"He's only a pony... I think. What's the worst he can do? Stare at me and say nothing?"
With that, Twilight Sparkle sighed out and closed her eyes. She took in a quick breath of air, put her hoof to her chest, and sighed out all her anxiety, letting her eyes relax. Her horn glowed in unison with the door in front of her. The wooden door violently swung open, revealing a quaint café inside.
Twilight stood in front of the café's door and surveyed the inside with narrowed eyes. A few ponies looked up at her for a moment only to turn back to eat their meals and idly chat. Twilight’s face didn't move a muscle as she glued her burning eyes onto a certain pony who sat alone at a table.
A fresh cinnamon bun rested on his plate and gave off steam that was periodically sucked into his nostrils. The beige stallion wore a pair of huge square glasses that made his eyes look like black dots, while his mouth flaunted an annoying grin. He stared directly in front of him, looking at nothing in particular. He was so still that anypony that confused him for a statue wouldn't be at fault
.
Twilight silently moved towards him. He didn't notice Twlight until she sat down directly across from him, blocking his view.
"Hello. Can I help you?" he asked, tilting his head at an angle. The tone of his voice was enough to make Twilight squirm where she was sitting. His monotonous tone was out of place in Ponyville.
"You come here every day, and you always order the same thing. In the same way. At the same time. Why?"
"Well, I quite like it here." He smiled. "Have you tried their cinnamon buns?" He sniffed in steam from the pastry, and sighed out, keeping his dead gaze on Twilight.
Twilight raised her voice, "No! I have not tried their cinnamon buns because I don't come here everyday like you do!”
A few ponies hushed their conversations to search for where the shouting was coming from.
“Why," Twilight continued, lowering her voice, "do you like this place so much? Why are you here exactly at 8 A.M. and why do you always leave at exactly 9:30 A.M.?"
"I'm a very organized stallion. Have you tried their cinnamon buns?"
At this, Twilight leaned back into the mound of hay she had been sitting on. Her mouth hung open as her eyes widened in disbelief. Her target simply sat across from her and smiled that same smile he had on every time she had come to the café. Twilight opened her mouth, and closed it, unsure of what to say. She sat there for what seemed like hours, while the stallion still sat across from her, identical to the way he looked when she first entered the café. He was staring straight at her, yet he wasn't really looking at her. His eyes only happened to be pointed in Twilight's direction. She stood up and moved out of the way. His eyes didn't so much as flicker.
"Okay," she breathed. She shuffled to an adjacent table and sat, not taking her eyes off of the pony. She ordered a salad and waited until 9:30 A.M., expecting her target to leave at that precise moment as he had every time Twilight had gone to the café
It was a gamble. Barging into a café and interrogating somepony wasn't really considered normal in Ponyville. But Twilight had more than enough reason to do this. She also knew that the stallion wouldn't be nervous or bewildered at all. Nothing seems to perturb that pony.
"Are you sure you're fine? There's nothing I can get for you?"
Twilight offered a small, polite smile. "No I'm sure I'm okay, thank you."
The waitress furrowed her brow and eyed Twilight for a moment before nodding. Without another word, she left Twilight alone. Am I that noticeable? , Twilight wondered as she readjusted her gaze to the freak in front of her.
Twilight looked down at her salad she had ordered. It was untouched, and she must have had it just sitting in front of her ever since she'd ordered it. She levitated a fork and began to work at it.
She was idly stabbing at scraps of lettuce when she noticed movement near the table. Just as she expected, the stallion was preparing to leave. She checked the café's clock and saw it was not two seconds past 9:30. His meal was left untouched and the steam had long since left his cinnamon bun
He got up and darted towards the café's door. Twilight levitated a napkin to her lips, dabbed them, and followed.
Just before she reached the door she realized she had forgotten the waitress' tip. She groaned and ran back to her table. Twilight opened her saddle bag, and deposited a couple of bits next her half-eaten salad before thanking the approaching waiter. She then took off, galloping after the stallion.
