Even with Chrysalis having just cured him of his mild illness, Jon now felt utterly sick and corroded down to his soul. An overwhelming sense of helplessness and guilt flowed from every pore of his body and he felt like this was entirely his fault somehow, like he had betrayed both himself, and everyone he loved.
Reaching out, he grabbed his phone, the very same phone that was used as a weapon against him. It was still set to the gallery application and there was a picture of his children. Tears began to fall from his face as she scrolled through picture after picture. He leaned forward in his desk to hide his sunken face, even though he was alone.
He had the feeling that no matter what, someone he loved would be hurt. He knew that this evil creature could not be trusted to keep her word, and that whatever she was planning was in no way in just cause. On paper it sounded as if all she wanted was some TV time, but deep down he knew there was more to it than that...he had to get rid of her, but he didn't know how.
He continued to cycle through picture after picture, and just when it seemed that all hope was lost, an idea came to mind. At first it seemed trivial, but then the more he thought about it, the more it made sense.
"She doesn't know." Jon said to himself. Looking in all directions, he began to formulate a plan in his head, a plan that seemed too simple to work, but it was his only option. Jumping from his seat, Jon quickly grabbed a piece of paper and wrote something down. He then rushed to his office door with an idea in his brain, a new found sense of urgency flowing through him. He had a plan he just needed to get back home.
He was moments away from opening the door when he stopped to collect himself. He wiped his eyes of any loose tears and took a deep breath, then another. For this to work, he needed to trick Chrysalis the same he had just deceived Celestia. After he was both mentally and physically ready, he opened the door just in time to see his assistant escort the still-disguised Queen Chrysalis down a nearby hallway.
"Selina, can I have a word with you?" Jon called out in a perfectly acceptable and stable tone. Before she could answer, a very skeptical looking Chrysalis stepped in front of her.
"Why?" she asked in her very convincing Lyra voice.
"Oh it's nothing really. I just want to make sure everything goes well for tonight's show," Jon answered. "After all, I wasn't expecting to have a pony on the show tonight."
With a nod of the head, Chrysalis allowed Selina to approach Jon, though she kept a very watchful eye on the two. When Jon spoke to Selina, he did so in high voice so everyone could hear him.
"Selina, I need you to make sure the boys in the back prep the stage," Jon said. "Make sure it's set up for our guest. That means we’ll need to use the props from set 'B' and not set 'A,' I remind you what happened the last time that happened...also be sure to tell our former guest that we won't be needing him anymore...if he asks why tell him there was a mix up in scheduling."
While this was going on, Queen Chrysalis was busily waiting for Selina to return, her gaze never leaving the two. Seeing this caused Jon to try something different. Turning now to his many interns and stagehands, Jon raised his voice to address everyone in the office.
"Everyone, can I have your attention...this is Lyra and she's to be on the show tonight," Jon said with an outstretched hand. Most, if not all his workers, acted rather confused since this wasn't originally scheduled. "While she's here I want everyone to make her feel at home here at Daily Show headquarters, so please...I would like everyone who is scheduled to help on set today to introduce yourself."
When he was done talking, a considerable amount of young adults approached Queen Chrysalis, each of them introducing themselves or cutting to the chase to ask a question. While she was distracted by this, Jon slid a note into Selina's hand. Brisking past her, he waved his hands at the many interns who were talking with Chrysalis like birds trying to feed on bread crumbs.
"Alright guys and gals, you'll all have a chance to introduce yourself to Lyra when she comes to your department," Jon said, trying to up the crowd her had created. While this was happening, Selina quickly read the note Jon had given her. "Right now she needs to go get wardrobe...or actually maybe we can skip that part."
His co-workers laughed as Selina came up from behind him, and with a slip of the hand, gave him back the note.
"So Lyra...is there anything else you need?" Jon asked. Instead of acting skeptical, Chrysalis took his overly cheerful demeanor as a sign on acceptance.
"No I should be fine," she said.
"Good. While you two ladies get better acquainted with our building, I'll be in my office doing busy work.” And with that, Selina escorted Chrysalis around the corner to where the cosmetology students and officials were stationed.
Jon waited a few seconds after the two of them were out of sight, whereupon he quickly rushed down one of the opposite hallways which lead to the back door. He turned a corner so fast he almost knocked over a mailroom clerk in the process, but eventually he found the door.
