//------------------------------// // Episode 9: Chronicles of the Two Sisters (Book 2) // Story: My Little Pony: The Days of New Equestria (Season 2) // by ScorchingFlamesInc //------------------------------// Cozy Glow, Chrysalis, and Tirek were all in the library, bored. Tirek blinked, trying to stay awake, while Chrysalis leaned against him reading a book. Cozy bounced a small ball off of the wall. "What a way to spend the morning, am I right?" she chuckled. "Is this what waiting does to us?" "Beats waiting in the map room..." Chrysalis mumbled while reading. "At least there's something to-" The library doors swung open, and Leo stumbled inside, panting. Everyone else's eyes went wide, but not at his condition. "...what?" Leo wheezed. "You... have a beard?" Cozy slowly pointed. Leo rubbed his chin. "Hey! It's finally back... grew back fast." "Um..." Chrysalis blinked. "What?" "Oh, um... back when I was a human, I had a beard." "We've never seen you with a beard," said Tirek. "Human, and pony." "I shaved the day before you guys got to Earth. And as for my lack of beard while I was a pony... um... I don't know. My phone also burst out of my horn, if you remember, so I guess Bewitching Bell magic can make a transformation a bit... yeah. Anyways, Celestia and Luna are still not here?" "If they're running late, they should have good reason," Chrysalis said. "It wouldn't be like them to be late just be-" "Hello?..." Celestia's voice was heard from the hall, followed by a set of hoofsteps. Leo made way for when the former Princesses finally entered. Princess Twilight and Spike were with them both as well. "Twilight? Spike? You two are here, too?" Cozy asked. "We haven't heard the rest of the story yet," Spike explained. "We figured we could all hear it together." "What held you four back?" asked Tirek. "We've been waiting for an hour." "Daylight savings time..." Luna chuckled. "...Forgot to change the clocks." "Well, at least you're here now." Chrysalis raised the plate of snacks. Some small sandwiches, slices of fruits and vegetables, and some dip. "Made these for the occasion. Hopefully they're still good." "Thank you," Princess Twilight nods, before sitting down along with the others. "So, what should we do first..." Celestia begins. "Pick up where we left off, or catch up on what we've been up to." "Is that a beard?" Spike pointed at Leo's face. "Not the big focus, right now..." Leo muttered. ... Intro ... It's been around a month since Celestia and Luna's encounter with the renegade changelings, and it's left its mark on them in numerous ways. For Luna, she had no intention of returning to the forest. Not just because of what happened, but the presence of something sinister in the forest that led her to seeing something she wanted to ignore. On the surface, it wasn't bad, but there was a deeper meaning behind it, and she was glad it didn't get worse. Luna couldn't tell if Celestia had that experience, but there was plenty of evidence that would convince her it was true. The other thing that remained was the book. In spite of all that happened, Celestia and Luna managed to return with the book in mostly good condition (though it was highly soggy and scratched, so they had to let it dry). They didn't prioritize the missing pages, but that was going to change today. "Another one of those days, sister..." Luna yawned while in bed. "A day where retirement is... highly boring." “Well, we don’t need to come to conclusions too quickly,” said Celestia. “I may have a clue on the origins of this book... mainly, where the writer originally was.” “Oh, good.” Luna got up. “I was starting to think that this whole thing was a silly task.” “Take a look at this...” Celestia opened the front of the book, where a lower corner on the inside of the cover was loose. Celestia peeled it back entirely, revealing some writing on the material. “It appears that whoever made this left their location written on the inside... for whatever reason that definitely isn’t for our convenience...” Celestia continued. “Likely because it was required in where they came from... it looks as if the covering on this book was added on a much later date to preserve it.” “Most likely. And here, this book came from... Ramania.” “Ramamia? Never heard of it.” “Me neither. But at some other point in the writing, it gives us more specifics on what this place is... the village of the Rams.” “Interesting. Could this place have any relations to Grogar himself?” “Through all my research on Grogar, there’s barely ever been a mention of Ramania. This is a new place as a whole. A place that has this book that those changelings somehow managed to get.” “Perhaps there was another reason it’s been taken from its home.” “Maybe there is,” Celestia said. “But that’s nearly all I can find. I don’t know if the changelings, rams, or if anyone else did this. But since the other remaining pages have everything our books covered, I want to know what exactly we’re not finding.” “If we are going to consider finding this place, then how exactly would we find it?” “I’ve researched all possible locations throughout Equestria... and the only conclusion I have is that we’ll have no choice but to return to the Undiscovered West.” Luna resisted a gulp. She didn’t really have much intentions to return