Psychopaths wearing masks make for excellent friends
It was said that a shower made everything better, but this was not the case for Chartreuse. It was almost the noontime hour and she was exhausted, almost dead on her hooves. Her throat was sore, her voice scratchy, and her ears were still ringing from the endless roar of the gathered crowd. The clopping of hooves against a crystal walkway hadn’t helped much either.
Dripping wet, Chartreuse pressed the big insulated button for the wall-mounted dryer and braced herself for the hot wind in her face. With a whoosh, the dryer came to life, and this one was powerful. It wasn’t some old rickety thing that had been repaired too many times. Her lips peeled back from her teeth and her cheeks flapped like a windsock. It was hot and cold at the same time, the hot air from the dryer becoming quite chilly as it caused the water on her body to evapourate.
Lifting her head high, her neck going ramrod straight, Chartreuse did what any girl beginning the vulnerable, life changing journey of puberty would do in this situation: look majestic as fronk. She made supermodel poses while her face flapped and rippled in the wind. In the mirror, she could see herself, and what she saw made her laugh. The silly filly in the mirror made her feel better than the shower did, and it felt good to let her playful side run free, even if only for a few moments.
Being a supermodel was not enough, and Chartreuse began to sing: “A scientific theory, isn't just a hunch or guess… it's more like a question, that's been put through a lot of tests…”
“You are such a dork—”
Startled, Chartreuse let out a shrill somewhat screamy shriek while she stood transfixed with fear in the bathroom door. She saw a pony wearing a weird mask, and that didn’t help to calm her over-excited filly fears, so she shrieked again, this time a little louder, all while thinking about psycho axe murderers that wore masks while they chopped up little fillies for stew. Having read a book about tentacle horrors wasn’t helping much either.
“I had to put on a welding mask to protect me from your grossly fluorescent glow and now I need earplugs!”
Chartreuse’s terrified shriek trailed off with a squeal and she stood there, blinking.
“Twilight Sparkle has a rival—”
“You scared me!” Heart now racing, Chartreuse now felt quite invigourated, like she could go out and run a few miles. Her body was now jittering and jerking from the sudden flood of adrenalines.
“—to her position as Princess Dorkula, the High Dork of Dorkdom.”
“What are you wearing?” Chartreuse demanded, and her voice was shrill with terror.
“A welding mask,” Dim replied in a nonchalant manner. “It isn’t helping as much as I thought it would. Now, we must get you prepared for what is to come—”
“Prepared?” Blinking, Chartreuse made a desperate effort to catch up to what was going on.
Heaving a sigh of exasperation that was muffled by his heavy mask, Dim shook his head from side to side. “Emperor Shining Armor is holding court in his office this afternoon. You are going to be there. If you show up looking like a disgusting primitive, you are going to embarrass yourself.”
“Disgusting primitive?”
“Ugh, so taxing! So taxing! And Cadance wonders why things catch on fire around me!”
“I’m sorry.” Trying to look as meek as possible, Chartreuse moved out of the doorway, pulled the door shut behind her, and tried to recover her senses.
“Shining Armor is going to make a decision this afternoon,” Dim explained, and his voice had an eerie quality to it because of the heavy, almost insectoid looking welding mask. “This is a formal function. You are petitioning to become his apprentice, and so you need to look the part. If you show up looking like you do now, you don’t stand a chance.”
“Oh, I—”
“Are a foolish filly that is woefully unprepared for a life in service to the court.”
“—didn’t bring any nice clothes.” Feeling crushed, her ears sagged so much they came to rest against the sides of her face.
“When ponies look at Sunburst and I, they see us and they know what we are. We look the part. I am Dim, Der graue Zauberer, Archmage of Empress Cadance, and I turn her enemies into a fine gas that is released into the atmosphere.”
“Eww!”
Taking a moment, the scary wizard began to adjust his grey cloak, and for the first time, Chartreuse noticed the faint silver stars embroidered in the grey fabric. They were almost impossible to see, but upon seeing them, she felt a sense of accomplishment. Dim wasn’t just some pony wearing a grey cloak, as she had first thought, these were his robes of office, in a manner of speaking.
The frustration of the morning began leaking out, and with the realisation that she had not come to this place as well prepared as she had thought, it started to be just a little too much for her. It had never even occurred to her that Shining might’ve refused her, and now, she was going to appear in a formal meeting—with nothing to appear formal in.
The sniffles hit, and hit hard. Her pink eyes went glassy with tears, and each breath became a struggle. She didn’t want to cry, and crying in front of one of the court wizards of the Crystal Empire made everything even worse. Everything piled up; she missed her mother, her father, she missed Rarity and Sassy. She missed her friends from school, what few she had.
