The Whispers of the Stars

Chapters

Just a Job
Day One (Part one): The chanting
Day One (Part two): The town
Day 2: Shaman

Just a Job

The Whispers of the Stars
Chapter 1: Just a job

I wake up with a throbbing pain in my head, likely caused by the copious amounts of alcohol consumed the previous night. Ignoring the thumping pain in my skull, I look around to find that I am not actually in my house like I originally thought. The decorative nature of this house clashes with my memory of my rundown apartment.

My ripped white faux-silk curtains have been replaced with red silk ones that draped along the entire window with slight gold trimmings on the ends and have been moved to my left and right. I notice that there is a door directly across from me with a golden doorknob shaped like a pony head. In my home, the door to the bedroom had been removed because it came off its hinges; thus this is not my door.

I examine the bed I am currently resting on which also clashes with my memory of my abode. MY bed, a ‘prince’ size as the mare at the flea market had told me, had white covers with multiple stains from spilled cider. This bed is big enough to fit four ponies at once and while it does have white covers it has a blood red comforter, with gold trimmings on top of the covers. This is definitely not home…so where in Equestria am I?

My natural curiosity as a detective, or rather as a former detective, is sated as I pat around the bed for any possible signs of a possible partner. Finding no pony there brings me great relief. ‘When was the last time this happened?’ I wonder as I pull myself up and bring a hoof to my forehead in futile attempt to suppress the pain of the hangover, ‘oh yeah, last week.’ I look around and see a large dresser with combs, headbands, and curlers resting atop it in front of a large mirror to the right of the door.

Pulling myself out of bed, I trot over to the mirror at the end of the room to analyze my current look. My rust colored coat looked the same as ever and my disheveled silvery mane drooped to the base of his neck. Essentially, I look like a beggar; a particularly nasty beggar. My form does not exactly help matters.

As a child, my thin, lithe form often meant I was mistaken for a filly; now, it makes me look as if I do not eat three square meals a day. Ironically, this is exactly the case. I have reduced myself to eating instant ramen with the very little money I have. My eyes are sad and sagging due to my decision of pulling an all-nighter to finish writing a column for a local paper detailing a recent increase in impotence and clinical depression caused by rampant alcohol abuse, before going out to get hammered.

The door to the room opens to reveal a stallion in his mid-to-late forties, with half spectacles covering his sky-blue eyes. His mane is light blue and is styled in a ponytail, matching his tail. His coat is light brown and he is wearing a stylish tux with a red bowtie ensemble. Any pony would take one look at this stallion and assume he was extremely wealthy; and this assumption would be right on the money.

“Really Rich...” I mumble quietly as he can, given my current predicament.

“Copper, old friend;” Really Rich bellows as he embraces me, “How are you?”

“I’m okay” I answer softly.

“Well, let’s get you fed and get some coffee for that hangover, shall we?” He enthusiastically motions towards the door.

“I just got up, Rich; I need a shower first.” I pause to look at myself again before talking to him again. “By the way, where are my clothes?”

“Your clothes were incredibly dirty so I took the liberty of cleaning them.”

“By ‘you’, you mean your housemaid, don’t you?”

Rich simply laughs and motions down the other side of the hallway outside. “It is the second door on your right. After you are done, meet me downstairs; I have… a business proposition for you.” Really Rich trots off calling for his maid as I slowly make my way for the shower.

Ignoring the layout of the bathroom, I turn to the right to enter the shower. The shower in this place must have run Really Rich a couple hundred bits. It had a golden showerhead shaped like a ponies head with the water coming out of its mouth. ‘Rich ponies have really weird tastes.’ It also has golden knobs with no sign any grime or that the shower had been used at all. ‘I guess cleanliness is important when entertaining.’

As I enjoy the hot shower, one specific thought continues to fester in my mind. I know Really Rich well enough to know that he lives up to his name. The bedroom looked far too extravagant to be a simple guest room; not to mention that there were combs and other essentials already in their implying that the room was used frequently. Though I know Rich from high school, I hardly considered the two of us friendly enough to offer me anything above a basic guest room.

