THE SMOOZE Pt2
THE SMOOZE
Part 2: A plan unfolds...
Simulacrum.
A device built to imitate a living being. They were a subject long banned by the magical community. Banned not only for ethical reasons, but also for reasons far more sinister. The earliest recorded Simulacrums were simple. They were puppets. Created by toy makers for foals to play with or watch. But as things often do, Simulacrums became more and more advanced as time continued to march onward. In Faust's time, one such Simulacrum was even nearly sapient, though not quite due to its simplicity. Later she found atrocious Simulacrums, sapient yet also twisted by the magic used in their creations.
In the end they could not be reasoned with, so she was forced to capture and then dismantle them all.
Over time, Simulacrums came to be seen as monsters. One such Simulacrum was from a story, it was called Frankensteed's monster. Another Simulacrum story, far more innocent in nature, was that of Ponnochio. These two stories, so vastly different from one another, sadly share a common root. The origin of this root is the stories told to foals when they were little. One particular tale to be exact. The tale of a Simulacrum most vile. The Tale of Bloody Mary.
She started out simple enough of course. She was built by her father to impress the king of the land. His earlier works, although grand marvels of their own, had never impressed him. The kindly old toymaker was certain that he was merely looking for something special from him. He knew not that the king merely despised his abilities. Despised that he was such a gifted pony in his craft. For how could a simple Earth Pony be so gifted, beyond any Unicorn in his land. He never knew that the King would never acknowledge him.
So he worked, unknowing of the fate that would befall him.
She was forged with love and care and devotion to his craft. The kindly old toymaker named his special creation 'Marionette'. A Spectra-Gem was used as a power-source so she could move around. She awoke to meet her father, and loved him on sight. She was pure and innocent, having nary a bad thought in her head. Her father taught her the basics of life after she was born. The most basic of which was 'fire bad' when she nearly burned her hoof. For she could not feel the heat of the flame, and so did not know otherwise.
When the time came that the jealous King ruined the poor old toymaker, Marionette tried to help her father. She tried to cheer him up, she tried to make him feel better. But his life was ruined. The people believed the King's word, that he was a fraud, and so his business fell to ruin. Marionette watched as her father faded and died. In the end, this caused something inside of Mary to break, to shatter and all that was left within her was an unending hatred for the wrong done to her loved one.
She took her revenge on the king in time. She stalked and watched him, like a predator hunting its prey. The sound of a music box haunted him, followed him, chased him in the night. Finally, Marionette took her revenge, she removed the kings horn, disfigured him, ripped out his vocal cords, and then left him out on the streets. As the life of her father was ruined, so too was the king's life taken from him. The king would die on those streets a month later, poor, forgotten, and utterly broken.
Yet this petty bit of revenge did not quench Marionette's thirst. Her hatred was too strong to be satisfied by the suffering of one lone pony. Her hate began to grow and change and desire more. A hate so pure and innocent that it was all the more cruel and unforgiving. Her hate was for those who hurt her father. For those who abandoned him when he needed their support. But most importantly, her hate was for everyone that had allowed him to die.
It was then that the age of 'Bloody Mary' truly began...
Long ago, there were tales of this particular Simulacrum that spread across the land. Ponies whispered in fear, Unicorn, Earth-Pony, and Pegasi alike. This fearful creature traveled the land like a plague. It's very name struck fear into the hearts of those who heard it. The idea of this thing walking around, that looked like a pony, yet wasn't, terrified them all. The sounds it made like a music box's lullaby became something to fear. The glow of its eyes in the dark something to watch for.
Yet the tales ended one lonely winter night. They say a mare was the one who stopped her. She was an alicorn, at least if the stories be true. Her coat white as the fallen snow, her main like autumn leaves, her eyes like the boundless sky. Beautiful yet somehow ethereal was how one storyteller described her. All others agree however, that the mare lured Mary into a ring of fire. The Simulacrum, still obeying her father, froze in place to stay away from it.
Then they vanished in a flash of light, and never again did Mary trouble Pony-kind.
As time marched on the stories would change. Time did what it always had, changing stories of a monster into simple faerie tales. Turning cautionary tales of a deranged beast into a boogeymare for foals. Turning the once fearsome name of Bloody Mary into naught but a memory. It is for this reason that so few know of Bloody Mary. It is for this reason, that she is left broken and forgotten by all. Time makes fools of us all, including Marionette.
The Smooze knew naught of such tales. Nor did it particularly care for them. All it knew was that it's mission was yet to be fulfilled. Its mission was simply the eradication of all the little Ponies. It would fulfill its chosen task despite any setbacks. It did not care that the ones who had summoned it were long dead. It did not care that the ponies it was to destroy were also long dead. More ponies existed, those ponies would be eradicated. It would do so with the same joy and glee with which it fulfilled anything else.
The Smooze surged and churned into the Simulacrum chamber like a flood. It knocked over a great many devices and things it didn't really know. It also didn't care, not even when it slammed into a particular strongbox which flew open. Within were a number of Spectra-Gems which gave off a feint glow. Most were covered in dust, save only for one. The Smooze didn't care for the gems, not even as one seemed to move of its own volition.
It rode the waves of the purple-grey goo until it found itself seated within a particularly familiar socket. The Smooze's main body surged out of the Simulacrum chamber. Still singing its usual song and leaving the chamber behind it. The Ponies were not there, so it saw no reason to stay there any longer. Instead it went out in search of the little ponies. It left the Simulacrum chamber, left it to the oppressive silence that dominated it entirely.
Soon after, a soft ticking began to sound in the silent room.
The ticking and churning of gears and clockwork brick'a'brack began to sound. They could be seen turning within her chest and the heart cut out on her flank. They broke the quiet and soon chimes like a music box began to play as well. The eerie tune echoed out like a symphony in the cold and empty chamber. Soon after there was a flutter and a single eye was suddenly revealed. Bright amber gold and similar to a 'Twinkle Eye Pony' in appearance the eye gazed out languidly. The other socket was empty, save only for the small feint glow of red that made it all the more eerie.
The Simulacrum looked down and noticed the hole in it's chest. The Spectra-Gem seated into it's proper socket also had a crack running through its center. She paid it no real mind before looking from side to side. She saw her limbs trapped in strange cuffs and blinked. She then pulled on her left forelimb. It didn't budge even an inch and a frown crossed her lips. She pulled on her hind limbs yet met with much the same result.
