Chestnut Magnifico stepped off the stage and walked over to where the rest of the cast was gathered. “Aloe, Lotus, the director wants to talk to you about stage makeup. And Lyra and Octavia, she’s got new sheet music for you. The rest of you, let’s talk marketing.”
She looked across the assembled ponies, ensuring she had everypony’s attention. “We all need to work together to use our talents to make this play a huge success. So, Diamond Tiara,” she said, suddenly fixing the younger pony with a steely gaze. “You know the movers and shakers in this town. Who are the ponies whose opinions matter? Who are the alphas, the queens who tell everypony else what to think?”
Diamond Tiara’s eyes widened at being put on the spot, but quickly she smiled confidently. I think I’m quite glad that Chestnut chose to ask me rather than anypony else... Out loud she said, “The powerful ponies here in Ponyville? Well, there’s Princess Twilight, obviously.” Seeing Chestnut scowl, she continued apologetically, “She and her friends are the most famous citizens of Ponyville. They’d be the natural ponies to get to help us if we really want to promote this show. Alternatively, there’s Featherweight from the Foal Free Press? That paper still has quite a following outside the school, and with the students at the School of Friendship too.”
“Hmm.” Chestnut seemed unimpressed. “Yes, we should make use of those contacts, I suppose. Apple Bloom, you know the... Princess of Friendship and her group, don’t you? Tell them that this show is going to be the best night ever and they should invite everypony they know.”
Apple Bloom glanced around uncertainly, then replied, “Uh, sure.”
Chestnut continued briskly, “Still, we need more. Does anypony know any of the staff in the big newspapers? Canterlot Chronicle, Manehattan Review, any of those?”
Sweetie Belle exclaimed, “My sister had an interview in the Canterlot Chronicle! About her Manehattan boutique.”
“Excellent. So then you should get her to–”
“Director! Autumn Blaze! You’ve gotta see this!” Scootaloo came rushing in to the auditorium, and breathlessly held out a letter towards Autumn Blaze.
“What’s this about, Scootaloo?” asked the kirin. She took the envelope and levitated it towards her, turning it over in her cyan telekinetic field. “No return address. It just says ’To the director of the opera’. Well, let’s take a look…” She pulled the card out and scanned it, her eyes widening.
“What is it, director?” asked Diamond Tiara.
Autumn Blaze spoke more slowly than normal (almost as slow as a regular pony’s conversation) as she replied, “It claims to be from an... Opera Spirit. And it says – Well, just let me read it to you.
“‘I’m delighted that my ancient theatre
Is back in use for shows again.
All the cast and crew
I must welcome you,
But remember as you visit
This exquisite place is my domain!“‘I remind you of the ancient tradition of my salary. Since I understand you are new, I will not demand you pay me for the ten years of dereliction. But I require my haunting expenses – a hundred bits left in Box Number 1. This box is also to remain vacant during the performance.
“‘Once again I bid you welcome. Obey my orders and your opera will be wildly successful. But defy me and you will face terrible consequences!
“‘Signed… The Opera Spirit.’”
As Autumn Blaze finished reading out the letter, a hush hung over the cast. Ponies glanced left and right, or just stared at the kirin and the ornate parchment scroll that hovered in front of her. Even Chestnut looked surprised. Diamond Tiara was just wondering whether to ask what Autumn Blaze thought, when the director answered that question for her. Her eyes caught fire.
Diamond Tiara had never seen a pony be consumed by flames before, and she immediately decided she never wanted to see it again. The sudden circle of cyan fire in front of them made many of the cast step back. Even those who’d stood their ground flinched when an intimidating, resonant version of Autumn Blaze’s voice boomed out from the dark creature of flames before them. “He dares?! This meddler dares to tell me how to direct my play? Demanding money and special treatment – and for what reason?! Guaarrgh!”
The nirik was clearly visible in front of them now, but no less terrifying for that. The fire around her had already turned the offending letter to ashes, and the director’s wooden podium was blazing fiercely. Cries erupted from the assembled ponies as they looked around the wood-clad auditorium.
But Diamond Tiara had no time for them. “Sweetie Belle! The buckets!”
The Crusader blinked and then said, “Oh – Right! Yeah!” Sweetie Belle levitated four buckets full of water out from between the front rows of seats. She upended two of them onto the furious nirik, one onto the podium, and held the fourth one ready as the ponies peered through the sudden steam. For a moment, the hiss and splash was all anypony could hear. Then...
“...Thank you, Sweetie Belle, Diamond Tiara,” said Autumn Blaze’s voice, thankfully now back to normal without the unearthly echo to it. “I let my anger run away with me there.”
“It’s okay, Director,” Diamond Tiara replied. “Apple Bloom warned me what could happen if something got you angry, so I thought it’d be a good idea to have some water on hand just in case. I hope I didn’t overstep my bounds…?”
“Not at all,” smiled the kirin.
Chestnut Magnifico had been watching the whole event unfold with detached interest. With an appraising expression she told Diamond Tiara, “I see you’re a pony who understands the value of preparation.”
