//------------------------------// // (Past Chapter 12): Hot Wings // Story: The Unique Properties of Dark Magic // by Shadestyle //------------------------------// The first time my mad scientist created life, I wasn't mad. Just disappointed. Actually, that's a lie. I was furious like I have never been before. Luna's really messing with my groove right now, I realize, as the drone I'm controlling in my sleep smashes into the wall when I lose control of it. "You do realize wings were meant to be flapped, yes? Unless the goal was to 'Get Wrecked', as you say," She chortles, watching me tweak my blueprints for a fixed-wing flying machine. I know for a fact that it can be done. I just have no idea whatsoever as to the details. When Luna can't look at my latest design without laughing, I find myself possessed by a petty annoyance. "Well, if you're going to spectate, then you might as well help," I say, popping off Luna's wings and dragging them into the blueprint editor for use as a model. This doesn't make Luna's laughter stop, as she rapidly regrows them as easily as can be done in a dream. "How bold of you. Should I begin keeping my wings behind glass in the waking world? Your fantasies are quite disturbing." I try to ignore her heckling and keep any humor her words may or may not have inspired in me to myself, as I lower the details and quality of the dream-image until I have a simple, geometric image of an extended Pegasus Wing. I decide to throw some shade back at the princess, designing my next attempt at a flying golem. "I thought you would be overjoyed. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery." Luna smirks at that. "I dare say, if I saw one of those in the air above me, I would be more concerned about being flattened than flattered. "Yes, perhaps not even the wings of a princess are enough to bring your works above sea-level. What a cruel blow to my reputation indeed," She says as my latest printed drone spirals out of control and crashes into a wall. "In all seriousness, though, you will never create flying works of magic if you yourself do not understand how flight is achieved. Do you believe your spells can learn what you have not?" Luna makes a good point. Luckily, we just so happen to be in the one place where you can sink more than once when sinking or swimming. So, I'll simply learn to swim (through the air) in the Arcana Nox. Dr. Absolutely Real Homeopathy is so stressed out. What Lord Weiss Noir wants, it's impossible! For the past two months, Weiss only had one true job for him. Clone dragon tissues, and make them compatible with a pony. But it's not possible! Dr. Real scratches his head, and straightens his coat, trotting through the halls of his Laboratory in the Wacky Workbench Zone. Weiss had apparently set up a lot of these secretive labs here, with different groups of scientists in each, ordered not to communicate with one another or the outside world without Lord Weiss's express approval. Dr. Real stops at one of the large crystal tanks, holding a floating dragon's tail, suspended in gem-enriched fluid. A topaz gemstone attached to the base of the tail makes it twitch from time to time. Real has tried everything. Blood samples, tissue samples, bone samples. Every medical spell in the long list of the ones he knows, and a few he had to dig up just to attempt. No combination of individual pony cells and dragon cells are able to coexist for very long. The sympathetic emotional components just aren't there. The only thing Real hasn't tried is... The one thing Weiss told him to never do. Two simple rules, Real had thought at first. "Don't grow brains or spinal tissues." A bit naive of Weiss to demand, considering that doesn't cover the myriad of nervous tissues that aren't found in the brain or spine. Especially in a dragon. If he only had some way to properly study the emotional content of a dragon, he might at least have a starting point! A place he can work outward from to develop serums and fluids to suppress or smooth over the emotional conflicts between pony and dragon cells. But there's only one thing that can help him study a dragon's feelings. And all he has to do is disobey Weiss and create it. He puts a hoof on the tank, staring at the lightly twitching tail inside. "Ugh. This feels like homework," Priss says, tapping away at the holographic screen that popped up in her virtual dream, offering the chance to fill out a survey. Eclipse couldn't disagree more, this is amazing! "Are you kidding, Priss? If what Lord Weiss said can be trusted, the answers we give to these questions will have a real impact on the Shadow Realm's dealings and administration. If there's anything you don't like, this is a good way to ensure it reaches