to the area. Not because of what happened with the changelings... that’s only slightly the reason... but also because of whatever happened before that encounter. “And... you’re sure we have to go back there?” Luna asked. “If we were to return, we’d enter in a very different spot... farther then where we went in. Besides, I think we’re going to use the balloon for this one.” “Very well,” Luna nods. “I’ll get ready.” Later... The hot-air balloon hovered over the large area consisting of the Undiscovered West. Luna and Celestia both used telescopes they brought to look down. In spite of everything, Luna and Celestia both enjoyed the journeys and explorations... that is, when they weren’t disastrous. “See anything?” asked Luna. “Nothing for me.” Luna took another look. She was about ready to take a break, when she saw something scurry in a small opening, before disappearing in the trees. It wasn’t easy to tell, but whatever ran by was definitely something Luna hasn’t recalled seeing before. “I saw something! It was brief, but I saw it! It’s close to a landing spot, too.” “Alright, Luna. I trust you. Lead the way.” Luna lead the balloon down into the opening where she saw the passerby. On the way down, she tried to remember which direction the thing went so they could go after it. Soon, the balloon landed (remarkably without a puncture), and they got off. “I tried keeping track of where it went,” said Luna. “I believe it went this way.” “Alright, then,” Celestia replied. “Let’s go.” The sisters proceeded onward into the forest, Luna trying her best to lead the way. Luna was also hopefully prepared for any occasion in which she experiences whatever she experienced last time. They soon started to lose track of where they were even going. "Well, this isn't going how I anticipated..." Luna groaned. "Wait!" Celestia hissed, before pointing with a hoof. "Look!" Luna could see something past the leaves and bushes, and both she and Celestia went over to take a look. Behind all that brush was a village, and Luna and Celestia could see unfamiliar creatures roaming around or talking with each other... Goats! Celestia and Luna carefully emerged from the bushes, and slowly approached the village. All the Goats turned their eyes to them. That's when both sisters realized that they didn't plan their introduction. "Greetings..." Celestia began. "I am Celestia. And this is my sister, Luna. We come from the more eastern side of Equestria, and we were hoping we could speak to somegoat about-" "Wait just a minute..." burst one of the goats, his voice gruff and stern. He approached the former princesses, any goat in his way moving aside. He was a skinny brown goat, and one of his eyes was concealed with an eyepatch, with both ends of what appeared to be a scar poking out. "We don't usually welcome outsiders." "Listen, all we're here for is to talk to the leader of this village about a book that was originally from here," said Luna. "I am he." "You are understandably concerned, but we mean no harm," Celestia spoke. "We once held authority over a portion of eastern Equestria, if it makes you feel any better. All we want to do is talk about this book, and then maybe something else too. After that, my sister and I will be on our way." The Goat Leader scrunched his face. "Oh, alright. Only if it's quick. I ask for you to set all or any of your belongings that you have no desire to show me into the bin on your way. We also have magic inhibitor rings in case of times like this, so put those on before getting settled." Celestia and Luna exchanged looks. Luna shrugged. "Alright..." Celestia started. "Very well." Goat Leader's Hut... The Goat Leader examined the book, peeking at the pages that remained, then glancing at the ones that were gone, and then returning to the book. He also compared it to another history book that Celestia and Luna brought... their own edition. "So you're telling me that... the events that are still in this book... is coincidentally everything in your history books... making it apparent that we know something you don't. Is that it?" "For the most part, that is correct," Luna said. "Though how come your history book has similar details than what we went through?" The Goat Leader set the book down. "Back then, our ancestors lived somewhere close to you ponies. We wanted to keep track of the Windigos. Research them. But we never wanted to be found. We always hid. So when the Windigos left, some of our own followed them while staying out of sight. But let me tell you, judging from your version of the history book, and ours, either your kind was ignorant, or too focused on their own problems to understand what was going on." "What do you mean?" "There was one key detail in history that we've always remembered. But you have forgotten. You see... there were never three Windigos. There were four." Both Celestia and Luna went "Huh?" "Yes. Four. Long before they left to go after those that kicked off your history, there were four. This fourth one was not like the others. He was small. And, since the other three continued without him, pathetic." "What happened to it?" Luna asked. "Even we don't know. One day, it just... vanished. Never seen or heard from again. Obviously, it was for the best. And considering how everything has been fine