‘PHANTOM’ CAUSES SUBWAY TERROR

MANEHATTAN — The 50th Street subway station nearly became a scene of tragedy last night when a unicorn mare wanted by police cast an illusion of a subway train in order to evade pursuers, nearly killing two detectives and risking the lives of passengers on the platform when a real subway train entered the station.

“She was wearing this black cloak and a mask, and when she came down the platform her horn started glowing and this train just appeared out of nowhere,” an eyewitness recalled. “All of us on the platform, we weren’t sure whether to get on or not, and then we watched her just jump through it before this other mare came down and tried to follow her. And then she almost got ran over when the real train pulled in.”

Manehattan Police Department officials wouldn’t release details, but the Manehattan Times has learned that the mare is currently wanted for questioning regarding a series of crimes against themerse creators. Many theaters are canceling any future themerse presentations in light of the apparent danger.

Octavia was sitting in a hospital room, holding the newspaper in her shaking forehooves before she crumpled the paper between her hooves and threw it on the floor. “Damn it!” she bellowed before getting onto all four hooves and stamping the paper into tatters beneath her forehooves. “Damn it, damn it, damn it! How are we supposed to catch this mare?!”

Behind her, Vinyl, Watt Sun, and Sharp Eye were watching her with alarm. Watt Sun was laying on a hospital bed, his injured leg wrapped up in a thick cast and suspended above the bed, while Vinyl and Sharp Eye sat at the side of the bed. All of them looked exhausted after a long, sleepless night at the hospital.

“Woah, Octy, calm down,” Vinyl said hurriedly, trotting up to her friend. “It’s okay, we’ll—”

“It is not ‘okay’!” Octavia roared, whipping around to face Vinyl, who quickly took a step back. “In fact, it is the very opposite of ‘okay’!”

“Miss!” A nurse who had been walking down the hallway past the room was now standing in the doorway, glaring at Octavia. “If you do not lower your voice, you will be asked to leave the premises!”

Octavia growled and turned away to face the window, pressing her forehead against the glass. She let out an exasperated sigh, her breath fogging the window around the lower half of her face. She looked out at the view from the tenth floor of the hospital. Beneath her was the wide reach of the Beast River, with its many boats making their way past Manehattan. A towering steel truss bridge spanned the river nearby, carrying ponies and carriages between Manehattan and the expansive boroughs that seemed to stretch out to the rising sun on the eastern horizon. Pegasi soared overhead or flitted between the buildings below. It was a serene image, one completely at odds with Octavia’s present mood.

Octavia felt a hoof rest on her shoulder. “Listen, it’ll be alright,” Vinyl said in a reassuring tone. “We’ll figure this out. We’ve been through worse, right?”

The cellist remained silent, continuing to stare out the window. Behind them, Sharp Eye leaned over the bed and wrapped Watt Sun in a hug, which he returned. The news of Watt Sun’s injury had sent her into a panic the night before, a far cry from her present calmness. She rested her head on his shoulder, nestling against him.

“Um... Sharp Eye, would you be willing to stay here with me?” Watt Sun asked. “You know, for protection,” he quickly added, giving her a smile.

Sharp Eye lifted her head off of his shoulder and cocked an eyebrow at him, giving Watt Sun a smile in return. “Only if you promise not to scare me like that again.”

“Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” he replied, going through the motions. “I’ll be a better stallion to you, I promise you that.”

Sharp Eye leaned her head close to Watt Sun’s, giving him a wide grin. “You know what, forget the silly illusion. I think I like you the way you really are.” She then pressed her lips to his, causing him to close his eyes and blush furiously even as he returned the kiss.

“Oh, brother,” Vinyl groaned, rolling her eyes. “Get a room, you two.”

The two ponies on the bed broke their kiss and glanced over at the DJ. “Uh, we do have a room,” Watt Sun pointed out. “You’re standing in it.”

Vinyl glanced around at the hospital room. “Oh. Right.” She turned back to Octavia. “Hey, why don’t we get out of here and leave the lovebirds to it? Come on, let’s head back to HQ.”

Octavia let out a noncommittal grunt, not bothering to turn away from the window. Vinyl took that as the closest thing to a ‘yes’ she was going to get and took Octavia’s hoof, leading her out of the room.

The two musicians walked side-by-side down a busy Midtown street, heading west away from the hospital as they made their way through Manehattan’s glass and steel canyons back to their hotel. Even so shortly after dawn, the streets were already alive with activity as morning commuters poured into the city, mingling with the street sweepers, food vendors, and other service workers that kept the city functioning.

“We’ve got a ways to go,” Vinyl remarked, stepping towards the green iron railings that marked a subway station entrance. “Let’s take the crosstown.” She stepped down the first couple of steps before glancing back to see Octavia frozen in place just short of the stairway.

“I’m not going in there,” she said, her tone resolute.

