//------------------------------// // Chapter 1: Brand New Day // Story: Dr. Adorable: The Nightmare's Real // by asmariamoon //------------------------------// Dr. Adorable: The Nightmare's Real By Asmaria Moon Chapter 1 Brand New Day Six months had passed since the day of Rainbow's death, and still, not a day went by that Fluttershy didn't wake up in tears. She tried to feel nothing, she really did, but emotions still managed to sneak past her cold facade. She had "obtained" Rainbow's corpse from the morgue months ago, and now it was under a time-locked state via the new and improved Freeze Ray. It would stay that way until her latest and possibly greatest plan was completed. Fluttershy thought it all over in her head once more as she strolled through the town square. No labcoat and goggles this time, after all, she didn't want Dr. Adorable to be seen buying a box of cupcakes and suddenly lose her reputation as a villain. And without Captain Clamor, who had been seeing a therapist ever since the incident that had earned Dr. Adorable a seat in the Evil League of Evil, there was no one who could stop her from executing her masterful plan. No one who could stand in her way, no one who could make her look like a fool, no one who could throw a chariot at her hea... Fluttershy barely ducked in time as a chariot sailed straight through the air where her head had been just a fraction of a second earlier. She looked over to where the vehicle had come from, and saw... "Captain Clamor?" "That's right, dweeb." Captain Clamor said, striking a heroic pose. "I'd like to thank you, Doctor. These last six months have been really eye-opening for me. I realize now that I was being much too lax with my poundings of you, I was doing it just for the hell of it, not for any sort of justice or world peace. Well, no more!" Captain Clamor said, flying over to Fluttershy and grabbing her in a headlock. "Now, when I pound you, it's not just because I like doing it - which I do, but that's not the only reason - it's because I'm devoted to making the world a better place for ponies to live in. Nice, good, Celestia-fearing citizens don't deserve to be terrorized by the likes of you." Captain Clamor said, drawing a taloned fist back in preparation for a punch. Fluttershy was prepared for this, though, and sank a little into Clamor's hold so that she could bite down on the arm wrapped around her neck. Captain Clamor let out a scream and her grip weakened, and Fluttershy easily slipped free of her headlock. "So you want these ponies to only worry about being terrorized by the likes of you, huh? Well, too bad, because I've got some new tricks up my sleeve, and I'm not gonna let you make a fool of me any more, Captain Clamor!" Fluttershy exclaimed. "Yeah? Well, you're not the only one with new tricks. Catch you later, dweeb." Captain Clamor said, flying off. Fluttershy continued toward Sugarcube Corner, her head held high. Captain Clamor was apparently done with her therapy, and was even more high-and-mighty than before, but Fluttershy wasn't going to let that ruin her day, and she definitely wouldn't let it ruin her plans. She would succeed. She had sworn it on Rainbow's headstone. "Hi, Fluttershy!" Pinkie Pie exclaimed as Fluttershy walked into Sugarcube Corner. The bouncy pink pony was currently working the register of the sweets shop, but she didn't have any customers to serve right now. "What can I get for you?" she asked as Fluttershy took a place on the other side of the counter. "Hello, Pinkie. I'd like a box of your cupcakes, please, the ones with the delicious pink frosting." Fluttershy said, smiling. "One box of the Sugarcube Special, coming right up!" Pinkie said as she opened the register. "That'll be 10 bits." she said. Fluttershy reached back toward her saddlebags with her mouth, and pulled out a sack of bits, placing it on the counter. Pinkie took the sack by the bottom and poured the bits inside into the register, counting them to herself as they fell out, then tossed the sack back to Fluttershy, who caught it and put it back in her saddlebags. "Oh, Fluttershy, did you hear? The Element Of Loyalty was passed on to another pony this morning." Pinkie said. Loyalty. That was Rainbow's Element. Even the strongest magic known to ponykind was working against her, transferring to another pony before she had time to put her plan into action. A small tear formed at the very edge of Fluttershy's eye. "Really? Who?" Fluttershy asked, trying to hide her emotions behind conversation. "Scootaloo! She always wanted to follow in Dashie's footsteps, well, now she can!" Pinkie said excitedly, before looking over to see that Fluttershy was unable to stop the tears falling from her eyes. "Oh, I'm really sorry, Fluttershy, I so didn't mean to make you all sad and stuff. You're still upset about what happened to Dashie, aren't you?" Pinkie asked. Fluttershy only nodded her head in response, trying to stop sniffling and dry her tears