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Clean Up Act1,647 words

Clean Up Act

Ch. 10 Clean Up Act

The next night, the Midsummer Theatre is repaired and reopened. Megan and Rara put on the opening act, with Rara singing the Equestrian Anthem and Megan playing her guitar. Only this time, Suri, Svengallop, and Wind Rider were close by, working in the garden. They are now prisoners of Manehatten, and as a result, they were sentenced to a year of community service for their crimes as ordered by Princess Celestia. Their service: picking up whatever litter is on the ground.

“That human had to go and suggest community service!” Wind Rider growled.

“A year too! Beats serving time in Tartarus,” said Svengallop.

“But all this garbage will ruin my beautiful pedicure,” Suri whined.

Svengallop and Wind Rider rolled their eyes at that complaint as they went back to work.

****

Onstage, the song ends with Megan tapping the triangle again.

Everyone in the audience cheered. Megan and Rara bow to the cheering crowd while flowers were being thrown. A white flower was thrown to Megan. She picked it up and saw Discord waving to her. Then, Discord made a glowing sign appear over his head, saying "Free cheers for Megan." It made Megan giggle at the sight of it.

A red rose was thrown to her as well. Megan looked around and sees Ahuizotl out in the audience, waving to her to let her see him. What was particularly different though was that he was wearing a black tie around his neck. She thought it looked cute with him on it.

“Excuse me, Rara, but I have a date,” she tells Rara.

Megan walks offstage to meet up with Ahuizotl, and comes face to face with him once again. As she stood in front of him, she couldn't help but notice the distinct scent of the cologne he was wearing. She thought the cologne made him smell wonderful.

"May I?" Ahuizotl asked as he offering his hand out to her.

Again she was surprised. She didn't expect him to offer her a hand to hold, especially since he's supposed to work for Grogar, and is supposed to be a villain. Out of politeness, she takes his hand. The moment their hands connected, each of them thought of how soft and soothing to the touch their hands felt against each other. They walk off into the park, gently holding one another's hand as they go out on their date.

As they strolled away, Rarity and Coco watch them. Giggling a little at the sight, and then composing themselves so no one would notice.

“Looks like some of the men from Tambelon get a little love crazy,” Coco said.

“Or in Thorne and Ahuizotl’s case, just plain crazy,” Rarity said.

"Yay," Coco giggles, before walking off to prepare for the next show.

As Rarity watched Megan stroll away with Ahuizotl, she began to have some thoughts about what was happening.

"The case was solve; Discord was cleared of the crime; and Suri, Svengallop, and Wind Rider were cleaning up the park along with their act," Rarity said in her noir voiceover, "We owe it to Ahuizotl, even though he's on the Grogar side. Some may hold a grudge against someone, but it's best to let go. After all, grudges are like sweater-eating moths; they can eat up the good things about you until there is nothing left. It's best to let go and forgive, as Megan was showing me when I saw her with Ahuizotl despite his acts. Though he does seem to have shown his good side since Megan came along."

****

While the show continued, Megan and Ahuizotl strolled through the park and continued holding one another's hand. They were headed for a place away from the show where they could relax. For a moment, there was silence, and only the sound of fireflies buzzing by could be heard.

Their stroll came to an end when they spotted a bench not far away from them. They looked at each other, finding they were each thinking it was the perfect spot to sit down together.

"After you, my dear," he politely offered.

At first, Megan didn't know what to think at the moment. But, deciding not to let it come as a shock to her again, she politely sits on the bench first. As she sat, she crossed her legs, and put her hands on top of each other on her lap.

Then, Ahuizotl sat next to her. The bench having no problem sustaining his size and weight.

"This is a wonderful idea for our first date together, Megan. This place is stunning,” Ahuizotl said.

"Thanks. And that's the best part really, how wonderful it is out here," Megan says with a smile.

"Yes," Ahuizotl says with a nod.

The two take a deep breath as they sat on the bench under the night sky.

Ahuizotl wraps his right arm around Megan's shoulders, and he begins to hold Megan close to him. To Megan, his fur made her feel cozy, like she was under a warm blanket.

