//------------------------------// // Chapter 2 // Story: Masterminds // by GoodKnight //------------------------------// "Explain yourself," Twilight demanded while settling into Princess Celestia's study once more. The word, "Settling," in this case meaning plopping directly in front of Celestia's desk with a look of bemusement. This surprised the solar princess greatly, yet she certainly didn't let it show as she settled onto her cushion behind the desk. "I'm through with being confused, and I demand to know what's going on!" The purple mares hoof stomped the floor beneath her to accentuate her annoyance. Luna snickered as a walking fanged mushroom being slowly waddled over to her with a tea set and silver platter balanced on it's head. It was very quiet, and seemingly unfazed by the angry talk. Then again, it probably was used to such things in it's home world. Luna examined her sister's facade closely with quiet regard while also helping herself to the tea. "... Very well..." Celestia said in a clear tone. She levitated the Sundew brew over to her desk with a glass and poured herself another glass. "I'll tell you everything." Celestia, regained her footing and breathed heavily. The mirror before her no longer shone with bright light nor reflected her own countenance. Instead it appeared as a dark hole into nothingness... but then, from far away, a fading sound began to reverberate from it. The sound grew louder, and Celestia recognized it a a loud, guttural roar. In the mirror, a growing speck quickly approached. The princess sidestepped out of the way as the king koopa himself, Bowser, spilled out of it and onto the stone dais. With a groan he stood up and looked around before spotting the princess. A long, awakward moment occurred as the two regarded each other. "Who the hell are you?" he demanded with an accusatory tone. "I am Princess Celestia, King Koopa," she said while standing to her full height. "Yes, I know who you are... and as much as I hate to say it... I need your help." "Well... That's nice. You needing help and all, but you can just stick it somewhere else. I need to get back to stomping pesky plumbers and nabbing a princess," he turned away with a grunt and looked around. "You brought me here, now send me back." "I can offer something for your services," Celestia replied coolly. "I don't want your money! All I want is-" "A kingdom to rule and a mother for your children," she interrupted. Bowser turned slowly to face her. "I said I know who you are, King Koopa. Do not patronize me with a tough exterior." Bowser glared at Celestia. "What's your offer?" He crossed his scaly arms and stood up a little taller. "I offer you glory, power, land and respect," she replied. "In my world, we give anyone the benefit of the doubt no matter what they look like. I offer as much open land to you as you need. If you help my nation." "Heh... Is that all?" he said in a patronizing tone. "What do I have to do in exchange?" "... My nation is dying. We stand on our last leg without anywhere else to go..." she reluctantly explained. "And you need me and my kingdom to help, eh?" he said with a thoughtful expression. "Well... I'm not opposed to this. I mean, anywhere away from that blasted Mario and that princess would be a great change..." He smiled a devilish grin that made Celestia's skin crawl. "I do have demands of my own..." "What?!" Celestia said in mock surprise. She expected as much from the likes of him. "What more do you need?" "Like you said," Bowser replied. "A kingdom to rule and mother for my children..." Celestia looked away. She figured it would come to that. "We may yet find a mother for them in time-" "No, no, no... You will do it." The turtle-dragon grinned devilishly as Celestia visibly paled. "If you refuse, your nation will fall and I will take over. Either way, I'm still getting the land and a mother eventually." "Why me?" she scoffed. "Do you really want a complete stranger to rear your spawn?" "If you know so much about me," Bowser began. "You should know my 'hobbies.' I know next to nothing about that blonde plumber-lover, but even I can see that she has a good heart..." He paused for dramatic effect, seemingly. "That's all I need in a ma' for the kids. Anything less... Well, it's not even worth trying to make it work... Wouldn't even try it with you if I didn't see nothin' ..." "You assume I have a good heart?" she asked with another scoff. "... Yeah..." he said with a resoluteness that made Celestia's heart flutter a little. "And if you don't agree, then I guess you really don't-" "Fine." She said with a grimace. "I do hate the notion, but for my ponies..." She