the pleasure. Somehow, they made the slow climb to climax even better. He must have shot gallons into the mouth of the mare. Wait! Was it a mare? How did she get into his room? The burst of fear grew worse, it overwhelmed his afterglow. Puzzle turned on the light. No. He was not dreaming! Summer Sky's mutilated head was above his crotch. Her face had been changed to resemble a mare's marehood. Shiny pointed teeth glinted from inside the hole. Some blood and semen dripped off of her "face" onto his bedsheets. Puzzle screamed. Summer Sky or whatever was that thing was faded away. He thought he heard a familiar giggle. The rest of the night Puzzle could not sleep. When Monday came, Puzzle was happy to get to work. He still wondered what he was going to do about Canehead. After what happened Friday night he definitely did not want to be carried away, but giving a pony to that fiend still felt wrong. Maybe he could talk to someone at the Manehattan Mage Guild. Maybe he had a chance? Curio Puzzle’s Office Two hours into his day, the secretary called him and said he had to go to Gearbox's office. Dread crawled in his stomach. Seeing Gearbox's drooping ears and tail did not make Puzzle feel any better. "Sit down Puzzle, we have to talk," Gearbox said gloomily. Puzzle sat in a chair in front of Gearbox's desk. "I did not know that Curio was doing this bad. The rumors flying around the office were just a pale shadow of the truth. Even if your designs made this year one of the best, the company may not last beyond March. Woodshaper, the President of the company said that Curio owned a lot of money and could not even pay the interest on the loans. Even if they could pay the interest, the loans still need to be dealt with," Gearbox stopped and looked at Puzzle sadly. The news that Curio was so close to closing hit Puzzle hard. This was his dream job. "Maybe there are companies that would buy Curio? Hoofmacher & Schlepper or maybe Horsebro?" Puzzle guessed. "Hoofmacher is not too much bigger than Curio and they will not want all of that debt. Horsebro might be interested. It would complement their toy division. My Little Human has been selling well. They have enough money to cover our debt but Horsebro is a large company and it will take them too long to decide to buy us. If they want us," Gearbox sighed. "To reduce costs Curio will have to layoff ponies. I had hoped that when I retire, you would be sitting in this seat but it is not going to happen. Puzzle, I am really sorry but we have to let you go. Your tenure here will be over by Wednesday of next week. I had to twist Punchcard's leg to get you the extra days. I figure that the builders will need your help in making the prototypes. I am again so sorry," Gearbox finished and sighed. Puzzlebox felt like his whole world fell in on him. Goodbye dream job. Goodbye designing cool things. Seeing his ideas come alive in wood and or metal. A lot of other places would not let some kid come in off the street and go straight to design. Most of them had to be builders for years before moving up, if at all. "So Punchcard put my name on the list to be fired?" Puzzle queried in a cold quiet voice. Gearbox shook his head slowly. "Don't go that way. This industry is a small world. Stories get around. Just like you arrived here a class act, you should leave a class act," Gearbox said with a warning tone. "Tell me Gearbox, is Punchcard responsible for my name being on the list?" Puzzle pushed. "For some reason Punchcard has had a bad stink in her muzzle about you. I have seen her treat ponies that have done worst treated better than you. I do not understand her hatred of you. Please promise that you will do nothing to her," Gearbox pleaded. "I will do nothing to her, I promise," Puzzle said in a flippant tone of voice. Inside, he was seething with anger. Puzzle shook hooves with Gearbox and went back to his office to finish up his work. Visions of hurting Punchcard marched through Puzzle's head. He resented her interference in his career. Puzzle wished he had just a few more months at Curio. His eyes fell on the puzzle box. One side of his mind thought it would be too cruel, but the other side wanted to punish her. Puzzle raged at why that pony should be allowed to ruin his dream job. Almost without thinking, Puzzle put the puzzle box in a bag and went to Punchcard's office in ER. Nopony noticed when he put the puzzle box on her desk. Puzzle went back to his office to go over his specs for the builders. The rest of the week and weekend flew by, Puzzle focused on making sure the first prototypes would work. They did flawlessly. Now it was up to the builders to work on the final products to be sold. Puzzle helped out with that also. Monday came around and Puzzle was starting to clean out his office. He decided to not come in on his last day. There was a rumor that Punchcard who almost never missed a day of work was missing a lot of days now. It was so not like her to be late or not come in without