The Answer
"And with his head held high, his tail lowered, and the hand at the end of it clenched, the noble Ahuizotl marched straight to his superior." Ahuizotl read, the fans of his very first book enthralled.
"What happened next, Mr. Loati?" a blue unicorn filly cocked her head, her pink mane falling over one shoulder. "Did that bossy bully named Chikoomba threaten to shiskabob Ahuizotl like before?"
Ahuizotl, who apparently went by the name of C.V. Loati, chuckled at the little girl's anxiety and curiosity.
"Easy, Child. You will see as I continue," he assured the filly, directing his attention back to the book afterwards and reading, "Stopping not very far from Chikoomba's desk, Ahuizotl looked his boss straight in the eye, the memory of once again failing to protect an artifact fresh on the front of his mind. And so, with a nervous deep breath, he-"
But just before he could finish reading the sentence, a chime struck. Ahuizotl directed his attention to the round clock on the wall, his captive audience swiveling their heads to follow his gaze.
To the dismay of both him and his readers, the clock said it was 7 o'clock at night. Closing time for the bookstore.
Ahuizotl sighed at this contemplation.
"I'm so sorry, my friends," he said to his audience, who turned their attention back to him, "But, it appears that our time is up."
Knowing that he was correct about this, but saddened that he didn't get to finish the story, the audience awww’d in response. Many of them even looked down at the ground in sadness.
"Please, Mr. Loati. Don't stop yet." The same filly said, even giving Ahuizotl puppy dog eyes.
"Yay, just a few more minutes." A white-furred and black maned earth pony stallion begged, putting two hooves together as did.
And with that, the rest of Ahuizotl's newly found fan club began begging for Ahuizotl, or Mr. Loati in this case, to continue reading the story.
The desperate beggings of his audience left Ahuizotl absolutely stupefied. In all the years he'd lived, he had never left someone wanting anything more than to get away from him. He found himself yearning to answer their pleas, but in the end...he knew he couldn't evade the inevitable.
"As much as I'd like to keep reading until we reach the end, I'm afraid I can't," he said to them sadly, before brightening up for them. "But if you really want to know what happens next, take a look in the copies you have and you will find out. If you don't have a copy yet, though..."
He suddenly looked down to the ground.
"Well, if you don't have a copy yet, you'll just have to wait until the bookstore opens in the morning to find out." He finished.
For a moment, there was nothing but silence amongst the creatures in the bookstore. Ahuizotl continually looked down at the ground, and he expected the audience to quietly leave due to him letting them down.
"Mr. Loati." A mare's voice said to him, drawing his attention away from the floor and towards a yellow mare with a pear-green mane.
As expected, he saw the mare’s disappointed look, much like the others were giving him.
But then...
Her expression changed to a grateful smile. It was something that caught Ahuizotl completely by surprise.
"Thank you," the mare said to him with a nod, "thank you for sharing this story with us, with the whole world even. Ahuizotl may not be a real character, but I don't think I'm ever going to look at him as anything other than how I see him now. Your book is even better than the books by A.K. Yearling and Mr. Martingale."
Her words touched the author's soul. And as if she didn't think her words alone were enough, she stomped her front hooves one at a time on the floor. The rest of the ponies followed suit, showing how much they too appreciated him and his story.
The sight before him caused Ahuizotl to feel like crying, but he held himself back. Instead, he showed everyone his own thankful smile.
"Thank you. Thank you all," he said to them, causing them to stop cheering for a moment, "I truly appreciate your devotion to me, and my story. And with the sun and the moon as my witness, I vow that there will be more books to come. I hope to never disappoint any of you."
And the audience's cheering came back, and grew with not only louder hoof beats, but jubilant whoopings too.
In the face of his enthusiastic fans, and with his appreciative look continuing to show, Ahuizotl got up from his sitting position. Then he proceeded for the door, the ponies moving and creating a gap for him to pass through, even as they still applauded him.
Once he stopped in front of the door, he turned his head to give one last look at the cheering crowd.
"Thank you," he said to them with a wave, "Thank you."
And with his face turned opposite from the herd of fans, Ahuizotl opened the door, and exited the building. Once he was able to taste the fresh air of the night, he closed the door and took a moment to look up at the moon, taking a deep breath as he admired the beauty of it.
