Pinkamena

by Doood

Rating: teen
Tags: Princess Luna, Drama, Gore, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Dark, Other, Thriller, Mystery, Adventure, Princess Celestia
Length: 6184

A town is slowly dying, being taken apart by parasites from within. A ragtag team is sent to put a stop to it...

The long of it, is that this may have been a mistake. Maybe I shouldn't have taken the offer. Maybe I would still be sane enough to retell this story in its absolute grandeur.

I took the offer, because it was my job. It's what I signed up to do. If it would protect those of whom I cared about, then you can be damn sure I would try my hardest...

Even if it killed me.

O.o.O.o.O

Based off of the mobile game, Slaughter Horse and Town Of Salem

Published 2017-11-26 08:10:12 UTC
Last updated 2017-12-04 07:03:23 UTC

Not in Kansas anymore

Journal Entry: Log #1

August 8, Xxxx

2:01 p.m…

My name is Hector Silvermane, Captain of the Royal Guard - under the rule of Princess Celestia, and Princess Luna for the Kingdom of Equestria. I am concurring these entries just in case I do not make it back alive; because in light of recent events, and during family dinner, one of our Lieutenants for the Guard had stopped by my house to break me some news.

I regret to write, that they are sending me away to a small town up in the mountains near Ponyville. Said town, has had reports of Changeling activities. These activities correlate with the loss of four ponies, one Griffon, and a filly no older than three. Given my record of justice in some small villages outside of Equestria, Celestia had given me the message saying that I was going to make way for this town, and make sure that these reports cease.

Eliminate any threats I find.

And in my travels, I have learned that Changelings, rather than any other beings, are slippery creatures. It goes to show, that even I have met a few that I couldn't kill. Those being the Queens and Changeling Consorts. Very slippery indeed…

But because of how urgent this message was, I had to move past that. The small town that I was to visit, was closer to Ponyville than any of us wanted to like, and I had to take this mission, lest I wished the bugs to push onward to Canterlot.

It has happened once, and that's all we needed to see the real threat the creatures posed as.

So I had to put this on my wife, and two children. They didn't want me to go of course. But I told them that I was doing this for the betterment of pony kind - and they realized that it was my duty. It took a lot of my will not to leave them behind, but I steeled my mind for this.

Under a depressing circumstance, I left the next morn’. It was a surreal moment, watching them as I moved headlong into the carriage. However in my heart, I knew that I would come back to them, one way, or another.

With me, for the mission, I would bring my trusty Veteran, Sunshine Pudding. Along with her, I had three other recruits, and two drivers of our coach who were to stay with me at all times. Sunshine was none too happy about coming along, because she and I had a very long history of being together.

But, she was the best shot in our ranks, and damn it if I couldn't bring her along.

-:-:-:-:-:-

“So, what are we looking at Hector?”

Between me and Sunshine, we refrain from using our last names. She calls me Hector, or Silver, and I call her Sun. She had a little quip about if somepony used her last name. It usually ended with a new breathing hole if you weren't on her nice list.

I responded with a sigh as I looked over the information Celestia had given us, “Do you want the good news, or bad news?”

Sunshine shrugged, “Let's get the bad news first.”

My brows furrowed, “Well, based on what I'm seeing, we are heading into Changeling territory.”

There were gasps, and several shocked glances as the news spread around the carriage. One of the recruits spoke up,

“Sir, you mean… those things that attacked Canterlot?”

I nodded, “Correct.”

“What’s the good news?”

I gave a grin, “It’s nothing we can't handle.”

Another recruit chuckled sarcastically, “Oh that’s swell! Knew I should've signed my death warrant!”

His pale ivory eyes casted accusation towards his superiors, “Princess Celestia is sending us, four guards, a captain, and two carriage jockeys… To take on a goddamn hive?! Why can't she do it herself?”

“Yeah, yeah! Why can't she do it!”

“Guys…”

I shook the paper that had the regal writing of our princess, “That’s enough!”

Not only did it silence them, but it put an awkward mood around the small space. So I continued undeterred,

“Princess Celestia has all the reason sending us, her most trusted, to take on some bugs, private. If there were any other way, I do believe she wouldn’t just rip us away from our lives. Did you read the fine print before you accepted the program?”

