//------------------------------// // Act 3, Chapter 9 - Intruder Alert // Story: Hoof and Claw Versus the World // by Chythar //------------------------------// I had closed down my old life and turned my cats into my own Shadowcats. Now there was nothing to keep me from the Night Mare's side. Several weeks later, I was shocked out of a deep sleep by a loud, blaring alarm in my head. An instant later, I threw the covers off and dove out of bed. The claws on my feet instinctively snagged the carpet and they helped launch my body across the room. I scampered as fast as I could towards the closest shoji door, which was the shortest path to the source of the alarm. The urgent need to defend my home pushed me to scramble faster, and the need to protect myself prompted me to summon my armor on the run. In a flash, I was fully prepared for battle. The magical alarm in my head also told me which one was going off: the one on the elevator doors. While I ran, I remembered that Nightmare Moon's alarms only go off if someone did not have the correct magical marker. All of the Night Mare's minions had that marker, so whoever set the alarm off was not allowed in the mare's Moon Palace. I didn't know if this was an attack or just some idiot who got off on the wrong floor, but I wasn't taking any chances. As far as I was concerned, this was a full-on invasion until proven otherwise. A flurry of activity exploded from under the bed, and three small cats scorched across the room to beat me to the shoji door. One cat put on an extra burst of speed and reached the door first; Bastet hooked her claws into the wood and flung herself to the side. The door opened just in time for the other two cats to pass through, with me right on their heels. Chubby Isis was surprisingly nimble as she ran ahead and opened the next door the same way, though her extra weight pulled the door off its rails. Kusac cut the corner sharp and bolted for the entrance hall, while I instead swung my body wide. My remaining cat ran full-tilt into the edge of the shoji door covering the entrance to the elevators. His body slammed the door open and the cat tumbled out of the way, unharmed. My wide and curving route let me run through the open shoji door without slowing down. I burst into the entrance hall at speed and skidded to a halt in front of the intruders. There were only two humans standing side-by-side in the room, instead of the army I had expected. They had just walked into the entrance room with the large murals when I ran into the room. Both intruders looked really surprised to see me. I recognized the human on my left as a security guard for the building. He was skinny and tall, though he wasn't as tall as me. He had balding gray hair and wore a dark blue security uniform. Nightmare Moon had long ago taught me how to detect shadow parasites, and this guard definitely had one. But the other did not, so that meant he was our intruder and worth a closer look. He was shorter than the security guard by about half a head, had short black hair that looked a bit greasy, and thick black glasses that framed his face. He was wearing a black t-shirt, worn blue jeans, and some sort of canvas sneakers. He was a bit pudgy but not excessively so. Beyond having pale skin that implied he rarely went outside, he looked to be reasonably clean and groomed. I reached out with my magic and grabbed the intruder by his throat, then yanked him closer to me. His panicked expression was delightful, even if the smell of cigarettes and Cheetos was overwhelming. But instead of threatening the intruder, I screamed at the security guard with as much authority as I could muster. "WHY DID YOU BRING THIS ONE HERE?!" The guard shook in abject terror, but still managed to answer me. "He-he-he said he was invited here!" I moved in close to the guard and pushed my face towards his, our noses nearly touching. "HE LIED." Before I could utter more threats, I heard the magically-amplified voice of Nightmare Moon from behind me. "Send the guard away, my Captain. And bring the intruder to me." I turned my head off to the side, as if to look at the Night Mare back in the throne room. What? Aw, come ON. OBEY Yeah yeah, Creepy Inner Voice. I got it. I turned back to the security guard, a snarl on my face. "Go." An instant later, the guard turned around and fled back to the elevator lobby. I last saw him frantically pushing elevator buttons before I turned my attention back to the intruder. I willed my magic to hold his entire body instead of his throat. Then I lifted his body off of the floor. He was flailing his arms and legs all around, and grunting and groaning like he was fighting against something. It was kind of cute, like he actually thought he could escape my grasp. But there WAS. NO. ESCAPE. I shook him around like a child would a toy, until he stopped making noise. "Stop that." The intruder now hung limply in my magical grasp and no longer tried to escape. But there was still a great amount of fear in his eyes. "Good. I will bring you to the Mistress, and she will determine your fate." The two of us passed through the shoji doors; me under my own power, the intruder cocooned in my magic. Once we cleared the doors, Kusac kindly slid the door closed behind us. I gave my Shadowcat a smile and a nod, but continued my walk towards Nightmare Moon's throne. The ebony mare was sitting upright in the middle of the couch, wearing her armor. Despite the informal setting, she looked very regal to my eyes. Her expression was stern but without anger as she looked at our intruder. She did not speak as I strode over to the dais and set the intruder down on his knees in front of it. He knelt there and stared at the Night Mare with his mouth agape, too dumbstruck to speak. After a few moments, I grabbed his head with my hand and forced him to bow. "BOW BEFORE YOUR QUEEN!" I held his head down on the dais for a few