The Avatar of Chaotic Power

Dragonok focused on his inner strength as he meditated in a crane position with both palms upwards as Daemon, reverted back into her kagen form, consumed the seemingly never-ending sack stuffed with sugary goodness with deafening crunches and sickening slurps. He once again rolled his eyes at her eating habits as he tried to concentrate on the task at hand.

His hands began to emit black miasma from their mouths that rolled into obsidian orbs with a pictograph of a scarlet dragon’s skull etched onto their surfaces. Each orb shook as cracks spreading like cobwebs throughout the surface. Swarms of tiny eyes propped with eight spindly legs crawled out of the cracks as their chitinous wings blurred in rapid motion.

“We live!” all of them shouted in a squeaky chorus that barely reached Dragonok’s ears despite the enormous armada that blanketed the forest floor as far as the eye could see.

Dragonok analyzed his handiwork and nodded in satisfaction at the lack of detrimental flaws. “Hello, little spyflies. I have a job for you.”

The horde of spyflies all raised their forelegs into the air in reverence. “Whatever you desire, master. We shall obey for we are legion!”

“Good. Here are your objectives. Your primary goal is to travel throughout Equus and send me information surrounding on the changes that had occurred during my absence. You are also to act as mentors to any neophyte Chaoswielders you meet on your journey so that they may learn how to better wield the Chaos energy without creating non-beneficial destruction as a side effect. As for your final objective, you are to telelink with any individuals who wish to personally speak with me, especially if said individuals are any of my acquaintances here in Equus that have yet to be deceased. Is that understood?”

The spyflies nodded. “As we hear, we shall obey your commands, Patriarch of Power.” They instantly hopped into the air before their tiny wings propelled the horde into several factions that took off in different directions.

Once certain that the horde had vanished, Dragonok sighed as he crouched down in exhaustion. He had used much of his energy to produce the massive horde that now began to spread throughout Equus. “Now that that’s taken of, let us go visit Zecora. I need some tea to sooth my mouths after spitting out so many generic spawn.”

“Too busy *crunch* chewing candy to talk. Give me a sec.” Daemon continued to munch on a mouthful of candy before she swallowed it down in one gulp. Her cheeks expanded for a moment before she released a gigantic burp that boomed throughout the forest which terrified flocks of birds into the air. “That’s better. Are you sure you want some tea, Master? I thought you loathe the stuff?”

“I loathe the mass-produced low-quality swill served from or produced by food organizations. I personally prefer a more personal touch from someone who actually brews tea without using an accursed teabag to produce that bland aftertaste produced by the material used to make said teabag. It would be nice to try Zecora’s tea to help calm the sore sensations away. Besides, the vapors emitted from her tea are especially pleasant to watch. Now, are you coming or not?”

Daemon shook her head as she continued to rummage around her candy. “Nah, I’ll just stay here while I eat my candy. It’s a great excuse for escaping the dreaded tea.” As she mentioned it, Daemon immediately removed her snout out of the candy andcrouched onto the grassy terrain as she began to sway back and forth while clinging onto her hind legs. She could still recall the traumatic experience associated with the deathly brew. “The dreaded tea…”

Dragonok sighed at the pitiful sight. “I suppose I can let you stay here if you truly feel that ill about tea. I shall return soon after teatime, Daemon. Inform me once there’s any news from the minions.”

Daemon’s pale visage instantly became restored to her former hue as she bounced upon hearing the request. “Alrighty then, Master! Just don’t forget to bring any treats you find during your tea fest. Buh bye!”

And with those parting words, Dragonok set off for the epic quest of drinking tea. If only he had known of the forces about to take place to prevent him from doing so that day.

Dragonok slowly seeped through the opening underneath the door only to witness an interesting sight: Zecora busy stirring a pot filled with a glowing green liquid that seethed with a life of its own. He watched for a moment at the mesmerizing brew bubbling within the caldron before he shook his head and fully materialized before Zecora.

“Hello, Zecora of the Everfree,” he said. “You seem quite busy at work, I see.”

Zecora slowed her stirring as she turned to face Dragonok. “This would be quite true, my stalwart friend, but my task soon reaches its end. Perhaps once I have finished, I shall brew some tea for our minds to be nourished.” Just then, an insistent knocking banged onto the door which startled both of them.

“Zecora, are yah there?” a familiar voice asked behind the door. “Ah’m here for my lessons!” Dragonok searched through his memory banks for a moment before he recalled the voice to be associated that of one of his benefactors: Applebloom.

