How do I explain this to Moorfrost?

That question had been bothering me all day.

Would I even have to? Did Hex modify her memory along with most of the Gala attendees?

I shuddered whenever I thought of telling her the truth. Or should I say ‘the truth’? Seeing as everypony thinks I was thrown out for offending Princess Luna and public drunkenness, I wasn’t sure if I should tell her what happened or let her believe the story Hex had cooked up.

I’m still very annoyed that Hex decided to cast me as a drunk. He claimed it was a rush job and it was the best possible idea. Makes me wonder what the other ideas were…

Hex shipped me out a day after I woke up. He said I seemed well enough to get up and moving, and I admit I am very glad to get out of the hospital.

However, considering I am now carrying a box on my back filled with my personal effects from my old job, I’m not exactly riding on a high note. Not only was I fired, which was OK considering I was going to quit and I hated that job, I also got slapped with a lawsuit. Yes, my former employer is claiming my indiscretion at the Gala caused her to lose business. Being a lawyer, she’ll try anything to make money off me.

So I got fired, had all my stuff from my desk thrown in a box, and was escorted off the premises by security. Oh, I also got to hear how my identity as the “Drunk Green Unicorn” got leaked through a tabloid and now everypony knows it’s me. My former boss said if I ever landed another job, I may want to go to Las Pegasus and try my hoof at roulette. My sheer dumb luck would make me more money to pay her back with.

Though I do feel…hopeful? I don’t know if that’s the right word.

Now that I’m free of my old job, I can join with the Keepers of the Night and do…whatever it is they do. Not only would I get to do something exciting and cool, I’d be working under Princess Luna and Hex. I know, chances are still pretty bad, but I can’t help but think that the Gala did help get me closer to her. I did save her life. That’s got to count for something!

My little monologue distracted me until I was standing at my front door, when I realized the gravity of my situation. If Moorfrost does know the story as Hex skewed it, she’s going to regard me as a drunk. A drunk who made an ass of himself and nearly got arrested. A drunk who’s been in a coma for a week due to alcohol poisoning. A drunk who just lost his job and has little prospect of finding another.

I took a deep breath. Pray she has mercy on me.

I opened the door slowly, quickly entered, and shut it silently behind me. I poke my head in the kitchen and find it empty. The thought pops into my head that she left, frustrated or disgusted at me for what had happened. It persists as I pass the kitchen and enter the living room, finding it empty as well. Just as the panic was rising, I heard a soft snoring coming from the bedroom.

I push the door open and find Moorfrost snoring away on my bed, despite it being the middle of the afternoon. Not wanting to wake her, I focus and create a dim light at the end of my horn. It gave off just enough light to allow me to see her, as well as the small pile of papers next to her. I quietly picked one up and found a letter from Hex:

Emerald is still in intensive care. For some reason, the guards won’t let anypony near him, not even me! It’s been five days for crying out loud! I know you’re worried about him, but they still won’t let anypony see him. They tell me he’s doing fine, though that’s what they’ve BEEN telling us. I’ll send you a message once the situation changes.

-HP

I guess Hex didn’t bother to tell Moorfrost anything. Other then I was in the hospital of course. The rest of the pile had similar messages, mostly Hex telling Moorfrost I was fine and that she wasn’t allowed to see me. Personally, I’m surprised she didn’t go on a rampage trying to check on me.

I heard a groan and immediately drop the letter I was reading. Moorfrost had rolled over and was rubbing her eyes as she sat up. She looked over at me blearily and muttered, “Emerald…?”

I was suddenly gripped by the urge to run out, fearful of her reaction. Considering she harped on me about everything, I expected her to get angry and lecture me. All I did, however, was smile.

She immediately launched herself at me and hugged me. I got one of my forelegs free and hugged her back. I missed her after all that craziness with Hex and the Keepers.

After a long time, she finally let me go and took a step back. As she wiped her tears away, she said, “Emerald…I…I heard you were taken to the hospital…they wouldn’t let me or Hex see you…”

I had to ask, “Did Hex say why I was there?”

She shook her head, “No! I read in the paper about the accidents, and all the weird stuff that happened, and I…I…” She started sniffling again as she finished.

“I’m alright, don’t cry! Nothing broken or misplaced, I just…” I stopped. What do I say?

Before I had to continue, Moorfrost’s stomach let out a loud rumbling growl.

“Let’s go get something to eat,” I said with a small smile.