notifying anyone. Puzzle gave neutral answers when other ponies asked him about Punchcard. Inside, he was happy that nag got what she deserved. Puzzle thought he would feel more guilty but he did not. He decided that tonight he would hit the bars and maybe bring home a mare. Since the puzzle box was gone, she would be able to concentrate on Puzzle. He also thought about the cops but had no clue why they visited him. Puzzle hoped that he would not see any more cops. ___________________________ Manehattan Missing Ponies Office Finder looked at the report. A mare was missing at Curio. Damn, that Puzzlesolver is up to his antics again, he thought. It was too much of a coincidence. He left the office to ask questions around Curio about the missing mare. Everypony at the office knew that Punchcard did not like Puzzlesolver. It was part of the hidden resentment some ponies had for designers. Finder found out that Punchcard was responsible for Puzzle's termination. That was enough motive but it was not enough for Finder to arrest Puzzle. The ponies shadowing Puzzle reported that the areas that Puzzle frequented did not overlap with the missing mare's haunts. Yeah, that is a good word, he thought. Finder did not want to fail those who needed his help. It was possible that somepony else was responsible for Punchcard going missing. Finder was quite sure it was Puzzlesolver. He headed over to ER. _________________________________________________________________ Curio ER Offices "Are you sure you did not see anything strange?" Finder asked Whiteout, the secretary for ER. The cute red eyed earth pony glanced to the side for a second. "Yeah, now I remember. Someone gave Punchcard a cool gold and black puzzle box. She was so surprised someone would give her a gift," Whiteout replied with a flirty smile. Finder was more interested in solving the case but maybe afterward he could hook up with her.. Gold and black puzzle box. He knew where he had seen one of those. Puzzlesolver's desk! Now he had to get a mage to come with him and study the box. Maybe Summer Sky encountered the same box. Finder wanted to celebrate but he kept his cool. He hurriedly left Curio offices to go back to police headquarters to find a mage. Puzzlesolver is going down!
Chapter 3Funraiser Chapter 3 Puzzlesolver's Apartment He spent an half hour in a bar and came home with a cute unicorn with a beige coat, red hair and red mane, this was going to be a great evening. Her bright brown eyes danced with possibilities. She was interested in him and not his cursed missing box. Puzzle was coming back from the kitchen with drinks and snacks when he heard a familiar set of chimes. Punchcard had the box last, he wondered how it got to his apartment. The surprised unicorn screamed, "No! No! No!" He used his telekinesis to open the door. Puzzle got a quick view of his guest being yanked away by chains before the door slammed shut in his face. He was so surprised by the quick glimpse of what was going on, Puzzle lost control of the spell making the snacks and drinks float. The items tumbled to the floor without him noticing. The door would not budge even when he used his telekinesis. "Canehead! Let her go!" Puzzle screamed at the closed door. A feeling of foreboding filled him. The door cracked open, inviting him to enter the quiet apartment. He cautiously opened the door more and looked. The puzzle box lay on the floor in the empty room. Where was that pony that was in here? Puzzle wondered. Other than glasses with lipstick on them and chewed snacks and her scent, that was it. "Canehead! You bucked up mare! Give her back!" Puzzle demanded. "Why?" Canehead replied with a hint of annoyance in her voice. Puzzle turned to his left and faced Canehead, he was frightened that Canehead could just appear next to him with no warning. "Because, she is not for you!" Puzzle said with anger. Even though Puzzle was angry, there was a lot of fear behind the bravado. He did not want to make Canehead change her mind about the arrangement. "Well, she opened the box, she gets the prize of FUN!" Canehead said in a matter of fact voice. "No, I can't let you take her!" Puzzle said with more anger. He stepped up to Canehead ready to do battle. His ears were lying back on his head. Canehead grinned. She smiled so widely, Puzzle could hear the skin tear like wet paper at the sides of her mouth. A pink stinking cloud of cotton candy covered Canehead. Puzzle stepped back. He had no intention of having any of that nasty smelling stuff on his coat. He stepped back some more until his plot hit the couch. "Behold me in my true glory!" Canehead whispered when the cotton candy faded away. "Oh damn!" Puzzle said with fear when he saw Canehead's real form. Her chest and long legs were covered with red and white peppermint armor. Blood leaked around the edges as though the armor was cutting into her pink flesh. A horn with a red peppermint strip jutted out of her forehead. The tip was cut off, red liquid oozed