Sunny Skies walked into the ready room of the National Weather Service’s San Diego station. It was five in the morning and a Sunday to boot, and the fact that he’d been called into the station this early in the morning pretty much dispensed with any chance that he was going to be able to take his kids up to Disneyland today. “Okay,” he said, walking over to the coffee pot and pouring himself a cup of the thick sludge that passed for java around here, “what’ve we got?”
Rainy Afternoon ran his hand through his graying blue hair and sighed. “You aren’t going to believe this one, boss.”
“Oh, trust me, I’ve seen enough weird shit to last a lifetime. Did I ever tell you about the time it snowed here in San Diego?”
“Way too many times,” a third voice called out from the direction of the bathroom.
“Heya, Strawberry,” he said as the second person on watch sat down at her console. Strawberry Sundae was young – so much so that she reminded him of his kid sister – but she was hella smart. He wouldn’t be surprised if she made director of the whole service someday.
“Heya yourself, Skies. Rainy’s right – this ain’t normal.” Moving the onscreen map, she moused over to the thing. “Tropical storm, just off the coast of Ensenada; started yesterday on Carefree’s watch.”
Skies blinked; there was no indicator of a tropical storm, much less a hurricane. For one, this part of the Pacific was too cold to start tropical depressions much less hurricanes. The chances of it happening were simply astronomical, so much so that the last one recorded was in the early 1900s. “You’re telling me it just formed?”
Rainy commented, “Yeah. Showed up so fast, we haven’t even given it a name yet. At this rate, it’s going to go Category One in a few minu—”
“Just did,” Strawberry commented. “Pulling from the list now, name is Everblue.” The woman looked on-screen at the newly-christened Hurricane Everblue. “And it seems to be growing, if I’m reading this right.”
“Okay,” Skies said, the coffee in his hand unconsumed as he looked over Strawberry’s shoulder at the radar display. He’d never seen anything like it before. “Get me the possible tracking,” he ordered. “Also, talk to the Navy, Coast Guard and the folks in Mexico; they have to be watching it as well.”
“SMN station in Ensenada was the one who told us about it. They’re frankly floored and asked us for help figuring it out.”
“It’s not going to be their problem much longer; should be out of Mexican waters within the hour,” Rainy commented. “Sending an email now to Third Fleet and the Coast Guard Station; we’ll hear a response back from them soon, given where the Hurricane is.”
Skies took a deep draw from his coffee, then readjusted his glasses over the bridge of his nose. “See if Third Fleet can loan us a hurricane chaser until I get someone from Kansas City here. I want direct eyes on that thing; this is going to be one for the records. Now if you’ll excuse me for a second, I need to make some calls, the first of which will be to my very disappointed kids.”
The nondescript plane landed at the equally nondescript airfield at Pinehurst, Oregon. The side of the plane opened and before the ladderway could be driven into place, the lead man jumped to the tarmac as if it were no big thing.
“What, trying to impress me, Blackthorn?” a man in a plain gray suit commented. He ran a hand through his gold and black hair, then adjusted his eyeglasses. “You boys done fucked up in Dubai, so yeah, I guess you have to impress me somehow.”
Blackthorn fixed his red eyes on his target, his short black and red hair blowing in the wind. “Not my fault. I told you we needed Sgt. Loam for ALICORN—”
The man pointed an angry finger at Blackthorn. “First off, you’ve got some of the top operators in the fuckin’ world with you, and you fell apart because you were missing one man? Are you that fucking useless? Secondly, you called your team ‘ALICORN’? Seriously? When do you change it to ‘Pretty Pretty Princesses’? I’m paying you to be a black unit, not the Filly Funtasia Fan Club! If I wanted those…what the fuck are they called?…Bronies…I would have gone on a recruiting drive at their Goddamn convention in Baltimore!”
“Your guys gave us bad intel,” Blackthorn continued, ignoring the other man. “Fortunately, I was able to make up for that; caught me a little piece of tail at the airport.” He reached to his side for a radio and spoke, “Okay, bring the bitch out.”
A woman, apparently handcuffed, was thrown out of the airplane, rolling down the metal steps until she came to a painful stop on the ground. She was immediately picked up by a man who was practically a mountain, who effortlessly slipped her over his shoulder, walked over to the others, and threw her on the pavement.
She turned over and spat out something. The bloody blob landed on the ground, and was revealed a second later as one of her teeth. Despite the bruised and battered condition of her face, she looked at the trio with searing orange eyes of rage. “You mother fuckers are going down, you know that?”
The man spoke. “Not the way I see it, Lt. Commander Arpeggio Crash. From where I’m standing, you’re the one with a choice: spend the rest of your days in our supermax jail under the Hudson Bay, or a bullet through your brain. All the same to me, really.”
She laughed a cruel, heartless laugh. “And the head asshole comes out: CSIS Director Golden Rule himself.” She looked at him with a fury so intense that it could’ve murdered him from the gaze alone. “Come out to play?”
“CSIS? I thought you were Agency,” Blackthorn asked.
“Yeah, well, I thought you were smart, but I guess we all have to live with disappointment.” he said, shaking his head. “I called in a few favors from Washington, which they were all too happy to give over. That’s why Five Eyes are better than one.”
“Well, I’m not talking,” she said, “So you can go fuck yourself.”
“That’s okay, you don’t need to,” he said, pulling a gun from a holster underneath his blazer. “I already know where they are, because they’re getting help, and their help is none too smart. I’ll say hi to them while I visit Canterlot. I hear it’s a lovely place.” While the SIREN’s face remained impassive, he knew he had her to rights. Putting the gun to her head, he commented, “You know, it’d be a waste to remove a good pawn from the board. Tell you what: you work for me and I’ll spare you. Of course, you’ll have to take care of all my needs, and I hear you ladies are trained to be the best in bed—”
“Sorry, I can’t work miracles with tiny peckers,” she spat.
“I see. Well, that’s a shame of an answer,” he told her. Placing the gun to her head, he added, “And I have a thing for girls with blue and green hair, too. Reminds me of my first girlfriend.”
“Yeah, how many times you rape her until she left?”
“And you SIRENs are just as classy as I expected. Well, it was nice knowing you. Oh, and one more thing: I’m not Golden Rule. She has better things to do with her time.”
He pulled the trigger. A second later, he pulled a white handkerchief from a breast pocket and wiped the blood off the gun. “Such a shame,” he murmured. Looking back at Blackthorn, he said, “Well, now you know where to go.” Pointing to a semi-rig at the other end of the field, he said, “Rig’s loaded with everything you need to end those, ahem, ‘ladies.’ Full armament and a Humvee in the back for your needs; we would’ve added a Predator, but the Americans didn’t want anything that would point back to them. I want them all dead with the exception of Captain Blast. Her I want alive and unharmed. It seems that she and the Director need to have a little chit-chat. Ladies’ business you know, not for us menfolk.”