“Yes ma’am,” she replied. “Protect what’s important to you. My parents taught me that.”
“I like it,” Chestnut said, flashing her a grin. Then she turned to Autumn Blaze and asked, “So are you going to give the spirit his money?”
“Not likely,” Autumn Blaze replied grimly, flames flickering at the corners of her eyes. “And I for one don’t believe he’s actually a spirit, either. Scootaloo! Where did you find this letter, anyway?”
“It was just posted under the front door. But yeah, that’s a good point, spirits can’t write, can they?”
“Then I’m sure somepony must have seen it being dropped off. Oh, I wish I had time to investigate this! But I’m so busy with sourcing costumes and props and posters and–”
“Leave it ta us, Miss Blaze!” Apple Bloom stepped forward, the other Crusaders flanking her proudly. “We’ll track this varmint down and leave you free ta focus on all the directin’ stuff you need to do!”
She smiled fondly at the eager fillies. “Would you? Thank you so much! I really appreciate it. I’ll give you whatever support you need! But for now I think we’d better call it a day. Everypony return to your home and recharge your thespian energies. Unless you’re helping the Crusaders with their investigation!”
Chestnut Magnifico looked around at the hubbub of ponies packing up and chatting excitedly. She sighed and said, “I guess I’ll need to contact that journalist myself.”
While the Crusaders spent their time exuberantly hunting for a spirit, Diamond Tiara was busy realising how much her part required. Plenty of dialogue, obviously, but also a total of six songs, solo or together with another pony, not counting chorus numbers; and a couple of dramatic monologues as well. Then there was where to stand on stage and which way to face – the director called it “blocking” – and choreography during various songs… Lots to learn.
She turned the script pages restlessly. This wedding scene was weird. She didn’t think it had actually happened in the Daring Do books – had Autumn Blaze made it up entirely? The whole thing was sung in recitative and naturally was very dramatic. The main villain of the show, a manipulative Sphinx, needed to marry Rainbow Dash for the final stages of her nefarious plan to make her gain ultimate power. Rainbow Dash was deceived and believed the Sphinx was actually a charming adventurer, and agreed to a hasty wedding – which seemed perfectly consistent with Rainbow Dash’s character, Diamond Tiara thought – except unbeknownst to her, the ritual would activate magical runes in the temple. Daring Do sang a solo and stepped in to save Rainbow Dash, leading to a dramatic action scene at the end of which Rainbow got to rescue Daring Do just seconds before the temple collapsed. That is, if the special effects all worked correctly on the night.
She sighed. She didn’t seem to be able to focus today. She left her script lying in her dressing room and went for a walk. With Autumn Blaze holding rehearsals four times a week for the major parts like hers, the opera house was becoming like a second home to her these days. Diamond Tiara wandered into the wings where the cast were storing the props they’d found, bought or made. Suddenly, her eyes went wide.
Seconds later, she ran out onto stage. As usual, Autumn Blaze was standing at her director’s podium; she seemed to be shuffling scripts, or perhaps bills or publicity letters. “Director!” Diamond Tiara exclaimed breathlessly. “Have you seen the Cutie Mark Crusaders?”
“Um… not recently,” Autumn Blaze replied, startled. “I’ve got them hunting for that so-called Spirit. Why – is something wrong?”
“Yes!” Diamond Tiara replied simply.
Chestnut appeared from her dressing room. “What’s all the noise about?”
“We need to get Apple Bloom and her friends,” Diamond Tiara fretted. “This is bad, this is very bad.”
Chestnut raised an eyebrow, but rather than enquire further, she trotted off, calling, “I’ll see if I can find them.”
Autumn Blaze asked with concern, “What is it, Diamond Tiara?”
“Come and see…”
A few moments later the Cutie Mark Crusaders cantered into the wings to find both their friend and their director staring at a mess on the floor. “What’s that?” Scootaloo asked.
Sweetie Belle gasped and said, “Wait… isn’t that…”
“Our cat costumes?!” the three of them exclaimed together in dismay, looking at the piles of torn fur and fabric that had used to be three cat-shaped outfits.
Diamond Tiara sadly passed them a note. Sweetie Belle unfolded it and read out loud:
“Do not search for me! Pay me my salary and cease your investigation, or untold calamity will befall this theatre! – Signed, The Opera Spirit.”
Scootaloo mused, “‘Untold calamity’? What kind of thing could he be planning?”
Sweetie Belle quickly replied, “If we could tell that then it wouldn’t be untold, would it?”
“Whatever he’s thinking, he’s clearly threatening us,” Diamond Tiara summarised grimly. “This was a warning.”
Scootaloo poked morosely at the heap of scraps. The costumes had been quite thoroughly torn.
“We worked so hard on those!” she moaned. “Even if the mane looked a bit scraggly, it was still a lot of effort making it!”
Diamond Tiara scowled. “I had been thinking we need to find out who this is and stop him. But if he’s going to keep doing this kind of thing…”
The friends exchanged worried looks. “What do we do?”