Chapters Clear Dawn looks upon the forest in concern as Maneshot packs the supplies for the trip.
"Why are we doing this?" asked the violet pegasus mare, with increasing stress.
"Because I am getting sick of hearing about this stallion. If that crazy colt would have shut his mouth, we probably wouldn't be in this situation." Maneshot said sternly. He was well known to be very eccentric about anything of interest in the land of Equestria. Right next to Pinkie Pie, he always sensed something was at hoof. "Besides, it would be cool to see who this pony is."
"That 'crazy colt' went missing only 2 days after he came back from the Everfree", Clear Dawn nearly shouted, "He even warned us not to go near this... thing."
The more Maneshot thought about it, the more sense it made. The colt was nearly dragging himself into Ponyville when we came back. He was screaming the story to everyone about a mark and the stallion. He was asked for a full identification of the mysterious stallion. He saw a picture of a thin, tall pony in a suit. There were two odd things though, the stallion didn't have a face, no eyes, mouth, nose. He didn't even have a mane. The second was his cutie mark, a circle crossed out with an X, intersecting right in the middle. It looked like it was etched onto him, with all the rough sides on his flank.
"Look, how do you know it just isn't a prank or something?" asked the blue unicorn.
"It's the Everfree!"
"And?"
"Do you want me to hoof you?
"Look, we won't even go that deep into the forest, we will just stay inside close to where we can see the border. We will just scan the border and check for anything that seems suspicious." With that, Maneshot put the knapsack on him and another on Dawn.
Clear Dawn began to look as if she was going to cry. Maneshot nuzzled her softly, trying to calm her senses slightly. "Look, I promise you we are going to be safe. It's just gonna be a hike by the forest, nothing else."
"Promise?" her eyes clearing up slightly.
"Promise..."
_-_-_-_-_-_-_
It was mid day when the two arrived by the side of the forest. Even with bright sunshine, the inside of the forest was heavily dark. Crickets chirped and other strange noises were audible from a decent distance. Clear Dawn still looked concerned about the whole situation, but decided to ignore it as much as possible.
"You ready?" asked Maneshot, determined as always.
A bulge can be seen from the violet pegasus's throat. "I-I-I guess."
The two descended upon the Everfree.
Two words roaming around Dawn's mind, Damp and Dark. They could hardly see anything in the forest, even with no clouds surrounding the forest.
"Hold on I got a light" Maneshot said. Clear Dawn took a good breath after hearing these words.
The light of the flashlight was blinding in the dark conditions, and the fog didn't help. The two ponies could barely see anything closer to them even with the flashlight. Maneshot continued looking around his sides and looked behind, seeing Ponyville in all it's beauty.
"Hey... what's that?"
Maneshot looks to where Clear Dawn is pointing her hoof, spying a strange, ponyshaped figure. They couldn't tell if it was a Mare or Stallion. It was not the tall Stallion from the picture. This pony was relatively short. Maneshot walked a little closer with gleaming curiosity.
"Hello?"
The figure appeared to have faced their position, it was a colt, wearing a mask.
"What are you doing here?"
The pony just continued to stare.
"Look, we just want to..."
Suddenly, the colt began trotting towards them.
"Hey, what are you doing?"
No response.
"Sir we don't want..."
Suddenly, the colt changed to a galloping speed.
Clear Dawn suddenly pounced on to the colt, bringing him to the ground with a grand thud.
"Dawn!" Maneshot shouted wildly!
The timid pegasus suddenly began smacking the masked figure several times, punches intensifying to an alarming rate.
"DAWN!!!" Maneshot quickly ran to the violet mare and stopped her.
"What's the matter with you! You could have killed him!"
"HE WAS GOING TO KILL US!"
Maneshot saw the sharp stake next to the barely breathing figure.
"Look, we got to get him to Doctor Whooves, he will..." suddenly, Maneshot saw the fear in Clear Dawn's eyes.
"Dawn?"
The mare continued looking past him, face growing larger in despair.
Maneshot suddenly went wide eyed, and quickly turned to the black suited stallion.
The creature wears a black suit, with a nice red tie...
Sweat began to roll down Maneshot's body, iris shrinking at the sight of the stallions height.
Stands taller than Celestia herself...
Clear Dawn sighted Ponyville behind it, sunshine bright and pony's walking by the square. However, it was suddenly blocked by a black line protruding out of the tall figure.
Tendrils that extend to indefinite ranges...
Both pony's wanted to scream out for help, but the face, if one would call it that, captivated them in it's nothingness.
It's face shows no feature, purely blank...
The two friends looked to the flank of the of the tall stallion, seeing his cutie mark, not quite as in the picture, but equally has disturbing.
The cutie mark bears a scorch of his face crossed out...
The situation was grim, nothing but pure darkness surrounded all the ponies. Maneshot only had one option. He quickly shouted 'FLY' and hopped onto Clear Dawn, who quickly obliged. They went speeding through forest, getting farther from the stallion but also farther from Ponyville. Then they suddenly stopped.
They were in the middle of the Everfree, unknown of the current location. Darkness seemed to seep toward them, covering them in nothing but blackness.
Clear Dawn was bleeding from a cut, tears rolling from her eyes. Maneshot simply went over, and sat by her side.That crazy colt was right , Maneshot thought, That thing is real.
"Maneshot..." Clear Dawn said quietly.
It took the blue unicorn several moments before answering,"..ya?"
The stood quiet for several minutes, before Clear Dawn broke the silence...
"That was no fucking prank..."
Note: As this is my first part, it is relatively short, since I purely made this as I went. I will be sure to try and make it longer as it goes on. It's not the end... yet.
In hindsight, this really wasn't the best of decisions...
While Clear Dawn was pouring her eyes out by a tree, Maneshot was trying to figure out what in Celestia he just saw. It was definitely the Slender Stallion, but it's motive is still oblivious to say the least.
We just came across equestria's true phenomenon , he simply stated in his head, but we also came across a murderer.
The sighting of the masked colt was peculiar indeed, as he was carrying a wooden stake, which was possibly going to be used on them for grotesque purpose. Maneshot decided to try and figure out a way out of the Everfree before thinking about the colt or the Slender Stallion. He trotted towards Clear Dawn, who's condition was near sickly. She was coughing profusely, likely from the cut on her cheek getting infected, but it seems too quick for that to happen, even in the Everfree.
"How you holding?" Maneshot asked quietly.
"Hm let me think, just after knocking out some colt that was going to KILL US , we came across that... thing, ready to grab us with it's tentacle arms. Then, we went several kilometers into the forest, and now we are in the middle of nowhere. So to sum things up, this trip totally screwed us over!" She suddenly vomited onto the ground.
"What option did we have?", Maneshot reasoned, "It was blocking our way back to Ponyville, and..."
"And what,", she coughed, "Heading deeper in would save us? We just isolated ourselves into the mysterious Everfree, with a monster on our flanks, Maneshot!" She was ready to burst into another waterfall of tears.
Celestia damn it, shes right
"And what if there are more of those things? What if there are more blank faced ponies in the Everfree?" she suddenly saw Maneshot crouch, and looked to where he was facing. It was another masked pony.
Maneshot looked sternly at the dirty pegasus, "I can't be sure about that, but there are definitely more of these masked bastards." He quickly led Clear Dawn away from the sight of the masked mare, who looked to be searching.
"Who are these- mph!?" Clear Dawn asked, quickly resulting with a hoof in her mouth.
"Shush!"
The masked figure seemed to be searching for them. She was wearing the same black and white mask that the colt wore, but didn't hold a stake with her.
"I don't think they are working alone." Maneshot said with dismay in his voice.
Clear Dawn could barely see the tall, lean figure standing in front of the masked mare. The masked subject seemed to show no attempt in attacking or cowering from the sight of the Slender Stallion. He suddenly stopped in front of the monumental pony, and took a slight bow.