“And what about her?” Blackthorn asked, indicating the corpse of Arpeggio Crash.
“Bury her on a mountaintop or something. Preferably with this; she probably earned it at some point in her life before everything went wrong and I suppose we Canadians should be grateful for her sacrifice.” The man handed Blackthorn a Cross of Valour. “Oh, and afterwards, clean up all this blood. We wouldn’t want the fine citizens of the United States to think their neighbors up north were anything less than the model of politeness, would we?”
Sunset set down the last box. “Well, that should be everything, Mr. Cake,” she told her boss.
Carrot looked at the high piles of boxes in the Knickerbocker. “Thanks for helping out, Sunset,” Carrot told her. “I know it couldn’t have been easy.”
“Oh, please, Mr. C, it wasn’t a problem at all,” Sunset said with a smile. “After all, you were the one taking care of breakfast, right?”
“And here we are!” a shout came from the kitchen. Pinkie came out carrying a dozen donuts, a pot of coffee, a six-pack of Coke, a dozen breakfast burritos and an order of eggs Benedict. “Hope you’re hungry!”
“Pinkie, you shouldn’t have,” Carrot told her. “No, really, that’s a little much.”
“Actually,” Sunset suggested, “maybe we can give some to the homeless shelter down the road? Would give us a little goodwill, get the attention of the staff and when the clientele gets back on their feet, they’ll remember this place and want to come back?”
“Thbts a grbt idbr!” Pinkie said between bites of her donuts.
“Manners, sweetie,” Carrot reminded his niece.
“Sorry, Uncle Carrot, but that’s a great idea!” Pinkie exclaimed, inhaling another donut and taking a shot of coffee. “I’ll go get started on making more for the shelter!” Before he could say anything further, she picked the next five boxes and walked in with them, effortlessly.
“I will never understand her,” he said, shaking his head but with a tone of pride in his voice.
“You must be absolutely proud of her,” Sunset asked.
Carrot nodded. “As much as if she’d been mine and Cup’s flesh-and-blood daughter. We don’t regret having taken her in at all, and through it all, she’s been nothing but a joy for us. We’re going to miss her when she goes off to college, but we know we’ve done our best to bring her up to be the best woman she can be, and I guess because of her, we’ll get Pumpkin and Pound right, for sure.” He gave Sunset a smile and said, “But I guess your parents already know about that sort of thing, right?”
“I don’t know, to be honest. My parents have already raised Shining, Twilight and, well, Octavia as well, and they’re already well on their way to handling Spike with no problem. I know they love me, but sometimes I feel as though I’m an interloper.”
“You should probably never forget then that they wanted you in their lives, Sunny. I know it doesn’t have as much of an impact as a near-adult as if they’d adopted you as a child, but the feeling is very much the same. They want you to be part of their family, and I daresay you’ve needed a family for the longest time.”
“Yes,” the flame-haired girl replied, not sure of what else to say.
“But just a few more weeks, and then there you go!” Pinkie shouted, walking out of the kitchen with a bunch of marked bags filled with foodstuffs. “Oh, and question: Since you can change your name once you’re adopted, are you?”
“You can?”
“Uh-huh! Remember that Rainbow’s parents changed Scootaloo’s name when they adopted her, and a good thing, too!”
“Why’s that?” Carrot asked.
“Um, because of the Sweet Cicely?” Pinkie stated in a tone indicating that she really didn’t want to talk about it.
“Who’s Sweet Cicely?” Sunset added.
“Well, gotta go!” Pinkie said, rushing out of the Knickerbocker, with the bags in hand.
Sunset looked briefly at Carrot then rushed out the door after her friend. “Pinkie, wait!”
They got two blocks from the café before Pinkie slowed down. “Wow, I didn’t know you ran that fast!”
“I cheated; I flash stepped,” Sunset replied. “It’s early enough in the morning that I can get away with it. Now, do you want to talk to me, or are we going to drop it?”
“We’re going to drop it,” Pinkie told in her in a serious tone, “because it’s my personal business, Sunny. You’re my friend and all, but my romantic life – fuckups and all – is my business. It’s the same reason why Fluttershy hasn’t talked about hers, and why Rainbow and Soarin’ don’t talk much about theirs, either. You’re our friend now, but there are still some things we’re not ready to deal with yet.”
“Did I do something to you?” Sunset asked, her worries climbing as her feet came to a stop.
Pinkie kept on walking. “No, not directly,” was all she said.
Cadance was slipping on her ear and eye protection at the range when she caught sight of the person walking to the stall next to her. “Aunt Tia? What’re you doing here?”
The smile on Celestia’s face was one of delightful surprise as well. “Well, I’m here to learn how to shoot a gun, courtesy of my boyfriend here.” She pointed at Sable and from the look of utter appreciation on her niece’s face, the older woman chuckled inwardly. “Guess I got lucky, huh?”
“I’ll say,” Cadance agreed, and Celestia giggled. Celestia then made the introductions and Cadance afterwards asked again, “So, here to learn how to shoot?”
Celestia nodded. “Sable insisted on it and I can’t quite argue with that,” she said as he wordlessly slipped on his own protection and then passed her hers. “But what are you doing here?”
“Annual quals,” Cadance replied. “Ever since the Equestria County District Attorney was assassinated back in the mid-1930s, they’ve required all their ADAs to be gun qualified. It’s a dumb county ordinance and mostly not enforced, but I figured that as the fiancée of a cop, I probably should be familiar with what Shiny does. Besides, I’ll be escorting the girls on their camping trip next week and Shiny insisted I take the pistol in case of an emergency.”
“I remember that,” Celestia commented. “Looking forward to it?”
Cadance smiled. “About as much as Aunt Luna enjoyed taking me and my friends camping when I was the girls’ age.” Celestia tried not to laugh much at that; Luna had gotten into an argument with a park ranger that was asking who the adult in charge of the campsite was. It didn’t help that Luna always leaned towards a younger demeanor, but when the ranger insisted that her ID was faked the near-arrest that Luna earned yelling at the ranger to the point of deafness was something Celestia’s younger sister was trying to forget, even ten years later.
As everyone got into position and Sable briefly went over the gun and how it worked, he then suggested that Celestia watch her niece for form. Taking the hint, Cadance relaxed, picked up the pistol, aimed and pulled the trigger three times, sending rounds down the range.
“She’s good,” Sable said, and Cadance felt a little proud of herself…
…right until her aunt picked up a larger gun and sent the blasts down the line, where they easily tore through the center of the target.
“How…?” Cadance asked, looking at surprise while they pulled back both their targets. While Cadance’s shots had been decent, Celestia’s had been near-perfect.