moments, then released him. He shook in fear, but to his credit he kept his head bowed. Several seconds passed before the Mare in the Moon spoke up. "You may rise." The intruder lifted his head up off of the dais, but stopped partway to turn and look at me with fear still in his eyes. I gave him a nod, and he finished sitting up to rest upon his knees. He still looked really nervous, and probably unsure of what to do. He did not have long to wait, as Nightmare Moon addressed him again. "How did you find us?" He did not immediately reply, though his lips moved like he was trying to speak. Internally, I counted to five then grabbed the back of his hair in my fist. "ANSWER YOUR QUEEN!" "Ow ow ow! Aw fuck that hurts!" "I SAID ANSWER!" "Okay okay okay! I work nearby, and I saw you two fly by a week ago!" I let go of his hair just as Nightmare Moon prompted him to continue. "Interesting. And...?" The intruder rubbed the back of his head where I had grabbed his hair. "And um, I set up a bunch of cheap webcams in case you flew by again." My dark Queen turned to me. "Web cams?" "Small devices that remember what they see and let you look at the pictures later." "Ah." The ebony mare turned back to the intruder. "And by tracking our comings and goings, you were able to determine where we were staying." "Yeah. I moved the webcams around until I caught you leaving this building from the observation deck." "I see. And how did you determine which floor we reside on? We do not leave the building from this floor." "Uh, I didn't know that until that security guard took me here." "And why did he do that?" "I just told him that 'Nightmare Moon' wanted to see me." Uh oh. He shouldn't know her name. Unless he's...oh no. "How do you know my name?" "Of course I know who you are. I'm a fan of the My Little Pony TV Show." Great, he's a brony. "Captain?" "Yeah. "Remember when I said that this world is aware of Equestria, but only as a child's fairy tale? The stories are called My Little Pony, and this guy has seen them too." The intruder looked up at me, surprise evident on his face. "What? What do you mean?" I crossed my arms and stared down at him. "You're not the only brony to find Nightmare Moon." His face turned to shock. "You're a brony like me?!" "Not like you. I'm better." "Captain, why does he call you a 'brony'?" "That name is used by those of us who enjoy the My Little Pony stories. It's made up of two words; 'bro', which is a slang word for a male, and 'pony'." "Hmph. We have finally met another of your 'brony' comrades." "That's...not exactly true." "Oh?" The Night Mare narrowed her eyes at me. "What have you been hiding from me?" "Um...you remember our first minion? The one that spoke of 'The Lunar Republic'?" "The one that had a familial story about the sun and moon? Yes, I do remember. Am I to understand that your explanation was a lie?" "Yes and no. She was a brony, but I didn't know how to explain the My Little Pony series to you at that time. So I panicked and told you about the Solar Empire and the Lunar Republic, which are factions in the brony community. The only lie was about the familial story. Then we found those pony toys in the officer's home, and I had to explain it to you anyway." "So. The truth is, she was subjugated easily because she is a 'brony' and was already aware of who I am. Thus your lie was not intended to deceive, but to explain knowledge that she should not have had." "Uh, yes. If we already had our discussion over the toys, I would have told you the truth." "I cannot say I am pleased, but I understand your intent. Then, what is the true meaning of 'The Lunar Republic'?" "It's a made-up name for a group of bronies that would have chosen you over your sister. Your sister's allies called themselves the 'Solar Empire'." "I see. Another deception that explained the evidence rather then concealed it. Are there any more truths that you have concealed from me?" "None, my Queen. Well, when you ask me a question about this world I don't always explain everything about it. I just give a quick answer that's easy to understand. For example, I spoke the truth about the web cams. But there are many more details I could tell you about how they work." "And if I were to ask you for more details about these 'web cams'?" "I would be happy to tell you all that I know. You just need to ask." "And had I asked more about these 'bronies'?" "Well that's what you did when you discovered the toys. Before then, you didn't know what questions to ask." "Hmm. "You have shown a side of yourself that is darker than I would have imagined." I shrugged. "Maybe. But I thought you liked dark things?" A smile slowly stole across the ebony mare's muzzle. "Always with the quick wit. I shall forgive you, this one time. Come, sit next to me." I left the brony kneeling down in front of the dais, and walked up to the couch that served as Nightmare Moon's throne. Once there, I sat down just to the ebony mare's left, and placed my right arm on the top of the couch behind her. As soon as I sat down, we both turned to look at the other and gave each other a warm smile. Our intruder, whom I had actually forgotten about for a moment, chose that moment to speak up. "Oh man, I ship it." I mentally facepalmed but quickly recovered. "SHUT UP, YOU! "What should we do with him, my Queen? I imagine a shadow parasite would shut him up real quick." "W-w-what? A parasite whatsit?" "An intriguing idea. my Captain. And one that would truly silence him forever. "But before I pass sentence, I have more questions for our...'guest'. I suggest you answer truthfully, as your fate will depend on whether I believe you." The brony looked very afraid, and he appeared to be shaking a bit. He must have finally realized that he could die here, if he said the wrong thing. "Uh, yes ma'am." "Now. You have discovered where I live. How did you get past my guards?" "Oh. Uh, that part was