As he passed by the store's window, though, he couldn't help but stop and turn his attention to something. A giant, rectangular mirror, which was sitting sideways on display with other mirrors of various shapes and sizes. It wasn't the mirror that caught his attention, though.
For staring back at him in the glass was not his own reflection, but one of an ocean-blue pony, with forest-green eyes that were behind a pair of spectacles. The cutie mark on his rump was of a pair of circular glasses facing an open book, as if someone were reading it.
The difference in reflection did not worry Ahuizotl in the slightest. In fact, it only made him smile at it.
'The spectacles I wear have given me a perfect disguise. Every time I look in this mirror, I can hardly tell if it's myself I'm looking at,' he thought to himself, 'I'm glad to have it, anyway. It’s best to keep the world of Daring Do a secret rather than have fans coming to my doorstep and ruin my privacy.'
Deciding to push those thoughts aside, Ahuizotl faced forward and continued on.
Finally, he turned right and strolled into the alley, deep enough to where the shadows cast by the buildings and night sky completely concealed him. Not taking any chances, Ahuizotl looked everywhere, making sure no one was around but him. Especially in case he was being followed.
Certain that no one but him was around, Ahuizotl pinched an orange jewel on his necklace with two of his giant blue fingers, before twisting it to the right like one would a dial.
In seconds, a huge, blue, and swirling hole appeared in front of Ahuizotl. A portal. Inside of the portal was a dark blue tunnel, with white lines flying like shooting stars. It was his ticket home, and he knew precisely where the portal was parked.
Without hesitation, Ahuizotl jumped through, disappearing from the alley like he wasn't even there before. The portal entrance disappeared with him.
A few seconds later...In a jungle...
For a moment, there was nothing but the calming sounds of crickets, birds of the night, and tree frogs in the tree-covered habitat. Until, the same hole leading into the portal's tunnel appeared, with Ahuizotl jumping out of it. The ground vibrated from his muscular bulk landing on it and the speed Ahuizotl went traveling through the portal.
Once the vibrations ceased, Ahuizotl turned back towards the portal. He pinched the same jewel on his necklace and twisted it again, this time to the left.
And with that, the portal vanished faster than when it appeared.
Ahuizotl took a moment to take in his surroundings.
Much of what he saw was jungle as far as the eye could see.
But then, his eyesight caught onto a golden yellow temple that wasn't too far away from him, and despite the night sky, the color itself remained unchanged. Tall torches were lit around it, and a dozen or so native earth ponies surrounded the temple on every step, spears pointing straight in the air.
He now knew precisely where he was: Home.
'My portal jewel never fails.' He thought to himself with a smile.
Knowing now that his disguise was no longer of any use to him, he removed his spectacles. Then, he proceeded onward towards his humble abode, not needing to see his reflection to know if his disguise wore off.
As he drew closer to the temple, each of the ponies at the front bowed their heads. They knew that he was their master, and so they showed both respect and submission to him for it.
After giving his minions a salute in response, Ahuizotl proceeded up the stairs between the steps the natives were on. He marched up the stairs like he was on a mission, setting his sights on the double-sided doorway that was at the temple's 4th level.
Once he was in front of it, he took a moment to stretch his legs from all of the climbing, never going without a workout from doing so.
After cracking the knuckles on his forehands, as well as those on his tail-hand despite not using it to climb the stairs, Ahuizotl pressed a square-shaped button on the wall. The button glowed lime-green, lighting up like that of an elevator when pressed.
Then, with an audible ding, the door split itself apart, each side retracting into the walls. They revealed a large elevator that was big enough to fit Ahuizotl's body and height, the inside of it green like a jungle leaf.
With little to no hesitation, he strolled inside of the elevator. Once inside, he turned himself around, before gazing at the eight individually numbered buttons it had. He pressed the eighth button at the bottom, before facing himself to look over his domain.
"ASSEMBLE!" He called to his minions with a shout.
And with the order given, the elevator doors slid themselves shut in front of him. As he was inside the elevator, he was confident that his minions heard him and immediately left their position, while gathering the rest of his army in the process.
With his confidence high, the elevator lowered itself downwards, the start of it doing so not even causing a jolt to the box or Ahuizotl. An eerie tune played as the elevator descended to the eighth floor, which was the elevator's version of a song called "Sadness in the Rain", written and performed by a cellist.