“What, Luna never dragged you into a marathon session of shooting games because she bickered with her boyfriend and needed to blow off some steam?” Celestia joked.
“Thanks for your time,” Shining commented to the detective at the Ashland Police Department. He and Sandalwood had left early in the morning for Oregon and scenic Rogue Valley County and other than a breakfast at the Borderline (“The best part of Oregon is eating at The Borderline!”) they had nothing more.
Sandalwood looked over the record. “Okay, so the girl’s boyfriend copped to using her like a Fleshlight and they got high, drunk, and all the usual things that most teens do, yourself excluded,” she teased. “She was kidnapped along the Southbound 5 and when someone found out little miss prissy was – gasp and shock – not a virgin, they chopped her into a dozen pieces and left her for her parents to find, complete with a joker card. A little harsh; I’m sure there are better ways to tell parents that they need to raise their kids better, but still, not getting us anywhere near what we need to find this asshole.”
“Not that her boyfriend’s any better; he’s already seeing her best friend – that’s fast,” he commented.
“Yeah, not like I wish I knew how that was,” Sandalwood muttered under her breath.
“You say something?” Shining asked.
“Uh…yeah, was just going through the order. We’ve got The Fool, the Chariot, Strength, one joker, then the Wheel of Fortune. Something’s missing, but I’m not sure what it is, and frankly, looking through these Mystick Knights of the Oingo-Boingo books, I’m completely stumped. You hear anything from Witchipoo?”
“No, though I don’t blame her, we only asked her to look into this a couple of days ago. As ironic as it is to say, well, she’s not made of magic. Besides, the kinds of stuff that she’d look up are less likely to be in our range of expertise.”
“Says the guy who got us the best lead we’ve had,” Sandalwood said, fishing out her phone and looking at her emails and texts. “I don’t think anyone would have looked at it the same way that you did. Hell, even Hardy, who’s used to this sort of shit, ignored it. But you got us something that we can sink our teeth into, and hopefully we can catch ourselves a nice, fat perp soon.”
“Hey, I can live with that,” Shining said as they got onto the on-ramp for the southbound Interstate and headed back to California.
The first thing Adagio saw – or what she thought she saw – was Rarity, chatting along with a nice guy, but it turned out to be in vain, as the face was entirely different. Still, it would’ve been nice to see her again, the teen sighed.
“Yo, Dazzle! You helping with this or not?” another SIREN behind her asked.
“On it,” she said, with a notable lack of enthusiasm. This was her first time off-garrison since they were brought on active duty and it was to Horseshoe Bay, no less. She was part of the supply crew that had been voluntold to pick up the supplies and in return they would get a chance to spend a few hours looking around the scenic resort town nestled on the Pacific Ocean. Horseshoe Bay had definitely been on the list of places that Adagio wanted to visit.
However…it was a place that she’d hoped to visit with her sisters and friends – friends that were now on the way to being bittersweet memories and sisters who could die at any moment, if caught in battle.
I think I’d give anything right now just to hear Rainbow make another stupid comment, Adagio sighed mentally.
“Yo, Dazzle, you okay or something?” a petty officer asked.
“Yeah, just thinking of maybe sunning a little on the beach or something,” she lied.
“Yeah, me too,” another seaman replied. “Thinking about sunning on the beach, getting me a hot guy, then releasing a little stress, if you know what I mean.”
“Eh, not for me. I’m going to go get shit-faced in the bar. None of the guys here catch my eye.”
“I’m guessing the girls do?” Adagio piped in, hoping to disguise her melancholy with an attempt at getting into the banter.
“You wish, Dazzle, though I’m sure you want to munch my carpet.”
“In your dreams, Gust,” Adagio replied, her mind already wandering to a time that never existed, one with her and her sisters and friends, relaxing on the beach – a place where Adagio could be the girl she should’ve been.
Standing on top of the hills overlooking Horseshoe Bay, Aria and Sonata watched her sister suffer in silence. “Yeah, this is Thunderbolt 3, I copy,” Aria said into her mic. “Nothing out of the ordinary and nothing seems up with stations 1 and 3…Roger that.” Cueing off her mic, she said, “Command wants us to stay put until we’re relieved by the secondary team. After that, then we can go down for liberty.”
“Roger that,” Sonata echoed, looking around a bit before slinging her carbine. “Who’s relieving us?”
“Ballad Break and Musica Snap,” Aria replied. “They should be here in an hour. But let’s not worry about that right now. You have any idea of what you want to do while we’re down there?”
“Why not lunch?” Sonata asked. “There’s a seafood place there that….” Sonata suddenly trailed off into silence.
“Soni?” Aria looked away from her scope.
“Twily recommended a place here,” Sonata said in a hushed voice. “She said that she wanted to hit the place sometime and make happier memories. I guess that was when that Flash guy attacked her.”
Aria completely turned away from her scope now. “You know, we should have killed him for her sake.”
“Do you really think we could have done that?” Sonata asked.
A pause from her sister. “No, I guess not,” Aria admitted. She had already realized that; she could snipe with the best of them and she could protect those she cared about, but that was a far cry from being the kind of stone-cold killer that was required by being a SIREN. “Look, could we talk about something else right now?”
“Sure. What do you want to do?”
“Honestly, probably go surfing. Me an’ Rainbow were thin…king…a….” Aria’s words trailed off into silence again as she realized what she’d done.
“Do you think we’ll ever see them again?” Sonata asked.
“I hope so,” Aria admitted.
Sargasso leaned back in his chair. “Oh, trust me: after I freak out my girl, she’ll be all like, ‘Take me now!’ and BOOM! I get me some.”
“Don’t you mean your ex-girlfriend?” Doubleflip told his friend.
Sargasso shrugged. “She was just kidding about that, you know that. She just plays hard to get.”
“Yeah, right.”
Green Onion looked at Sargasso. “I’m not sure that’s gonna work. For starters, Dusty Rose is going to completely freak when you pretend to be the Dead Hand Killer. Secondly, once you reveal yourself, she is so going to kick you in the balls for that. Third, my girl is her friend and she clearly said ‘ex’.”
Sargasso waved a dismissive hand. “Oh, trust me, I know Dusty. She’s wanted my hot bod for the longest time. Woulda gone all the way if her parents hadn’t gotten home so early. But this is the perfect way to get it! Especially with the rumor that the killer’s only going after virgins? I guarantee even guys like Runt and Snips are gonna get some. Hell, I might be able to trade up!”
“Dude, don’t say I didn’t warn you, okay? You’re gonna get your nuts kicked in and your girlfriend pissed as fuck at you,” Green explained.
“You mean his ex-girlfriend,” Doubleflip corrected.
“I toldja, man, I got it all down pat!” Sargasso insisted. “What could go wrong?”
“Hey, thanks for checking in on me, Mr. Roadway.”
