"Ask your doctor if right is left for you." -Nurse Redheart
"Hello, Lyra and Bon Bon," Twilight greeted, "Have any of you seen Cecil?"
Bon Bon nodded, "No, sorry Twilight. We haven't. Maybe he's at his radio station?"
Twilight thanked them and flew towards the station. As she flew, she marveled at the tall structure. She still couldn't figure out how she had missed it. Once she had arrived she knocked on the door and waited several seconds until it opened. It was an intern who opened the door.
"Oh hello there, are you looking for Cecil?"
"Yes, I've been wanting to speak to him."
The pony gestured her to come in and the alicorn followed her. The intern led her to the stairs instead of the elevator, Twilight asked her why they couldn't take the elevator. The intern turned to her an replied, "Oh, Station Management won't allow it."
"That was strange," Twilight thought. Why would Station Management refuse to let their employees to use the elevator? It was probably broken.
The intern then turned to the stairs and led Twilight to the top where Cecil broadcasted. When they finally reached the top the intern stopped in front of a door. She knocked several times before opening it, "Cecil, you have a visitor." She said cheerfully. Cecil was sitting on a chair facing the opposite way of them and his desk. Twilight entered, "Hi, Cecil."
The canine turned around and smiled when he saw the princess.
"Oh, hello Twilight. What brings you here?"
"Well," Twilight started, "I just wanted to say that I am sorry for the way I acted yesterday. It was uncalled for."
Cecil walked towards and nodded, "No need to apologize. All of that is in the past. Now, are you okay from yesterday, you know, with the eyeballs and all."
Twilight laughed nervously, "Yeah, that was a bit weird. I'm just glad it wasn't harmful."
"Me too." Cecil said as Twilight looked around his office.
"So, this is where the magic happens?" Twilight asked him and he chuckled.
"You could say that." He showed her his microphone and the papers on his desk. "This is where is sit, drink my coffee, and report. And that room with the clear glass is where my assistant Diana checks if the sound is okay, and she also hands me my reports."
Twilight marveled at the equipment around the room, it was amazing. Cecil could only smile at her as she studied his equipment.
"Hey, want to see something weird?"
Cecil gestured her to follow him, and they walked out of the room. He led her down the hallway and turned to the bathroom. He opened it to reveal a cat. But not just a normal cat, it was a floating cat. The cat licked itself as it hovered near the sink.
Twilight was dumbfounded when she saw the strange cat, "What is this?"
"It's a hovering cat," Cecil said jokingly.
Twilight rolled her eyes and smirked, "I mean, what's a cat doing here and hovering?"
"Well, " Cecil explained, "We just found him here. He is in a state of hovering, and we can't seem to move him. He's just there. But don't worry, we've kept him fed and properly groomed. You should bring your friend Fluttershy here sometime. I've heard she's great with animals. You want to pet him?"
"Sure." Twilight said, slowly approaching the cat and lifting her hoof to pet it. She felt his soft fur as she caressed him.
"He's really soft. Have you given him a name?"
"Well of course! His name is Khoshekh. Khoshekh the hovering cat."
He couldn't help but smile at her. She was so beautiful. Her smile brought joy to his heart. He quickly was out of his trance and turned to his watch.
"Oh, I'm sorry Twilight, but I've got to get ready for tonight's broadcast. I hope you don't think I'm kicking you out."
"Don't worry, I'll be listening from my home. Well, I guess I'll see you later." She said, a hint of disappointment in her voice.
Cecil also sounded disappointed, "Yeah, see you later."
She then turned and headed for the stairs. He then called out, "Unless!"
She quickly turned around, "Unless?"
"U-unless you want to stay a-and help me?" Cecil stuttered.
Twilight suddenly felt nervous, "R-really? What if I mess something up?"
"Don't worry, it's really easy. You can be next to me and report on the news. I mean, if you'd like?"
"Yes! I mean, yeah sure." Twilight said, feeling embarrassed about shouting yes.
"Great! I think you're gonna like it."
"Regret nothing, until it is too late. Then regret everything. Welcome to Pony Vale."
Twilight sat next to Cecil as he finished his introduction. Twilight had to admit, she was a bit nervous, but felt excitement. She played with her hooves as the music played in the background, until Cecil spoke again.
"Hello listeners," he said warmly, "I hope you've had a great day so far. I see that many are a bit shaken still by last night, but remember: If you see something, say nothing, and drink to forget. Before we get started I would like you all to know that Princess Twilight Sparkle is sitting next to me as I speak."
Twilight's heart beated faster than normal. Her name was told to all of Ponyville.
"I would like her to give out news first tonight."
The lavender mare's eyes widened, she swore her heart was ready to burst out from her chest. Cecil handed Twilight the microphone and the news which was written in a nice piece of paper. Twilight gulped and took both, she looked at Cecil who smiled and told her to relax. She smiled back and spoke into the mic.
"H-hello every pony. It's Twilight Sparkle h-here to give you the n-news. Yeah, so, um...our interns have been studying the Dragon Park lately, and they have reported back some unusual things. First off, they would like to remind every pony again to not stare or go in the Dragon Park. There is already one reported missing pony, but don't worry. The Dragon Park will not harm you, so don't go in or stare at the hooded figures. Do not approach them, do not approach the Dog park or the hooded figures. They will not harm you."
As soon as she finished, she handed the microphone back to Cecil.