'I really should write a note to the pony who made this favorite song of mine,' he noted in his head, 'At least I already found the address to her residence in Ponyville.'
By the time he finished making the mental note in his head, the double doors of the elevator opened themselves up once more with a ding, like they were presenting something to the occupant. He ambled out of the elevator with nothing to hold him back, like a dog whose owner had accidentally dropped his leash.
Once out, he stood in a large and spacious room that a dragon could easily fit into. And inside this room...was a throne that was perfectly suited for his size and height, sitting on top of a platform with a tall torch on either side.
Native earth ponies were already in the room, standing at attention in lines of tens. Many, though, were either just getting into position or entering through pony-sized holes that were throughout the wall and a couple inches above the floor before galloping to the others and getting in position. This did not affect Ahuizotl, as he was very patient tonight.
He strolled his way to the throne, taking his time since he didn't think there was any need to hurry. Once he wasn't far from the platform, though...
He leaped into the air using his back legs. He flew for just a few seconds, before landing on top of the platform with a booming echo and vibration , which didn't affect the platform. When both echo and quake had ceased, Ahuizotl straightened his arms after the landing and proceeded towards his throne, calmly strolling with no intention of hurrying like he had before.
Within just a minute, Ahuizotl arrived at his throne and took a seat. Turning his attention towards the native ponies standing before him, he caught sight of a lynx, black panther, cheetah, tiger, and white kitten strolling in front of the first row of ponies. They sat themselves down and focused their eyes straight towards their master.
He smiled, knowing now that everyone was here and accounted for.
"Friends. Comrades," he addressed both ponies and cats. "After all these weeks of planning and making sure everything is played just right...our mission has been a success!"
At his exclamation and the sight of him raising his fist in the air with a triumphant look, the ponies in the audience cheered loudly. The cats cheered as well, the wild cats giving jubilant-sounding roars and the white kitten joyfully purring despite it not being the loudest sound a cat would make.
Once the cheering faded, Ahuizotl addressed the audience again with a malicious cackle.
"Who would have ever guessed that the reach of one stupidly blind pegasus would not only help me acquire the Truth Talisman of Tonatiuh as my very first prize, but finally get my most hated enemy, Daring Do, out of my hair?" he asked them, before snickering and busting out, "I did!"
He laughed again, this time in a hysterical manner. The ponies in the crowd began laughing too, and the cats followed suit. They too couldn't get over how the yellow-furred and pink-maned pegasus fell for the act so easily.
Ahuizotl stopped laughing for a moment, taking a fews huffs of air and wiping a tear from his eye.
"Truly, my amigos. It was like taking candy from a baby," he said to them, "All I had to do was act like my intentions were far from malicious, and that pegasus would be immediately intrigued. And once I touched the talisman, all of those hay-brains at the Tonatiuh Temple thought I was telling the truth. But..."
He took a moment to pause. Then he reached for the left side of his neck, and used two of his big blue fingers to pinch at it. Pulling his fingers away from his neck, without a grimace or twitch of pain, he brought to everyone's viewpoint a silver, rectangular-shaped jewel with tiny needle-like points at its base. Despite how visible it would’ve obviously been, it apparently cloaked itself as it was attached to his neck.
"...thanks to this jewel that I hold here, the Counteracter of Calisa Cabero, the Truth Talisman of Tonatiuh was unable to make me spill it. It caused my eyes to glow, but the talisman did not really make me spill who I really am and my true intentions." Ahuizotl told his minions, "If a unicorn or alicorn had been there, and they blasted their own magic at me, I would surely have been suspected of having it on me or of lying the whole time."
The native ponies couldn't help but mutter to themselves when Ahuizotl said that. They knew about the Counteracter, of course, but the thought on what would've happened if a unicorn or alicorn had been at Tonatiuh's Temple had never occurred to them before.
"But," Ahuizotl said, catching everyone's attention like a magnet, "I really can't let myself, or the Counteracter, take all of the credit for this mission being successful. I would like to give a special thanks to my soothsayer. Sakumba Silver-Mane."
He gestured towards the crowd, directing their attention to a tall earth pony mare with cold blue eyes, a silver mane, pitch black fur, and a cutie mark of a bowl surrounded by light green streaks. She smiled at him for crediting her.
