Chapters Chapter 1: Smoke and Mirrors
Alexander placed a pair of goggles on his face. The black and red pegasus glanced over to Trebass to take one last look at his friend.
"Are you ready?" He asked.
Trebass, the snow white unicorn sitting in a velvet chair, simply nodded. He looked at the watch-like device that was wrapped around his hoof, and the metal bowl on his head.
Alexander took a deep breath, and pulled the lever. Sparks flew from the Eyeglass, the glass box that contained nothing more than a nervous unicorn and a velvet chair. Trebass clenched his teeth and shut his eyes tightly, and in an instant, the room where Alexander was standing had disappeared and was replaced by whiteness.
"Where am I?" Trebass thought to himself He felt as if a waterfall was crashing on his body, rendering him immobilized. He couldn't move his body at all, his entire being was numb.
Suddenly, the whiteness began to fade. Trebass opened his eyes to find his hooves gripping the velvet chair tightly. He looked up and saw what looked like a bathroom stall door. He removed the metal bowl from his head and placed it on the seat of the velvet chair. He look around, he was in a room the size of small toolshed. The floor and ceiling were made of marble tiles. The walls were made of a white wood that Trebass had never seen before. He opened the wooden door and found other s in front of a long mirror that stretched across the room. Marble sinks with metal spouts were lined up below the mirror. It was clear that this was some sort of formal washroom, and he had just come out from a bathroom stall.
"The owners of this place must be billionaires." He thought to himself.
Trebass noticed the stallions were in tuxedos and carrying duffle bags, very large duffle bags.
One of the stallions ran towards him and pushed a tuxedo onto his chest.
"What are you waiting for? Put it on and lets get going!" The stallions yelled at him.
"B-But.." Trebass fumbled with his words but was interrupted by being pushed back into the room behind him.
He fell onto the velvet chair but luckily the metal bowl was not harmed, Trebass sighed with relief. He took off his black vest and hat then slipped the tuxedo on and continued outside to meet with the other ponies. One of the stallions threw a sniper rifle towards Trebass. He caught it and was shocked to see that these sharply dressed ponies were in possession of these dangerous firearms. He knew who these stallions were, they were hitponies. Trebass had experience with guns before, as self defence, but never as a profession. He decided to play along. If he didn't, it would have meant bad news for him. He counted at least ten (10) ponies with sniper rifles, machine guns, and pistols.
A pony wearing a fedora spoke up, "Listen up, we're here for two things: To kill the senator, and to steal the Diamond Bubble ."
The sound of guns being cocked and reloaded echoed through the room.
"You, and you, and you, are on sniper duty. You alert us if something goes wrong." The head pony pointed to Trebass and two ponies beside him.
Trebass' eyes widened when he saw the head pony's hoof pointed towards him. He felt a tap on his shoulder, one of the other snipers gestured for him to come with them. He walked with them outside. Trebass looked around, there was nopony in the hallway it seemed. There were marble pilliars lining the walls, the red velvet carpet stretched all the way throughout the hall.
"So what's the plan?" The pegasus sniper asked the other two.
"You go up to the skylight and get an eagle-eye view of the entire ballroom. I'll keep watch from outside on the window sill." The earth pony sniper replied.
"Oh, then I guess you don't need me then..." Trebass said, attempting to walk away.
He felt a hoof grab his arm before he could leave, "You're going to be the distraction. The senator's daughter will be there. If you dance with her everypony will be looking at you, and more importantly not at us."
"But... There's no way somepony as important as her would dance with a plain old unicorn like me." Trebass tried to avoid being mixed into this mess.
"Don't worry, I'm sure a pretty pony like yourself will have no trouble with her at all." The earth pony laughed and opened a nearby window.
"I'll see you two at the front gate when the Diamond Bubble is secured." The earth pony sniper saluted and then ran across the outer window sill.
The Pegasus sniper had already left and Trebass was alone. He decided he wasn't going to need his sniper rifle so he left it under a table just outside the ballroom. The chatter of ponies galore echoed through the empty hallway. Trebass took a deep breath, and entered the ballroom.
All Trebass could see were ponies in dresses and tuxedos as far as the eye could see. He didn't know where to start, any one of these ponies could be the senator's daughter. He began to ask around, "Excuse me, do you know where the senator's daughter might be?" Most of the ponies replied with a simple "No" but one unicorn replied with a helpful answer
"She wasn't feeling to well, so her father escorted her to her room. If you want to meet her, you might not get the chance tonight. But... If your so intent on seeing her, the senator's daughter's room is right down the hall if you exit the ballroom. "
Trebass thanked the unicorn and began to trot over to the senator's daughter's room. He noticed a pony wearing sunglasses and a sharp suit standing in front of the door leading to his destination.