Really Rich had said that he had a business proposition for me. It is most likely something simple like falsifying a column for the paper that would protect Rich’s interests or some minor investigative work. It is most likely one of those jobs stuff that usually involves sending me a letter with money in it. I start using a shampoo with a scent powerful enough to smell the hundred-bit price tag on the bottle. As I use the shampoo, I come to the realization that whatever Rich needs me for he really needed me. Really Rich could not have simply bumped into me, he was expecting me.

After I finish in the shower, I step out and take a fresh towel off the golden rack to my right to dry myself off. I then hang the towel back on the rack and exit the bathroom. I walk downstairs to find a veritable breakfast buffet waiting for me. The table contains toast of various kinds, white, wheat, cinnamon, and various others. To the right of the toast are scrambled eggs, egg whites, veggies in a basket, omelets, not to mention various jams of almost every kind of berry imaginable.

“Old friend, come sit with me we have much to discuss.” Really Rich grabs my attention as he invites me to sit at the table. I am about to sit at the end of the almost yard-long table when the wealthy stallion stops me.

“Copper, why don’t you sit here next to me; what I have to discuss with you is very” he paused for a second “sensitive.” I move to the chair next to him and start to dig into the feast, occasionally stopping to brush my hair out of my face. “We’ll need to get you a haircut as well clearly.” Rich sighs.

“Who are you my mother?” I rudely ask, pausing in my meal, “What job do I have to do that you give me your relative’s room, and tell me I need to look presentable?”

Really Rich’s smile stretches. “Pardon?”

“Rich don’t play dumb with me; that wasn’t a normal guest room. My deduction is that it’s the extra room that you give to other members of the Rich family when they’re staying over for business meetings or golf tournaments or whatever you do.”

My friend chuckles a bit. “Still as sharp as when you got kicked out of the precinct. You are lucky you still have it because you are going to need it.”

I start wolfing down another helping of scrambled eggs when Rich finally tells me what is going on. “I need you to investigate a small border community for me.”

I immediately pause in my meal. “A whole town?”

Really Rich calmly looks around to make sure that nopony dared eavesdrop. “Yes, the town of Ponyville.”

I resume eating as I swallow some more eggs and go for the toast. “What for?”

“Well,” Rich scouts the room again, “My brother, Filthy Rich, lives in that town and well.” He gulps. “His daughter, Diamond Tiara, went missing a week ago.”

“What about police?”

“Ponyville is so small they don’t actually have a police force. Usually, when something happens, many ponies in the town go to help the person currently in trouble.”

“But that didn’t happen this time?”

“Actually, it did but…” Rich pulls some papers and pictures out of a briefcase sitting under the table and spreads them out in front of the two of us. “The investigation seemed, rather odd; it was almost like the town was lifeless. It is rather strange when you consider that a child going missing is a very serious matter.”

The papers that I have been presented with are letters from Filthy Rich and pictures of the town. I pick one up that features a young, bright-pink earth pony with a white and lilac mane and tail, and atop her head was a large tiara.

“That is Diamond Tiara.”

“Really, Rich; I never would have guessed.” I chuckled my own joke, “Ok, so what about the town?”

Really Rich clears his throat, trying to ignore my joke. “Well, it’s a simple farming community for the most part.”

“No, I mean what about the townsfolk seemed off during the investigation?”

“Oh, well they seemed unenthused and gave up the investigation after only two days claiming they had to return to work and to other requirements.”

I stand up. “Look buddy I really don’t think-”

“My brother has a theory,” Really Rich interrupts, “That it has something to do with this.” He passes me another picture. “This building has recently finished construction and it is usually guarded by a few pegasi. They refuse entry to my brother and a few select others in the town.”

“And the townspeople didn’t investigate it?”

“They did, but Filthy Rich wasn’t allowed inside when they were.”

I sit back down and begin pondering as I analyze the photo. The building is archaic in design; black stones form the walls with a large iron gate as its door. There are two large towers, almost like spires, that form out from both sides and another that forms in its back. The picture also features the pegasus guards that Rich had mentioned flying around the spires in a seemingly counter-clockwise pattern. ‘Looks like an alienated military base.’

“I know you’re good on your word; one thousand bits to go and investigate the town for a week. Two thousand bits will be added if you can find Diamond Tiara and another two thousand on top of that if you can also find out who took her.”

I nearly spit out the juice I am drinking. “Five thousand bits; for one little girl?!” I whisper. ‘The pay is pretty good, and I might get even more if I write a story on it when I come back.' “Ok, you have yourself a deal old friend.”

