28 Days To Armageddon

The next day saw the beginning of the cleanup around Rarity’s boutique. The ponies involved were all worn to the bone, as they had just finished up with Fluttershy’s cottage. It was a special group selected by the sergeant himself. They worked as something of an annex with the police station, clearing away crime scenes and cataloguing evidence. In fact, they had done such good work, that Mayor Mare recently deputized all of them. Their leader, Spic N’ Span, was known for her cleanliness, attention to detail, dutiful attitude, and caring personality. However, she was also known for being somewhat of a neurotic when pushed too far. For instance, she had helped clean up a recent crime scene and had a fit because one speck of dust had been found after the department’s final review.

But normally, she was as sweet as Fluttershy. She calmly gave orders to her subordinates, who went about doing as they were told. In truth, they were extremely happy with their jobs, and it was all thanks to her. For the most part, she made working gruesome crime scenes bearable. Her cheery smile and happy demeanor outshone the horror around them. Rarity’s scene wasn’t as bad as some of the others, but it was still rough. Seeing someone’s hard work strewn all over the ground was terrible to behold. Thankfully, Spic was right there to lend a hoof and a friendly word.

“You’re doing great, Mop Bucket!” She praised one of her workers, “keep it up!”

“Spic N’ Span, how nice to see you again,” The sergeant said as he trotted up. It was something of a dry comment, as they’d seen each other a lot over the past few days. While the sergeant had never been an out and out sarcastic pony, he did carry a modicum of faux speech with him. It was moments like this that got under his nerves, especially when Spic was involved. He was a married pony, but it was common knowledge that the cleaning mare had a thing for him. However, he never looked her way, for he adored his wife too much.

“Oh, Sergeant,” Spic sang out as she embraced him, “it’s always so lovely to see you!”

“Uh, yes, right,” The sergeant said, coughing to avoid embarrassment, “how’s the cleanup coming along?”

“Oh, fine,” Spic said, “we’ve managed to bag some highly important clues.”

“Really? Tell me more.”

“Well, we found a small bit of purple hair on the ground, along with a rather large hoofprint.”

“That sounds pretty open and shut to me,” Mist Dawn said as she walked up with the other investigative ponies, “I mean, purple hair and a large hoofprint? That’s gotta be Twilight…or at least, the evil pony that’s taken over Twilight.”

“Remember, my dear,” the sergeant said, “never take-“

“-the clues at face value,” Mist finished, “I know, sarge, but…this is just so…easy.”

“Too easy, if you ask me,” Fluttershy spoke up, “I mean, look at just what’s happened. All three locations that have been destroyed were near and dear to Twilight. She loved Sweet Apple Acres because she loved Applejack. She loved my cottage because she loved me. Finally, she loved this shop because she loved Rarity.”

“So what you’re saying is that she’s targeting the things she loves?” Rainbow Dash asked.

“Yes and no,” Fluttershy responded, “logically speaking, Twilight would NEVER hurt the homes and businesses of the friends she loves. But her werepony side is going about destroying these things…and ONLY these things.”

“My gosh, you’re right!” Mist exclaimed, “other than this, she hasn’t touched a single area of Ponyville!”

“That makes me think that somepony’s controlling Twilight,” Fluttershy theorized.

The others took a moment to mull the idea over. It certainly made sense. Whomever had poisoned Twilight could have added a magical element giving them absolute power over the beast. Legends had been told of wereponies who served pony masters. One time, it had been alleged that the small area of Transylmaneia had been overtaken by these types of wereponies. The region held limited inhabitants, but the legend claimed that these wereponies engaged in a vicious, bloody battle on behalf of their overlords.

Not only that, but the wereponies had been given special powers by their masters. Some could breathe fire like dragons, and others could hold their breath for an indeterminate length of time. Still a third group conjured storms like Pegasi, and a fourth created rockslides and could move the earth. According to legend, these four groups met in a horrific fight, leaving blood and bodies in their wake. Unfortunately, some of the dead were actual ponies. When word got to Celestia, she’d intervened, turning all the wereponies and their masters to stone.

“Did…anypony else think of Transylmaneia right then?” Rainbow asked.

“I did,” Rarity said in a shaky voice, “you don’t suppose…”

“That’s just a legend!” Mist exclaimed, “it’s not true! I mean, if that’s true, then all the old pony tales must be right!”

“I don’t know, Mist,” The sergeant said, “I mean, we all thought The Mare in The Moon was a bunch of bullshit, and look how that turned out.”

Mist looked at the ground. It just couldn’t be true. She couldn’t accept that her beloved Twilight might be working for somepony evil. The theory that one of the old werepony masters might have escaped their stone prison was enticing, but still. It was just a legend! These types of stories were told to foals, all tucked in and cuddled deep in their beds. While it was fun to watch their faces light up at the excitement, she just couldn’t translate it into reality.

No, she thought, I refuse to believe such hogwash! Twilight is sick, and we need to find the pony responsible for kidnapping her and giving her such a disease. There are no masters, there are no old wereponies, and there are NO stone statues! I mean, if we went to Transylmaneia tomorrow, I know we wouldn’t find anything but some mountains, forests, and one hell of a river. There’s nothing else there do be discovered…right?