"That must be her body guard." Trebass thought to himself.
Suddenly, he fell over on his side with a loud thud.
"Ow! Why don't yo-" Trebass was cut off by a hoof held against his mouth. He was pulled behind the corner, out of the bodyguard's sight, by a beautiful mare.
"Ssh! Please don't tell my father I left my room, I'm not supposed to be out here you know?" The mare pleaded with Trebass
He simply nodded at her. She was an earth pony, with a light blue coat, pink eyes, a yellow rose for a cutie mark, and a black mane. Trebass was amazed by her beauty, he hadn't felt this way since... He tried not to think about it.
"Who are you?" Trebass whispered quietly.
"I'm the Senator's daughter, Aromé "
Chapter 2: A Night to Remember
Trebass stood up and dusted himself off and stood up in front of his new companion, the senator's daughter: Aromé.
"What is your father's name anyways?" Trebass asked her.
"What? Have you been living under a rock for the past two (2) years?" She replied, chuckling.
Trebass chuckled a little too. Then, he had suddenly realized something. He didn't know where he was or what the date was. He then remembered the M.A.S.T. that Alexander had given him before he left.
"Micro Analyzer of Time and Space huh?" Trebass whispered to himself quietly.
Aromé raised her eyebrow, "I beg your pardon?"
"Oh, it's nothing. I'm not from around here you see? So what was your father's name?" Trebass changed the subject quickly.
"My papa? His name is Fancypants of course. And my mother is Fleur De Lis." She giggled.
Trebass glanced at his M.A.S.T. It read, "Time:2050 Location: N/A". His eyes widened in shock. When he left, it was the year 2000. He had traveled 50 years from his time!
"Is everything alright?" She asked.
"Um... Yes, everything is fine. Oh! I forgot to introduce myself, I'm Trebass." He smiled.
"I'm glad somepony can adress me so casually. I'm so sick and tired of these formal Madams and Ma'ams ." She sighed deeply.
Trebass had already forgotten that she was of a higher authority.
"I like you, you're not like other ponies." She giggled once again.
He thought to himself, "You have no idea..."
Trebass peeked around the corner The bodyguard still stood there, as straight as a ruler.
He felt a hoof pulling him away from the corner, "Let's go this way, I don't want to stay in that boring ballroom." She spoke so tenderly.
His mission was to distract everyone in the ballroom. He had to find a way to do this, even without Aromé's help. He decided to go along Aromé, for now. She took him into what she called the "Time Garden "
It was beautiful. The roses and Daisies were in full bloom, the trees had colourful fruit hanging from the branches, and the center fountain spewed gushing water that sparkled in the moonlight shine. The two walked throughout the garden about ten (10) minutes. They laughed and exchanged conversation and for once, Trebass felt truly happy.
The two returned inside. Trebass looked at the clock, it had been thirty (30) minutes since he had received his orders from the hitponies.
"I still have time to spare." Trebass thought to himself.
Aromé walked with Trebass through one of the velvet carpeted hallways, the two of them smiled the entire walk to the ballroom.
Out of the corner of his eye, Trebass saw one of the hitponies gesturing towards him.
"Hold on Aromé I'll be right back." Trebass sat her down in a chair at the end of the hallway, facing away from the sniper. He ran towards the hitpony with the fedora.
"We have the Diamond Bubble , what about the senator?" The head hitpony asked.
Trebass simply shook his head.
"No? Well get on it then! We'll meet you in the car outside the front gate. Don't waste anymore time." The head hitpony disappeared with a blink of an eye.
Trebass returned to Aromé with a sadder look on his face than when he had left.
"Is something wrong darling?" Aromé asked casually.
"It's... Nothing. Again. I really like you... You're beautiful, smart, and funny. I think I'd be happier with you." Trebass said holding her hoof.
"Of course, I feel the same way Trebass, let us be together. Forever."
Chapter 3: The Night I wish I could forget
"Let us show everypony of our new love, let us have a dance for everypony to see." Trebass took Aromé's hoof and walked with her to the ballroom. The moment they arrived in the ballroom everypony snapped their heads towards the couple standing at the doorway. Trebass in his black tuxedo and Aromé in her beautiful white dress. The two walked down the steps and onto the ballroom floor. The floor cleared and opened up a large circle for the couple to dance in.
Trebass looked up at the skylight and caught a glimpse of one of the snipers with his rifle sitting on the glass. He glanced at the large window and saw the other sniper scanning the entire ballroom. The beautiful classical music matched the beauty of the dancing between the two.