with a hoof. "Don't worry, Fluttershy, you'll get that mean old meanie pants Gilda. After all, you're Dr. Adorable! There's nothing that can stop you once you get going, not even Captain Clamor." Pinkie whispered, coming over to the customer side of the counter and patting Fluttershy's shoulder softly. Fluttershy began to calm down thanks to Pinkie's kind words. Then she realized something. "Wait... what makes you think I'm Dr. Adorable? What makes you think Gilda is Captain Clamor?" Fluttershy asked in a hushed voice, afraid someone would overhear her. "I have my sources." Pinkie stated plainly. "Besides, it's not like it's that hard to figure out. Like, duh, there's only one pony with your pretty mane in all of Ponyville, and that's you! And there's only one gryphon that's even visited Ponyville before, and that's Gilda!" Pinkie said, a little too loud for Fluttershy's liking. The yellow pegasus looked around the sweets shop to see if anypony had overheard them, but apparently they were all too busy with their various snacks to bother watching the two friends talking. "Pinkie, I know it may be obvious to you, but do you think you can keep it a secret from everypony else? If ponies knew that I was actually Dr. Adorable, then Celestia's Royal Guards would have me in their custody before I could say Wonderflonium." Fluttershy whispered. "Of course I can keep it a secret, Fluttershy. I Pinkie Promise." Pinkie whispered back, drawing an X over her heart with one forehoof, then flapping both forehooves at her sides, and lastly, placing one hoof over a closed eye. "Thank you, Pinkie." Fluttershy whispered. Mrs. Cake stepped out of the kitchen, carrying a plain white box by a piece of string wrapped around it. "Fluttershy, your cupcakes are done." she said, placing the box on the counter. "Oh, thank you, Mrs. Cake. I'll see you later, Pinkie." Fluttershy said before grabbing the box in her mouth by the same piece of string, and making her way to the door. Later, Dr. Adorable stood at her chalkboard, going over the things she'd need in order to make her plan work. The one thing she didn't have was the most important ingredient, and the one that would be hardest to get. It was a rare kind of orange topaz. But not just any topaz. She needed one that resonated at a very specific frequency of 1.21 gigahertz, and there was only one type of topaz known to do so, the Dawn Topaz. And Dawn Topaz was extremely rare, so rare in fact, that there were only ten of them that had been found in all of Equestria. And all ten had been used to make the same horribly gaudy necklace for Princess Celestia. And that necklace was currently locked away in a safe, which was protected by at least three Wonderbolts at all times. That's why you never saw all of the Wonderbolts at a single event, because there were always three to six that stayed behind to guard the safe. "Hey, Doc." Drippy said as she entered the laboratory, carrying a rather large package which seemed to have small air holes poked in it near the top. "Oh, hello, Drippy. What's that?" Dr. Adorable asked, pointing a hoof at the large box. "Dunno. Something from the ELE." Drippy said, dropping the package softly on the ground. She had learned the importance of being careful with packages after she had accidentally broken an entire box of motherboards Dr. Adorable had ordered a few months back. Dr. Adorable looked at the package and found a letter attached to the top, which was sopping wet with Drippy's drool. She shrugged and opened the letter. "Bad Horse! Bad Horse! Bad Horse! Bad Horse!" the three cowponies that rarely showed up unless Dr. Adorable received a message from the ELE sang. "Your performance in the League so far has been beyond compare. We must say that you have been an outstanding mare. So it's with our fondest regards that we send this to your care. A henchpony, all brand and new, to add to Drippy serving you. Bad Horse! Bad Horse! Bad Horse! He's bad! This filly's name is Twist, and we're sure why will become clear. Her talents include twisting things to what ponies fear. And thus, we feel that you will be glad just to have her near. That's all for now, we've run our course, enjoy your filly, signed, Bad Horse!" the cowponies sang before disappearing off to... wherever they went when they weren't singing Bad Horse's messages. "A... filly?" Dr. Adorable asked, looking curiously at the package in front of her. She pulled the string tying the box closed loose, and opened the box to see a pale cream-colored filly with a curly red mane and a large pair of purple glasses. Her cutie mark was a pair of candy canes in the shape of a heart. As soon as the box was open, the filly hopped out and into Dr. Adorable's lab. "Hi!" she exclaimed. "I'm Twith! You muth be Dr. Adorable! I'll be your neweth henthpony!" Twist said, "Ummm... hello, Twith..." Dr. Adorable started before she was cut off. "It's Twith! Tee-doubleyou-eye-eth-tee! I thwear, thometimeth I hate my