the proper authorities," Eclipse says, tapping away at her own answers. Priss looks unamused. "I'm not sure I would call 'Should the Shadow Realm's tunnels be widened to aid in foot traffic' the sort of question that has a 'Big Impact'." Eclipse returns with her own rebuttal. "Maybe not, but I bet 'Should street fighting be more tightly regulated' will. I swear they've been setting up boxing rings near the hidden Palace Black Flame, Priss." Priss shrugs, clicking through the multiple choice questions on her survey. "I guess. It still feels like homework though. "I think he's having a bit too much fun with these," Priss snarks, when she reaches the last question. "Should there be more or less surveys in the future?" The question reads out. Eclipse giggles. "Maybe a bit. Yeah." Finally, the pair answer the last question, and type out a comment to go along with it. "Ok, let's get back to our game. I still have to beat your high score." "You wish!" Priss shouts, as the Virtual Dream shifts back into a complex snowball arena. As I crash to the ground for the fifth time, Luna swoops down with the sort of grace that only comes from eons of practice. Strangely, as soon as I suggested practicing, her stream of banter dried up, replaced with keen, quiet observation when it comes to my repeated failures. She's obviously had a lot of practice playing the social game, considering how endearing it is. "You know, as adorable as that shape is, I can't help but wonder why you did not simply add wings to your own original form instead," Luna questions, as I pilot the little bat into pulling itself back onto its feet. "I'm not making pony-shaped golems. So practicing as a pony-shaped flier won't help me," My voice emerges from the dream-avatar I had been controlling, as its wings ruffle, and I teleport it back to the top of the cliff that marked the highest point in the virtual space. "But a bat, Weiss? Surely you could pick a more regal shape, all of your dreamworld in your hooves, and you choose to be a flying rat." I scratch my chin at this. She has a point. There are way cooler things I could pick for a potential flying minion, like crows or... Luna jumps back in disgust at the new form I shift my little minion into. "Really, Weiss?" She says, looking at the rotund, bat-winged creature as it opens its one, gigantic eye. "Luna, be reasonable, the Flying Eyeball is a staple of any true overlord," I say, flapping its wings frantically to try and get into the air. I finish by returning to myself as the eye barely manages to flap up enough to land on my true form's back. "And it's more adorable to boot." Luna looks on at the black, fuzzy monster with curiosity bubbling up in spite of her disdain. "I have never seen such a creature before." I'm a bit shocked at this, but decide to play it off. "They are a common staple of the stories back home." Luna's eyes narrow. "And just where might that home of yours be, that it has such strange and varied stories, and produces such a strange and varied pony?" I just smirk at the princess. "Luna, you wouldn't have nearly as much fun if I just told you all the things you want to know. Really, you'll enjoy life a lot more by figuring out such things on your own." "Fun?" Luna asks, her ear flicking at the word. "Yes, fun. Frivolities, entertainment, diversions of the enjoyable sort?" I explain. She ponders my words. "Very well, if you insist on me experiencing 'Fun', then I shall partake in fun." And then she kicked me off the cliff. It'll be easy. Dr. Real already has the stem cells he would need to do this. He's not working with scraps. Weiss really did have foresight, when it came to harvesting cells from that dragon for cloning purposes. Something that genuinely confuses Dr. Real from time to time. How could Lord Weiss know so little about biology and healing, and yet know little scraps of trivia and information as crucial and obscure as that? Well, it's not Dr. Real's place to question that. His job is to do what Lord Weiss has demanded, even if it means defying his rules. The thin stallion rubs his eyes tiredly, walking past the tubes to his work station. The red lights in the walls flicker softly, casting long shadows across the floors. He grabs a sterile fluid repositioning rod, and draws out a measure of dragon cells from one of the stored vials. His first attempts might not work, so he'll use redundancies. Rule of threes is a good one to abide by. He walks over to some of the tanks, one holding samples of dragon skin, a disembodied claw, and a lung. With a flick of a switch, black flames flood the tubes, eradicating the samples within. The tubes hiss open, and he levitates three masses of liquid into the chambers, before sealing it back up, and