The one who had spoken out of line grumbled, “No sir. I skimmed through it, and look where that got me.”

Shaking my head, I continued, “So in case you made that mistake, here are some facts.” I pointed out firstly, “Fact. We are about to walk in on some very dangerous elements. Changelings don't just attack ponies without having orders. And the evidence that the news has reached us this late means that they have been able to hunker down in this town. So,”

I leaned back and eyed each of the ponies in the small box, “They can pose as anybody, and will act as them theresuch. Which makes our jobs extremely difficult. When we do reach the section, I want you to follow three simple rules. Count them, Three.”

As I named them off one by one, I did simple gestures, “One, You will not talk to anybody. Although you will be allowed to, and I have nothing against it, my advice - Just keep your muzzles SHUT. Anything you say can be used against you. Sunshine Pudding and I will be the ones who do the talking, and you three will make sure we don't die.” Blunt, but true.

I clasped my hooves together, “Second rule, we will have to have a secret code.”

“What is this, a game of Spy, sir?”

I blinked slowly, “If you let me finish, I would tell you that the code is there to make sure we aren't trying to kill each other, via one of us being a changeling ourselves.” Rubbing my chin, I hefted a shrug,

“It… Kinda sounded cooler in my head.”

All recruits looked at one another, “Well it's not that bad…”

“Meh, I like the sound of that.”

“Can the first word be food?”

Sunshine gave them all a glare which shut them up. I began once it was somewhat quiet,

“The codeword will be Toasted-Peaches.”

“Toasted… Peaches?”

I smiled, “It's something my wife cooks every Saturday.”

With a shrug, I said, “If you forget this word, then the premise of any of us knocking you senseless, is your fault, and your fault alone.”

Sunshine added, “So this means, if you are drunk, or in some sort of stupor, you're also subject to a beating. Shouldn't be drinking on the job anyway.”

I nodded, “The third and final rule, is making sure we all come out of this alive. I don't want to go back home with just two or three of us left.”

“So nopony left behind?”

I smiled, “Nopony left behind.”

That set the tone for us as we weaved in between the ridges of this mountainous terrain. I'm not one for commenting on the view, but seeing the tall rocks made me gape in awe. In the distance, I could almost make out the town.

There came raps upon the carriage window. For inspection, I turned and opened up to see one of our drivers with a stern look. His emerald eyes betrayed his true emotions, so I let him speak first,

“Silvermane, Name’s Getty. I'm th’ driver for yer trip up. T’ mute over here,” He said gesturing to the other with one hoof, “He’s Cretin.”

“A pleasure.” I said, nodding in welcome. Minus the accent, being most likely from somewhere in the East, Getty was okay.

Getty started after I stopped, “We are heading into the town sir, I give it thirty minutes ‘fore we hit the ground.”

I nodded, “Right, any other surprise news I should know before that happens?”

Both drivers shared a look as we descended, “Just… One sir.”

I gestured for Getty to continue,

“Celestia wishes t’ inform that a, ‘Pinkamena’ is also in town. It is by some of our wishes, that if ye want, we can turn back. We will continue until ordered otherwise.”

I grunted in acknowledgement, and closed the window. Turning back to the recruits, my brows furrowed.

Pinkamena. Very, very intriguing… I would like to have thought that it was by chance that not only were Changelings within the town, but somebody with that ‘special’ disease…

Just to clarify, I do not refer to the one known as ‘Pinkie Pie’. We use the term Pinkamena as a reference to the disease of insanity. It's a rather cumbersome foe, as most of the time some of us don't know whether to feel bad for the bastard, or hate them.

When we finally do hear about it, the damnable virus has taken a whole town to bare bones. And I mean that literally.

It's almost as bad as that Rainbow Factory we busted a year back. Draining poor ponies of their colors. But we have been trained, thus, we can work around it. Like all diseases, they have at least one weakness. Symptoms of Pinkamena aren’t that hard to spot.

Makes you go crazy, cut of cutie marks, harvest teeth and the like.

Very bad stuff.