"What the hay?" Maneshot babbled quietly.
The pony began to speak in an unknown language to the tall stallion, who stood like a statue in the process. The masked mare proceeded to take her mask off, revealing her grotesquely marked face. All marks resembled the cutie mark of the Slender Stallion, who suddenly raised a hoof.
"Ah... ah", Maneshot suddenly heard.
Oh no...
Maneshot tried to prevent Dawn from sneezing. He was momentarily surprised how she held all the coughs she previously had.
He barely dulled it.
Both the Slender Stallion and the Mare looked to their direction. A tendril popped from the back of the tall pony, quickly grabbed the tree, and pulled.
Maneshot and Dawn were at clearsight by both ponies.
And they only saw them for a second...
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
When Maneshot came to, he was in his house, lying on the ground, with marks written on him on various areas. He coughed up some blood, and got up. He was out of the Everfree, strangely yes, but he was out.
But something was missing.
"Clear Dawn!"
He quickly looked around for his friend, he was nowhere in sight. Looking in the mirror and washing his face, he saw the marks that covered his body, along with cuts, and blood in his mouth. He washed soaked in his mouth and cleaned off all marks, but the smell stayed.
"Celestia damn it!" Maneshot yelled. He was in deep concern for his friend, who he last remembered was with him, staring at the unmasked mare and the Slender Stallion. He endured a severe migraine, his head feeling like he was just stabbed by a horn. Any further thought of the problem made his head ache worse. He was in the worst position. His friend was gone, he had discovered the Slender Stallion, and he had also discovered he works for some cult that wears theatrical masks.
Bravo...
He quickly looked around his surroundings. His knapsack was found underneath him when he came to. He observed its contents. Everything seemed to have been taken, but a note was left.
HE COMES HE WILL LEAD YOU WILL SUFFER.
It ended with the cutie mark of the stallion.
Maneshot quickly looked outside to the ponyville square. Everything seemed normal. No masked individuals. No lethal plant life, and best yet, no tall, evil stallion with tendrils.
But Maneshot couldn't celebrate yet.
Not without Clear Dawn...
He looked at the note again.
Not without finding out what the hay is going on.
Maneshot was trotting back and forth, trying to shake the feeling that he is now a target my some cult group and a tall, faceless stallion with tentacles.
Great way to start this investigation...
His headache increased the more he thought about it. He was struggling to figure out why he was spared. He had to find out what this mysterious cult was trying to do, and why they are working with the Slender Stallion. But most importantly...
He had to find out where Clear Dawn was.
Maneshot walked out into the streets of ponyville, the sun blinding him for a few moments.Then his vision returned to normal. He had washed off the blood and marks on his coat, so he could freely walk with the pony kind again without looking the experiment of a cult. Well, he was the experiment of a cult. Maneshot continued to walk down the path, every step pounding along with his headache. He had to remember the events from Monday evening...
"Wait." Maneshot stopped in his tracks.
What day is it today?
He quickly ran up to the closest pony he could find. Fluttershy.
"Do you know what day it is!?" he said quickly, almost unintelligible.
Fluttershy was taken back the random unicorn that popped in front of her. Not understanding what he said before, she asked, "Um, e-excuse me?"
Maneshot minded his error, and asked the question slower.
"Um, I think it's, um", she slowly started to back off.
"Friday?" Then Fluttershy flew off quickly.
IT'S FRIDAY!?
He has been in a coma like state for 4 days!?
Now another question was added to the heap of confusion. They did something to Maneshot during his time in dream land.
That was obvious... , he remembered the taste of the blood he was choking on and the marks.
"Oh goddess..." he then thought of Dawn. Maneshot was traumatized by the events of Monday, and he was already sick to the stomach from his appearance when he woke up. If he could barely take it, someone like Clear Dawn, who was easily nervous... she never took anything this rough on her, and she suffered the same experience...
He changed to a gallop as he went toward Clear Dawn's house.
-_-_-_-_-_-
He arrived at the house in less than 10 minutes. It looked pretty normal, but the inside was dark, and the curtains we drawn.
Not good.
He walked over to the door, and gave the door a few knocks.
Nothing.
Clear Dawn would never use the shades. She already had a fear for the dark, and it didn't help that the door was...
Unlocked?
He looked around to see if any-pony was looking, then he opened the door slightly and peeked in.
Pretty normal. Nothing was changed apart from a noticeable bulge on the bed.
A pony shaped bulge.
"Dawn?", Maneshot called out, "You in here?"
No response.
He trotted over to the bed. The bulge was covered by a violet colored blanket.
Guess the psychological impact was a bit more unbearable...
He flipped over the covers not to find a Violet pegasus, but a mannequin.
"What the..." That's all he could say before he was up sided by the head.
"Oh dear..." Is what he heard before he lapsed to unconsciousness.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Maneshot awoke again for the second time that day. The only difference is a bigger headache and the lack of tasted blood. He was in the bed of Clear Dawn, who was sitting by him, with a the most priceless face of worry and apology, which quickly changed to gleam of happiness at the sight of her friend awakening.
"Oh thank the goddesses!" She exclaimed, hugging the blue unicorn.
That then changed to a slap to the head.
After returning from another daze, Maneshot sternly asked, "Can you please stop adding to the concussion?"
"You did deserve it, kind of."
I guess that is a valid argument. I did drag her into the most traumatic experience someone like her can have.
He remembered Fluttershy.
Maneshot's mind cleared as much as the headache would allow, and he returned to his thinking of what to do next. His thoughts we interrupted by the violet pegasus handing him some soup and water.
"What happened to you?" Maneshot asked, concerned about the pegasus's physical and mental health.
She couldn't bare to tell him what she had awoken to. "Well... I woke up with blood on my mane and coat, along with weird marks and this note by my side. I... I think I will ok for now, as long as we leave them alone a try to go along with our daily lives."
Maneshot thought otherwise. "We have to stop them."
Clear Dawn looked at Maneshot, flabbergasted by her friend's idea. "That's absurd", she noted angrily, "They spared our lives for a reason, so as long as we don't speak or think about them."
Maneshot took the note he brought with him and gave it to Clear Dawn.
"I think this wont be the last of them." He said sternly.
Clear Dawn read the note, her stress increasing and eyes beginning to water. She couldn't take the experience again. If heading into the Everfree wasn't enough, they came across masked figures carrying stakes, most likely used to kill other ponies that weren't as lucky. And, to top it off, they are working with a paranormal figure with a stare that is impossible to match. "No... Not again... this can't be happening!" Clear Dawn began hyperventilating.
*SMACK*
It was Clear Dawn's turn for a well placed hoof to the face.
Maneshot stared into her eyes, determined as he was frustrated. As much as he wanted to join Clear Dawn with her sorrow, it wouldn't solve the problem in any way. They had to eliminate this threat once in for all.
"Clear Dawn", he began, "We have to stop them. We have to stop this cult. We have to stop this Slender Stallion. We have to stop ponies from getting sucked into whatever this is", He nuzzled her softly, " I promise you, that it will be the better for you, me, and all of equestria."
Clear Dawn looked at him. His common determined side has taken over, and once it has, it means that something is going to happen. Clear Dawn was never into the adventuring Maneshot usually went on, or his socially active life. She was like a second Fluttershy, very timid, but as taken the courage actually speak to the colt she knows now. Whenever he had to do something, it always has been for a good reason. She has learned this for the past 3 years shes known him.
She hesitated for a moment, then regained control.
"Promise?"
Maneshot smiled "Promise."
_-_-_-_-_
They walked into the main path to the Everfree, in hopes of gaining some information from the zebra that lives within it's depths.
"Zecora practically knows all the secrets of the forest, so she can be a good lead to find out what the hay is going on, and what that thing is." Maneshot informed.