“When you didn’t return after the Gala, I was worried. But I thought you were with Hex and safe! I didn’t find out you were in the hospital until Hex contacted me early the next morning,” Moorfrost explained as we left my apartment building. She was riding on my back as we headed to a nearby diner for salads. “When I got to the hospital, Hex was there and said that you got sick and that the guards weren’t letting anypony enter.”

“Ah, sorry about that. I really didn’t want to have you worry,” I replied nervously. I’m still not sure what I should tell her. It sounds like Hex didn’t tell her much, and the only other source of information she had was the news.

“Of course I would worry! Why in Equestria wouldn’t I? Between you being gone and that weird news article, I didn’t know what was going on!”

“Weird news article?”

“The day after the Gala, there was a really long article in the paper about a bunch of accidents that happened. There was flying cake, rampaging animals, carriage crashes; I didn’t know what to make of it.”

“Oh yeah, I saw that…”

“By the way…” she said as she poked the back of my head, “What actually happened to you?”

“I got sick and was taken to the hospital.”

I let out a small whimper as pain shot through my ear. Moorfrost had pinched it with her claws and gave it a small yank as she asked, “You and I both know you don’t like the taste of hard cider. So what actually happened?”

I couldn’t help but hesitate as I was reminded of the interrogation Sawbones had given me. All I could say was, “Well, I was pretty nervous. Maybe I figured that drinking might relax me and…stuff.”

The pain intensified. She wrenched my ear and twisted it. I immediately stopped walking and sat down off to the side of the road.

“Listen Emerald, you raised me since I was hatched, and I’ve picked up on all your little quirks and nervous tics. I know you’re lying.”

Would it have been better if she thought I was a drunk, or the situation now? Why didn’t Hex just tell her? Or at the very least, did that memory replacement thing?

“Ah! How nice to see you two!”

I hadn’t noticed Hex standing a few feet ahead of us, the usual grin on his face. Normally, I would attribute this to chance, but I couldn’t shake a subtle paranoia that he was keeping an eye on me.

“Hey Hex. What are you doing here?” Moorfrost asked brightly. She still had her claw fastened tightly to my ear.

Hex walked closer and replied, “I figured I would head down to see how Emerald’s doing. If he was well enough, I wanted to grab dinner and celebrate his release from the hospital.” He noticed Moorfrost had my ear pinched tightly and added, “What are you two doing?”

“Emerald’s lying to me about what happened at the Gala. I don’t believe for a second he got sick from drinking too much,” Moorfrost said, twisting my ear slightly. I let out a small whimper of pain.

“Really? Did you read that article in the newspaper?” Hex asked, tilting his head slightly. The smile had disappeared. Hex now looked…curious.

Moorfrost rolled her eyes, “Listen, I was with Emerald right up till he left. He was nervous, scared out of his mind, but he wasn’t drinking. Also, when we talked you made it sound like some exotic disease or illness that made him sick.”

Hex nodded in agreement. As much as I wanted Moorfrost to leave me alone about the Gala, I was more concerned that Hex would scramble her brain or something.

He suddenly perked up and said, “Well, seeing as Emerald’s out and about, why don’t we go grab something eat? My treat!”

I rubbed my ear dully as we sat down at the restaurant Hex picked. For some reason, he insisted on a fancy upscale restaurant with private rooms for everypony willing to pay for them. He brushed aside any protest from Moorfrost and I for a more modest place out of courtesy, saying that he wanted to celebrate. It was odd coming from him, as he hated upscale restaurants and treating me to a free meal. He also avoided most of Moorfrost’s questions on the way over, instead talking about the weather, the economy, the new book he’s working on, and other topics focused around him.

As we sat down, I expected the restaurant to be a trap, meant to capture Moorfrost and adjust her memories so she believed the fake story he cooked up about the Gala.

Moorfrost and I sat opposite from Hex at a fine wooden table in the private room Hex asked for. The room wasn’t too large, but it was spacious enough to be comfortable but not too big to seem empty. It did feel odd to be sitting on fine cushions rather than the usual hard seats I was used to, but I shrugged it off.

“Isn’t this place nice?” Hex asked, a smug smile on his face, “Pretty upscale eh? The food here is pricy, and the portions pretty small, but it is worth it!”

I rolled my eyes and chuckled. I found his bragging quite welcome. At least Moorfrost wasn’t asking about the Gala anymore.

“What happened at the Gala?” Moorfrost asked.

She’s persistent.

“What kind of gems do you like?” Hex asked, ignoring her question entirely.