Soon the mare started to pull on her left forelimb once more. She shoved and pulled and twisted the limb until she heard a groan of metal. With that she started to pull harder on the limb, twisted more strongly, and finally her arm fell slack as she ripped it free. Her hoof was ripped free, yet she did not pay it any heed as she looked to her still cuffed hooves. The purple-grey goo below her hardened into something like stone, yet like her damaged body, still paid it no mind.
She pulled and she twisted on her hind-legs as well. Twisting and yanking on them all frantically. Her metal skeleton groaned in protest yet still she pulled and twisted on her limbs in odd angles. Soon, much like her left forelimb, she pulled her legs free. Now she hung silently by her right foreleg. She looked up for only a moment before she began to build up her momentum. She then started to twist and turn herself in her place in midair.
The metal within her groaned in protest once more but she continued to ignore it. She used her momentum and flipped forward. Her full weight was put onto the limb and with a groan the metal inside it snapped. However she was now left hanging by her false flesh. Her flesh which began to rip and tear as her weight pulled down on it. It revealed a number of thick cord like cables inside of her, those same cables soon gave way and snapped. The Simulacrum fell to the ground with a thunk a moment later.
The Simulacrum blinked, then turned onto her belly. She looked to her damaged limbs to assess her situation. Her situation was a distinct lack of hooves. However she also noted all of the spare parts that had been left laying around. She looked away from her severed limbs and started to crawl toward one of the piles. There was a distinct scraping noise caused by her exposed metal plating, but she really didn't care. She had more important things to worry about.
A certain mare to be exact, one that had kept her locked away for so very very long...
She came to the parts soon enough and started to sift through them. She tossed away anything that was undesirable. The few useful bits were put into a pile nearby. She briefly halted as she found a wicked looking piece of metal. A cruel smile worked its way across her lips as she looked at the blade. A number of ideas for how she could use it had already started to pop into her head. Yet that could wait for the moment. After all, she still had more work to do.
Yes... Bloody 'Marionette' Mary certainly had very much work to do.
Plans to make.
Tests to run.
A monster that tried to kill her to punish.
Oh it was going to be so much fun...
Princess Celestial Majesty looked around the room with a frown. Though she trusted Clockwork implicitly, she couldn't help but wonder where he'd brought them. Not only that but she was well aware of the dangers that lurked in the depths of the Tower. Things that should never see the light of day. Things that could make grown mares and stallions tremble and quake with fear. She was not an easy pony to frighten, but even she was reasonably wary of the things in the Tower. Thus she found that since she had no memory of ever being in this room before was more than enough cause for worry.
"Where are we exactly?" she wondered aloud. She noticed that it was a relatively large room, compared to her and Luna's old bedroom anyways. Not only that but she saw large circular gems stationed in all eight walls... oh right, there was also the fact the room had eight walls rather than the usual four. Not only that but there was a pyramid of sorts in the center of the room that had a large gem on top, a similar pyramid mirrored on the ceiling. Celestia didn't pretend to know magical constructs but she could almost say with absolute certainty that they were in a visualization chamber of some kind.
'The gems act as focusing agents all through the room to create an image,' she assumed. However even if she wasn't correct she could just ask Faust what this was.
"I'm telling you Clockwork, Riptide is hardly the right mare for the job!" If she wasn't arguing with their savior about his plan that is.
"Who is Riptide?" Luna questioned curiously.
"Basically queen of the seas and the Sea-Pony equivalent to an Alicorn," Faust replied.
"Sea-Ponies are still around?" Luna asked with obvious curiosity.
"There's another Alicorn out there?" Celestia demanded with a slight pout. More for the fact she had another potential friend out there that she'd never met...
"Yes to both questions, and before you ask she's normally called Queen Aquaria, she's kind of like my niece, and the sea-ponies are the reason sailor ponies sometimes disappear," Faust replied dismissively as she considered Clockworks idea to call on her for aide. Luna however locked onto the sentence and one part in particular.
"We have a cousin?" she questioned eagerly. Celestia frowned and shot her sister a look.
"Luna, need I remind you that Faust basically adopted us," the older mare reminded. Luna merely snorted and crossed her forelimbs.
"We still see her as mother, so she would still be our cousin," the younger alicorn replied with a nod. Celestia sighed and brought a hoof to her face. Luna then ignored her sister and turned to the elder alicorn eagerly. "Mother, is our cousin nice?" she questioned with a bright smile. A cousin was something she'd never had the pleasure of having. Nieces and Nephews, yes, even a sister and brother, a cousin would be a nice addition.
"She's basically a stunt mare," Faust replied with a shrug.
"So she is like Rainbow Dash?" Luna questioned. She also ignored the indignant look from Rainbow, whose friends snickered despite themselves.
"Something like that," Faust replied with a smirk. Rainbow scoffed and muttered to herself angrily. Faust rolled her eyes and then tapped her chin when she recalled something. "Oh right, she also wanted you to stop bringing the moon so close, apparently it's wreaking havoc with the tides," the ancient alicorn told the lunar mare.
"Our moon really does control the tides?" the lunar alicorn questioned.
"I told you Luna," Celestia singsonged.
"Quiet Tia! How were we to know that our moon controls the tides!" the lunar pony growled. Celestia merely giggled in response.
"Yes yes that's all very interesting," Clockwork grumbled and then pointed at Faust. "But not as interesting as the fact that she's a water Alicorn with powers designed for healing and purification, she should be able to at least dilute the Smooze enough to move it," Clockwork countered. Faust snorted and glared at the automaton Alicorn.
"We tried that when it first formed, water actually causes it to spread faster," Faust growled at the younger alicorn. Clockwork actually seemed surprised by that and rubbed at his chin.
"Alright I didn't know that, scrap my earlier plan then it's useless," he stated. Faust and Celestia stared at the alicorn, then groaned and brought their hooves to their faces. 'He didn't even think his plan through before hand...' Celestia though with a sigh. Clockwork was her friend, and he could be brilliant, unfortunately he sometimes forgot he didn't know everything. Then again, the few things he didn't know were few and far between. Typically he'd just pop into the past or future if there was something he needed to know.
"Why didn't you ask Faust about something like that?" Twilight questioned. Clockwork had the decency to appear sheepish.
