Dead Zone: Richville

by Crystal_Wishes

Rating: teen
Tags: Other, Adventure, Tragedy, Dark, Death, Alternate Universe, Gore, Original Character, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Royal Guard
Length: 9781

Something strange is happening in my beloved town. I want to find why and how I can stop this before it gets worse

Silver Chary, a town guard planning to join the E.U.P suddenly found himself trying to solve mysterious cases of bizzare and gruesome deaths which started out of the blue.

However, while he did got some helping hands from a few ponies who are willing to break the rules of the local authorities of his town, the mystery increases. Will Silver find out the truth behind the bizarre death occurrences, and what fate awaits the peaceful tourist town of Richville?

Published 2021-01-13 11:00:00 UTC
Last updated 2021-01-26 04:03:33 UTC

Friend Gathering

Serene Spring, New Miles, Breeze Frond, and Sugar Pastel gathered around in a circle around a table with great curiosity, staring at what seemed to be a plate covered with red flowers with black pollen in the center. None of them knew what these flowers were, so Sugar decided to ask the pony who found them.

“Serene, is this the reason why you brought us here?”

Serene replied with a smile “Yep!”

“I haven't seen these kind of flowers before” New Miles mused, “Where did you find these?”

“Found them in the Tallmist Forest. I have no idea what these are” he picked up one of the flowers, “But they look incredibly delicious” as he was about to take a bite when a purple aura of magic took hold of his hoof.

“Wait, we should show it to a botanist first? It could turn out to be dangerous”

Serene's smile slightly decreased “Bwah! Don't be a chicken, Sugar! I already ate one long before I sent you guys a letter to meet me by the park!” Sugar, took one flower from the plate and moved it close to her eyes like a detective would do with their magnifying glass. The flower glowed shimmering brightly in her aura as Sugar began to mumble “No cyanide, the black pollen doesn't appear to be poisonous, no signs of magic residue...” she sighed and put back the flower on the plate “You're right. Based on my scanning, the flower isn't poisonous”

Serene's eyes widened with surprise “Wait a minute, you have a spell that can detect poison?”

Sugar smirked “What, even a Dead raiser can cook a delicious appetizer” she then went back to the flower subject.

Hearing that his friend has an ability unrelated to her job and her cutie mark, Miles wraps his forelegs around her neck and made a comment “Whoa, I'm glad we become friends, Sugar. Please come over to my house everyday”

Sugar chuckled and playfully shoved him ”Pay me and I might”

“Hey, shouldn't-”

“Breeze, you finally got your voice back!” Sugar interrupted Breeze, who was silent for the entire time, having decided to listen careful to his friends' conversations. He rolled his eyes and pointed at one of the ponies.

“Should we ignore the fact that Serene isn't sharing his food?” Miles and Sugar turned to behold Serene already stuffing the red flowers into his mouth.

“Serene!”

He paused and look to see his friends glaring at him. Looking down at the remains of the flowers which fell from his mouth “What? I got impatient while you guys just talk and talk like dolphins” Sugar gave him an arched frown.

“Rude...”

The group of friends burst into laughter at each others antics. Sugar, Miles, and Breeze found themselves eating the remaining flowers. After chewing a petal, Breeze exclaimed “This is actually delicious”

“It tastes like peppermint” Miles shrugged, as if the taste wasn't new to him. Serene found it a little depressing, but another subject came up thankfully.

“If these were added to my mom's cookies, they would become a hit” she threw a flower into her mouth and chewed it mindfully. After grinding her food to pieces and swallowing, she smiled “This could even rival Sundae's Rainbow ice cream. Can I get some of the these flowers before I go?”

“Sorry, the one's we just ate are the only ones I picked up but no need to fear, me and my mother are going back to the Tallmist Forest to look for her necklace. I can pick some more of the flowers along the way”

“That's a brilliant idea, Serene!" Sugar beamed excitedly, “Maybe I can join you and your mom when you go? Three minds are better than two, and we could get more flowers” between the two of us, Miles and Breeze chuckled, mentally comparing them to a happy positive couple planning to go on an adventure.
Miles then looked at Breeze and whispered to him.

“Heh, what could go wrong?”

Breeze smirked.

A sorrowful start

“Sereeeeeeeeene!!”

The next day, the ponies sat in rows, their faces lacking smiles, as only the wind can be heard as an erie silence engulfed the assembly. Their faces solemn, a few of them quietly sobbing to themselves, especially the ones in the front row. Guards stood beside the large group, sadly joining the event.

A mare stood next to the four brown coffins her expression just like that of the rest in the assembly, she gave one last glance to the coffins behind her before starting her speech.

“We have known these four ponies for only a few short years. They were respectful to their parents and others and remained loyal and obedient to the rules of our community, they achieved success in their life by helping out our town as it became more unisolated and becoming a popular tourist spot for outsiders, they had a family who loved them dearly,” a cry erupted from the front seats “and friends” one pony could be seen lowering their hat to hide their face”, and last but not the least; us her fellow townsponies. Today, tragedy has befallen them, a tragedy which hasn't happened to Richville for over 150 years since the first foundation of this town was build.

“Let us give one last respectful and loving goodbye to Serene Spring, New Miles, Breeze Frond, and Sugar Pastel”

One tearful mare immediately ran up to one of the coffins, hugging it with her forelegs and burying her face into it, the assembly stood from their seats,and went to the coffins and put several items, including food, jewelry, flowers, toys, and even crops from several farmers on them. The next to go are the guards, who bowed to the coffins before lifting them upon their backs and begin to carry them, four ponies to each coffin. The rest of the guards are to join the large trailing group of ponies. No one complained and no one was happy, the burial site was just nearby, as they were located at the outskirts of the town.

