The pronunciation guide on the flier identified their hosts as the “Hailgrogar” fraternity, which had annexed a swath of grass around its house for the party. Tables heaped with serving trays ran down the center while hundreds of students ate, socialized, and downed beer in utter contempt of campus rules. A relatively classy air pervaded regardless, with men and women dressed well in the hopes of impressing their peers.
Designer clothes and high heels marked Adagio as fashion queen of their little group, but Sunset figured she broke the average herself. A Hemline-brand leather vest topped a blouse Rarity made, above a bright red skirt and knee-high boots. Classy and attractive, and she couldn’t resist a tittering thrill as more than one set of eyes favored her over the siren.
As for the other two… well, Applejack wasn’t so bad. The faded brown on her shirt’s armpits was barely visible, and the blue stain from her ill-chosen soda only could be seen when she gave a wide grin. Which of course was what she entered the gathering with, but at least she lacked the musty odor Wallflower carried with her. Earth-stained jeans and greasy hair completed the ensemble, rendering it perhaps a mercy her passing evoked only curious sniffs.
A black blazer and pin marked the twenty-odd Hailgrogar members floating through the crowd – wealthy, groomed young men with an eye for image. Nothing wrong with that, and Sunset found herself beaming as one caught her eyes and approached.
“Welcome, Miss! My name’s Roland, we’re happy to have you.”
He was handsome in a sharp, elfin way, with teal skin and arrowhead jaw. Faint cologne and thin dress pants spoke of preparation against September’s heat, and as Sunset opened her mouth to thank him he stepped past to the girl right behind her.
Applejack accepted his hand with a friendly grin, gracing the newcomer with every one of her blue-stained teeth. “I’m Applejack. Pleasure’s all mine, though I gotta warn you we ain’t here to pledge.”
Sunset’s opinion cooled just a little as Roland gave poor imitation of a humored laugh. “Fair, fair. Actually, I came to invite you to dine in the house. Air conditioning and a bit more sitting room for senior Hailgrogars and invited guests. We have a no-show today, and there’s no sense in letting a good seat go to waste.”
Applejack’s grin took a knowing twist, and one of her famously mobile eyebrows shot up. “I ain’t buying what you’re selling, buddy.”
Roland’s smile found its own amused tinge as he took defeat with grace. With barely a shrug he turned to Adagio and–
“Bite me, loser.”
The siren brushed past without a second look. Applejack followed, and Sunset scrambled behind after giving a quick apology.
“Nice,” Sunset said, raising her volume as they reached the murmuring crowd.
Adagio gave an airy flick of the curls, inevitably brushing a few onto Sunset. “I’m here to eat, not mate. He can give it to someone who cares.”
“Heh, for once we’re on the same page.” Applejack gave a grudging nod, though capped it with a smirk. “Seemed like your type, though. Rich.”
Adagio rolled her eyes skyward. “I told you, I’m not Aria.”
“Sonata,” Sunset gently corrected.
“Whatever.” Adagio tugged on Applejack’s shirt. “Find me the shrimp, tall girl.”
Applejack pointed, then reached back and took Adagio’s hand. “Way ahead, I’ll guide you there. Coming, Sunset?”
Sunset had cast a curious look to the frat house – no traffic moved through it, and a uniformed Hailgrogar stood guard. A flash of lavender skin near the entryway drew her gaze. “Nah, I think I see Twilight. We’ll link up later.”
Sunset weaved through the crowd, stepping and maneuvering to keep the lavender beacon in sight. A magenta stripe in the hair soon confirmed her target, though a black suit interrupted as Sunset collided with Roland.
“Excuse me,” the frat said around a harried frown, and sped on towards the house with no guest in tow.
Curious, but disinterested, Sunset found and tapped Twilight’s shoulder. The girl spun and Sunset’s smile faltered as Twilight wordlessly entered the competition for most embarrassing friend. She wore a white lab coat of all things, and barbecue sauce stained her face all the way up to the glasses. With an offending rib in each hand, Twilight went in for a hug, then seemed to think better of it and settled for a grin.
“Hi, Sunset. Sorry… people kept trying to talk to me and this seemed the best way to end it.”
Though it lacked Applejack’s height, Sunset could give a pretty good lift to her own left eyebrow. “Is this how you act at parties when we’re not there?”
“My parents made me come,” Twilight grumbled. “One of those, ‘sweetie, you’ve been locked in your lab for three days, go have fun,’ deals. The irony of such orders is lost on them.”
Sunset began shuffling through her purse. “I have some wet wipes in here… seriously, Twilight.”