Bursting back out into daylight, Jon ran through the parking lot and to the street corner and flagged down a passing taxi. He gave his desired address and he was soon on his way, but not before he threw away the note that he had previously given to his loyal assistant which had read:
Selina-- Stall that thing by any means necessary. If she asks where I am just tell her I'm busy preparing for tonight or something.
Call my mother and tell her to meet me at my house.
It took the cabbie about twenty minutes, but he eventually got Jon back home. In a rush, Jon leapt from the vehicle and threw a couple of bills at the driver without bothering to ask for change. He could hear the car pull away as he ran up to the door. Frantically, he pulled out his keys and tried to unlock the door, only to drop it on the ground. When he bent down to pick them up, he found himself stopping.
He tried to calm himself down, but the image of Selina hanging upside down was more than he could bare. He took a deep breath, stood up, and calmly unlocked his front door. Slowly he opened it, expecting the worse, but to his relief, he didn't see any signs of anyone being in the house besides himself and his family.
He looked across the room and there he saw the flat screen television, still ever present on the wall in the living room, being used for its intended purpose. Quickly, he rushed towards the couch, and there it was, a glimmer of hope in his otherwise horrible day.
Still sitting in the same spot as when he left, were his two children, each of them still playing their video game. Aside from maybe a change in positions to Jon, it looked as if they hadn’t moved at all since he left that mornings to go to work.
They didn't turn to look at him, as they were still fixated on their current game, but one pair of eyes did find their way to Jon.
For there, sitting in between them was who Jon was looking for the most. The answer to all of his problems and subsequently his ace in the hole, came in the form of a small blue pony using both her hooves and horn to handle a video game controller.
She was a friend, a family member, and now Jon's secret weapon...she was the Great and Powerful Trixie.
"Stewart," she said with uninterested eyes. "You're home early."
Jon didn't say anything right away. Instead, he just stared at her, his chest heaving up and down from running up to the house.
"What's wrong with you? You look like you've seen a ghost," she said. Her attention was now drawn away from Jon and onto the screen at the behest of the kids, who complained that she was slowing them down. "Look, if you're wondering why I'm doing this, the kids asked me to...even though I don't possess any fingers I think I'm getting the hang of it."
Now all three of them were ignoring Jon. They were too busy concentrating on their current game session to notice tears of joy swelling up in Jon's eyes. He wasn't upset by their lack of interest in his presence, he was just happy to see that they were okay.
"OH THANK GOD!" he yelled as he dropped to his knees and grabbed his two children and Trixie in his arm for forced group hug. None of them took a liking to it.
"DADDDY!" Nathan complained. "We're playing a game!"
"Yeah, daddy!" Maggie added. "I can't see!"
His two children weren't the only ones bothered by Jon's surprise hug out of nowhere. Arguably the most annoyed by this was Trixie since she was sitting in the middle of the two children, as a result she felt the most compressed out of all of them.
"Let me go at once!" she barked. "The Great and Powerful Trixie demands that you relinquish me this instant!"
Despite all their struggling and demands, Jon refused to let go. The more they pushed him away, the more he hugged them back. He so happy to see that the three of them were safe he didn't even notice Trixie using her hoof to pop him on the head a few times.
Still overcome by his sense of relief, Jon gave each of his children, as well as Trixie, a kiss on the forehead as if he’d never get to see them again. Trixie really didn't like that.
"Bleh! Let...go of me!" she ordered. "Trixie does not like being slobbered on!"
The kids struggling came to a sudden halt once a chipper bit of music came from the TV signaling that both children and Trixie had gotten a "Game Over."
"Awww man!" Nathan complained.
"Daddy you killed us!" Maggie moaned, saddened that they would now have to start from their last checkpoint. As if his daughter had said the magic words Jon, released them. Both Nathan and Maggie grabbed their controllers and tried to get back to their game, or at least they would have, had Jon not kneeled down in front of them, blocking their view of the TV.
"I'm...I'm sorry kids," Jon said. To show he was serious, he placed a hand on their shoulders and began to talk nice and slowly so they would understand. "Listen...while I was gone did anyone try to get in the house?"
At this point, Trixie had finished wiping off any saliva that Jon might've gotten on her. She was moments away from yelling at him for his insane behavior, but before she got to it, Jon's face caught her eye. To say he looked sad would be a gross understatement; his face looked to be permanently petrified in a mixture of agony and horror. But most of all she noticed his eyes; they looked like they had seen things that one should never see. She even noticed there was some evidence that he had been crying.
