//------------------------------// // A Plot Revealed // Story: The Toymaker // by AtomicMuffin //------------------------------// Fluttershy snuggled under the covers, enjoying a wonderful dream. In it she was soaring through the sky with a pair of blazing phoenixes. They circled around her, gleaming in the sunlight. Flames rippled from their bodies, but the fire didn't consume them. Instead it only made her feel warm and comfortable. BOOM! Fluttershy shot up in her bed in surprise. Her eyes were wide as she scanned the room for the source of the explosion. BOOM! BOOM! Two more explosions rocked the cottage with the force of an earthquake. Fluttershy yelped and shot straight up into the air. Angel Bunny bolted into the room and leaped on top of the bed. His sleeping mask dangled from one of his long ears and curlers were still lodged in his fluffy tail. He started leaping on the bed and waving for his friend's attention. Fluttershy clung to the rafters and shook in terror. When she noticed Angel, she called down, "What in Equestria was that?" Angel shrugged his shoulders and pointed to the door. "No, no, no. I'm not going out there." Angel tapped his foot irritably and the shy pegasus floated down from the ceiling and alighted on the bed. "I don't know what that was, Angel, but I know I don't want to find out." Angel pointed towards the forest and twisted his ears to give himself a crude mohawk. He accentuated his action by miming stirring a large cauldron. "Oh my, you're right. That did sound like it was coming from Zecora's hut. Oh no, I'm the only one close enough to hear it. Nopony else lives anywhere near here." She looked out her window and saw a glint of orange deep in the forest. Smoke obscured some of the stars as the tell-tale flames blazed in the distance. Fluttershy gasped, "I have to tell Twilight and the others!" ROOOOAAAAAAARRRRRR! She gave a strained squeak and dove under the bed, shaking like a leaf in a storm. Angel grabbed her by the tail and started to drag her out. She was bawling and her body was wracked with fear. Angel quickly slapped the necklace resembling the Element of Kindness around her neck and pointed to the door. "You're right Angel. I have to go." She opened her window and took off into the night to warn her friends. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Princess Twilight Sparkle was enjoying a pleasant dream. At least her soft pleasureful humming and moaning indicated that it was pleasant. "Wait, Flash. Don't put that there. It's not supposed to go there. Oh!" She rolled over with a contented sigh. "You did that on purpose. Now I'm going to have to punish you." Fluttershy blushed as her she landed next to her sleeping friend. "Um, Twilight," she said in a voice barely above a whisper, "you need to wake up. There's sort of a situation. I mean, if that's alright with you." She continued to mumble to herself, but Twilight wouldn't budge. Suddenly, an owl fluttered down from a nearby shelf and hooted in the princess's ear. With a start Twilight jerked up and rubbed her eyes tiredly. "That jerk. Thanks to Flash, now I have to reshelve the whole section." Fluttershy cleared her throat and Twilight finally noticed her friend standing at her bedside. "Fluttershy? What are you doing here this late at night?" Fluttershy quickly told Twilight about the explosions and the roar that she heard. She also told her about the fire that was burning deep in the Everfree Forest. Twilight bounded out of her bed and rushed over to a desk on the other side of the room. Using her magic she opened a drawer and pulled out five scrolls. "I'm glad I made this for just such an occasion. Spike! Wake up!" The purple dragon merely grumbled incoherently and continued sleeping. Twilight marched over to his wicker bed and ripped away his blanket with a gust from her wings. He shivered, but only dug deeper into the cushion. Groaning in frustration, she used her hoof to flip him over and started tapping on his chest. He still wouldn't budge. With an exasperated growl she gave him an especially rough poke and was rewarded with a jet of green flames spouting from his mouth. "Not what I had in mind, but I'll take what I can get." She prodded him again and again and sent four out of the five scrolls. But when she prodded him to send the final scroll, the flames shot out from the junction where his tail met his body. "Ewww, Spike that's gross!" She still managed to send the scroll, even if it was a bit unorthodox. Fluttershy gasped as one of the scrolls materialized in front of her and chirped in a high pitched voice, "Emergency! Emergency! Come to the library! Quickly! Emergency! Emergency!" Despite the dire message, she couldn't help but laugh