“I panicked.” Twilight chuckled bashfully as Sunset busied herself washing the face. “I’ll stick with you if that’s okay. Is anyone else here?”
Sunset pitched the used wipe into a trashcan. “Hundreds, but I know what you mean. Applejack is probably wherever there’s shrimp. I came with Adagio and Wallflower, but I think we’re it as far as Rainbooms go.”
“Can we look for AJ?” Twilight stepped closer, casting a fearful look behind where others danced to a boom box. “I don’t like… you know, strangers.”
The crowd was thick and fluid enough that Sunset erred on the side of taking Twilight’s hand. “Sure thing. Show me where you got those ribs first, though. I just got here.”
A trip to the rib grills exhausted Sunset’s supply of wipes and necessitated a guilt-assuaging raid on the salad bowls. Pleasant distractions came afterwards in the form of a talented beat-boxer from Crystal Prep, as well as a drunk troublemaker being ejected by stone-faced black-suits. Sunset accepted an offered beer – her first indulgent freedom from Celestia’s vice-free household – while Twilight stuck with water.
They glimpsed Applejack through the crowd, oddly fending off another smiling, suited Hailgrogar. But she was gone by the time they reached the spot, and Twilight pointed to the side. “There’s Adagio. Being… well, I don’t really know her, but...”
“Being Adagio,” Sunset said in a resigned tone as they watched the minor drama unfold. Adagio sulked at a table with two empty beer cans around. Roland had apparently offered a classier substitution, and set down a prepared martini in front of her. Adagio seized the glass and said something lost to their distance, turning Roland’s hopeful smile into a frustrated smirk. He departed quickly, leaving Adagio to her drink.
“You see that?” Adagio grumbled as they approached, cheeks flushed and chin in hand. “Third time today. I just up and told him I’m not into guys, not that it’s any of his business. He’s not the only frat who tried, either. Rich kids thinking they deserve the hottest girls… feh. These guys are more pathetic than I am.”
Sunset made to speak. “Well… wait, what?”
“They’re more pathetic than AJ,” Adagio said – a smooth dodge, or perhaps Sunset misheard. “I still remember how she was, so shocked by erogenous company she couldn’t buy me things fast enough. Where is she, anyway?”
“Same as you, dodging frats.” Sunset pointed a thumb back the way she came. “You two have a lot of admirers.”
She frowned with the last words, feeling just one butterfly at the base of her stomach. Strange… the motives of the prowling Hailgrogars seemed obvious on the face of it. Yet the party held no shortage of attractive women, so why beat their heads against the disinterested ones?
Like a Fetlock Holmes mystery – oddities, with surely a hidden reason. A second butterfly joined the first, followed by a swarm. The holster beneath her vest proved a comfortable weight as instinct sounded its warning.
Instinct... or paranoia? Sunset didn’t know, and that felt worse than either.
“We should look for Applejack,” she said, the deathly tone startling Twilight. But Twilight gave her a serious look and nodded, and Sunset went on. “Come with us, Adagio.”
The yellow siren downed half her martini in one gulp. “Feh. Have her bring me more shrimp.”
Sunset briefly weighed arguing, then decided against. “Fine. Stay here, and don’t go with anyone.”
“Whatever,” Adagio said into the glass. Sunset lingered a moment, uncertain in her course, and used the time to try Applejack’s phone with no success. Twilight took her hand, and the pair began moving quickly through the press of bodies.
They weren’t even out of sight when Adagio’s martini ran dry. She called past Wallflower after them for a refill, but her words vanished into the crowd.
“Cool. This is fine.” She ran her tongue along the inside of the glass and resisted the impulse to hurl it away. “Shouldn’t have let him do this for me… he’s back already, ugh.”
Roland did indeed approach, this time wearing a stern expression. “Miss, are you alright? You looked flushed.”
“Of course I’m… ooh, boy.” Adagio jerked her head up to respond, unleashing a wave of vertigo. Her mouth flew open with a sudden gasp, and an abrupt sense of heat boiled up within her.
Strange, she’d drunk more than this before without problem. But it wasn’t so hot then… Mother Hydra, it was hot...
“Miss!”
The shout brought her back to reality, halfway to the ground. Roland had caught her by the arm, and another black-suit helpfully came up on the other side. Roland spoke loudly, presumably to help clear the way. “Right, let’s get you to the house. Basement, air conditioning, water.”
“I need an adult.” Adagio hiccuped and laughed at her own joke, lazily allowing them to lift her upright.
Roland gave an irate sniff. “Miss, I am the faculty preceptor for Hailgrogar. So rest assured, adults are involved… I mean, you’re all technically adults, but let’s be real.”