Clear Dawn was calmer on the main road to the Everfree. It was a commonly used road, and it was by far the safest route. It's path was commonly used by the Mane 6 to get to Zecora's hut.
They continued walking their way through the forest. It wasn't as dark as the undeveloped land, but it still had the eerie feeling of being watched by some unknown assailant. Maneshot kept his guard up, while Clear Dawn trotted right next to him. The knapsacks carried some food and water. The note lay at the bottom of Maneshots begin's to crumble from the weight of the items.
The forest showed many ways of removing them from it's bowels, with the life-like trees and it's horrifying animals. Maneshot ignored all the threats and calmed Clear Dawn, telling her it's 'just trying to get to you'.
The only thing that went through Maneshot's mind was the tall mannequin like pony that has haunted his mind ever since he heard about it. It's formal wear makes it deceiving as a gentlemen from the neck down, It's abnormal face staring with it's nonexistent eyes. It didn't even seem to have a coat. It was bland, pale skin. The only thing that stopped the mannequin look was the tendrils that seemed to form from it's suit.
Maneshot's thoughts were uninterrupted by a slight nudge from Clear Dawn, who looked worried by a figure in the forest.
A masked pony.
It was just staring at them. It showed no sign to attack, which was deceiving, since that last ended with an unconscious colt with a stake by his side. Maneshot decided to ignore them, leading Clear Dawn away from the mesmerizing figure.
After what felt like hours, they finally arrived at Zecora's hut. More maskies appeared on their walk, still showing no sign to attack them.
As they walked into the hut, the smells of potions and spices filled the air. Cinnamon, salt, and murky water was what it smelled like to Clear Dawn. Maneshot ignored any of the smells and walked up to the black and white zebra.
"Zecora?"
The zebra, who was working on another brew, didn't look away as she answered, "Ah, hello there Maneshot. What brings you to my loft?" The zebra was well known for her strange rhyming habit. She added a green plant to her mixture, and then took a sip from the cauldron. She was well known for making remedies for the citizens of ponyville, and telling the secrets of the Everfree.
Maneshot dodged a hanging root as he approached the boiling cauldron, which had a sickly pale green look.
"You heard of the story about that pony in the woods right?" He asked, baring a slight hint of anxiety. He didn't commonly talk to Zecora much. He mostly asked for any potions he might need.
Zecora finally laid eyes on Maneshot, "It would be impossible not to, as that is what I do." She gives a slight smile before going to a more serious tone. "However, I have seen this pony, and that colt was no phony." She looked out the window to the outer reaches of the Everfree. She could clearly see the masked ponies outside in the forest, looking right at the hut. She turned to Maneshot, giving a concerned look.
"They are unfortunately after you, and there is nothing much I can do."
Maneshot looked disheartened. He had hoped that Zecora's experience with whatever was happening to him and Clear Dawn would be helpful. However it seems that he has struck a dead end.
"But you have seen him!" He noted, "You must have experienced what we had when we found it."
Zecora continued looking out the window at the masked figures, who still had no intent but to stare. "In order to lift this curse, you must observe", She duly explained, 'A 'Slender Stallion' experience is always unique, to observe is to use the correct technique." She walked over to a closet filled with ingredients, and took a small sack from the cabinet, handing it to Maneshot. "This will prevent it's effects, and it will repel his subjects."
Maneshot took a peek into the sack, which Zecora quickly closed.
"Only use it when he or his subjects are near, or he will be the last thing to fear."
Maneshot looked to the bag, then to Dawn, who was still trying to understand the potions and smells, and then back to Zecora. He nodded.
"Now I suggest you go, before they bring me woe" Zecora seemed to shudder from this sentence.
Maneshot and Clear Dawn began to leave. Just as they were about to go out the door, Zecora stopped them.
"I have one more thing to say."
Maneshot and Clear Dawn looked back.
"Let it pay."
And with that, Zecora's hut was closed.
Clear Dawn looked to Maneshot. "What was that about?"
Maneshot looked to the forest, where the pony outside Zecora's window was. It was gone.
"We can't find it, it is impossible to find it."
"Then why are we searching?"
He looked back to Dawn, who seemed more serious than ever.
"Because he will find us."
Let it begin...
The Forest...
Clear Dawn and Maneshot stood in the forest as the fog rolled in. The ground became stale, if it was not already. Dark figures appeared all around them as Maneshot stood guard, holding the bag away from sight.
Then a shadow loomed over them.
Maneshot's eyes widened, Hes here...
The faceless stallion emerged in front of the two ponies, and Maneshot immediately released the contents of the bag in the radius of their stalkers.
Suddenly, everything was still. Clear Dawn, the masked ponies, even the fog was in zero movement. The only thing that seemed to move is the Slender Stallion and Maneshot. The crisp chill was still there, but it was light. It even felt... normal.
He continued to stare at the Slender Stallion, who seemed to take notice of his surroundings. The tall stallion suddenly walked over to Maneshot, observing him with the dented sockets of where it's eyes should be. It didn't seem to show any sign of threat, but it showed curiosity.
A voice suddenly flew by Maneshot's head.
"Why do you disturb the fragments of time?"
The voice was clear and demanding. It sounded like Luna from the Nightmare night a few months back. However, this one seemed calmer, and more curious...
Like the Slender Stallion.
Maneshot swallowed as he asked, "Are you... him?"
The Slender Stallion seemed to face him by these words, then the voice returned, "I am indeed the entity you see now, now please answer my question."
Maneshot's mind was in turmoil. He was speaking to the paranormal figure that has haunted him for less than a week. It's menacing features seemed to become more as an abnormal problem, the tendrils being just another skill set by another pony. He looked towards Dawn. A frozen expression of fear was visible, and would be kept as such for the remainder of this conversation it seems.
Maneshot again faced the tall figure, "Because I have come for answers."
The Slender Stallion seemed to show a sign of surprise, or as much as movements could bring. "I have not spoken to your kind outside of my followers," he had noted, "You are lucky that you have found a way to enter my dimension, as my physical form in your dimension is impossible to reason with, let alone speak." A flash of light suddenly appeared, revealing some passageway into another area. The Slender Stallion gestured a move to be followed. Maneshot hesitated, but then trotted alongside.
They were in what looked like pitch blackness. Maneshot couldn't even see his hoof in front of his face. Then a ball of light suddenly appeared, revealing the contents of their current location.
"This is my sanctuary."
It seemed to be a room, with several screens revealing around it's circular shape. Each moniter seemed to show some pony at some place in equestria. One screen showed a pony writing down odd notes, some with the mark of the Slender Stallion's mark. A device seemed to be at his side, what looked to be a camera. The pony seemed to frequently look out the window of his home, looking for something. Several other screens showed other ponies, who were either doing the same thing the that one pony was doing, or they were going on with there daily lives.
Maneshot continued staring at the glorious array of screens, "Who are these people?"
The Slender Stallion looked upon a view of screens, answering, again telepathically, "These are my subjects, the ones who suffer the same fate as you do. They only grow larger and larger as time goes on. However, I could to do much more if it weren't for Celestia.
Maneshot looked at the tall, mannequin like pony, "But that's absurd, shes the ruler of equestria. She has done us well!" Maneshot could not begin to grasp what this blank faced pony was planning.
The Slender Stallion looked to Maneshot, showing as much anger as it could with it's blank face movements. He stomped his hoof down, "Do you even know who I am?"
Maneshot couldn't bare to say no, see he simply shook his head.
The Slender Stallion returned to his traditional stance, looking towards a screen showing Princess Celestia at her throne."This was not always me. I was once one of your kind at some point."
Maneshot looked to the tall stallion, his face looked baffled and disgusted. "You were on of us!? That's impossible. You have to be some paranormal figure or a..." Maneshot took a sudden step back.
The Stallion looked to the colt, God? No. I was never a god. I am just worshiped by my subjects out of pure alliance. He looked towards the screen of the spot where the masked ponies and Clear Dawn were. Do you know what 'paranormal' is?