Twilight slipped through the closing door and shot her head to the left. No ponies there. She then scanned her right to see the stallion speed-walking around a corner.
"Gotcha," Twilight said before she galloped his way. She rounded the corner of the building and was glad to see she was right on his tail. He was only about twenty feet away, but she didn't spare any time at all. Her horn lit up as she ran full speed at him. Shutting her eyes and adding that last burst of magic, she prepared to teleport in front of the stallion. Before she could react, she met a solid object that yelped before falling back.
"W-what?" Twilight rubbed the blur out of her eyes. In the distance she could make out the odd pony gaining distance between them, before he eventually rounded a corner and disappeared.
"No!" she cursed as she sat up, only to stumble back down.
"Twilight?" said a voice behind her. Twilight realized that it had been a pony she had run into. She whirled around and saw a white unicorn placing a hoof to her temple. Colored bags, needles, cloths and accessories laid strewn across the grass.
"I'm so sorry Rarity!" Twilight said.
"It's quite alright." Rarity stood up, shaking her head. "Why are you in such a hurry?"
Twilight looked out to the bustling crowd that now occupied the path the peculiar pony she was pursuing took. She sighed in defeat and let her head droop down.
"No reason..."
Rarity tilted her head and lowered her ears. "But you were running so quickly! I find it hard to believe you were running that fast for no reason."
Twilight slumped down. "Don't worry about it." She took a few of Rarity's supplies and placed them back into their correct bags.
The brief moment of silence gave Twilight hope that Rarity, of all ponies, would actually drop the subject, However, Rarity soon approached Twilight and loomed over her. No luck. "I'm not letting you go until you tell me, Twilight," Rarity huffed as she stamped one of her hooves down before Twilight. "As friends, we really shouldn't hide anything. Was it maybe a dashing gentlecolt you were pursuing?" Rarity asked in an over-exaggerated, sultry tone.
Flustered, Twilight snapped her head up to see Rarity biting her lip trying to hold back laughter. It was only a joke. "Not exactly..." Twilight said before returning to pick up Rarity's belongings. Rarity's sly look dropped. Her mouth opened a bit and her eyes widened.
"You really were...? Oh, Twilight. I was only teasing," said Rarity. She started to assist Twilight in picking up her bags and freshly purchased items. Not a second passed before she invaded Twilight's personal space. "Who is it?!" she asked. Her head was within inches of Twilight's face. She was grinning with excitement, breathing on Twilight Sparkle's solemn face.
"No, it's not like that!" Twilight sat up and let an annoyed sigh escape her, letting her eyes roll at her friend’s persistence.
"Spike and I went to the Hay's Bay a few weeks. That's where I first saw him. That pony kept catching my attention."
"Was he handsome? What was he doing?"
"That's just it. He wasn't doing anything." Twilight explained, ignoring Rarity's first question. "He sat there for an hour and didn't move at all! He never even touched his food! What kind of pony does that?!" Twilight stood up at let her eyes wander to the ground, her voice becoming very serious. "It was just so unnatural. The other ponies were at least eating or doing something. He just sat there like a statue for an hour."
"Maybe he's just a bit...?" Rarity raised a hoof to her temple and swirled it.
Twilight shook her head. "Crazy, maybe. But I've still never seen anypony act like that.
"Anyways," Twilight continued, "I brushed it off at first. But last week, I went back to the café. As an experiment, I decided to go at the same time I went last time. And he was there again! And just like last time, he ordered the same thing and did absolutely nothing! This pony was crazy! So I went there day after day, only to see that he goes there every day at the same time to just sit in front of a cinnamon bun all day!"
Twilight finished with her voice at a high enough level to attract attention. "And get this–" she continued, her eyes focused on Rarity and not the looks she was getting "–he would leave at exactly 9:30 every day I went. He didn't bother to even look at a clock or watch or anything. He would just get up and leave on cue." She slumped back onto the grass, letting an annoyed sigh escape her. "It just doesn't make sense."