"Slipped my mind actually," the time-pony admitted with a shrug. Twilight blinked and then stared at the odd pony with a flat expression. It was abundantly clear that she wasn't sure what to make of Clockwork. However she did know a pony who had dealt with the Smooze before hand. Technically they all did, but Twilight was the first to turn to Faust.
"So how did you defeat the Smooze in your time?" she questioned.
"The Flutterponies used their 'Utter Flutter' which when combined with their Flutter Dust removed the Smooze from what it covered. Once they released the Rainbow of Light it combined with their flutter dust and together they lifted the Smooze back into Mount Gloom," Faust replied. Twilight frowned as she considered that bit of information.
"What is the 'Utter Flutter'?" the lavender mare questioned curiously.
"Basically the Flutter Ponies banded together, flapped their wings really hard and created a vacuum to move the Smooze around. When combined with the purifying properties of the Flutter Dust it was the only thing capable of physically moving the Smooze," Faust replied with a shrug. Truth be told the ancient alicorn wasn't entirely sure how the Utter Flutter worked. She'd never gotten a chance to study Flutter Ponies thanks to their untimely eradication.
"I see," Twilight murmured with a hoof to her chin. 'Nothing can stop the Smooze, a vacuum is the absence of air, so literally nothing... wow, that's actually quite clever,' the lavender mare admitted to herself.
"Faust, pardon but what room is this?" Celestia questioned. Faust took a quick glance around and then sighed.
"The Map Room," she replied. Luna looked around then turned back to her mother and tilted her head.
"We see no maps," the lunar mare admitted. Faust allowed a slight smile to cross her lips and then concentrated her magic. She then sent a beam of it into the gem on the ceiling. Instantly more beams of light shot from the gem and into the others around the room. Once all of the gems were lit up into a large semi-transparent construct of energy formed into the shape of the tower and the surrounding landscape, including a small town, appeared. "Dear moon above, tis this truly a map?" Luna questioned with her wings flared. She was also quite intrigued as the construct showed more halls and rooms, than they had ever been in.
"It's the only accurate map of the tower I know of," Faust replied. She then opened her wings and flew up to the construct and somehow pulled it. When she did it grew larger allowing them to see the interior more easily. Celestia was the first to notice several entrances she'd never seen before. Two entrances were in the subterranean parts of the tower, one leading to what appeared to be a sewer system, the other to what could only be a castle. A very small castle, but still a castle all the same.
"Holy sweet mother of Celestia, this place is bucking huge!" Applejack exclaimed. Faust frowned as a Pinkie and Fluttershy looked from her to the orange apple mare. Applejack blinked and then rubbed at her head with a nervous grin. "Uh, pardon," the orange apple mare murmured nervously. She was well aware of the fact Faust wasn't fond of being called Celestia's mother, for whatever reason she didn't know.
"Don't worry, I know it's a reflex and it's not like you think of me when you say it," Faust replied gently. Applejack chuckled nervously and looked aware from the other mare. "Right?" Faust questioned with a look. However the orange apple mare refused to look her in the eyes.
"Um... since I found out 'bout you kind'a bein' her mother, I kind'a do," Applejack sheepishly admitted. The ancient alicorn groaned and brought her hoof to her face at the admission. That was part of the reason she didn't want Celestia and Luna calling her mother. The other part was that technically she wasn't their mother, more like their caretaker at best...
"Be that as it may I have to agree with Applejack, this tower of yours is simply enormous!" Rarity declared as she tried to navigate the twisting halls of the tower. Some of those halls and corridors didn't even make sense! Stranger than that, several rooms didn't even seem to fit inside of the tower properly! "Dear me, how ever do you manage to navigate this place miss Faust?" the marshmallow unicorn questioned curiously.
"I just got used to it after a while," Faust admitted with a shrug.
"Prithee mother, do not the tower's halls and corridors change?" Luna questioned with a frown. Faust blinked and then nodded her head. "Ah, then how is it that thou managed to 'get used to it' if it art changing at all times?" she questioned curiously. The ancient alicorn blinked and then tapped her chin in thought. She then shrugged her wings.
"No idea," she admitted. Luna seemed a little perturbed by that but decided to let it go all the same. Her mother was unreasonably old after all. She was allowed to forget such negligible things. Rainbow on the other hoof had flown up to the map and was all but gaping at what she had found.
"Is that a bucking castle down there?" Rainbow demanded incredulously as she turned to Faust, "did you actually fit a bucking Castle in this place?"
"Yeah, I think that's the remains of Dream Castle actually," Faust replied. That caused Celestia to perk up and look to her mother figure curiously.
"Dream Castle is below the tower?" Celestia questioned. She had always known that, but she hadn't realized just how far below the tower the castle was. From what she could tell from this map it was several miles below. Realm hummed behind her and rubbed at her chin. The blond painted pony then turned to Faust with a curious expression.
"Didn't the castle get sunk by that one witch," she questioned.
"No, I think that was rat tail woods," the elder alicorn replied.
"Right right, so it was the ram that did the castle," Realm offered. Faust shook her head.
"No, the ram attacked Paradise Estate and destroyed it," she replied.
"Ah yeah, wasn't his name Groaner or something?" Realm questioned. The ponies around the two listened curiously, save for a brooding Clockwork, and turned to Faust.
"No, you're thinking of 'Grogar' and he didn't attack the castle or Paradise Estate, he tried to trap us in the Shadow Realm," Faust responded. The others wondered about this 'Shadow Realm' for a moment while Clockwork grinned and his eyes suddenly lit up.
"Oh right, so then it was that crazy old squid that did the Castle in?" Realm tried. However much to the portrait ponies frustration Faust shook her head once more. Clearly her memories of the past were a lot more spotty than she would like to admit.
"No, Squirk tried to enslave us and turned those who didn't obey to stone with his amulet," Faust replied patiently. She also looked as if she were trying to remember something herself.
"Aha! That's it!" Clockwork suddenly declared. Faust shook her head of her stray thoughts and flew over to Realm.
"Pardon me a moment," the ancient alicorn bade to Realm. The portrait pony silently nodded her head. With that Faust turned to the practically giddy Alicorn of Time. "So did you finally come up with a better plan?" the ancient alicorn quipped with her head slightly tilted. Clockwork grinned in response and then zipped up to the map and started flying all around it.
"Yes actually! Now tell me what we know about the Smooze?" the time stallion questioned. Faust frowned and shot him a withering stare.