Nearby, Discord was watching. He snickered at the sight before him, as he found how the two seemed to be getting along so precious and chaotic at the same time. He snickered until a duplicate of himself appears, reminding him why he's here. He rolled his eyes at the reminder, and cleared his throat of anymore snickers. He shrinks himself and approaches Megan with Ahuizotl unable to notice. He hopped onto Megan's shoulder, which was enough for her to notice him.

“So why did you give me the white flower?” Megan asked.

“To thank you for helping not be Tartarus chow,” Discord said, “Rarity told me what you had to give to Lover Boy to get those business cards. I wanted to give you something that symbolized your generous heart.”

Hearing that, she felt touched by what Discord said, and that Rarity told him about what she did in order to help him.

"Thanks, Discord," Megan said with a smile.

“Did you say something, Megan?” Ahuizotl asked.

And in a flash, Discord disappeared. Megan turns to see Ahuizotl looking at her with a puzzled look.

“Uh… nothing.”

When Megan answered that, Ahuizotl began to think that she was whispering to herself because she must have been getting nervous. So, he did the one thing he thought he could do to comfort her. He nuzzled her cheek with his own.

When Megan felt the nuzzle, her cheeks blushed a beet red. She felt...calmer by that.

"My dear. It is alright," he says, before bringing her closer to him, and putting his hand onto hers again, "There is only the two of us."

When Megan heard those words, her heart started beating like it was going a million miles an hour. His words gave her a sense of sudden security.

She scooted herself closer to him to where her side of the body touched his. She once again fully grasped his hand with hers.

The two of them felt like two worlds meeting for the first time.

As they watched Luna's star filled sky and moon, and saw fireflies flying by, slowly, Megan rested her head on Ahuizotl's shoulder, and Ahuizotl rested his head against her head. Each of them were warmly smiling in the comfort of one another.

Little did they know however that Discord was still watching them as he hid in some bushes. Again, he snickered to himself because of what he was seeing, only this time, he did it to the point of where he could laugh. Not wanting to disturb the two, he makes a red mute button appear on his stomach, and presses it. Then, he silently lets himself erupt with laughter while floating in the air.

But, while nopony was looking, the white flower suddenly glowed white as Megan held onto it.

****

Meanwhile, the crooks were still sweeping trash near the park's garden. But while they did, a rat snake was watching them from behind. He gave an evil grin to himself, because who he sees before him are the exact kind of ponies that he has a certain offer for.

“Pssssst!” said the rat snake.

The sound was enough to catch the ears of Wind Rider first. His head swiveling to the right and left. As the snake kept saying, "Pssssst!", it was able to catch the attention of the other two Ponies as well.

“Who said that?” Wind Rider asked.

“Down here!” the snake whispered.

The snake came into view.

“A talking snake!” Suri exclaims in a horrified voice

“Actually, I’m Jet! Grogar’s top spy!" Jet informs her.

"Oh. Well that's different," Suri said, assured that it wasn't a real snake, "What are doing here then?"

"A few others and I were sent here to recruit some ponies with hearts of darkness. After seeing what you did the past couple of days, I am proud to say you three are precisely who we need. Ahuizotl was supposed to scout for you, but he got distracted."

"Distracted? What do you mean?" Svengallop asked without hesitation.

"You'll find out soon enough," Jet tells him.

The three ponies gave a look of bewilderment when he said that.

“What do you want from us?” Wind Rider asked.

“We need three ponies to act as spies for the king of Tambelon, Grogar. If you accept, then the possibilities of the rewards you want are infinite," said Jet.

At the sound of that, Wind Rider, Svengallop, and Suri took immediate interest. They grin evilly, knowing that each of them would rather work for a tyrant than pick up garbage off the streets.

“We'd love to help,” Wind Rider sneered.

"Excellent," Jet tells them.

Delighted that these three has-beens accepted his offer, he gives a malicious snicker, knowing that his mission was accomplished.

'Equestria. Are you in for a surprise or what?' he thought to himself.

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