Dancing Mad

Kefka's smile was fading quickly. He turned his head back and forth, eyeing dozens of specimens with increasing frustration as he mentally checked each one off of his list.

"No, no, no, NO! None of these will do!" The exasperated mage sat down on a nearby bench, but when his awkward position caused him to topple over, the dam came very close to bursting. The threat of severely painful magical backlash prevented him from doing anything satisfying, so he settled for the next best thing.

"I hate being a horse! I hate it! I hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate hate it! I hate horses! I hate this bench! I hate everything!" Kefka wanted to continue his temper tantrum, but a crowd had started to gather, and most of the ponies were giving him some odd stares. "What are you all looking at? Can't a man rant in peace anymore?"

As the crowd of onlookers dispersed, Kefka grumbled to himself and tried to prop himself back up into a normal sitting position. Once he had himself situated in as close to a comfortable pose as he could manage, he took a few moments to rethink his strategy. He had spent the past hour or so scouting around town for the perfect assistant, to no avail. Without access to his magic, he needed someone that could do his dirty work for him, but all the ponies in town looked too soft, too weak. The few he had seen that looked like they had a bit of muscle on them were missing the all important horn, something Kefka had determined was an absolute must. While it's true that he could force them to use magic with a little magicite modification, he really didn't have the time to train someone who had never used it before.

Ugh, why do all of these ponies have to be so useless? Is there truly no one in this town as exquisite as I? Perfection can be such a bother sometimes.

It's not that Kefka hadn't found any candidates with potential. He had made an attempt to approach a few lucky unicorns, but they all seemed to be intimidated by his magnificence. One white unicorn in particular had nearly fainted when she saw his striking regalia, most likely daunted by his superior sense of fashion. It's a shame really. With skillfully styled hair like that, Kefka could have sworn he had found the only being that might rival him in sheer elegance. While none of the other candidate's reactions had been quite so drastic, they all shied away from the colorful noble in their midst. A few children had asked him if the circus was in town, which just served to confuse him further.

Why would they ask a random stranger about something like that? Do I look like I would know that? Oh wow, my shoes are absolutely filthy.

Sure enough, all three of Kefka's shoes were flecked with motes of dust and dirt, most barely noticeable to the untrained eye. To Kefka's trained eyes, the shoes may as well have been dragged through a muddy ditch. The fact that one of them, currently propping up his head, was in direct contact with his face just disgusted him further.

"I hate being a horse." Kefka pulled the offending hoof away from his face, looking at it like it was diseased. "Those pinhead engineers. Couldn't they have dumped me in a nice, sophisticated city? As if these beasts could even be sophisticated."

"Sounds like somepony woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning."

Kefka put a hold on his pity party for a moment. Had someone just said something to him? He looked up into the face of an aquamarine unicorn flashing him the friendliest smile he had seen since his arrival in the backwater little town. She sat down next to him, propping herself up in much the same way he was attempting to. Something about this unicorn caught Kefka's eye, something he hadn't even realized he had been searching for in the others. He wasn't even sure he had been looking for it before, but something told him that this was the one he had been looking for all day.

That green hair. That voice. She reminds me of... her.

"I thought I was the only one that liked to sit like that. My marefriend thinks it's weird, but I gotta be me, you know? Oh, my name's Lyra, by the way. Lyra Heartstrings. What's yours?"

"Kefka... Palazzo." Even their names sound similar. If I didn't know better, I'd say she was sitting right here next to me.

"Nice to meet you, Kefka. I'm guessing you're from Canterlot. I hope I'm not being too nosy, but you looked like you were having some trouble fitting in around here. I used to live in Canterlot myself, so I know what a culture shock it can be, moving to a little country town like this. The townsfolk can be a little intimidated by nobility, but they're really nice once you get to know them. I can show you around a bit if you'd like. It might be good to get you a little acquainted with the place before Pinkie manages to find you. If you were feeling overwhelmed before, I don't even want to think about what a run in with her would do to you."