typing into the holographic keyboard. With a few keystrokes, the backs of the chambers hiss open, revealing a space where enchanted crystals can be placed in order to perform experiments. For these tests, Dr. Real places three Moon Crystals into their sockets. He'll need a way to study their emotional components, and the Arcana Nox is as good a place as any to do so. Closing the hatches, he returns to the control panel, typing out the commands that will go on to determine what organs and tissues will be grown by the healing crystals inside. One after another, he goes down the list of organs and tissues, checking them all off as subjects for cloning. "Confirm?" The panel reads out. For a moment, he realizes that could still stop. He doesn't have to do this. It would be crossing a line, wouldn't it? Dr. Real shakes his head, and wipes the sweat off his forehead with a handkerchief from his pocket. If he doesn't take this further, he'll either have to keep telling Weiss that he's made zero progress, or, worse, write the project off as impossible. Nobody will have to know. He'll get the information he needs on dragon empathology, finish the research that Weiss needs, and... Science will be done accordingly. "Confirm, access code; Dragon Chasing." The machine bleeps with green light, confirming his decision to grow three entire juvenile dragons in these test tubes, at three different biological ages, for variety. He throws some tarps over the tubes, marking them down as "Light Sensitive", before slowly walking off to bed to sleep off this all-nighter. "You know, your mind is normally much sharper than this, Weiss. Might I ask what troubles you?" Luna says, only just now noticing how simplistic the Virtual Dream I have running is. I shrug. "I've got enough painkillers running through my bloodstream right now to put down an... uh" I guess technically "A horse" would be accurate, but I'm not sure it would come across correctly. "I've got a lot of pain-reduction crystals on me right now, and those aren't exactly suited for mental clarity and acuity," I finish. Luna looks more curious at this, as we both continue to fall down an infinitely stretching rocky hole, attempting to practice flight more practically. "And what injury would have such prescribed to you?" She questions, reclining in the air on a cloud as we scream down at terminal velocity. Seeing no reason not to answer her, I do. "I'm heavily injured right now. Telekinesis accident." Luna hums at that. "A shame you lack an ethereal mane. Tis' the secret to withstanding magical recoil." I'm curious enough at that to press her. "And how exactly does someone get themselves a floating do'?" "Strong magic, strong emotions. A pony's body reacts to the presence of incredibly potent emotion by turning their mane into a wash of magical energy. There are those who believe it to be a defense mechanism, as it can bear the brunt of any magical backlash the user is forced to experience when casting in a heightened state," She explains. I clamp my mouth shut at this. It seems my questions might be alluding to facets of how I'm casting the spells that I'm casting that I'd rather she not know just yet. She notices my expression and chuckles. "Yes, Weiss, it does not happen often when one's magic is augmented. Even if you've... augmented it using your own power somehow. Is that what the look on your face means?" Damn it. Well, that's one secret she's managed to weasel out of me. I'll have to work on my poker face. It's not fun when someone figures out my secrets too easily. "You've earned that one Luna, but you'll have to work a bit harder if you want more." Luna chuckles, giving me a half-lidded stare. "I think you overestimate how much work it will take." Suddenly, her expression turns odd. "Why are there dragons sleeping in your realm, Weiss?" "Pardon?" I question, my eyes narrowing. "I'm assuming there aren't meant to be three of them using your crystals?" Luna questions, not at all as deeply concerned as I am with the matter. "Could you show me where they are?" I ask, and thankfully, she nods. Opening up a port to the Arcana Nox's central crystal, we zip over to a private port that looks to have been locked off and isolated from the rest of the network. Unfortunately for whatever dumb bastard set this up, I own the network. "Master Access Code," I say, opening up the window to input my password. ♪"We'll meet again"♪ ♪"Don't know where,"♪ ♪"Don't know wheeen!"♪ ♪"But I know we'll meet again,"♪ ♪"Some sunny daaay..."