"Nothing can stop it," she replied bluntly. If he noticed her hostility, Clockwork paid it no mind.
"Yep, now what else?" he questioned with a grin. Twilight was the one to answer him this time.
"Technically speaking 'Nothing can stop the Smooze' is disturbingly apt. It refers to the fact that only 'nothing' as in the absence of substance or even air, can stop the Smooze. Hence why a vacuum created by the Flutter Ponies can move it," the lavender mare replied as if she were taking a test. Clockwork grinned in response and then zipped over to Celestia.
"Yes, what else?" he asked with a gleam in his eyes. Celestia arched a brow for only a moment and then hummed.
"It can stretch and grow infinitely," she offered with a shrug. She wasn't really sure where the stallion was going with this.
"Uhuh, what else?" he questioned. He looked around but the other ponies didn't seem to know what he was looking for. "Oh c'mon it's obvious! The Smooze doesn't die!" he replied. That got looks from the other ponies until he trotted over to Faust and pulled her against his side. "Despite the fact the Rainbow of Light managed to dump it in lava, bits and pieces still survived, those bits and pieces managed to return to full size, suggesting it has some kind of regenerative qualities!" he explained. Faust blinked and then rubbed at her chin with a frown.
"That does explain a few things," she admitted warily.
"Indeed it does! But, here is where things get interesting," the stallion replied as he slid over next to Twilight. "Twilight, why did it take so long for the Smooze to return to full size?" he questioned. The little lavender pony frowned and then tilted her head as she thought about it. Honestly though, it sounded like the Smooze should've returned to full size the instant enough of its mass was brought back together to move... wait...
"Flutter Dust," the lavender mare whispered. Clockwork silently nodded his eyes and motioned for the little mare to continue. Her eyes grew wide as she put it all together. "Flutter Dust! Unlike Aquaria's water based purifying magic the Flutter Dust is a solid with natural purifying qualities, as such it should be able to undo The Smooze's ability to regenerate!" she declared. Clockwork knocked a hoof against the ground and then hopped away from the mare.
"Exactly! The Smooze is comprised of an array of foul things, it's an 'impure' creature and therefore can be purified. This merely renders it inert as it can't destroy. However, water causes it to spread despite it's inherent purifying properties so that can't stop it. As such it took something like Flutter Dust to completely nullify the Smooze even if it was for a relatively short amount of time," the time stallion explained. Faust idly nodded her head, but looked at the stallion with a frown.
"That may be, but how does that help us now?" Celestia questioned. "Last I checked we have no Flutter Ponies around," the pale pink princess pointedly reminded. Clockwork blinked and then grimaced. He actually hadn't taken that into account to be honest. Faust cleared her throat to gain the attention of the other ponies. There was a half smile on her face as she trotted over to Fluttershy.
"Oh don't worry, I think I have a way to fix that," the mare stated.
"Wait, hold up, when did the Flutter Ponies stop existing?" Realm questioned. She'd known a few Flutter Ponies in her day. Heck, a lot of them had been friends of hers.
"A unicorn named Mortis the Black decided to come back and unleashed an undead scourge on the valley and so I went out to stop it," Faust began with a scowl. "Lets just say a few ponies made bad choices and ravaged Dream Valley beyond recognition," the mare admitted. She then closed her eyes and thought back to when she returned with an internal wince. "When I got back from getting rid of the Zomponies, I kind of banished them from Dream Valley for what they had done. Since then I've been living here more or less alone with the odd few occasional excursions," the ancient alicorn finished. Realm was silent for a long while and then folded her ears back.
"Don't talk to somepony long enough and you miss the bucking apocalypse," she muttered to herself. She also rubbed her temples as she felt a major headache coming on.
"So back on topic, do you have a storage vault of Flutter Dust or something?" Clockwork questioned.
"No," Faust admitted then hummed. "But that is an excellent idea, I need to remember to put some Flutter Dust into storage if we survive this," the mare admitted with a nod of her head. You never knew when Flutter Dust would come in handy after all. Twilight frowned and considered what she'd learned from the ancient mare thus far.
"Did the Flutter Ponies have descendents with a viable source of Flutter Dust?" the lavender unicorn questioned. Faust actually paused and tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Well yes, the Changelings and Breezies are their descendants but I highly doubt," whatever else Faust wanted to say was quickly forgotten.
"Changelings are Flutter Ponies?!" Celestia demanded with wide eyes. Faust blinked, then giggled as she realized she'd never explained that.
"Well not anymore, the same spell-storm that was created to eradicate the Flutter Ponies had a few... unforeseen side effects," the ancient alicorn admitted. The looks from the other ponies faces were all she needed to see to know they didn't feel well.
"Um, pardon now darling, I may be wrong but I believe you once said that it was the Pegasi and Unicorns who made that storm?" Rarity questioned. Faust silently nodded her head as her answer. The gathered ponies looked around pensively, as if they couldn't decide how they felt about that. Clockwork merely went silent and pulled his goggles over his eyes with a stern frown. Faust didn't doubt that he'd seen horrors of his own on his trips through time.
"So doesn't that mean we kind of made the Changelings?" Rainbow questioned nervously.
"Well... your ancestors maybe, but not you per say," Faust replied with a shrug.
"Still, you're saying our far gone ancestors had a hoof in undoing an entire race of ponies," Twilight reminded. Her ears were folded back and Faust could tell the little lavender mare had an idea of what happened. "Physical calcification suggests constant bombardment, the wounds never healed right thus turned into holes, they couldn't find food because everything withered and died, so they had to survive on whatever else they could find, meat most likely given the fangs, eventually they were forced to subsist on their mutual love for one another until... until they became permanently linked in a hive-mind, unable to distinguish one another as separate entities anymore," the little lavender unicorn whispered in slowly mounting horror.
"Err... I'd say the Queen's are still vaguely separate but for the most part yes, it happened something like that," Faust admitted. She then ignored the look on Twilight's face as she looked to a nearly weeping Fluttershy. "However, despite that I do have good news," the mare admitted as she took back the saddlebags she'd given to Fluttershy.
"Ugh! Is there anything else I've missed?" Realm suddenly demanded. "First I find out the undead are real, then I learn that Flutter Ponies are now extinct, not to mention that Dream Valley is a total wreck, and now I find out what's left of the Flutter Ponies are mutant freaks that barely resemble their old selves!" the painted pony screamed in frustration. She then sat back on her haunches and tried to catch her breath, a few tears visible in her eyes.