The man on Adagio’s left nodded, offering her a silky little smile. “Don’t worry, we’ll… take care of you.”
“Ernest.” Roland said stiffly.
“I was just–”
“Trying to be cute, and failing. Handle this, I’ll find the other.”
Too hot to think. Strange how suddenly it all came on… Adagio stumbled as Roland released his grip, and the adrenaline sparked a question in her humid mind. “Other what?”
Roland paused. “Other… drunk, yes. Walk with Ernest.”
“Hurry up, boss,” the spare frat called, now with Adagio fully leaning on him. “I, eh-heh, haven’t eaten yet.”
“Ernest, I swear… oh, excellent.” Roland swept to their left, flagging and waving over a tall, lanky woman with a bowl of iced shrimp in each hand. Applejack’s look of annoyance turned to resigned worry on seeing Adagio.
“Gol’ dangit, what’s she gotten herself into?” Applejack stacked her bowls and stepped close, passing a blessedly-cold hand over Adagio’s brow. “Hot as the devil’s porch. How much did she drink?”
Adagio gave a bleary groan. “I’m good with liquor, redneck.”
“Sure, you are,” Applejack said.
Roland tapped pensively on his knuckles. “It’d be good if someone came. Are you her friend?”
A second passed as Applejack’s mouth tightened. She looked down to Adagio’s swaying head and released a low sigh. “Yeah, I reckon so.”
“Then come with us.” Roland pointed to the Hailgrogar house. “It’s closed to the public but we can make an exception. Air conditioning and water, and we have a cot in the basement she can lie on.”
“Thank you, kindly.” Applejack tipped her hat and slid one rough hand under Adagio’s arm. “Come on, girl, let’s get you taken care of.”
“Oh, we’ll get her t–”
“Ernest.”
The door guard looked annoyed at the girls’ presence, which of course was what any observer would see. Good. He didn’t even break character when Roland gave him a thin smile as they passed into the Hailgrogar fraternity house.
The redneck commented on the lack of people. Wasn’t there supposed to be a private dinner here?
Less good, but manageable. Roland informed her the guests had come and gone, and the fraternity ended their own little party to keep peace outside. The girl nodded with the explanation, but her demeanor changed to guarded suspicion. Not a great thing, to be in an empty house like this.
Ultimately, though, she wouldn’t abandon her friend. And the suspicion eased as they descended to a bright basement which seemed to double for fancy dining. They laid the comely woman down and nursed her with some water. Then Roland gave the redneck a cup for herself. No sense in her getting dehydrated, too.
Something in Roland’s tone gave it away, or perhaps the faint scent in the offered glass. The blonde girl declined, listening too late to her instincts, and mumbled something about calling an ambulance. Her phone came out, Ernest slapped it to the floor, and a third black-suited man leaped from hiding to join their attack.
She put up a better fight than expected, even getting off a good scream. A fist knocked Ernest’s mask loose, though it proved just as well. The girl’s panicked mind seized at what laid beneath, and subduing her from there proved an easy task.
Roland assigned Ernest to prepare the ritual – dull, thankless work. Rank had its privileges, and sloppiness its penalty. He stepped upstairs with the other who joined the ambush to find the Hailgrogar bookkeeper in the hall. Them all and the door guard accounted for five alumni. One more still mingled in the crowd; he’d have to be fetched.
Questions wouldn’t wait. “Which one’s ours?”
Roland glanced at his watch. Much to do. “We’ll eat the pretty one. He can have the blonde.”
The man who joined the ambush folded his arms. “He won’t be offended?”
“He wants her blood, that’s all.” A quick check of a hand mirror showed Roland’s mask to be undamaged. “Just leave him to me. Did anyone call Caspar?”
“I tried, no response. Hard to hear out there with all the humans.”
Roland flipped out his phone, sighed, and put it away. “Alright, crunch time, everybody. I’ll look for Caspar, you lot don’t let anyone in or out. Kill if you need to. It’s gotten damn hard to keep deaths quiet, but not half as hard as they’ll make it if some snooper with a camera takes us viral.”
Not exactly a fine speech for what should be a happy day, but Roland was a firm believer in not counting his chickens in the shell. He swung open the door and walked past the guard to their porch.
“Excuse me.”
A small, green girl slipped out alongside him. Roland ignored her, using the raised height to scan for Caspar among the black-suited dupes. With no luck, he impatiently strode out to the crowd, though found himself glancing behind.
He was… missing something. Forgetting something?
No. Idle nerves, nothing more. The modern era had not been kind.