The CHP officer standing at the door nodded. “Well, your parents asked me to check up on you while they’re out of town on business, Dusty, so I don’t mind. In fact, I think the biggest concern I have is my son trying to peek in your window.” Dusty Rose blushed furiously and Roadway laughed. “Don’t worry, I told him he was grounded for a month if he tried.”
“Thanks,” she said, trying to recover. She actually liked Oak Leaf, but he was a couple of years too young for her, with her starting her senior year at Forest Edge and him just starting his freshman year. I mean, he’s cute for his age and pretty mature, but…young. Then again, my cousin’s going out with an incoming freshman, and he’s a junior. Then again again, people are gonna talk….
She sighed. Well, they were going to talk anyway, especially after she decided to break up with Sargasso. He was a nice enough guy but she just wasn’t feeling it in the relationship and it was better to let him down now before things got serious. Honestly, she was much more in tune with Oak instead of Sargasso. Besides, she’d hoped her friend Summer Sparkle was wrong when she said that from what she knew about Sargasso, he didn’t take no for an answer easily. Fortunately if worst came to, she could always ask Oak for help.
Better think about that later, she mused. For now, she had to do the laundry and a whole bunch of other things in order to get ready for tomorrow. Plus, she wanted to make sure that she was safe: after all, even though she had a cop as a next door neighbor, she still had to take care of herself and make sure that there was no way she could be attacked without anyone knowing. She had to be careful. She made a mental note to call her soon-to-be ex-boyfriend and tell him she would meet him tomorrow.
“Cherry, is it a good idea to be here?” Mango Juice asked her older sister. “Mom’s gonna be pissed at us.”
“Why?” Cherry asked. “Look, I don’t want to take over Mom’s store when I grow up. I want different things out of life, and I have to push myself to do so.” She looked at the books on the shelf in the neighborhood library. “I mean, look at Mom. When Dad left us, she did her best to make sure that we made it okay. I want to be able to take care of Mom when she gets older, and the only way I can do that is if I become the best pharmacist I can be.”
“But you know about the killer, right? Right? I don’t want to be killed by some mean guy!” Mango wailed.
“Don’t worry, you won’t,” another girl said. She was dark skinned and had hair hued in bands of purple, green and neon-red – a virtual riot of color. She had stone gray eyes behind fashionable lenses and she wore a simple t-shirt, jeans and sneakers. “I know for a fact that the killers don’t go after little girls.”
“Really? How do you know?” Mango asked the stranger, who smiled in return.
“Oh trust me: killers really don’t like hurting cute little girls. I read it somewhere.” Mango gave the stranger a smile and stood matter-of-factly next to her sister.
“Yay!” Mango chirped, then looked at her sister. “Hey, can I go look at the computers?”
“Yes, but don’t go anywhere else,” Cherry told her. “Let me finish my research and then we can go to lunch later, okay?”
“Burger King?”
“Yeah, we can go there.” Mango hugged her sister, and then scampered off towards the computer. Cherry then turned to the stranger and said, “Thanks for that. She’s been really worried as of late that the killer’s going to get her.”
“I can understand those fears, but she should know they’re unfounded.”
“Why’s that?”
Medley Trance lowered her glasses. “Oh, trust me: I just know these things.”
Sunset waved goodbye to Pinkie and Carrot, setting her car back on the road to the Sugarcube Corner Café. The time she’d spent with Pinkie passing out the food at the homeless shelter had earned the Knickerbocker the eternal gratitude of those who were housed at the shelter as well as the admiration of several staff members. But for Sunset and Pinkie, it had been slightly different. Sunset had never realized it, but the homeless shelter was in a former warehouse just a block from the place where she used to live. If I’d been smart instead of a stubborn jackass, I’d have been in a better position. Maybe the staff would’ve changed my life, and I could have been a normal girl sooner instead of just a little wannabe terrorist with mommy issues.
I need to send another letter to Celestia, to tell her how much I love her. Official or not, she’ll always be a mother to me. Sunset felt a tear slide down her cheek and she chuckled. Back before her change of heart, she came across the book Heather Has Two Mommies and laughed her ass off about the child who was raised by two lesbians; while her own life was vastly different from the fictional Heather, Sunset now had to admit that she herself had two mothers: the one that had raised her and the one that was raising her now.
I wonder if I could contact the author and interest her in creating Sunset Has Two Mommies – I know I’d buy a copy, she thought with a chuckle, getting on to the Interstate and heading towards her destination. Letting that movement come automatically made her wonder briefly about ponies on Earth and her new duty, assigned to her by the Princess: that of ponykind’s ambassador to Earth. If she was ever successful, that would mean her own birth kind would be here. But would they be here as humans or ponies, and if somehow they were in their native form, how would humans react to them? Technically, there were already “ponies” here on Earth long before she – or Musica Allegra, if that story was true – but they were nothing like what she was and in truth it had taken her more than once to get adjusted to the non-sapience of horses on Earth. Applejack had teased her briefly that the flame-haired girl could probably make a fortune being a natural matchmaker – a “whisperer”, the term went – but that fell flat the moment Sunset explained that ponies could speak English – or Equish, as they called it – natively.
I’ll have to see about Twi sending me a biology book, then hitting up the library for a copy of a horse anatomy book. I have to wonder how much my anatomy has evolved from the equine baseline. I could write a paper on this and win the Know Belle Prize! But before she could imagine the plaque given to all the Know Belle laureates sitting on her shelf, she had to do the paper, first.
Something to think about when I get home, she mused as she got off the freeway and steered towards Sugarcube Corner. There was fortunately a parking space in front, which Sunset immediately monopolized. She got out of her car and went over to the doorway, opening it. “Heya, I’m here.”
“Oh, thank you!” Sunset was immediately enveloped in a hug by Blossomforth. “I’ve been worse than useless today and I’m glad I got reinforcements!”
“You’re not useless, dear,” Cup said from where she was busily opening another box. “It’s just that there’s not much you can do while with child.”
“Except waddle to and fro and have to stop because of the weight,” Blossomforth commented glumly. “I feel worse than useless, the baby’s heavy and I just want to get this pregnancy done with and not have another kid for at least a decade!”
“Don’t worry, I’m here. Besides, you’ll be at home starting next week, right? You should be fine. You won’t have to worry about the stuff the rest of us do. And when it’s all over, you’ll have the cutest little kid, and I’ll have access to a kid I get to spoil rotten.”
“You’d better not!” Blossomforth laughed. “I’ll still have to take care of her at night!”
“Maybe,” Sunset said with a wink. “Now, let me get to those boxes, because the Sugarcube can’t stay closed forever!”