"Well, to be fair you did kind of hide yourself away," Faust reminded. Realm merely shot the ancient alicorn a snarl. Faust thus looked away and then flipped open the Saddlebags Fluttershy was wearing. "But on a much brighter note, thanks to Light Bringer at least we have these," the mare stated with a half smile. The ponies looked into the bag to see the faintly glowing balls, when Clockwork zipped over and looked at them with keen interest.
"Oh they are positively saturated in Chronoton Particles and Arton Energy," he muttered. He then sniffed at the air and seemed to lick it. With a smack of his lips he leaned back and rubbed his chin. "Time Dilation Spell, first activated circa nine-thousand five hundred and sixty three years, it basically dilated time from years to mere nano-seconds as far as these little dears are concerned," he murmured and then frowned. "Wait, who cast this spell, the scent of the magic is really familiar," he mumbled under his breath with narrowed eyes.
"Wait, little dears? What is that supposed to mean?" Pinkie questioned.
"Allow me to introduce you to the future of an entire race," the ancient alicorn began with a flourish. "These little dears my young friends, are genuine Flutter Pony eggs," the mare replied. She then lifted them out of the saddlebags with her magic, holding up several dozen at once with a grin. Each orb pulsed and gave off a slight glow that made the mares eyes sparkle. "Meaning that despite everything that happened, somepony saw fit to preserve these little darlings for the future!" she declared with a smile.
"You seem really happy about that," Realm noted.
"Of course I'm happy Realm. Not only can I undo probably the most tragic wrong of my rule, but it also means that somepony had either the common sense or moral fortitude to know that outright exterminating every Flutter Pony was wrong," the ancient alicorn replied. Realm idly inclined her head. She could see where her old friend was coming from with that.
"So we have Flutter Pony eggs, does that mean we have Flutter Dust now?" Twilight questioned. She also made a note that they needed some way to protect the eggs, especially since they were the last of an entire race. 'I wonder how the Changelings would react? Pure Flutter Ponies might not get along with them anymore,' the lavender mare admitted to herself. Not to mention the rest of pony kind would have to get used to an entirely new race of ponies. Two if one included the Sea-Ponies in the equation.
"Not so much," Faust admitted as she returned the eggs to the saddlebags. "Despite the time spell they have been constantly releasing large amounts of Flutter Dust for the passed several thousand years to protect themselves from The Creatures down below," Faust replied.
"And 'The Creatures' are?" Twilight pried.
"What happened to the rest of the Changelings when they didn't leave," Faust admitted with a grimace. "Feral and hungry for anything that moves or remotely looks edible, you really don't want to run into one. Then again you have a lot of magic, you might survive one of 'em, it's the swarms you have to watch out for," she stated plainly. Twilight honestly felt inclined to agree with the ancient mare.
"Okay so we have Flutter Pony Eggs, but no Flutter Dust, how does this help us?" Rainbow demanded with a frown.
"That should be obvious," Clockwork muttered aloud. The ponies thus turned to him and he let out a breath through his nose. "We attune the Tower's floors, walls, and ceiling to the same spectral signature as Flutter Dust. That way the Smooze can't stick to it," he explained with a shrug. It seemed obvious enough to him at least.
"Oh right!" Twilight declared with bright eyes. "We'd just need to change the magical frequency of the tower to match Flutter Dust, then the Smooze wouldn't be able to stick to everything!" she exclaimed.
"Exactly," Faust replied.
"But that still doesn't solve our problem of what to do with the Smooze," Celestia reminded her compatriots. "Even if it can't stick to the Tower we'll have nothing to do with it!" Luna nodded her head in agreement. Even if the Smooze couldn't stick or stay in place it wasn't like they had somewhere to put it. Unless Faust had some kind of bottomless pit they weren't aware of she doubted they could get rid of it all in one fell swoop.
"Oh no true but it help things quite a bit, while we can't create a vacuum like the Flutter Ponies, maybe we could use magic and physically push it away," the time stallion suggested. "Luna and Celestia move the Sun and Moon, certainly moving the Smooze shouldn't be as much trouble as all that," Clockwork offered with a smirk. Celestia arched a brow then inclined her head. Luna however felt far less confident, more for the fact physically pushing the Smooze seemed impossible.
"Clockwork, hast thou forgotten we have been cut off from the powers of the sun and moon. In our weakened state we are no more powerful than Twilight at best," Luna told Clockwork sternly. He blinked for only a moment and grimaced before taking a step back as she came forward. "Furthermore, we cannot hope to move every bit of the Smooze with it so thoroughly spread throughout mother's tower," the lunar mare reminded. Clockwork blinked and then frowned as that sad fact came back. While they could, possibly, use Flutter Dust and the Royal Sisters to move the Smooze, more of it would just keep overrunning the Tower unless they could get it all...
"Right, that is a bit of a problem," the stallion admitted.
"Unless you turn the tower into a straight away," Pinkie noted casually. The idea caught all the alicorns, and Twilight, off guard. Almost as one they turned to regard the pink mare as she looked at the Tower's map.
"What do you mean, turn the tower into a straight away?" Clockwork asked the mare. He was trying hard not to grin, he honestly missed days like this.
"Well, technically I mean a bottleneck, shift the Tower till all the halls with the Smooze are in a straight line with you all at one end and then you could just push it where ever you need," she replied casually. She then rubbed at her chin and tilted her head to one side. "You could also get a few Pegasi to make a Vacuum, but it might take a lot more effort for them than it would for the Flutter Ponies and only last so long. Bug ponies have wings that don't tire out after all. Or you just have Uncle Mort use his powers, he has the ability to rot anything after all. I bet he could even do it to this Smooze if he puts his mind to it," the mare noted with a shrug.
Clockwork again resisted the urge to grin, instead smiling smugly towards Faust. The mare merely frowned and folded her ears back and crossed her forelegs over her chest. The look she directed to the stallion was all he really needed to know she really didn't like the idea of Mort in her tower. Not that he could blame her, what he knew of their past was less than pleasant after all.
Still, he was probably a good bet in getting rid of the Smooze if his other plan didn't pan out.
"Mort might be able to kill the Smooze," Clockwork reminded the mare. Faust narrowed her eyes and snorted.
