From the Journal of Detective Quick Step
From the Journal of Detective Quick Step
Recovered on the 23 rd of the Second Month of Spring, 1004 CR
The following document was recovered from an abandoned apartment room in Canterlot. It is the journal of Quick Step, a detective from Canterlot, detailing his most recent case in the area formally known as "Ponyville"
The following entries have not been altered in any way.
* * *
2nd day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
We really need a better calendar system, writing all of this makes my horn itch. Anyway, I’m not sure why I’m even writing this, therapist says it might help, but what does he know, was he ever spell-shot, no, he wasn’t, writing isn’t going to make me feel better, getting back into the fray will, finding the lunatic who shot me will.
I’ve been sent out to the boonies, some place called Ponyville, apparently the captain doesn’t want my first job to be in Canterlot after . . . well I guess he just wants me out of his hooves, all for the best I suppose, that pony's getting old, probably going to retire soon.
I asked Twinkle if she wanted to come stay with me, it'd be nice to have somepony to talk to, but I guess she needs some “time to think” whatever that means.
I don’t even know what I’m supposed to write about, all I can do around here is my job, and I might as well just finish a case report for once if that’s all I’m gonna write about.
Buck it, I’ll sleep now, write later.
3rd day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
Well, I asked around Ponyville to see if the locals could give any info on the missing filly, Scoota something or other. It seems quite a few foals are going missing around here, you always get the weirdo’s in these freakishly close communities.
Case in point, I met this crazy pink mare; she was bouncing around shouting something about another doozy, I tried to get her to answer some questions, but it was like talking to a wall, a crazy pink wall, some older couple dragged her back in to the bakery.
I hate this place.
4th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
More of the same, crazy ponies, doing crazy things, I saw this grey pegasus almost level city hall with a rain cloud. Nopony has any helpful news on the whereabouts of the missing foals, but I’d stake my career that it has something to do with that freaky forest, I don’t see how anypony can live so close to that place, freaks me right out.
Oh, turns out, Patrol and Keyring are getting hitched, about time, those two have been making googly eyes at each other for years, the wedding is pretty soon too, crazy ponies. Hopefully, I can finish this case before then, but it's not looking too good.
10th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
Finally, after days of nothing, I have a lead. Apparently, while there’s no pony crazy enough to live in that Luna-cursed forest, there’s a zebra who is, I think I’ll give this Zecora a visit, see what she knows.
It’s good to finally have a lead, I’ve been hearin more and more reports of missing ponies, not just in Ponyville either, Hoofdale is also suffering from a mysterious string of foalnappings, and they’re on the complete opposite side of the forest, this isn’t making a whole lot of sense.
I’m going to the library tomorrow, I guess there’s a pony there who knows where the zebra lives, I’m gonna see if she can guide me, or at least get me a map.
11th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
Horseapples!
I accidently slept in today, the sky was supposed to be clear, so I figured, hey I’ll get an early start, but I guess the weather team here never got the memo. By the time I finally got to the library, It was already getting late, which is probably why the librarian wasn’t there. I figured I would just borrow one of the maps and return it once I’m done, no harm no foul right?
It was pretty weird seeing how much Ponyville changes once the rain comes in, you’d think at least some of the ponies would be out, playing in the rain, but it was like a ghost town out there, even that overly cheery inn keeper was lookin down.
I got to figure out these disappearances fast, it starting to way everypony down.
12th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
Well, that was a complete bust.
I check on the map, and find out that Zecora’s hut is even labeled on there, finally getting a break right? Wrong, the place is completely empty, well not completely, there was still all that freaky potion making stuff that zebra’s love so much, but there were no signs of life in that place.
I guess I’m back to square one.
Maybe.
There was that crazy pink pony, she seemed to know something about something, and I can still hear here ranting and raving from that bakery going on and on about the “big one”, it’s a crazy long-shot, but I’ll see if she knows anything.
13th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
I hate this place.
I went to see that crazyflank pony up at the bakery, it went about as well as I suspected. It took me three flashes of my badge just to convince that couple to let me see her. And what do I get? Nothing
In the brief moments when I could drag her away from chatting with rocks and sacks of flower to talk to me, she would just stare at me, until her damn eyes started to veer in different directions, then she would twitch and boom, back to miss crazy pants tea time.
The only usable things I could understand were “Everfree” “Too many legs” and “Don’t look at its face”
What am I supposed to do with that?
Well, I’m not going back in that place alone, so I sent a letter over to Hoofdale to see if we can join up for a search team.
15th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
Still no word from Hoofdale, I sent a letter to HQ to see if maybe I can get some back up, but I doubt the local mailmare even knows where Canterlot is. Although, I do have to give her some credit, she may be a little slow, but she's the only pony I've seen that doesn't seem to be scared by all this, that's impressive.
I'm starting to feel a little homesick, stupid I know, but I just miss the excitement, the energy that Canterlot always seems to have. Even when I was working the worst cases, being able to look around and see decent ponies just living their happy lives, I don't know, it makes it all,
worth it, you know?
I should ask that mailmare her name.
19th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
That’s it, no more waiting, first thing tomorrow, I’m going into that damn forest, and getting those foals back, I haven’t heard a peep from Hoofdale or HQ, and the train doesn’t seem to be running these days, so I’m stuck here.
It seems like most of the ponies have packed up and left, or at least I think that’s what happened, I haven’t seen any moving crews, but the streets are always empty, occasionally I’ll see a pony in a window, right before the shutters are slammed. The only pony around here doing her job is Derpy, and even she is starting to feel the loss, she says she has to head back to Canterlot, something about a funeral for a friend. That's got to suck.
I have no idea where to look, but I have to find them, I can't fail, I’m not letting another psychopath escape, not again!