Though admittedly it was on her own time, Cheerilee loved volunteering at her local library while school was out. It let her keep in touch with her first true love – books – and let her learn the latest in librarian sciences from the head librarian, Worthy Tome…and he wasn’t bad looking, either. With his sandy blonde hair and pink eyes, he reminded her of a weathered, older version of one of her former students, Macintosh Apple.
Yes, she’d found one of her students attractive; she was young but not stupid – it never went beyond anything professional. But Tome was a different story: he was a reluctant divorcé, his wife having left him for another guy that she moved with to South Carolina. He was a single father and his daughter Bookmark was absolutely adorable. And she and Tome liked much the same things, an…
“Ms. Cheerilee?” Cheerilee looked down to see Mango Juice. She was the daughter of Tropical Punch, who lived across the street and ran the Smoothie Salon, the smoothie bar that seemed to rival Sugarcube Corner Café in terms of afterschool student population. Despite being a single mother, Tropical managed to raise her children well. Thus, it was odd seeing little Mango alone, given that she was usually seen here either with her mother or her older sister, Cherry Cider.
“Yes, sweetie, what can I do for you?” Cheerilee asked.
“Have you seen Cherry?” Mango asked. “I was looking at the computers while she was looking at books, but that was two hours ago and when I went back I didn’t see her. Her car’s still in the parking lot, so she still has to be here.”
“Would you like me to try calling her phone?” Cheerilee asked. Mango nodded and gave Cherry’s phone number; Cheerilee dialed it and a second later a buzzing sound came from the lost and found drawer. Cheerilee opened it and found a phone, buzzing, with the number of the library onscreen.
Holding up the phone, Cheerilee asked, “Did anyone find this?”
Another of the librarians, Thrilling Chapter, said, “Yeah, I found it on a shelf in the Science section, why?”
Cheerilee looked at Mango, then back to Chapter and then, with a horrified look on her face, it clicked. “Chapter, call 911.”
The other woman got it instantly. “What are you—”
“Call 911 now!” Cheerilee shouted as she vaulted over the counter, sprinted as much as she could and rushed up stairs to the Science section to see a card sticking out of one of the chemistry books. Carefully, Cheerilee removed the book from its place in the shelf and opened the tome, looking at the insert.
Worthy Tome was right behind her. “Cops are on their way, Cheer,” Tome told her. “What did you find?”
A worried look on her face, Cheerilee motioned toward the book in her hand. Nestled on the page was Card XVII, the Star.
Canzione watched as Cherry Cider’s blood – now a brutal acid – burned away at the wall. She’d been wearing a protective suit, as she hadn’t had the serum yet; the same went for Medley. Contralto, who was in her “altered” form, as she called it, had most of her clothing burned away but was otherwise unharmed, several globs of the dead girl’s blood still sizzling away on her.
Medley sighed.
“Something wrong, Med?” Contralto asked.
“Well, we’re gonna have to tell Princey-baby that we need another girl,” Medley commented, “and now she’s dead and I can’t sleep with her.”
Canzione facepalmed. “What is with your obsession with sex, Med?”
“Hey, just because you don’t think about getting any doesn’t mean I’m not allowed to have a healthy sex drive, Canzy! I mean, did you see her body? I’d have had fun all night, but now poor widdle me ain’t getting none!”
“You’re a whore, Med.”
“And proud of it!”
“Look, you two, clean this up,” Contralto ordered, changing back to her human form and grabbing a towel. “I’m going to go take a shower, then explain this to the Prince. After you’re done, Canzy, you dispose of the body, complete with Joker card – do not get caught. Med, you report to the medical labs; apparently they have your serum tailored to you and the Captain wants to go over the transformation to make sure it will go okay.”
“Maybe she just wants a peek at the goods.”
“Med, shut up.”
“Aye aye, Alto!” Medley replied with a flippant salute.
Contralto shook her head and instead walked through the wall – now that it was magicked to allow them through – and into the gym shower room, where she threw herself into one of the stalls. A few minutes of washing off Cherry’s blood, which outside of the ensorcelled room had reverted back to its original chemistry and was now nothing more than biological waste. Besides, getting back to cleanliness made her feel better, anyway. Going back to her locker, she slipped on one of the new uniforms, glad that without the body armor it merely looked like an industrial-style of fashion rather than military attire. With that done, she left the gym and walked over to Divine’s office, where he was watching what looked to be a hologram of a hurricane off the coast of San Diego. A second later she realized it wasn’t a volumetric display but a magical view of the actual sky in that area.
“Fascinating, isn’t it?” he told her, leaning over the desk, his long violet hair blown by a wind that seemed to come from the scene. “A scrying spell that lets me watch my latest creation. In a few days that hurricane should be here and we can harness its natural energies to prepare for the next phase of the spell.”
“That’s above my paygrade, sir,” Contralto said as she watched the scrying spell in action. If she got close enough she could almost feel the pressure change in the air and the spray of the water from the storm itself. “I’m just the dispatch service.”
“And a fine dispatch service you are, Petty Officer. Now, I presume you’re here to report?”
“Yes, sir. The girl, Cherry Cider, was not a virgin. We’re disposing of her body as per the Joker protocol, but we’ll need the next name on the list.”
“I see. A shame, that; but I suppose I cannot control which girls do not have the mental and spiritual fortitude to keep themselves pure for marriage. I will have to make it punishable by death once I am Emperor of All – one never knows when a virgin is needed.” Leaving the scrying, he walked over to the wall, where he had a list of names on a sheet whose title was THE STAR:
Noting the next name on the list, he raised his hand and cast a summoning spell. A cabinet on the other side of the room opened, and a dossier folder departed it, floating over to Contralto. “This is all the intelligence I have on the next girl,” Divine told the SIREN. “Capture her at once.”
“Yes sir,” Contralto replied, saluting, then turned away.
As she left, Divine turned his attention back to the view of the hurricane, slowly but surely wending its way up the California coast. Soon I will have all the power in the world and I will surpass my Father of Fathers, just as he intended. And then I will rule as a god and there will be none that can even hope to stop me. I will be everlasting!
Well, it was a long day, but now I can go home and relax, Sunset mused as she waved goodbye to Cup and Blossomforth, who was waiting for her father to pick her up. It had been an exhausting day of backbreaking moving and unpacking boxes, but it had been worth it in the end, as it would get both the Sugarcube Corner and the Knickerbocker back in business. Admittedly, it probably could have been done a long time ago if she’d used her magic, but there was something satisfying about doing it the human way of a little muscle grease.
But now as the sun began to finally sink over the horizon and she got into her car again for the trip home, she dialed her phone quickly. “Hi Mom, it’s me. Is there anything at home to eat? Been busting my butt all day and I’m starved.”
“Sure. I was just making bierock for dinner tonight. Do you want me to save you some?”