A small black plate landed gently in front of Moorfrost with a quiet clatter. The simple plate had several different types of gems on it, glittering softly in the light. Moorfrost and I both gasped loudly. She immediately grabbed a topaz and gave it a long, sloppy lick like it was an ice cream cone. I quickly yanked it out of her claws and dropped it back onto the plate.

“Emerald!” Moorsfrost whined.

“Something wrong?” Hex asked.

“She’s not actually supposed to eat them, is she?” I replied.

Moorfrost went to grab the plate, but I grabbed it and held it above her head.

Hex smiled and said, “As I said, this place serves very pricy, but delicious food.”

Moorfrost didn’t appreciate me stealing her meal. She scratched my leg with her claws, breaking my concentration, and allowing her to catch the plate before it fell. I cursed under my breath as she started crunching loudly on an aquamarine.

As I rubbed my newest wound, I heard somepony ask, “Would you like me to bandage that for you?”

I jumped, knocking my glass of water over. Before it could tip, a hoof shot past me and caught it. The voice belonged to the waitress standing behind me…whom I didn’t even realize was in the room. When I turned to thank her, I noticed she was a zebra. Though a waitress, she didn’t seem friendly or approachable. Her brass-yellow eyes didn’t seem happy and warm, but cold. I found myself wondering this as she quickly wrapped my foreleg with surprising speed and efficiency. Did this sort of thing happen often at this restaurant?

A waiter entered to take our orders as she finished.

Moorfrost had barely finished licking the plate clean when she said, “Can I get some more topaz and rubies?”

The waiter looked at Hex. He nodded slightly in response, and the waiter wrote down her order. Noticing me watching, Hex winked with a small grin on his face.

I ordered a simple salad, and Hex ordered himself a gourmet Panini.

The waiter bowed and left.

Moorfrost leaned back with a dreamy expression, “I can’t wait for the gems to come. I haven’t had any in months.”

“Sorry Moorfrost, gemstones are kinda expensive to have for three meals a day,” I remarked, a slight tone of guilt in my voice.

She waved a claw in my direction, “Don’t worry about it, you’re trying your best at work and…”

She paused for a moment and became silent. After a few seconds, she snapped her head towards me and demanded, “What are you not telling me about the Gala? Explain right now what happened.”

The force with which she asked stunned me. I instinctively leaned back and threw my hooves in front of my face, scared I would spend another week asleep in a block of ice.

Instead she focused on Hex across the table and asked, “What happened at the Gala? You haven’t answered a single question and it’s starting to make me mad.”

Hex crossed his hooves and said, “Why don’t you ask Emerald?”

I looked at him for some sort of answer. Do I tell her the story he had fabricated? Should I tell her what actually happened?

She focused on me again. Despite being larger, I cowered back as green sparks popped from the corners of her mouth.

I took a deep breath and said, “I guess it won’t make any difference. I’ll tell you the truth.”

She backed off, allowing me to straighten up and explain, “You know how I was nervous about the Gala? How I was afraid something terrible would happen? Well something terrible did.” I told her everything: Princess Celestia’s warning, the mare that blew herself up, meeting Luna, Stonehoof…and the shoggoth. I told her how Hex, Luna and I were trapped and soon to be dead and I fought it back and destroyed it. Every time she tried to interrupt, I talked over her to silence her. When the story reached me waking up, I left out my dreams and the false memories Hex had stuck in my head.

“…and then I got fired. Diction’s going to sue me for what happened since she thinks I was drunk at the Gala and hurt her firm. After that, I went home and found you,” I finished with my story and emptied my glass of water in one gulp.

No one spoke. I kept looking at Hex, fearing I had committed some mistake telling Moorfrost what had actually happened. He had the same smile on his face through the whole story. Moorfrost was quiet, trying to understand everything I had said.

After a few minutes, all Moorfrost had to say was, “So what you’re saying…is that the letter you got weeks ago was a signal to some cultist, that you got by accident, to try and assassinate the princesses at the Grand Galloping Gala with a shoggoth. And you used some deus ex machina magic to not only save them, but destroy the supposedly unkillable monster. A monster that didn’t exist until Hex made it up for his books.”

I nodded and added, “It is quite the odd story.”

“And it’s a LIE!” Moorfrost shouted.

She took a deep breath. Before she could exhale and freeze me solid, Hex clapped his hooves together. The zebra waitress immediately grabbed Moorfrost and forced her mouth closed. Moorfrost struggled to get free, but the zebra wasn’t allowing her to escape. Heavy metal bands shot out of my seat and wrapped me tightly to the chair.Moorfrost got free long enough to release a single green fireball, but it missed her captor entirely and instead engulfed one of the candles on the table. The flames snuffed it and turned it an icy blue color. The metal bands now restrained her to her chair as well, with an extra one to cover her mouth.