20th day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
I’m leaving I can’t stay I can’t
I don’t care if I have to gallop all the way back to Canterlot, I can’t stay here.
I saw
I saw
IT HAD NO FACE
I need to think, that quack therapist might be on to something, I think the stress is getting to me
Ok, got to write it down, got to get my head straight.
So I decided to head to Zecora’s hut and use it as a base of operations, but on my way there, I saw a filly, an actual filly. I hadn’t seen a single foal the entire time I’ve been here, and then there she was; a little yellow coated filly with a red mane. She was wandering into the Everfree forest, I decided to follow her.
I must have been on her tail for an hour before she finally came to a stop in front of cave opening. She sat down and just stared into the darkness, I wanted to go up to her, to call out
And then I saw it
I couldn’t see it move, it was just there, in the cave mouth
It
It was tall; it looked like it was wearing some kind of suit.
Then I saw tentacles come from its back and
It GRABED HER
I heard her scream and then she was gone
Then it looked up at me
AND IT’S FACE
HAD
NO
EYES
...
I think I hear the train.
31st day of 3rd month of Winter,1004 CR
I didn’t sleep well last night, haven’t slept well since Ponyville actually, I hear it’s been abandoned, well almost abandoned, still that crazy pony.
Pinkamena I think her name was.
Doc says I haven’t been writing, not sure how he knows, but he says it’s important after what happened back there. I told him everything, I thought I was going crazy, Doc says I wasn’t far off, something about stress induced hallucinations, says I couldn’t handle not finding those ponies, that after that mare in Canterlot, not being able to help those foals just sent me over the edge.
I guess that makes sense, no way I saw. . .
Doc says this time is the most important to be writing, trying to get back into the swing of things could induce another “episode.” Chief has me on the beat with Patrol in the Royal District, easing me in I guess.
Patrol’s wedding was nice, it was good just being around other ponies for a change. Patrol could tell something was up, that colt's too clever for his own good, he'll make a great detective someday.
Anyway, he asked about what happened in Ponyville, I just told him some freak nabbed a bunch of foals, and the townsponies just couldn't take it and left, he seemed to buy it but I don't know. After an hour or two all the noise got to me, so I left early.
I tried talking to Twinkle, she moved in with a friend up closer to the Merchant District, much better neighborhood. She let me in and we talked, she went on and on about how I need time to heal, and that she just needs time to get her life together, but I could see through the dog crap, she just doesn’t want a broken pony.
The therapist says I should write down my dreams.
I don’t want to, but he seems to know what he's talking about so if it’ll help.
It’s always the same, I’m trotting through the Everfree, I can see eyes in the darkness, pony eyes, just out of the corners, but I can’t turn my head, I can hear laughter, sounds like a bunch of foals. I go on for what feels like hours, then I see it, the cave.
I move towards it, I can’t control my legs, I stop right In front of it, like the filly, the laughs turn to blood-curtailing screams, then.
I see it.
I can’t write anymore.
I’ll try again tomorrow.
14th day of 1st month of Spring,1004 CR
I haven't been doing so well lately.
I was fired, or as the Chief puts it, "suspended pending further investigation," but they just can't understand.
That thing is here in Canterlot, I think it followed me. I first saw it a couple of days ago just standing there, in an alley, I chased it, but it vanished right before my eyes, but then it started to appear everywhere, I thought I was going mad.
Then I saw it try to take a foal, out in the park on the far side of town, I shot at it and it vanished, I remember Patrol shouting at me to stop, couldn't he see it, it was about to steal that pony? The little colt was crying and crying, but I couldn't wait, I had to track it down, I chased it to the mountain side, real shady place. Patrol caught up and said something about needing help, I don't need help, I can do this myself.
The damn thing got away, and now, the chief thinks I had something to do with some murder.
CAN'T HE SEE? I'M TRYING TO SAVE CANTERLOT!
I need to find this thing, it's only a matter of time before it starts stealing foals.
And I think I know where to start.
Everfree
15th day of 1st month of Spring,1004 CR
I don't know why a lot of things have happened.
I don't know how Celestia moves the Sun, or how Luna moves the Moon.
I don't know where the magic I, and all unicorns, rely on comes from.
I don't know what happened to that lunatic who shot me.
I don't know where those foals vanished to, or even what took them.
And I don't know why I brought my journal with me, or why I'm writing in it now, in this cave.
But, amidst all the things that I don't know, there are a few things of which I am certain.
I know my name is Quick Step, son of Quick Trigger and Cheese Cake .
I know that, despite all the crap we went through, I love Twinkle Star
I know that one day, Patrol will be the greatest detective Canterlot has ever seen.
I know that I shot and killed that mare in the park.
And I know that I won't be leaving this cave alive.
I write all this with a clarity I've not felt since before I was shot, it is imperative, that if anypony should find this.
It's real, the creature is real.
I read back on my entries, and I see the madness, the obsession, but know that something took those foals, Scootaloo, Apple Bloom, Sweetie Bell, Silver Spoon, Diamond Tiara, Snips, Snails, Twist, Pipsqueak, all of them gone. And not just Ponyville, Hoofdale too.
Something took those ponies, I tried to find them, and I failed.
I failed to save that pony, Twilight Sparkle, from being killed.
I failed to catch her killer.
I failed to save Ponyville.
I'm so sorry
* * *
The rest of the pages simply repeat "I'm Sorry" over and over again, until the last page, where somepony wrote, in blood,
"DON'T LOOK AT IT'S FACE"
Further Investigation into the disappearances has not returned any leads into the whereabouts of either the missing foals or Detective Quick Step.
Since the disappearance of Detective Step, twelve foals have gone missing in Canterlot.
