Del,
I found the interview you asked for, but there's no recordings, only a transcript intended for other departments. Is this a hypothetical or are we going to have to deal with this thing? If we are, I have some personnel recs. Talk to me after the meeting tomorrow and we can compare notes.
Eps
Classified
TOP SECRET
EYES ONLY
By order of the Equestrian Royal Guard, the following document is classified
TOP SECRET
and
EYES ONLY.
Any unauthorized access will be considered a criminal act,
and will be severely punished.
If you have accidentally accessed this file,
please report to your supervisor at once.
Interview 04 following Incident 4820.
Interviewer is Doctor Grey Dawn, on loan from the Equestrian Investigative Service.
Interviewee is Heavy Gear, a local trail-guide, and land surveyor for the [Redacted] Mining Company. Gear is currently the only know survivor of the incident.
The following transcript was made using the [Redacted] software program. Investigators are urged to view the original materials in addition to this file.
[Begin transcript]
Dr. Grey Dawn: "Hello, I'm Dr. Dawn."
Heavy Gear: "Heavy Gear, but I go by Gear.
GD: "Have a seat, Mr. Gear. Can I get you a coffee?"
HG: "No thanks. Can we just get this over with?"
GD: "Very well. Do you remember the events of [Redacted]?"
HG: "Yeah, I remember."
GD: "Can you please describe what you saw?"
HG: "It's . . . [expletive]."
GD: "Please, take your time."
HG: "Well . . . I saw some kind of critter I've never seen before. It was tall, and skinny, and . . . and tannish-colored. Almost disappeared into the shadow of the trees . . ."
GD: "Can you describe the creature's physical appearance?"
HG: "It was kinda like a pony, but, like I said, tall and thin. Not just a little bit, it would've towered over anypony I've ever seen, and it didn't look like much more than skin and bones. It looked almost like a pony crossed with a bug. Like a . . . what's it called? The one that hangs out around water, has a big tail?"
GD: "A dragonfly?"
HG: "Yeah, that's it. Like a dragonfly. Big wings that you could see through, big black eyes with a blank look in them, the whole deal."
GD: "Anything else?"
HG: "Yeah. It had horns. No, antlers. You know, like a deer? But not as big. Almost sized to fit a pony."
GD: "What was it doing when you first saw it?"
HG: "Just kind of standing there in a clearing. I couldn't see it real well, the brush around was too thick, but I thought it might have been somepony who got lost out there. It happens, you know? But when I got a little closer, I realized it wasn't."
GD: "Go on."
HG: "Now, I'm not superstitious, at least no more than most ponies, but that thing wasn't natural. It was standing there, stiller than the [expletive] grave, and stayed that way almost the whole time I was watching."
GD: "How long, exactly?"
HG: "I don't know, it felt like days. But if I had to guess, I'd say . . . ten minutes?"
GD: "What were you doing at this point?"
HG: "I ain't too proud to admit, it scared the piss out of me. When I realized it wasn't just some tourist who wandered off the path, I froze up. Not something I usually do, mind, but I remember feeling almost paralyzed. Can this [expletive] do that?"
GD: "I'm not at liberty to say."
HG: "Right, fine. Anyway, I just stood there for a while, watching it. It was just standing there. It wasn't [Expletive] moving at all. Like you know how ponies will scratch an itch, or shift their feet, [expletive] even just sway in the breeze. [Expletive] didn't do anything. Just [Expletive] stood there, like its [expletive] joints were locked."
GD: "What happened next?"
HG: "Well, I think it finally realized I was there. Its head snapped around to face me. I didn't see the [Expletive] thing move, and I just took off running. Didn't stop until I was back into town, around other ponies."
GD: "And you haven't encountered anything similar since then?"
HG: "No. It took me almost a week to work up the nerve to go back outside, much less back into the [expletive] wilds. I ain't seen that [Expletive] since that day."
GD: "Do you have anything else to add?"
HG: "No, nothing I can think . . . well, there was one thing."
GD: "And that is?"
HG: "Before I took off running, I could've sworn the [Expletive] was sizing me up. Like . . . like an animal, deciding if it could take you. And it felt like the [Expletive] was looking straight into my head, and seeing what I was thinking."
GD: "What were you thinking?"
HG: "What, beside sheer [expletive] terror? I guess I was thinking of Goldie."
GD: "Goldie?"
HG: "Golden Shine. My brother's daughter. Cutest thing you've ever seen. Takes after her momma."
GD: "Why her?"
HG: "What?"
GD: "Why did you think of her?"
HG: "I don't know. Maybe I was thinking she might miss me if I was gone? I don't know."
GD: "Alright, almost done, just a couple more questions. Do you think you could identify what you saw if shown a drawing or a photograph?"
HG: "[expletive], yes. I'm not going to forget that [Expletive] anytime soon, much as I'd like to. Ain't natural. I know the kind of things that live in that swamp, and this [expletive] was like nothing I've seen before or since.
GD: "What would be your recommended course of action if someone encountered the same creature you did?"
HG: "Do what I did. Run like [expletive]. Turn around, and get the [expletive] out of there."
