Madness by the Cup

by Mad Hatter

The Twin Fires Burn

The next step was rebuilding the assistant-to-be. A solid week it took him, fueled almost entirely by the chemical concoction, as he stopped bothering to eat after the third day, and hadn't even tried to sleep. The only thing left was to install a few safety features; parts kept in boxes on a shelf. He scanned over them. I'll take care of those later. Looking at the calendar, he noticed that he was late for A delivery on the second day. But he was so close! I'll make sure to send a note of apology with the order. The third and fourth day came and went as he obsessed over the implications of this invention's success. Another appointment missed. Buck it. As he finished the base model, he pored over the useful parts of the books again as his mind began to fray.

He scribbled plans so hastily they were indecipherable, but they were there to keep focus. Another cup of the stuff as he lit the fire of a forge in the corner. Now beyond stopping, and possibly sanity, he grabbed sheets of scrap from a pile in the corner, and worked them into a facsimile of a unicorn's horn. Now for the focus! Where do I.... Oh no, not now! he frantically looked around, but there was nothing even close to what he wanted in the shop. The rest of the sleepless night was spent writing largely meaningless plans, spaced in between several pages about how to cut a gem for performance in terms of light refraction, the closest thing he could think of, as this story was hundreds of years old.

The next sunrise, still sleepless and hopped up on the special brew, Java ran to the library. This Twilight Sparkle's the preeminent researcher on just about everything, she'll know! He paced furiously near the door until the library itself was opened. About an hour and a half earlier than usual actually, and that was after an earlier hour and a half of thought and pacing. “Can I help you?” inquired a still slightly sleepy Twilight, Spike at the rear, perhaps waiting for some kind of trouble from the troubled-looking pony at the door. “Blue diamonds.” he retorted quickly. “Where can I get them?”

“Well, Rarity usually has a lot of gemstones at her Carousel Boutique, but they're for clothing.”

“Close enough, thanks!”, and he bolted off towards the fasionista's abode.

This time the place was open proper, and he walked in hastily. “Welcome to the Carousel Bo... Oh my!” she nearly shrieked at the profoundly disheveled and increasingly scrawny pony staring bug-eyed at both her and the products on the walls. “We simply must do something with that mane dear!”

“No time, later! Do you happen to have any blue diamonds?” He inquired, eyes constantly surveying the surroundings.

“Well, yes, but all my stock is for dresses already ordered. I've had orders from all the way to Canterlot and Fillydelphia since the Grand Galloping Gala.” she beamed.

“Then where do you find them? I'll get some myself!” he shot back, almost at a snarl for the delay.

“N-now calm down dearie! I can't just give up trade secrets like that!” Worried, she began to step back. “I... I know of one place I won't go. But the diamond-” The sentence was cut off by the demands of it's location. “O-of course!” The location of a field she wouldn't go near was given. N-now please d-don't hurt me!” The last part was choked with the beginning of sobs also unheard as the verbal assailant was gone.

Fueled by the twin fires of the brew and truly vicious inspiration, Java arrived at the place. A snarl preceded his entrance. Just as he was finishing the decanter of brew (He'd brought several) it was knocked out of his hoof by a clawed paw. “Grrrand just what do you think you're doing on our turf?” snarled the apparent owner, a diamond dog - What Rarity was originally going to warn of. “Blue diamonds.” quickly but flatly stated the pony.

“Heeheehee, hey guys, this foal wants gems! Gems from us!” This was followed by a cacophony of howling laughter by the mangy mutts. This in turn was followed by a loud thud, as the first dog lay on the ground, jaw at an unnatural angle. A soft, gurgling whimper escaped it's lips to the shocked look of the others. Another jumped over the hill and charged. Java pulled a wrench from the tools in the work apron he'd been wearing since starting and swung. A loud crack. This one rolled ahead to land in front of a mound. This one was dead.

Zecora had warned him of overusing it. “Be very careful with this dust, moderation is a must.” He had used small amounts over time to stay up for days when need be, though it left him incredibly drained when it wore off. This time, however, he'd been slugging it back as if it were regular coffee. Far too much of it. This time, he was gone, and nothing would stand in the way.

“I don't have the time for this. Now!” he scowled at the few that had not retreated below. The reply came via a small cart loaded with gems. Not all of them were blue diamonds, but a few were, and he wasn't inclined to be picky. He took the goods and left as hastily as he'd arrived.

Back at the shop, he fitted a space in the center of the artificial horn and installed the gem. Re-heating the forge, he finished fitting the pieces together, along with a leather strap. It was almost complete. Soon he would have the ability to finish his work, and in turn the possibilities were endless! Grabbing a bundle of notes from the table, he darted off to the Everfree forest. Travel time alone today was significant over the demented errands, and it was night. Aware but effectively insane, he barreled into the foreboding place, occasionally glancing at the top note - a crude map of the forest. The closest thing to a road was the fastest method, and few creatures traversed it, outside of zap apple season's timber wolves. By this time his eyes were unable to blink, and the murk of the forest held an ever-closing haze. His movement was erratic at best, and the constant shaking scared smaller creatures from his path. His inability to clearly focus by this point helped him only to barrel into one of the larger creatures .

A cockatrice slithered up from the mud, but not before Java, who was already on unsteady hooves. It reared up to cast it's petrifying gaze, but even it faltered in the face of the bizzare energy of the virtually vibrating pony. Java didn't have time to study the beast as it was studying him. A pair of shears were slashed across the cockatrice's eyes, resulting in a screech that would give nightmares. Opening the tools proper Java quickly decapitated the thing. In a more rational frame of thought he would probably wonder if he could use this power to reinforce his shop's walls. Instead he left a twitching corpse.

The rickety bridge to the tower's ruins was the second worst of it, with several boards loosing at his charge. Beyond worrying about how he was going to get back, he placed the metallic horn on his head and stood in the middle. The weather reports were reliable, thanks to the pegasi working the town, and the clouds overhead portended the oncoming storm. He clumsily climbed to the top of a statue's remnants, fearlessly jumping onto the edge of the ruined parapet, the highest point. Mind buzzing with anticipation, he held his head high and waited for the bolt. The clouds did not dissapoint.