I offer my hoof to Really Rich who shakes it furiously in thanks. “I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this, my friend.” He stuffs the photos and papers into a saddlebag and offered it to me with my newly cleaned and pressed clothes. “Now, let’s just get you a mane-cut and you can catch the 12:30 to Ponyville.”

//////////////////////////////////

I look at my new, short mane and freshly cleaned, white, long-sleeved shirt in the train window; I kind of miss his old look. Pushing aside the sympathy for my old look, I pull out one of the papers from my saddlebags. They are a series of letters from Filthy Rich to Really Rich about the disappearance and subsequent suspect investigation of Diamond Tiara.

I have already taken a look at the pictures, which give me some knowledge of the layout of the town and some of the ponies I should go looking for once I get there. ‘First the mayor, then Applejack, Rarity, and Flyboy, whose respective sisters and daughter had a ‘tense’ relationship with Diamond Tiara. There is Rainbow Dash who is one of the ponies currently working as a guard for that building and from there sees where the evidence takes me.’ I also intend to meet with Filthy Rich as well, but want to do as much investigation as possible first so that I will be up to speed on the case. ‘We’ll look at you almost like you never stopped being a detective.’ I hush my inner voice and start to read the letter that was dated to be from about a week ago.

Dear Really Rich,
The town has been in a tizzy lately, they’ve been building something that Twilight Sparkle calls a church. My daughter actually pretended to be sick today. Can you believe that; my Diamond Tiara trying to skip school? I of course told her she had to go and tried to ask her why she didn’t want to go but she just said that something was wrong. I asked her friend Silver Spoon about it later but even she didn’t know what was bothering poor Diamond. Maybe when I make her favorite vegetable soup tomorrow night she’ll be willing to tell me what’s wrong.
Your Brother, Filthy Rich

‘The letter gives a few bits of information but nothing solid. There is the mention of a pony named Twilight Sparkle I will probably need to talk too. No ponies mentioned a wife yet and references cooking for her. Implied divorced, possibly never married in the first place. The kid finds out, can’t handle it, and runs away.’

That theory is certainly the most plausible one considering that foals run away all the time in Manehatten; but never for a week. If Diamond Tiara did run away she would’ve come back eventually or the town would have found her.

‘Perhaps she ran away to find her mother. Then again, Really Rich would have checked that. He would’ve contacted the mother, asked after Diamond Tiara, and he would’ve sent some pony to her house to check if she said no. The mother could have possibly passed on; it is the most plausible explanation for the mother’s absence. However, it kills the notion of the foal going after her. There is the possibility of foal napping and murder, albeit a small one. Never in all my life did I meet a killer who could hide all of the evidence particularly in a town that small. Some pony would have seen something and investigated.’

I continue to debate over possibilities until I come to one that is both horrifying and, hopefully, impossible. ‘It could be a town wide kidnapping conspiracy; possibly to cover up suspicious behavior of some pony in authority.’ I shake my head furiously. The thought of such a thing is absolutely terrifying.

The train conductor comes into the car to inform the passengers that we are thirty minutes from Ponyville. I pick up the next letter; this one is from five days ago and is marked with an urgent stamp on the top.

Dear Really Rich

It’s been two days now since my little princess didn’t come home but my worries don’t stop there. Many in the family questioned my choice to live out here but truth be told it wasn’t simply to keep an eye on the Apple’s Zap Apple harvest, the ponies here were just so nice. They were kind and welcoming to me and I thought that the same would be true here. The town seems devoid of that kindness and friendship that I moved here for, my little girl’s disappearance doesn’t seem to have registered with anypony. The town was helping me search today but when I requested to help them search they simply told me to stay home, my daughter is out there lost or kidnapped and I’m just supposed to stay home and have tea like nothing is wrong! I might be over thinking this it’s probably just stress besides before going off to deliver this letter Derpy at the least showed some sympathy. Hmm this Derpy might also be a good pony to talk to, if the ponies in this town are actually acting strange than this Derpy seems to be acting independent of them.

Your distraught brother, Filthy Rich

As the second letter closes the plot thickens. ‘This town didn’t seem, from these letters, to be acting all that strange; but if the Rich family is willing to give me a thousand bits just for staying in this town for a week to investigate, then clearly something is up.’ I furrow my brow in thought. As the attendant passes by, I decide to buy some coffee with what few bits I have left to spare. ‘I probably should have asked for some money in advance.’