This ‘Pinkamena’ and I have crossed paths many times. Those moments being in urban and rural settings. Both were absolutely terrifying. Those who house such an illness, are unpredictable. Like this one mare who tried taking out my teeth using a fork. Her name was Egbert.

Egbert is dead.

Not before she took out three of my Pegasus and used their fur as blankets though. Found their carcasses hanging upside down from meathooks. It was just brutal the way Egbert dispatched them.

It was engaging the way I knocked her out.

The illness is weird, borderline crazy as it is a mental propriety. It only activates when met with certain conditions like for one - so far it only affects mares. What's scary, is that you won't know you have it until to late. So really, almost everyone is on high alert for this thing, and some of our Doctors are trying to figure it out as we speak.

Haven’t had a lot of time though… Like if we try to capture someone with ‘Pinkamena’, they off themselves the first chance they get. And being when we first found out about it when our Elements of Harmony fought with Discord, a God of Chaos, a few months back…

There is absolutely no viable data on how to cure it.

But that wasn't the reason of me being called over here. The main objective is to rid this town of a pest problem. And that is what will happen.

O.o.O.o.O

The town was old, ramshackled even. Clear evidence of it being built to last was quite apparent. In the center of town was a church, the symbol for it being at the top of the bell tower. That was the second thing we saw when we landed onto the gravel. The first, was a sign that read,

“Mount Trequin - Population: 27.”

The sad thing, was the population number had been etched and painted over several times, showing that the town had problems even before we got there. My recruits were restless, all three showed signs of homesickness already.

The youngest one, Lumin Essence, wanted to know what our odds of success were. Looking at the colts face, I could honestly say that for once, I had no idea.

Most of the time, a mission is handed to me with clear signs of being quite manageable. Fending off a dragon, repairing a broken war relationship, infiltrating the Buffalo Encampment - things that are easier than most.

The fact that I have not only Pinkamena to worry about now, but changelings, puts a damper on my efforts for courage. He asked me the question, and I had all but two choices, lie to him and myself, or tell him the truth - letting whatever deity decide our fate.

I opted to tell him the truth then, rather than when we were neck deep in shit. To this day, I will never forget his reaction.

Our hooves took us to the church, where we would meet the mayor, who was luckily still alive. Didn't know if we could trust her though, since she could have been a changeling. But then again, she could've also been Pinkamena.

The paranoia was going to be one huge factor in the days to come, and I hadn't even started the mission.

The mayor was shorter than me, about a hoof or so. Her name was Rose Petal, she remained to me an unknown factor. I took note of her features, blue fur, red mane, green eyes, looked like the town's party pony rather than a mayor.

She greeted me with a hopeful smile.

I did not.

The reason, I would like to think, is that although we looked like newcomers to the town, as soon as we started rooting out the different murderous elements, trouble would come knocking.

“You… you are Celestia’s calvary, yes?” The Mayor asked hopefully.

My response was quick and to the point. I explained that only she would know who we were, and that we were here to resolve the problem. But to do that, I needed something from her.

I would need those of who she trusted. Those of which she had been keeping an eye on. Those select few would be nameless, but act as our inside sources.

I had to trust the mayor. I had to. Although she could have been a changeling, or even Pinkamena, time wasn't on our side. And we had to work fast.

Sun would stay with me at all times, and the recruits would be bait.

Bait…

Like piercing a worm on a barb and watching them squirm. Either it drew fish in, or the worm died.

I hoped it wouldn't come to that.

O.o.O.o.O

Sun and I walked around the town, eyeing every detail, spotting the different points of interest. I had told the mayor to go and fetch her select few. She would be meeting me at the church shortly.

Sun asked me quietly as our hooves crunched the gravel beneath us, “Hector, what do you think.”

I sniffed, seeing several houses boarded up and nailed shut,

“I think this place needs a damn party or something.”

She snorted, “No, idiot, I mean about…” She looked around without moving her head, “Our odds?”

I eyed Sun with a grin, “Slim. But doable. Pinkamena may be able to blend in with the townsponies, but she makes mistakes.”

