Chapter 3: Fuel for the Fire

The ponies went into the pageant hall, went backstage, and got ready, not saying a word to each other. The only reason Hand Grenade, Crystal, and Lemon were there was because of Twilight, and without her, tensions were high. Eventually Rainbow Dash snapped when Hand Grenade accidentally bumped into her.

"Why the hay did you do that!?" she snapped.

"I didn't do it on purpose!" Hand Grenade retorted. "I did it because I'm disoriented."

"I don't care if you were disoriented or just trying to fly, you don't mess with Ranibow Dash!"

"Everypony," Lemon tried to get their attention, but they were all arguing about something or another, except for Pinkie, who was just rambling to no one on how iron is a resource, not a metal, and eventually made a song out of it.

"Everypony!" Lemon said, louder. Still, nopony listened to her. Things had gotten worse, too; props were being thrown everywhere, Rainbow Dash and Hand Grenade had gotten in a hoof fight, and Crystal had just popped some ecstasy pills. This had to stop.

"EVERYPONY, SHUT UP!"

Everyone got quiet and stopped what they were doing to pay attention to Lemon Blossom.

"We're supposed to be the splitting image of friendship, here!" she started her rant. "But look at yourselves! Hand Grenade, you don't normally get into fights like that," Hand Grenade's ears folded back and he looked down with a look of remorse. "Rarity, you don't need to obsess over what everypony else is wearing! Just care about what you're wearing! And Crystal!" Crystal perked up. She got nervous. "Why are you popping pills, here of all places?"

"Because I-"

"No excuses, Crystal! You all need to step up your act, or else the pageant will be a failure. Maybe Celestia was right: this won't work," Lemon Blossom finished, and walked into a changing room.

Everypony felt guilty after Lemon's lecture, except for Rainbow Dash. Twilight, Applejack, and Fluttershy were all unable to perform, and here go their replacements, just wasting time like a bunch of school foals.

Suddenly, Crystal started to feel something. Then she realized that she didn't feel it: she saw it! The ecstasy was starting to kick in, and it brought hallucinations with it. She could see something that looked like a man, or sort of. It looked more like...

"John Lennon from the "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" animation?" Crystal asked out loud. Everypony just looked at her funny, and then realized that this was just the drugs talking.

"Yes, it's me, John Lennon," said the hallucination.

"Is it really you?" Crystal asked.

"Well, no. I'm just a figment of your imagination, brought on by the ecstasy you just took," responded the hallucination. "I'm here to tell you about how the pageant will go."

"And why would I need to know that?" Crystal asked.

"To create a random twist in the plot of this fanfiction, of course," the hallucination answered.

"My fourth wall senses are tingling. Oh, and it tickles!" Pinkie Pie blurted out.

The hallucination told Crystal, who then told everypony else in a matter of seconds.

"Hey, guys! I just heard from a hallucination of John Lennon that at the end of the pageant, Hand Grenade is going to accidentally set off a bomb, damage a spotlight so that it falls down, going for Rarity's head, but Lemon pulls her to safety, saving the day!"

"Crystal, you need to stop popping pills," Hand Grenade said.

"Five minutes to curtain!" called a stage hand from another room. They all got in their costumes and got double checked their lines, and they were ready to go.