The other ponies clopped their hooves on the ground to congratulate her, whooping as they did so. The cats also praised her, the wild cats roaring, and the white kitten meowing.
As the others lauded her, Sakumba Silver-Mane stepped out from between the two ponies in the first row, until she was a few feet away from the row of ponies and the cats. She bowed to all, showing how much their congratulations meant to her.
"Sakumba," Ahuizotl called to her, making her ears twitch in his direction.
Sakumba turned around to face her master, finding a smile on his face.
"My friend, if not for your abilities to see into the future and gaze into alternate universes, then this mission wouldn't have been blown sky high," Ahuizotl told the mare. "It is thanks to you that I knew precisely what would have come for me. Had I not known, then I would never have changed my own destiny."
"And if you had not found the alternate universe, where I really was a misunderstood jungle guardian trying to protect the artifacts residing in this habitat, I would never have found the inspiration I needed to mimic the other me to where my act was completely convincing," Ahuizotl finished.
The ponies in the crowd, and the cats, lauded her again. And so Sakumba bowed her head to Ahuizotl as a show of thanks to him for the praise. Then, she turned around and did the same thing to the audience.
"I must also give a special thanks to another among you for the help in accomplishing today's goal. And that one..." Ahuizotl paused, before saying with his hands in the air, "...is Kreekama Chimongo!"
At his exclamation, everyone else in the room, including Sakumba, cheered the pony that the name belonged to.
Then, the crowd parted in the middle, splitting itself into two groups. Once parted, they revealed a stallion standing in the center between both groups.
This stallion, clearly the one known as Kreekama Chimongo, had dark green eyes, a light green mane, dark blue fur, and a cutie mark of two faces. One face was happy, and the other was sad.
As everyone applauded Kreekama, he walked up towards where his master and Sakumba stood with a smile, and a feeling of confidence and honor.
Once he was in front of his master and next to Sakumba, he turned himself around to face the crowd, who apparently brought themselves back together as one. Then, he bowed his neck to the crowd as a show of thanks for their appreciation of him. He turned to Sakumba and did the same with her. Finally, he turned his attention to Ahuizotl...and bowed the entire front half of his body, showing deeper appreciation for his master than he did for everyone else in the room.
"Kreekama," Ahuizotl said to him, which brought him up from his bow, "Were it not for your abilities in the performing arts, coaching me in a flawlessly convincing performance, especially to that small-minded Element of Kindness, the mission would surely have ended with failure. Even now, I am further astounded that none of those ponies were suspicious of me, considering my past motivations. But that no longer matters. Because today, at long last..." And he stood up from his chair, before raising a fist in the air and saying, "VICTORY IS OURS!!!"
And the ponies, including Sakumba and Kreekama, wildly acclaimed their master. The cats even roared with a sense of joy again, while the white kitten did her own version of cheering by purring and wagging her tail sideways really fast.
When the applause began fading away, Ahuizotl took this opportunity to speak again.
"At long last, that pest of an adventurer known as Daring Do is finally out of our hair. And as a bonus, so is that annoying treasure thief Caballeron and his band of troublemakers who keep getting in the way of our scores," Ahuizotl spoke, before chuckling. "Now, we are not only free to pillage this jungle for whatever we want, but we can finally proceed with the mission that each and every one of us has sought after for so long: To recreate this world to its former glory."
Like a button on a remote activated them, the ponies and cats went wild with excitement. They felt as if a gigantic weight had been lifted off of their shoulders now that Daring Do and Caballeron would no longer be around to cause them any hindrance.
"They say that the world we live in now is advancing for the better. That friendship, family, and love are the true keys to creating harmony. But they are all lies. Lies that even the deceivers themselves believe," Ahuizotl said. "But, we all know the truth here, don't we?"
The ponies and cats nodded their heads, showing that they were on the same page as Ahuizotl.
"This world that we are in now...is NOTHING but a mess. The advancements of it being the driving-force, and causing despair more than harmony," Ahuizotl preached. "The outsiders, who dare to claim themselves as part of this planet, have done little but tramp around like the unwanted guests they truly are."
The audience echoed their agreement loudly.