Maneshot nodded. "It's a term that is used to describe events that go outside the border of normality, or common sense. Like an impossibility." He announced this in a somewhat snobbish fashion.
The Slender Stallion nodded, "Good, you seem to know what you are dealing with. It approached the colt, who took another step back, unsure if this will be threatening gesture. "Do you remember out last conversation?" , It asked with a slight tone of concern.
Maneshot was utterly confused by the lean stallion's question. We had a conversation? , he thought.
"Yes, we did before, when I first found you."
Maneshot jumped and squeaked from the ponies words. He can read minds!?
"Yes, I can. No secrets must be kept at this point."
Maneshot looked in at the Slender Stallion, fearful that he knows of his plans. "So you know that..."
The voice chuckled, and the tall stallion went with the movement.
"Yes subject. I know of your plans to try and stop me. I know just about everything my subjects do." The stallion trotted to Maneshot, placing a hoof on his head. However, many have tried to stop me. Most have been proven futile. Your odds are generous, but you still don't face a chance to stop me.
Maneshot moved away from the cold touch of the Slender Stallion's hoof. A glint of anger shown from his eyes, "You are making ponies suffer, just for them to worship your sorry behind!"
The Slender Stallion was quite taken back. It knew that it came across one who was not a believer, but a rebel. It scoffed slightly, and opened another doorway. The tall stallion began to walk through, and turned it's head slightly to relay a message.
We shall speak again, Maneshot. You have decided to combat a battle you surely will not win. My subjects will find a way for you to convert. The Slender Stallion gimmick has become quite common for you, but after this meeting, you will only reference me as the OPERATOR. With that, the stallion entered the passage, and Maneshot saw a bright light form in front of him.
_-_-_-_-_-_
Maneshot awoke on the crisp grass of the Everfree. A soaring headache pounded in his head as we stood up, looking around. Clear Dawn still seemed to be frozen, but all the maskies seemed to have disappeared.
We shall meet again...
Clear Dawn suddenly gasped, returning to the world of equestria. She was shaking, almost as if she was out in the snow without some sort of warmth. She looked towards Maneshot, immediately galloping towards the dazed colt and giving him another one of her gratifying hugs of relief.
Maneshot didn't know what to say. He had spoken to the Slender Stallion for first time, and, fortunately, not the last. The tall mannequin figure seemed to be calm outside of his mystifying state in the world of equestria. A chill ran down his neck, as he slowly guided Dawn back to the main path, towards Ponyville.
As they walked, Dawn had given a slight nudge to Mareshot. She showed a sign of confusion and annoyance.
"What the hay was that."
Maneshot looked back to the spot where he first spoke to the pony. "You heard?"
She only seemed more confused, "Heard what?"
Maneshot regretted his question the second he spoke. He didn't wan't Clear Dawn to get anymore into this as he was now. He was an official contact of the Slender Stallion, not by mind, but by vigilance. He simply shook his head.
"It's nothing. What I can tell you is we are going to be seeing it, and it's friends more often for now, so keep your guard up."
"Maneshot..."
The blue unicorn looked to her friend, who was struggling wtih her next words.
"Is this what we are going to be stuck with for the rest of our lives?"
Maneshot definitely knew that this was question he will have to answer in the future. He looked right into the innocent eyes of the Mare, who he had known for only 3 years. He remembered the day she met her, soaked by the rain, lost and confused, almost like she was now. Only this time, her life depended on it.
The best Maneshot could say was, "It's not over yet. It will not be over until it is dead, or when we are dead. It will stalk us for as long as it wishes, and that will most likely be forever."
The horizon was beautiful. Another day for Celestia to end and get done with.
Celestia...
"Celestia!"
Clear Dawn looked to her friend as if he was insane, "What?"
"Princess Celestia. She knows of the Operator!"
"Operator?"
Maneshot realized his error, and tried to back up the name. "It's just a nickname for whatever that thing is."
Dawn was unsure weather to call that clever, or just plain tacky.
______________________________
Yeah, I can't resist. I just like writing this story on a daily basis.
Expect another chapter NOT tomorrow.
A breeze past by as Maneshot and Clear Dawn walked in the Ponyville square. The sky was shining bright with Celestia's sun, and all the ponies were have a grand day. It almost seemed normal...
Except it wasn't.
Maneshot felt everypony was a ploy. A proxy to the Operator's army of puppets. It just didn't feel like what it used to back before the mess started. His senses were foggy. His mind was blank. The only thing he thought of was the screens in the Operator's sanctuary. The mission went on though, as they were heading off to Canterlot to discuss the situation with Princess Celestia. It may seem vague to to the princess, but with the information given to him by the Operator, he will surely
Maneshot was broken out of his train of thought by Dawn, who was walking to the 'Carousel Boutique'.
"I actually placed an order for Rarity on dress. Do you mind waiting here for me?" She seemed calm for their current situation.
Maneshot blinked, then nodded his head in approval. It was a good way to get his mind back into clear without being bothered.
"I should be back in a few minutes." With that, Dawn walked away.
Maneshot stood in the middle of the street, among the din of ponies who trotted past, talking about their normal lives, and explaining natural problems.
Maneshot's situation was NOT natural.
Maneshot seemed to pace in circles, which drew the attention of some ponies.
It can't be real... it has to be some sort of joke! Maneshot began to swerve.
This truly gained the attention of all the in the street. The din suddenly stopped, but Maneshot's thoughts were still loud and clear. The voice of the Operator soaring through his head."
Subject...
Maneshot's head was having a major migraine. The voice only made it worse. Vision's of the mark appeared in his mind, the face of the Operator was clear. Maneshot managed to open his eyes, only to be greeted by the horrifying view of not ponies, but maskies everywhere. A tint of red was visible. In the sky, the ground. The air tasted of crimson blood. The Operator's cutie mark was appearing on Maneshot's face, hoofs, all over his body. Maneshot couldn't hear his own voice.
We shall speak again...
"No..." Maneshot sputtered. All the maskies seem to be getting closer.
"No." Maneshot began to convulse.
"NOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
That was all Maneshot could bring out before returning to the world of Equestria, and back to the state of unconsciousness. The last thing he saw was a tall stallion overlooking outside the crowd.
_-_-_-_-_-_
A voice went through Maneshot's mind. It wasn't the operator, but the familiar voice of a friend.
"Wake up... please wake up."
Maneshot didn't want to. He had experienced to much. He only wanted sleep. His legs felt like jelly, and his mind seemed to have zero activity.
"I don't want you like this. Please... wake up."
He felt a weight lie on his stomach, unwrapping him in warmth. He felt happy by the touch. The soothing feeling of kindess and care that he had experienced not long ago. He felt his mind clear, his thoughts return. And most importantly...
He felt friendship.
Maneshot opened his eyes to a blinding light. It seemed to have come from a lamp by the side of his resting place. It was dim, but he still felt the sting in his eyes. However, he felt nothing but warmth and care by the Mare laying by the side of the hospital bed.
"Dawn..."
The pegasus looked up. Her eyes was sparkling from the tears collecting within her. She gasped, then fell upon the sickly unicorn, tears running down like a waterfall. She was clearly with him for the entire time he was here. The dry tears were noticeable, even as they were washed away from her face. Maneshot simply put a hoof on her head. While raising, he noticed the Operator's mark on his hoof. He didn't care. He just wanted to be with Dawn for now, crying with her. It was a peace Maneshot had not experienced for a long time.
It was an experience of peace he will never forget.
Clear Dawn was wiping away the tears, as much as Maneshot wished she didn't. It made her look beautiful. "I n-noticed that something was up when I saw a b-b-bunch of ponies g-gathering around you. You seemed to g-g-go insane...", she was on the verge of bursting to tears, "The next thing I knew, you were heading to the Ponyville hospital."