"You're the most beautiful one here." Trebass danced with Aromé back and forth.
"And you're looking very dashing." Arome moved closer to Trebass, she could feel his warm body against hers.
All eyes were focused on the couple, until a loud booming voice yelled out.
"What are you doing outside of your room?!" Trebass and Aromé both looked towards the source of the voice.
"Papa!" Aromé yelled out while stepping away from Trebass.
It was Fancypants, the only thing holding him up was his wooden cane. His monocle rested on his eye and a handkerchief peeked out from his coat breast pocket. He groaned with pain as he tried to walk down the steps to the ballroom.
"Oh papa! You shouldn't push yourself!" Aromé rushed to help her father down the steps.
"I could say the same for you young lady! I thought you were feeling ill!" Fancypants coughed as he attempted to scold his daughter.
"Papa.... The only reason I said I felt ill was because I don't want to be bombarded with hoof shakes on behalf of the Senator ." She sat her father down in a velvet chair.
"Is that the only reason? Are you sure it wasn't for you're new betrothed?" Another voice appeared from the crowd.
"Oh no..." Aromé whispered to herself.
Out of the crowd emerged another white unicorn in a sharp white tuxedo with a rose sticking out of it. He had a compass rose for a cutie mark.
"Calm yourself young Blueblood!" Fancypants exclaimed.
Aromé stepped behind her father's chair, frightened.
"En guard! Let us fight for the mare's heart!" Prince Blueblood's horn glowed, and the rapier from his belt was unsheathed on it's own.
"Fighting for the mare's heart? Where have I heard that before?" Trebass thought to himself, but was cut short by the furious prince rushing towards him! Whilst in the midst of avoiding the prince's attacks, Trebass bumped into a suit of armour. He reached for the scabbard and drew a blade of his own.
Slashes and lunges were exchanged as the clangs of their swords echoed throughout the ballroom.
"You know, you remind me of some pony." Trebass said while grunting in the middle of his sentence.
"Oh? And did you try to steal away his mare as well?" Prince Blueblood asked while exchanging another swipe.
"No. Well... Kinda." Trebass attempted to perform a parry to his opponent's lunge.
"So I remind you of this friend of yours because he had a mare as beautiful as mine?" A grin crept onto the prince's face.
"No, his personality just sucked. Kinda like yours." Trebass said with a final parry that knocked away his foe's rapier so far that Prince Blueblood's magic lost it's grip on the sword.
Within an instant, Trebass' rapier was against Blueblood's throat.
"Stop! Both of you!" Aromé shouted as she held her father up.
Trebass withdrew his blade, and walked away from the fallen prince. He approached Aromé, his back turned to his defeated foe.
*BANG*
The gasps and screams of the crowd filled the room, as senator Fancypants fell over. Dead. One of the snipers had put a bullet in his heart. The sniper gestured for Trebass and the other hitpony to run for the front gate.
"PAPA!" Aromé cried out in tears as she watched her father die, slowly.
Trebass grabbed Aromé's arm and pulled her towards the door of the ballroom.
"Let go of me! Papa! Don't leave me!" She reached for her father, but her efforts were useless as Trebass dragged her away from her father. He couldn't bare to see her like this. After all, she was more than just a distraction to him.
Chapter 4: The Phantom Saviour
"LET GO OF ME!" Aromé shouted at Trebass.
Trebass took his hoof and slapped it across Aromé's face. The sound echoed through the hallways and seemed to silence all other noise.
"W-Why...?" Aromé's eyes began to tear up again.
"Do you think I enjoyed pulling you away from your father?!" Trebass shouted at her. "I did it because I care for you! And if we didn't leave, you would have been next to die!"
Aromé began to sniffle, she embraced Trebass by wrapping her arms around him. "I-I-I'm... Sorry. I'm so sorry!" She began to cry into his tuxedo. A large wet spot began to form on his chest.
Suddenly, a voice appeared from behind them. "Hey! Hurry up we got the Diamond Bubble and the rest are waiting for us outside!" One of the snipers had cried out to Trebass, not noticing Aromé since her back was against a curtain at the time. Trebass turned around, revealing teary-eyed Aromé sobbing.
"Well then... Looks like things have taken a turn for the worst." The sniper raised his gun, Trebass and Aromé both in his sights.
"Hey! What are you doing?!" Trebass stepped in front of the mare to defend her.
"You know too much, and the boss doesn't like loose ends." The sniper pulled the trigger.
"Look out!" Trebass pulled Aromé behind a corner and the two attempted to outrun their attacker.
"Damn!" The sniper opened the breech, placed another bullet inside, pushed it in, then gave chase to his prey.
