Monster Trackers

Episode 1

Chapter 3

“Maybe he’s not home,” says Bam.

“No, I could’ve sworn I heard someone in there. Try ringing the doorbell again,” says Spades as he tries to peer through the window. Bam presses the button for the doorbell, and within a matter of seconds, a voice from inside responds.

“I heard ya the first time! Just give me a minute will ya!” A raspy, older voice yells.

“Well, at least we know he’s home,” says Bam.

“And will ya git away from my window!” The voice commands. Frightened, Spades quickly leaves the window to stand with Bam at the doorstep.

“Alright, do you remember the plan?” Spades asks.

“I sure do!” says Bam. The tumblers of locks turn and click, and the tall door opens just a crack to see a sliver of an elderly stallion watching them with tired eyes.

“Hello sir!” Spades happily greets. “We don’t mean to bother you, but—”

“It’s already too late fer that.” The elderly stallion interrupts.

“Oh, yes, of course. I’m truly sorry about that, but we—”

“You were the feller peepin’ through my window.”

“. . . Yes, I’m uh . . . very sorry about that. I just wanted to make sure you were home and—”

“Alright, what’s all this about? You show up to my house, peekin’ through the windows, you’ve got these big bags. . . What? You kids can’t find the gym?”

“Oh, no sir. Allow me to introduce ourselves, I’m Doctor Spades, and this is Professor Boozle.”

“Hello!” Bam gleefully greets with a big smile.

“Doctor? Professor. . ? You tryin’ to kick me out! You think yer just gonna waltz over and take me away?!”

“W-What? No, I—”

“Well, let’s git one thing straight!” The stallion interrupts Spades once again, this time yelling at the top of his voice. “I ain’t leavin’! I’m never leavin’! No matter how many times you try to take me away! I ain’t leavin’!”

“Sir! Please, calm down!”

“Don’t you be tellin’ me to calm down boy! Now you got exactly five seconds to tell me what you want before I rip you apart!”

“W-Wha-I-I-We just—”

“We read your article in the newspaper about the creature!” Bam breaks in.

“. . . You what now?” The stallion asks.

“We read about your story, how you’re being stalked by a winged creature around your house—”

“Shh!” The stallion sticks his head out from the doorway, glancing to the left and right of his front yard. “Alright, come on inside! Quickly!” The stallion opens the door completely, and stands to the side as Bam and Spades walk inside. Spades still nervously distraught from the earlier confrontation, takes his time following behind Bam. “Sorry for my outburst back there, I didn’t expect you guys to show up today.”

“Oh, that’s okay.”

“I really should be thanking you for taking the time to help me. I’m sure you two got more important things to handle down in Ponyville than up here.”

“Umm, yeah! Ponyville, it’s . . . it’s a crazy place isn’t it Spades?”

“Oh, yeah it’s just pure insanity down there. But, we’re always happy to help,” says Spades.

“Great! My name is Haystack, it’s a pleasure to finally meet you Professor Boozle, Doctor Spuds.”

“Nice to meet you too!” Says Bam.

“Umm, it’s ‘Spades’, Mister Haystack.” Spades adds.

“Ah, right. Again, forgive me for earlier, I hope I didn’t frighten ya.”

“Oh, no it’s . . . it’s quite alright,” he says, nervously.

“Well, let me give you two a tour of my home, and we can discuss the matter at hoof.” Mister Haystack leads them down the hall, and they are given a good look at how high class the interior of his home is. From the white, tiled floors to the framed paintings hanging from the walls, it’s clear that this stallion has made quite a living for himself.

“Wow, your home is beautiful Mister Haystack! It feels so much larger on the inside,” says Bam.

“Thank you Professor, I run a Hay business here in Hoofington.”

“Cool!”

“So, just what ‘are’ you two anyway? It wasn’t made very clear in the letter.”

“We are a team specialized in the study of otherworldly phenomena and the capture and containment of any such ethereal, demonic, or fiendish lifeforms and organisms that belong to this world or perhaps another.” Both Mister Haystack and Spades stare at Bam, stunned by the mouthful of words she had just launched at them.

“In layman’s terms, we’re Monster Trackers,” says Spades.

“Monster Trackers eh? Well, that’s great! I didn’t know there was a group of specialists for this kind of thing,” says Mister Haystack.

“Well, it’s a good thing those ponies in Ponyville sent us, as I assure you we’ll be able to take care of whatever it is that’s been stalking your home.”

“That is great news! So, where should I start?”

“Would you be able to describe the creature to us, we’d like to know exactly what it is we’re dealing with here.”

“Well, I’d say it’s about half our size, and . . . from a distance it looked like some kind of huge owl.”

“I see, so the reporter’s weren’t too convinced this was something out of the ordinary.”

“I suppose, but there were so many things I never told them.”

“What? But why?” Bam asks.

“I was afraid that, if I told them exactly what I saw, everypony would definitely just dismiss every word that came out of my mouth. They already consider me the ‘crazy, old town lunatic’.”

“Well, there’s no worries with us,” says Spades. “We’re not here to make judgements on you. Go on, tell us exactly what you saw.”