at it. She opened the scroll and it disappeared with a small pop. "Twilight, those scrolls are adorable." "You wouldn't think so if you didn't open it right away." "Oh, um, what happens?" Twilight shook her head as the pair descended downstairs to open the library. "I'm sure we are going to hear all about it." About ten minutes later all six ponies were gathered in the library. Applejack and Pinkie didn't seem to be affected by the one AM wake-up, but Rarity and Rainbow Dash barely even looked conscious. Rarity mumbled something about beauty sleep and her room smelling like a bean burrito. Rainbow growled angrily at Twilight, "What's the big idea waking me up with an air raid siren! You could have used something more subtle!" Applejack cut in, "Probly 'cause ya snore louder'n a full grown dragon." Spike murmured, "I resent that," from his new spot on the couch. Twilight flared her wings to get everypony's attention. "Girl's, we have a situation here. Fluttershy described some pretty horrific things going on in the Everfree Forest. As the Elements of Harmony it is our duty to investigate. Especially since Zecora may be in trouble. I can't teleport all of us there at once, so it would be faster to fly. Fluttershy, you carry Rarity since she's the lightest. I'll carry Pinkie Pie that way we can coordinate movements if something triggers her Pinkie Sense. Rainbow Dash, you carry Applejack." "How come I have to carry the heavy workhorse?" Pinkie bounded over to Rainbow and pulled a candy bar out of her poofy mane. "Rainbow, eat a Nickers." Rainbow glared at her friend and swiped the candy out of her hooves. "Why?" "Because you become a grumpy-mcgrumpypants when you're hungry." Despite the early hour she still managed to beam at her prismatic maned friend. Rainbow wolfed down the candy and Pinkie expectantly asked, "Better?" "Better. OK, team! We have a job to do! Let's go save Zecora!" All six ponies filed out of the library. When they were outside, they paired up as Twilight suggested and flew off into the night. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Patchwork led Dinky deep into the Everfree Forest. Only the light from the moon allowed her to see the surrounding trees. Even so, they were clustered so thickly that she could only see a few paces in front of her. "Uh oh. Master is in trouble." For the first time that night, her chipper tone was replaced by deadly seriousness. "What do you mean trouble? Where is he?" "Master is fighting, and I think he's losing. That way!" She pointed in the same direction they were traveling, but Dinky ran through the forest with renewed fervor. She shot through the dark forest with all the fear and determination that a young filly could possibly feel. Her friend was in danger, and that was all she cared about. A bright orange glow shimmered through the trees and Dinky barreled her way towards it. Suddenly Patchwork whispered urgently in her ear, "Stop!" Dinky dug her hooves into the ground and waited for the doll to explain. "Whoever Master is fighting is very strong. We don't want him to notice us." Dinky nodded her understanding and crept stealthily toward the orange glow of flames. Soon she saw the carnage that the two combatants had wrought upon the once lush landscape. All the plant life was either burned or wilting from the smoke. Even the Poison Joke was looking green and sickly. There were craters pounded into the ground, silver spikes shoved through the ground and trees, a massive gouge in the earth where several trees were uprooted, and an outrageous amount of broken wood scattered everywhere. In the midst of this chaos stood the two fighters. Finn was holding his signature top hat like a miniature cannon, and smoke was poring out over the brim. Sweat drenched his brow, making his hair hang limply down his neck. He suffered from a few burns, but he seemed to be suffering from exhaustion more than anything. His opponent was the second strangest creature that Dinky had ever laid eyes on. The first was obviously Discord, but this stallion had a unicorn's horn, massive dragon wings, and snake fangs. His eyes glinted in the firelight and Dinky could tell even at this distance that they were two different colors. One of his wings hung limply at his side and blood streamed steadily down his right foreleg. Unlike Finn, his stamina seemed to be holding much better. "I have to give you credit Finishing Touch. You are a much stronger opponent than I had anticipated. I think I'll even tell you my name before I kill you. So that you can spread it throughout the Underworld. Many more will follow at my hooves and you will know that you were the first. The one that started it all." Finn panted heavily, "I... don't