The Watcher in the Woods Chapter 3 - Brain Shake

>>”Do you think we should tell them about Anonymous?” asked Sweetie Belle as the three walked along the path back to Ponyville.

>>”Pfft, no! scoffed Scootaloo. “If we told them about Anonymous, they’d ask how we met him, and they’d find out about the diamond dogs, and then we wouldn’t be allowed to anywhere near the Everfree Forest again!”

>>An’ why’s that bad Scoots?” asked Apple bloom, silently preferring not to go back to a place that tries to kill you.

>>”I’ll tell you why!”proclaimed Scootaloo as she turned around to face the other two. “Because then we’d never get ta see Anonymous anymore, and without Anonymous to save us again, we’ll never get our Creature Finder Cutie Marks!”

>>”An what exactly did this “Anonymous” critter save you youngun’s from?”

>>As Scootaloo slowly turned back around, the colour drained away from her face as she was met with the sight of six very familiar, very cross mares.

 

>>”But sis...”

>>”Not another word, Sweetie Belle!’ Snapped Rarity as she and Sweetie Belle walked to Twilight’s library in Ponyville.

>>”Do you realise how worried we’ve been? We have been searching everywhere for you three and where were you? Cavorting around the Everfree Forest staring down the gullets of a ravenous pack of diamond dogs no less! I’m just thankful this...”Anonymous” character arrived when he did or only Celestia knows what would have happened! Why, you could have been hurt! Or injured, or killed and eaten or even...DIRTY!”

>>”Dirty?” Sweetie Belle deadpanned. “You think being dirty is worse than...”

>>”I’m not finished! Just think what dear mother and father would say if...”

>>This tirade continued until the two sisters reached Twilight Sparkle’s library in the middle of town.

>>As Rarity opened the door the pair were greeted by the sight of four colourful mares and a dragon waiting around the library, accompanied by two fillies looking very sorry for themselves.

>> “Ugh, just how long is this gonna take?” complained Rainbow Dash as she raided the fiction section for another Daring Doo novel. “This is eating into valuable training time!”

>>”Jus’ calm down there sugarcube” Replied Applejack. “She needs to make sure that weird dust won’t go hurtin’ anypony.”

>>Rainbow dash answered back with an exasperated sigh before curling up on a nearby empty bookcase to snooze away the remaining time.

>>The minutes gradually turned into hours, with only the naughts and crosses games and the odd book floating down to the basement via a purple aura of telekinesis to break the monotony.

>>Just as the collective patience was reaching its limit, the basement door finally opened to reveal a thoroughly perplexed purple unicorn at the doorway.

>>Pinkie was the first to break the silence. “Well Twilight, how’d it go? Didja find out if it was some evil spooky scary poison witch dust for pickling poor ponies for dinner? Huh? Huh? Huh? HU-mmmph!” as an extended orange hoof silenced the outpouring verbal diarrhea before the attached pony spoke.

>>Go on sugarcube, tell us what you found out about that dust.”

>>Twilight took a deep breath to steel herself before continuing “...Well, I can safely say for certain that it is not dangerous.”

>>”Yay! Now we can find Anonymous again!” The Cutie Mark Crusaders cheered.

>>”...but what it actually is I have no idea. I’ve tried every test imaginable, and I cannot figure out what the hay it is! And that’s not the weirdest part. When I was observing a sample under a microscope, instead of seeing the usual organic crystalline structures you’d normally expect from dust particles, I saw quantum gravitational calculus algorithms!”

>>”Err Twi? In non egg-head?”

>>”I saw maths equations! No crystals, no dust, just maths!”

>>Twilight collapsed on the library floor spread eagled in defeat. “I’ve never seen anything like it!” Twilight spoke sadly “I’ve scoured my entire library for the answer and I’ve not found a single reference to anything related anywhere.”

>>”Well darling, maybe you’re looking in the wrong places?” Rarity replied “I myself have always found that you can find inspiration where you least expect it.”

>>”Wrong place...wrong place...”Twilight pondered before the proverbial light bulb lit up. “Aha! I’ve been looking in the wrong place! This library can’t hold a candle to the Royal one in Canterlot! Spike? Take a letter.”

 

>>Meanwhile, in Canterlot...

 

>>The sun was setting over the mountain range, bathing the richly decorated dining hall in its warm glow as the country’s two ruling monarchs shared the evening meal and discussed the day’s events. Or rather, the elder one politely listened whilst the younger babbled on incessantly.

>>”...So therefore, if we approve their funds my R.D. team assures me that they can have the telegraph network up and running within 5 years! Can you imagine it Tia? Instantaneous transmission of messages throughout the kingdom without the reliance of dragonfire magic or the railway! Oh Tia, we must approve their grant!”

>>Celestia took a long sip of her cup of herbal tea to give her a moment to think about Luna’s proposal.

>>Well  It does sound wonderful, and I know it takes weeks to receive news from Apploosa by normal means...how much did you say it would cost?

>>”Erm...75 million bits?”

>>The tea that sprayed forth from the solar deity’s mouth was a sight to behold, with the fragrant amber infusion arcing high over the table setting to patter onto what was once a pristine tablecloth.

>>*gag* *cough*...seventy...five...million!?” spluttered Princess Celestia as she tried to blink the water from her eyes.

>>”Oh don’t be so dramatic Tia. Just think of the benefits! Faster disaster relief, easier transmission of data across long distances, not to mention the fact that we could sell the technology to Prance and the gryphon kingdoms to the north for a tidy profit.”

>>”But still” gasped Celestia as she regained her composure “That’s nearly a fifth of the national budget! How would we be able to justify such an expenditure to our subjects? They would think we’ve gone mad! Can’t we just build the infrastructure on a smaller scale?”

>>”Hmmmm, I suppose we could spread the cost out over the years...I’ll run that idea past my R.D team and see what they think.”

>>This train of thought was interrupted when a small scroll appeared with a purple cloud of smoke in front of Celestia. She opened the letter, and Luna watched her sister’s eyes widen as she read aloud.

 

>>      Dear Princess Celestia,

>>An unusual event has transpired today involving three of the local fillies and a fortunate encounter within the Everfree Forest. The trio calling themselves the Cutie Mark Crusaders (Of which I’m sure you’re aware of) were exploring the Forest in search of the Castle of the Royal Pony Sisters in order to get an explorer’s cutie mark. During their exploring they ran into a pack of diamond dogs and would have been eaten if it weren’t for the timely arrival of a strange creature. This creature, who called himself Anonymous, apparently scared off the diamond dog pack and escorted the Trio to the edge of the forest before giving the fillies a strange powder and making his way back into the forest. This powder, of which I’ve sent a sample along with this letter, is unlike anything I’ve seen before, and I was wondering if Princess Luna would like to take a look at it for it appears to me made up of mathematical formulae, rather than the crystalline structures you would normally find in minerals and the like. Anything you can find out about it would help me out a lot.

 

Your faithful student,

Twilight Sparkle

 

>>The silence at the table was deafening by the end of the letter sd the words weighed heavily on the two sisters.

>>”Celestia...you know what this means, right?”

>>” Yes Luna, It means that the Elements of Harmony have chosen a new Judge.”