Time seemed to stop. Not like with the conversation with the Operator, but in a moment of realization. The Operator can control the minds of other ponies for a limited time while he has them under his control.
"Dawn..."
The violet pegasus looked to the fallen blue unicorn.
"Hes getting stronger."
The pegasus took note, and continued to grasp his hoof in her hoofs. Maneshot enjoyed the feeling of being cared, maybe even loved. He had little to no friend in his time in Ponyville. He only wished to adventure. He was always a lone wolf to everyone. He grew up alone, no mother or father. He never took anything from anyone. He mostly lived off the land during his younger years. He went into Ponyville occasionally to barter with the traders. That is how he met her...
It was raining that day. Maneshot was lucky to find one trader still open. He handed in some his treasures, which were a few gems, seeds, and even a brew he roughly made. He was about to leave ponyville before something caught his eye. A mare was stuck in the rain, confused. The violet pegasus was looking in several different directions, as if watching out for something or someone.
He walked over to her, asking, "Erm... do you need some help?"
The pegasus seemed to not notice him, as she continued looking around him.
Maneshot was beginning to be annoyed. "Look, do you need any help or not?"
The mare seemed to be out of her search trance, as you looked at the colt in front of her. He seemed to be confused by her actions, and chose to acknowledge his concern.
"Oh... um... excuse me. I was just searching for some place to get out of the rain, but I seem to be lost. I had recently broke up with my buckfriend."
'This mare seems to be lost, not mentally, but emotionally.' Maneshot thought.
Maneshot offered her to stay at his house, which he brought recently with some effort from what few friends he had. It wasn't exactly the best house in Equestria, as he had recently moved in, and it was barely furnished. The pegasus didn't seem to care, as long as it was dry, she was fine.
"So why were you outside when it was pouring? Didn't you notice that the pegasi had a day off?" Maneshot was truly baffled by her actions.
She seemed to be on the verge of tears. It was a sight Maneshot had never dealt with. The pegasus clearly did not want to talk about it. Maneshot understood.
"Thank you for taking me in... my name is Clear Dawn."
Maneshot liked the name.
"Maneshot."
Clear Dawn chuckled from the name.
And so friendship had started. Clear Dawn only remembers vaguely of the event, but Maneshot remember's it clear as day.
Maneshot raised himself on the bed, letting Clear Dawn remove him from her grasp. He looked around the room. The only source of light came from the lamp and the light of the moon. Luna's return did seem to make the night seem far more tolerable and easily as predictable. Before her return, all ponies we scared of the dark, unknown of what lurks in the shadows. Now, ponies have lost the fear of the dark. It brought mystical wonders to them, with the sky, the color, and the air.
Maneshot remembered his calm nights outside during the night in his youth.
Now he can only fear of what or who lurks in the night. The day wasn't as helpful, as the thoughts came racing back to Maneshot's head.
No, he thought, I have to stop. Doing this will only lead the Operator closer to my brain, bringing twisted thoughts in.
He decided to let go of the Operator, but he did not forget it.
Maneshot cannot forget it.
He tried to change the subject, no matter how dire the situation. "So... erm... hows the dress?"
Clear Dawn looked at him in disbelief. "How could you care about a dress when you are mentally sick!?"
Maneshot knew she was right. It wasn't the best time for a conversation, and nothing at the moment could light up the darkness in the mood. "I'm not mentally sick."
"But you were flailing your arms around like a mad mare! You were screaming for something to stop." Clear Dawn then became far more worried about her friends mental health.
Maneshot put his face into his hooves. He groaned in anger feeling that he can't get into his own friend. He then remembered Celestia. "The Operator is not going to leave us alone until either we submit, or we stop him. Our one final chance is Princess Celestia. Her living for thousands of years, she must know SOMETHING about this stallion." His head ached after his sentence finished. "If we don't get him out of our lives, hes going to hurt us. Physically, mentally, and emotionally." He got out of his bed, and walked out to the window, revealing the night sky above the Everfree. He looked into the the forest, seeing the silhouette of a tall figure.
Maneshot knew it was going stronger the more ponies he gathered. His ability to communicate outside the Everfree was the first step. Only Celestia knew when he will finally raid the town of Ponyville...
And only Celestia knew of a way to stop the Operator from doing so.
The city of Canterlot was as it always was. Extremely uneventful and dull. All the high-class ponies walked around as they usually did in the city. Maneshot scoffed from the behavior of upper-class. He thought they would never live his original lifestyle, a nomad pony living in the woods, gathering resources from the natural environment and bartering to survive. They would only find it barbaric and abnormal.
Clear Dawn and Maneshot continued trotting towards the castle. They discussed on how to break the news to Celestia, that an unnatural being that had been banished by her is coming back. It will be like another Nightmare Moon, except the Operator lived outside the boundaries of space and time. He had the ability to haunt whoever was unfortunate to come across him. He controlled a cult that followed his every whim. Maneshot knew that the Operator was coming. The only question his mind now, out of every single one he thought before, was when.
They finally reached the castle, and were greeted by a couple of Royal Guard ponies guarding the entrance. They stared at the two ponies that approached, and trotted up to them.
The first guard spoke. "Express your business."
Maneshot looked to the tall figures in front of them. They were not to be reckoned. "We need to speak to Princess Celestia."
"Under who's orders?"
Maneshot seemed nicked about that. "Under mine. The topic is for her ears only."
The guard ponies looked to each other. They both chuckled for a moment, then the second guard resumed the conversation. "And who, may I ask, are you?"
Maneshot was not going down without a battle, and hopefully, not a physical one. "My name is Maneshot, and this is Clear Dawn. We require to speak to her about a situation involving a being in the Everfree!"
The the guards scoffed at this remark. "Look, we are willing to send a message to Celestia addressing your situation, and she might be able to give you a solid answer in maybe a few days.
Maneshot stood there, mouth open. A few days? They probably didn't even have a few hours! The Operator could be summoning every one of his minions right now. He quickly moved to a tone of authority. "Look, we may not even have that long! We need to speak to her before it's too late!" He noticed a few ponies stopped to listen to him. "If we don't speak to the Princess, we might not be able to stop this threat from getting worse, if it has not already!"
The guards looked at him, surprise just marking their faces. The seemed to look somewhat confused at the current situation. They whispered for a few moments, and then proceeded to open the gate to the castle.
Now it was Maneshot's turn for a look. He didn't expect that to work, but it somehow did. He didn't question it further, and he and Dawn proceeded to the castle. Clear Dawn nudged him, chuckling a bit from the previous encounter. "You did a pretty good job there."
He thought otherwise.
_-_-_-_-_-_
The two trotted down the hall to the throne room. Both them were flustered about what to explain to the Princess. The didn't know if she would know about whatever the Operator was doing, or if she even knew about him. They continued their down, soon reaching the door leading to the throne room. A single guard blocked the passage to Celestia. Maneshot hoped he didn't have to use any of his 'cunning' arguments anymore. Fortunately for him, the guard seemed to provide not even a word before letting them through.
Walking down the beautiful carpet that led up to the seat that held Celestia, the two ponies seemed somewhat relieved that she was not doing anything important. The Princess just seemed to be reading a book at her throne, making notes by her side. She noticed the two ponies standing in front of her, and put down the book, smiling. Both Clear Dawn and Maneshot bowed to the Princess. No matter how urgent the situation, they both wished to be at their best behavior, and honored her by her true stature.
The Princess spoke, "Rise, my little ponies. How can I be of assistance today?" She seemed beautiful as the sun casted behind her, which made since, as she WAS the one he raised and lowered the sun. The white coat seemed to lighten from the sunlight, and her eyes sparkled...
Damn , Maneshot thought, I'm getting offtrack here. He assumed his standing position.