Among the group of ponies, Silver Chary marched beside the crowd, his solemn expression betraying grief and sorrow, he didn't say a word, he was quiet just like the others were when the funeral had started. He hadn't interacted much with the deceased residents but they were good ponies and having them die at a young age is tragic.

But he knew the deaths of these ponies wasn't over. The doctors have to tell the mayor, and the investigation team to learn the cause of death. Four ponies dying in the same night was unheard of in the town, there is no doubt their deaths will be investigated.

He shuts his eyes as a feminine cry is heard joined by sobbing from a masculine voice. He had heard one of the victims' parents Serene Spring's mother was supposed to go to Tallmist Forest along with Serene and the father, [who silently mourned for their son] to find a lost possession. He didn't know much of the details, but something traumatized the parents, as well as the families of the other three.

The coffins were put down on the ground, as the guards in charge of carrying them took shovels from another guard. They began digging. Silver just realized that they were now in the cemetery, which is just a green field filled with scattered tombstones.

“May they rest in peace and find salvation in Elysium” the mare to his left spoke up. She was a unicorn mare with a pale yellow coat, moderate blue violet eyes, and vivid gamboge orange mane and tail with luminous vivid gamboge stripes and on her flank were a trio of suns. She hadn't noticed nor felt Silver's eyes staring at her, or she simply ignored him, her eyes fixated on the coffins. She sighed and whispered to herself.

“By Scouthoof's name, they were so young”

Silver silently agreed with her.

Not long after the graves were dug, the coffins were now being placed into the graves, everyone gathered around, including the families of the victims, in mourning, knowing they will never see their dead relatives ever again. Throughout this until the graves were filled with dirt, Silver kept his eyes shut like curtains. what could have killed them? The morticians, doctor, and even the mayor didn't say a word of the details of their deaths opening his eyes slightly like a curious goal peeking through a curtain, ahe stared at the mare beside him, judging from her expression, she's sad but there is some curiosity behind it. She doesn't know anything just as I am. I have to ask the mayor later at the town hall

As soon as the horns carried by farmers sounded, he closed his eyes again. He and the entire assembly lowered their heads and sang for the dead. It was a traditional thing, according to one of the town's first founder, singing a sad yet peaceful hymn. It took them a few minutes before the song ended with silence and everyone in the funeral started to go back to the town.

Silver stared at the mounds which rested the bodies of the recent dead residents “Silver!” he heard his name being called, he turned around and saw a familiar face... Well, he knew most of locals as he himself was born and raised in the town.

As he was about to greet the pony, he saw another familiar face, which made him frown as he approached the two with concern for one of them.

“Snow, why is your father with you?” he gave a glance at the stallion before looking back at a young pegasus mare.

“Oh, he wanted to attend the funeral, he didn't want to stay home”

Silver's frown softened “He isn't stressed out is he?”

Before the mare named Snow could answer, the stallion behind her answered for her “Don't worry, Mr. Chary. Earnest is careful not to squeeze his heart” Earnest chirped, waving a hoof at Silver.

Silver sighed “Fine. As long as you're in good condition, I will not tell the hospital, just promise to stay in bed and take your medicine” he turned to Snow, “Make sure he's okay and wont do anything that could cause a headache, okay?”

Snow nodded “Don't worry, Silver. Pa will not be a featherbrain this time”

Silver gave her a slight smile “Good”

However, Earnest heard what his daughter called her “I heard that!” he growled, causing Silver and Snow to laugh, it made Silver cough.

Saying their goodbyes to Silver they return back to town, probably back to their house. Silver wasn't going back to his home though, he had to speak with the pony who was in charge of the case. So, he went to the town hall, where the other guards were.

He arrived. Unsurprisingly, the building do not have that many ponies living in them yet and streets are yet to be populated, the whole town having joined the funeral except for those admitted and working at the Hospital. He stood at the entrance and waited.

Waited...

And waited....

“I guess this is going to take a while, huh?” he mumbled to himself.

A voice behind him asked “What are you waiting for, Silver?”

Silver jumped, as well as his heart, which almost stopped. He turn behind him and saw a unicorn mare garbed in the towns guard armor just like him, her eyes filled with suspicion towards him.

“Sparkle, you made my heart jump!” he burst, his breathing abnormal for a short time before his shock wore out “I was just waiting for the mayor to come back, so I can talk to her!"

The unicorn mare named Sparkle lifted an eyebrow “What do you want to talk about with the mayor?”

“I want to talk to her about the recent incident” he looked around before continuing his speech “I want to know what caused the deaths of those four ponies”

Sparkle sighed “Sorry, the mayor said its off the record” she replied with an answer which dismayed him.

“What? You can't be serious!?” he slammed a hoof on the ground, “I'm a part of the government, why would they hidethe details from me!?”

“It's not only you, mooncalf!” Sparkle snapped at him, “All of the town guards don't know the details of the case, even me!” she pointed a hoof to herself then at the building behind her “Did you not remember one of our members, Valor Spirit is still being held partly responsible for the Happy Grapes Harvest Biting Incident!?”

“Of course I still remember” Silver glared at her as she glared back at him “But it doesn't have anything to do with me wanting to find out what killed those four ponies!”

Sparkle coldly stared at him “You're eyes are still closed, stonehead” she turned around, her tail smacking Silver's face to show she's not pleased with their interaction.

“You're an ignorant!” Silver stomped his hoof in frustration. If the mayor doesn't want to tell him the details, then he would have to find out himself.

His eyes softened. Not today, he promised to a friend's partner he will meet up her with her today. There was something wrong with her, she looks... Nervous when he saw at the front door of his house, her eyes pleading for him to help her. Gazing back at the town hall behind him, he let out a huff and left, going to the place where the mare told him to meet up. It wasn't long, but he notice the streets are finally being populated by familiar faces.

