A crack of thunder reverberated off the walls, signaling the beginning of the Wonderbolt’s show. I had stopped off at the bathroom before looking for Hex, but my pit stop had taken longer than expected. The stress of meeting Celestia and her threat had pushed me over the limit. I had just enough time to find a bathroom before throwing up.
It’s completely normal! It is understandable to feel nervous before the Princess, and even more normal to feel sick when she subtly threatens your life! I’m not a wimp or anything.
Now clean and vomit-free, I was ready to meet up with Hex.
If I could only find him…
“HEY!”
I had been galloping through empty passages trying to find my way outside when I turned a corner too quickly and slammed right into a light blue mare. I didn’t react in time to avoid the collision, even after she had yelled at me.
I shook the stars out of my eyes and got back on my hooves. I reached out a hoof to help her up and I got a better look at her. She was an earth pony, her mane was a darker blue and her eyes a light pink.
“Sorry, are you alright?” I asked as she got back up.
She opened her mouth to reply, but froze. I tilted my head. This was weird.
She immediately backed away several steps and said, “You’re…you’re his friend, aren’t you? You’re one of the Keepers!”
Eh? ‘Keepers’?
“Uh…I think you have me confused with somepony else…” I said slowly.
“No!” she shouted, “You aren’t going to stop me!” She was hysterical. She looked on the verge of tears. I started to reply, but she shouted me down, “NO! You can’t stop me! The stars are right! Tonight, the alicorn sisters will fall, and the age of Cthulhu shall begin!”
Eh?
Before saying anything else, she drew a stone dagger from her dress with her teeth. I immediately began stepping away slowly. She advanced towards me, the black dagger mirroring my expression of panic on its glassy surface.
Now, I will be the first to admit I am a coward. I may run my mouth, but I can’t back it up physically. When push comes to shove, I run like hell.
She had backed me into a corner though. I needed to distract her. Then I could escape.
“What are you talking about, I’m just a lawyer’s assistant! I’m not trying to stop anyone!” I cried. Lame, yes. Anything to keep her from killing me.
She replied, but it came out a muffled and garbled. Hard to talk with a mouthful of dagger handle. She dropped it and repeated, “You’re Lovecraft’s friend! You’re a Keeper, just like him! You won’t stop our plans!”
“What the buck is a Keeper? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”
“Don’t lie! You work for the Princesses! You were talking to Celestia earlier! You’re here undercover to stop me!”
“I’m not here to stop anyone! I got invited as a guest!”
“Liar! You and your damn agency keep stopping Their revival! We know a message went missing, we know you would show up to stop us!”
“What-” wait, why am I still talking to this nutjob?
I quickly grabbed the dagger with my magic and lifted it into the air. She immediately jumped back as the blade swiped at her.
I didn’t want to hurt her, just get her away. I swung it through the air in front of her a few times to get her to back up. I pushed her back into an alcove, using the dagger to ensure she can’t escape.
What should I do now? Get a guard? "Don't move. Once I get someone, you'll be locked up somewhere far away from here."
She smiled at me and replied, “The stars are right. You will fail, Keeper.”
She opened her mouth wide, revealing a blinking light on one of her back teeth.
There was a spy movie I saw once where the good guys had captured an enemy agent. They were going to interrogate him, but before they could he opened his mouth to reveal a detonator wired to one of his teeth. A quick snap shut, and the spy burst into flames.
I panicked. I jumped back just as she snapped her mouth shut.
The explosion was on par with the fireworks I had seen earlier. The force of the blast sent me flailing down the corridor. I slammed into the ground and rolled a few feet before finally stopping. My vision blurred as the flames burned bright, incinerating the mad mare. Even if she was screaming, the ringing in my ears prevented me from hearing it. I tried to get up, but my body wouldn’t comply. Slowly, darkness crept across my vision and I blacked out.
-----
“Oi! Emerald!”
Argh…
“Emerald! Are you alright?”
Hex’s voice sounded distant.
I started to come back slowly. I could feel the aches in my body where I hit the ground. I opened my eyes and blinked. My vision was really blurry, but I could still make out Hex standing over me.
“Dude, you get drunk already?” Hex jokingly asked.
I rubbed my eyes and said, “N…no…it was…the blast…”
“Blast?” Hex sounded surprised.
I nodded, adding, “The…the mare was strapped with…explosives…” I looked at him and added, “She…flipped out…” I pointed a hoof down the hallway before me. It was too blurry to make out, but I’m sure the blast left a pretty big mess.
Hex’s eyebrow raised and he said slowly, “Yeah…what?”
I rolled onto my side and winced. I wasn’t too hurt, but I was going to be sore later. I didn’t feel like I was bleeding anywhere. I shifted and started to get to my hooves. “The blast” I repeated, “I ran into this mare…”
Hex looked down both ends of the hallway and said, “I don’t see anypony. She knocked you out?”
Standing, I blinked the blurriness away and said, “No…I mean yeah. I ran into her, and she started saying some weird stuff, claimed I was…something…my head is killing me…” I looked down the hall and said, “She set off some sort of explosive…killed herself…”
Looking down the hallway now, I can see why Hex is skeptical.
I scanned the hallway in shock. It looked completely normal. No burns, no scorch marks, no corpse, nothing! The walls were a clean white, the rug was pristine; everything was intact.
“But…” I muttered, “where…there was an explosion…”
Hex seemed concerned, “Are you ok? You’re acting really weird.”
My head pulsed painfully as the memories came back. I cleared my throat and explained, “I ran into some mare. She started acting weird, saying ‘the stars are right’ and ‘you won’t stop us’ and other crazy stuff. She pulled a knife on me!”
Hex simply looked at me like I was the crazy one.
I walked down the hall, scrutinizing everything as I passed. I continued, “I got it away from her, backed her into a corner. She opened her mouth…there was some…device…on her tooth. When she closed her mouth, BOOM!”
Even as I spoke, I began to doubt my story. There simply was no evidence to back me up. I expected to find something, but there was nothing. It was a fiery explosion; it should have scorched everything around it. Even me!
I quickly looked over my coat and tuxedo. A little ruffled, but neither showed any signs of fire damage.
Hex put a hoof on my shoulder. He sounded concerned as he said, “Are you ok? You sound like you hit your head and had some weird dream.”
What is going on? That had happened, right?
I ran into a mare. She flipped out. Threatened me with a knife. Blew herself up before she could say anything coherent.
It was real.