"They've taken away the homes of those truly worthy of inhabiting this planet, even hunting them for food or for the mere sport of it. And the animals standing before me tonight are prime examples of that," He gestured to the cats at the front of the crowd, who stood themselves straight and tall when he did so, "Tyrone the Tiger, who lost his home, and his family, to an inferno induced by dragons..."
At the mention of that memory, Tyrone's ears flattened with sadness and he slumped a bit.
"...Chace the Cheetah, whose mother died at the claws of griffins..."
When Ahuizotl mentioned that, Chace looked down at the ground with his ears flattened against his skull.
"...Lynel the Lynx, whose mate was killed at the thunderous hooves of yaks..."
The mention of what happened to his mate caused pain to awaken in Lynel’s heart, like the stitches that closed a gash came undone. His ears tucked back and he closed his eyes with sadness.
"...Pedro the Panther, whose mate and son were killed by the reckless actions of a tribe of kirin..."
With the resurfacing of that horrible nightmare, Pedro lowered his head in a slump and looked to the ground, tears forming in his eyes.
"...and Kyle the Cat, who was orphaned since birth and abused by a female pony who dared to think she had the superiority to treat him like a mere toy."
When Kyle heard his master bring up the memory that he only wished was just a dream, he looked down towards the ground, flattened his ears against his skull, and tucked his tail to himself.
Each of the cats wished that the nightmares they had witnessed so long ago didn't have to present themselves just now. Yet, they knew that their master had a right to bring their pasts to light.
Their expressions of sorrow deeply pained Ahuizotl, but he kept himself strong. He decided to move on to the next part of his speech, directing his attention to the native ponies.
"And the other example before me..." Ahuizotl paused, looking down, "comes in the form of all of you. I hardly wish to bring it to light, but we all know it's true."
The ponies muttered amongst themselves, many with deep sorrow while voicing their agreement, and many with slight sadness but more straightforwardness.
"Each of us remembers all too well that, eight years ago, a rival pony tribe attacked your village," he said, despite everyone already knowing about it. "Driven by a desire for more land, your rivals took you all by surprise, and the bellringer to signify their championship...was the skilled warrior that beheaded your chief. Holding it in the air for all to see, he left you without a leader and caused you all to retreat into the wilderness."
"The presence of all of you here, and what happened to you, shows that the unwelcome will turn on even each other. I highly regard you all, because you know what true harmony is, acknowledge who is truly worthy of inhabiting this world, and do your best to care for it," Ahuizotl added.
The ponies, knowing full well that he was right, revealed their agreement by either nodding or voicing it. The cats showed their agreement too. The tiger and panther showed it by roaring; the cheetah and lynx by snarling; and the white cat by meowing loud enough for all to hear.
It gave Ahuizotl such joy to see the audience that they were unanimous with him, especially with brilliantly high spirits that helped them recover from how melancholy they were.
"And this is where I come in," he said, "When I met all of you so long ago, I vowed that in return for you helping me and being my servants, I would provide you with food, shelter, and protection. But now, we can finally repay each other in the largest way yet!"
At that exclamation, the ponies and cats shouted their praise.
"For years, that pesky pegasus known as Daring Do has been nothing but a thorn in our side, constantly thwarting every attempt made to get what we want. And Caballeron has repeatedly gotten in our way by coincidentally going after our scores," Ahuizotl said, a malicious chuckle following. "But now, with those two out of the way, we are not only free to take whatever we want, but...we can finally proceed with our most desired goal: To reshape this world to its former glory!"
The audience cheered again.
"To wipe it clean of the unwelcome who dare weaken it to a state of misery, and to hand it back to the worthy." Ahuizotl proclaimed.
The audience shouted their joy.
"And it is all thanks to Sakumba..." Ahuizotl said, pointing to the silver-maned mare.
Outside of Sakumba, who was back in line with the others at the front, the crowd applauded once more. Just like before, Sakumba felt honored by the praise, and so she bowed.
“...Kreekama...” Ahuizotl said, pointing to the light blue-furred stallion.
And the audience, outside of Kreekama who took a new place at the front row, applauded. He felt so esteemed by the praise from his master and colleagues, he bowed with thanks to everyone.
"And finally, the one who especially made it all possible," Ahuizotl said, before suddenly struggling to keep himself from exploding with laughter, "Fluttershy!"