Vinyl opened her mouth to argue, but stopped when she met Octavia’s gaze. While her tone was calm and firm, her eyes were wide and panicked. Vinyl quickly relented, stepping back up onto the sidewalk.

With the subway no longer an option, Vinyl walked up to the curb, raising her hoof above her head. “Taxi!” she yelled out, facing the stream of oncoming carriages moving up the street. It took a few tries, but finally a yellow carriage with the word “TAXI” painted on the side maneuvered over to the curb and stopped nearby.

Vinyl made to get into the cab, only to be forcefully yanked back on the sidewalk. She spun around, finding her face within inches of Octavia’s.

“Wait!” the cellist hissed. “It could be a trap! That driver looks untrustworthy to me.”

Vinyl glanced over at the stallion pulling the taxi carriage. He was a middle-aged pony with graying hair and stubble on his chin. He looked over his shoulder at the two mares with a bored expression, noisily chewing some gum.

“He seems okay to me,” Vinyl muttered.

“No! I am not taking any chances, and neither are you! Don’t you see? Stuck in a carriage in busy traffic? It’s the perfect opportunity for that mare to get us!”

“Okay, okay! Geez.” Vinyl turned back to the taxi driver. “Uh, sorry. I guess we’re gonna be walking instead.” The taxi driver stared at her wordlessly for a second, continuing to chew his gum, before shrugging and trotting off back into traffic while the two agents continued walking up the street.

Unfortunately, even walking didn’t seem to do much for Octavia’s paranoia. Vinyl watched her friend turn her head this way and that, warily eyeing passerby on the sidewalk, carriages rolling up the street, or glancing up at the towering buildings overhead. Her ears swiveled around, her eyes occasionally twitched, and she would jump at loud noises, which in this bustling part of town happened on a regular basis.

“Quick, this way!” Octavia suddenly said, pulling Vinyl down a busy street. The neon signs of Thyme Square were visible just a few blocks away. “If we’re being followed, we can lose her in the crowd.”

“Octy, the last thing you need is to be surrounded by even more ponies,” Vinyl muttered, uneasily watching her friend try to take in everything around her. “You need to settle down. You look like you’re about to have a nervous breakdown or something.”

“I’m fine!” Octavia snapped, not looking at Vinyl.

They had barely started moving down the street when a young stallion standing nearby thrust a flier into Octavia’s path. “Hey, come check out our live sh—” The invitation was quickly forgotten as Octavia let out a strangled cry and grabbed the stallion’s hoof and spun him around, holding his foreleg against his back as she pinned him to the pavement. He let out a terrified yelp as Octavia forcefully attempted to interrogate him.

“Octy!” Vinyl cried out, grabbing her friend and pulling her off the struggling stallion. A crowd of passerby stopped in their tracks to take in the spectacle. Vinyl looked around and gave the onlookers a nervous smile. “Uh... and that’s the kind of stuff you’ll see at the... uh...” She snatched the flier off the sidewalk and quickly glanced at it. “...Manehattan Comedy Club! Check it out!” She thrust the flier at one of the onlookers, who reluctantly took it before walking away. The stallion hoofing out the fliers quickly scampered to his hooves and ran off into the crowd.

Vinyl turned back to Octavia, who was standing in place, glancing around at her surroundings and not making eye contact with Vinyl. “Octy, you need to calm down,” she whispered. “Let’s just find a nice quiet place to relax, okay?”

“Hey!” they heard a voice behind them shout. “Is that who I think it is?”

“Woah! I think that’s DJ-PON3!”

Octavia whipped around, grabbing the young mare who had spoken and forcing her to the ground. “How did you know who she was?!” she shouted into the young mare’s terrified face. “Who sent you?!”

“Octavia!” Vinyl yelled, grabbing her friend by the shoulder and whipping her around before smacking her in the face. The cellist seemed too stunned by Vinyl’s action to properly react, and remained still while the DJ tried to apologize to the young mare. “Uh, sorry about that. She’s my... uh... bodyguard. Yeah. She’s new. Uh... would you like an autograph?” she added, giving the young pony a sheepish grin.

“Um, that’s okay,” the fan squeaked before she and her friend made a run for it.

Vinyl turned back to Octavia, who was now sitting on her haunches and staring up at the blinking, brightly colored signs overhead. Her ears were still swiveling around, her eyes were wide, and her every muscle looked tensed. The DJ sat down in front of her friend, gently taking hold of the cellist’s shoulders. It was only then that Vinyl realized how much Octavia was shaking, quivering uncontrollably under her hooves. The bags under her eyes served as a reminder that the cellist hadn’t gotten any sleep for several nights now.

“Octy, you need to stop,” Vinyl insisted. “You’re trying to take in too much at once. Just focus on me, okay?”

Octavia’s breathing was becoming short and her pupils had shrunk to the size of pinpricks. “She’s going to find us,” she murmured. “She could be anywhere... she could be anything...”

