//------------------------------// // Prologue: Everything You Ever // Story: Dr. Adorable: The Nightmare's Real // by asmariamoon //------------------------------// Dr. Adorable: The Nightmare's Real By Asmaria Moon Prologue Everything You Ever Here lies everything... Fluttershy stood facing her camera. She hadn't even bothered to put on her Dr. Adorable outfit beforehand, she was so out of sorts. As she stared at the camera, memories came flooding into her mind, and she lost herself in them. Right now, it was better than being in the present. The world I wanted at my feet... She had been dressed in the white labcoat and boots that made up her Dr. Adorable outfit. The camera she had just finished making seemed to be working perfectly She had decided to create what she called a "Bio-log", or blog for short, and this camera would help her in that endeavor. The camera looked a lot like the one Photo Finish had used to take her pictures when Rarity had begged her to model some of her dresses, and it had catapulted her into a modeling career she was horribly uncomfortable with. Except this one didn't fold out of a suitcase. It was also much larger in the back, with two reels on the side through which a large roll of film was wound. Also, this one didn't just take one picture, it took dozens each second, which was why she needed such a huge roll of film. If the roll was projected at a high enough speed, the pictures would seem to move on their own, thus she called it a moving picture camera. There was also an audio recording device, which she also had made herself, with a little bit of help in the design from Twilight. She had set up a wax record on a player under the tripod, and the player had a needle that moved when it detected sound waves. The louder the sound, the more the needle would move from side to side, and the bigger the groove would be on the wax record as it spun. As she stared at the camera, she remembered her short-lived modeling career, and thought about how the world seemed to love making her uncomfortable. Well, no longer! From that day forward, everypony would know what happens when you push a mare too far. She hit the record button and let out her best evil laugh just thinking about some of the things she had planned for the town of Ponyville. "So that's, you know, coming along. I'm working with a vocal coach, strengthening the..." She let out another laugh, this one going up and down a scale. "A lot of ponies ignore the laugh, and that's about standards! I mean, if you're going to get into the Evil League of Evil, you have to have a memorable laugh. What, do you think Bad Horse didn't work on his whinny? His terrible death whinny?" Dr. Adorable asked the camera. "No response, by the way, from the League yet, but my application is strong this year. A Letter Of Condemnation from the Deputy Mayor. That's gotta have some weight, so... hooves crossed." she said, crossing her forehooves in front of herself. "Letters!" she said, reaching over to her side to grab a stack of papers. My victory's complete... "So, Trans-matter is 75%, and more importantly, the Freeze Ray is almost up. This is the one. Stops time. Freeze Ray. Tell your friends." Dr. Adorable shuffled through her letters, looking for a good one to read. "We have... oh!" she said as she stopped on a particular letter. "Here's one from our good friend, Snowcatcher." she said, giving an almost-bored look at the camera. "'Dr. Adorable, I see you were once again afraid to do battle with your nemesis. I waited in Ponyville Park for 45 minutes...'" she read, then turned back to the camera. "Okay, dude... you're not my nemesis. My nemesis is Captain Clamor. Captain Clamor, Corporate Fool. She nearly yelled my ear off... again... last week. Look, I'm just trying to change the world, okay? I don't have time for a grudge match with every poseur in a parka. Besides, there's foals in that park, so..." Dr. Adorable said. So hail to the queen... "Hey, Doc." Drippy said as she came through the front door, carrying a stack of mail. "Drippy! My evil... dripping... buddy. What's going on?" Dr. Adorable asked after turning off the camera and setting down her Freeze Ray. "Life of crime. I got your mail!." Drippy said, pointing a hoof to the stack of envelopes she was holding in her teeth. The doctor looked at the sopping wet letters in the grey pegasus' mouth, and held out a hoof, which Drippy deposited the mail on. She felt sorry for Drippy, she must have gotten teased a lot when she was a filly, with her crossed eyes and her lack of ability to hold anything in her mouth without getting drool all over it. Dr. Adorable decided not to bring it up, instead asking, "Hey, didn't you go on a date last night? Sparkler told me you were doubling with Bait and Switch." "Yeah..." Drippy admitted. "Yeah?" Dr. Adorable asked, pressing for further information. "It was all right. I kinda thought I was supposed to end up with Bait, but..." Drippy said, sighing as she flopped down on the couch. "I hear you." the doctor said. "I saw Rainbow today." "Did you talk to her?" Drippy asked. "So close. I'm just a few weeks away from a real, audible connection. I'm gonna ask..." Adorable said before shuffling through her mail