Rarity stood there, her brow raised as she held a bag handle in her mouth. She set it down and said, "Twilight, that's a bit odd to follow a pony simply because he has a few habits, don't you think?"
"No, Rarity, you have to see him. When I watch him, he doesn't even look alive. I'd even say that he..." Twilight stopped herself. She didn't want to say it.
"He what?"
"He... he acts like a robot."
Ponies occupied nearly every table of the Hay's Bay, and a murmur of voices filled the air. Waiters rushed from table to table, trying to be as polite as possible without sacrificing any time on that busy day. The sun flared at a comfortable temperature and the sky was clear of any blemishes, thanks to the hard-working pegasi, resulting in a clear, fine day.
However, despite these perfect conditions for a day off, a certain pony decided that the day would be one of research, work and digging. This pony sat alone at at the Hay's Bay, and she wore a pair ridiculously large, dark shades that disguised her emotionless face. She was frowning as she held up a copy of the town newspaper, The Daily Hoof, to her face and occasionally flipped a page.
She sat outside the café, bathing in the warm sun, and lowered her paper to stare at the entrance. After a minute passed, the stoic pony lit up her horn. She removed a time piece from her saddle bag, glanced at the time, and placed it on the table. A cold hay sandwich rested on her table along with her time piece. The sandwich had seen little action, only having two small bites missing from it.
She raised her newspaper back up and hid behind it. Six more minutes, she thought as she skimmed over the black letters, not comprehending their meaning at all. Having grown tired of uselessly skimming the paper, she decided to steal a glance at the ponies around her. Her surroundings were full of joyful citizens as they ate, ordered and talked amongst themselves. She didn't want to be caught or noticed, and thought it would be easier to just keep her ordeal to herself. The pony raised her eyes above her newspaper and let them bounce from left to right. She wasn't attracting too much attention. She completely turned around after deciding it was safe to look. Nothing had changed from the last time she looked, as the rushing waiters hurried to take the orders of hungry ponies. She let out a small sigh of relief, and turned back to her raised paper. Immediately she gasped and jumped back, causing her glasses to fall off. A pink pony had slipped into the space between her and the newspaper and was grinning widely at her.
"Hey, Twilight!" the pony exclaimed, oblivious to her friend's fright.
"Pinkie, you scared me!" Twilight said. She looked around to see that the they were making a scene. Many ponies were disturbed and were now staring at the two. Twilight groaned as she pushed past Pinkie to lay her head on the table and cover her face in shame.
"Oh, I was only playing," Pinkie Pie hummed. "Speaking of playing, are you playing hide and seek, Twilight? I saw you wearing those silly glasses and I thought you must be having a game of hide and seek or something and I thought you'd want me to play!" She closed her eyes in glee.
"Pinkie, I'm sorry but I need to–" Twilight stopped right where she was speaking. She stared at the grinning pony for a moment, then her eyes lit up in excitement as she sat back up. "Pinkie! I need your help!" Twilight grabbed Pinkie by her shoulders.
"What do you need, Twilight?" asked Pinkie.
"Okay, you know every pony in Ponyville, right?" Twilight asked her. Pinkie Pie nodded in reply. "Good. In about–" Twilight opened her time piece and examined it "–two minutes I'll need you to tell me everything you know about a pony. He'll walk out of the Hay's Bay at exactly 9:30. Can you do that?"
"Sure," said Pinkie, sinking down below the table and moving to a pile of hay next to Twilight. Pinkie Pie plopped down on the hay and squinted her eyes. Neither of the two ponies spoke and Twilight could feel a tight knot in her as the time approached 9:30. After what seemed like far more than two minutes, the door opened. Pinkie Pie gasped in air as Twilight leaned forward.
"Ugh," Twilight grunted and leaned back when she saw it was just some other pony leaving and not the pony she was interested in. She rolled her eyes as she relaxed again, but jumped back into being alert when Pinkie spoke next to her.