"Yes. Yes, that sounds good. Right," Kefka barely managed to respond. He knew what it was that was drawing him to this unicorn. The hair, the voice, the name, they all reminded him of Terra. This unicorn reminded him of the half-esper, Terra Branford, who had escaped his clutches and was currently his primary source of frustration in his own world. He hated her with every fiber of his being. He hated her, and he hated this unicorn, this Lyra Heartstrings, too. He wanted to kill her, to exact his revenge on this doppelganger, but that would have been too easy. No, Kefka wanted this unicorn to suffer. He felt around the pockets in his cloak to make sure the tool he would need was still there.

Lyra pushed herself off the bench and turned to help Kefka up. "We'd better get going then. There's a lot to show you and not much time left in the day."

"Ah yes, you're right of course. Before we go though, I'd like to thank you for your... kindness." Kefka nearly lost his cool as he said the word. Acting could be so difficult at times, but Kefka was nothing if not a professional. He somehow managed to hook the metal band he had been carrying around one of his hooves and pulled it out of his cloak. "Please, accept this token of my appreciation."

"Oh no, I couldn't possibly accept something like that."

Kefka gritted his teeth. "Then accept it as payment for the tour. Please, I want you to have it, I insist."

"Alright then. Thanks."

Kefka barely hid his surprise when the trinket in his hooves glowed a golden yellow and lifted into the air. Lyra inspected the odd metal thing for a minute. She eventually turned her eyes back to Kefka.

"What is it?"

"It's a tiara. Go on, try it on."

Kefka's voice had become shaky, almost like a child who was getting a little too excited about opening a present on Hearth's Warming Day. Nevertheless, Lyra decided that it would be rude not to at least try on the gift, even if it didn't look particularly stylish.

As soon as the tiara was safely fastened to her head, Lyra felt one of the strangest sensations that she had ever felt before. Her head felt empty, but everything was still there. She could remember everything, still had access to all of her senses, but she couldn't move her body. For some strange reason, she didn't feel panicked about it at all.

"Sit down."

Lyra wasn't sure why, but she suddenly wanted to sit down, very badly. Nothing else mattered, nothing but sitting down at this exact moment. She sat back down on the bench.

"Stand up."

Why was she sitting down? She needed to stand, right now. Lyra jumped up off of the bench and stood perfectly still.

"Smack yourself in the face."

Kefka watched with glee as the poor creature standing before him lifted her front right hoof and struck herself in the jaw as hard as she could. The loud crack that resulted sounded painful, but Lyra didn't even flinch. Without a doubt, the slave crown had successfully taken hold of the unicorn's mind.

"Wee hee hee hee hee! This is great, excellent, perfect! Come, come, follow me, Lyra. I have a few tests I'd like to perform, and I think it best to avoid prying eyes."

Kefka headed away from the town square, practically hopping the whole way. Matching his pace was a far less enthusiastic Lyra Heartstrings, with eyes that looked like she could win a staring contest with a cadaver.

Kefka and Lyra stood on the outskirts of town, away from any roads where they might be stumbled upon by travellers. Kefka's eye twitched as he tried not to let his frustration get the best of him. Lyra simply returned a blank stare and awaited further orders.

"That's the only spell you know? Levitation? That's it?"

Lyra nodded.

"Okay, next order. Tell me why I shouldn't kill you right now and find someone else to do your job."

"Most unicorns don't learn much more than a basic levitation spell unless otherwise required by their job. It is unlikely that you will find a unicorn that can do much more than that. Even if you did find a unicorn with more magic knowledge, they likely wouldn't fall for your trick."

Kefka rubbed his forehead with his one bare hoof. His headache was beginning to come back and he hadn't even tried casting anything yet. "Fine, I suppose I can work with this. It'll just take a little more work than I was expecting. You should consider yourself lucky that I am so merciful." Kefka dug around in his cloak pockets before pulling out three chunks of magicite, each with a dim glow, one red, one blue, and one yellow. He tossed them to the ground at Lyra's feet. "Here, I've already gotten all I can out of these. Maybe the scraps left in them will make you slightly less useless. They should at least teach you the basics, now pick them up."