GD: "I see. Thank you for your help, Mr. Gear. If you would just follow the guard waiting outside, we have just a couple pieces of paperwork for you to fill out. You know, typical government bureaucracy. Then we'll have you on your way."
HG: "Alright. Bye, Doc."
[Heavy Gear exits]
GD: "Get all that, Al?
Al: "I did. We might be in trouble."
GD: "No [expletive]."
[End transcript]
GD: "Have a seat, Mr. Gear. Can I get you a coffee?"
HG: "No thanks. Can we just get this over with?"
GD: "Very well. Do you remember the events of [Redacted]?"
HG: "Yeah, I remember."
GD: "Can you please describe what you saw?"
HG: "It's . . . [expletive]."
GD: "Please, take your time."
HG: "Well . . . I saw some kind of critter I've never seen before. It was tall, and skinny, and . . . and tannish-colored. Almost disappeared into the shadow of the trees . . ."
GD: "Can you describe the creature's physical appearance?"
HG: "It was kinda like a pony, but, like I said, tall and thin. Not just a little bit, it would've towered over anypony I've ever seen, and it didn't look like much more than skin and bones. It looked almost like a pony crossed with a bug. Like a . . . what's it called? The one that hangs out around water, has a big tail?"
GD: "A dragonfly?"
HG: "Yeah, that's it. Like a dragonfly. Big wings that you could see through, big black eyes with a blank look in them, the whole deal."
GD: "Anything else?"
HG: "Yeah. It had horns. No, antlers. You know, like a deer? But not as big. Almost sized to fit a pony."
GD: "What was it doing when you first saw it?"
HG: "Just kind of standing there in a clearing. I couldn't see it real well, the brush around was too thick, but I thought it might have been somepony who got lost out there. It happens, you know? But when I got a little closer, I realized it wasn't."
GD: "Go on."
HG: "Now, I'm not superstitious, at least no more than most ponies, but that thing wasn't natural. It was standing there, stiller than the [expletive] grave, and stayed that way almost the whole time I was watching."
GD: "How long, exactly?"
HG: "I don't know, it felt like days. But if I had to guess, I'd say . . . ten minutes?"
GD: "What were you doing at this point?"
HG: "I ain't too proud to admit, it scared the piss out of me. When I realized it wasn't just some tourist who wandered off the path, I froze up. Not something I usually do, mind, but I remember feeling almost paralyzed. Can this [expletive] do that?"
GD: "I'm not at liberty to say."
HG: "Right, fine. Anyway, I just stood there for a while, watching it. It was just standing there. It wasn't [Expletive] moving at all. Like you know how ponies will scratch an itch, or shift their feet, [expletive] even just sway in the breeze. [Expletive] didn't do anything. Just [Expletive] stood there, like its [expletive] joints were locked."
GD: "What happened next?"
HG: "Well, I think it finally realized I was there. Its head snapped around to face me. I didn't see the [Expletive] thing move, and I just took off running. Didn't stop until I was back into town, around other ponies."
GD: "And you haven't encountered anything similar since then?"
HG: "No. It took me almost a week to work up the nerve to go back outside, much less back into the [expletive] wilds. I ain't seen that [Expletive] since that day."
GD: "Do you have anything else to add?"
HG: "No, nothing I can think . . . well, there was one thing."
GD: "And that is?"
HG: "Before I took off running, I could've sworn the [Expletive] was sizing me up. Like . . . like an animal, deciding if it could take you. And it felt like the [Expletive] was looking straight into my head, and seeing what I was thinking."
GD: "What were you thinking?"
HG: "What, beside sheer [expletive] terror? I guess I was thinking of Goldie."
GD: "Goldie?"
HG: "Golden Shine. My brother's daughter. Cutest thing you've ever seen. Takes after her momma."
GD: "Why her?"
HG: "What?"
GD: "Why did you think of her?"
HG: "I don't know. Maybe I was thinking she might miss me if I was gone? I don't know."
GD: "Alright, almost done, just a couple more questions. Do you think you could identify what you saw if shown a drawing or a photograph?"
HG: "[expletive], yes. I'm not going to forget that [Expletive] anytime soon, much as I'd like to. Ain't natural. I know the kind of things that live in that swamp, and this [expletive] was like nothing I've seen before or since.
GD: "What would be your recommended course of action if someone encountered the same creature you did?"
HG: "Do what I did. Run like [expletive]. Turn around, and get the [expletive] out of there."
GD: "I see. Thank you for your help, Mr. Gear. If you would just follow the guard waiting outside, we have just a couple pieces of paperwork for you to fill out. You know, typical government bureaucracy. Then we'll have you on your way."
HG: "Alright. Bye, Doc."
[Heavy Gear exits]
GD: "Get all that, Al?
Al: "I did. We might be in trouble."
GD: "No [expletive]."
[End transcript]
End of Classified materials.
Eps,
We can't wait until tomorrow. The transcript was altered, beyond the usual redactions. Subtly done, too. Hard to tell how much was cut. Look at the [expletive] tags. The system doesn't capitalize those. Meeting in my office asap. Bring Sig and Gam with you.
Del
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