It was in the middle of a warm summer night. I was at a ball, a lovely ball. Many other famous writers were there, some more famous than I. Many were interested in talking to somepony like myself, Amber Onyx, but I was just one of many. But as lovely as the ball was, I did not want to be there. You see, I am the kind of pony who has many secrets. In fact, being a novel writer is only my side-job. My first and most important job is to have secrets. At least it was...
This secret in particular, was especially messy. There was a chemical, the result of magic that shouldn’t be. A chemical, that could make a pony rule the world. One side wanted to destroy it. The other side wanted it all for themselves. I was on that side. At least, the ones I was working for, who gave me no choice but to work for them.
Due to unforeseen circumstances, I was tasked with delivering the chemical. The one who was supposed to deliver it in the first place, had been caught and taken out. So I was their only choice. And as it’s become usual, I had no choice, but to deal with the complicated circumstances. They were coming for it after midnight, shortly after the ball was going to end. I closed the chemical into a container I could carry on my person. Nopony is taking it from me, unless they take me out first.
The ball was lovely, but all I could concentrate on, is the passing of time. The seconds went too slow; it was as if the arms of the clock, became the pendulum above my neck. Just a few more hours and I can deliver the chemical to its unrightful owners. It all felt like an eternity.
At some point an earthen mare approached me. She had a very light greenish gray coat, a mane of cobalt blue and light fuschia, and the most beautiful arctic blue eyes I’ve ever looked into. The beauty of a mare is the most dangerous weakness of a stallion’s heart. She introduced herself as Jade Gust, a fan of my work, a connoisseur of mystery novels, who was eager to get to know me better. But I knew it was all a lie. I knew who she really was and I knew what her intention was. She was on the right side of this chemical mess, unlike me.
But knowing that, I decided to entertain her charade. Perhaps it was logical, so as to not raise a hint of suspicion. Perhaps it was only my heart reaching for a personal adventure, like a child reaches for a cookie, they know they’re not supposed to eat.
I spent the last hours of the ball with this lovely mare. She made those hours fly by, despite it all being a trick. It was like a date trying to convince me how much she likes me, even though everything she’s saying is a lie. But unlike the insecure filly trying to impress a celebrity, this mare had the cleverness of a fox hidden under all the improvised stories. And I knew what she was after. But she still tricked me.
I invited her up to my hotel room. Well, she insisted to be invited and I gave in. I don’t even know why. Perhaps I thought I could trick her back and get the most out of the situation and still deliver the chemical. But it’s most likely, that I was secretly hoping that it could be turned real. She even brought her own bottle of wine, although I did not see her pour it into our glasses. An easy trick... Too easy... Now I knew what I got myself into and I had to put down the disguise and make everypony’s intentions clear.
“Look, Jade Gust,” I called her by her fake name, “I know what you’re trying to do and we both know what this is all about.”
She seemed unfazed. “You think I’m trying to poison you?” She then leaned over and drank some of the wine from my glass. Just enough for any poison to take effect. But she was still unfazed. “Do you think I’d try to pull something so obvious?”
She is even smarter than I thought. But she was still a danger to me. A danger I was willing to take, but a danger nonetheless.
“I don’t know what trick you’re trying to pull, but I know for certain your real name isn’t Jade Gust.”
She just smiled at me with lidded eyes.
“And we both know that you’re not after me,” I continued, “but something I have.”
“You are smarter than you look, Amber Onyx.” I’m still not sure whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. “But you still fell into my trick, didn’t you?”
“I did... But only because I wanted to.”
“And we both know why you wanted to, right?”
I did not need to say anything. The way we looked at each-other has done all the talking. She leaned close to me, not taking her gaze away from mine. We slowly fell into each-other’s lips, almost as if we meant it. To tell you the truth, I did mean it. And at the time I thought she meant it as well. I’ve had my fare share of fake kisses before, but this one was by far the most convincing. Perhaps it was just wishful thinking. After a rather authentic moment, she leaned out, but moved even closer to me. She took a sip from her own glass, with her arctic blue eyes fixated on me. Then, almost as if there was genuine passion behind it, she kissed me once more. I could feel the sip of wine roll down my throat, before she pulled herself away again.
“What is the code for the container?” She asked in the same tone somepony would confess their love.
“64501...” I blurted out without thinking.
Before I could fully comprehend what just happened, my eyelids fell heavy. Suddenly, all energy drained from my body and I could not fix my fatal mistake. The last thing I could see is her sultry smile turning into a devilish grin. I fell into her trick, thinking it was just an amorous game.
I could feel her take the container out of my pocket and then mockingly putting it back in empty. I was awake the whole time, but my body was paralyzed from the poison. All I could do is moan disapprovingly. I could barely move my hooves to crawl after her. Eventually, I got back control of my body just enough to stumble out of the door, but it was way too late.
“Sir, your marefriend has told me that you were too drunk to lay with her,” a nearby housekeeper told me, “you are definitely not in any condition to run after her. Fortunately sir, she is going to came back to you in the morning.”
Helpful staff, I can’t deny, but he’s got no idea how much of a hindrance he was to me. But I could barely talk back to him and not sound just as drunk as he suspected and trying to use the elevator or run down the stairs could have made my condition worse. So I dragged myself back into my room in defeat. Coming back or not, I mustn’t be there in the morning, because my employer was about to arrive and he must not find the chemical stolen. For my sake.
I opened the window and leaned out to gather myself. I saw my employer’s carriage pull up. I needed to get out of there as soon as possible, even if that meant climbing down a steep wall with no sense of balance.
I also caught a glimpse of the mare of my doom, calling a taxi, acting like nothing happened at all. She did take a mocking glance back at me, while I was dejectedly leaning out the window, just to drive home that she knew exactly what she has done.
Now I am on the run. My employer’s henchmen are still after me. They know I am not just missing, I am hiding from them. But hiding is currently the least of my worries. Because even if it gets me caught, I must find the mare who put me here. I refuse to die until I can look into those arctic blue eyes one more time. I have longed for a mare who could outsmart me for a long time and she finally found me. And I’m not going to let her go.
Oh Jade Gust, you clever fox, you!
Heh, I call her Jade Gust, even though I knew her real name all along...
I will find you...
Sweetie Drops...