Truth or Magic?

Crimson just finished his afternoon walk around the woods. After he went back inside his house, his girlfriend was seen pacing back and forth with sweat on her forehead.

Concerned, he ran to her and tried to calm her down. “Babe, what’s wrong? Are you alright?”

“Yes—well, no actually. My boss is missing, and I’ve been looking everywhere for him! I’m worried something bad happened to him!” she fearfully replied.

“Mr. Pulp? But…that’s not possible. He’s a strong pony despite his age,” doubted Crimson. “How do you know this?”

“There was this open letter sitting right on his desk. Look!” replied Bonanza, showing him the letter she and her friends discovered earlier. “Read it.”

Crimson read the letter silently; just as he read the last sentence, his pupils shrunk in fear. He immediately realized who was truly behind his disappearance which caused him to drop the letter.

Reading his reaction, Bonanza narrowed her eyes on him and drew close to his face. “Your master was behind this, wasn’t he?”

“No…no, no, it’s not him. It’s not him. He promised me. H-he promised he wouldn’t hurt anypony,” Crimson stuttered.

“I told you he couldn’t be trusted! I don’t care what reason or purpose he has for you, but he’s using you!! Tell him to bring my boss back this instant!!” Bonanza yelled.

Suddenly, Axor appeared in front of them. The two earth ponies trembled before his presence, making him sadistically grin in response.

“Master…! I’m…I-I-I-I am here to serve you…” Crimson stammered, shaking in fear.

“Hey, hey, relax, my friend. No need for fear. After all, I’m only here to clear up any confusion in the air,” smiled Axor. “I’ve heard rumors that a certain employer of yours is…missing, Ms. Bonanza?”

Banana looked surprised that he was much taller than what the hologram usually displayed him to be. Trying to muster as much bravery as she could, she firmly nodded in reply.

“Y-yes. I know for sure you were responsible for his disappearance, and you have no right to take him away from us! What do you want with him?!”

“Me? Kidnapping someone? Why, that is quite ludicrous! I would never go that far, my dear. In fact, kidnapping someone is utterly heinous, if I say so myself,” Axor denied, acting so dramatic.

“You lie. This letter sounds nothing like him, and I’m quite certain you had something to do with it. Where is he?” Bonanza demanded.

“Hmmm, if I were to make a wild prediction, Mr. Pulp will be coming right to this house just about…now!” Axor predicted. Just as he had finished his sentence, Mr. Pulp opened the door wide.

Bonanza looked at him in shock and saw that there was no sign of any foul play on his body. He stared back at her with an emotionless expression, but he nevertheless cracked a little smile.

“Mr. Pulp! You’re okay! I was so worried!” Banana exclaimed, hugging him tightly. Then she remembered whom she was embracing. She broke the hug herself, blushing in embarrassment. “Sorry.”

“I deeply apologize for worrying you so much, Ms. Bonanza. I was in a rush to get some urgent business done, so I had no time to let any of you know in advance,” explained Mr. Pulp.

“It’s okay, Sir. But I want to ask you about this letter left on your desk: did you actually write this? And your office was locked with chains for some reason; don’t you usually leave it open during business hours?”

“Ms. Bonanza, don’t worry about it. I’ve put you through enough stress long enough today, so let me make it up to you when we get back to work. What do you say?” Mr. Pulp suggested.

Sighing, she nodded. “Sure, I guess. I’m just happy you’re safe & sound.”

After they both left the house, Crimson turned back to see a smug Axor with his arms crossed. “See, Wool? I always keep my promises. You have nothing to worry about.”

“In that case, I ask for your forgiveness. For a moment, I doubted your sincerity.”

“All is forgiven, my boy. And I see that our pal Toffee is making history at the moment,” said Axor. “While he continues to shake their nest, I want you to follow these instructions. This is the part you’ll play for my plan.”

He handed to him a pink note with detailed instructions written in cursive.

“Now, I must go ahead and make sure your girlfriend & her employer are safe back inside their factory. Gotta keep my promises!” Axor smiled, disappearing.

After Crimson opened the note and read the first two paragraphs internally, he looked on with uncertainty at first. But as he read the last two, he seemed more relieved. Still, he sadly looked down at the floor.

“So be it.”