I gritted my teeth, “She'll slip right into a noose if I have to say anything about it…”

My feelings to the disease are expository. They're filled with trial and tribulation, death and despair. Most importantly, it's costed the lives of several good soldiers.

All for the fascination of what was plastered on our asses…

“What about the Changelings.” Sun asked quickly.

I nodded, “There is a queen in this town. That explains the reason of the Changeling presence… however, she remains dormant. The main thing we worry about right now, is her drones.”

Sun agreed with a grunt, “What if we get lucky and find the Queen?”

“If we catch the Queen, the hierarchy falls apart, and the changelings will flee.”

Sun smiled, “Good.”

I laughed, “You forgotten though, haven't you.”

She eyed me as I continued, “We received this report four weeks late. So simply put, we may have a Forger with us…”

A Forger isn't a pony who blacksmiths. It is a type of Changeling that is very slippery to catch. The reason is because it is able to give false information. It leads us on a wild goosechase in order to cover its own trail.

“It could be that the delivery system was slow?” My Veteran said hopefully.

My gaze slowly flitted over to the middle of the town square, where a crude and hoof-made hanging platform layed. The noose had bits of fur and flesh on it, and the area around the platform was barren, striped of life.

“Hmm…” Came my unrelented response.

Sun sighed, “We need to be careful.”

As we made our way onto the church steps, I looked at a house that had a window open. Inside was a Stallion who, when he saw me, closed the window in fear,

“We need to hurry.”

O.o.O.o.O

The Mayor grabbed seven ponies. Exactly seven. She hid them in the church repentance booths as she told us the various roles.

One would be our reporter, they would go around and check on ponies by sifting through their materials such as waste or trash. Since the Reporter was unnamed, they would have to act anonymous if we sent them to check on their own selves. That rule applied for all of the roles. If it involved them, they would have to report that everything was clear.

Personally, a Reporter would be important, since Pinkamena likes to openly display some of her relics. I found a pony who had the disease because he had kept a pile of teeth in his trash.

The next was nicknamed, Gumshoe. That role was mainly meant to weed out the Changelings. The Gumshoe acts like a Reporter, but gossips. This would work in our favor, since the Queen of any hive can be loose lipped. Case in point, gossip of any kind would surely make its way to the Queen… Loose lips, sink ships.

The next are more simpler roles, one pony acted as the town's doctor and would help us combat any injuries. In fact, it was a good thing the Doctor wasn't dead already. Otherwise we would have been in some even deeper shit.

Another played the role as our Jailer. They would be tasked with containing anyone we placed in the cell. This would confirm if somebody was killing us off or not.

Another strange role we decided to enlist with, was the town's Spellcaster. The mayor said that this pony had been working on several different spells at one time, and had accidentally created one that could kill.

Now, I know magic, being a unicorn myself, but a Changeling Queen and another one of the townsponies would be nullified to that magic. The only ones affected by it, would be Pinkamena and the rest of the town.

Then we had our Party Pony. Mayor said that they were the liveliest and most friendly pony in the town. All of the roles were important, even this one.

Nobody can resist a party.

Then finally, my own design, I said we needed a Watchpony. That's exactly what we got. Their job was simple. Keep an eye on movement and where the different ponies would go.

And those were our seven roles. Apart from me, our recruits and Pudding, we were going to reclaim this town, even if it was the last thing we did.

I just had to have faith in that statement.

O.o.O.o.O

“Alright everyone, listen up.”

The different ponies were sitting in the repentance boxes awaiting my instructions,

“I need each of you to do your jobs, quickly and quietly. In and out.”

I paced from each booth to the next, “I will not lie, as this will be very difficult. Worst case scenario someone dies.”

I stopped and breathed in, “Don't let this stop you. If someone slips up, and you have information that it is who we are looking for, you will let us know.”

I re-paced the booths, “I trust in each of you, that you will do what needs to be done.”

I turned to the mayor and relayed my order for tonight, “Since we've made ourselves known, I need our Gumshoe and Reporter at work. I also will need a copy of everyone who is alive and breathing in this town.”

The Mayor nodded, producing a document with the list of the townsponies,

“I'll see what I can do.”