I sit back with the coffee and ponder why I agreed to do this. “Easy money” was the answer that came quickly into my head, but I could have simply increased my workload at the newspaper. I am going out to the farmland from Manehatten, I am going to bunk at a friend’s brother’s house, and I will not be getting work done because I will be looking for a missing foal.

I read through the next letter, dated from three days ago, rather quickly as it does not establish anything that is not apparent from the previous two letters. ‘This Derpy Hooves was also mentioned as apparently one of the only ‘sane’ ponies in Ponyville according to Filthy Rich.’ I am beginning to suspect Filthy Rich is the conspiracy type. It had been four days since she went missing; small town or not, most police call it after three. The town had only searched for two days but still they did have lives to return to.

I slouch back and start pondering if he was always this heartless. ‘No, if we were on the force we wouldn’t have stopped until ordered.’ I drink the rest of my coffee and call one of the attendants over to ask for a scotch. She quickly gives me one and I pay out my remaining bits. ‘I guess I’m committed now. I can’t even afford a train ride home without Filthy’s help now.’

I pick up the last letter in the saddlebag and I immediately notice that this one has another letter attached to it. This particular ‘letter’ seemed more like an old page from a book. There arre Urgent stamps all over the letter and it does not even start with a ‘dear’ or end with the senders name. ‘Implied hurriedness, possibly due to attempting to make sure it was delivered. It is most likely that the contents of the letter are what scared Really Rich.'

My brother,
I’m not ashamed to admit that I’m frightened. The town seems to be falling further and further from any normality. I attempted to access the Church but was blocked and told that entry was forbidden to any pony but “the believers”. This town has never kept secrets it’s a small community every pony knows every pony else. However I was able find out that there is some weird book that all of the “believers” carry so I attempted to procure my own copy but was mostly unsuccessful. What I did find seems to be some poem of some kind from the book; I’ve enclosed it for reference. Please brother send help, I’m alone. The walls have ears; the floors have eyes, every sound they hear, you can’t run, but you can try.

That last sentence repeats itself to the bottom of the letter. My opinion of the case has suddenly darkened. ‘Repetition of a nursery rhyme-esque phrase implies possible insanity, possibly killed his own daughter.’ I sit back and rip off the book page attached to the letter, placing the letter in my saddlebag. Removing my notebook, I begin writing possible explanations for Diamond Tiara’s disappearance.

‘Number one: Kidnapping/possible murder.'
'Number two: Town wide conspiracy.'
'Number three: Father is insane and killed daughter but hasn’t realized it was him.'

However, looking at the book page seems to disprove the third option.

Life from the innocent flows,
Feeding and nourishing the young foals,
Then and only then will the foals be sated,
And then the stars can be mated,
The darkness then must be cleansed with fire,
Its body then drained and thrown in the mire,
The mire then will brew and bubble,
With eyes however this will muddle,
The walls have ears,
The floors have eyes,
Every soul they hear,
You can’t run but you can try.

This rhyme is sick and twisted, almost sadistic. However, I still do not know what it means. I also notice that the rhyme’s ending was different to the one that Filthy used in his letter by only one word. I cannot help but feel that this is significant in some way. Filthy had the rhyme in front of him; why copy it down wrong? Why copy it down wrong multiple times? I take out the letter again and scan the repetitions for a single time where ‘sound’ and ‘soul’ are switched; there is not one. ‘Why, that one word.'

My pondering comes to an end, however, as the train pulls into the station at Ponyville. I make one last note in his journal. “Sound or Soul?” I take my small bag of belongings and, after stuffing the journal back in my saddlebags, I exit the train and notice something is off about the platform; Filthy Rich is not here.

I didn’t exactly expect a friendly pat on the back and an invitation to the local café, but considering that I agreed to look for his daughter when every pony else has given up, I figured that Filthy would at least meet me here at the station. In fact, no pony seems to be at this station. ‘This seems rather suspicious.’ I think as I look around the rest of the platform. I come to the realization that no pony was at the train station and that he was the only pony to get off at this stop.