Being a silly filly, she had come to the Crystal Empire to make a fool of herself.
“Cease your face leaking this instant!” Dim commanded.
“I c-c-c-can’t!” The fact that she couldn’t cease her face leaking made the face leaking worse. Sniffling, tears rolling down her cheeks, Chartreuse made her retreat, and she headed for the tiny bedroom, as that was her only option for refuge.
There was a flash and then the Great and Terrible Dim was in front of her, no doubt glowering down at her from behind his mask. She tried sidestepping him, but to no avail. There seemed to be no helping it, she was stuck weeping in front of him, and the floodgates opened.
“There is a box upon the table,” Dim said, and his voice was a dreadful deadpan whisper. “I suggest you examine the contents of said box. Your future depends upon it. Right now, Sunburst is providing special council to Shining Armor. This is how things work in the Crystal Empire. Shining Armor makes an assessment of a situation, and then he gives his reserved, cautious opinion about it. He then trusts his advisors to help him make a better decision.”
Chartreuse pulled off her glasses with her magic, and then, reaching up with one foreleg, she wiped her eyes. She returned her spectacles to their proper place, and then, turning her head, she saw that there was, indeed, a box upon the table that she had failed to notice when she had first entered the room.
“My wife, she sews.” Dim’s casual remark made the sobbing filly’s ears twitch. “Blackbird and I… we have endured much. Each of us deals with what has happened in our own way. I obsessively fixate upon my daughter and her happiness. It gives me the strength to go on, to get better, to be better. Blackbird, she sews and she cross stitches and embroiders. It keeps the terror away. And when she threatens me with a pin, it keeps me away.”
There was a disgusting snorgling sound as Chartreuse tried to clear her nostrils with a few powerful inhales. It was the sort of sound that only an adolescent filly could make—and then ignore—acting as if nothing nauseating or stomach churning had just happened.
It was as if she was compelled by some invisible force and she found herself pulled towards the table. Hope flickered, a tiny, meaningful flame, and it burned deep within her breast. A few more tears fell, and her eyes still stung from the pressure. The box was cardboard, brown, and somewhat battered. It wasn’t a new box, but rather, it looked like an old box salvaged from a dress shop.
Almost holding her breath, she lifted the lid from the box with her magic.
She saw a rippling, shifting blue, and having worked for Rarity all these years, she knew the fabric right away. This was nacré velvet, and the way it was made caused a rippling, iridescent effect for the viewer, like dragonfly wings. The electric blue colours seemed alive, they dazzled her eyes, and she stood staring into the box with her mouth hanging open.
“The filly must put on her robe and wizard hat if she is to become what she is meant to be…”
The touch of Dim’s magic against her scalp made Chartreuse feel tingles all over. Shivering, almost giggling, she was a different filly than she had been not even a half-an-hour ago. The wild mess of her mane was swept up in a whirlwind of magic, and then the long curly mess became two long braids that came to rest just behind her ears. Two black ribbons secured the ends, and all of this was done in a matter of mere seconds.
The door flew open, hit the doorstopper with a thump, and a frantic pink filly came spilling into the room. It wasn’t Skyla, but Flurry, and she looked rather harried. “He’s not going to hold court in his office,” she reported, breathless. “He’s changed venues—”
“Throne room?” Dim asked.
Flurry nodded. “Throne room!”
“This changes nothing!” Dim’s voice was almost thunderous in the close confines of the cosy study, and both fillies flinched from the sound. “Chartreuse, a game is being played. Shining Armor is no fool… he has purposefully exhausted you with his careful maneuverings, and now you are tired, worn out, and emotional. You must pull yourself together, right now!”
“What about lunch?” she asked, thinking of the first thing that would come to any adolescent filly’s mind in a crisis.
“I don’t think he’s going to give you time,” Flurry said. Her face took on a sternness that belied her age. “Duty takes precedence sometimes. It is best that you learn that now. By the way, you have spots on your glasses. Fix those, or you are doomed.”
“For just having spots on my glasses?” she asked.
“Yes!” both Flurry and Dim replied together.
“What am I getting myself into?”
At this, Dim made no response, but mad laughter spilled from his lips. Flurry too, had a somewhat crazed, manic expression, and her eyes had a dreadful glow of merriment to them. Once more, it occurred to Chartreuse that she didn’t know what she was doing, and she was, indeed, as Dim had said, woefully unprepared for this. With a bit of frantic magic, she cleaned her glasses, and then double-checked to make sure that she didn’t miss anything.
“Daddy doesn’t go soft on ponies,” Flurry said as she moved over to inspect Chartreuse. “He favours the winepress approach. Crush them, bleed them out, and then let them age in the right conditions. He says it better than I can, but that’s the gist of it. Daddy shows his love by the continual application of pressure.”