♪ With the password recited using the correct emotional contents (Threatening Nostalgia), The ports are forcibly opened, allowing me to read their exact location in the Shadow Realm. "Wacky Workbench Zone," I say out loud. I neglect to also mention that it's in the Biomagitek Lab. Luna doesn't need to know that part. "Someone is about to be in big trouble. We'll continue our conversation later, Princess Luna." She looks at me with concern as I abort the dream and wake up painfully in my hospital bed. Ignoring my pain for now, I call for a nurse to get me into a wheelchair, and have her begin wheeling me towards Dr. Real's laboratory. Doctor Real is confused when he walks into the lab, only to see all of the lights have been turned off. He ignites his own flashlight, stalking deeper inside. Maybe there was a magical surge? Nothing seems to be out of place, and the cloning vats are all functioning. Wait... Suddenly, he frantically makes his way towards his secret project, surely that couldn't be the cause of all of this, could it? They are supposed to be sedated! He runs into the hall containing the three tubes, only for the lights to come on all at once, blinding him as he stumbles back in panic. Sitting before him, still wrapped completely in bandages from horn to hoof, Weiss Noir sits in front of him in his wheelchair, a deadly, oppressive aura practically radiating from the unicorn. 'M-my fight or flight reflexes seem to be... triggering.' Dr. Real thinks hysterically to himself as Weiss slowly wheels himself forward, somehow managing to stare down at the doctor despite him being sitting. As Weiss comes closer, the terrifying feeling intensifies, until Weiss is close enough to look him in the eye. "Hello, Doctor," Weiss says carefully, mindful of his fractured jaw. Those two words make their way out burdened by raw killing intent. Dr. Real wants to run, but it feels like he's pinned to the ground where he's sitting, like a frog strapped to a table. "I've noticed some... Idiosyncrasies, in your laboratory. I decided to come down here last night and see what you thought about it." Pulling the tarp off of the tubes with his magical grip, Weiss stares blankly at the baby, the child, and the teenage dragon floating in the gem fluid. All three of them asleep and unaware of the world around them. Is Weiss actually going to kill Dr. Real for this? Sure, he seemed serious about his rules, but- "I must say, Doctor. I don't mean to be crude, but these are some of the oddest looking ponies I have ever seen. I wonder how it is that you convinced these three to come in for testing?" Dr. Real gulps. "Whatever you are going to do, sir, I accept my punishment accordingly for creating them." If Weiss's face weren't so tightly woven with wrappings, Real might have suspected that the unicorn was smiling, as a new wave of raw, murderous fury escapes his body. "Oh? You created them? I must congratulate you, then. I may not know the burdens of fatherhood, but I have heard it can be quite fulfilling. "Yes, if you had a hand in their birth, then they are ours. Every bit the ponies of the Shadow Realm that the rest of us are. I think you should let them out of that nasty fluid, though. You see, I've got the oddest feeling that they have yet to meet daddy." Dr. Real sweats. "Sir, I'm not sure that would be wise, we have no data on their behavior yet, they-" Weiss's violent air turns into a diamond vice around Dr. Real's neck. "If they tore you to bloody pieces in front of me, Doctor, it would save me a great deal of trouble. "Someone is going to find out about this, and if certain, very exacting conditions are not met preceding that, it will destroy the Shadow Realm, and cast its ponies into anarchy. "There's a few stories I could go for. The story where my royal doctor betrays my trust, and is brought low when his creations turn on him, and I have to put down the mindless monsters. "I could probably spin that story well enough. I'm not liable for the carefully hidden treachery of my own, after all. It isn't optimal, however, because it would breed mistrust in the Shadow Realm. I can no longer protect the ponies from within without making some grand, sweeping gestures to reassure them that monsters will not emerge from their own homes. "I could also spin the story where the desperate Dr. Real betrayed my trust and went against my orders, but as he had taken responsibility for his lovable creations, and taught them to be well-meaning members of society, I saw fit to grant him and his creations mercy. A resounding story of life emerging from the oddest of places, and of the ethical treatment my scientists employ, even in the direst of circumstances. "That would be the best story for me to run with. It appeals to the better nature of those ponies. It would comfort them, and amuse them in equal measure, the flustered scientist with three adorable little children." Weiss winks at the doctor. "It might even attract