His children however, didn't notice their father's disturbed appearance, nor would they be able to fully comprehend what it all meant, as demonstrated by their answering of his questions.
"No daddy," Nathan said in an annoyed tone. "No one came to the house." He tried to look past his father at the TV, but Jon wasn't done with them yet.
"Okay, but did anyone try and call!?" Jon asked
"Nope," Maggie answered.
To show that he was done questioning them, Jon took his hands off their shoulders and stood up to get out of their way.
"Stewart?" Trixie asked. "Is everything alright? You look worse now than when you left."
"No I'm...I'm fine," Jon said as he paced back and forth. He closed his eyes and ran his fingers through his hair while taking deep breaths. Unsatisfied with his answer, Trixie jumped from her seat and approached him.
"Did something happen at work?" she asked. When Jon didn't answer her question, her mind began to wander and she started to suspect the worse. Not knowing that what was really going on was far more insidious than she could ever imagine.
After having some time to think Jon ran up to his kids again. Only this time he didn't get in their field of view.
"Hey kids...did mommy ever come back home?" Jon asked. Both kids didn't answer but instead shook their heads.
"She's still at work," Trixie said from behind. "What's all this about?"
Instead of answering her question, Jon turned around, and with one arm scooped Trixie up in the air, tucking her body under his arm like he was holding an oversized football. Though in his haste, he managed to lift her upside down.
"HEY!" she shrieked. "Put me down!" Her cries of frustration caused both kids to look in their direction and laugh at the spectacle that was Trixie's butt extruding in the air and her hooves flailing wildly about.
"Hey kids, look I'm uh...I'm going to borrow Trixie for a second so be good and stay here!" Jon said. The two kids paused their game to give their attention, since it involved their beloved baby sitter. "While I'm gone, your grandmother is going to be taking care of you...she should be here very soon."
Maneuvering over her brother, Maggie ran across the cough to jump up and down.
"Grandma's coming!?" she yelled.
"That's right!" Jon answered. "So make sure to—"
"Can we show her to the Great and Powerful Trixie!?" She interrupted while Trixie still struggled in Jon’s arms.
"No, no, no. I'm sorry but I'm borrowing Trixie for now," Jon said. "Don't worry, I'll bring her back!"
"Promise?" Nathan asked with a skeptical look.
"I promise!" Jon said. He almost dropped Trixie, who was still struggling with all her might to break free. "Now stay here and be good! Me and Trixie have some...adult things to talk about upstairs."
"I'm not going anywhere till you tell me what's going on!" Trixie yelled. "I ordered you to release me at once! You have until the count of three...one...two...Th— AH!"
Before she could finish her countdown, Jon turned around and as fast as he could rushed towards the stairs.
"Stay here!" Jon told his kids as he ran up the stairs, the indignant mare still tucked underneath his arm. After getting to the top of the stairs he used his free arm to open the door to his study. After almost tripping over his own feet, he rushed in and closed the door behind him like he was being followed by someone.
Before Trixie could say anything else, Jon tossed her as gently as he could on the nearby sofa.
She wasn't very thankful for being manhandled.
"What the hell is wrong with you!?" she said with much contempt. "Have you lost your mind!?" Jon didn't answer. Instead, he ran around the room, shutting windows and closing blinds as quickly as he could.
"DON'T IGNORE ME!" she yelled. "I asked you a question and I demand you answer me!" Again Jon said nothing. His final act of security was to grab the cord that connected his phone to the wall and yank it out so no one could call. To make sure he didn't miss anything, he began to run around the room looking everywhere, as if he was trying to find an Easter egg.
"What are you doing!? Stop this at once!" Trixie shouted. "HEY! The Great and Powerful Trixie commands you to—"
"TRIXIE WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP ALREADY!?" Jon yelled at the top of his voice. Immediately he regretted what he had done.
Trixie looked shocked. Her ears folded and she began to take a few steps back in fear. She had always known Jon as that campy human who never had a mean bone in his body…she had never seen Jon look like this before.
The horrified look on her face sent pangs of guilt throughout Jon's body. He didn't mean to yell at her...this wasn't her fault.