“Look out!" He glanced to his right. Sadly he was lucky. A cloud of dust is heading towards him, ponies managed to get out of it's way with ease, but he stood there with an I am used expression, even as the cloud of dust stopped just inches away from him. He took a step back, looked down and frowned.

“Blue Wings, what in the hay are you thinking? You could have hurt somepony” he led out a hoof at the mare laying on the ground, coughing repeatedly and holding her stomach with a hoof. She looked up at him with a pained hoof, a smile slowly forming before accepting his hoof.

“Thank you, Silver” Blue stood up with the help of Silver, her entire body covered in dirt, yet still in good condition. “H-Hey, have you the stunt I did?"

“No, I was just minding your own business when you suddenly turned into a hug brown ball of destruction” Blue sighed, but he didn't not let it bother him, “Let m guess: you're still practicing for a group egasi who made airial shows in Equestria?"

Blue gasped in surprise “Whoa, how did you know that!?” she blurted out. Siler was about to say something when she suddenly put a hoof to his mouth, “Nevermind that. I got some good news. Silver... I got promoted!” Silver's jaw dropped slightly, his eyes widened, but it only lasted for a moment before he quickly recovered from his shock, a smile on his face.

“Well done, Blue” he patted her head, “I hope thing will go well for you”

Blue giggled wit joy, pleased to hear such praise “Thanks. So, where are you going? Last I check, you don't patrol this street"

“Ah, I was going to have a meeting with White Wheat's wife. She said its something important"

“Something important, huh? I wonder what could it be? Could it be another suggestion for a surprise gift?” Blue mused.

“I'll only find out once I talk to her” he cantered pass her, “No need to keep her from waiting. Have a nice day, Blue!”

“Okay, Silver!"

It did not take him a few minutes to arrive at his destination. It was just a small restaurant with only a few costumers.He looked around and found the pony he is meeting with; an earth pony mare with pale, light grayish apple green coat, calm luminous aquamarine eyes, and very light yellow mane with a ponytail. The mare was staring into nothingness, oblivious to the presence of the pony she had been waiting for.

“There you are, Charity Aid”

Charity blinked, and glanced up at him, having got out of waiting mode “Silver Chary. Come here and take a seat” Silver oblidged and sat on an empty chair, facing her. He noticed there was no menu on the table.

“You already ordered for us both?"

Charity beamed “Correct. I thought you wouldn't mind”

Silver nodded “So, what did you want to talk about?” he looked around and saw a waiter, approaching them.

“Here are your mung bean soups and sandwich tower overload with a pickle on top” the waitress put the food on the table and bowed “Thank you for eating in our restaurant" she uttered before leaving the duo.

Charity smiled sheepishly “Let's talk about White Wheat after we finish our food”

“Okay, I don't mind” Silver said before diving into his sandwich, which is literally a tower, as saliva is slowly sliding out of the side of his mouth.

“Thank you for the blessing of this food!”

...

Silver finally took the last bite of his sandwich into his mouth just as Charity finished sipping the last of her soup. With both of them pleased and satisfied,

“What did you want to talk about again, Charity?” Silver asked.

“Silver...” despite her expression remaining bright and happy, her voice changed into a sad solemn tone “What should I do about my husband? His guilt is traumatizing him even more than when he witnessed the fatal assault on his friends. Was my support not enough?” Silver frowned. This wasn't what he was expecting Charity to talk about. It sounds as if she's also losing hope of making her husband mentally stable.

“White Wheat? What happened to him?”

Charity looked around before starting her explanation “At first, he was begging to be forgiven but now... He's saying something along the lines of 'They're coming!' 'We have to get out of here!' 'He told me they're coming!' 'They'll kill us!' and 'We will serve them as mindless slaves!'. Silver, tell me my husband isn't going crazy”

Silver put a hoof on his chin “Mm... That's definitely not normal, but I'm not saying he's losing his mind. I'm not a very good adviser, Charity, but I suggest you be close to him at all times, tell one his friends to live in your house, or send your husband to the doctors and experts, they'll have better ways to help with his condition” he suggested.

“I wanted to follow your last suggestion but..." She lowered her head “He'll just end up admitted to the hospital and he doesn't like being there. I still remember the last time when he got admitted”

“I assure you that will not happen again” assured Silver.

Charity smiled, happy as a mother finding out her foal telling her how he successfully ignored the bullies “Thanks, Silver”

“No problem” He stood up, giving her a encouraging smile, “Have a nice day, Charity”

“You too, Silver” he nodded. Turning around, he went and opened the entrance door of the restaurant and left.
[Her]
When Silver returned home, he was met by his parents,who both are not working since their boss gave them a day to rest because of the funeral. The entire day was just going back to his duty to patrol the hillside part of town to make sure no wild animals enter their settlement.

“Welcome back, son” his father greeted him, “Are you hungry? Your mom made fried aubergine”

“Sorry, I've already filled my stomach”

“Is that so? Okay” his mother didn't aeem to be disheartened that he wasn't anle to eat the food she cooked. He went to his bedroom and sat on his bed. He wasn't going to be here that long since its only lunchtime, therefore he will be returning to his duties.

He was in deep thought. While many things happened, he still remember his interaction with Sparkle and the fact he wasn't told of the cause of deaths of the ponies who died yesterday night.

A secret will stay secret, no matter how many times I beg for the truth, I'm sure I will be denied. I have to something, I have to find out the truth myself. I don't want to do this but I have no choice... I have to sneak my way into the hospital and get the autopsy reports of the one corpses of the four. But I can't do it alone, I have to get a companion. But who? he looked around his room. There wasn't that much other than his bedroom, a website table, a cabinet, and a drawer beside the large furniture. Picture frames stood on the drawer. He took one and stared at the ponies posing for the photo with a younger Silver Chary smiling sheepishly with them I only have mother and father in the family, however I have many friends here. But i can't go to them all. I have to choose one his eyes moved, gazing at each pony in the picture one-by-one (except him). His gaze rests on one pony who gave his younger self a 'sneak hug attack'. He remember the feeling of his coat standing when he felt her body touch him and heard her giggle. He smiled.