A bead of sweat manifested upon Chartreuse’s temple, and rolled down into the corner of her eye, causing her to blink. It stung, and try as she might, she couldn’t blink the pain away. The tingle of Dim’s magic fell upon her once more, and the stinging irritant was no more. She started to say something, but her mouth went dry, and all that came out was a squeak.
Scowling while also chewing upon her lip, Flurry Heart lifted up Chartreuse’s new hat. The nacré velvet rippled and seemed to swirl in the light. It was conical, but brimless, a soft, somewhat floppy design. With a look of critical concentration, Flurry jammed it down on top of Chartreuse’s head, and then began to move it around, trying to find the best angle. With a few ear tweaks, the hat settled on Chartreuse’s crown, and then Flurry pulled away, looking satisfied.
“The braids are a nice touch, Dim,” Flurry remarked.
“I am told I have a talent—”
“Yes you do,” Flurry said in a warm, supportive voice. “And what a precious talent it is. Nothing dies when you use that one. You could become a mane stylist, and the world would be better for it.”
“Your sarcasm is being graded, filly,” Dim deadpanned. “I am not impressed.”
Squinting, Flurry blew a raspberry at Dim, and his reaction could not be seen, as he was still wearing the welding mask. Chartreuse was baffled by the exchange taking place, but could only guess that Dim was Flurry’s tutor. Panicked, excited, hopeful, terrified, Chartreuse was a stew of emotions, and just as she was about to say something to the ponies in the room with her—
Sunburst entered the still open door, looking solemn and reserved. “It is time…”
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Ho. Lee. Cow. Dim has a soft side. Good job, Blackbird. I'm sure this is your doing.
Dim is such a hoot in this!
Pull it together Chartreuse, you can do it!
Another great, if too short, chapter. But how otherwise would you keep us on tenterhooks?
My Google-Fu is weak. Source?
This whole time, I keep covering Dim’s face to hide something...
8301762
They Might Be Giants.
I dawwed and squeed way too much this chapter. I want to see more Daddy Dim
Dim: Call me that again you filthy primitive, and I'll boil your eyeballs.
I'm sorry Daddy Dim... NO DADDY NO!
Such a nice chapter.. You have as someone said Daddy Dim but you can also Dim Dark peeking out that pony whose very name makes people think twice before they get his personal attention.
Though I think the cape and hat might be dual purpose to Dim. Not only should they impress Shining Armour but they also help cover the eye blinding pony that will be someone Dim sees daily
I still like Dim.
And I think an apprentice can be good for Shining, you learn more form explaining things than from just learning. Explaining shows where your knowledge is not perfect. It will make you look for the correct answers.
And I think it is good for the foals to, to have someone more there age around.
Oh, wow. Chartreuse coat, cerulean mane, (presumably) bright pink eyes and now an iridescent electric blue cape? How many fluorescent colours can be fit on just one filly?
Her enemies will flee upon sighting her for the sake of their retinas. Difficult to maintain the right mood lighting for shady doings and such when a walking highlighter can just trot along and set fire to everything.
8301851
Dim’s hidden agenda is to keep her in the light.
8301763 Some sort of scar?
8301763
8301874
A dueling scar, Blofeld style.
Fucking hell Dim. It can't be that bright. Damn bastard can still see shit with that damn thing on can't he?
8301763
8301874
A scar would be the obvious answer, but not really surprising given we already know he's going to be adventuring and fighting for some time before settling in the Crystal Empire, so I doubt it's enough to merit special attention, even something as significant as a missing eye or similar injury.
So something with significant implication just from seeing it. My wild guess is something to do with his heterochromia, due to the links that are occasionally drawn between the trait and magic (Shēdo's undeveloped Spirit Sight springs to mind, as does the Dark's emphasis on their unusual traits, including heterochromia), but that's just a wild guess.
8301763
Maybe he is a handsome devil and anything warm (and even some cold) blooded beings want him.
Damn. I thought the psychopath in a mask would be Flicker Nicker
Ya know? I kinda want to see how you write a story about a pony that tries to do what this filly is trying to become, but fails utterly and completely, and how that character deals with a broken dream.
Ya know? I kinda want to see how you write a story about a pony that tries to do what this filly is trying to become, but fails utterly and completely, and how that character deals with a broken dream.
That's a pretty nice robe and wizard hat.
There's a lot more doom involved in all this than I would have otherwise expected.
Eew
Holy shit Kudzu, what are you doing to that poor filly? Geeze...
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could be any of his guild to be frank, if it were lord death though there'd be less humour and more floor wetting terror
Sick burn, Dim.