to this very day, we doubt it will ever have any relations to any life again. It's gone. Forgotten history. As for why these pages were torn out... I don't know." There was a quick clopping sound from outside, and all of a sudden, a little gray goat burst into the hut. "Master..." he wheezed. "Something else is here... it's so scary... come out, quick!" The Goat Leader, along with Celestia and Luna, all ran outside. To the left of the hut from a distance, stood a creature unfamiliar to even Celestia, Luna, and the Goat Leader. This thing continued stepping forward, closer to where most goats stood. As he got closer, Celestia and Luna could see emerging details about it... likely a 'he'. He appeared to be feline-like... pointy cat ears, whiskers, white maw... though this was nothing like any other feline. He sported some sort of purple getup, similar to a tunic, with a rusted gold chestplate on it. He was an unbelievably massive, getting bigger the closer he got. Even more details could be seen... but none of them were natural anymore. Some of his body appeared to be either metallic, shiny, or inorganic, and there were holes and gashes on his body, as if he was battle-damaged. Some wounds simple revealed a layer of metal. But there were other wounds with something coming out of them... red, white, and blue strips. As he got even closer, they could all see copper, or bronze, or something of the sort come out of the ends of the strips. Not even his black fur, visible on his head and legs seemed real... it was like he had a carpet for skin. And the wounds were simply tears or holes. His eyes... his glowing red eyes... reflected the sunlight like shiny balls made of porcelain. There was an unnatural red glow with the iris's and pupils. Like there were lights in his eyes. Every movement he made came with an odd creak or whir. Whatever he was, there was no way he was made of flesh and blood. He finally stopped, where he was completely face-to-face with the crowd. He towered as high as the Storm King. There was an eerie silence. "Who are you?!" The Goat Leader suddenly barked. "State your name!" What happened next shocked everyone. Out of his back came eight metallic tentacles with claws at the end. Two of them planted themselves in the ground, hoisting up the creature. The rest all turned, targeting the terrified crowd. "We need to get out of here..." Celestia hissed. "Now!" One of the claws shot right for her. ... ... Celestia, Luna, and some of the goats, jumped out of the way, and the claw buried itself into the soil. Luna quickly looked at this metallic attacker. He raised another claw, and some sort of energy ball manifested on it... and it wasn't like magic. When the energy ball was launched, Luna deflected it with her magic, before continuing to run. The creature leapt at Luna, but a yellow-like shield got in his way, and he slammed right into it, falling on the ground. "Quick!" The Goat Leader's voice shouted. "In here!" Luna saw Celestia (whose horn was dimming) standing next to the Goat Leader, standing near an open door in the ground. Goats were all running into the door. To make sure that the creature was held back, Luna launched another attack on the creature, aiming for the eyes. The thing blocked it with a tentacle, but Luna quickly, and continuously, continued shooting, while backing away to the door. Celestia was quick to join and help. Soon, both of their repeated blasts turned into two long beams, holding him down. While the creature was blocking with multiple tentacles, one of them rose, and a blade of plasma formed. When it slammed down, Celestia and Luna quickly dove into the trapdoor, and shut it. Celestia was able to form a shield around the door to keep it more stable, and Luna helped. The Sisters backed away. They, and all the goats, could hear a run, and a thump. The shield rippled, and the door cracked. The plasma blade then sliced through the door, and the shields, but Luna and Celestia focused more, and the shield ended up cutting off the blade. It wasn't over yet. There was an odd charging sound, and the door was suddenly blown apart. However, the shields remained. The creature looked inside, forcing everygoat (and the sisters) to look into his piercing red eyes. The last thing it saw was a quivering young goat. Its expression appeared to have slightly softened, and then it left. "What..." one of the goats panted. "What was that?" "It was like something that shouldn't be alive... but is alive, anyway," a female goat squeaked. "I don't think it's gone..." said a third goat. "Let's check..." Celestia mumbled. She and Luna lowered the shield. They immediately heard a metallic running sound, forcing them to put it back up. The creature showed itself again, before vanishing yet again. "Whatever it is, it wants to destroy us for sure," the Goat Leader said. "Where could it have come from?" Luna asked. "I don't think this will be something we'll ever find out..." replied Celestia. "Unless you talk to him," a fourth goat spoke. The sound of another goat smacking the back of his head was heard. "I think we should do that," Celestia said. Luna gave her a look. "Are you insane!?" the Goat Leader shrieked. "If it doesn't leave, perhaps it could be talked down to. It's worked before with Twilight." "Well, in