“Please. I’m so hungry I could eat a whole cow by myself.” I’m so glad that none of the cows in this world can complain about that sort of thing, though the ones back home would probably complain up a storm. “Do you need me to pick up anything at the store?”
“No, Sunny – as much as I’d love you to pick me up some wine, you’re not old enough.”
“Trust me, Mom, you’d be surprised about that.”
“And I’m sure you know how to get away with it, dear, but I’m supposed to set a good example for you, so I’ll have to pass on that. Plus, because it’s sunset out, I need my Sunset home, got that?”
“Yeah, crappy puns and all,” Sunset laughed.
“All part of the family, Sunny. See you soon.”
“Yup.” Ending the call, she plugged her phone into the power jack and got ready to drive off—
BHWWWWWWWOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMmmmmm….
There it is again. But this time I can’t risk checking! Dammit! She started up the car, cued the headlights and got on the road, feeling the throbbing of the strange magic through her. Since she couldn’t do another investigation, this time she mentally analyzed it and had a sick feeling. It feels a lot like the time I was corrupted by the failure of the Element of Magic, so it could be dark magic. But that should be impossible, as the only magic thing here on the planet is me!
But then she remembered the Mirror of Cavalcanti was still in town. They promised me that they would shield the mirror from further magical effects, so none of Razz’ magic could make it over here by accident, Sunset mused. But Razz may not be the only dark magic user in Equestria – and most likely not on all of Equus – so if they did an individual block spell, it would only prevent her spells from making it over, not anyone else’s.
Well, you knew this wasn’t something you could solve with a song and dance in thirty minutes, no matter how much life seems like that, she said to herself. This isn’t Equus, this is Earth – and that means that whatever it is has the potential to be a problem if I don’t figure it out. I can only hope that in the short term it really isn’t doing any harm, or at least anything I can’t fix.
I hope.
“Girls, it’s dinnertime!” she heard her aunt call from downstairs.
Octavia fell to her knees, her insides quivering like they never had before. She felt a sensation rip through her and now her body was throbbing like a heartbeat on overdrive. Without even pausing to wonder why, instinct drove her back to her bedroom to get a change of clothing, then into the bathroom. Her mind racing, she’d only managed to get off half her clothing when she threw herself in the shower. A half-second later, she had the presence of mind to remove her now-soaked socks and bra.
A knock came through the door and she called back, “I’m in the shower! Be down in a bit!”
“Okay, I’ll let Mom know,” Twilight called back and Octavia breathed a sigh of relief as she sank into the bathtub, the steady, warm rain of the showerhead spraying on her.
Another sensation ripped through her again, and she bit off a scream. The sensation throbbed around her crotch and her mind went into overdrive. I’m not due for another week, unless I’m starting ea— Another feeling – this time pain – ripped through her once more and she whimpered. She usually never felt it like this; she was one of the types of women who barely noticed this time of the month at all….
She looked down and it was everything she could do to prevent herself from screaming. Sure enough, she was bleeding…if what she was seeing could be called blood. Instead, a black, syrupy ichor poured from her body, looking less like blood and more like thick, viscous oil. A stench hit her, the smell of burnt hair, and it filled her nostrils as screaming sounded around her, through her, within her—
She closed her eyes and prayed that whatever she was feeling would stop.
She opened her eyes again and the pain was gone. She was laying naked in the tub, with no sign of anything that happened. There was no stench or anything out of the ordinary.
A knock on the door. “Tavi, you okay?” This time it was Sunset.
“Yeah, I’m fine, I’ll be out shortly,” she called back.
“I hope so; I’ve been waiting for about an hour for you to come out of the bathroom so we can eat together!”
Octavia blinked. An hour? She suddenly realized that the warm water from earlier had now turned cold, only possible if the water heater had been completely exhausted of its storage.
Getting out of the shower, she noticed her skin had shriveled, like a prune – another indicator of long-term water exposure.
How long have I…?
Dusty Rose opened the door…and screamed.
There, standing at the door, was a man, dressed in black and wearing a Venetian jester mask. He was also carrying what looked to be several knives. He lunged at her, and she raced into the house and darted behind the couch. She picked up a lamp and threw it at him, which he dodged, but he failed to dodge the second projectile, which hit him square in the face: a bronze plate that her parents had picked up in Morocco years prior. While he collapsed to the ground, she took the chance and ran out of the house, screaming at the top of her lungs. The man came after her anyway screaming, “STOP!”
Her mind in a panic, she raced around the couch and out of the house, rushing towards the next door neighbors.
Oak Leaf was big for his age. Though he was just fourteen, he was easily bigger than people years older than him and he was a shoo-in for a football team. In fact, he was hoping that he’d make the football team, if anything just so he could impress Dusty Rose, the girl next door. He’d had a thing for Dusty for the longest time and though he’d already gone out with a couple of girls his age, that didn’t dull his feelings for his neighbor.
But when he heard her scream, he rushed down the stairs from his bedroom like his life depended on it. Her screams indicated that she was in trouble and so long as he breathed air, nobody was going to hurt his Dusty. He cleared the front door in record time, just to see her reach their property.
“The killer!” she screamed. “He’s after me!”
“Get in the house and call 911!” Oak told her, just as he saw the darkened figure emerge from her home. “I’ll deal with this!” Before she could stop him, his bravado and testosterone already mixing with his adrenaline, Oak rushed forwards like a wall of tan and forest green, slamming into the figure like a high-speed train. The black-robed figure went down, and Oak pressed his advantage, punching down right on the man’s face, cracking the heavy ceramic of the jester mask. The guy however kicked Oak in the nuts and the boy went down, the man screaming, “What, are you fucking stupid? This was just a—”
BLAM! BLAM! The shots rang out from the gun held by Oak’s mother, who had retrieved her husband’s spare gun and fired it in defense of her son. The shadowy figure staggered back, but a third and final shot from her finally dropped it even as several police cars descended on the area, the first of which was Roadway’s.
“EVERYONE GET BACK!” he roared as he pulled out his sidearm and rushed towards the downed individual. Out of the corner of his eye he could see a cop from the Everfree Glades Police Department pull up and move into a covering position behind his open door. Nodding to the EGPD cop, Roadway moved forward until he got close and kicked away the knife, only to realize….
Wait…the knife’s rubber? Oh shit….
Bending forward he pulled off the cracked mask, revealing a balaclava mask with still eyes and an open mouth from which blood had drizzled out of the corner. Pulling off the mask, he looked in sick worry.
It’s just a kid. Just a fucking kid. A second later he realized that it was one of Dusty Rose’s friends. He looked by his neighbor’s front door, to see his son, who had crawled in for safety once his assailant had been shot. Willing himself up despite the pain, he looked at his father and then at the victim.
“Shit, that’s Dusty’s ex-boyfriend,” he said, turning to look at Dusty, who was looking at him with something in her eyes akin to admiration…and something else.