The sniper was closing in on Trebass and Aromé. He shot bullet after bullet after bullet and missed each time. Aromé screamed every time she heard a shot. The sniper would hit vases, walls, and lanterns, but never his intended target. Trebass came to hault as he noticed he was at dead end.
"No where to run now!" The sniper yelled as he pulled the trigger. Trebass slammed his eyes shut as his life flashed before his eyes.
*CLICK*
Their assaulter was out of ammo. Trebass had to act quickly before the sniper loaded another bullet into his rifle. He glanced to his left and right. Then, something caught his eye. The hilt of a gun stuck out from underneath the table on his left. It was the gun he had left there when this entire affair started! He grabbed it and aimed it straight at the sniper. Then, the sniper fell over dead. Behind him was Prince Blueblood, holding a bloody steak knife in his hoof.
"My prince!" Aromé ran to embrace her saviour. But he simply turned away.
"M-my prince?" Aromé spoke again.
"I am too pitiful to be your husband. This stallion has bested me in combat. And I was stupid to accuse him of being your lover. He clearly deserves you more than I do." The prince simply turned the corner and vanished from sight.
No one saw or heard from the prince after that. Some say he committed suicide after his love was stolen from him. Others say he traveled to a far away country and lived as a commoner there. Some even say he never existed, that he was something paranormal; a ghost, or a phantom cursed to roam this world.
Chapter 5: Till Death Do Us Part
The rug was tainted with tears and the halls filled with sobs as Senator Fancypants lay there, motionless. A tall mare approached the coffin that stood in the middle of the ballroom. Her coat was snow white, her mane was pink, and she had the "Fleur De Lis " for her cutie mark.
"Mother..." Aromé buried her face into her mother's side, sobbing.
"That must be Fancypant's wife. Fleur De Lis was her name, I think." Trebass thought to himself.
Fleur removed the monocle from her husbands eyes and placed it in his breast pocket. A tear dripped onto the monocle before she covered it. Her single tear turned into multiple tears, but she held them back in fear of her mascara running.
"Mother... He's gone..." Aromé wiped the tears away from her eyes.
Fleur said nothing, she simply cried with her daughter. Trebass stood in the corner, feeling very awkward. He did not know Fancypants very well, so he did not share the same sorrow that the ponies around him were emitting. Everypony cried, while Trebass stood there staring at the body. He was the one who murdered him, he gave the hitponies an opening to kill the father of the mare he thought he loved. But what Aromé said to Trebass struck him down like a bullet.
"Trebass... I'm glad you had nothing to do with this." She said, hugging him.
At that moment, Trebass wished that sniper had put a bullet in his brain. For it would have felt better than what Aromé had just said. He tugged Aromé to the side with a dead look on his face.
"I didn't kill your father, and that's all you need to know okay?" Trebass whispered to his distraught companion.
"As long as you didn't lay a hoof on him, I will still love you. For all of time, till death do we part." Aromé leaned towards Trebass and their lips met. His eyes closed slowly, so did Aromé's. Their lips departed as the voice of another pony interrupting them.
"If you would all please follow me into the Time Garden so that we can lower the coffin." The stallion and three other ponies closed the coffin. As the coffin closed, the cries of relatives intensified greatly.
"Well, shall we get going then?" Trebass wiped the tears from Aromé's eyes and held her chin high. She nodded.
The crowd drifted outside slowly, the sobs stopped filling the hallways and started to echo through the dreary afternoon rain. Trebass couldn't tell if they were crying even harder, or if it was just raining heavily. A hole in front of the center fountain caught his attention. But something was different about the fountain, something was etched into the marble.
"Here lies a father, a husband, a senator, and a friend. Fancypants 1990-2050."
"He survived this long, why did he have to die?" Trebass felt a tear roll down his cheek. He never knew Fancypants, and never wanted to, but he was crying for him. He didn't feel this sad since... He tried not to think about it.
The coffin was lowered into the hole. Every inch it descended, the cries became louder. The cries were silenced by a lightning bolt in the midst of the rain. The coffin had reached the bottom of the hole. The four poniess who had carried the coffin outside began to shovel dirt into the hole.
Trebass stood there with his arm wrapped around his new love. The ponies had finished burying the coffin, it was done. Hours passed as ponies began to leave the Time Garden and return home to mourn. Soon the only ponies left standing were Trebass, Aromé, and her mother Fleur. The moment was interrupted again by the sound of sirens. Police carts drove up to the main gate.
"Quick! This way!" Fleur led Trebass and Aromé inside.
"Mama? What's happening?" Aromé asked as they ran through the hallways.