pretty easy. I came here and told a security guard that I had a message for Nightmare Moon. When that didn't work, I threw a fit and told them you would be pissed if I couldn't give you my message. One of them finally agreed to bring me up here." "I shall have to have a stern word with the guards about such tricks. And what message did you have for me?" "What?" "You said you had a message for me. What is it?" "Oh, um...I mean..." I rolled my eyes at the brony's antics. "He doesn't have a message, my Queen. He made that part up to get past the guards." "Is that so? How unfortunate. "My judgement is now passed. I shall prepare a shadow parasite, and we shall dispose of his body somewhere where it shall not be found." "NO! Wait! I...uh... "You're beautiful!" Nightmare Moon and I were left completely stunned at his outburst, but the mare recovered before I did. "I beg your pardon?" "No! I mean it! I always wanted to tell you that you were beautiful, but you weren't real and I had no way to tell you but then I saw you fly past my work and I just had to tell you!" I wasn't impressed by his words. "He's just lying to save his skin." The smile that stole across the mare's muzzle was one that I had seen on her before. It meant that even if she believed he was lying, she was still enjoying the attention. "No, let him continue." The brony was nervously looking back and forth between Nightmare Moon and me. "Well?" Still no answer. "Hmph. I am disappointed." Nightmare Moon let loose a volley of lightning not unlike a certain evil Emperor from a famous movie trilogy. The electricity arched all around the brony, who screamed in mortal terror. "OH GOD! You are beautiful! Gorgeous! Your sister was a fool to banish you! I will worship you forever!" "Ah, there is his silver tongue. He just needed the proper motivation." The Mare in the Moon stepped off of her throne-couch, and slowly crossed the dais to stand in front of the cowering brony. "I hereby decree that you shall be the first courtier of my Camarilla, starting tonight." WHAT?! DO NOT INTERFERE WITH THE MISTRESS! But...I...fine, whatever. Nightmare Moon continued, unaware of my inner dialogue with my Creepy Voice. "You are required to be here at dusk and must remain until daybreak unless I dismiss you. What you choose to pursue during the day does not concern me. "Your first task is to find more 'bronies' to join my court as courtiers. Be certain that they are part of 'The Lunar Republic' and not of the 'Solar Empire'. And be discreet, for we wish to keep our presence here a secret for the foreseeable future. "Do you understand?" The brony took a moment to reply. "Uh, I think so?" Nightmare Moon replied by lifting her hoof and summoning a ball of lightning into it. The lightning sparked and spat around her armored shoe. "I mean yes! I understand! I stay here at night and I'll get more bronies for you!" The Night Mare's horn flashed, and the ball of lightning turned into a featureless blue ball. "Good. Then, you are dismissed for the evening. Return tomorrow evening with more 'bronies', or I shall be displeased." With a flick of her hoof, she tossed the blue ball of magic towards the brony. The ball landed on his right shoulder, and stuck there for a moment. The brony frantically tried to grab at the ball, but his fingers slipped right through it. A moment later, the blue ball began to seep in to his flesh until it disappeared from view. "That ball will allow you to pass through the elevators without setting off the alarm. It will also signal the guards to escort you and any with you to me immediately. "You may go. Captain, escort him to the elevators." Nightmare Moon turned to return to her throne-couch just as I sat up from it. I walked over to the confused-looking brony, who was still kneeling down in front of the dais. I unceremoniously picked him up in my magic and placed him on his feet. When he made no effort to walk, I gave him a push with my hand. "Come on, let's go." The brony stumbled, but quickly regained his balance. We crossed the throne room floor and quickly reached the door to the entrance room. Kusac once again opened the shoji door for us, then slid it closed behind us. Once the door closed, the brony spoke to me. "What just happened?" "You're one lucky bastard. Nightmare Moon just invited you to be part of her court. Play nice, make her happy, and we'll all get along." "Oh. "This is a lot to take in." "You have no idea." We arrived in the elevator lobby, and I pushed the 'down' button. I could hear the hum of machinery that meant an elevator was on its way. "Alright, listen up. When Nightmare Moon meant 'discreet', she meant to keep news of HER quiet. Invite a few brony friends but don't tell the world. Maybe post a last-minute brony meet for Nightmare Moon fans at your office, then bring them here. Got it?" "Yeah, I got it." "And if a whole mob of bronies show up here and attract attention to us, Nightmare Moon is going to KILL you. "Literally." The brony was silent for several moments. "What am I gonna do?" "Do exactly what she says, dumbass. Because if you don't, she's going to track you down by that ball she shoved in your chest and make sure you can't tell anyone about us. Permanently." The brony looked down at his right shoulder, then placed a hand above where the blue ball of magic had touched him. "Oh fuck." Just then, a chime sounded somewhere nearby. I looked around the lobby to find it, and saw a pair of elevator doors slide open. I turned back to the brony and led him to the open elevator. "Exactly." With a slight push, the brony walked into the elevator. I reached inside the elevator and pushed the button for the 54th floor, which was the lowest floor this elevator went to. I pulled my body back out, then gave the brony the cheeriest farewell I could. "See you tomorrow!" The horror in his eyes bored into me until the elevator doors closed between us.