down the horn onto Canehead's forehead. Just like a princess, she had wings but instead of feathers, it was flaps of bloody muscle and flesh. Even though Canehead was bald except for the broken candy canes sticking out of her skull, she had a mane and tail of red cotton candy. The pony abomination stomped her left fore hoof twice on the floor sending echoes that slashed through Puzzle. The walls of the room fell flat like a box and the ceiling flew away. Puzzle found himself standing on soft yielding ground. It smelled like chocolate cake mixed with the remains of dead ponies and their fears. He looked up at the sky. It was a dark blue color lit by an orange glowing jawbreaker. The color felt diseased. Puzzle looked down at the ground, he had seen enough. He racked his memory for the name of the unicorn he took home. Finally he found it, Sweetmist. "I want to see Sweetmist alive and well!" Puzzle said with lots of bravado. Sweetmist appeared in front of Puzzle, she kept her eyes closed while she whimpered on the spongy ground. "What will you give me for this favor?" Canehead asked. "I will give myself to you," Puzzle said with some determination. Maybe I can talk my way out of this, he desperately thought. Canehead laughed. It was full of malice and hunger and something else. "You can't give away what you already have lost! You are not a good pony anymore. That's OK, I looove bad ponies! You will be one of the worst!" Canehead said with a hungry smile. That made Puzzle quail. It was like looking at an oncoming cart right before it hits and crushes bone. "W-w-why?" Puzzle asked with overwhelming fear. "Summer Sky was not your fault. You had no clue, but when you gave Punchcard the box, it was planned. You knew what could happen, but you did it anyway. Don't be afraid, you are a natural," Canehead purred with glee. "Also all of those designs you were making? They will allow more ponies to join me and my friends for more FUN. Yes, when the toys are made, they will be irresistible! Come to me my Consort. You have rendered me such a service that you deserve a very special treat!" Canehead urged. "Send Sweetmist back to her home," Puzzle demanded. Inside, Puzzle could feel his courage fading fast. His fate was sealed but Sweetmist did not deserve this. He decided to leave like a class act. "Why?" Canehead queried while looking at Puzzle. Crazy was beamed at him by two bright blue eyes, somehow he still smelled her desire. "Because, it would make a fine gift for your new Consort," Puzzle suggested while looking for a way out. Puzzle's hope that he could get away from Canehead was fading fast. "Fine," Canehead said blandly. Sweetmist faded away. Puzzle took a few steps toward Canehead. Now, he could see Summer Sky. She was drooling. A familiar pony appeared next to Summer Sky. Punchcard looked the same until she pointed her head at the sky and spouted a mix of dark chocolate and manure from her mouth and plot. Puzzle took some more steps until his nerve broke. He turned and ran the other way. "Yay! He wants to Play!" Canehead screamed with glee. She loped after him with her long legs. Punchcard and Summer Sky followed behind her. Outside Puzzle's Apartment Finder fumed at the delays but at least now he had mage support to take Puzzlesolver in for questioning. Two unicorns, a gray one and a blue one followed him down the hall. He was at the door when he heard Puzzle screaming in fear and pain. Finder wanted to buck the door down but the blue unicorn mage stopped him. "No! We can't handle what's on the other side of that door," The mage said fearfully, his eyes locked on the door as though something nasty was going to bust through. The gray unicorn's eyes darted all over the place in panic. The gray unicorn mage cast a paralysis spell on Finder. They waited while Finder struggled against the spell until the screams receded. When the spell faded after a few minutes, Finder gave both mages a nasty look then he bucked the door down. Finder could smell Puzzlesolver, Punchcard and Summer Sky's scents but he could not find any of them in the empty apartment. There was also the sickening scent of rotten candy but Finder ignored that. One thing that caught Finder's eye was the puzzle box. "Sorry, we will take that," The gray unicorn mage stated. He used his telekinesis to grab the box but the puzzle box faded away before he could put it in a containment device. "Did you get it?" the blue mage asked with fear. "No, it got sent elsewhere," The gray mage replied. "If you guys don't have it, who has it now?" Finder asked with anger. Finder's question was met with apologetic shrugs from the two unicorn mages. The unicorn mages looked at each other with fear filled eyes. Finder looked at them. This is going to be one hell of a report, Finder thought. Somewhere in Saddle Arabia An elderly pegasus stallion looked up as a gold and black puzzle box appeared in an empty display case. The pony's eyes flashed a bright blue. He grinned very widely.