I hope I was making a correct choice in trusting this mare, otherwise we would all be dead by sunrise…

End of this Entry

Author's Note

Slaughter Horse is actually a pretty good mobile game.

Found it by complete chance and I'm hooked.

The Next Morning...

Journal Entry #2

August 9, Xxxx

9:30a.m…

The night was insufferable, long, and filled with a silence that did not fit the peaceful nature of this glossed over town. It was a type of silence that was instilled through fear. I have never, in my days, seen this kind of fear set upon any species. You could see it in the eyes of everyone who lived here.

It was as if they knew. The entire town knew whose life would end, and which of the living could go on to see another day. As if it were a game of some sorts, trial and error, live or die, it was up to the main antagonists of this story.

Sunshine Pudding made sure she kept her gun loaded. Her dark auburn eyes were keen on silencing any onlookers for our lives. She slept in a separate bed across from me, and she was indeed, the first one to fall into a slumber. You would think that I’d be next. But I wouldn't be. Actively seeking such a refuge, thinking that at any moment, we could be silenced with a show of brute force, scared me.

Most of the night, I sat in bed, fur soaked with a cold sweat. Every noise brought me closer to insanity, and with the insanity, came the minds objective to conceal that which lurked in the darkness. Eventually I was graced with a warmth so inviting, I didn't try to squirm away from it.

My eyes closed for the first night, at the break of dawn.

-:-:-:-:-

Waking up felt odd. There was a heaviness in the air that I couldn't describe as the altitude. Throwing the blanket off, I made my way to the closed curtain. Casting them open, I saw that the sun had already risen, the flaming ball graced to us by our ruler shining brightly. Normally at this point, I would have smiled. But with all that is happening, I made sure to save the smiles when this was over.

I shut the blinds and turned. Everyone who was with me on this expedite was asleep still. Humming to myself thoughtfully, I decided to let them. I'd rather not try to wake any of them considering Sunshine still had her gun out.

So I grabbed my sword and armor, throwing the sword on first before stopping to gaze at the golden chestplate. I decided today would be one of the few that I would not try to look conspicuous. So instead of lugging myself around looking like a hefty target, I took the sword and walked out into the town square. I took to the church in a hurry. Didn't want to stop anywhere before I at least had a chat with the mayor.

The steps took me a moment to climb up, but before I knew it, I was already inside the chapel. Placing a hoof on the hilt of my sword, I spared a glance about the room, noticing that some of the town's residents were all here. Watching what seemed to be a ceremony of some sorts.

Through the pews and if you follow the red carpet, you'll find yourself staring at the last pony to perish in this town. The soul was covered in a white linen cloth. And from where I was, the body was either brutally mauled, or that was a filly who had met their fate.

The chapel wasn't that extensive, having only two rows of pews which were layered ten seats each. In the front stood the mayor who spoke in such a hushed tone, that it took me a moment to realize she was praying. With a startled grunt as I had made a bunch of noise coming in, I found myself at attention seconds later. Normally I'm not the type to believe in this kind of stuff. A higher deity. But for the sake of this town's respect, I would uphold their practitions.

Several townsfolk were in tears, others were stonefaced. A group up front were huddled together, a lone mare sobbing the most. I wondered if it were the mother… I suppose I wouldn't know until I asked. The mayor finished her prayer and looked up, the filly was taken away, most likely to be buried with the other victims. As the mayor's eyes met mine, I could clearly see she had indeed wept.

Who could blame her? Her job was just as, if not more so, important than mine. You wake up, smell the roses and guide ponies who are in need of your help. But in Rose’s Case, what happens if every pony in your sweep are in a situation like this?

Like everyone else, I could tell she wanted this to be over. The madness would have to end somehow, so judging by the way these ponies felt, they wanted it to be over as soon as possible. And that could be ended either ways.

I couldn't keep the mayor's gaze. There was too much pain. Days if not weeks without help, made me wonder how much these poor souls had to sacrifice just to stay alive. The congregation split apart and left just as quickly as I appeared. When it was only me and the mayor left, I found my voice,

“I'm sorry.” Was all that came out. It was as pitiful as it sounded. The mayor nodded, knowing full well I meant more than I could say. I lifted a hesitant hoof, but I frowned and set it back down.