“I wonder if Summer would agree”

Plan

“I wonder why they went back to the forest?”

The next day, Silver decided to wake up earlier in order to not be seen by his fellow Town Guards. He didn't want anypony else to know what he was up to.

Arriving at the residence of the unicorn mare, he was surprised to find the mare was awake during the night, having made an experiment involving a forgotten forbidden spell and cocoa powder, which sounded strange to him. The mare gave him both good news and bad news; the good news is she's willing to help him with his investigation, the bad news is she's an egghead and will not partake in any infiltration, for fear of being persecuted by their government.

Summer Shimmer, the only fire mage/wizard in the town of Richville is currently looking for a certain spellbook “No, not this one...” she muttered to herself before casually throwing the book behind her, narrowly hitting Silver, who stood like a stoic statue.

“Do you need any help, Summer?"

“I don't need your assistance. I can find the right book myself” Summer said as she stared at a bookshelf, her eyes moving to examine every book stuffed into it before randomly picking up a book that shone in a bright yellow aura of the mare's magic, which shined brightly like a star.

“No, no, no, no. This is not the book I'm looking for!” just as she did with the previous book, she nonchalantly threw the book behind her, this time landing on Silver's head, who decided enough is enough.

He shook the book off his head and approached the bookshelf, he gave Summer a glance before looking back at the bookshelf, carefully examining the books. It did not take him long before he picked up a tan-colored book and read the title, before flipping though the pages.

“I found it” he didn't look away from the book, as he only said this so Summer would stop grumbling like an angry foal losing a battle. She turned to him, looking shocked. Silver thought her expression was priceless.

Suddenly, Summer yanked the book out of his hoof with her magic and confirmed this was indeed the book she was looking for.

“H-How... Did you find the book?” she kindly asked, her eyes squinted at him with confusion and frustration.

“I 'looked'” he smirked, then frowned, “the color of that book stood out amongst the other books. You should read the titles before you start throwing them around carelessly and hitting your guest in the head with them” Summer blinked confused, but then she noticed the red mark on Silver's head and realized her mistake.

“Y-You're bleeding. I'm sorry, are you okay?” Silver looked up... Or he tried, he might not have seen it, but the presence of a wound is revealed when a stinging pain erupted on his forehead, he looked at Summer, the perpetrator of the injury, who stared at him with worry, a towel in her magical grasp.

To the mares surprise, Silver chuckled as if the injury had no effect on him “No need to worry, this is just a small wound that can be easily treated”

The towel lowered slightly but still in the offering position “Are you sure?"

“Am I not a guard who is trained to handle extreme situations like driving away wild bears from our lovely prosperous town?” Silver let out a hearty laugh,hoping to convince Summer that he's okay. Summer sighed, the wizard wondering why stallions like this one are always too stubborn to admit when they feel pain.

“Well, good luck mortal" she turned to the book and opened it, then began searching for a specific spell, flipping from one page to another. After a few flips, she stopped.

“Did you find the spell your looking for?” Silver asked.

“Yes, unfortunately this teleportation spell will drain most of my magic since I don't have the star mark, still the good news is that its made it totally impossible for me to partake in your plans to sneak into the hospitals morgue” she pointed at him “Which means, you do your plan alone or find someone else to accompany you”

“Horseapples” Silver cursed under his breath. Now, he had a new problem, he had no one to join him and he couldn't force Summer into submission, which... He will never do to any mares. Ever.

But he needed someone for an extra hoof for the plan to have a greater chance of success, he needed someone like him, someone trained, someone he could trust, and someone who can cast spells in times of need. Hey, don't point your fingers on Summer Shimmer, readers. She already told us the teleportation spell is going to use on Silver is enough to drain all her magic. And she might be Summer but she is not Sunset, and her name wouldn't be effective without a Shimmer, her name sounds bright as fire.

“I'll think about it. Thank you, Summer”

Summer smiled “No problem”

After leaving Summer's place, Silver quickly went back to his house, having not told his still sleeping parents. He went to check his plan that he had written down the night before.

“You'll fail”

Silver dropped the quill from his mouth and looked quickly behind him. To his relief he was alone but the voice he just heard... “Maybe it was just my imagination” he turned back to his notes then set it on his bedside table, and went back to bed, hopefully, he won't have eyebags for the upcoming hours.

Geared up in his town guards platinum silver armor, Silver walked back and forth around the plaza near the town hall, watching the citizens of Richville going about their business. His plan was still bothering him in the back of his mind, but not too much as he was solely focused on his duty as one of the protectors of his town.

“You lost it there?” he heard the voice of another guards a females nearby. Wondering who the guard is talking to and if they need any help, Silver went to investigate.

“Yeah, and it was very expensive. I don't want my sister to become upset with me”

Talking to a unicorn filly he didn't recognize was a unicorn mare, she had a light bluish persian grey coat, light grey eyes, and cornflower bluish white with white streaked mane and tail, her cutie mark hidden by her armor. She was standing beside the newly constructed statue of the founder of Richville with the filly watching her as she squinted at what seems to be a crack beneath the statue, but what caught Silver's attention the most was the mare's horn.

Blue light emitted from the horn of the guard illuminated the crack, showing a small silver necklace with an alicorn pendant which the town doesn't sell, confirming the filly to be a tourist from Equestria.