I start trotting into town, despite every instinct telling me to turn around and return to Manehatten, as it would be less dangerous. I do not know what it is, but something about this town scared him. It feels like there is an ominous presence I cannot quite understand; a thickness to the air that will not go away. My suspicions begin to frighten me as I walk into the town square to find it completely empty.

‘No pony at the train station or in the town square; this is place feels more like a ghost town.’ I take a deep breath and trot onwards to the Town Hall; hopefully, there I can meet with the mayor. The town hall building is much more extravagant than I expected it would be. It is somewhat calming; something big and loud looking to remind me of Manehatten. I trot through the door with a little more spring to my steps; the initial feeling of isolation from the empty town is now quelled by a familiar sight.

However, the feeling returns when I enter the building and see that there is no pony in here either. 'What is going on here;’ I wonder, ‘It’s not even seven o’clock, and yet there is no pony here!’ I look up at the clock hanging on the wall to see that it reads five forty-five, confirming my suspicion. The inside of the town hall has multiple desks lined up in a circle with a few spaces in between to allow ponies to walk in and out of the circle.

I nod silently to myself and walk towards the big desk marked Mayor Mare. The papers on the desk are neat and orderly, separated into piles of missing pets, misplaced flour shipments, and a single piece of paper off to the right that reads “Diamond Tiara Missing.” ‘I guess it’s worth noting that not many disasters happen in this town.’

I start reading over the town report on the missing foal, which mostly just features places that the town had looked for her and had not found her, a list of places that she could have run off to, and a list of relatives in the nearby area, of which there were none. ‘I suppose that if there was a political conspiracy against a little foal around here, the lack of police would make it easy to cover up.’ I seethe at the unprofessional nature of my mental ‘police’ report. There is no evidence collection, no list of events that lead to her disappearance, nor a list of known suspects.

After fuming at my unprofessionalism, I scan the hallways and see, to my relief, that the coast was indeed still clear as I leave the building. The streets of Ponyville have a haunting atmosphere to them; the lack of ponies going about their business is still perplexing. I decide to go to the library, the residence of Twilight Sparkle, to see if I can find anything about the building called ‘The Church’ at the end of Ponyville.

Upon reaching the library, I hesitantly bring a hoof to the door. “Hello, is any pony home?” I ask, “My name is Copper Coin I’m here to investigate the disappearance of Diamond Tiara.” I knock on the door again, but I receive no answer. ‘No pony in the town square, no pony in the town hall, no pony in the library, including the one who lives there.’ Every thought in my mind screams bloody murder and begs me to leave, but now my curiosity has gotten the better of me.

This town is completely empty; something that is far too suspicious for me to simply ignore. I try to open the door only to find that this one is locked. “Hello, please I would like to speak to miss Twilight Sparkle.” I shout louder. Unfortunately, no pony comes to answer the door, so I decide to leave.

I find myself walking through the market district of Ponyville on my way to this ‘Church’. ‘No pony is here either. The safest guess is that they’re all at this ‘church’ place.’ I continue to walk through the markets, only to see the distinct shadow of a pony ahead of me.

The pony is a gray pegasus with a yellow mane and tail. “Excuse me.” I call out. The gray pegasus looks over m way and flies over to me while smiling.

“Hi there why aren’t you at Church?” she asks.

“Pardon?”

“Oh, you must be new to Ponyville. There is this church thing at the end of town and any pony that’s any pony goes to it every day from five to six except on Sunday.” I immediately pull out my journal and write down the note before continuing my conversation with the yellow-eyed pegasus.

‘Church Mon-Sat 5:00-6:00, everypony in attendance.’

“My apologies ma’am, but I am here to investigate the disappearance of Diamond Tiara; so I am writing down anything that might be important.”

“Oh really; your helping out the Rich family? Well that’s just swell of you; my name’s Derpy. I had been hanging out with Filthy Rich for a while…” she lowers her voice, “until recently.”
I clear my throat before speaking. “If you don’t mind me asking, what do you mean by ‘until recently’?”

Derpy sighs. “He hasn’t come out of his house for the last two days. When I went there yesterday, he was all crazy and repeating some phrase or rhyme.”

“The walls have ears, the floors have eyes” I begin.

“Every sound they hear, you can’t run but try.” Derpy finishes as her eyes widen, “You must have gotten the letters I was sending!”

