Dancing Mad

Today was not shaping up to be a good day.

"Why isn't it finished yet? Tell me!"

Development had been going slow lately, and the higher ups were not at all pleased. The unusually colorful man sporting red and white face paint was currently making sure that this was a well known fact.

"Sir Palazzo, please, we're trying our best, but this particular branch of Magitek is still in the early stages of research. Something of this scale, it's just too unstable!"

Kefka Palazzo, a powerful mage, right hand to the emperor, and criminally insane to boot; a deadly combination. In the early stages of Magitek research, Kefka had been the first subject to be infused with powerful magic. He had been granted a great gift, but paid for it with his own mind. Despite being just as unstable as the machine standing before him, the "Psycho Clown", as his subordinates had taken to calling him, was still higher on the payroll than the men he was currently addressing, a fact that many found rather unsavory.

"Early stages? Really now? Tell me, how is it that I can personally teleport myself anywhere on this planet that I so wish, at will I might add, and yet you, with all the resources that our empire has to offer, cannot build a single machine, the sole purpose of which is to open a gateway to a realm very close to our own? Explain that one to me, oh great scientist."

Magitek, short for Magic Technology, is a means of granting unimaginable power to non-magical beings, humans specifically, through science. The process is powered with a special crystal known as magicite, a rare and very valuable resource. Only a select few within the empire know of the crystal's true origin, for very good reason. Were the secret to spread, well, a riot or two would probably be the bare minimum the emperor would have to face.

"Sir, with all due respect, your teleportation relies on a certain level of familiarity with your location. None of us have ever been to the Land of Espers. We can't tune the device properly, we can't locate it."

"You can't find it? That's it? HA! Simple solution, pick a location and jump in. Repeat as necessary."

The Land of Espers, a realm close to our own, yet not entirely of this world. As its name suggests, the land is inhabited by espers, beings of pure magic, and the only known source of magicite crystals in this or any world. Upon death, while their bodies disperse into the fabric of the universe around them, the souls and power of the espers remain in the form of magicite, a physical manifestation of their magical ability.

The entire field of Magitek was built upon magicite crystals, and soon we had discovered ways to force the espers into their crystalline form. However, there were never enough, and so we found ourselves wanting more.

"Sir, were we simply traveling within our own world, that would be a viable solution, surely. However, jumping between realms of existence, we cannot guarantee the safety of the test subject–"

"SAFETY? You waste my time because of safety procedures? I care nothing for the safety of your precious scientists, I want it done now!"

"Sir Palazzo, surely you cannot be suggesting throwing away the lives of our own men in such a fruitless endeavor! Besides, trial and error would take far too long with the scale we are working with. It could take years, we might not even finish in our lifetimes!"

That shut the old clown up. Despite his deteriorating sanity, Kefka could still see reason on rare occasion. The room remained silent for what seemed like eons. Many of the researchers in the lab could be seen visibly shaking. A shouting match with Kefka Palazzo rarely ended with all parties, involved or otherwise, alive and well. Still, the mad mage looked thoughtful for a moment, before finally responding.

"Could you use the esper's own magic as a sort of beacon? Search for a similar energy to lock onto? Surely speeding up the process like that would more than make for a few dead scientists."

"Perhaps, with a sample of magic that can closely match the strength of one of the espers we could, but I still can't justify risking our own men. The emperor's plan is still a possibility, is it not?"

"PAH! Gestahl's plan? To simply wait for the enemy to open the gate and follow them in? Oh sure, let's just let the rebels reach the espers first and hope that they'll just hand them over to us when we show up later. Why do you think I've been trying to get this done as soon as possible? When Terra and her merry little band of 'Returners' get there, I want them to be met not with a warm welcome, but a wasteland. So, will you do it, or do I have to kill your men the old fashioned way?"

And there it is; the death threat. Die doing your job, or die because you didn't. There very rarely were any other alternatives under the supervision of Sir Kefka Palazzo. All things considered, death from random exposure to inhospitable planes of existence was probably less painful than what Kefka had in store.

"Do you have a sample in mind, for comparison?"

Kefka said nothing in response. He slowly raised his left arm, curling his fingers as though grasping at some object in the air, until his hand rested at eye level. Without a second thought, his fingers clenched into a fist. Every head in the room, save for Kefka's own and one unfortunate other, turned instantly at the sound of screams. Behind the maniac himself, a single researcher stood engulfed in flame, screaming as he burned alive in front of his peers.

"Will this suffice?"

"Y-yes, sir. We'll begin right away, sir."