lithp." Twist said. "Oh, I'm sorry, Twist. I didn't know." Dr. Adorable said. "Well maybe you need to pay more attenthion! It wath in the letter!" Twist responded, turning her rather round nose up. "Hey, I thought you were supposed to be my henchpony. Real henchponies don't talk back to their bosses, do they, Drippy?" Dr. Adorable asked. "They sure don't, Doc." Drippy responded. "I'm sorry... umm... both. I've never been a henthpony before. It won't happen again." Twist said. "Please, call me Dr. Adorable, or Miss Fluttershy when I'm not dressed like this. Can't have ponies knowing my secret identity." Dr. Adorable said. "Okay, Dr. Adorable." Twist said. "Allow me to introduce you to Rainbow Dash." Dr. Adorable said, pointing a booted hoof at the holding tank that Rainbow currently took up residence in. "The Rainbow Dath? The one that Captain Clamor killed? Ithn't the, like, dead?" Twist asked. "Not for long, my little henchpony. Soon, my plan will be complete, and she will live again." Dr. Adorable said, smiling. "And when she does, we will be unstoppable!" she added. "Bringing ponieth back from the dead? Ithn't that necromanthy? That'th not pothible!" Twist exclaimed. "It's not necromancy when it's not magic. I like to call what I'm doing necrology. The science of the dead. Not everything in this world is run by magic, Twist. There are a great many developments that we have made, completely without the use of magic. Phonographs, cameras, moving pictures, all created without any magic at all. A new age is coming. The age of the scientific revolution. Every day. ponies gain a deeper understanding of the world around us. Every day, we learn new things about not just how the world works, but why it works that specific way. We understand more about the pony body than we ever have before, and I plan to use all the things we've learned and catapult us into this new age, where we won't have to suffer and hurt because those closest to us no longer live." Dr. Adorable said. "Wow!" Twist said, staring up at the yellow mare with wide eyes. "I only need one last piece of the puzzle before my device will be ready." Dr. Adorable said, yanking a white sheet off the blackboard it was covering. Twist looked at the drawings on the board quizzically. "Ith that..." the filly began. "Yes. The Necklace Of Dawn. The only 10 known Dawn Topaz stones were all used to create this horrid thing. I only need one to bring dead bodies back to life, but with more, we can modify the Life Ray to do more to the corpses than just that." Dr. Adorable said. "Like what?" Twist asked. "Oh, no. I barely even trust myself with all the details." Dr. Adorable said, shaking a forehoof at the filly. "But how are you going to get it? It'th guarded conthantly by the Wonderbolth. Everypony knowth that." Twist said. "Yes, well, it's a good thing that I just happen to know not just any Wonderbolt, but their captain, Spitfire. And Rainbow was one of her biggest fans." Dr. Adorable explained. "Tho what ekthactly is our plan?" Twist asked. "Well, Spitfire was a great friend of Rainbow's. So all we need to do is tell her about our plan, she's certain to go along with it. Once we have her on our side, getting into the vault should be simple." Dr. Adorable answered. "And what if the doethn't agree?" Twist asked. "I have other ways of convincing her." Dr. Adorable said, pulling out her repaired and redesigned Death Ray from beneath her red labcoat. Meanwhile, in a building built into the tops of a cluster of trees in the Whitetail Wood on the opposite side of Ponyville from Fluttershy's cottage and the basement she'd turned into Dr. Adorable's laboratory, a single gryphon paced back and forth in her own secret base. "Dr. Adorable got the best of me in town today. She had the element of surprise, but that's not going to happen again." Captain Clamor said. She flew across the room and grabbed the pony standing there, the blue mare struggling in the gryphon's tight grip around her neck. "Is it, my sidekick?" The mare gasped for breath as Clamor finally released her. "Of course not, Captain Clamor. The Great and Pow..." she started before Captain Clamor clenched her claws around the mare's neck again. "What did I tell you about that?" Captain Clamor asked. "Sorry, Captain." the mare said, and the gryphon released her again. "The Trickster will not let Dr. Adorable take advantage of your weaknesses again." the mare finished. "Weaknesses? I have no weaknesses." Captain Clamor said, holding her head high. "Of course not." The Trickster said, trying to hold back her sarcasm. Author's note: Well, here it is, the first chapter. Sorry for the long wait, I was kind of stuck for a bit. So here we catch our first glimpses of Dr. Adorable's plan. We also catch the slightest of looks into Captain Clamor's base. Hmmm... I wonder who in Equestria this mysterious Trix... I mean, Trickster mare could be. It most certainly couldn't be a certain magical showmare... could it?