care... what you name... is. I want to know... why you want... the amulet." "I guess you've earned a bit of information. It won't do you any good anyway. My compatriots and I only want one thing. We want the end of the world. This harmonious existence that Celestia maintains is utterly boring. Whatever happened to the good old 'fight-or-die' 'survival-of-the-fittest' mentality? Yawn! So we want to stir things up; make the world a little more interesting. That's why we want the amulet to awaken the Firstborn Dragon, Tyrgmott." Finn gaped and dropped his hat in shock. "So you understand? That's right, with the greatest and oldest dragon empowered by the Alicorn Amulet, his power would be unrivaled even by those so called goddesses." "But the amulet would corrupt even the mind of the Great Drake! Surely you wouldn't survive either!" The stranger bore a sadistic grin and his eyes flashed crazily in the firelight. "Probably not, but the fireworks will be spectacular. And now it is your turn to go out in a glorious bloody flash." He bowed his head and channeled the magic into his horn. Finn took the momentary reprieve to throw a pair of dice at his opponent. The ivory cubes morphed into one large translucent die and swallowed the creepy reptilian pony, encasing him in a magical cage. The stranger smirked, "Too bad, snake eyes." Dinky watched their fight from her spot just outside the clearing. She had no idea what the two were talking about. Something about a dragon, and an amulet, maybe something about the end of the world. It made her head hurt just thinking about it, but she saw the silver spike rising slowly behind Finn's back. She screamed, "Finn, behind you!" Three things happened at once. First, the stranger broke his concentration, giving Finn the chance to roll out of the way of the spike. Second, Finn's roll broke his concentration, causing the cage around the stranger to shatter. Thirdly, Patchwork face-hoofed in shame. The strange stallion chuckled, "Oh ho ho, now this is a surprise. Looks like we have an audience!" He disappeared in a flash and grabbed Dinky in his remaining wing. He flashed back into the battered clearing and started taunting Finn. "Now who is this pretty little filly? I think she likes you, Finishing Touch. Oh she looks good enough to eat." He arched his neck and opened his jaws as if to take a bite, then slowly lowered his fangs to rest on Dinky's neck. "Let her go! She's just a filly and she has nothing to do with this!" "I beg to differ. She knows you, she saw our fight, and she has seen me. How much more involved can she be?" Finn's eyes flashed with anger and he bared his teeth maliciously. His voice was level, but he accentuated every word with all the venom he could muster. "Let. Her. Go." The stranger flippantly mocked, "How. About. No." Finn was set to charge at his foe when they both heard a sound approaching from the sky. Three sets of wings beat against the night sky as the Elements of Harmony landed amidst the carnage wrought by the two combatants. Pinkie Pie was shivering uncontrollably and it was a miracle that Twilight was even able to keep her grip on the party pony. "Be careful girls, Pinkie has been getting a doozy ever since we entered the forest." She immediately spotted the two fighters staring each other down. Finn held a grim expression that was totally unlike his usually whimsical self. The other pony...well...could hardly be called a pony at all, but his face was locked in a sadistic grin. "Alright, what's going on here?" The stranger pulled his fangs away from Dinky's neck and regarded Twilight with cold disinterest. "I'm simply redecorating this section of the forest. A few less trees, a few more holes, a towering inferno, spikes everywhere, a few splatters of blood. It's avant garde, no?" Twilight was about to respond when she noticed a black fog oozing from under the strange stallion. He noticed it too and remarked offhoofedly, "Dear me. It looks like my time is up, but at least I got what I came for. I also get this delicious little treat." The fog was slowly rising to cover his body, only his head, shoulders and wings were still visible. "You better not hurt her!" "Relax, Finishing Touch. I won't harm a hair on her mane. I do think she would make a lovely addition to our little family though. The Apocalypse Corps is always looking for new members." The fog had rolled up higher to cover his entire body. All that was visible were his eyes. "By the way, I think now you will want to know my name. I'm not rightly in the mood to give it though, so you can just call me Zero." His eyes faded into the fog. A breeze blew through the clearing and the fog dissipated, with no sign of Zero...and no sign of Dinky.