"Look, Twilight!"
Twilight turned her head to see the door hadn't even finished closing before it swung open with force. A beige pony emerged from the café, walking at a fast speed.
"Yes, him!"
Pinkie leaned in and held her hoof over her head to get a better look.
"It's... Ailing Spirit!"
Twilight kept her eyes on Ailing Spirit but cocked her head. "Ailing Spirit?"
"Mmm," Pinkie said as she nodded with a smile.
"What do you know about him? Where does he live?"
"He lives next to the hospital, blue roof. Can't miss it!" Pinkie raised her brow and scratched her chin. "Hmm, he doesn't really talk a lot, but I know he's super-duper organized!"
"So I've noticed..."
"He's been here ever since I can remember. I don't think he likes parties too much, since he was acting really weird when I first threw him one. He kept asking where he was. Why do you want to know about him, Twilight? Is he your long-lost brother?"
"No, Pinkie," said Twilight as she blinked when Ailing Spirit finally darted out of her view. Pinkie Pie suddenly disappeared from her position sitting next to Twilight, and raised her head above the other side of the table.
"Long-long-lost brother?" she asked, unaware of her ability to defy the laws of nature.
Again, Twilight knew she'd have to tell her since Pinkie would never let it drop.
"You can't tell anyone about it. Pinkie Promise you won't tell anyone?"
Pinkie instantly jumped into a rigid form and crossed her hoof her chest. "Cross my heart and hope to fly–" she poked her eye with her hoof "–stick a cupcake in my eye!"
"Great," Twilight said as she beckoned her, and began whispering in her ear.
***
Twilight Sparkle was outfitted in a black, leather suit. The suit came with a nifty hood, but Twilight kept it off for the sake of her horn. She was crouched behind a bush, and was right outside Ponyville's hospital. More importantly, she was close to the house with the blue roof Pinkie Pie had mentioned.
A bright moon in the dark purple sky that loomed above Twilight's head often created shadows that would look strangely similar to ponies patrolling the night, causing Twilight to flinch whenever she encountered such shadows. But at that time at night, nopony was outside, save for Twilight herself. She could see her own breath in small puffs, and she was shivering slightly.
It was worth bearing, she thought, as she prepared to sneak to an adjacent bush. The blue-roofed house lay behind the hospital, and Twilight was extremely careful not to wake any of the patients in the hospital. She had been darting from bush to bush, from tree to tree, and avoiding all lit windows of the hospital. This last sprint would do the trick, and she'd be free of the hospital's threat and within feet of the house.
Twilight lunged forward and swiftly dove into the closest bush. She was fairly quiet while she did this, but she still would wake a light sleeper if they had been close enough. Twilight decided to just clear the distance, and ran quickly to the bushes that enclosed Ailing Spirit's house. She hurried to the bushes that dotted the eerie house, and cleared a good four feet with a dive, breathing harshly from the sprint. She calmed herself and peered out of the bush she lay in. The area was clear of ponies, and she had left only an inkling of evidence. A hole had been left in the bush where she last emerged from, and another hole accompanied the bush she was currently in.
She waved it off and decided that not even the most vigilant of ponies would notice. A simple check of Ailing Spirit's home and she'd be gone, anyways. Besides that, her whole paranoia was most likely just that, paranoia, and she'd quickly realize that Ailing Spirit is just a pony. An odd one, but a living pony, nonetheless.
She scaled the building until she lay under a window that was luckily covered by bushes she could hide in. The house was silent and lifeless. Twilight felt a knot of anticipation twisting and unfurling in her stomach as she gradually and quietly raised herself above the bush to see into the window. Here it is. The moment I see that I'm just being a silly filly and blowing this whole thing up out of proportion, she thought as she met the window pane. Her eyes took a second to adjust to the darkness of the house and she was able to see...
