Embers Fall

by CrimsonWave

31 - Hidden Piece

The day had finally come, but the night was still about 17 hours away or so. Obscurus and company were about to get their first true taste of Bonfire Hype this morning, but they couldn't let it distract them from Project Euphorius one bit. It might have been a product of one of Obscurus's megalomaniacal episodes, but after having spent almost a week at the Gathering of Embers, it no longer seemed as ridiculous of an idea (by Gathering standards, of course).

Regardless of how serious they were taking this endeavour, it was still of the utmost importance to have at least one more planning meeting right at sunrise, near where the Blazicorn would be going down tonight (literally).

"So, Train Spot, I heard last night was pretty insane?" asked a curious Obscurus.

"Yep, I'd say it was pretty lit. Had a nice show at The Mountaintop, ran into Sun Beamer and her very Gathering-knowledgable marefriend, had a hardstyle dance battle--"

"Which is the best kind of dance battle, I must add." interjected Wave Rdier.

"Ahem," continued Train Spot, "and the Mach 55 rumors were a jape. It was really someone named DJ BreakBits, except he led off with a Mach 55 song with all the lights off just to get everypony's hopes up. You could just hear the hype being sucked out of the air like a vacuum!"

"Though he was pretty good too, to be honest. Not Mach 55 good, but good." added Wave. "Although I'm still hoping they make an unannounced appearance somewhere, I must remind you that this isn't a music festival. We're all doing this for the art."

"And that is what Project Euphorius is about now. The art of it." boasted Obscurus.

"On that note, is everything ready to go for tonight?" wondered Wave Rider.

"Yeah, of course!" replied Obscurus, with a slightly nervous tone.

"What's gonna happen? You said you were going to replace the Blazicorn with a monster or something after they set it on fire, right?" asked Eight Track.

"That's what's gonna happen, yeah!" she confirmed

"Batpony? Dragon? General evil alicorn?" asked Train Spot.

"Uhh, one of those." Obscurus nervously admitted. A long pause ensued.

"Did somepony not do their homework?" taunted Eight Track.

For the first time in a while, Obscurus was legitimately flustered.

"Don't worry! I'll come up with something!" she suddenly affirmed. "I might have an idea but I haven't finalized it 100% yet. Don't forget, the magic happens here, in my mind. In my head."

"Either that or she's keeping it a surprise from us." wondered Train Spot.

"Gotta love those internal surprises." Wave Rider replied.

"In that case, let's move on to the next topic." declared Eight Track. "I think what this stunt needs is some viral promotion."

"Actually, Eight Track, I'm way ahead of you in that department." announced Obscurus. "There's these free graffiti walls all over Duskgem, and I've been spraypainting some ominous messages on them."

"Because that's definitely a good idea that certaintly won't cause any legitimate suspicion, isn't it?" joked Train Spot. "But what I'm wondering is this: are they legitimately ominous, or cheesy horror movie ominous?"

"Kinda in the middle, but more towards the latter. 'I Will Emerge From the Fire, Heed the Burn', and what not." she explained. "Can't play this off too seriously. Like I said, it's for the art."

"I see." noted Wave Rider. "Just like the official debut of The Third Rail tonight!"

"I might check it out if I have some time. My goal tonight is to soak in the sights and sounds of Bonfire Saturday, before I inevitably disrupt them in the name of art. With the help of radio, of course." Obscurus elaborated.