Secret OC Origins Compilation

by Jeweled Pen

New Dawn 01

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Time was slowly spilling away, second by second, as a deadline drew ever closer.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

A green earth pony with a single stripe of red down her mane and tail stared at the empty piece of paper in front of her. The floor was covered in other pieces of crumbled up paper, abandoned and destroyed stories and ideas. Her name, Dazzler Star, was the only thing written on the paper in the bottom right corner.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She lifted the pen in her mouth and started drawing again. She had to have a her little funny image done by tonight, or she'd be in big trouble. She wished she could make up a little satire piece, but there was really nothing to satire at the moment. No upcoming elections, no real political snafus, no tension, hadn't even been any trials or police actions in the last few weeks. The few things that she could really joke about had already been taken by her coworkers as well. As much as she loved writing the little comics, there was nothing to write. She then glanced to her article besides it.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

It was a small bit on the recent opening of Blenders and Toasters, a branch off from Quills and Sofas. Hardly front page news. Though, there was enough of a dry spell going on it might possibly make it to front page. Barely. She supposed she could make a little doodle about that, but it just reeked of desperation. The kind of thing you drew when you had nothing else in mind. She shoved the paper aside and laid her head down. She needed a nap, that's what she needed. She glanced around her little office, finally focusing on the small couch she had propped up against the wall, facing the window.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She slowly slid away from her desk and moved to the couch, collapsing on it. The room was a bit cramped, but that was to be expected. She was able to afford a home, barely, on her salary. But it was hardly a large home. One floor, two small rooms(of which her office was the smaller), a kitchen, bathroom, all the basic amenities. Still, it was nicer than most ponies could afford so she had no reason to complain.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She glanced to the old grandfather clock propped up against the opposite side of the room, frowning at the time. She had only three hours until her deadline was over. Dazzler let out a soft, gentle sigh. A short nap, that was all she needed.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

The smell invaded her nostrils again. It was so faint, so small. The smell of something burning. When her eyes were open she could barely even tell it was there, but when they were closed her senses latched onto the easiest distraction. She'd torn her office apart trying to find the source, but she couldn't. There was nothing burning, at all. The sockets were all fine, the smell didn't seem to be coming from outside and there was nothing in the other rooms. So whatever it was seemed to be coming from here.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She tried not to focus on it, but it kept nagging at her. The scent was just... there. It didn't belong. There was nothing that should be giving that smell and, even worse, she had a feeling there was something else distressingly wrong. Nagging at the back of her mind, tugging at her thoughts. It refused to stop, refused to let her relax. It poked and prodded her brain, yelling 'look at me, look at me!'. But then when she tried to find it, it just jumped, leaped and cart wheeled out of reach, refusing to let her figure out what it could possibly be. It was getting on her nerves.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She groaned and rolled onto her side, burying her head into the couch. She had to think of something. Her boss was going to be annoyed if she didn't get the little comic done. Sure, the articles were the main draw of the paper, but they'd be foals if they didn't realize there were plenty of ponies who spent the two bits just to get the little comics at the end. She hated having deadlines. It's why she never had any clocks in her work room, it made it too hard to focus and thing when you had to watch the time. She suddenly sat up in her chair, her eyes going wide.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She slowly turned towards the clock and stared at it.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

When had she moved it into the room? Had it always been here? She didn't remember getting it. It blended in with the room so perfectly, in fact she was pretty sure the old owners had one. But she didn't. She didn't even like clocks like that. So old and rustic and...

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She stared at the door on the front of it. It was a big door. A pony could hide in that thing. Fear began to grip her as she slowly slid from the couch and searched for the nearest object within reach and of proper blunt diameters. One of her dictionaries. She held it in one hoof and slowly advanced towards the clock, gulping nervously.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

The burning smell got stronger as she came closer. She could make out little scorch marks along the clocks sides. Had it been dragged out of a fire recently? Was there fresh ash inside? How had a pony even got it in here? She'd been here since yesterday, but there hadn't been a clock then. Or had there? Even now she found it hard to focus on. It was so... perfect. It molded with the room so well. It was as if it was trying to make her forget about it, to focus on anything else. She had a sneaking suspicion if she looked away, she'd forget about it completely.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

What if she already had? What if she'd walked up to it a dozen times today, only to forget about it once she was distracted? It was just a clock, right? She was now directly in front of it. The door was as scorched as the rest of it. What if she just turned around and forgot she'd ever seen it? It was just a clock. A harmless, defenseless clock.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

But every instinct Dazzler had told her that this was the thing that was wrong. It was all wrong. One hoof reached out, gripping the door and holding her up. The other hoof held the book, ready to launch it at a moments notice. She took a slow, steady breath.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She pulled open the door and threw the book as hard as she could. Except, the door didn't budge. Instead of the book flying into the internal reaches of the clock, it bounced off the unyielding door and smacked her in the face. She toppled backwards with a dazed squeak, landing on her back and staring at the wall opposite her. “Ow.”

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She stared at the wall for a few moments and sighed. She was wasting time, horsing around. She had to get to work, not throw books at... at clocks. Dazzler groaned as she got to her hooves and shook her head. She then turned to the great wooden device and frowned. Maybe it was nothing, just a clock? Nothing more, nothing less? Just something... simple. Nothing to worry about. Nothing she had to... panic about. Her eyes narrowed on the door. Then why wouldn't it open?

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She pushed forward one more time and reached out, gripping the door and pulling. It didn't budge. She pulled a little harder and groaned. The wood didn't seem to even notice her tugs. She sighed and gave it a push. The clock didn't budge. Another firm push, but it refused to rock in the slightest. She looked around the side, but it was only a foot or so in length. It was up against the wall though, so she supposed that could explain its lack of movement.

Tick tock. Tick tock.

She moved around and tried poking and prodding from different angles. The clock refused to rock in the slightest, making her nerves stand on end. It wasn't that big, only about the height of two of her. There was no way it should be grounded enough to not move. She wasn't the strongest pony around, but the clock couldn't have weighed more than a hundred pounds. Rocking it should be easy. Yet, against all reason, it didn't budge. She growled and moved to the front. “Fine, be that way.”

Tick tock. Tick tock.

Dazzler turned her back to the clock and bucked. She bucked with all her might, slamming both hooves into the face of the clock. It was only in mid kick that she realized that such an object would be the perfect place to hide an explosive device. She tried to pull her kick at the last second, but it was too late. Her hooves connected with the face and she was propelled forward with a shriek, the clock unmoving. She flew across the room and crashed into the ground, letting out a soft, pained moan a moment later.

Tick tock. Tick--

She slowly got to her hooves and wobbled back and forth for a few moments. “O-okay. That's... that's not... ohhhh...” She dropped to the ground a moment later and shook her head. Okay, she didn't know what that clock was made of, but it was harder than anything she'd bucked before. It didn't explode though, so at least that fear seemed to be unfounded. She slowly got to her hooves and looked around for something hard to hit it with. She knew she had a hammer somewhere.

The scent of smoke filled the air now, making her look up at the thick, billowing clouds of it rolling against the roof. She suddenly had a firm, dangerous feeling that she was being watching. With a nervous gulp, she turned around.

The large grandfather clock door was now open. A pegasus stood in it, framed by billowing clouds of smoke that were shooting out from behind her. “Do you mind? This is all very hard to fix with these blasted hooves as it is. Your banging is NOT helping matters in the slightest.”

Dazzler stared. Her eyes twitched. She screamed.