I nod giving my answer as I note once again that she used ‘sound’, not ‘soul’. ‘Is the book page the only place that’s different?’ “Yes his brother, Really Rich, asked for my help. So what can you tell me about Diamond Tiara’s disappearance?” I pull out my journal and pen again as Derpy starts speaking.

“Well, when the town heard she went missing, they rounded every pony up and we all started looking.”

“The entire town searched for her?”

“Oh yes, Ponyville takes these kind of things really seriously. It’s why foals don’t often run off in Ponyville for more than a few hours; they don’t get very far.” A few things that Derpy says jumps out at me and encourage me write them down.

‘Whole town helped in search, foals running away unlikely and a rare occurrence.’

“So we all went looking for her but we didn’t find anything,” Derpy continues, “no clues, no signs, nothing; it’s like she just vanished!”

“What about the Church,” I ask, “in fact why aren’t you there if every pony goes at this time of day?” Derpy reels back from my sudden choice of interrogatory tone. Realizing my mistake, I add “please” in a calmer tone. Derpy calms down and continues.

“Well, I’m not allowed in because I’m not a ‘true believer’ or something; and some ponies did search the church as well.”

“How many ponies are not ‘true believers’?”

“Um, a few I guess. There’s me, Filthy Rich, and I think Rarity isn’t a member.” ‘An additional line of questioning for this Rarity is in order then.’

“Well if you think of any others let me know; I’m going to be staying at Filthy’s place.” Derpy seemed shocked by this idea.

“Well ok, come see me if you need a new place to stay then.” With that, she flies off. I wander down the market, deep in thought over what Derpy had said. Could Filthy Rich really be so far gone?

“Hey, who are you?!” A loud voice overhead pulls me out of my investigative trance. I look up to discover that the voice came from Rainbow Dash.

“I’m new here in Ponyville; my name is Copper Coin. I would like to ask you a few questions if that’s ok with you, miss.” The rainbow-maned pegasus flies down to my level and inspects me.

“Well you seem on the level.”

‘Mental note: thank Really Rich for the haircut and clean clothes.’ “Yes well I was wondering about the recent disappearance of a young filly in this area, Diamond Tiara.”

Rainbow Dash simply stares into my eyes. “Tragedy; we looked for days but never found her. Probably died somewhere in the Everfree forest on the outskirts of town.”

‘Blunt wording and obnoxious tone suggest either knows more than she lets on, or callous mare.’ “Well, I was asked to investigate by Filthy Rich’s brother, so anything you can tell me about the case would be appreciated.”

“I told you everything.”

“That can’t be everything.”

“Why not?”

“You gave me a summary of events and a possible outcome with no evidence to suggest it. What about reasons she might have run off, or ponies that might have a vendetta against her or her family?”

“Are you making accusations, Mister Coin?”

‘Horse apples!’ “Calm down ma’am; I’m not accusing any pony…yet.”

“Well no pony in Ponyville would ever do that to anypony else! So take your accusations, and get lost!!” After making a colorful gesture with her hooves Rainbow flees to the Church on the edge of town.

‘What a coincidence,’ I cannot help but think, ‘that place is my next destination.’ The walk to the Church is largely uneventful, there really are no other ponies around at this time and it is only until I get to the Church that I realize why. Exiting the Church is approximately, if Derpy was correct, everypony in Ponyville. As they all exit, I see the faces of several ponies I have on my list. This includes Mayor Mare, Twilight Sparkle, and Applejack, all amidst a sea of ponies exiting the large stone building.

I waltz up to a pink earth pony in the hopes that maybe I can get a little information on this Church and why every pony attends it. “Excuse me.” The pink earth pony looked in my direction and curtsies.

“Hello, you must be new in town. My name is Pinkie Pie, how may I aid you in becoming accustomed to the town of Ponyville?” I make a few assumptions about this mare from her looks.

‘Consistent coloring of pink body and hair suggest no artificial coloration. She is either some pony that is too poor to do so, or some pony who is satisfied with their current self. Three balloons make up her cutie mark; is she a party planner of some sort? The eccentric poufy mane clashes with down to earth almost store greeter level of enthusiasm.’

“Excuse me sir.” Pinkie Pie interrupts my line of internal questioning, shaking me back to Ponyville.

“Ah yes, my name is Copper Coin; I’m here visiting a friend.”

We shake hooves. “What is the name of your friend?”