"Are you almost done yet, or do you need another sample?" Kefka clenched and unclenched his fingers out of sheer irritation. Dealing with these peons was simply exasperating, and watching them flinch in fear each time he cracked his knuckles brought a modicum of much needed enjoyment to the impatient mage. The fact that a couple of those cracks had resulted in a stray lightning bolt or two acted as the perfect motivation to speed along the process.

"Not necessary, sir. I think we're very close."

"You had better be, this is taking far too long. We are already cutting it too close as it is!"

At that moment, the machine in the center of the room sputtered to life as a foreign magic poured through its circuitry.

"Sir! The machine is reacting to something. I can't be sure if this is actually the Land of Espers we're linked to, but there's a magic almost identical to your own residing on this plane. With some further study, I'm sure we can confirm–"

"No time!" Kefka leaped out of his seat to examine the machine. "If the magic is the same, there's nothing else it could be."

"Sir Palazzo, I really don't think it's a good idea to just jump in. Please, with just a little time–"

"Open the gate now, or I will find someone else, someone less on fire, to do it."

"We should run some tests first. Surely you don't intend to go in yourself?"

"We don't have the luxury anymore. Terra could reach the espers any minute. It has to be now!"

Oddly enough, nobody else seemed to object to the idea of Kefka jumping headlong into an unknown portal to another potentially deadly plane of existence. After the removal of a few safety locks, the air around the machine began to distort until the image of a dark forest came into view, not unlike a mirage.

"See? Trees. Looks safe enough. Now, I'm afraid we've wasted far too much time here, and the world won't conquer itself."

"Sir Palazzo! Wait, you can't just... jump in. He just jumped in didn't he?"

"I believe so."

Without any warning, the vision disappeared as smoke began to rise from the machine. This was going to take a while to fix.

"Good riddance."

Kefka's face hurt. Jumping through the portal had been far more disorienting than he had expected, and no amount of magical power can protect against a mouthful of dirt. The mage lifted himself back onto his feet and promptly fell flat on his back. It didn't take long to discover the cause.

"Dear me, I seem to have been turned into a horse. That engineer, what's his name, is so fired, in every definition of the word."

After rolling himself onto his hooves, Kefka took a moment to observe his surroundings. It seemed he had been deposited at the edge of the forest from the vision, as an empty field of grass could be seen to his left.

"Not an esper in sight. That fool, this is an absolute disaster!"

Instinctively, Kefka tried to channel the energy inside him to prepare a destructive fire spell, hoping to work out a little stress on the surrounding flora. When he reached for his magic however, he was met with unexpected resistance. His magic was still there, but it wasn't alone. There was another magic within him, something foreign, something at odds with his naturally chaotic magic. Though it pained him to even think of it, it seemed almost peaceful. As peaceful as it may have been, trying to access his own magic had caused a violent reaction between the two, leaving the already disoriented mage writhing on the ground with a splitting headache. He reflexively reached his fore hooves to his head, which met with another surprising discovery.

"Is that a... a horn? HA! I'm a unicorn! Hee-hee-hee I must have turned into an esper myself! This is perfect! I have truly ascended! HA HA!"

Kefka danced in place, overwhelmed with childlike excitement. After calming down, he looked over himself to admire his new form. He was delighted to find that his normal attire had reshaped itself to fit his new body. His red and yellow striped cloak hung loosely over a mishmash of assorted colors and patterns arranged with no discernible rhyme or reason. A purple sleeve with red polka dots on one leg, a solid crimson sleeve on another. Three of his hooves were adorned with mismatched boots, one yellow, one black, and one white. His left fore hoof remained bare. Various other fabrics covering every color of the rainbow and many in between made up the rest of his outfit, many hanging loose like an assortment of scarves serving no apparent purpose. There was one small thing that Kefka had not expected, however. Hidden beneath his cloak could be found two pairs of feathered wings, one set black, and one set pure white.

"Are those wings? A winged unicorn? Ah ha, AH HA HA HA, OH HO HO HO HO HO HO! Truly I have become a god, for I am... wait, are those? Yep, those are attached to the outfit. How dreadfully disappointing. Pah, I have more important things to be doing anyway."

Continuing his inventory, Kefka was pleased to note that along with his outfit, many of his other supplies had been preserved. A couple vials containing assorted liquids, a few spare pieces of magicite he kept hidden for his own personal use, and a circular metal headband that had also apparently been adapted for equine use. Everything he had been carrying when he crossed over was present and accounted for. Unfortunately, anything he wasn't carrying at the time was likewise left behind.