Delighted to see the precious necklace, the filly took the item with her magic “You found it, you found it!” she turned to the mare who helped her and smiled with a look of gratitude “Thank you for helping me find my sister's necklace, Mrs.Light”

“Just happy to help, Umbra” the town guard replied, beaming to see the filly happy. Their short celebration was soon cut off by the arrival of another unicorn mare, whose eyes were focused on the filly named Umbra. The newcomer is more slender and taller than an average pony, like the ones you would see in a city like Maneponia

“Umbra!” the mare approached them, her face filled with concern. Umbra quickly hid the necklace behind her back “I've been looking all over for you. Where have you been?”

Umbra, however, ignored the question and smiled, trying to look all cutesy in front of the mare “Sister, I found what you were looking for” she showed the necklace.

The mare's eyes widened “My necklace!" She exclaimed, enveloping the jewelry with her magic, then looking at Umbra “Where did you find this, Umbra?”

“Well, sister... I...” Umbra trailed off, her words seemingly to heavy for her to say, she pawed at the ground, unsure what to say. Seeing this, Light decided to step in and take the burden.

“Are you Umbra's sister?”

The mare looked to regard the town guard “Yes. My name is Sanae. I assume you helped my little sister, Umbra was searching for my necklace which my father gave to me as a gift when I was just a little filly”

So the necklace was older than it looked, and it was a memento given to her by their father. Silver moved his eyes to the filly, Umbra seemed weighted by something. Perhaps she did something that had caused the necklace to go missing in the first place, he then looked at the older sister Sanae, I've heard ponies who lose somepony elses memento will receive dismay from the owner, but those two are not from here

Light nodded at Sanae “Nice to meet you, Sanae. She was the one to find the necklace and we found it under the newly erected statue of our great founder Scouthoof Spunky”

Sanae and Umbra looked at the statue beside them, depicting a white marble figure of a stallion wearing a saddlebag and a fedora, his expression stuck into a confident smile as if he's assured to win a competition.

“That's him? He looked so... striking”

“I agree Umbra. He looks like quite the gentlecolt” Sanae added.

Silver chuckled and finally introduced himself to the three “Scouthoof wasn't a gentlecolt and not what you'd expect about him" he told the sisters, “He led 176 ponies here and at that time, Richville was just a green field and woods”

“When Scouthoof saw this an opportunity to build a community for his group, he ordered his ponies to work. Building a house took them a few months, sometime in between he became strict and authoritative towards his ponies and began setting up rules, including them only to rest at night. Despite the strict rules he established, the ponies remained loyal to him and swore their hearts they would serve him and their generations till the end. By the time the first house was built, that is when Scouthoof smiled, finally showing his pride to the first residents of the town, which he named Richville”

“Woah, so that's how he founded Richville? He's amazing” Umbra spoke in awe looking at the statue of Scouthoof, even Sanae agreed with her.

“Yeah, I cannot even imagine how much stress he went through, though its impressive he did not abuse his power” she added. Silver liked it when visitors found the history of their town and had good impressions of it and their glorious founder, he did not even hide it, he smiled.

“If you want to learn more about our town's history, find a town guard named Sparkle Guide, she will help you get to your destination”

“Thank you for telling us, Sir. But can you tell us what this Sparkle Guide looks like?” Sanae asked.

“Sparkle wears the same armor as me and Luna Light” he said, referring to Light, whose full name is revealed to be Luna Light, “She has a light purple coat, raspberry eyes, with a purple mane and tail. Her tail has an inward curl and she has two arrows for a cutie mark. It won't be difficult to find her since she always monitors the streets near the town hall”

“Thank you, sir” Sanae turned to her little sister “Come on, Umbra. Say goodbye to the guards”

Umbra nodded and turned to Luna and Silver, giving her best to make the most cutest expression for saving her from the possible wrath of her sister “Mr and Mrs guard, thank you for helping me find my sister's necklace. I am forever in debt for your help!” the face the filly was giving melted Silver and Luna's hearts like chocolate exposed to high temperature, making them chuckle in satisfaction and joy.

“If you need any help, Little Umbra, come to us again okay?” Luna told the filly, her cheeks pink as a rose.

“Yes!” Umbra's energetic response earned another wave of chuckles, Sanae included, who was pleased to see her little sister already gaining friends who both worked as town guards of all ponies, therefore, a flicker of friendship is formed.

“Come on, Umbra. We have to go now”

“Okay!”

Umbra waved at the town guards before going to her sister. At this point, Luna is fighting the urge to squeal as the sisters leave the town hall plaza.

“Tourists, huh?” Silver smirked, “I love it when they bring the best out of them”

“Yeah...” Luna sighed, “That filly is so adorable”

Silver nudged the catatonic mare, bringing her out of her daze “Hey, stop daydreaming, Luna. I have something to tell you”

Luna looked at him “What is it?”

“I want you to meet me at the park after both our shifts ended, you must not talk about this to anypony, not even Sparkle”

“What you have to say sounds very important. Don't worry, my mouth is shut” She assured him, promising she won't break her promise, “But why choose me? How about somepony like Daring Spirit or her brother, Valor?”

“I'm sorry Luna, but I will tell you later. Somepony will hear us here” he glanced around, making sure no guards or other ponies were hearing their conversation.

Luna nodded “Okay”

Somewhere in town, a unicorn mare sat on a chair in her office, fighting off the urge to close her eyes and rest her head on the desk, when she heard the door open, she quickly lifts her head and wipes the drool off her mouth just in time for a pegasus stallion to appear from the door and enter the room.

“Good morning, Brick Strong. I did not expect you to show up in my office, let alone at the hospital”

Brick chuckled “Neither did I expect myself to be here, Doctor Heart. I only came here because of a strange case of coughing”

“Coughing?” Heart's casual smile dropped, “I can't see why anypony would come to the hospital for coughing. Richville's temperature is a bit low sometimes”

“Doctor, I just coughed 20 times for a few seconds each” Brick told her, “I'm bothered by that because I rarely cough and I always wear a mask every time i'm with my team on duty. In addition to that, the last time my team and I built a house was 4 months ago”

“Is that so?” Heart brought out a parchment and a quill, “Are there anymore symptoms like low body temperature or headaches?”