Hex laughed as he rose from his seat, “Nicely done Pyrite. Not the first time you’ve had to deal with a dragon, eh?”

“No sir,” The zebra responded, her voice cold and businesslike. She shook the ice crystals off her hoof and took a step back behind Moorfrost and me, “First time I have ever dealt with an Ice Drake though.”

Hex looked at Moorfrost, and then at me and said, “I told you the project was full-proof. No pony will ever believe that story. It’s just too crazy to be real!”

“Look, I didn’t feel right trying to lie to her so I--”I said, but Hex cut me off.

He shook his head and said, “Stop. I have to say, for trying to join a ‘secret’ organization, you really suck at keeping it secret.”

Moorfrost was glaring at him through the metal bands that tied her to the chair.

“Hey, don’t blame me. Emerald told you the whole truth! Well, almost all of it. He left out the part about me and my little organization from the story.”

Moorfrost’s eyes shifted over to me.

“He was telling the truth. While I admit I didn’t tell him to tell you, I sort of implied no pony would believe him and he shouldn’t bother trying. But he did anyway!”

The doors opened and a waiter wheeled in a small cart with our food on it, “Dinner is served.” He paused when he noticed Moorfrost and I strapped to our chairs and asked, “Will you two not be eating?”

Hex chuckled, took his seat and said, “They will, if they promise to be nice and not try to freeze me.”

The waiter quickly placed our plates down onto the table. Moorfrost’s plate was glittering so brightly from the gems that my eyes started to hurt from looking at it. My salad looked very tasty, same with HP’s Panini. When he finished, the waiter bowed and left, shutting the doors behind him.

Hex picked up a slice of his Panini and took a bite, chewing very slowly to savor the taste. He swallowed and said, “It’s a real shame you two are so tied up at the moment. Your food would probably taste delicious!” He took a sip from his water glass and tapped his hoof on the table. The bands constraining Moorfrost and I retracted.

I expected Moorfrost to immediately attack Hex, but I was surprised when she hesitated. She took a deep breath, prompting the zebra named Pyrite to shift slightly, but she didn’t attack. I was confused why until I noticed her eyes darting between the plate and Hex’s smug grin. The inner conflict between her dragon instincts and her desire to punish Hex ended when she snatched up a few gems and began eating.

“Don’t take this as I forgive you! Either of you!” She yelled between mouthfuls of topaz.

With Moorfrost subdued, I took a few bites of my salad. I was hungry, and it was delicious, but I was worried about what would happen to us. Hex made me think I had broken the rules of the Keepers by telling Moofrost about the shoggoth. And what was up with this…Pyrite? The restaurant too! Why did the waiter seem unfazed when he entered and found us bound to our seats?

Hex noticed my slow pace. He quickly finished his meal and said, “Emerald, when you finish your salad, I’d like to take you and Moorfrost on a tour.”

“Tour?” I asked nervously. Was that code for ‘I’m going to rip out all of your memories’?!

He nodded, “Yes. As a Keeper-in-training, you need to be shown the HQ and go through a small orientation. Once that’s done, you can begin the rigorous training procedure.”

I looked at Moorforst out of the corner of my eye. She seemed to be pretty engrossed in her meal. I asked, “What about Moorfrost?”

Hex scratched his chin and said, “She seems trustworthy enough. I’m sure we can at least let her know what you’ll be doing.” He added, “Also, the memory adjustment spells don’t work on dragons. Better just let her in on the secret or she’ll freeze us solid!”

Author's Note

It has been far too long. I apologize for the huge gap between chapters, I had a lot of stress going on and couldn't focus on writing. Once everything clams down with me and I get settled into a new place and a new job, I should be able to get more chapters out quicker.

The next chapter is largely written, and was to be released at the same times as this one, but the word count probably would have hit 10000 words, if not way more. I had to break it up. Who wants to read that much in one chapter? No one.

Big thanks to Aslfrasle for editing and help. If you haven't read any of his works, please do so. He writes stories that are much more interesting.

If you'd like to help edit and critique, feel free to send me a message or leave a comment about what horrible mistakes I've made while writing. If you don't want to help, leave me a message or comment anyway saying I'm an awesome author and other nice things that will boost my confidence. I might get these chapters out sooner!