Funraiser

Funraiser

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.