He laughed so hard his chest heaved up and down with it. The ponies and cats burst with equally uproarious laughter, unable to hold it for long because they couldn't get over how gullible the Element of Kindness truly was. That, and their master's laughter was contagious.
When he subsided at long last, Ahuizotl took a moment to recover. He took a few deep breaths and straightened in his chair. As he did so, the audience in front of him ceased their laughter, and finally quieted.
"In the morning, I shall reveal to you all my ultimate plan for accomplishing what we have wanted for so long," Ahuizotl told them, "For now, DISMISSED!!!"
Knowing now that they were free to go, the ponies and cats headed for the walls. Instead of going up the holes, though, they stopped at the empty spaces next to each of them.
When the individuals that reached each empty space on either side of the holes stopped in front of them, they pressed their hooves to the center of the walls where an X was marked. The Xs that they touched pressed back like buttons, and slowly...doorways revealed themselves. Inside of them were staircases that lead all the way back to the surface. The ponies and cats immediately travelled up the stairs, despite the amount of effort that was obviously required to reach the surface.
Moments later, everyone was gone. The only life form left in the room...was Ahuizotl, with nothing but silence as his companion. As he rose from his throne to head for his elevator, Ahuizotl couldn't help but think.
He thought about Fluttershy, and how much she had reached out to him with her undeniably astounding kindness. He even thought about the fan club he developed with his book, especially the little filly who wanted him to continue reading it despite closing time at the bookstore, and the adult who openly praised him and his book.
'All of those ponies. Members of the unwelcome,' he thought to himself, 'Each of them were pouring their hearts out to me. They praised me with such adoration, and welcomed me with open arms, in a way that I haven't been given in years.'
As he approached the elevator, a look of uncertainty and gloominess appeared on his face. He stopped in front of it and pressed the 'Up' button, intending on heading to his room and getting some sleep.
'Do I really want to do this? To destroy the newfound trust I gained from them?' he wondered, the elevator door opening. 'Perhaps I should think about this.'
Slowly, he turned himself around, making his way back to his throne and finding himself with second thoughts about this. He couldn't get the faces of each and every pony he saw out of his head, both at the bookstore and at the Temple of Tonatiuh. They had each showed sympathy, warmth, and love towards him and made his heart feel as soft as a peach. They made him experience feelings that he hadn't felt in so long, and he suddenly found himself wanting to keep having them.
But then, as the elevator doors were closing themselves...
"NO!" he angrily shouted, his tail-hand bolting for the elevator button and pressing it quicker than a missile.
His finger tightly pressed the button, and each side of the door slid themselves back into the walls.
"Long before I even met Daring Do, the cats, and the natives, I had a loving family that cherished me so much they called me their 'greatest treasure'," he said to himself "Living in the city of Tambelon, my father was part of a group whose mission was to protect the world around us. He trained me to follow in his footsteps, and it was something I willingly obliged with."
His finger suddenly pressed on the button tight enough to turn its skin white.
"But then, when I told my father and the rest of the group about my discovery of how we can make true and everlasting harmony, which is to wipe out the sapients and only spare those who truly belong in this world...my father and mother cast me out, and the group father belonged to turned their backs on me as if I were rabble. Everyone called me a madman and a monster for wanting to kill sapient life," he said, "Who's to say that every creature outside of my minions won't do the same, including the Element of Kindness?"
His mind suddenly made up, he strolled inside of the elevator. Once he was in, he moved his tail-hand inside with him, letting go of the button. He turned himself around once more in time to see the door close in front of him. Then he pressed the button for the sixth floor, where his bedroom lay. Obeying the immediate command, the elevator went up.
"I have come too far to ever go back now," he said to himself, "Soon, I will cleanse this world and renew it to the perfection it needs. And I will finally prove to my father, my mother, and all who have wronged me that I was right."
As he finished talking, the elevator stopped at his floor and opened itself with a ding, an overhead light indicating his arrival.
"This is my true destiny. Not friendship. Not love. Nothing outside of what I have wanted to accomplish for my whole life," he said, "and that...is final."
With those words said, and his desired path clear as day, Ahuizotl walked right inside his bedroom to get some sleep.
Slowly, the elevator closed behind its occupant and sealed itself shut, the light above turning itself off with a quiet ‘ding’.