"That was Twilight Sparkle with the news. And now the sound of whatever is around you, which is probably a great deal more sound than you think, only some of which indicates future harm for you."
He then stepped back from the mic and turned to his friend.
"That was great!" He said, congratulating her.
"You really think so?" Twilight said.
"Of course! If I wasn't the head of this broadcast then you would be the voice of Pony Vale."
Twilight blushed, "Oh, thanks! But you have a much better voice for this than I do."
"Are you kidding? Your voice is perfect."
Twilight looked away to hide her blush for a moment before asking him, "Hey, I've noticed that you pronounce Ponyville Pony VALE. It's Ville."
He nodded, "No, I'm sure it's Vale."
Twilight shook her head, "No, no, no. It's Ville. V-I-L-L-E. Ville."
"Really? Then why is it spelled V-A-L-E on the sign outside of Ponyville?"
"It is?" Twilight said shockingly, almost shouting. "We should really fix that."
Cecil noticed his assistant telling him to go back to the mic. He nodded, "Come in, we have to get back to the broadcast."
Cecil and Twilight sat in their seats and the dog took the mic in his paws.
"Welcome back listeners. The mayor gave me a notice today with an important message. She would like to alert every pony that Wednesday has been cancelled due to a scheduling error. So any events taking place tomorrow will not exist. Also, here's something strange. There is a floating cat in the stations bathroom. He seems to be hovering in only one spot and we can't move him. But we have adopted him as our pet here at the station. We've also dubbed him Koshekh. Koshekh the Hovering Cat. Please, feel free to come and pet him. He loves attention.
"We here at Pony Vale Community Radio would like to thank our sponsor: Hay and Hay By Products. Have some hay with fries, or it's by products. Eat some hay with ice cream along with it's by products. Eat hay and or it's by products. Hay and Hay By Products: By Equestrians, For Equestrians, In Equestrians, Watching Equestrians.
"Here at Ponyville Vale Community Radio, we would like to invite some ponies to work for us here. Any pony is welcome to work..."
As Cecil continued with his invitation, Twilight marveled at how he spoke. He spoke passionately about the news, whether it was boring or interesting, he made it more exciting. She quickly snapped out of her trance when Diana came in with a worried face. She whispered in Cecil's ear and he sat there in silence for about a minute.
"Oh my."
He grabbed the mic, "Dear listeners. We appear to have a problem. I must warn you to not, I repeat, NOT eat hay or it's by products! They have appeared to turn into venomous green snakes and will attack you if you are outside of your home! These snakes have been described as dangerous, disgusting, and probably from the depths of Tartarus itself. Please, lock your doors and windows and do not attempt to fight back! Wait."
His assistant whispered another thing to him and he reported back, "There is some good news and bad news. The good news is that the Hay and Hay By Products are no longer venomous snakes."
Twilight wiped the sweat from her forehead and sighed.
"The bad news is that they've turned into horrific spirits that will suck the soul out of you if you stare into their crimson yellow eyes."
"What?!" Twilight shouted, wide eyed.
Cecil looked at her and said I to the mic, "Sorry about that. I'm not sure what to do at this point, dear listeners."
The alicorn then got an idea and quickly took the microphone, "Listen up everypony! Come with your families to my castle, it will be safe! The walls are enchanted and won't let any spirits come through! Quickly! There isn't much time!"
She then grabbed Cecil with her magic and headed for the door.
"Wait!" The dog exclaimed. "What are you doing?"
"What am I doing? I'm trying to get you to safety!"
He shook his head. "No"
The mare was shocked at this response. "No?!" Why?!"
"I have to stay here and report if anything happens. If those beasts get more restless then I'll be able to warn you guys. Go! Take my interns and assistant and go!"
Twilight's ears dropped a bit, "But what about you? What if the spirits come after you?"
He sighed, "That's a chance I'll have to take. Now go! I'll be fine."
Then something unexpected happened. She hugged him. It wasn't a happy hug, or a sad hug. It was the hug that said goodbye. He hugged her back. A goodbye hug as well. She stepped back, and ran away with the interns. Cecil breathed in and out as he took a last glimpse of her. He turned to the mic behind him, it begged to be spoken into. He slowly sat down, pressed on the button to let his voice be heard, and said only four words, "And now, the weather."
As the citizens of Ponyville ran, the weather was heard all around. The sound of a guitar playing as the deadly spirits attacked the poor residents. One pony screamed in agony as their soul slowly drained from their body until there was nothing left but a corpse.
Twilight shot her magic and created force fields around the citizens. She urged them to follow her to her castle. They all followed and ran for their lives. Fire started to spread all over town because of the spirits, curse them and their fire breathing power.
Meanwhile, on the window of the radio station was Cecil watching the carnage. He sighed deeply and took a sip of his coffee.
"So it begins."
The sign of Ponyville burned down as the fire spread throughout the town. By now most of Ponyville's residents were safely inside Twilight's Castle. But the minority perished by the spirits or their flames. Many lives lost.
"This is insane!" Starlight said to Twilight as they tried to calm the citizens down.
"Cecil has to be behind this!"
"It's not him," Twilight spat back, defending Cecil, "He is trying to protect us! He stayed on that radio tower to tell us if the spirits are gone."
Starlight nodded, "I don't believe it. I know there is something going on."
No pony else felt it, but Statlight did. An uneasy feeling came from within her. She knew she was in trouble. But from what?