“Get her in the house, son. She doesn’t need to see this.” Oak nodded and jogged over to his mother and Dusty Rose, ushering them inside. Roadway started at what was now obvious: a dumb teen playing a stupid prank during the worst time – and now he’d just paid for it in the worst way possible.
The EGPD cop joined the CHP officer. “Is it sad that I figured this was going to happen in Canterlot, not here?” he asked Roadway.
“Stupidity happens everywhere,” Roadway responded, “and it’s never pretty when it goes south fast.”
Octavia, now wearing her sweats, shivered. “Thanks,” she said, as Twilight put a blanket around her.
“No problem. But what were you thinking, taking a shower for ninety minutes?” Twilight asked.
“Honestly, I didn’t think it was that long,” the musician replied. “To me, it felt like just a couple minutes went by, no more than five, tops.”
“Well don’t do that again!” Twilight scolded. “You could have given yourself hypothermia!”
“Thanks, Dr. Science,” Octavia snarked.
“Seriously, though, are you okay?” Sunset asked. She remembered when Twilight had gone through something similar, and it had torn Sunset apart to watch her sister go through it. Now if her cousin was suffering the same thing, it would be the absolute worst possible thing to experience again, especially now while a serial killer stalked the streets of Canterlot.
“I’m…fine. And I know what you’re thinking, Sunny. I was cleared, remember? I’m not going through anything that’s affecting me, and besides, I have you two and my friends if something happens. Ironically, I’m in a better position than when Twily suffered what happened to her.”
Twilight sat down next to her cousin and wrapped her in an embrace. “You know we’re always here for you, Tavi.” A second later, Sunset sat down on the other side and did the same thing. Extracting her arms from the blanket, she hugged them both and the three stayed in the embrace for several minutes.
“Well,” Octavia yawned, “I think that extra-long cold shower drained me, so I’m going to go to bed.”
“Yeah, I’ve had a long day myself,” Sunset added, “so I think I’ll turn in as well.”
“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Twilight said, standing up and taking off her clothing. “If we just strip down to panties and bras tonight, we can lend our body heat to Tavi to get her warmed up pretty quick! That should get her hot in no time flat!”
Sunset and Octavia looked at Twilight, then to each other and then back to Twilight before both teens facepalmed at the same time. “Twily, would it kill you to think about what you say, just once?” Octavia groaned.
For the fifteenth time, Tropical Punch opened the door, eyes stained with tears, and looked outside in the hopes that her daughter would come home safely. The police had been here earlier to tell her about Cherry’s disappearance from the library and her possible abduction by the Dead Hand Killer. The detective that spoke to her had assured her that they wouldn’t rest until Cherry was found. What he hadn’t said was that to date none of the abductees had been found alive again, and the news had borne that out. Tropical still held out hope for her older daughter, but knew deep within that it was too late.
She’d received several calls during the course of the day: Cherry’s boyfriend, hoping that she would be okay; her parents, who said they would be on the next flight over from Milwaukee; and of course, her ex, who in a rare display of actually giving a shit about his kids told her he would be driving down from Seattle immediately. All of them were worried. None of them truly knew the hell that she was going through. Cherry was her oldest, her dearest child and a delight. Other than a boyfriend that she was sure that they’d already gone all the way, Cherry was the perfect daughter and better behaved than Tropical had ever been at that age.
Now, with her younger daughter staying with friends, all Tropical could do was the inevitable: wait for news that Cherry Cider was dead. It was hell, absolute fucking hell, but it was the only thing she could do. She’d already failed as a mother, because she failed the most paramount thing a mother could – should – do: keep their children safe.
Looking at the body bag before her, and the joker card sitting on top of it. Tropical sank to her knees, opened her mouth and screamed all the rage and pain in the world.
Blazing Star looked at the nighttime sky. Out here on the Badlands Station for the Royal Astronomer’s Guild, she could see whole galaxies, constellations and stars that were all part of the bounty that was Princess Luna’s gift to ponykind. She’d heard that once, ponies had shunned the nighttime sky, and that had turned Princess Luna into Nightmare Moon. Looking up at the velvety collection of diamonds above, she couldn’t see how. It was an utter thing of beauty that had taken her breath away more than once, which is why she’d offered to do a third straight tour of the remote station instead of heading back to Canterlot to turn in her newest paper.
This was the perfect time to test a theory, anyway: that other dimensions didn’t exist. Sure, that ran counter to standard metaphysical theories, but Star had a theory: that the other “dimensions” were actually other galaxies in the universe. Of course, that could also mean that aliens existed on other worlds, but pulp fiction aside, if Equus was a world capable of multiple sapient species, what about the variety of potential life beyond this world?
It could be the paper of her life…or the end of her career; after all, it was hard enough being an earth pony studying a science that usually only unicorns delved in, but the fact that she seemed to outstrip many of her peers had made her quite a few enemies over the course of the years. Perhaps she could have it pitched directly to Princess Luna; maybe with that, she had less of a chance of being utterly humiliated by her peers. Besides, the princess might even point her in a right direction.
“Does he see something from the world of magic?” Star heard the creaky, aged voice behind her. She turned to see a wizened creature of a type she’d never cast her eyes on before. He looked to be dressed in rags, and was similar in form to a pony, save that he seemed to have horns and arms like a minotaur as well.
“Can I help you?” Star asked.
“Perhaps the pony can,” the creature said in that reedy voice. “Perhaps the pony realizes the danger she is in. Or perhaps not.”
“I’m sorry, is there something the matter?” the earth mare asked, her citrine eyes darting to and fro. “Sir, if there’s somepony dangerous nearby, perhaps you should come in. The station has the latest in anti-changeling shielding—”
“Indeed, the pony does not,” the creature said with a malevolent smile, and then opened its mouth, inhaling. Inexplicably, golden energies seemed to rip away from Blazing Star, burning towards the creature as the earth pony tried to wrap her mind around what was going on. She turned to run, but as she did, each movement seemed to stretch longer, hurt more, as if she’d just run hundreds of miles in a never ending marathon. By the time she’d completed her turn, each of her muscles seemed to strain with complete and utter exhaustion and she found it hard to stand up. A second later, she slumped to the ground, completely and utterly spent.
“That…will do nicely,” the creature said; out of the corner of her eye, Blazing Star could see the beast moving with more agility and speed, as if whatever he drew in had given him new vim and vigor. “The pony doesn’t even comprehend that it was the first in the path towards giving Tirek what he needed.” The creature then laughed vilely, a brutal, shrill cackle that seemed to make Star’s ears ache.
“Oh, but there is still the pony to deal with: Even though her magic is gone, she could still be a threat.” She saw as he reached behind him, bringing out a black steel dagger. It looked twisted and corroded, as if it were made from a changeling’s horn. It had glowing purple and green lettering on it, though she could not comprehend the language. “He must end her, if there is any chance of his plan to succeed.”