“His name is Filthy Rich.” Pinkie’s expression drops slightly, so slightly that I almost missed it.

“I see; well his house is that way. I suppose that if you wish, I could show you the way.”

“That would be lovely Miss Pie. Thank you dearly.”

We do not talk most of the way, because I am trying to find a soft way of approaching the topic of the Church. ‘She’s the first Churchgoer you haven’t ticked off yet. Keep cool and approach the topic, but keep it on a tourist level.' “So it appears that every pony here seemed to be in that building.” I finally say, “What is it exactly?”

Pinkie Pie’s tone and manners return to her bored, storekeeper attitude. “The Church; it’s a Ponyville tradition of sorts.”

‘She’s lying.’ “Really, should I attend the service tomorrow?” A small laugh escapes Pinkie’s smiling stony exterior.

“No, it’s for true believers only.”

“Believers in what?”

“The Stars.” I trail behind Pinkie for a short while to pull out my journal and write down the note next to the church’s time schedule.

‘Believers in the Stars.’

We finally arrive at Filthy Rich’s house. The mere sight of it causes me to start thinking that staying with Derpy would be a much better idea. It was a white, two-story house with a rather disturbing front yard. The grass in front of the house is dead beyond revival, the flowers on both sides of the door are wilting, and the doormat has the words ‘KEEP AWAY’ scrawled on it over the usual ‘welcome’ sign.

The door seems relatively intact but it is the voice that comes from inside that irks me. “GO AWAY!!!” shouted a hoarse voice from inside.

“I’m sorry,” Pinkie whispers “but lately, he doesn’t like guests. If you want, I can escort you to the local inn.”

“No thanks, I have business here. I will find my own way should I need a room.” I nod as Pinkie Pie slowly leaves. After making sure that she is far enough away, I approach the door and knock. “Mister Filthy Rich, my name is Copper Coin. Your brother sent me here to look for Diamond Tiara.” The door opens a crack and a pair of bloodshot eyes urges me to come inside.

The inside of the house is somehow even worse than the outside. The floor is lined with ripped pictures of various ponies in Ponyville. Some are torn in a way to look as if they were decapitated. A picture of a small gray earth pony filly with light gray hair and blue glasses is torn in numerous locations. The house smells like several week old milk jugs and numerous pictures have been ripped from their frames. There is a staircase directly across from me leading upstairs and two doors to my left and right leading to different rooms in the house.

Filthy, really living up to his name now, takes me to a door to the right of the staircase that leads into the basement of his home and turns on the lights to reveal much more disturbing sight. In the basement, on a collection of desks and the wall behind us, are numerous pictures of Diamond Tiara arranged almost like a shrine. From the left portion of the wall and desks are baby pictures that continue to increase in age eventually coming to modern pictures of her on the right side, and a giant puddle of dry tears have formed at the shrine’s base.

“They took her.” Filthy muttered through fresh tears. “They took my princess!”

“Who?” I ask, “Who do think took her?”

“Not who I think,” Filthy responds angrily, “Who I KNOW took her!” Filthy’s eyes are bloodshot and his face is red and stained with tears. “All of them, every single one of them!!”

“What?”

“The Town!!” Filthy urges, “The town stole her form me!! She’s in that hellish Church, I just know she is!!”

“Really; the townsfolk seemed rather pleasant to me.”

Filthy chuckled “That’s how they seemed to me all my blasted life.” He stares into my eyes “Then they struck! They struck and they took her probably k- ki- k-” Filthy falls into a fit of tears.

“Killed her.?” I finish quietly, “You think they killed her?” I stand back to make sure the door is in sprinting range. “What gives you the impression that she’s dead?”

Filthy stops crying and brings his head up to me. “I know.”

“I don’t understand, why do you think that she’s dead?”

“Are you interrogating me?!” Filthy’s face contorts with anger, “You ARE interrogating me!!” His voice begins to rise as he starts towards me causing me to back up the stairs.

“I-I’m just asking questions.”

“You, you’re with them aren’t you?!”

“What?”

“The town, that Church from Hell; they sent you to cover up their wrongdoing!!”

“M-Mister Rich you’ve got it all wrong, I’m simply asking a question.”