Twilight's case, Starlight Glimmer wasn't as crazy as that... thing," Luna chimed in. "We don't even know who we're dealing with, either." "Trust me, Luna... when we get out, and it charges, we'll take it down and make sure it doesn't try anything. Do you goats have a secret exit somewhere in here?" "Why, yes, but it would take quite a while to find. We never used this hideout before. Wait, why won't you just come with us?" "Somepony needs to stay behind to hold it back. Plus, we need to know what we're up against... whether it's just him, or a higher power." Throughout the whole thing, Luna didn't want to speak. She didn't want to take a risk that would end things so soon. The thought that she already served her purpose started to push in, but Luna quickly pushed it back. Luna also knew that Celestia was right. And plus, Luna wasn't one to run. She would always stay in the shadows, get captured, or not fight. If she were to go out, she would at least put up a fight. "Alright, sister..." Luna sighed. "We'll do this. Our fellow goats, please work as fast as you can." Celestia and Luna then lowered the shield, and got outside. Already, the creature charged. But Luna and Celestia were both fast enough to once again knock it down... first by distracting it, and then, when he was focused on one of them, the other send an electric pulse right for the beast, causing him to twitch, and slowly fall to his knees and claws. The sisters then formed magic chains and stakes around the creatures tentacles, securing him to the ground. He tried to get up, but he couldn't get too far. He was forced to be on his claws and knees. "Stop right now!" Celestia ordered. "And even if you can't, you at the very least could talk to us." "That is, if you can..." said Luna. "And if you don't... um... we'll tear your extra limbs off." "A bit extreme, don't you think?" "...as a matter of fact..." the creature suddenly spoke. "I can speak." His voice sounded broken. There was a metallic effect to it, apparently like most of his body, and there was also a hiss. "Who are you?" Luna demanded. "And who do you serve?" "My name is Gizmos..." the creature started. "And I serve no one." "Why are you here?" Celestia asked. "Where did you come from?" "My, my... so many questions," Gizmos hissed. It was like he didn't care that he was, for the most part, trapped. "Let me give you the short version... I'm here, because organic creatures like you are a toxic... pathetic... corrupted stain to humanity. I am to eradicate it, and also save innocent young ones before they go down your twisted path." "Another one?" *Present Time* "What?" Luna paused her turn on telling the story due to Cozy's interruption. "Another villain that has a problem with... something... and wants to get rid of it?" the filly ranted. "Are villains like those gonna be the only new ones we'll deal with?" "I mean, we've had some with other motivations," said Chrysalis. "They mentioned some renegade changelings a while back." "Grogar, too!" Leo chimed. "We'll focus on that later..." Twilight said. "Now... *ahem*... please continue." Back to the story... Celestia's response to Gizmos was, "Well, you're clearly misguided on what you've been doing..." "...And there's no point in continuing," Luna resumed. "We've already outdone you this quick. You may as well surrender." Gizmos chuckled a mechanical wheeze. "Oh, my dear ponies... I have everything I need to get out of these predicaments... I'm not organic... but I have one trait that you also sport..." "And that is?" Gizmos pupils all of a sudden opened up, revealing two black shiny objects, one in each eye. They started to fizzle and glow, in a manner that was very familiar to the Alicorns. Unfortunately, Luna started to feel a similar sensation that she dreaded to feel again. Her whole world rippled, and became clouded in black. A white spotlight lit itself above her, and many ponies started walking past her. "You've been wearing a mask," Gizmos' voice was heard. "Pretending everything's alright. Pretending you're fine with where things left off. But you know... how would you not?" A pony was heading straight for Luna. She went in front of it and waved, but then the pony walked right through her. "For one, you dread being forgotten. The day you're finally gone, you will be a memory that fades. It seems impossible when said... but you were, after all, forgotten when you were back on the moon..." Luna turned and found herself back on the moon yet again. "It's just another illusion..." she grumbled, shutting her eyes. "Just like last time... it isn't real..." "When you were her..." Luna's eyes shot open. She was still on the moon, but she felt very different. She took one look at her body. Her coat was black. Her limbs were slimmer... and maybe even longer... and she had sparkling turquoise guards on her hooves. She raised her head, meeting face-to-face with a mirror. The face of a terrified Nightmare Moon stared back at her. Dark purple-ish clouds started to swirl. Luna curled into a ball. "How does it feel? Knowing that you, after some grand and wholesome return, never even got the chance to make up for missing your reign. Only having a few years being back, before finally ditching the one job that made you, you..." "NO!!!!" Something forced Luna to