He looked to the Princess, and began to speak, "Princess Celestia, I have come to gain knowledge of a certain being in the Everfree. He... or.... it, seems to pose a threat to the town of Ponyville, if not the whole of Equestria." The smile that Celestia held seemed to fade as Maneshot went on. "And I ask of your assistance of how to stop it."
Celestia seemed overly calm, considering the situation. That made sense, as she was the ruler of Equestria. Even with a minor look of worry, she asked, "Well, do you happen to have a name to whatever this is?"
Maneshot jumped from the question. Did she actually not remember about him? If Celestia was oblivious to the matter, he knows that the news might startle her, even break her. But he knew that it was for the sake of Equestria.
He felt like he swallowed golf ball, and finally presented, "The... the... Operator..."
Celestia's white coat immediately turned pale. Her mane lost all swirl. Her warm expression seemed to envelope into fear. She looked out to the Everfree forest, and looked back to Maneshot. Tears seemed to be forming from her eyes.
Maneshot felt that he might have ended Celestia. He quickly ran up to the alicorn and tried to comfort her.
Celestia wiped her eyes, and then quickly regained her thinking. She looked to the two ponies, her were now by her side. "I believe I have some explaining to do."
Maneshot quickly protested, but Celestia put a hoof to his mouth. "No... I have to. I know it spoke to you, and it must have told you about how I banished it, correct?"
The unicorn nodded.
The alicorn princess watched out to the sunset, the sparkle in her eyes returned. "It... he, more specifically, was just another pony, like the rest of us." Her coat returned to former color, but her mane stayed devoid of flow. "He was a known alchemist at the time, back in ponyville. He had made and even patented potions that cured common ailments today, including Tetanus, Equine Influenza, even Strangles", Her mouth cracked a slight smile, "He was a great friend of mine even, at some point even saving my life." A tear formed out of her right eye. Maneshot looked to Clear Dawn, who surprisingly held a stern look.
Odd , he thought.
The princess continued,"But then... he... changed. He began to come less often to the castle. He also seemed to close down his shop in Canterlot. He then resided in the Everfree forest, for what reasons are beyond me. I had not heard from him for about 5 years then. He seemed to just... vanish. Gone, without a trace."
Clear Dear seemed to cover her eyes. She appeared to cry.
Again, the princess resumed, "Then one day, I was returning from raising the moon for the night. I returned to my bedroom, and noticed a figure by the window, a tall stallion wearing a suit. I found this odd, since I wasn't looking for anyone... in particular", She blushed slightly, "I would have asked the guards to escort the man out the door, but then..." Celestia stopped to looked to look beside Maneshot. She held a questioning, but worried look.
He also turned his head to find his friend swerving around from where she stood. She was burying her head even more into her hoofs. She was muttering for something to stop.
The Princess called for the guards to restrain her. Suddenly, an blood-curdling scream spanned through the entire castle, and Clear Dawn dashed for the Princess. Maneshot immediately grabbed Clear Dawn with her magic, and threw her against a wall. The violet pegasus and dropped to the floor limp.
"Oh Celestia..." Maneshot squeaked, running to Dawn's side. He checked for a pulse, and fortunately, there was one. He grabbed the pegasus with his magic, asking the princess if there was a bed he could use.
"Um... y-yes, she can use mine." The princess still was gathering her thoughts about the events that had just occurred. The guards arrived by the call of the princess, but were told to prevent anyone from taking passage into the castle.
Maneshot was escorted by the princess to her bed quarters, with Clear Dawn levitating by his side. They reached the room, and Maneshot slightly lowered Clear Dawn to the bed. The princess closed the door behind them, ordering the guards to not let anyone disturb them. A flustered Maneshot was pacing in the room, checking back to Clear Dawn ever few seconds. He noticed the princess by her window, looking out to all of Canterlot, maybe even all of Equestria. Only Celestia knew, literally, what she was thinking. He then heard her voice say, "He was standing right here."
He turned and looked at the spot she was standing on. Since it was daylight, it made her look for charming rather then menacing.
"He was different. He told me that he had discovered a new way to control Equestria. He made a new potion that gave him the power of psychological manipulation. He had the power to speak to me through my head, since he lost his ability to speak..." Celestia could not finish her story.
"He was a monster..."
A single tear shed from her eyes.
"He was my friend..."
Maneshot saw a picture of Celestia with a stallion her height. A blazing white mane matched his coat.
"He was Der Ritter."
________________________________________________________________________________
Been a while. I know it doesn't seem to long. It's just a few things came up here and there and much of my focus was lost in the process.
I'll be getting on to a new one shot story after this chapter, while continuing on with this one of course.
Maneshot had his eyes on two things, his friend and the picture on the wall. He could not bare to keep away from Clear Dawn's current condition, but was overly curious of the picture on the wall. The picture with Celestia and a Stallion. A picture of an incredibly white stallion with a crossed circle cutie mark. A picture of an incredibly white stallion. A picture of a stallion. A picture.
Maneshot was broken out of his hypnotized state with a groan coming from the bed. He quickly trotted to the side of Clear Dawn, who had begun to stir. She revealed her magenta eyes and looked around the room. She then focused her eyes on a blue figure by the side of the bed.
Maneshot could not help but chuckle, "How did you sleep?"
Clear Dawn looked at the ceiling for a few moments before answering, "I feel like I got hit by a truck."
Maneshot looked to the floor in shame, "Well... a wall, technically."
"I'm not gonna ask."
Maneshot released a sigh of relief from this statement. He looked out the window to notice that the moon has been raised, which could explain the sound of metallic hoofs coming from the outside of the door. He saw the mane of Celestia as the door opened, and as she walked in, she was accompanied by her sister.
Celestia looked to the bed to find the pegasus has regained consciousness, and sighed in relief, which Maneshot gladly shared.
Maneshot took note of Luna's presence in the room, as it seemed to grow much darker as she entered. She had a similar face of disturbance her sister had when the news was broken. He only knew what her plans are for the return of the Operator. However, it is unlikely he will find out beforehand.
Clear Dawn examined her surroundings, and decided to get off the bed. She clearly seemed to be confused on where she was. It didn't take long before she ask where she was. Celestia offered the explanation, which Maneshot had no problem with, and simply said she was knocked unconscious after mildly fainting and hitting her head on the wall nearby. Maneshot couldn't help but notice the trivial explanation that the princess made up. He was more baffled to see Clear Dawn agree with it. He resisted the urge to facehoof.
It was a matter of time before Luna finally got down to the matter at hand. While she did not share her sistes major concern, the Lunar keeper still had the determination to stop the upcoming threat.
"What has thou brought to us that requires our attention?" Luna voiced.
Maneshot still had not got used to Luna's loud posture, as it took a moment for him to regain his hearing.
"W-well Princess Luna. It seems we have a major urgency at this very moment. And we require your assistance."
Luna seemed disatisfied by this, remarking, "My sister already told me this. I am here to conclude with the matter at hoof. I ask for DETAILS."
Clear Dawn suddenly blurted out, "A faceless supernatural being has preparing to attack Equestria with a cult of his, and appearently, it has a history with Princess Celestia! Please, we are running out of time!" A hint of desperation was heard from her groggy state.
Luna's expressions changed from annoyance to confusion, and she then faced her sister asking,"Tia, what of this being do you know of?"
The look on Celestia's face was pure anxiety and worry by her sister's questioning. It was clear she did not remember who they were dealing with now. Celestia than took a breath, looked into her sister's eyes, and said the name.
Luna stood for a moment, eyes wide, sweat dripping from her mane. She staggered as she walked to the two ponies that were standing by.
"H-h-how do you know of... him?" A major tense of desperation clogged her voice.