The lack of sleep, and most likely the fear of doing anything healthy left Rose weak and hunger stricken. This meant she took less time to take care of herself. Her suit was unbuttoned and her tie was unclipped. The dark red hair that would've been neat, and curled, was now messy, and glossed with sweat. Her green eyes were locked at my sword, “Please tell me, you can fix this.”

Normally, I would make a light humored joke from this. Of course, it's just a couple of bugs. But I just witnessed a family bury their filly, and the murderer wasn't served their justice. A joke in this sense would be on me. Had we known about this sooner, maybe there would be ponies left alive…

I sighed through my nostrils, looking around the chapel as I did so,

“Petal, I'm going to tell you exactly what is going to happen. And you have to promise you'll be an anchor to your town.”

She sniffled, “Silvermane, I really don't have anything to lose at this point.”

Shaking my head, I relayed to her, “This is only the tip of the iceberg.”

After saying that, she handed me some folded papers and left.

O.o.O.o.O

Walking away from the church was like forgetting my son's birthday party. I felt numb, stricken with grief. That was the second time I had to tell someone that there is going to be no good news. But what was I to do? Tell her everything was going to be alright? Let her suck her hoof while she is at it? I would rather tell her what's up front now than later. Saves me or Sunshine the trouble of putting her through an ordeal, just to see her sunshine and rainbows sent down a river with no paddle.

Caught up in my thoughts, I about stumbled onto the hanging platform. At the time, I didn't realize where I was going. The documents the mayor had given me, reports from our sources, scattered on top of it. My gut wrenched to the side as I realized that I would have to climb onto the thing just to get them.

It was not easy.

I've never been keen on getting close to this bizarre way of death. I prefer a more viscous approach, which normally ends with either of duelers the winner. Having your life balanced on either your neck snapping from impact, or choking to death as your bile inches out of every pore - I'm just not a fan of the noose. Never have been, really and truly never will be.

Mainly I'm glad that they had gotten rid of the guillotine being as how the few times that Celestia and Luna had called ponies to their death by the trap - those said ponies and their heads never rolled. Instead, the blade stopped about mid-cut. End result was paralyzation from the neck down, if they were lucky.

Anxiety kicked in as I got near to the rope. It swung from side to side, the wind toying with it like a cat with yarn. Bending down to pick up the papers, I about screamed when a voice came from somewhere to my right. Looking in that direction, I saw it was the mother I had seen earlier in the chapel. She had stopped crying, but her eyes were swollen and red from the amount of sorrow that had been shown.

I bit my lip as the awkward tension grew. Picking up the last paper, I stepped down and sniffed, “I'm uh… sorry for your loss ma'am.” When she said nothing I continued, “I have children too-”

“Then you must know what it feels like to lose one then.” The words tore through me like a black powder bullet.

“I-I'm sorry?”

The mare gestured to the noose, “You know what kind of rope that is, Hero?”

I looked behind me.

“That was made by my husband. He used it for just about everything. And it's the strongest cord he had.”

I looked back, “Had?”

The mare smiled, but it wasn't happy... “He was hung from that rope. We lynched him because everyone thought he was a changeling. And you know what?”

She raised her brows, “We were right.” She described to me her husband's death,

“He hissed, and clawed, and fought his way up to that noose. My baby and I watched as the stallion we loved, died, a false image as his neck snapped.”

I twinged as she pronounced snap harshly. But I didn't interrupt her, “You better hope that you choose the right ponies carefully. Because Celestia help you if you don't. I'll ring your neck with that rope myself.”

It was then I realized that this mare hadn't been crying over the loss of her filly. The family she had was strong, capable of withstanding almost anything. It was what these mountain ponies are to do. No, she wasn't crying for her filly.

She had shed tears for the soul who killed her.

O.o.O.o.O

I wasn't sure whether I galloped, or trotted to our house. But when I finally saw straight, I was closing the door to our home with a rather brute force. Almost immediately everyone that was sleeping still, woke up with a loud cry. One of the recruits fell off the bed, while Pudding merely pointed her gun at me with a crazed look in her eye.