attack, even though she saw nothing there. The fear was too much... she just wanted it to stop. Unknowingly to her, that very attack struck Gizmos in the chest, entirely diverting his focus away from what he was doing. Everything fizzled back to normal... the land around Luna, her physical form... all of it. The first thing Luna did when everything reset, was that she looked at Celestia, who was staring back at her like she saw a ghost. Both sisters ran and hugged each other. Luna didn't have much of a reason as to why she did what she'd do next, but it happened anyway. "Celestia... do you think I'll be forgotten again?" "Oh, Luna... I promise you, things will be different." "But it happened before... I don't want it to happen again. I'm... a little afraid. And I don't want to be." "We'll get through it together. I promise. But every pony and creature has their own fears, as do I... losing everything good about Equestria... losing those I have faith in and care about... and losing you." Luna and Celestia hugged tighter, but that was suddenly interrupted. Gizmos was getting back up. And the magic chains were gone. They must have vanished when Luna and Celestia were being put through those illusions. The mechanical beast growled, raised half of his tentacles, and they all lunged after the sisters. They both teleported out of the way, and the claws at the ends of the extra limbs all snapped shut. Gizmos quickly spawned a plasma blade and swung around himself. He nearly succeeded in getting the sisters, but he missed. However, he finally managed to put focus on Luna, and he fired plasma blasts at the Alicorn. She missed most of them, though one of them burned off the tip of her tail. When both Luna and Celestia attempted to fire back, Gizmos took cover in an energy shield of his own. He blew it apart, the shield shards disappearing before making contact with anything else. The force, however, was enough to send the sisters back very slightly. They quickly recovered. Celestia flew right up to Gizmos, and before he was able to do anything, a large flash, along with a hard impact by something, blinded one of his mechanical eyes. He frantically looked around for his enemies, and soon caught sight of Celestia. He grabbed her by the neck with one of his tentacles and slammed her on the ground. He raised a tentacle, prepared to strike, but then a bolt from Luna severed one of his arms clean off. Celestia then blasted him in the chestplate, and then Luna's magic struck a blow to his head. Celestua and Luna then landed beside each other, across from the enemy. Gizmos recovered, and straightened himself back up. The sisters lit their horns, but they then hesitated. When Gizmos glared back at them, his maw started to do something strange. Both his nose, and his jaw, opened in half, and extended outward and further from where they were meant to be. A bunch of metal was revealed where his gullet should have been, and right in the center of his 'throat', something red was glowing, and getting bigger each second. Pipes extended out the back of his head, and started to smoke. Celestia and Luna wanted to run, and wanted to get away. But then the red orb shot forward like a beam, and struck the sisters. Oh so it seemed, as the beam enveloped around the shield Celestia and Luna formed. Whatever was being fired at them was enough to make the shield crack. "We can do this..." Celestia encouraged. "We can succeed." "And if we don't... well..." "I promise, we will live on, even in memory." Luna nodded. She and Celestia ignited their horns, and then fired right at their own shield, breaking it even faster. The ginormous red beam pushed forward, pushing Celestia and Luna's attack back, and nearly ending the battle there. But the sisters persevered, and used their strength with great might. The beam slid forward, but when it hit the midpoint, Gizmos increased his own strength. The red beam turned orange. Beads of sweat formed on the two Alicorns, but they fought back, stepping closer, and tapping in even closer to their power. Again, it equally rivaled all Gizmos had. Gizmos, yet again, managed to increase his own power... the beam turned yellow, and when the sisters had to try even harder, the yellow beam turned green. In spite of not touching anything, the grass underneath the beam started to burn. The collision point with the beams went closer, but not as fast. So the beam then turned blue. Screaming, Celestia and Luna tapped into their strength far greater than ever... the exhaustion it gave them, and all the effort they put in, was far greater than even raising and lowering the sun and moon. Gizmos' finally tapped into 100% of his possible power. The beam turned purple. It stayed like that for what felt like forever. But in a sudden turn of events, the sisters started to overpower Gizmos... their combined attack pushed closer to him, while the mechanical feline started to appear limp. All his limbs started to fall, and by the time his back slouched, he fell. Luna and Celestia, also tired, finally gave up, and fell. Both attacks faded before anyone got hit. And then everything was silent. Minutes later, the trapdoor creaked open, and a small goat peeked outside. He opened the door even wider. "Somegoat get the others! It's over!" He, and other