Lyra reached out to the blue rock in front of her with her magic. As soon as her aura touched the stone, she felt the air around her chill. She felt her entire body's temperature drop, but she didn't feel cold. She didn't feel any discomfort, any warning from her body telling her to seek shelter. She simply was cold. Much like another pony might be happy or sad, scared or elated, she was cold. In her mind, she heard a voice, and she knew that this voice was the ice that she felt inside of her. The voice was weak, and Lyra could only make out one thing that it said.

"Shiva."

Kefka cocked an eyebrow at the single word his accomplice had spoken. "So, they still have a little life left in them, hmm? Well, give it a try. Freeze that tree over there."

Lyra looked at the tree that Kefka had pointed to. She had her orders, freeze the tree, but it seemed impossible. She shaped her magic to surround the tree, as she would with a normal levitation spell, but nothing happened. Just as she was about to give up, she felt the ice inside speak to her. It's voice was faint, but the words didn't matter. She knew what it wanted. She brought the blue stone closer with her levitation until she could touch it with her hoof. As soon as she made physical contact with the blue crystal, she felt the ice become a part of her. Her magic felt different, augmented, like some knowledge had been hidden away her whole life and she had finally remembered. She looked at the tree and shaped her magic one more time.

"Blizzard."

Had he been drinking at the time, Kefka would have done a spit take. He had expected to see a tree encased in a block of ice, as is usual with this particular spell. What he had seen instead, or what he thought he had seen, was a solid cloud of fog engulf the tree and dissipate, leaving behind what looked like a perfect ice sculpture of the same tree. Maybe there was something he could learn from these creatures after all.

"Lyra. I'm going to need you to tell me everything you know about unicorn magic."

About an hour later, Kefka was jumping for joy. His newest plaything had somehow raised his expectations and then exceeded them. By augmenting her natural levitation aura with the magicite he had provided, she could shape the elements in the air however she wished. He couldn't wait to try out this little trick once he got his own magic under control once again. For the time being though, he had to settle for living vicariously through his favorite apprentice.

"Cut that tree in half with fire!"

A ball of fire formed in the air in front of Lyra. A single tendril of flame lashed out at the tree and blew it in half with a single whip crack.

"Ice! Ice! Turn the forest to ice!"

A small cloud of fog flitted between the trees, crystallizing each and every branch it touched.

"Give yourself bunny ears! Made of lightning!"

Lyra created two elongated shapes made of crackling energy above her own head. Kefka nearly collapsed on the ground when one of them flopped over.

"Gah ha! Gah ha ha! Oh ho ho ho! It's too much! Stop, stop, put them away!"

The electric aura dispersed leaving Lyra with only her normal ears once again.

"Okay, I think that's enough playing around. It's obvious you can use magic just fine. However, I still need to test something else. A tool is only useful if it remains loyal under pressure. I'm going to need to test the strength of your loyalty to me."

Kefka paused for a moment, deep in thought. While it's true that the slave crown forced the wearer to obey his every command, he had also learned that the magic of these pony creatures was largely affected by their emotions and, to Kefka's chagrin, friendship. He couldn't risk the power of the crown failing under emotional duress at a critical time.

"Set your hoof on fire."

Lyra's hoof caught on fire. She didn't blink, though the smell of burning hair made Kefka rethink his idea.

"Put it out, and stand downwind."

The fire died down and Lyra changed her position on the road.

"Mmhmm. Choke yourself."

Lyra raised both front hooves to her neck and began compressing her airways. She fell forward without the support from her front two legs and ended up strangling herself while lying on her side. Kefka watched the whole ordeal until Lyra's face started to turn blue.

"Alright, stop. Wouldn't want you to accidentally kill yourself."

As Lyra gasped for breath and slowly forced herself into a standing position, Kefka thought about what else he could do to test the unicorn's loyalty to him.

It seems that imminent death isn't enough to break the spell, but perhaps the effects of the crown simply render her incapable of fear? I need something more drastic, and I think I know exactly what that is.