Maneshot could only look at the picture of Celestia and the Stallion, who's coat and mane shared the same pearl color as Celestia's coat. It was clear that whoever the Operator previously was, he had a long history with the Princesses of Equestria. It seemed unreal how a lean, soothing alchemist could turn to the monster that was haunting him and Clear Dawn. At that point, he could only share Celestia's sorrow of the return of a longtime friend, and a forgotten enemy. It seemed unreal, almost impossible for such a thing to happen. Yet here he was, standing with the two ruler's of Equestria, finding out that the return of a past threat is actually a past acquaintance of Celestia and possibly Luna.
These turn of event's has answered very little, and gather even more questions. Clear Dawn was trying her best to calm the two Princess's down, but that didn't seem to be working. Maneshot finally built the courage to trot over to the two, and softly ask, "Is there any other past evidence of the Operator?" Celestia looked to her sister, who stood up and began leading the way to the Archives.
_-_-_-_-_-_
Maneshot was quite taken back by the incredible amount of documents resting in the room for only Celestia knows how long, literally. It practically held everything, from spells, past historical events, mystical creatures, and... notable figures. Luna approached this section, carefully reaching the end of the corridor. There were bits of dust here and there, clearly showing the age of this part of the Archives. Luna grabbed a folder that lied between a couple of books, and laid it across the table. A few documents slid out, revealing some information about 'Der Ritter'. Unfortunately, not even 20% of the the information was actually readable, as the rest was redacted, including date of birth, age, relation to royalty, and date of death. Some papers were basically unreadable, while others barely had words on them. One paper only held the Operator's mark. Luna's horn glowed only for a moment before all the files were extinguished of their black markings.
Of course... , Maneshot sighed in his mind.
Luna gave the entire folder to Maneshot, "I apologize for not having anything else of notable help on his past. The Royal Guard set pre-caution to not let this information hold into the wrong hands, as it held secrets of Ritter's home, his current state, and his banishment. If anybody got their hands on it, they were endanger of a full on assault from him. We have seen previous attacks based on this, and we have left this under our eye for so long."
Clear Dawn was skeptical from this information. "If that is the case, why are you giving it to us?"
"Because...", Luna looked to the moon overhead of them, which glowed lighter than most nights, "... we will keep you under the eye of our guards, as you cannot leave this castle. That would potentially risk not only the loss of the documents, but may risk your death." a stern look seemed to hold an image on Luna's face. Celestia mostly stood in the back, staring out the window. She had been quiet the entire time, not even a clop from her direction. Maneshot wondered if this behavior is the result of Luna's stern and monotone personality, though it could just be the news itself.
Maneshot enveloped the folder with his magic, neatly gathering all loose papers and putting them in. He thanked the princess, and asked where they will be staying.
Luna kept on with the monotone behavior, "You shall sleep in the guest room near Celestia's room. A few guards will stay by the door to keep any threats in. We might also have to put a guard inside just in case of a break in into the room. I shall patrol the castle, keeping an eye on the Everfree's borders for any anomalous activity." With this, she walked out the the Archives, leaving Maneshot, Dawn, and Celestia in the room. The atmosphere felt awkward, to say the least.
Celestia broke the silence, "It can't be his fault..."
Maneshot turned his head. He thought she was talking about the Operator.
She continued, "Something must have triggered his step into madness. He couldn't just snap like that." Maneshot took a glance at the revived picture... no, painting. Celestia must have had this at an age before photographic devices were made. However, the shadowing and detail were superb, making it practically lifelike. It had the rough texture feel of a painting, but the smooth look of a photograph. If only the artist were still alive...
"I will leave you two be. Again, your room will be staying in the room across from mine. I must immediately inform my protege for her thoughts on the situation. I will get back to you two soon..." with that, Celestia reprieved herself from the room.
Maneshot and Dawn just stood in the middle of the Archives, the only light seemed to be from the ends of the columns of bookshelves and the glass dome.
Maneshot looked uneasily at Clear Dawn, "You think we can survive the night?"
Clear Dawn just stared blankly at him, and just started walking.
Jeez, I know Clear Dawn isn't one to talk, but this is quite the one to talk... , he muttered in his mind, following Clear Dawn to the room.
But this is just unlike her.
Walking down the hall to the room, Maneshot took another gander at the surrounding environment. It was quite breathtaking, even if he had seen it a few times beforehand, like the wedding of Princess Mi Amore Cadenza. He chuckled at that name, thinking that it belongs to some character from new-fangled XBuck game, 'Ponies Creed: Revelations'. It was just a mouthful, since her actual name was just Cadance. Well, maybe her husband Shining Armor will try and straighten out the name.
Shining Armor...
"Wait", Maneshot stopped suddenly, with Clear Dawn looking back, "Didn't Celestia say she was going to bring her protege to help her?
She nodded.
Maneshot just continued walking, but seemed far calmer then before. Clear Dawn held a questioning look. "Why do you care who the protege is?"
Maneshot just looked back in surprise, "Do you even know who she is?"
Dawn just shook her head.
Instant facehoof to Maneshot.
"Twlight Sparkle."
"Oh." Clear Dawn just stared blankly at him.
Maneshot just continued walking until he got to the room. He wanted to check on Celestia and see if she was alright, but suggested against it. A couple guards had already arrived to the door, and they seemed to be keeping an eye on them. Maneshot explained who they were, and the guards opened the door for them.
It was quite unremarkable, to say the least. Not much decoration put in. There were the regular blinds, bed, and a few pictures here and there, but nothing of full exquisite. Then again , Maneshot thought, It is just a guest room.
He was just criticizing everything now.
He laid the papers on a nearby desk, opened the folder, and took a look...
_________________________________________________________________________________________
High fives to the best procrastinator of all-time?
Subject Name: Der Ritter
Alias: The Operator
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Maneshot looked carefully and quietly at the documents before him. Each were stifled with photos (or paintings) of Der Ritter. The pages that he saw before were completely redacted and had become clearly visible again, and it carried tons of information behind the black etches that marked the paper. The documents read mostly of his biology, which was composed of several unidentifiable anomalies the normal pony should not have. Maneshot wondered if this could have been from his alchemy tests, or something else...
Eye Color: Grey
Coat Color: White
Mane Color: White
The curious physical features presently match the Operator perfectly, other than eye color and mane.
Sex: Male
Subject Profession: Alchemy
Quarantine Level: Foxtrot
“Hm...”, Maneshot wondered, “I could only guess what ‘Foxtrot’ would be...”
As he continued reading, he sensed a knock coming from the door, the clang of metal rhythm with the sound of splintering wood. It explained the several dents noticeable on the door outside.
Maneshot sighed as he walked across the marble flooring to the door. The quiet eeriness of the night within the castle walls felt marginally unsafe, but it was better than being out in the woods, being hunted by a monster that hunted it’s prey by pure sense and fear. The feeling has been drifting in Maneshot’s mind since the very beginning of this expedition, which turned into some “Holy Quest” for the sake of Equestria. He only asked himself why him... why was he befell with the responsibility to relinquish Equestria’s unknown, or at least secretly feared, ghost. Worse, he felt like he was attempting to solve a problem that the princess herself had carried on with her for only she knows how long.
It just seemed unreal to him, so inconvenient, as if he was put in the wrong place at the wrong time... as if it were planned just for him.
*Clang-Clang*
Maneshot snapped out of his zombie-like state to find he was facing the door, which was given a couple more knocks to signify someone was here.
He approached the door cautiously as he finally spoke, “Who’s there?”
A moment of silence was given before the voice of Twilight Sparkle was heard on the other end of the thick door. Though barely audible, Maneshot could tell it was her.
Maneshot sighed, not just in his tiring state, but his relief that maybe, just maybe, a savior of Equestria itself could actually solve this problem for him. He grabbed the handle of the door with his magic to finally reveal the lavender mare behind it, who seemed quite distraught for being woken up at the hour.
Her mood quickly changed as she saw Maneshot, her expression changed to confusion.
“What are you doing here?” she asked, annoyed, but half-awake.