Brick nodded “No, just the coughing”

“It could be nothing, Brick. But just in case it turns out to be some illness, here are some medicine take some then immediately go to the hospital for a checkup” she handed him a box, filled with some kind of pills.

“Thank you, Dr. Heart”

Brick turned, almost bumping into another doctor, a unicorn mare with a white coat and pink mane who opened the door. The two muttered an apology to each other before the stallion left, closing the door behind him. Upon seeing her fellow doctor, Heart stood up from her seat.

“Remedy, I see you finally have a visitor”

Heart, also known as Remedy Heart smirked “Yeah. Thank goodness he came. I almost slept in my own office and if the manager came in to check on me, I'll be out of the building in ten seconds flat. “What brings you here?” she asked.

“Well... The administrator is calling all the doctors to the conference room for the... results of the recent deaths and for Patient Crystal Wishes and Sword Slasher”

Heart raised an eyebrow “What? But I thought that case is over. We all know how the four died: concussion, internal hemorrhaging-”

“Just follow the orders Remedy” Heart rolled her eyes, but silently obliged.

“Just wait for me outside my room, Rosy”

The sun still loomed in the horizon, but Silver knew it was afternoon. There were a couple of foals and ponies passing by but none of them took any interest of him. He lay on his stomach, looking around, waiting for his friend to come.

Soon, Luna Light trotted into view, she looked around for him “Luna, over here!” she glanced at his direction and approached him.

“So what did you want to tell me, Silver?”

Silver looked around them before replying to Luna's question “Luna, you didn't tell anypony about our meeting?”

Luna frowned “No, why would I tell anypony if this to be kept as a secret?”

“Good, " Silver started, “I want you to assist me getting the documents for Serene, Breeze, Miles, and Sugar's autopsies” Luna's eyes widened. Of course he was expecting this reaction, Summer even gave a similar one when he told the unicorn of his plan.

“Is it just me or did you just say you want to take the autopsy documentations?”

“Yep”

Luna glanced around, then back at Silver, giving him a look which she voiced a moment later “You're crazy”

Silver sighed. This is going to be harder than he thought it would be “That is why I NEED your help. I can't do this on my own” He's started to lose hope of his friend helping him with his plan to infiltrate the hospital, besides they needed to know what really killed the four ponies who are all pretty healthy, yet died in one night.

“Silver, sometimes everypony doesn't want to know all the details. There are reasons why they should not be heard by the public” Luna did have a point but, they should still find out what really happened to them. It's better to solve the mystery rather than let it disappear into oblivion.

“Luna please, I will only do this once. I just want to know and I will be quiet once my mind is satisfied with what I find out” he gave her a determined look, “If you don't help me, I will have to take the timescope I gave you as a gift back to my household!”

Luna's eyes widened, then glared at Silver and hissed “You wouldn't dare!” however Silver did not step back, not showing any surprise with her sudden hostility. Luna sighed in defeat and spoke in a hushed tone “Fine...”

Silver smiled “That's settles it then” he looked up at the sky, “Once the moon rises up and the street becomes 'clear', meet me here in the park, okay?” Luna nodded.

White Wheat stood at the porch of his house, staring at the sky above him as the wind blew, the field of rice stalks flowing and moving, creating a peaceful, relaxing sound of leaves rustling. He is alone on his farm, his wife gone buying food for dinner. He closed his eyes and attempted to clear any thoughts in his mind.

“White”

He open his eyes and quickly glanced behind him.

Addition

“Believe it or not, you're already destined to serve and avenge me”

Night has engulfed the streets of Richville, and the residents have all went back to their homes, sleeping, and dreaming, but three suspicious ponies outside the hospital are an exception.

Silver, Summer, and Luna stared at the huge structure, examining every window and the entrance. Silver and Luna are still up and awake, but for Summer, this was not her case. She let out a yawn, her eyes half-open, showing nothing but the look of a tired unicorn who just wanted to go to bed. Silver actually has to meet her first, while Luna only have to go there easily, perks of being a night guard earning no suspicion from a few wandering ponies who decided to stay up at night.

“Okay, this is how we get the documents: Summer, you will have to conjure a teleportation spell on me and Luna. Luna, you have to help me find a way to the autopsy documents. I don't know much about the hospital, so expect that it will take us some time to get out of here. Any questions?"

“Yes, I do have one question, Silver” Summer spoke up, “Once I teleported you guys inside the hospital, can I go home and reunite with my bed?” Silver rolled his eyes.

“Yes, you CAN leave after you took me and Luna inside the building" he turned to Luna, “Are you ready?”

“Yes,” She nodded. Silver looks back at Summer, who let out a long yawn.

“Do it”

Summer lit up her horn, shining brightly it could probably be seen by those who happened to be looking out from the window, yellow aura encasing Silver and Luna. Summer asked Silver one last time.

“What floor?”

The room is dark, all its occupied have fallen asleep, including one nurse sleeping on the floor, his tongue out and legs splayed out.

Suddenly, the room exploded with a bright light, a loud poof that could wake up any pony nearby is heard, yet the occupants of the dark room are still taking their naps. After the flash dissipated, two ponies appeared in the room.

Silver and Luna looked around. They froze when they spot their occupants, one of them squirming on the floor “Let's go!" silver whispered to Luna, and both of them quickly went out of the room, the sound of the door closing waking up the nurse, whose peaceful sleep is interrupted by the infiltration.