some enviable attention. How responsible of the doctor! And so good with foals!" As Weiss laughs softly, Dr. Real offers a small laugh of his own, before the oppressive aura returns in full force, that pure, knife's edge knowledge that Weiss is now willing to end his life without any doubts, conveyed to him through magic. "But I can't spin a fucking story where they find out my Royal Scientist is experimenting on fucking babies in my basement, without telling me! You'd look like a madpony, I'd look like a fool! Or worse! They would think that I approved of this God Damn Nightmare! "Oh but they're clones, they aren't real dragons! "Is that what you're thinking, Doctor? Because that's not what they're going to see. They're going to see living things down here floating in fluids they don't understand for reasons they don't comprehend! I mean for fuck's sake, it's what I see, and I know what the hell you're doing! It will be a disaster!" Weiss wheels himself over to the tubes, making the hairs on Dr. Real's neck stand up on end. "You'll be letting them out now. Give them a checkup. I'll release a report to the public in a few days, and your housing and rations will be expanded to care for the newcomers, if needed." When Dr. Real is unable to move, Weiss snaps. "That means now! You idiotic, naive fool!" This finally snaps the doctor out of his fearful paralysis, and he scrambles over to the tubes, bringing up the holographic menu and typing out the commands to drain the fluid and remove the sedating enchantments on them. One after another, the trio of dragons slowly lower to the floor of their tubes, and after a few minutes of nervous waiting, the youngest one blinks blearily. The hatches of the tubes open, exposing and freeing them. Revealing that, for some unknown reason, the dragons are all different colors from the green dragon that their cells came from. Before long, all three dragons are sitting in their tubes, looking curiously at the odd ponies, with no frame of reference to compare them to. Weiss chuckles. "Well, name them, Doctor. Isn't that what you're supposed to do at this stage?" Absolutely nothing in Weiss's tone implies even for a moment that he isn't deadly serious, and so, with a gulp, Dr. Real walks in front of the tubes, looking at the dragons with nervousness and dread. "W-well, erm." The smallest one is pink, the middle one is blue, and the biggest one is red, so... "Padparadscha." The pink baby dragon tilts its head. The blue one has a small white marking, almost like a scar on its cheek. Some quirk of the cloning process. "Star Sapphire." The dragon child doesn't move, but its eyes widen. And the largest one, taller than Real by a few inches, in fact. "R-Ruby." He finishes. The red drake, thus dubbed Ruby, simply snorts out a bit of smoke. Weiss takes a deep breath, turning his wheelchair around. "Ahh, the joys of Parenthood. I'll be back in the morning to congratulate you, or clean up the bodies. "Have a nice day, Doctor," Weiss says, leaving as though he isn't leaving Dr. Real alone with three potentially feral dragons. It's only now that Dr. Real notices Lord Weiss's final mockery, two crates he had wheeled in the night before, milk and gemstones, shoved in the back of the room. I heave heavily as I allow myself to panic. The Princesses are going to fucking murder me if they find out about this. I can't believe Dr. Real just fucked me like this. I'll have to try and keep this news away from Luna until I've grown strong enough to fend them off. Which might be forever, considering that they're God Damn alicorns. Dr. Real might think I can brush this all off with some sappy speech and political finagling, but he just put my ass in some hot water. I wheel myself over to my nurse, who I had told to wait outside. "Please take me back to my room, m'am. Sorry for the inconvenience." The nurse just nods politely. "It isn't a problem, sir, I'm happy to serve." At least someone's willing to do what I tell them to do. Sombra knows they're taunting him at this point. Every once in a while, he spots one of the... snowships. Zipping along like little bugs on the surface. Sinking below the snow whenever he approaches, never to be seen again. But this time is different. This time, he's finally caught something. He's not sure what kind of pony could have enough magical power to create a dragon out of this strange, hateful fire, but he's certain they weren't smart enough to dispel it when they left. Oh it fought viciously. For an hour, Sombra had fought to corner the living spell, until he had blasted it with his curse and encased the beast in crystals. Now he has a spell signature. Now he can track down its caster. Now he can put an end to this little game of theirs.