Vinyl used her magic to take off her goggles before grabbing Octavia’s head in her forehooves, forcing her to look into her friend’s eyes. “Octy, just focus on me. Shut everything else out. You’re safe here, okay?” Vinyl raised her hooves to Octavia’s ears, gently pressing them against the sides of her head to block out any noise.

As she did so, she felt Octavia’s muscles relax ever so slightly. Her breathing slowed and her pupils began to return to normal size. “V...Vinyl? What are you—”

“It’s okay,” Vinyl replied, giving her friend a small smile. “Nothing is going to happen to you here.”

Octavia shuddered, slowly tilting towards Vinyl before leaning her head against the DJ’s chest, pressing her face against her friend’s white coat. Vinyl wrapped her hooves around Octavia, holding her tight as she felt tears run down her chest. “There you go,” Vinyl whispered, patting her friend on the head. “Just let it out.”

They remained there for what seemed like ages, the chaos and bustle around them forgotten as Octavia broke down in her friend’s hooves. Vinyl continued to hold her, slowly easing out the trauma of the previous night.

Vinyl gently stepped out into the hallway outside Octavia’s hotel room, glancing up at her friend sleeping soundly in her bed. The DJ reached into her saddlebag, pulling out a small bottle labeled “Moon Shine” with a picture of a mare resting peacefully under a star-filled sky. A pang of guilt went through Vinyl; tricking her friend into taking the sleep potion may not have been honest, but she decided it was for the best. If the label was accurate, the few drops she had put in Octavia’s tea would put her out for a good eight hours.

Vinyl placed the bottle back in her saddlebag before pulling out a small device and planting it on the doorway, activating it with a touch of her magic. She waved a hoof in front of the sensor to test it, and was satisfied by the vibration she felt around her horn. Content with the security measures she had set up around Octavia, Vinyl quietly closed the door behind her.

She made her way downstairs, entering the lobby and pulling on the book to open the passageway into Pinkieton headquarters. Vinyl trotted through the corridor, stepping into the small cafeteria to find that she wasn’t alone. Sitting at a table in the middle of the room was somepony all too familiar to Vinyl.

“Hello, Ms. Scratch,” Melody Maker said, giving Vinyl a cold look. The DJ started, caught off-guard by the elderly mare’s presence.

Vinyl was momentarily unable to respond. “Uh... hi, Melody,” she mumbled. “I, uh, didn’t expect to see you here.”

The Pinkieton leader raised an eyebrow. “Is that correct? I would have thought my presence would have been expected. After all, this agency has become involved in a highly publicized investigation, this very facility was infiltrated by a suspected murderer, and two of my best agents were nearly fatally injured. Did you believe I would ignore the well-being of my agents?”

Vinyl gulped, frozen in place under Melody’s stern gaze. “O-of course not,” the DJ stammered.

“And aren’t my agents here at your request?” the elderly mare asked pointedly. “Risking their lives to find the murderer of your themerse associate?”

Vinyl bit her lip and looked down at her hooves. “Yes, ma’am,” she mumbled. The bluster and sarcasm she normally used in front of Melody Maker had failed her. All she felt now was a deep sense of guilt.

“Where’s Agent Octavia?” Melody asked sharply.

“She’s sleeping. And she really needs her rest, too,” Vinyl quickly added. “Octy’s not ready to talk to anypony at the moment.”

Melody frowned, stepping up to Vinyl until she was standing directly in front of her. The DJ hated to admit it, but she couldn’t help but be impressed by the fact that her boss could be so intimidating even when she was a good head shorter than Vinyl was. “This situation has gotten out of hoof. Can I trust you and Octavia to be able to carry on this investigation?”

“Of course you can,” Vinyl replied, a hint of resentment finding its way into her voice.

“And can I count on you to look out for the safety of your fellow agents?” Melody asked, her tone steely.

Vinyl swallowed hard as she stared back into the elderly mare’s eyes. “Yes. I promise. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye,” she said, going through the motions.

Melody silently considered the agent for a moment. “I’m sure you’re aware that’s not a vow to be taken lightly.” She paused, then gave Vinyl a small smile. “Very well, then.”

She began walking past Vinyl towards the exit, but then stopped and turned back to face the agent. “Oh, and I think you may have gotten your first break in this case. The MPD officers are still searching the subway tunnels for your suspect, but they managed to recover a piece of evidence for you.” She gestured towards a large padded envelope sitting on a table in the middle of the room.

Vinyl walked over to the table and picked up the envelope. She reached inside with her magic and levitated out a small book she recognized immediately as New Wave’s diary.

“But... but this doesn’t make any sense,” Vinyl muttered, her tone one of stunned disbelief. She flipped the book open to find that many of the pages had traces of grime on them, most in the shape of hoofprints. But aside from the dirty pages, it looked just like it had when Vinyl had read through it. “This was our most important piece of evidence! Why would she take it and then just leave it behind?”

Nopony answered. Vinyl looked up to see that Melody Maker had left the room, leaving Vinyl alone to ponder her own question.