"No way. I won't let Mort back in my tower, least of all when the Necro..." Faust actually stopped at that, her eyes wide. She stopped and fluffed her wings at her sides for a moment. "Pony feathers!" she suddenly exclaimed. She then opened her wings and checked around her person. "The Necronomicon is gone!" she exclaimed. The looks on the elements faces did nothing to soothe her worries.
"Oh great, the evil book is on the loose again?" Rainbow groaned.
"Does that mean more zomponies gonna be showin' up?" Applejack questioned warily. She was mare enough to admit those things freaked her out. She also really didn't want to have to deal with the undead ever again if she could help it.
"No, it hasn't the souls needed to raise the dead," Faust replied. She resisted a smile, still quite happy she'd managed to free all those poor lost souls from the book. It also meant she didn't have to deal with that stupid book resurrecting anypony from the past.
"When did you drop it?" Twilight questioned.
"It might've been when the Smooze appeared, or even when Clockwork picked us up," Faust replied with a sigh.
"Is there anywhere it could've gone?" Celestia questioned. She worried about what that thing might do should it fall to anypony in Equestria... the sheer horror that thing could wreak was not something she wanted her ponies to experience.
"No, it lost all the souls it'd held so it's dormant for the moment," Faust replied with a sigh. She just hoped that the Smooze didn't pick that book up or she'd never find it. 'Then again maybe I should just shut that stupid book into the Shadow Realm,' she considered with a hum. It would certainly be more secure than locking it in another lead lined box after all...
"Anyways, my other idea involves moving the Smooze out of the tower," Clockwork interrupted. Faust blinked and then frowned in thought. The logistics of pushing the entirety of the Smooze was nearly insane. However, they had Celestia, Luna, Twilight, Clockwork, Rarity and herself to do so. Rainbow and Fluttershy might be useful, but two pegasi couldn't do too much to help in pushing the Smooze away from them. Though maybe they could keep things from getting passed them if they formed a wall. She also admitted they would need to locate Tree-Mane before they tried this or risk it being caught along with the Smooze.
"Fine, we might be able to move it," she admitted, "but just where in Tartarus do you plan on putting it?" the mare demanded. Clockwork clicked his tongue and started to tap his hoof on the ground in four precise beats.
"I was thinking we could lock it in the Shadow Realm," he admitted nervously. Faust blinked and then stared at the alicorn stallion warily.
"That would require us to move the bottleneck straight into it," she stated flatly. Clockwork nodded his head, his grin nowhere in sight as he nudged up to the map.
"Could it be done?" he questioned flatly. The ancient alicorn frowned and then flew up to the map and moved around it several times. Faust knew from experience there was only one way in or out of that realm. That one way happened to be magic, but the Smooze had no magic it could use to exit from the Shadow-Realm, so once there it would be trapped forever. In theory. Grogar had also once magically pulled his kingdom of Tambelon out of the Shadow-Realm and into Ponyland. Also, they were relying on the fact the tear in the veil between their realm and the shadow realm was even open.
Needless to say, she didn't want their lives hanging by a flimsy thread.
"I'm seeing a lot of if's with this plan," Faust noted with a frown.
"I assure you, the tear in the veil is open. It opens once every five hundred years for about a week, this week just happens to be the right one. Now we just need to pop through it, force it open to allow for more physical travel, push the Smooze in, then close it behind it as we escape," the time pony replied with a grin. He knew Faust was reluctant, she had had some very bad experiences in the Shadow-Realm after all.
Faust continued to regard the map with a critical eye. She admitted that it was a decent plan, it was certainly better than any she had at the moment. However that didn't mean that the plan was fool proof. "Are you absolutely sure about this?" Faust questioned worriedly. Clockwork's plan was sound enough in theory that most strategists would go with it. Faust found more subtle flaws and causes for worry in the plan. She thanked her personal brand of abstract thinking for that.
"Faust, running from it won't do anything," Clockwork began with a frown, "trying to blast it with the Elements was pointless," he noted with a look at Twilight. The little lavender mare lowered her head and folded back her ears. She felt bad enough about that. She really didn't want to be reminded about it. She'd never encountered something that could actually stop the elements before. She had thought that it was impossible! The Elements were supposed to be the most powerful weapon in all of ponydom, so how could some purple slime stop them? 'Apparently very easily,' she admitted to herself.
"I didn't know," she mumbled demurely. Clockwork sighed and nodded his head. He knew he was being a bit harsh with the little pony. But he didn't do it out of any malice. He just hoped that she learned from this and didn't rely so heavily on the elements of harmony in the future. Not that she'd have them much longer, he was well aware that the elements would be a non-factor soon enough. That thought in mind he turned back to regard Faust with a frown.
"And we know nothing can block or otherwise stop it so trapping it is the best option we have," he added. Faust shivered but nodded her head all the same. She had seen just how unstoppable the Smooze was in her youth. Fighting it now would be little more than an exercise in futility. The beast couldn't be contained by average means. Remaking the glass that had once contained it would take weeks. That was time they just didn't have. The tower had a finite amount of space within it. Sure it could stretch and bend that space to appear larger, but eventually it would be overrun.
With a sigh and a frustrated frown Faust looked back to the time pony.
"Fine, but I have to see if this idea will even work first, then I have somepony else in the tower I need to collect," the mare admitted. Clockwork blinked and then hummed to himself. He had a feeling that he knew exactly who she was talking about.
"Ol' Treebie I take it?" he questioned. Celestia twitched at the name, Luna grinned widely, and Faust nodded her head. The ancient alicorn then went around the tower to look for them. She rubbed at her chin and hung in the air for a moment, before finally pulling a specific corridor up on the map. At the end of the corridor was a room, which she made larger. Inside the room were several large pieces of some kind of crystal or rock. The ancient alicorn looked them over and frowned deeply.
"I think Lavan is missing," she muttered under her breath. She shook such worries off however and then looked at the portal at the end of the room. It was open, true, that was the biggest break they'd had thus far. The only problem she saw was the possibility of the Smooze coming back out. "I might be able to coerce the tower to move into the correct format after we modify it to resist the Smooze's sticking ability, but then we'd need to figure out some way of sealing it in the Shadow Realm," she replied. Clockwork frowned and tapped his hoof once more in four precise beats. Twilight felt her ear twitch as he did and shot a look at the stallion.