goats, including the leader, filed out of the trapdoor. They all approached the fallen sisters, but only the Goat Leader got close enough to stand over Celestia. He said nothing. Just waited. As he silently hoped, Celestia's eyes started to open. Luna followed. They both got up, rubbing their heads. "Did we... do it?" Luna groaned. The Goat Leader pointed to Gizmos' fallen body. "We did it..." Celestia muttered. "You did, indeed..." For the first time, the sisters saw the Goat Leader smile. "We are grateful that you've helped saved our village, and we are happy to be in your debt." "Oh, thank you... but I think we could pass on that offer. Though I suppose if we ever need help, we could keep in touch." "Depends on what it is, but I agree to those terms. Again, thank you very much. You two may come back anytime." Present Day... "...And that's the end of our little adventure," Celestia concluded. "Wow, that might have been crazier than the first one," said Spike. "I'm happy that you two addressed your fears," Princess "It's quite odd that you and Luna actually had to fight something so... advanced," Chrysalis said. "The only advanced technology we have are the advanced phones." Princess Twilight spoke up. "Technically, I had a mind-measuring device back then, but I guess it's not as advanced, and it's been destroyed by Tirek, anyway." Tirek sheepishly chuckled. "The appearance of Gizmos was a surprise to be sure," Luna stated. "Celestia and I both felt this... darkness, when we fought, and experienced those illusions. Something like Sombra's magic. Along with... something else we can't decipher. We don't know who made him, why he was made the way he is, or where he came from. All we know is that this may not be the last we hear of anything... or anyone... related to him." Two weeks ago... Gizmos' finally awoke once again, his systems booted back up. He sat up on his rump, confused. When he was last awake, he was in a village battling two Alicorns... he wasn't in what appeared to be a rocky lair. "You're finally awake..." a feminine voice said. Gizmos turned and saw what appeared to be a black changeling, sitting beside his spot, as if she was spectating. "I was wondering when you'd..." "Where am I?!" Gizmos demanded. "Just relax. You've been out for quite a while. You're lucky Sephtis was able to find you and..." "Hush! Not another peep! Unless you'd prefer for your destruction to be the complete opposite of silent..." The changeling gulped. "Okay, Thorn..." a red Alicorn revealed himself from around the doorway. "I'll take it from here. Go meet up with the others." Thorn quickly nodded and ran out. "So... you're some sort of... robotic cat thing, or something?" "Who are you?" Gizmos hissed. "My name is Sephtis. And you better clean up your act. You're lucky I even discovered your existence in the first place and retrieved your broken body from the creek down in the Undiscovered West. You're lucky I took the time and effort to bring you back. You're lucky that I'm letting you stay here, in spite of the cost." "What cost?..." "Listen here, you non-sentient piece of scrap metal..." Sephtis spat. "...Or should I say, Gizmos, judging by the name etched under your rusty armor... you work for me now. And there's no point in getting away from it." "You are no boss of my decisions and loyalty," Gizmos growled. "I knew you'd say that... so I'm going to cut you a deal. Tell me... what is your desire?" "My desire? Such a way to go, don't you think?" "I promise my allies to have what they want." "Well, they're not going to get it if they want to conquer. I want to annihilate the things in this world that bear souls, and replace it with my own mechanical utopia." "Hmm... I think I can go along with that..." Sephtis tapped his chin. "All of my other Allies are going to conquer certain parts of Equestria and beyond. I know you can't have what you want... but whatever area of land I can take and pass to you, you may do whatever you desire with the land and its inhabitants." "That's not enough..." "Whatever you say... I do want to let you know, though, that I have... oh... five powerful beings standing outside this room right now ready to shut you down and do whatever they please." Gizmos' grumbled. "Take it this way... you get something... or nothing..." "Fine!" Gizmos exclaimed. "Fine! I'll help." "And you're sure you won't destroy us all when we let you loose?" Gizmos had no reply. "Hm... thought so..." Sephtis mumbled. "I promise. I really do," Gizmos said. "I already got bested by two Alicorns. I'd rather not practice with more than one enemy at the moment. Especially since I feel my abilities are weak." "I'm still keeping my eye out on you. I'll ensure you don't leave us. Now... with all of that out of the way... I'd like to discuss one more thing before we go out." "And that is?" Sephtis smiled. "Weeeelll... Nightmare Night is in a few weeks, and I'd like to ask... how good are you at inventing or making stuff?" "I actually have a secret place where I keep many scrap parts I made and found. Why?" "Because... I want to test the formula, and see how a plan goes without most of my magic or spells involved. Let's get to work. I think four certain enemies, and many more, aren't prepared to see the scares that I have planned..." Sephtis laughed.