As Bonanza and Mr. Pulp arrived at the factory, the workers closed the front doors. The mare looked around and saw all the warp cannons filled with bananas at every station.

“Seems like everything is on schedule. Excellent. Maretime Bay will receive these wondrous gifts in no time,” smiled Mr. Pulp.

Suddenly, Bonanza narrowed her eyes on him. “That reminds me…when was the last time you ordered any cannons? I recalled you saying that you would order a dozen blenders to turn bananas into liquid form. What changed?”

“I simply had a change of heart, Ms Bonanza. Nothing to be concerned about,” he waved off.

“Hold on a minute…” Bonanza muttered, realizing something even more strange. She then glared daggers at him. “You saw that two-legged creature, didn’t you? You didn’t even acknowledge his presence as if he wasn’t there.”

Then she took two steps closer to his face. “I will ask my questions again: did you write this letter? Why were your doors chained?”

“I…don’t think…”

“And you have never addressed me as ‘Ms. Bonanza’. You always prefer to call me by my first name,” she growled.

Mr. Pulp then closed his eyes and shook his head. “Ah, sweet little Banana. Seems like you haven’t heard the saying…”

He motioned Endocarp & Epicarp to enter his office. “…curiosity killed the cat.” Both stallions then grabbed her and slammed her to the ground. She struggled to get both ponies off her, but they were much stronger than her.

“Hey! Let me go!! Ahh!”

She took a quick look at their eyes and noticed that they were red. She even noticed Mr. Pulp having the same red eyes as well, causing her pupils to shrink in fearful realization. “Let me go! Let me go! What’s going on?!”

“Sorry, Ms. Bonanza, but we can’t have you ruin our master’s plan. It’s too risky to let you roam around free after seeing too much.”

“No! This isn’t like you, Mr. Pulp! He did something to you! To all of you! Whatever it is, you have to fight it!” Bonanza pleaded.

Axor then teleported in their midst; Mr. Pulp & his employees bowed before him as he walked toward a captive Bonanza. “Surprise! Surprise! Pretty interesting set-up, don’t ya think?”

“You!! You monster!! How could you do this to these innocent ponies?! Why are you mind-controlling them?!”

“Geez, I’ve never encountered a pony who asks so many darn questions until now. Who do you think I am? A Wikipedia page? And here I thought humans were an incredibly obnoxious species,” Axor groaned, rolling his eyes.

“Stop playing games with me, Axor! I demand answers!” Bonanza angrily shouted.

“Well, if you must know, I’ll tell you the one thing that will answer all your questions. You ready? You wanna know what it is?”

Bonanza instantly nodded.

He loudly breathed in for about three seconds. Then he suddenly leaned forward to her face and laid her hand on her cheek. “I like to make clues. It adds excitement to the mystery. That’s all. Just want to have some fun.”

Banana widened her eyes so hard a vase can be heard breaking in the background. As her right eye was twitching, her face was boiling red hot with anger. “Are. You. KIDDING ME?!?”

Axor mockingly laughed in response. “It’s cute that you flesh bags think that I answer to any of you. All that you need to know is that I have much bigger plans of which I’m very excited to execute soon.”

As he teleported away, Toffee walked into the room and condescendingly looked down on her. “A meddler, huh? You are aware that my new partner is a very busy man, right?”

Bonanza was taken aback by the presence of a lizard monster. “What the heck?? Who are you?!”

“Wow, he was right about you. Asking too many questions will only get you into more trouble, my dear. And for that, you’ll be considered…hmm…’missing in action’…so to speak,” Toffee said, extending his right hand to her.

Right after the brainwashed stallions released her, Toffee’s green ooze slowly spread around her body. She panicked and cried out for help while Toffee and the others coldly stared at her.

The ooze then covered her terrified face, leaving behind a shed tear from her eye. Afterwards, Toffee and the stallions left the office and closed the door shut.

The other workers readied the warp cannons; each one was filled with bananas, and all the employees were standing by as the cannons were activated.

“Stay put until Lord Axor gives the word,” Mr. Pulp commanded his employees. “The time is now.”

“Not yet, my little friend. He told me he’s going to have a little heart-to-heart to a certain new alicorn first,” informed Toffee. “From what he told me, it’ll be…worth it.”