and stopping on one particular envelope. "Oh, my Celestia!" she said as she looked at it. "Is that from the League?" Drippy asked, getting up again. "It's from him! That's his seal, isn't it?" Dr. Adorable asked, holding up the letter and showing Drippy the seal shaped like an apple half. "The leader? Oh, my Celestia!" Drippy said. "I got a letter from Bad Horse!" "That's so hardcore! Bad Horse is legend, he rules the League with an iron hoof!" Drippy said. Arise and sing! "She talked to me!" Fluttershy said, looking over her shoulder at the delivery carriage that was currently being loaded with Wonderflonium. "Why did she talk to me now?" she asked. "Maybe I should..." she started, wondering if she should try to find Rainbow Dash and try to talk some more. However, she decided against it, looking from the courier carriage with her controller attached to it to the remote in her forehoof and back again as she began to sing. "A mare's gotta do what a mare's gotta do. Don't plan the plan if you can't follow through. All that matters, taking matters into your own hooves." Fluttershy ducked down into a stairwell as she sang, and came back up wearing her Dr. Adorable garb. She pressed the forward button on her remote, and the magic that was supposed to only keep the carriage afloat behind the pegasi pulling it caused it to instead rush forward, leaving a bewildered security pony wondering how the carriage was going without a driver and shouting at it to come back, as if that would have helped. "Soon, I'll control everything, and it'll be me you love!" Suddenly, there was a loud thump as a gryphon landed on the top of the carriage. Dr. Adorable glared as she recognized the gryphon and her suit, which bore the image of a megaphone on the front of her neckpiece. "Stand back, everyone, nothing here to see! Just imminent danger, in the middle of it, me! Yes, Captain Clamor's here, feathers blowing in the breeze! The day needs my saving expertise!" Captain Clamor knelt down on top of the carriage and drove a clawed fist through Dr. Adorable's controller, causing magical sparks to fly from the device as it began to malfunction. Dr. Adorable tried to get the carriage to stop with her remote, but the device wasn't responding. "A gryphon's gotta do what a gryphon's gotta do! It seems destiny ends with me saving you!" Captain Clamor jumped off the carriage, pausing to flirt with one of the bystanders. "The only doom that's looming is you loving me to death!" Dr. Adorable began to panic as she saw the out-of-control carriage swerving towards Rainbow Dash. She mashed her hoof against the brake button on the remote as fast as she could, praying the device would receive the signal and stop the carriage. "So I'll give you a sec to catch your breath!" Captain Clamor flew to Rainbow Dash's side and pushed her out of the way of the carriage and into a large pile of garbage bags. Dr. Adorable tried once more to stop the carriage, and the device finally responded, stopping mere inches from Captain Clamor's outstretched talons. The gryphon knocked on the front of the carriage twice with a fist.. "You idiot!" Dr. Adorable said, coming out from the stairwell she was hiding in. "Dr. Adorable, I should have known you were behind this." Captain Clamor said, noticing the mare. "You almost killed her!" Dr. Adorable exclaimed. "I remember it differently." Captain Clamor said. "Is she..." Dr. Adorable started, but was cut off when Captain Clamor grasped her neck in her clawed hand. "It's curtains for you, Dr. Adorable. Lacy, gently wafting curtains." Captain Clamor said. "What?" Dr. Adorable managed to breathe. So your world's benign... Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash sat down on the grass outside Carousel Boutique, the frozen yogurt Fluttershy had just purchased from Sugarcube Corner in front of them. Their clothes were hung on the line to dry, and Fluttershy decided to strike up a conversation. "So, how was your weekend? Did you spend the whole time hunting wild signatures?" she asked. "Ummm... actually, I went on a date." Rainbow said. "Get right out of town! How was that?" Fluttershy asked, feigning ignorance. She had, of course, been spying on Rainbow's date with Captain Clamor. "She's a really good-looking girl, and I thought she was kinda cheesy at first..." Rainbow started. "Trust your instincts." Fluttershy muttered. "...But, she turned out to be totally sweet." Rainbow Dash finished, taking another bite of her frozen yogurt via the spork balanced on her hoof. "Sometimes ponies are layered like that. There's something totally different underneath than what's on the surface." "And sometimes there's a third, even deeper level, and that one's the same as the top surface level." Fluttershy said. "Huh?" Rainbow asked, confused. "Like with pie." Fluttershy said. "So, you gonna see her again?" she asked. "I think I will." Rainbow replied after a few seconds, smiling. "Oh." Fluttershy said, putting on a fake smile. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow asked, concerned. "Yeah?" Fluttershy replied. "You're driving a spork into your leg." Rainbow stated. Fluttershy looked down, to where her front hoof was subconsciously pushing the rounded ends of the spork into her back leg. Of course, the utensil couldn't actually break the skin, but Fluttershy was feeling the first signs of pain start to creep into her mind. "So I am." Fluttershy said, her faux smile still plastered on her face. "Hilarious." So you think justice has a voice... Dr. Adorable, clearly hurt, wobbled from side to side, letting out a small groan. "The Freeze Ray needs work. I also need to be a little bit more careful what I say on this blog, apparently the Ponyville section of Celestia's Royal Guards and Captain Clamor are among our viewers. They were waiting for me at the Mayor's dedication of the Superhero Memorial Bridge. The Freeze Ray takes a few seconds to warm up, and I wasn't... Captain Clamor threw a cart at my head." And we all have a choice... "Kill somepony?" Drippy asked, trying to twist a jar of jelly open using her mouth and her hoof. "Would you do it?" Dr. Adorable asked. "To get into the Evil League of Evil?" Drippy stopped working on the jar, and looked up at the doctor. "Look at me, Doc. I'm Drippy. I mean, at my most badflank, I make ponies feel like they want to take a shower. I'm not ELE material." she said. "Killing's not elegant or creative. It's not my style." Dr. Adorable said. "You've got more than enough evil hours to get into the Henchpony's Union." Drippy responded. "Pssssh! I'm not a henchpony! I'm Dr. Adorable! I've got a PhD in Adorableness." the doctor answered. "Is that the new catch phrase?" Drippy asked. "I deserve to get in. You know I do. But killing?" Dr. Adorable said, frowning. "Doctor Whooves says he knows a foal in Hoofington who grows up to be on Celestia's advisory council. That'd be... big." Drippy said. "I'm not gonna kill a little foal." Dr. Adorable said. "Smother an old mare?" Drippy asked. "Do I even know you?" Dr. Adorable asked, giving her henchpony a horrified look. Well, now your world is mine... "Well, this is great, I wish I could stay and chit-chat. Ta." Fluttershy said, trying to push past Captain Clamor, who had come to see Rainbow Dash at Carousel Boutique. Captain Clamor held out her clawed arm, catching Fluttershy before she could escape. "Well, it sure was nice to meet you, Doctor." Captain Clamor said, smiling as she saw the look on Fluttershy's face as the mare realized that her arch-nemesis knew her alter-ego. "You got a little crush, don't you, Doc?" Captain Clamor asked. Fluttershy tried to say something, but the gryphon interrupted her. "Well, that's gonna make this hard to hear. See, later, I'm gonna take little Dashie back to my place, show her the command center, the Clamor Chariot, maybe even the Clamcloud. You think she likes me now? I'm gonna give Dash the night of her life, just because you want her, and I get what you want. See, Dash is giving it up, she's giving it up hard. Cause she's with Captain Clamor now. And these..." Captain Clamor said, balling her talons into fists, "Are not the Clamor." she said, beginning to walk away, then turning around and walking back to Fluttershy. "The Clamor is my strap-on." she added. And I am fine. Dr. Adorable set to work on preparing her latest plan. If the Evil League of Evil wanted her to kill somepony, she knew the perfect candidate. Captain Clamor had tormented her long enough. It was time to put an end to the gryphon's superhero antics and take her rightful place at Bad Horse's side. She had worked out the equation on her blackboard, even checked her work twice. The only step that was left was to turn her Stun Ray, which had been infused with lightning from a cloud, into a full-fledged Death Ray. Dr. Adorable was no weather pony, but she knew the sciences behind weather control, and she was still a pegasus, so she could still manipulate weather in ways other ponies couldn't. Now the nightmare's real... Mayor Mare stood at her podium in front of Ponyville Town Hall, before an audience of ponies, who stomped their hooves against the ground in applause. "Justice has a name, and the name that it has, besides Justice, is Captain Clamor. Fillies and gentlecolts, your hero!" she exclaimed, as Captain Clamor stepped up to the podium. "Thank you! Thank you, Mayor, for those kind words." Captain Clamor said as she pulled out a set of small cue cards from under her neckpiece. "I hate the homeless..." she began, before she had to go to the next card. "...ness problem that plagues our village. Everypony should have the basic... you know what, I don't need tiny cue cards." Captain Clamor said, tossing the cards aside. Dr. Adorable is here... Dr. Adorable stifled back a groan. She almost wanted to burst out of her hiding spot under the cloth that was supposed to hide the statue of Captain Clamor right now and put her plan into action, but the Freeze Ray still needed a few minutes to warm up. Besides, to have stealth, a pony must have patience, and if she wasn't stealthy, Captain Clamor would see her coming and ruin her plans, and this was her last chance. If she screwed this up, there would be no seat for her in the Evil League of Evil, at least, not one outside of either the torture chambers or the catacombs. So Dr. Adorable was forced to listen as Captain Clamor broke into a horrifyingly gut-wrenching song with so many slip-ups