“I came here to try and fix the problem that Celestia informed you about.” the frazzled stallion replied.
Twilight simply stared at him as if he were mad, a reasonable thing to think about, given the circumstances. She quietly walked into the room. Maneshot nodded to the guard standing outside, and slowly closed the door. The room regained its silence once again, and now a new guest shares its silent environment.
Twilight looked around, unfazed at the mess of papers spread around the bed, table. Even the floor was whirling with spreaded papers of text, each revolving around the physical features, psychological effects, and what few photos remain of the old Operator. Groggily, Twilight trotted to the desk and cleared it neatly of all contents on the table.
She looked at Maneshot, still holding a complexion of doubt, but asking him, “Did you have any contact with this abnormal stallion? If so, do you feel any negative effects based on your the psyche, or, on a physical note, the brain?”
“I had come in contact with it once, and since then I have had hallucinations and rampant headaches have been my most common problem.”, he replied, rubbing his head.
Twilight was left looking at Maneshot, which left him in an uncomfortable spot. He knew that she wanted to be the one to uncover this being, that she had the responsibility of helping the princess in this situation, which she was, but not under the role she had hoped for. It didn’t help that she didn’t appreciate his little “help” in her studies a few years back. But it certainly beat Pinkie Pie’s assistance.
“I recommend that, from what I understand, is for you to be a messenger between us and this stallion”, Twilight suddenly suggested.
Maneshot, staring back in disbelief, quickly debunked the idea, “That is ridiculous! My sanity is already diminishing from even talking to the damned thing! I did it the first time for answers. What makes you think I can do it again?”
“Well, you are not dead now, are you?”
The echoes of the Operators voice rang through Maneshot’s head, repeating the phrase, “We shall speak again” indefinitely. Even after several encounters with the lanky pony, the uncomfortable feeling of even being next to it... which led to his next question, what could he define it as? Would it be more humane to classify the Operator as a true pony, or as a demon that deserves to be addressed only as an entity?
After another session of deep-thinking, Maneshot was interrupted by a slight push to his side. He saw Dawn next to him, sunken eyes and clear signs of exhaustion blanketing her usually content complexion. He looked at her, which she replied by pointing towards a small paper lying on the bed. Maneshot nodded and wandered towards the bed.
In front of him lied what appeared to be a transcription of a conversation between Der Ritter and...
“???”, Maneshot said aloud.
“I don’t think it is necessary to say that aloud for no particular reason”, Twilight said, standing right beside him.
“Well, it must be very important to know who this ‘contact’ is, so we might as well give him an alias”, He explained.
“Triple question mark?”
“Why not?”
Twilight gave him a glare. He took it for granted and went on to reading the document.
_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-_
Clear Dawn was looking at some other papers from the folder they had received, and had eyed for of the biological and origins of Der Ritter. From what she could gather, he was from the nearby village of Trottingham, a rather quaint and queer village for its time, especially in that era. He had grown up to, who else? An alchemist father, and a rather secretive mother. Not much is given on the background of the parents, but from what was shown on the papers, Der Ritter ironically had a strenuous relationship between him and his father. They spoke very seldom due to his everlasting work on potions and concoctions. What he had worked on at the time was unknown, and only faded as the passage went on. After moving to Canterlot soon after the passing of his mother, Der Ritter followed his fathers footsteps as an alchemist, setting up shop near the castle. Business for him was slow and weak, but was gradually picking up with the recent outbreak of a plague in the nearby countryside. While Ritter couldn’t remedy every single patient due to the limited resources, he became widely renowned for his work on developing a cure to this virally infectious disease.
This detail struck Clear Dawn odd. She was juggling the thoughts of house this sort of individual could go practically mad after almost helping a wide array of individuals to the best of his abilities. She contemplated it was the guilt that had it in him, but she later dismissed that after it was written that his disappearance was recorded years after the epidemic.
After his rising popularity for cures and remedies, he went further to getting what he needed for his special remedies. In those ages, ingredients were quite expensive for purchase, especially those from Tartarus. It came to the point where Der Ritter was at a point of great need for certain items from Tartarus to fit his concoctions. He personally went to the forsaken dimension to get what he needed. Surprisingly, he was usually got his ingredients quickly and efficiently, and his travels didn’t last too long in most cases.
Clear Dawn was fascinated in this stallion’s efficiency and his excavations. Though what he did in his travels was never recorded, many tales were winded about his travels by those who had reportedly seen him. It wasn’t really too difficult to notice where he was, has Ritter had quite a great height, even to the point where he was mistaken as Celestia herself due to his similar pearl coat. He was quite a gentlemen to some, very sophisticated in his work, as vague and potentially dangerous as it seemed. Though a few believed him to be some sort of maker of witchcraft, there wasn’t any recorded instances of any casualties from his remedies. To many figures he always appeared as a father figure, whether it be from his physical feature or simply his mellow personality.
Dawn was suddenly taken out of her reading and turned to face Twilight, who was obviously the person who requested her attention, as Maneshot was looking at other documents at the desk nearby.
Twilight asked, ”How long have you known him?”
Dawn was caught off-guard by this question. She wasn’t sure why Twilight Sparkle would be asking her personal questions, especially any revolving Maneshot. She quickly answered, “A few months.”
“How can you even stand him?”
“He is nice, interesting.”
Twilight glared at Dawn for a second. She could see that Dawn was uncomfortable with the questions she was asking her, and decided to lower her agitation.
“Excuse me... it just seems strange how long it has been since I had seen him and he still has this attitude, this will for adventure.”
Dawn eased down the tension in her body, asking, “How do you know him?”
Twilight looked back at Maneshot, still observing the transcript of the document. His eyes narrowed as he read on.
She then answered, “When I still lived in Canterlot, I usually didn’t speak to many ponies around the city, and I usually kept it that way. However, it seemed when I popped outside, HE always seemed to be around the corner. He always was trying to strike a conversation with me, and eventually I had to speak to him.” She looked at the rucksack she got brung along with her for the investigation that was being pursued.
She continued with her story, “He seemed nice, I guess. He was a no-nonsense individual like myself, and I was grew rather interested in what he was striving for. When I asked him where he lived in the city, he just laughed. He said he doesn’t have a home, which I naturally reacted in shock. He then chuckled a bit more before telling me that he doesn’t usually stay in one place at a time, as he could never explore the world that he was given to look at. He was always a traveler...”
Twilight dimmed for a second to notice that Maneshot was looking directly at her. His eyes seemed to match his coat, and were transmitting the obvious signal to her that told her to leave the conversation. AS much as she wanted to continue, she returned back to studying the paintings and few photographs of Der Ritter. While all aged, they still had a charm and exquisite detail of the pony body, all visibly matching each other of Der Ritter in whatever environment he was pictured in.
While scrounging through the wide variety of visual evidence, Twilight came across a painting of Der Ritter in a black suit. It was rather appealing, quite well-crafted for a stallion of his size. He was posed with Celestia herself in this picture. She was in her usual armored attire, quite content and calm.
My... whoever did this artwork displayed Celestia and this stallion very nicely. It’s unfortunate what happened to him , Twilight thought to herself.
She moved the picture out of the way and looked out the window, checking the Ever-Free for any strange behavior. She was just about to turn away before she caught a glimpse of a pony off in the distance. He was standing by the edge of the Ever-Free, looking outwards towards canterlot. Twilight strained her eyes to see what he looked like. He appeared to have a white coat, but was wearing was formal outfit. What disturbed Twilight the most was that there was no facial features to speak of, at least from this distance. However, it seemed as if he was looking right at her.
A chill went down her spine as she saw the familiarity of him to the photo in the picture. When she turned to looked at it, a shadow was cast down on the area she was quickly turned to see that the strange pony was right at her window.
She had the urge to scream, but it never came out.
Author's Note
What a rather fitting title...