“Ugh... Pill, I told you to shut the door quietly..” the nurse moaned, rubbing his eyes before laying his head back on the floor.

...

Silver and Luna looked around as they stood in the hallway of the hospital “We have to be careful not to get caught by the staff, or we have to give them and the mayor an explaination why we are sneaking into the building like spies” he told her. Luna simply sighed and whimpered in silent distress, looking back and forth around them before jabbing Silver's shoulder and glared at him “Yeah, I know your mad” Silver casually spoke in response, “Now, can you stop moving around? You're going to knowck something down, and make noises” Silver began cautiously walking, followed by Luna making faces at him from behind. If they were to be seen by a pony, they are certainly doomed, especially they don't wear anything to hide their identity. Silver would lead the way, hiding behind walls if they went into an intersection, they even once had to hide behind a door when a nurse went out of a patient's room, narrowly being spotted by the lone staff.

As they went deeper into the hospital, their energies started to deplete, eyes began to close, their bodies becoming heavy, and their legs wanting to gave out, the duo did all their best to fight off their own bodies.

Silver, however, was glad when a familiar sign on top of a two-door entrance is seen, saying 'office'. He almost chuckled in delight, if it were not for a high suddenly come crashing into him. He gasped and looked behind to see what kind of sack fell on him.

“Shh, Luna, don't sleep!” Luna's semi-unconscious body leaned against his rear, snoring softly. He grumbled in frustration and tried to set his partner's head on the ground so he could move, unfortunately, Luna's head slip off his back and fell and hit the floor with a thud, the impact of her jaw hitting solid ground caused to walkke her up.

“Ouch!” Silver's eyes widened. Luna's shriek was loud enough to get attention of those nearby, he panickly glanced behind him and his partner, then at the other side of the hallway. He shut his eyes and prayed that no one would find them, all while putting a hoof on Luna's mouth, whose eyes widened in realization of what she just did.

It took them for a few seconds, maybe several minutes to realize no one is coming to investigate, which made them both wonder where the staff are.

But they had no time to voice their curiosity. Silver dragged Luna into the office section of the hospital, closing the two doors loudly. They went inside an office, lucky for them, it was not locked. He pinned his back against the door, then looked at Luna.

“Are you okay?”

Luna nodded “Yeah, I'm fine” she stood up, her tail tucked to her flank but she kept her mouth shut and soke no more, her expression the only hint to Silver of what she felt.

“I will find some painkillers for you along the way” hearing a pained chuckle from his partner, he went back to focus on the door in front of him and put his door against it, listening for any voices to hear just in case they did alert some of the staff. Hearing nothing, he cautiosly opens the door, instally regretting his actions when it made a creak and making a loud bang when he shut the door out of instinct. He yelled to his partner.

“Quick, hide behind that desk!” Luna turned and immediately went behind a desk followed by Silver. He felt something made impact to his head before landing on the floor, spilling black liquid “Can this get any worse?” he muttered to himself as he stared at the small pool of ink while Luna whimpered quietly. In their minds, this was it, they will be found, taken to the mayor and be punished for their actions.

They heard the door open, Luna shut her eyes, but Silver put on a forced determined look, ready to knock unconscious whoever entered the office. They could hear hoofsteps, becoming closer and closer, making their bodies more tense as it become louder and louder than before. Silver shut his eyes and revealed himself.

Only to find no one was in the office other than him and Luna.

He was not convinced yet, and went to check on the door. It was still closed, then he slightly opens the door and took a peek. There is no sign of anybody recently passing walking nearby.

“I swore I've heard somepony enter the room" he glanced at Luna, who already got out of her hiding place, starting at him “You heard it too right?"

Luna lifted an eyebrow “What? I didn't hear anything, except for you urging me to hide”

“What are you talking about?” Silver was confused. The hoofsteps he heard just seconds earlier are obviously loud, not to mention the door being opened bedore that. Was his mind playing a trick on him? He did not let this strange incident linger into his mind, he had no reason to be confused. In fact, he should be grateful the sounds If hooves he heard did not manifest in reality.

“Stay here, and find anything related to the autopsy report. I'll go and check if the coast is clear” he told Luna before going outside. Nothing has changed, the hallway is dark, no new changes, and all the doors he have seen so far are closed, including the double-doors where he and Luna used to go inside the office section of the hospital. He went back to the office “Did you find anything?”

“No, but I do find a diary of this office's occupant containing good news” she showed him a pink book. He took the book and read what it seems to be the latest record. One paragraph got his attention.

“...Finally, something to do other than lazing around in my office. The administrator finally called a meeting later at midnight, something about the results of the autopsies for New Miles, Sugar Pastel, Serene Spring, and Breze Fondl (I do not know If i got that right). It is strange why they have to go back to thet subject. If this meeting is because of the investigation of whether these young grown-ups die from illness or murder, I won't complain then.” he closed the book and looks at the cover, seeing the name of the owner written in the left part “Major Probe. This pony is definitely a stallion, but why did he chose a pink book to write a diary? Doesn't matter, I don't have anything against pink” he muttered this to himself before tossing the diary back to Luna, who caught it with her magic “Put it back where you found it in the same position”

“...What about the ink?” Luna pointed at the splattered ink hiding behind the desk.

“Just leave it. I don't think Major would find it suspicious, just look at the state of his desk, his stuff are just a pile of mess" he said, pointing out the organized mess of books, papers, and other items sitting on the table of the desk.

“It's an organized mess, Silver” she corrected him.

“Organized mess or not, it's still a mess”, Silver let out a sigh, “Look, let's not argue about this small mess. We have to keep moving”

The two left the room, alerted and vigilant. They glance around the hallway from left to right before making their to another office room. Inside this room, everything inside is organized from the previous one. From the clean and spacious desk, to the neatly stacked medical books in the bookshelf. Silver and Luna began their search with Luna taking care with the bookshelf, while Silver goes for the desk.