"What a day to forget my Morning Star. And to think, I've left myself alone and vulnerable without so much as a weapon or my magic to protect me. Oh woe is me." Despite his seemingly bleak situation, Kefka couldn't help but grin. He was an esper! A being of pure magic! Once he had his new magic under control, nothing could stop him, not even that damned esper wannabe, Terra. Reveling in his joyous thoughts, the newly minted unicorn failed to notice a winged shadow descend upon his location, at least until a rough yet clearly female voice interrupted his musing.

"Hey buddy, whatcha doing way out here? And what's with the getup, you with the circus?"

Kefka prepared himself to deliver a verbal lashing at the individual who had just insulted his dashing sense of style, but the figure now before him very nearly wiped the incident from his mind. Another horse hovered just above the ground, this one with a light blue coat, wings instead of a horn, and a rainbow mane and tail.

"First of all, I don't take kindly to my attire being insulted by one who doesn't even wear clothes. Second, and more importantly, where are the other espers? You can't be the only one here." Kefka impatiently tapped his uncovered hoof on the ground. Oh, you are so lucky my magic isn't working right now.

"Esper? Never heard of that before, I'm a pegasus. The name's Rainbow Dash, fastest flyer in Equestria." Rainbow nonchalantly rubbed a hoof on her chest, pretending not to pay attention. "So, what's your name?"

Kefka paid no heed to the question. "What do you mean you've never heard of an esper? Isn't this the Land of Espers? Beings of pure magic? Tamers of the elements? Sources of unimaginable power?"

Rainbow seemed oddly unfazed by the colorful unicorn's rambling. "Pure magic? I wouldn't go that far. I'm not particularly magical myself, though I can perform some pretty amazing stunts. Hey, you wanna see some tricks?"

"But but, what about me? I have magic inside me. Doesn't that mean I'm an esper? How can you not be?"

"Did you hit your head on something? Of course you can do magic. You're a unicorn, all unicorns can do magic. That's like, pony 101."

It can't be. Not an esper. But this magic, it has to be esper magic. But... I'm not all magic, so maybe I'm not an esper. But, there is some magic in there.

Rainbow couldn't help but notice the vacant stare on her new friend's face. "Are you okay? Maybe we should get you to the hospital, Ponyville's not far from here."

Kefka snapped back to attention at Rainbow's voice. "Oh, yes. You're right, I suppose. Which way did you say was this 'Ponyville'?"

The concerned pegasus lifted a hoof to point in a seemingly arbitrary direction. There were very few landmarks around to go by.

"Ah, right, good then. Oh, by the way, before we go, I remember seeing someone else in the woods here. They looked to be injured."

Rainbow looked confused for a moment. "Someone? What, is there, like, a griffon in there or something?"

Kefka, being the master of manipulation that he is, didn't miss a beat. "Oh my, yes. They looked to be in positively dreadful condition. Feathers everywhere, you really ought to take a look."

"The only griffon I know that would be hanging around here is Gilda." Rainbow seemed more conflicted than concerned. "Well, if she's hurt, I should at least see if she needs help, I suppose. Hey, can you show me where she is?"

How lucky! I seem to have struck a chord with her somehow. This is almost too easy! "Why, of course. Right this way, Miss Dash."

"Hey, you're a pretty cool dude. Oh, you never gave me your name."

Kefka couldn't help but grin. "Oh, where are my manners? You can call me Kefka. Lord Kefka Palazzo. Now come, your fallen comrade is much further inside."

Several hours later, Kefka emerged from the forest alone. He glanced at the moon, with a look of annoyance on his face.

"That took far longer than it should have. Who knew it would be so difficult to clean blood off of this stupid horn? The stuff leaves such a terrible stain. Ah well, I suppose it wasn't a total waste."

Kefka lifted his uncovered hoof to his face. Lying before his eyes was a small blue crystal, glowing with magical energy.

"That little whelp lied to me. She may not have been an esper, but my suspicions were still correct. I was still able to extract this small amount of magic, and if she has magic, then surely there are others with it as well."

Kefka Palazzo's face stretched to its limit to contain his massive maniacal grin. His eyes lit up, set ablaze like one of his many innocent victims as he directed his gaze to the town that the now deceased pegasus had pointed him towards.

"If I'm right. There should be plenty more where this came from... in Ponyville."

The mad mage cantered in the direction of the unsuspecting village, practically skipping in delight as he laughed at the stars in the night sky.