Cheerilee stared the large chunk of crystal. It seemed to glow from within, pulsing slowly with a mild pink light.
“What in the world is that?” exclaimed Sapphire Shores.
“I have no idea,” said Cheerilee, “but I get the feeling that it’s not anything good.”
Sapphire tugged at the restraints that bound her legs. “I’ve been involved with some wild parties before, but I’ve never woken up, tied down.”
Cheerilee examined the material that held the pop star. It was grayish green and appeared to be organic. She’d never seen anything like it. Her mind raced, trying to figure out what to do. She decided to stay as low-key as possible and do her best not to alarm any of the partygoers
The schoolteacher-turned-vampire-turned-undercover agent looked around the garden quickly. Nopony seemed to have noticed what was going on. The sun was beginning to start its downward arc. In not very long, it would disappear behind the mountains that flanked the castle.
“Hold still,” said Cheerilee. She pulled at the bindings with her teeth. The material was very tough. She still had no idea what it could be. The taste was unpleasant, and like nothing she was familiar with.
Whatever the stuff was, it turned out to be no match for her bite. Cheerilee kept her head low, so Sapphire couldn’t see exactly what kind of teeth she possessed.
“Thanks,” said the singer once she was free. “But what are we going to do about that?” She pointed at the crystal.
“I’ll take care of it,” Cheerilee told her. “Get out of here and don’t tell a single pony about this.”
Sapphire Shores couldn’t see Cheerilee’s commanding look beneath her sunglasses, but her voice made it clear that there would be no argument. Cheerilee had spent long hours practicing that tone on unruly students.
The pony of pop walked away. Cheerilee glanced at the glass of grape juice she had left behind and casually knocked it over on the white tablecloth.
She pulled the linen off the table and dropped it on top the crystal. After bundling it up, she set it on the table, making sure the juice stain was visible.
“Bus colt!” she called. A young unicorn stallion in a uniform came over.
“Just a little too much grape juice, I’m afraid,” said Cheerilee. “I’ve already wrapped it up for you.”
“Oh my,” he said. “Let me take care of that.” His horn glowed and the wrapped tablecloth levitated into the air. He appeared slightly confused that it was heavier than it looked, but said nothing.
Cheerilee made her way towards the exit. She’d gotten the staff pony to carry the bundle because it might look suspicious if she toted it herself.
She encountered Fancypants, and apologized for leaving early. He wished her a nice evening. Before leaving, Cheerilee glanced around the garden one more time. Nopony appeared to have caught on to what she was doing.
Once outside the garden, she slipped around into the castle and located the laundry facility. Out of sight of the other guests, Cheerilee dropped her Countess attitude. Entering the laundry room, she had a look around. The stained tablecloth had been dumped in a bin. Cheerilee unwrapped it to confirm the crystal was still inside. The light from within appeared to have taken a darker shade and the period of pulsing had sped up. Cheerilee thought about what that might imply and gulped.
She bundled the crystal once more and slung it onto her back. She was almost to the door of the laundry room when a mare in a cleaning uniform stepped in.
“Uh, can I help you, ma’am?” the worker asked.
“Oh, well, I accidentally dropped some juice on this tablecloth,” Cheerilee said quickly. “I felt so terrible that I wanted to clean it so you didn’t have to.”
“That’s kind of my job,” said the other pony.
“It’s just a little thing,” said Cheerilee. She winked. “And I get to tell my friends that I helped with the famous Canterlot Garden Party, even if it was only cleaning a tablecloth.”
“Well, okay,” said the laundry pony. “But bring it back.”
Cheerilee left the room, surprised how easily the fake story had come to her. Was it because she was so used to hearing her students come up with creative excuses?
In the Castle hallway, Cheerilee stopped. Now what? She had no idea what the crystal was, and didn’t know of any pony who could tell her. She decided that the best course of action was to get the thing as far away from the crowded garden as possible.
The castle was built into the side of a mountain. Cheerilee slipped around the base of the castle wall and began to head up the slope. She paused to check the crystal. Its tempo had picked up, and now it was pulsing steadily. The color had changed to almost red.
Cheerilee ran, dodging over boulders and other obstacles. She was far enough from the party that she probably wouldn’t be seen. That was good. She was moving far faster than any normal pony should be able.
In only a few minutes, she made it to the summit and stopped again. A harsh crimson light flashed angrily from within the crystal. Cheerilee paused only long enough to take a deep breath, and threw it as hard as she could.
Down at the Garden Party, there was a short burst of sound and hundreds of glittering objects flew into the air from a nearby mountain top. They caught the light of the setting sun, sparkling with color. The crowd let out a collective gasp and applauded politely.
Cheerilee saw none of the show. The crystal had barely left her hooves when it exploded. There was no smoke or flame, just a loud powerful burst that threw shards everywhere. Half a dozen of them tore through her body at high velocity.
She stumbled, barely catching herself before she went rolling down the mountain. Cheerilee coughed, liquid bubbling up out of her throat. It seemed strange to taste her own blood for once. Pierced lungs, she thought. Still standing, so no skeletal damage. That fact that she was still lucid enough to diagnose herself seemed astonishing.
Cheerilee looked at herself. The dress had been torn and was slowly absorbing blood from her wounds. Everything seemed very quiet. Probably deaf from the explosion. Her legs started to shake and she settled to the ground.
One ragged breath after another. That’s all it took. Just keep going. How long did a pony live when hurt this way? The answer was not in the classroom science textbooks she’d memorized.
For several minutes, Cheerilee lay as still as she could. The pain was dulling, and she felt cold. The sun had disappeared beyond the next mountain peak. She rolled slightly on her side and pulled down the neckline on the dress. The wounds on her chest had closed.
Cheerilee picked herself up, shivering slightly in the mountaintop breeze. She took a deep breath of the cool air. The hurt of her injuries had almost completely disappeared.
She touched her tongue lightly to the sharp points of her fangs. It was the easiest way to confirm that nothing had changed, and at the moment, that was all she could ask for.
Dear, sweet Celestia… Cheerilee took a few minutes to compose herself. Her body’s ability to mend itself to perfection had been tested before, but never to such an extent. The mental scarring she would have was literally more severe than the physical.
Cheerilee glanced at the dress. The rips were still in the fabric, but the stains had disappeared as if the blood had reversed its flow back to where it belonged inside her body. She shuddered, attempting to push the eerie thought from her mind.
The chill breeze got Cheerilee to move her hooves. She left the top of the mountain. The long walk back to the base gave her time to think, perhaps too much.
Cheerilee did not want to die. She understood that all creatures must someday meet their end, but the idea still scared her. The thought of how close she had come, of how she should be dead, was the stuff that nightmares were built on.
She shook her head. There were other things she needed to take care of at the moment. The regeneration had taken a lot out of her. She had to eat something. Now.