“So, are we going to the meeting?” Luna asked while putting back a book, not even looking at Silver.

“No, the more we're near populated areas of the hospital, the more we increase the risk of getting caught. I'm not a professional spy” he told her, as he inspects a stack of documents on the desk. He read paper after paper, but found nothing important. He sighed “I guess this room has nothing useful. Let's go”

They left the room and went to the other room, which was next to the room they first went to. This office was also clean and tidy, but there are no papers on the desk, except for a pen, a parchment, and a small box. Silver took the paper and read what it says.

“Dear, Swift Postage

Put the food on the desk.

Sincerely, Rosy Aegis”

Silver turn his attention at the box with curiosity. What kind of food is resting inside the food? Probably Velvet cake or strawberries. He stared at the box, but the box moved away him, covered in white magic. He turned and see Luna, frowning.

“I know I'm also tempted to open that box, but I'm not dumb enough to do that” he groaned in defeat, knowing what Luna said is right. Ponies can have their mistakes whether they are. He backs away from the but continued their search. Like the previous one, they only found a diary with the last entry being about going to the conference room for a meeting for the Happy Grapes Harvest Biting Incident, which left the intruders puzzled.

“Happy Grapes Harvest Biting Incident? I never heard that case before” Silver mused to himself before glancing at Luna, then at the diary.

“There's definitely something important going on in the meeting”

“But we can't go. There's more ponies than there are in any parts of the hospital” Silver countered. Luna opened her mouth to speak, but quickly gave up and groaned in frustration.

Two went to a few more offices, finding nothing other than a diary and even a man excuse letter for not attending the meeting. Every now and then, Silver or Luna would flick their tail, dishearten by their lack of finding any important document. Little do they know they are getting deeper and deeper into the office section of the hospital.

After a failed an attempt to open an office door, which turns out to be broken as revealed by a note in the office next door, they come across a door with a room label which says ‘document storage room'. If all the documents regarding to all details of a patient are here, maybe the whole components about the deaths of Serene and his friends are stored here as well. Silver smiled at this, knowing he won't have to go down to the morgue.

“Wait, ” he told Luna bedore reaching at the door as if expecting to electricity him, but when his hoof are just inches away from the handle of the door, he relaxed and breathe out a sigh of relief. He opened the door and let Luna inside first before went in and closed the door.

All around them, shelves stood in rows or even formed a wall, files of some sort placed in shelves in rows, some in stacks. Books and parchment are separated from each other, some are hidden in drawers, which are quite a few. There was no light in the room other than the white light from Luna's horn.

White approached one the shelves and found out the documents are sorted alphabetically. He went from K until he went to the P section and searched until he found a shelf named ‘patient records'. He opened the draw and began sorting through documents, even finding Earnest and Summer's medical record. He stopped when he finally found what he's looking for.

“I found Breeze Frond's document” he look and smiled at Luna.

However, success turned to another side when they heard faint footsteps approaching. Luna and Silver's eyes widened in alert, but it was too late.

They were just able to react when they heard the door open. Silver immediately put the document back into the drawer, and hid behind a bookshelf along with Luna just in time for a doctor to arrive in the scene.

The doctor went for the same drawr and picked up several files, muttering unintelligibly to himself before leaving the room without incident.

Silver and Luna looked at each other before he went back to picking up what he assumed to be Pastel's file. “Now, can we go?” Luna's voice was shaky and at this point, her question sounds more like pleading.

Silver sighed “Yeah. Even if we didn't get the other documents we need, atleast we got one which could give us the information of the autopsy report”

“That's good” Luna said, “But we almost got caught. What would you do if somepony found us?”

“That's simple: We surrender" came Silver's reluctant reply, turning his back on Luna as she tried to protest, but what came out is only a incomplete form of words before it came to a brief end. “Ugh, you're making me scared. Let's just get out of here”

In the dead of the night, a stallion galloped in the darkness, sweat covered his body despite the cold air, and tears on his face. He let out audible breathes as he approaches the hospital with desperation, a limp body of a pegasus mare lay on his back, her hooves on his wings, yet has become unconscious, her body giving freezingcold to his own body.

He already lost his son, he can't accept to lose his wife.

Surprisingly, presence of the hospital staff are as low as when they arrived. Silver and Luna are now near the entrance, avoiding a nurse who was counting while starting at the wall devoid of any emotion. They were able to pass her easily as she paid no attention to them.

“Help! Help us!”

“Horseapples!” Silver exclaimed and without any question, he went into a full-blown gallop, followed by Luna, who's more concerned by the scream than being caught.

As they reach the lobby, they saw a stallion laying by the entrance, holding on the handle of the door. Laying next to him was a mare, laying on her side, unmoving.

“We need heeeeeeeelp!”

This tearful yell broke Luna and Silver out of their daze and both abandoned their thoughts of going out of the hospital, though Silver put the 'stoleno document behind a plant nearby while Luna went to help the help the couple. When she approached, she immediately recognized the stallion and the mare.

“You are Serene's father!" She said as she helped him back to his hooves before going to the mare.

“Please, you need to help her. She- She's sick!” Luna used her magic on the mare to carry her up to her back before glancing at Silver “Silver, call the doctors, immediately!”

When the sun rises, so everybody, but for that day, one doesn't.

Despite the efforts of the doctors and nurses, Serene's mother died. Her cause of her death was labeled as Hypothermia due to long exposure to low temperature.

And at the scene of his death was Serene's father, Silver, and Luna.

And even though everyone called these two as heroes by coincidence, one mare knew this did not happen by chance.

Sipping her morning hot cocoa, Sparkle Guide stood up, her face crunched up with anger. She muttered one name in indignation and frustration.

“Silver...”