"Aromé, my dear, go into your room and don't come out until I say. Understand? This is important." Fleur held her daughter with her hooves.
Aromé nodded then set off for her room, unaware of what was happening.
Fleur waited until her daughter was out of earshot, "I know who you are." She faced Trebass.
"W-What? How?!" Trebass was prepared to make his escape when he felt her hoof on his shoulder.
"I know you did not kill my husband, but what I do know is that you are not from here." She spoke so tenderly as the sirens outside grew louder and louder.
Trebass sighed in relief, but his luxury was not to be enjoyed for long.
*BEEP BEEP BEEP*
A strange sound was emanating from Trebass' wrist. It was the M.A.S.T. that was making the sound! Trebass panicked, he looked at the watch. It was counting down from 1:30! Suddenly, he fell to the floor as another pony began to restrain him. He felt metal chains being placed around his hooves behind his back.
"You're under arrest for the assassination of Senator Fancypants and for the theft of the Diamond Bubble !" A pony officer had yelled at Trebass, as ten (10) other ponies came up behind him with pistols.
"Those hit ponies sold me out!" Trebass tried to explain to the officers but they wouldn't listen, they were too busy giving commands to each other to clear the building.
If they cleared the building, they might find the Eyeglass , the only way for Trebass to get back home!
Suddenly, he saw the body of an officer fly off to his right. He looked up to see Fleur De Lis, performing some sort of martial art that Trebass had never seen before. She unlocked his chains and picked him up.
"This way to your machine!" She shouted.
They both made their way to the bathroom where the Eyeglass was hopefully still intact.
"Here, take this before you leave." Fleur placed a rose shaped key in his hooves. "You will need this later on. Do not lose it."
Trebass nodded, but before leaving he asked, "How did you know I didn't assassinate your husband? And how did you know about the Eyeglass ?"
"All will be explained in time dear. Now go inside quickly." She looked behind her to see officers running down the hallway.
"Aren't you coming in? Those officers will kill you!" Trebass reached for Fleur, but she brushed his hoof away.
"That's the colt's washroom. I am still a lady you know?" She giggled as she trotted off towards the officers.
Trebass thought to himself, "What a lucky stallion Fancypants was." As he barged into the colt's bathroom.
The M.A.S.T. read 0:20. He was running out of time. He kicked open stall door after stall door until he found the Velvet Chair inside the door. He sat down, placed the metal helmet on his head, and held his eyes shut. For an instant, he heard officers yelling in the bathroom. But it faded, and when he opened his eyes he saw a sight that made his heart pound. Royal Flush had stood there, next to Alexander, with tears in her eyes.
"What's happening? How long have I been gone? And why is she here? " Trebass had so many questions to ask.
"The plan was a success, about ten minutes, and she said she had something to tell you." Alexander said as he closed the vault door behind him.
"So why are you here? I thought you hated me?" Trebass said taking the helmet off of his head.
"I had to make a choice, either you or Shock." She said with her hooves behind her back.
"What are you hiding back there?" Trebass asked as he approached her.
He stopped in his tracks when he saw down the barrel of his revolver.
"Why did you have something like this?! And why did you point it at me?!" Her voice was loud enough shatter glass, but Trebass stood still.
"It was for self defence. And didn't Alex tell you?" Trebass remained motionless except for his moving lips.
"He didn't tell me anything! And if it was self defence, why did you try to kill me?!" Royal kept screaming with tears in her eyes.
Trebass tried to step closer.
"Don't move! Let's see how you like it with a gun pointed at you!" She screamed even louder this time.
"Why are you doing this?" Trebass asked calmly. He had enough guns pointed at him that day to make it seem common.
"Because... Because... I-I-I... L-Lo.." She trembled, then threw the gun to the side and ran to the vault door.
Alexander opened it as Royal Flush ran by him. He heard everything, so he knew when to open the door.
"So, you wanna fill me in on everything that happened in there?" Alexander sat down by his little table and poured two cups of tea.
An hour passed while Trebass explained to Alexander all of his adventures in the Eyeglass .
"Looks like you had some fun in there?" Alexander finished his third cup of tea.
"Next time you should come with me." Trebass chuckled and put his tea cup down.
The two left the Eyeglass room and closed the vault door behind them. They walked down the metal corridor that led into the dining area. Alexander twisted the photo frame to hide the corridor. The two stallions walked up stairs, they parted ways as they went into seperate rooms. They both exchanged a "Good Night" before closing the doors. Trebass sat down on his bed. He drew the rose shaped key from his pocket.
'What is this thing?" He said to himself, "And how did Fleur know who I was?" He added. He fell asleep until the next morning.