that showed just how much he cared about the people gathered there that the doctor had to cover her mouth with a hoof in order to hold back another groan. Just as Captain Clamor was reaching the end of his song, a light on the Freeze Ray started blinking softly, signalling to Dr. Adorable that it was done charging. It was now or never. Dr. Adorable threw off the red curtain covering her, and fired directly at Captain Clamor, who was frozen mid-note. The mare gave a malevolent laugh as she realized that she had done it. She had succeeded, and all she needed to do was fire her Death Ray at Captain Clamor. However, the Freeze Ray was sure to hold Captain Clamor for a while, so she had all the time she needed to gloat with a song of her own. To make you quake with fear... Dr. Adorable fired her Death Ray into the air to frighten the moronic ponies that had actually bought into Clamor's speech and song. "Go ahead, run away! Say it's Adorable! Spread the word, tell a friend! Say it was I! Get a pic, do a blog! Heroes are over with! Look at her, not a word! Clamor, meet Shy! Then I win, then I get everything I ever... All the cash, all the fame, and social change! Anarchy that I run! It's Dr. Adorable's turn! You ponies all have to learn! This world is going to burn! Burn!" Dr. Adorable looked over to one reporter, who was scribbling in a notepad using her unicorn magic. "Yeah, it's one R, A-D-O-R... right." she corrected. "Burn! No sign of Rainbow, good, I would give anything not to have her see! It's gonna be bloody, head up Flutter-buddy, there's no time for mercy! Here goes no mercy!" Dr. Adorable approached the podium where Captain Clamor stood frozen, Death Ray pointed straight at the gryphon, ready to fire. Suddenly, there was a loud droning sound that shakily dropped in pitch coming from the Freeze Ray. "That's not a good sound!" Dr. Adorable said, turning back towards the device and lowering her Death Ray. Just then, a taloned fist connected with her face. To make the whole world kneel... "A Death Ray!" Captain Clamor said, reading the tape label on the device she took from the mare who was now trapped under her right lion paw. "Looks like Dr. Adorable's moving up. Let's see if this one works any better than your others." she said, pointing the Death Ray down at Dr. Adorable. "Don't..." Dr. Adorable began, seeing the circular end of the device pointed at her spark with lightning. It wasn't supposed to do that, the lightning was supposed to be contained within until the trigger was pulled. The Death Ray must have destabilized when it hit the ground after Captain Clamor had punched her. "I don't have time for your warnings. You give my regards to Golden Gates, or whoever has his job, but in pony hell." Captain Clamor said. She pulled the trigger, but instead of firing, the device exploded, sending a shockwave of red lightning out in a circular pattern. Captain Clamor screamed as she was flung towards the podium by the blast. She whimpered as she tried to get up. "Oh, I'm in pain! I think this is what pain feels like!" the gryphon exclaimed. "Oh, Mama! Someone maternal!" she cried, finally standing up. "Get out of my way!" she exclaimed as she pushed an unfortunate pony who was blocking her exit to the ground and ran away from Town Hall. And I won't feel... Dr. Adorable suddenly noticed Rainbow Dash laying on her back, a large piece of shrapnel from the Death Ray's explosion stuck in her chest. It was clear that she was having trouble breathing. "Rainbow? Rainbow!" Dr. Adorable exclaimed, rushing to her side. "Fluttershy?" Rainbow Dash asked, hardly believing that the pony in the labcoat and goggles in front of her was actually her friend. "Is that you?" she asked. "Rainbow! Hold on! Oh, no! Oh, no no no no no!" Dr. Adorable said, beginning to panic. "Fluttershy, are you all right?" Rainbow Dash asked. "Hold on!" Dr. Adorable said. "It's okay. It's okay." Rainbow said quietly. "Captain Clamor will save us." she said, just before her life ended. Fluttershy continued to stare at the camera, barely holding back the tears in her eyes. The blame for Rainbow's death had fallen on her, even though it had been Captain Clamor who had driven her to threaten the gryphon's life, Captain Clamor who had ignored her warnings about the Death Ray's instability, and Captain Clamor who had pulled the trigger. Fluttershy had even more to be sad about, since it was Rainbow's death that had gotten her into the Evil League of Evil. Then again, she was Dr. Adorable. She didn't have the convenience of getting all emotional about this. So she decided that she wouldn't feel... "A thing." Author's Notes: I've been working on this for a while now. I was originally going to have Twist in Moist's role, but that was before I saw this. I'm trying to follow the Ask-Along Blog's role replacements, so yeah. But Twist and the power I thought up for her will definitely be in later chapters, even though I'll probably hate myself for it later because of the difficulty of writing her lisp. Also, have a now-rejected line due to the fact that Twist is no longer playing Moist. "I mean, at my moth badflank, I make ponieth feel like they juth walked into an M.C. Ether painting. I'm not ELE material."