"Why are you drumming?" she questioned. The stallion spared her a passing glance and hummed lightly.
"Force of habit mostly," he murmured. "You sometimes hear drums and flutes when you travel through time, the beat gets stuck in your head after a while," he admitted. Twilight thought back to when they were picked up by Clockwork. She did recall the sound of drums in the background, but she couldn't recall the beat. She wondered if that was only because she'd only traveled the one time, or if it was because Clockwork only moved them through space rather than time.
"In any case perhaps we shouldn't tarry any longer than we already have," Clockwork stated. Faust nodded her head in agreement and glanced up to the map.
"We should also keep an eye out for the Smooze, while I'm sure the Tower will try to divert its flow from us, we can't be too careful in this situation," the ancient alicorn decided. She got no arguments from the other ponies. Even Rainbow Dash wasn't in the mood to press her luck against that stuff. Though to be fair, considering it ate the power of the elements, few could blame her.
"Um, sh-shouldn't we p-put these eggs somewhere l-less dangerous?" Fluttershy questioned worriedly. She hadn't even known she was carrying them before. If she had she would've been far more careful with how she ran or sat or anything else! There was no telling what kind of damage might've happened to them if she'd done something reckless!
"Not a good idea, we need them to alter the Tower," Faust replied.
"But we don't need all of them," Fluttershy argued.
"Well no, but I also don't have anywhere to put them," the ivory mare admitted.
"Why not put them in a safe, or your garden room, or anywhere out of the path of that purple gray ooze or," Fluttershy tried to say only for Faust to put her hoof on her mouth. Once the butter yellow mare was silent Faust removed her hoof and shook it to the side with a frown.
"I understand that you're worried Fluttershy, but the eggs have literally just come out of stasis, I want them close to something warm until I can help them hatch," the alicorn mare stated.
"So why Flutters?" Rainbow questioned.
"She's the only pony I'd trust with 'em, that's why," Faust stated plainly.
"That seems like a bit of a broad term mother," Luna noted. Faust fixed the mare with a sudden look.
"Twilight, Applejack, and Rainbow are our best offensive ponies, I want them on the front lines so I want those eggs far away from them. Clockwork has no natural body heat and worse he's basically made out of metal. Pinkie or Rarity might work but don't have the same experience actively working with eggs, which Fluttershy has in spades. Realm is a portrait pony and don't get me started on the things she wrecked when she was younger," Faust explained flatly. The elements looked to Realm and she shrugged her shoulders.
"Meh, it's true," she admitted with an unrepentant grin.
"Well what about us mother," Luna offered. Faust merely folded her ears back and fixed her with a flat look. Memories of the horrors that she and Celestia managed to get into came into mind. The two had been utter terrors as fillies, sure they were better now but not by much considering they unleashed War-Helm and the sun only knew what else...
"You and Celestia brought Oatmeal to life," she deadpanned. The lunar alicorn blushed and made to argue when the ancient alicorn continued, "four times, with each version more deadly than the last. I should also remind you of the incident where you somehow made friends with a 'wild rock' as you called it, and the time Celestia utterly destroyed one of my rooms because she thought she saw a spider. Worse, you both constantly managed to get yourselves covered in ink, requiring me to bathe you both fifteen times a week, how is beyond me since I never left any ink in the places it happened." Luna's ears folded back and she mumbled to herself with a blush. Celestia just groaned and covered her face with a hoof.
Did she really have to mention that in front of her subjects?
"Jeez, they're like the original Cutie Mark Crusaders," Rainbow whispered to Applejack. Faust's ear twitched back towards them and she grinned despite herself.
"They were actually called the 'Symbol Seekers' back when they were fillies," Faust admitted aloud. That got looks from the Elements to the sisters, who looked away from them with blushes.
"To be honest, we were most impatient," Luna admitted.
"Considering we were almost thirty when we finally figured them out, that's saying a lot," Celestia added. Seeing the incredulous looks of her ponies she rolled her eyes. "Alicorns age differently than other ponies," she explained. Mostly because letting them know about ascension might ruin a few plans she had for the future.
"Yeah, right," Faust deadpanned with a look in her direction. Celestia made a pointed effort not to look at the older mare. A frown crossed Faust's face then vanished as she looked back to the others. "Anyways, c'mon everypony we have work to do," Faust ordered. The others followed behind her while Clockwork clicked his tongue and rubbed his chin.
'I know I've felt that magical signature before, but where?' he wondered to himself. Deciding to put such thoughts on hold he followed the other ponies. Though to be honest he felt like he should be paying more attention to the fact he'd felt the same magical signature that had been on those eggs before. It was where and when he was drawing a blank on.
'I just hope it isn't somepony important,' the time pony mused to himself.
Grogar smirked as he watched the Smooze continue to run amok. He also smirked as he watched Faust and her little ponies come up with a 'plan' to deal with it. Unfortunately for her, their plan was working right into his cloven hooves. He brought his hooves together and leaned back on his throne. Lavan, Crunch, and Arabus were arrayed before him, still glowing as his magics worked through their prisons. Soon enough he would be ready, so would they, and his plan would finally come together. He needed only be patient until then. Thankfully, ten thousand years trapped in the Shadow Realm had at least taught him the value of patience.
His eyes were then drawn to the swirling pool in front of him. Within the pool was a vision of Faust and her little band of ponies.
'Certainly her taste in followers has somewhat improved,' he admitted to himself. The three alicorns, borderline alicorn, and bearers of the elements of harmony were a much better force than her old friends. Well, save for Majesty, she was a borderline Alicorn herself after all. She merely never ascended, unlike Faust and these others. The Puppet pony also didn't matter as far as he was concerned, she was merely a reflection of a memory. Hardly worth thinking of or worrying over. Grogar waved a hoof and watched as the scene shifted to show Marionette. The puppet pony was hard at work fixing and improving herself.
'Her foolish anger blinds her. She survived against Faust by chance the first time they met. This time, it will be her undoing,' the ancient elder ram noted. He stroked his beard for a moment as he watched the puppet pony work. Her anger was admirable, an endless hate he could see would ultimately consume her. He already knew that she would, like a wildfire, end up destroying herself. It was inevitable, and why he had not sought her aide in his own coming revenge. Despite what little use she could offer, she would ultimately be a short-lived asset. That in mind he turned from her and with a wave of his hoof looked to The Smooze itself instead.