"Trixie...Trixie I'm...I-I'm sorry," Jon said as he reached out with his hand. "It's just that I...I need...Oh god." Dropping to his knees, Jon's shoulders slumped and he covered his face with his hands. Trixie could hear muffled sounds that were in synch with her beating heart. Having seen Jon go from intense anger to disheveled agony was something she thought she'd never see from him.
"...S-Stewart?..." she said as she slowly approached him. "Are... are you alright?"
Out of instinct, she reached out with her hoof, unsure of where she would put it. Before she could, however, Jon looked up at with her with sad, watery eyes.
"Trixie," he said in a scared voice. "I need your help."
Trixie was never one to ask support from others. Even if she desperately needed it, her pride and tendency to not rely on others wouldn't allow her. Subsequently, this also meant that not a lot of people ask for her help in general. All of this meant that she didn't really know what to say when Jon was literally on his knees begging for her assistance.
"Please Trixie," Jon said again with increasingly tearful eyes. "I’m in big trouble."
Had this been anyone else, she might have considered leaving them to sort out their own problems, but since it was Jon, she obliged him a little by at the very least asking what the problem was.
"Trouble...with what?" Trixie asked tentatively. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Jon got up and began to collect himself. He wanted to be sure he spoke clearly and without falter.
"Trixie, something...something from Equestria came to the office today," Jon said. His breathing was now under control. But the more he explained his situation the more rapid it became. "Something...something really bad...and I need you to get rid of it."
"Why don't you explain from the beginning?" Trixie said. Jon's hands were still shaking and he felt like he could fall apart at any time. Taking another deep breath, he walked across the room to the couch near the door. It was no more than a few feet away, but to Jon it felt like it was on the other side of the planet. Slowly, he navigated towards it as if he was on a traipse wire.
"Okay, this is what happened," Jon said as he took his seat. "This...this thing tricked its way into my office and it demanded that I do whatever she says...I tried to get it to leave but it was too powerful." Jon's mind was still frantic; it took all he had to explain this much without going into a panic. He stopped to breathe again while Trixie did her best to draw her own conclusions.
"And you want me to send this thing back for you?" Trixie surmised which in turn got a nod of the head from Jon. Feeling cocky, Trixie shook her head back and forth and threw hooves in the air. "Fear not Stewart! For I the Great and Powerful Trixie, will vanquish this foe for you and save the day once again! Now then...who is this creature that will have the misfortune of dealing with Trixie?"
"It's some weird thing with holes all over her body," Jon said as he rubbed his hand across his face. He tried to remember as much as he could about her on the off chance that Trixie didn't know her. "She has green hair and a black body and she called herself Queen...uh Queen Crisis, or something like Queen Crystals...or—"
"Queen Chrysalis!?" Trixie exclaimed.
"Yeah, yeah, that's her!" Jon said. "You know her?" Now it was Trixie who looked scared out of her mind. She took a step back and began to look in all directions as if the walls were about to close in on her.
"Queen Chrysalis is here!?" she continued. "...In New York!?"
"Yeah and she’s trying to take over my show!" Jon said. "So can you help me?"
"You want me to go up against Queen Chrysalis!?" she said frantically. "Are you crazy!?"
"But I thought you said can handle this!?" Jon said as he stood up from his seat.
"Well yeah, but that was before I knew who I was dealing with! Stewart...you don't understand! Queen Chrysalis she's...she's a very high level magic user," Trixie explained. "Her power is far, far beyond my- I mean, I...look, I want to help, but can't you just get Celestia to do it?"
"That's not going to work. Trust me, I thought about that," Jon said, sitting back down. "Chrysalis said if I tried, she'd know it...she did something to me and well...I'm not going to risk finding out if it was a bluff. Please Trixie you're the only one I can count on here."
Feeling needed like this did give Trixie a sense of importance, but what Jon was asking was almost suicidal.
"...And there’s no other option?" Trixie asked as she used her hoof to carve a pattern into the carpet of Jon's study.
"No...this Queen Chrysalis has thought of everything." Jon explained. "She tricked her way into my world pretending to be someone else, she used my phone to deceive both me and Celestia into letting our guards down, and she found a way get me to do whatever she says...she's thought of everything...except for you."
"M-me?" Trixie said.
"Yes you! I mean, no one knows you're here, not even Celestia, remember?" Jon continued. “Your interview never made it on television...she may have planned out everything, and anticipated everyone...but you…who could ever anticipate you?"