trailed off and satback on her haunches in exhaustion. "Heheh... Good! Now... What am I up against?" Celestia briefly explained the dire situation. Minutes ticked by in some magical clock there beneath Canterlot Castle. Boswer hummed in thought for quite some time after. With a shake of his head, he said, "It's no good. I'm gonna need my guys over here..." "Ugh..." Celestia said while rubbing her temple. "It took a lot out of me to get you here... A lot of magic... I don't know if i can do that for an entire kingdom-" "If that's all, then just get me one guy!" Bowser laughed. "I know he can keep this thing open..." Celestia wanted to doubt this abomination, but for some reason, she felt herself believe in him... "I can open the portal, but getting who you need is on your end," she warned. "Cut the jabber, and open it!" he said impatiently while standing in front of the mirror. With a sigh, Celstia drew on whatever reserves she had left and activated the mirror like before. It illuminated the room briefly, and befoe lon, Bowser found himself looking into her domain. Without so much as another warning, he dipped himself halfway into the portal, causing the mirror to ripple. Eventually, He pulled himself out and tossed a cretinous little thing in a blue robe onto the ground. Taking this as her cue, she closed the portal and fell to the ground in a sweaty heap. She focused hazily on the thing picking itself off of the ground. "Celestia, say hello to Kamek. My royal advisor and egghead-magician," Bowser chuckled deeply. "Pleasure..." she grunted while heaving herself to her hooves. She was an absolute wreck. Her coat was a mess and her shimmering main was disheveled and look more like a child's runny watercolor painting. "Now Kamek, you are going to open the portal and keep it open for as long as I need, right?" Bowser asked sarcastically to the wizard. "Uhm, well... let's see what we got here..." he said with a nasally tone. The small thing shuffled over to the now normal looking mirror and examined it with an occasional hum. "Hmmm... Yes... definitely..." Somewhere in Canterlot's graveyard, Starswirl the bearded turned over in his grave. Similarly, Twilight twitched and shivered as a cold reality wiggled down her spine. Celestia blinked. She was too used to the magical scaling around here to even care about it anymore. "I shall leave you to gather your strength," she stated. "Please gather it before morning. I expect the changelings to attack tomorrow. It'd be just like Chrysalis." She turned off and shuffled back up the stairs, mumbling minor curses as the growling and grumbling of Bowser dully rang in her ears. "That's the short end of it," Celestia said while knocking back the full glass. She was buzzed by this point, mostly because she drank at least three cups of the stuff while saying she was going to be an adoptive mother. Celestia looked to her student who seemed more concerned now. "Just like her to be..." she thought to herself before her gaze drifted to Luna. The lunar princess sipped loudly on her tea in disapproval of the entire thing. "Still doesn't trust him... or me... oh well..." "Regardless of objections," she said quickly just as Luna opened her mouth to speak. "We have a new army, a new general, and peace of mind for the time being... Now if you'll excuse me... I'm going to rest. Sister, the day shift is yours. I'll pay you back a day off this next weekend..." She then sauntered out of the study, tossing her tiara onto a hat rack with a toss of her head, and stepping out of her shoes. Somewhere halfway down the hall she tossed off her regalia as well. Luna shook her head slightly and sighed. She winced when the sound of glass shattering broke the silence of the room. She whipped around to see Twilight stand above the shattered remain of the Sunbrew with her head hung low... "Control your anger, Sparkle..." Luna warned calmly. "It's not a very suiting expression for a princess." "I just... I just can't believe it..." she murmured. "I thought I... I knew her..." Luna nodded sagely. "I know the feeling. Tis a troublesome time we live in," she lamented briefly. "But we must carry on for the good of our ponies. The day is won for now, and all we can do is-" "I never knew she was an alcoholic!" Twilight exclaimed. "Did you see how she was drinking?! I'm going to go to the kitchens and clear out the rest of the wine and such..." With that, the purple pony left the study with a look of determination. Luna sat there with a flabbergasted look. She set the teacup back on the tea platter and groaned. A clock chimed, and she glanced at it. It was only 8 o'clock in the morning...