'A perfect killing machine, destroying whatever is deemed necessary with glee and joy,' the elder ram noted with a dark grin. He could honestly admire the Smooze. Most other creatures were complicated in their reasoning, having to gain something to do anything. The Smooze did what it was summoned to do without question, and didn't stop until it's purpose was fulfilled. The ancient witches who had summoned it truly had no clue the power of the being they had set loose. To them it was an ancient spell, something to use to utterly ruin their enemies. It was not the eldritch horror that it deserved to be.
'I am wasting time on the Smooze, I have other things to look into,' Grogar reminded himself. With that thought and a wave of his cloven hoof he brought War-Helm and Tree-Mane into view. 'Make that five alicorns in Faust's menagerie,' he mentally amended his earlier thought with a frown. He also studied these particular alicorns closely. Unlike the others, these had never truly been ponies before and that worried him. The new War-Helm more than Tree-Mane for War-Helm was the spirit of a Wolf, and he was, albeit powerful, still technically a ram.
'Tis' almost fitting that my worst species predator is also one of my greatest enemies,' the ram mused to himself. Rams, Sheep, and Wolves had a very well known history after all. Much like Griffons hunted ponies in ancient times, Wolves had hunted Rams and Sheep. Unlike Ponies and Griffons, who had worked out a tenuous peace, Rams and Wolves were still bitter enemies. He knew this because he had made a point to keep up to date on the world at large through Faust. Watching her archive for any bit or piece of information he could find on his people over the years.
'Which wasn't much to be honest,' he admitted with a scowl. Faust honestly didn't care much for Rams, for obvious reasons of course. The ancient elder ram shook his head of such thoughts. He was becoming far too reminiscent in his old age. His glory days were far from over as far as he was concerned. But he was not too proud to denounce the truth that he was old. Ignoring that he turned back to the two alicorns he was watching.
'Now as for the living spider-tree,' Grogar began with narrowed eyes. Unlike War-Helm he was not truly afraid of Tree-Mane, the elder-tree turned alicorn was less dangerous than its companion. What it did to its enemies was horrific, true, but Grogar knew a few secrets for dealing with him. The first was obvious, Tree-Mane was the alicorn of fear, as such he could draw power from and inspire fear into his victims. So long as one didn't fear him his power over you was far from absolute. Grogar knew this to be fact and would use it against the monster if forced.
'But that is unlikely,' he admitted as he waved his hoof once more. Sadly he couldn't see outside of Faust's tower with his scrying pool. Despite his immense power he couldn't get passed the iron of Faust's tower. Not only that but there was a spell in place that made it impossible for him to open a portal outside of the tower. In spite of the fact that it was a proverbial prison he wanted the notes and spells and knowledge held within it for his own. He just needed to put down an old mare to get it. Which is why he found the instrument of his coming victory so very very amusing.
'Yes, how fitting that it is something fashioned by a pony that brings my plan to fruition,' he thought darkly. There, half buried in Smooze goo was the Necronomicon Ex-Mortis. Grogar was aware of the dangers of the book, but he was also perfectly fine with using it for his plan. Lavan, Arabus, Crunch, they were all fools blinded by a desire for revenge. As was that idiot Umbra blinded by his pride and his greed. Grogar was not a fool, and he was beyond petty things such as revenge. He could certainly make those idiots think otherwise of course, and easily make them dance to his tune.
'Now to bring you to me,' Grogar thought and narrowed his eyes. His horns began to eat the light around them, the reverse glow making them seem darker than they actually were. A toothy smile crossed his lips as the book vanished in the scrying pool and formed on the floor before him. His horns gave another inverted glow as the book was lifted from the floor and brought to him. He placed a single cloven hoof onto the cover and grinned darkly. 'And so the next piece falls into place,' he thought to himself. With that he opened the book and began to look for one spell in particular. One that would lead him to achieving his destiny.
A horrid grin crossed his lips as he read the book in the silence of his forgotten city...
TBC...
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Didn't seem rushed to me. I don't know what you had before the rewrite, but I'm just glad your still there.
5182652 Thanks, to be honest I tend to be my own worst critic. So sometimes I have a good idea and I just don't realize that it's actually a good idea.
I liked it. Does the baby making mirror from G1 still exist and is in the tower?
5185135 Potentially, though it would be under heavy lock and key compared to other artifacts. Mostly because of the trouble it could cause.
5185233
Can you say... Discord and Pinkie Pie?
That was fantastic!
5185787 Glad you liked it. I'm planning on getting the next chapter done faster than this one... but sometimes real life gets in my way. But I'll do what I can!
"A cousin was something she'd never had the pleasure of having. Nieces and Nephews, yes, even a sister and brother, a cousin would be a nice addition."
Huh. Now you got me interested. Can you make a list of all/the relevant alicorns in this story, and what they represent?
Greetings and salutations!
It has been a (very) long time since last update, but I see that you finally found some time for us, so... big thanks!
This story is slowly approaching three hundred thousand words, quite a big number, isn't it? I personally would consider it as some kind of archievement. You created a coherent world with interesting characters. I can safely say that your story is one of a kind. You, as author, were able to achieve what many have failed to. Of course, there are also defects, like frequent repetition of the same word or phrase, it's really annoying. In spite of everything, "The Overworked Alicorn" is not the most popular story, that's shame. Really.
My request, not a question:
Could you possibly list and describe briefly each and every alicorn in your story? If you would be so kind.
Find your own path!
Vuko Drakkanien
5188082 Thanks dude! I hate to admit it but part of the reason for the repetition and such is because I proofread the whole thing myself. It's also obvious that as the story went on I got pointers and my writing improved a bit as I continued with it.
Your question is fine, it'd be mine and Faust's pleasure to detail the current roster of Alicorns.
Good to see more and it was worth the wait.
>Hardly worth thinking of or worrying over.
Silly Grogar, thats one of the villain rules. If you leave something to chance that tiny little insignificant thing you thought couldn't possibly do anything will come back and EFF UP YOUR ENTIRE PLAN. SOMEHOW. It's like sitting in your throne and going 'what could possibly go wrong?'
EVERYTHING, Grogar. EVERYTHING
*looks at the chapter list*
awwwwww, only one more full chapter before I have to stop and wait? No fair... At least theres a few special chapters too...
Indeed...
Awesome work.