I said our very tasty sounding code and she backed down, thankfully. Tossing the papers on our kitchen table, I slumped into the chair and rubbed my aching head with a free hoof.

The others arose quickly, their training from grunt camp kicking in. Sunshine came over first, sitting across from me. Everyone else made themselves breakfast, since sleeping in makes the tummy awfully hungry.

Sunshine asked how I was doing. I looked up and told her the events of my rather odd morning. I left out the filly dying part, but told her about the funeral. I also let her know that I had my life threatened by that mare. She was waiting for me to say something about me finding any changelings. But I didn't have any news on that.

Once I was done, my veteran nodded, a grin plastered on her face. She said something on the lines of, “Sounds like the town woke up on the wrong side of the bed.”

My reply to the small jest was short sighted.

She patted me on my shoulder and worked with our recruits in making us what would be a delicious meal. As they did so, I assembled the documents in order as the recruits came over. One of them was from our Reporter, another was the Gumshoe’s dictation, and I had the Watchpony keep an open eye on someone.

Our reporter sifted through a stallions trash, his name being; Butter Crunch. They found several love letters, a hate mail sent to a lost fiancé, and several bottles of cider. The reporter concluded the document by saying that they think that Butter is the Town's Drunk.

Funny how they say, think, when they are the one's who live here. How they don't know one another enough to recognize what their role is, is personally stupid. But I digress. Everyone is judging everything now. And it'll only get worse. I pulled out the Mayor's Sheet of names and went down the list until I found this stallion's name. Beside it, I wrote that he was the Town's Drinker.

The Gumshoe had a more lengthy report. They described that the pony they visited was really chatty, always in a good mood and kept them at their house all night. The Gumshoe said that they would rather not visit them again unless it was absolutely necessary. The end of the report was them detailing this pony as our party pal. In respect, I put a question mark next to their name, Diamond Melody.

There was nobody in particular I wanted the Watchpony to watch just yet, so I sent them to spy on the Mayor's abode. Not that I didn't trust her, it's just that I needed to be really sure that she wasn't anything overly dramatic. That night, they declared nobody had visited, nor had the mayor left the house. The watchpony signed at the bottom with a clever quote. It made me chuckle at least.

I stacked all the reports in a pile and begat to writing the first night's events and information inside this journal. I also wrote it separately on another source of filament and had a long and interesting talk with my cohorts, telling them not to shoot the town drunk.

If somebody came up to you stinking of gin, it's best to call it a night and move on with your life.

After all that was shot up straight, I tucked the papers into my mattress for safekeeping. Around that time, the sun was already high in the sky, so I believe my first thought was to ask around town for clues as to who was who.

But then my more smart side of brain told me that if I stuck my nose in other ponies businesses, then it would be very well lopped off and fed to Pinkamena for brunch. So instead, I found time in looking at the Town's residents again.

Going down the list, I tried finding irregularities. Like who were the newcomers and who have been here the longest? Either of those meant bad news. Newcomers could actually be ponies who had picked a bad vacation spot, or they could be the Changelings. Hell, even Pinkamena!

But as the short list ended, I couldn't find anything strange. Sure, the only thing weird about the list was that there were a total of seven new ponies here in town, but that was just us. The carriage jockeys, me, Sunshine, and the three recruits.

The thing I'm worried about, are the ponies who have been here the longest. Those ones, are a screw that can be turned loose really easily if we use a hammer instead of a drill. These kind of ponies have been here a while, and they will not give us what we need unless we apply the correct tools.

Admittedly, one of the tools that came to mind was our friendly shoot-em-up, Sunshine. But when I asked her how she felt about intimidation factors, she declined any advances from there.

Where we went from here, would define whether or not we slept better at night. The choices now rippled like a crackling flame, never staying still for too long. In the end of my questions, I put a nurse on our reporter, and sent one of my recruits as a bodyguard for the gumshoe. The watchpony had a free pick as to who they wished to spy on.My goal was to protect who was important.

I should be more careful on where I place my trust…

End of Entry

Author's Note

Something Interesting is happening with the story.

Stay tuned!