Cheerilee had trouble focusing as she ponderously walked towards the backstage area. Echoes of her "session" with the two fillies still bounced around her head, and she revelled in them.
The start of that session had been everything she had hoped for, but the middle part had left much to be desired. The ending, however, had made up for all of that. And how! She didn't know where they'd found the energy or the willpower, but those last screams, the thrashing of their bodies as their flesh melted away, it had all just been so... exhilarating.
Cheerilee trembled and shook just remembering it. She attempted to walk in a straight line but she just couldn't quite pull it off. Analyzing her own feelings, she realised the sensations rushing through her body weren't unlike those she'd felt during one of the many sexual escapades she'd taken part in during her wilder years. A little voice at the back of her conscious mind said she ought to be disturbed by this notion, but the dominant part of her psyche was adamant that it was completely normal. After all, those fillies had done unto her a great injustice, and she was doing the entire community a favour by removing their toxic influence from the world. It was natural to feel good about a job well done.
It took the mare a few moments to realise she'd stopped walking and was now leaning heavily against a nearby stage wall as she panted, drops of sweat running down her body. Taking a deep breath, she finally regained her composure, taking off to round the last corner separating her from her destination. Almost at once she spotted the only pony working in the backstage area: Snails.
The aquamarine maned colt with the golden coat was oblivious to her presence, preoccupied as he was by the task of untangling several ropes from a knot.
Seeing him there gave Cheerilee mixed feelings about it all. On one hand he was probably one of the least disruptive pupils in her class-sure he was an utter moron, but at least he had the decency not to interrupt her constantly-but on the other hand, his blatant lack of intelligence gave him an innocent demeanour that Cheerilee would've loved to break... But the play could only be so long, and there simply wasn't always enough time for her to do the things she really wanted to do. With a sigh she shook her head, resigning herself to her original plans for him. It'd be over far too fast for her tastes, but at least she had found some way of connecting him to the events of the play, even back here.
"Oh Snails," she called out sweetly, "I think it's time for you to get into position!"
He looked around in confusion. "Oh, hey Miss Cheerilee!" he said dorkily, "Uuuhhh, the ropes got stuck and I was just..." he began, only to be cut off by Cheerilee as she started pushing him gently in the direction opposite to the one she'd come from.
"Now now, Snails. You know full well what I told you: after the break you need to hold the rope on the X," she said slowly, pronunciating every word extra carefully.
"The rope on the X!" Snails echoed.
Just a few meters ahead somepony had indeed chalked a big white X on the stage floor, and a long, sturdy rope hung down from the ceiling right above it. Snails went to stand on the mark without any hesitation, and took the end of the rope between his teeth. Cheerilee nodded approvingly at him, and his chest swelled up with pride. It almost made Cheerilee feel bad. Almost, but not quite.
She put her ear against the thick wall separating the stage from the backstage area, trying to listen in on the scene. She could barely make out two ponies talking to each other, and even though she couldn't understand what they were saying, it did give her a rough idea of the current situation on stage.
For the umpteenth time she had to chastise herself for drawing out her fun too long and revelling in the aftermath of it, as she realised she only got there in the nick of time. If she kept that up, she'd mess up sooner or later, and she knew it. She made a mental note to adhere to her schedule more rigorously from there on out, comforted by the fact that she'd gotten almost half way through the show without any major incidents.