“Well, one night, I woke up to a strange sound out in the woods. It sounded like a cicada almost, just . . . deeper. When I looked out my window, I saw these two giant, red eyes shining through the trees. I went to go light a candle just so I could have some light in the room, but before I knew it, the eyes were gone. What that news article won’t tell you, is that when I laid back down to try and force myself to go to sleep, I turned over back towards the window to see the creature glaring at me from the window. I-I don’t know how it perched itself there, there’s no tree branches or windowsill for it to sit.”

“Interesting. . .”

“Keep going! This is astounding!” Says Bam.

“I kept the candle lit to try and help me calm down, and it helped me get a real good look at this thing. It definitely had the shape of an owl, yes, and even feathers like one; but its eyes, they took up such huge portions of its head. And I could’ve sworn its eyes were those just like a fly. Then its . . . ‘beak’ I guess you could call it, looked just like a couple of pincers from a giant beetle er somethin’. After I got a good look at it, I jumped out of bed to leave the room. As soon as my hooves hit the floor, it spread out its huge, bat-like wings, and took off. After that, I never slept in that bedroom again, or near a window for that matter.”

“Incredible! Some sort of bird slash insect hybrid!”

“Hybrid? Or perhaps a natural-born amalgamation?” Spades adds.

“Oh please, I find it highly improbable that an insect could conceive anything with an avian mammal.”

“I’m not saying that has to be the case, but I do believe that there just might be some truth to that news article. This could very well be an undiscovered species that’s been in hiding for who knows how long.”

“True, but we can’t rule out the ‘ethereal’ possibility. He did say he saw this creature near his window without some sort of platform to perch itself on.”

“Hmm . . . Mister Haystack, did you ever get a look at the ‘feet’ of this creature?”

“Umm, I . . . no, I don’t think I have,” says Mister Haystack.

“I have a theory, perhaps since this creature bears many aspects of that of an insect, it could very well possess feet similar to an insect as well. Insects can scale walls effortlessly due to their jagged legs which are covered in microscopic hairs that allow them to cling to any surface.”

“That could be true! So, if this thing is indeed ‘natural’, then when there’s one, there could be a whole flock of these things. Maybe even an entire colony!”

“Judging by the bat-like wings, and how we’re unsure of how that aspect of this being comes into play, perhaps we can assume that it is a cave dweller. With the amount of land this forest covers, there is bound to be plenty of caves that could house a colony.”

“Have you ever had an experience with two or more of these creatures, Mister Haystack?”

“Well, I-I uh. . . No, I only think there’s only been the one,” says Mister Haystack.

“Ah! A lone wolf!”

“Or, the last of its kind.” Spades adds.

“From what I can gather, I think this creature falls into the ‘physical’ category. Wouldn’t you say, Doctor?”

“I do believe I agree with you Professor, this is definitely a 'physical' case. What do you think Mister Haystack? Sound like a decent starting point?” Both Bam and Spades turn to Mister Haystack, who appears to be lost in the jargon that they had been spewing.

“Wow,” says Mister Haystack mystified. “You two sure do know your stuff huh?”

“Like we said, Mister Haystack, we’re specialists. Now, would you be so kind as to guide us to the bedroom where you had your first encounter with the creature?”

“Oh, yes! Yes, of course! Just follow me.” Mister Haystack continues down the hall as Bam and Spades turn to each other, and proudly bump their hooves together. Haystack guides them into a warm, stuffy, dusty room. A simple bedroom where the bed sheets are hanging sloppily over the bedside, and a completely melted candle is spread all over the little nightstand. There is only one window, and for all three of them, they can feel an odd chill just by looking at it. Spades looks to his side, and sees Mister Haystack cowering behind the door as he holds it open.

“. . . Why don’t I go first?” Spades offers.

“P-Please, be my guest.” Spades walks into the room, examining every inch. Bam follows behind, and the both of them set their gym bags of gear onto the floor disturbing a thick layer of dust.

“This is the window?” Spades asks as he steps towards the clouded window.

“Y-Yes . . . yes, that’s it.” Mister Haystack confusedly answers. Spades wipes away the thick coating of dust and grime off the window with his hoof. He peers through the glass to see the large stretch of seemingly endless trees.

“Professor? Would you mind gathering the dimensions of this window?”

“I’m on it!” Says Bam as she immediately unzips her bag and pulls out a notepad and measuring tape. Hurrying to the window, she begins taking measurements and jotting down numbers on her notepad.

“Mister Haystack, you wouldn’t happen to have a tool shed would you?”

“I do, it’s full of tools and junk I never use. Why do you ask?”

“Would you mind if we used it for a while?”

“Oh, not at all. Go right ahead.”

“Perfect. We’re also going to need to borrow ‘you’ Mister Haystack if this plan is going to work.”

“Well . . . sure. I don’t know what you’d need ‘me’ for, but what did you have in mind?”

“I need you to sleep here tonight.”

“What?!”

“Don’t worry, you’ll be perfectly safe. You can trust us.”

“. . . Alright, if it means putting an end to this nightmare, I’ll do it.”

“Excellent! Oh, and also, we’re going to need this window open the whole time as well.”

“Wha-B-But I-I—” Mister Haystack stutters in fear.

“Great! I knew you could handle it! Now if you’ll please excuse us, Professor Boozle and I have a lot of work to get to.” Spades returns to Bam, and they immediately begin talking amongst themselves, and retrieving more things from their bags.