Nothing. Nothing special, that is. Twilight stared into the living room of a typical home. A couch sat in front of a coffee table on a neat rug. The wooden floors glistened with the small amounts of moonlight they got. Desks and pictures lined the walls of a completely uninteresting house.
She slumped back down into the bushes, slightly disappointed, but overall relieved. She stood up and started to make her way back home.
That's when she heard it. A mechanical whirring noise sounded from the second story of the house. Twilight stopped dead in her tracks. A bead of cold sweat dribbled down the side of her face. Did I imagine that? she thought as she stood completely silent, waiting for the sound again. Sure enough, she heard it after a few seconds. How could I not hear that before?! Twilight thought as she turned back to the house. The second-story window of Ailing Spirit's home was wide open. As she looked, she heard the mechanical sound, louder than ever. Even more surprising, she saw an array of blue, red, and green lights illuminate the ceiling of the room. Twilight's heart picked up its pace as she ducked back into the bushes, eyes wide with fear.
She needed to get up there and see what it was. There was no way she was going home without looking. But there was also no way she could get up there without causing a ruckus. She lay thinking for a moment, before she briefly lit up her horn and conjured a bit of magic. Fortunately, the light from her horn was moderate, as it was an amateur spell and the bushes likely covered any light emitted.
After the light died down, a glow took its place in the bushes. In front of Twilight's nose, waiting for her command, was a ghostly little mouse. It glowed faintly, and stood at attention, waiting for its caster to order it. Twilight could see through it, and wisps of a smoky light constantly accompanied it.
"I need you to get up to that window up there. Can you do that, please?" Twilight whispered.
The mouse squeaked softly, and made its way past Twilight and to the house. It scurried over to a nearby rain gutter and was soon climbing up to the roof of the house. Within seconds, Twilight's ethereal creature stood next to window and peered in. It perched itself on the windowsill and silently observed the room for a while. After a minute, it scurried back down to Twilight, who was eager and growing impatient.
It stopped in front of her, and quietly exploded into a puff of white mist. The mist swirled in a cloud, not inches away from Twilight's face. The small cloud formed into a thin square, and began to illuminate into color. The white smoke turned into greens, blues, and purples. The purple began to take over the center of the cloud. After a few seconds, Twilight could vaguely make out her face in the cloud. Then she could see the grass, bushes, sky and house all in the condensed mist. The mouse's point of view was being displayed in the cloud, and Twilight was staring at her own face that the mouse had stared at not moments ago. She heard her own voice beckon the mouse to ascend to the roof, and heard the mouse squeak in compliance. The cloud became black when the mouse went into the gutter and regained its color when it came out onto the roof. Her heart skipped a beat as it quickly approached the windowsill.
Finally, she got a look inside the room, without making a sound. She gasped upon seeing what was inside. Ailing Spirit lay in a bed, like all normal ponies would. But unlike normal ponies, a plethora of huge, bulky machines surrounded the pony in his bedroom. They all beeped, buzzed, and whirred around the pony as paper reports leaked out in a constant stream from a couple of them. Cogs and gears went to work as various tubes attached to Ailing Spirit radiated electric glows. His head must have had two large tubes spread out on it, and many other mechanical tubes slithered under the sheets into the pony's body. Ailing Spirit snored with his mouth open, revealing large, shiny teeth that reflected the machine's lights. He lay unmoving, save for his snoring, just like all those mornings he spent at the Hay's Bay. Twilight's heart sunk as she drank in everything that was before her. She leaned in closer to see as much as possible, but was interrupted by the mouse's decision to run back down to Twilight. No!, she thought, I need to see more!
The cloud wafted and finally disbanded into the air. Twilight stood up with a rapidly beating heart. She stared at the second story window, mouth agape, and watched the various lights the machines that were recharging the cyber-pony up emitted. Her eyes were wide open as she started her way back home, not caring if anypony saw her that late at night. She heard the whirring noises of Ailing Spirit's snore as she stumbled into the darkness of the night.