Zecora turned towards her guest as she trotted towards the entrance. “Excuse me for a moment, my dear friend, for there are matters to which I must attend.”

Zecora swung her door open to greet the young Apple filly. “Welcome, Applebloom, my dear. I am glad you have come here. Are you ready to learn on how to produce mystic mixtures, from soothing elixirs to herbal tinctures?”

Apple Bloom nodded as she put on her best determined expression which would give anypony heart attacks at the sheer adorableness of that sight. “Ah’m ready for anything, Zecora!” As she walked into Zecora’s domain, she noticed that an interesting guest resided near the cauldron. “Um, Zecora, Ah don’t mean to pry but who’s that fella over there?”

Zecora turned and saw that a majestic zebra who could easily best Celestia in height and stature had replaced Dragonok. A curved horn adorned his forehead while a smaller variant tipped the end of his snout. He winked at Zecora who immediately realized his identity.

“Ah, he is a friend of mine whose manners are quite divine,” Zecora explained on the spot. “Beyond that, my young friend, you’ll find out more from his end.”

Apple Bloom walked up towards the mysterious zebra and extended a hoof of friendship. “Hi! Ah’m Apple Bloom! What’s yers?”

A small smile grew on Dragonok’s face as he shook Apple Bloom’s hoof. “My name is Zuzazu, little filly. Is there something interesting you see?”

Apple Bloom’s eyes bulged in embarrassment as she realized she had been unconsciously staring at Dragonok’s unusual features. “Ah didn’t mean to be a bother, Mister Zuzazu. It’s just that yah have a couple horns on yer head and nose. Ah’ve never seen anypony like that before. What in Equestria are yah?”

Dragonok chuckled at the young filly’s response. “I am an abada from the plains of Zebrica, young filly. To assume that I would be anything else would be quite silly. As for my horns, they serve to heal the ills of flesh, mind, and heart by touching their life-force to give it, as they say, a little kick start. Now, are there any more questions you would like to ask or shall I leave you and Zecora to your potion-making task?”

Apple Bloom’s eagerness and hesitation collided as she internally struggled between asking more questions to Zuzazu and learning more about potions from Zecora. The latter won out. “Sure Ah do, but Ah gotta have mah lesson with Zecora first if that’s alright, Mister Zuzazu. Is that alright?”

Dragonok nodded at Apple Bloom’s dedication to study. “It is a good thing to improve your mind so that it may allow you to go forth and not stay behind. After all, knowledge can help others in times of need especially when you learn with potions to heal and not bleed.”

As Apple Bloom listened to Dragonok ramble on, she couldn’t help but feel something familiar about this abada. She knew for certain that she and Zuzazu had never met before; she would have recalled seeing the massive zebra walking about before yet there was something about him that gnawed at her. “There’s something about you that’s bugging me. Ah just can’t put mah hoof on it. Have we met before?”

Dragonok quirked an eyebrow on how close to the mark the little pony had struck upon asking that question. He smiled as he gave her a cryptic reply. “Perhaps we have; perhaps not. Perhaps we met somewhere between here and Canterlot.”

Apple Bloom shook her head. “Ah’m not so sure ‘bout that. Ah would have recalled seeing somepony like yah walking at Canterlot. It’s just that there seems to be something familiar about yah.” She sighed as she couldn’t think on where she could have met him before. She shrugged as she decided to place the matter for another time. “Oh well, ah guess Ah’ll find out sooner or later.”

Zecora, who had been watching the conversation, decided it was her time to step in. “Come now, my pupil. We do not wish to make your mind dull. There is much to do for you must learn the powers of each brew.”

“All right, Zecora. Ah’m coming!” Apple Bloom replied as she scuttled to Zecora’s side.

Dragonok relaxed by lying down onto the soothingly cool dirt floor as he watched both teacher and pupil prepare a potion. This should be fun to watch.

Dragonok, amazed at the past hour’s turn of events, could only blink at what he had witnessed in that brief period of time. How in Tiamantis is there tree sap everywhere? That young filly didn’t bring in any and Zecora certainly didn’t stock the stuff yet there’s tons of the stuff sticking us to the walls. Never have I’ve seen so much raw chaos follow one so young. Netherworlds shake should she ever become a full-fledged Chaoswielder; especially if she becomes a chaosmancer without control over her abilities.

I’ll have to train her once her powers manifest or there will be grave consequences for should she activate her abilities throughout Equus in all of her cuddly glory.