“No,” she whispered, unable to say more. “Please…I have a husband and filly back in Canterlot….”
“That…is not his problem,” Tirek said, thrusting the dagger.
Sunset could feel herself again as the demon, but it was a thousand times worse. Nothing could have been worse than this.
The right hand of her demonic form had punched through a girl, now dying and had gone out the other end. She could hear herself laughing, but within she was screaming. “NO THIS ISN’T ME, THIS ISN’T ME ANYMORE!” Sunset yelled, but to no avail.
The girl lifted her head and the moment Sunset saw her face, she shrieked even more in terror, even as her left demonic arm moved towards the girl’s face.
Twilight Sparkle looked at her sister, blood dripping down her mouth as an oversized red hand clamped over it. “Will you die for me?” Twilight asked…
…seconds before the fist ripped the head from the body.
Sunset nearly threw herself out of bed, panting hard, her heart beating in her chest like a new wave drum machine from the 80s. Out of the corner of her eye, she noted the time – three in the morning – but forgot it as she could still hear the demonic laughter of her demon form in her mind.
I killed Twily. I know I didn’t, but in the dream, I….
She heard the toilet flush in the bathroom down the hall, the brief turning on of the faucet, then doors opening, closing and opening again as…. “Sis?” Sunset turned to see Twilight’s form, lit by the moonlight, standing in the doorway. “What are you doing on the floor?”
“I…” Sunset didn’t say anything, but instead just got to her feet and wordlessly hugged her sister.
“Bad dream?”
“Yeah,” Sunset said, burying her face in her sister’s shoulder. “Like the ones I used to have when I first got here,” she lied, knowing full well this one was far different.
Twilight pulled away from the hug, to look her sister in the eyes. “Sunny, you know that—”
“I know. Maybe it’s just my mind at work. I mean, what we have twenty-two days and a wakeup before it’s official? Of course it’s just my mind working overtime.” Sunset gave Twilight a smile. “I mean, I finally, really get to be a part of this family, Twily. That alone means the world to me.”
“You’re wrong, Sunny: You’ve always been a part of us. All this does is just puts it down on paper.” Twilight leaned over and kissed her sister on the cheek. “Now, c’mon, let’s go get some sleep, okay?”
The hurricane continued to move on, its winds buffeting the Southern California coast like the blows of the damned. Those who risked stepping outside swore that it sounded not like the howling of the wind, but like the scream of a banshee.
Hundreds of miles to the north, a man laughed in full, knowing that his next step towards his rightful rule of the world was soon to be at hand. All the pieces were finally falling into place….
“Dammit, dammit, dammit, I’m late! Stupid car,” Lemon Zest groaned as she parked at the After Midnight club. It was the hottest club in town, and even for a place that had shit nightlife like Canterlot did, you could still find a decent place here and there. Currently that decent place was the After Midnight.
Unfortunately, this wasn’t going to be her night. She’d broken up with her boyfriend a month ago and now he heard that the motherfucker was chasing after some high school piece of tail, that Goddamn asshole. Still, part of her missed Trenderhoof, but she knew that she shouldn’t have gotten involved with him, especially not after he fucked over Sweet Orchid in order to date her. Sure, she didn’t realize that until after the fact, but she should’ve picked up then what a flighty fuck he was. Besides, she should’ve known better than to date someone younger than her; the asshole was all nothing but hormones anyway.
Fortunately, she had some friends she could rely on and one of them, Cottonfluff, fixed her up with a guy she knew. It was a blind date, but she and Cotton were besties and Lemon knew her best friend wasn’t going to screw her over like this. Of course, there was no way that Lemon knew she was going to have a flat tire while on the way from her home in Colton.
Her phone rang. “Yeah, Lemon here.”
“Lemmy? Where the fuck are you?”
“I had a car problem,” she growled into the phone. “I’m already having a fucked up night, okay? I just want to get into the club, have a few drinks, then go the fuck home.” She waved her driver’s license in front of the bouncer, who gave it a cursory look before waving her on.
“Well, fortunately for you, I just got a text from your mystery date, and he’s still in there, waiting for you.”
“He is?” Lemon looked at the clock on her phone; she was two hours late, and no reasonable person would wait that long. Either he was the perfect guy or a stalker. Probably a stalker, with her luck.
“Yeah! Trust me, he’s a total sweetie, and he really likes you, so I’m not surprised he waited.”
“Well, he’d better be good.”
“If he isn’t then fancy dinner’s on me tomorrow, okay?”
“I’ll hold you to that, Cotton.”
“Go have fun and tell me all about it later. Bye!”
Hanging up, Lemon slipped her phone into her clutch purse and walked through the second set of doors, into the throbbing, techno-filled demesnes of the After Midnight Club. A dozen colors radiated from the lights above, while neon was everywhere and bodies moved and swayed to both music and passion, Lemon felt completely in her element at the moment. Fuck that asshole Trenderhoof. “Why don’t we head to a concert at the Musicave?” Indie hipster motherfucker. Glad he’s gone.
She sauntered over to the bar and the moment she got there, she ordered a beer, making sure that she looked good. Or at least as good as I’m going to look while recovering from a flat tire.
The bartender had just passed her the beer when a woman about her age came up, dressed in jeans and pants. She looked like a Native American and was burly enough that at first glance, she could have passed for a guy. Oh, I hope this isn’t my date! Cotton, what the hell did you do?
“Excuse me, are you Lemon Zest?”
Lemon sighed. “Yeah, that’s me. You’re my date?”
The girl grinned. Pointing to the second floor, she said, “No, actually, he’s waiting up there for you. I just happen to be a friend of his – here with some friends – and came down for another round. Told him I’d look out for you while I was down here.” The woman then signaled to the bartender.
“Thanks. Stairs are that way?” she asked, pointing towards a dark area.
“Yeah, got it in one,” she said, turning to the bartender and giving her order.
“Do you want me to wait for you?”
“Naaah,” the other woman said. “Don’t worry about me; I’ll probably be here a bit. Just go ahead and – oh, that’s right, you don’t have the passkey, do you?”
“Passkey?” Lemon asked.
“The areas upstairs are privately accessible; you have to have a keycard to get through.” She reached into her pocket and fished out a plastic rectangle. “Here, take mine.”
“You sure?”
The woman waved it off. “Yeah, I can just have one of my friends go open it for me. Now get going; he’s really cute and if you don’t move fast, one of the other girls is going to make their move!”
“On it!” Lemon cheered as she walked off into the darkness. But as she did, she looked at the plastic security key.
Odd, I wonder why it has a star and the number 17 on it? I wonder if it’s an in-joke I’m not getting.