I back out of the cellar with Filthy climbing up the stairs now fuming and screaming, “MY DAUGHTER WAS KILLED BY THOSE DEMONS!!! HOW DARE YOU ACCUSE ME!!!!”

“Mister Rich, please calm down.”

“I’LL KILL YOU!!! I’LL GET HER-” Filthy does not have time to finish as I instinctively push him down the stairs and send him crashing into the shrine. As Filthy started to get up, I close the door to the cellar and run out of the house stopping just long enough to grab the torn-up picture of the gray filly.

After escaping Filthy’s home, I run back into town. According to the clock at town hall it is around six-thirty.

“Mister Copper, are you ok?” I turn around to see Derpy staring back at me.

“I…I went to see Filthy Rich.”

“Oh.” Derpy’s face drops; clearly she had similar experiences. Derpy then puts on the best cheerful disposition she can. “Why don’t you stay the night with me? I’ll make you some muffins and then, maybe in the morning, Filthy will be less grumpy.”

“Thank you very much, Derpy!” I follow the cross-eyed pegasus home. Her house is a simple, one-story cottage suitable for two. We walk in the front door to see a blue living room. The couch is up against the left wall with a coffee table in front of it and a fireplace on the right wall. The wall at the end of the room opens up to the kitchen. There are doors at the back of both walls and one to my right. I immediately make myself comfortable on her couch. After a while, Derpy brings me a muffin and some extra covers.

“Here is a muffin in case you get hungry the bathroom is through that door near the entrance if you ever need to use it. Good night, Mister Coin!” she says cheerfully as she trots towards the door near the kitchen.

“Good Night, Ms. Hooves. Thank you for the muffin and the couch.” Derpy laughs as she closes the door to her room and leaves me alone with my thoughts. ‘Tomorrow’s day one of seven, will I really last that long here? The idea of finding Diamond Tiara seems less likely than when I first arrived. Her father being the killer is also more likely, considering the shrine.’ I pull out my journal and make three separate columns for each of my three theories.

‘Number One: kidnapping/murder’

So far, I have not seen any pony with too much of a disposition to be a heartless killer. Rainbow Dash is the only pony here that seems even remotely rude. Rainbow Dash did seem rude but a killer, probably not. Her suggestion about the Everfree Forest might actually be worth investigating.

‘Investigate Everfree.’

I wonder if there was any other pony that could be a killer. ‘Pinkie Pie did seem awfully distant and almost sociopathic. She was shaken slightly though when I mentioned I needed to see Filthy Rich.’ I write her name and Rainbow Dash’s down in the column writing ‘unlikely’ next to Rainbow Dash and ‘possible sociopath’ next to Pinkie Pie.

‘Number Two: Town wide conspiracy.’

With the knowledge from Derpy that most of the ponies in town attend this Church thing, it’s slightly more possible than before.

‘Number Three: Murder by Filthy Rich himself.’

This theory is the one that worries me the most. The possibility of his involvement is both shaken and reinforced by his behavior. On the one hoof, he doesn’t seem to know anything about it. On the other, he does seem clinically insane. I decided that I can find out more tomorrow as I need my rest. I pull the extra covers over myself and let the sounds of the night through the open window drift me to sleep.

End of Chapter 1

Day One (Part one): The chanting

Whispers of the Stars
Chapter 2: Day One (The Chanting)

I wake up in a small glen with lilacs surrounding me. With a cursory glance to the left and right I find that I am alone. ‘Where is every pony?’ I get to my hooves and analyze my surroundings closely. The trees around me are clustered closer than trees should be; each tree’s bark is touching the one next to it. The forest itself is extremely dark with only enough light to see at least three yards ahead. The only way for me to go is forward, deeper into the strange forest.
I silently wander through the only opening in the tree blockade and start walking down the path. Suddenly, I start to hear a strange and creepy voice. “Tickety, Tickety, Tockary, Tockary.” The voice chants in a repetitive fashion and continues to do so as I trot down the narrow path.

The trees are still clumped together, compelling me to continue forward like a hallway made of trees. I continue to walk through the seemingly endless hall of trees as I start to feel a strange presence drawing closer to me.

Finally, I see the outline of a pony in the distance. I run to the source of the shadow, happy to see another pony in this isolated forest. Unfortunately, I get close enough to see it is actually a pony’s head, burnt to a crisp and floating in midair. What is more horrifying, though, is what it is saying.