“Well, I must say this is a surprise but I suppose it’s better than an explosive demise,” Dragonok remarked as he attempted to remove himself from the sticky tree sap-prison to no avail “The only thing I did not foresee was being glued to the wall with the blood of tress. However did this phenomenon come about? Had I not become a victim, I would have otherwise doubt.”

“Ah don’t wanna talk about it,” Apple Bloom replied with embarrassment reddening her face. “Zecora, do ya have any ideas on how to get us unstuck?”

Zecora sighed as she shook her head. She had been the only one to escape the sticky fate just before the potion exploded. “This shall take no time to get you both unstuck from this sticky sap-slime. I shall sprinkle some of this powder so that it shall vanish in a blur.” She pulled out a sap-coated pouch hanging from her roof before she opened it and scooped a hoofful of silvery green powder. She gently blew on the little pile around her to create a cloud of shimmering emerald sparkles that touched all within her domicile. The sticky sap that had trapped both Apple Bloom and Dragonok quickly dried off in patches that flutter onto the ground. Its former captives soon followed with an impressive thump and a resounding “oomph” from the impact.

“Well, that was quite the pleasant experience but I’d rather not repeat that more than once,” Dragonok said to Apple Bloom with a pained smile. “I hope you are not in pain; at least there is new knowledge for your brain.”

“What in tarnation would that be?” Apple Bloom asked.

“When it comes to brewing, be wary of what’s cooking.” Dragonok chuckled at Apple Bloom’s eyeroll. “It could be worse, pupil of Zecora. You could have been wearing a fedora.”

“Are ya serious?” Apple Bloom deadpanned as she witnessed Dragonok holding in a smirk with little success. “That has to be the biggest load of hogwash Ah've ever heard of.”

“Ah, you’ve caught me at my little game. What a shame. It would have been more fun to tease. At least my attempt placed you at ease. Wouldn’t you agree, my little filly?” Dragonok waited as Apple Bloom slowly nodded as she absorbed Dragonok’s words.

“Ah guess so… Yer strange, yah know that.”

Dragonok nodded at her remark as he arose from his resting spot. “Well, as much as I would like to stay, I now have to go away. Now that my visit has come to an end, I hope to see you both again, my friends.” He trotted towards the door and let himself out.

Apple Bloom scrunched her forehead as she stared at the departing abada. “Hmm… now that Ah think about it, Ah know that voice from somewhere, but where?” Her eyes widened as she associated the gentle voice to a much deeper rumble belonging to that of a certain former statue she and her fellow CMC had released.

She facehoofed as she mentally chastised herself for not connecting the dots before now. “Aw, horseapples... Ah need to tell the others.”

“So what you’re telling me is that you found that guy we accidentally released along with Discord, chatted with him for a while, and then you realized who he was after he left without any clues on where he could be right now,” Scootaloo summarized as she stared at her friend. “You’ve got to be kidding me!”

“Ah know, Ah know!” Apple Bloom replied as she paced back and forth within their tree clubhouse. “How the hay was Ah supposed to know who he was at the time! He looked and acted like a completely different pony. If it weren’t for his voice, Ah never would have guessed who he was.”

Sweetie Belle contemplated on the information Apple Bloom had just thrown onto them less than an hour ago. It was a shame nopony could find him; let alone catch him. That was when an idea popped up over her head. “I’ve got an idea! Why don’t we catch him? We could get our cutie marks for catching bad guys!”

Applebloom seemed hesitant at that suggestion. “Ah don’t know… Ah heard from AJ that Celestia herself had trouble battling against Dragonok, and that was only when he wasn’t at full power too. ”

Scootaloo shrugged off Apple Bloom’s concerns. “Don’t worry about it, Bloom. We can handle anything that comes in our way. After all, we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders!” She then added the cherry on top to persuade Apple Bloom to participate in their latest scheme. “Besides, it is sort of our fault for letting him loose.”

Apple Bloom sighed as she nodded. It was indeed their fault that a bipedal war machine now stomped throughout all of Equestria. “Ah guess yer right, Scoots. Alright then, let’s do this!”

All three fillies swallowed a gulp of air before they roared out the infamous phrase that instantly sent everypony nearby to run for cover upon hearing the dreaded words. “CUTIE MARK CRUSADERS VILLAIN SNATCHERS! YAY!”

Out of everything Dragonok had previously expected, he certainly didn’t expect this sight to await him during his stroll throughout the Everfree. He pinched the bridge of his nose to alleviate the stress he felt accumulating upon seeing three certain fillies hanging about within a net. “Would the three of you mind telling me what you had planned to do with that net? Better yet, why in Tiamantis are the three of you stuck in said net?”

“Heh… it’s sort of a long story,” Scootaloo meekly replied.

Dragonok stretched his arms towards the sky as he began to lie down to relax on the forest floor. “I have plenty of time to spare, young one.”

“Well, we may have planned on capturing you, and we may have set up this trap to catch you, and we may have accidentally activated our own trap which may be why we’re dangling inside a net.” Sweetie Belle explained while appearing innocent in doing so.

Dragonok chuckled as he rolled his eyes. Children these days seem to pack more courage and foolhardiness than they know what to do with; and, these three are no exception. Not only that, they also possess enough raw Chaos to either topple civilizations or give birth to paradises if they could properly harness it together.

The only question is when to train them.

If he trained them too soon, it would restrict their ability to interact with Chaos to change this world. But if he trained them at a later time instead, there would be no telling what could happen should these three fillies lose control over the Chaos energy before they were trained. They could even grant the Corruption an opportunity to gain full access to this world and its Chaos energy. He knew what would happen if True Chaos became Corrupted. He had seen the horrors spawned from such a twisted union and he swore he would prevent it from happening it again. Now if only there was some way to...

Dragonok chuckled as the most obvious solution blasted straight into his eyes. He just had to take care of the little ones first.

All three CMCs gulped when they noticed the malevolent gleam in Dragonok’s glowing eyes. They shut their eyes as they prepared themselves for the inevitable doom that was sure to await them.

Twilight hummed as she and Spike had begun to organize the library by starting with everypony’s number one preparation tool: lists.

“Quills to check the checklist for library organization?”

“Check!”

“Ink for the quills for that checklist?”

“Check!”

“Checklist to double-check the checklist?”

Spike rolled his eyes, knowing that some things never changed. “Check!”

“Great! Now that we have everything we need, let’s shelve these books in the correct order. After all, progress waits for nopo-”

Out of nowhere, a loud series of knocks banged onto the door which both interrupted Twilight and halted her quest to use the Dew Whee Decimal System to help the library return to its clean and tidy self. It’s amazing what hours of research can do to create piles of books all over the place.

Twilight sighed as she put her duties as a librarian on hold as she walked over towards the door to greet the currently unknown visitor. She opened it to say hello only for the greeting to become stuck in her throat as she came face to face with the grim visage of Dragonok.

“Greetings, young Sparkle. I presume you are familiar with these three?” He lifted a net where the nervously grinning faces of the Cutie Mark Crusaders stared at Twilight’s stunned visage. “You and your friends might want to keep a better eye on them next time.”

Before Twilight could say a word, he quickly released them from their imprisonment before nodding to Twilight. “Have a nice day, young Sparkle.” He quickly left with the strum of violins humming out of thin air to signal his departure.

Had he paid attention to Twilight, he would have noticed an unnatural stiffness to her posture before she fell into a faint, leaving behind three concerned fillies.

"Well, that sure ain’t what Ah had expected. Do ya gals wanna go get some sweets before Twilight wakes up and questions us?” Scootaloo and Sweetie rapidly nodded their consent before all three tip-toed their way out of Twilight’s house as they travelled towards Sugar Cube Corner in an attempt to delay, if not halt, the scolding they’ll likely get once Twilight finds them.

After they had scampered off, Twilight arose with a faint headache before the rush of recent memories slammed her out of her drowsy spell. “Those girls have some explaining to do,” Twilight darkly muttered before she noticed a book lying before her.

Curious, she picked up the book and glared at the flowing letters that formed its title. “Hmm… Chaoswielders 101 For The Inexperienced, The Foolish, And The Block-Headed: How To Wield True Chaos Without Experiencing a Terrible Fate? That’s strange. I’ve never seen this book before. I wonder what it’s about.” She settled down as she began to read from the new book with memories of her shelving duties and Crusaders momentarily banished from her mind as she delved deep into its fascinating contents.

Spike, wondering what Twilight was up to, walked down the stair only to witness her reading deep into another book yet again. He sighed. It looks like it was up to Spike, the number one assistant, to save the day once again. Before he started on his shelving duties, however, he quickly scribbled a note on Twilight’s checklist to remind her about the potential lecture/interrogation with the Cutie Mark Crusaders on the circumstances that led to them being trapped by Dragonok. He shook his head as he imagined the return of insane Twilight that awaited them. It sure wasn't going to be pretty to watch, that's for sure.