"Lyra, tell me something. What is it that you love most in this world?"

Applejack looked up at the sun and noted that it was just about time to close up shop for the day. She started counting up any unsold apples and baked goods, tallying up what had been sold throughout the day so she could make sure she had gathered the right amount of bits. Normally she kept track of sales throughout the day, but she couldn't keep her mind from wandering ever since her run in with the strange clown guy on the side of the road. More specifically, her thoughts kept returning to that strange blue stone he had with him. She was no stranger to magical artifacts, being the bearer of the Element of Honesty and all, but that stone was different. She hadn't wanted to say anything at the hospital for fear of making herself look crazy, but she could have sworn the stone tried to talk to her. It felt so familiar, too, like she had known that stone for years.

What was it he called it, a magic sight or somethin'? I've gotta ask Twi if she's ever heard of it before.

Applejack loaded the remaining apples and apple products into her cart and prepared for the trip back to Sweet Apple Acres. Performing manual labor only reminded her of the stone, however, and her pace slowed to stop as she was distracted yet again.

That stone, I felt faster, stronger, just by touching it. I felt more alive, but there was something else. It's weird but, I felt safe. It felt like a close friend that would never betray me. That's silly though, right? I mean, maybe that's just what it does, maybe it's like a magic stress relief rock. That fella was pretty defensive of it and he calmed down right quick once he got his hooves on it. I'm sure that's what it is.

Satisfied with her answer, Applejack resumed her trek back to the farm. Before she made it out of the town limits though, she had slowed down once again.

If that's all it was though, why did I feel so terrible when I handed it over? It felt like that rock trusted me, and I stabbed it in the back. A magic stress ball wouldn't do that, right? I ain't goin' crazy am I?

Before she could resolve the issue, a frantic voice broke her out of her thoughts. A neon pink earth pony with a bright yellow mane was shouting at her.

"Whoa now! Calm down there, Cherry, what seems to be the problem?"

The frantic mare started hyperventilating as she tried to explain the situation. "There's a fire! Trying to round up ponies. Weather team got clouds. Not fast enough. Can't find Rainbow Dash. The fire won't stop burning! It. Won't. Stop!"

Fires weren't exactly unheard of, but usually the weather team could handle them before they got out of control. Something didn't seem right about this fire, and it didn't seem like Rainbow Dash to neglect her duties this badly. That particular issue would have to wait for the time being, Applejack had more pressing matters to attend to. "Cherry Berry, lead the way."

Kefka watched the fire from the secluded second story window of Lyra's house. The flames obscured most of the burning building, but if he squinted just right, he could still make out the words "Bon Bon's Bon Bons" on the sign over the door. Ponies in fireproof suits were entering the building, but Kefka knew they wouldn't find anything worth saving. The only inhabitant had been killed long before the fire began. Kefka grinned as he thought back on his pet's handy work.

Electrocution through the hooves really was a great idea. Avoids the whole hair burning smell. That was truly inspired. Oh, and the look on her face when her own girlfriend, or what did they call it, marefriend? Oh whatever, when she stabbed her with that icicle? Priceless. If I could bottle that look, I'd make a fortune.

Kefka couldn't have been happier with the result of his test if he tried. He had become slightly worried that the slave crown's charm might break when he saw a single tear on Lyra's cheek as she was electrocuting her lover, but she hadn't stopped. The victim's screams and desperate pleas were delicious as always, but Lyra's own anguish made it all the sweeter. To top it all off, he had even gained a new addition to his collection. Kefka rolled the small cream colored rock around in his covered front hoof. Kefka's ultimate prize: magicite.

Don't worry, you and Blue over here will have plenty of friends to keep you company soon enough.

After placing the magicite shard into one of his cloak pockets, Kefka turned his attention to the other pony occupying the room.

"Are you just about finished down there? Stand up."

Lyra rose from her position on the floor at Kefka's back hooves. Kefka twisted his head around to examine his shoes. Both of them were spotless, completely free of the dirt that had plagued them earlier that day.

"Good job, Lyra. Very good. Now, I'm going to need you to do the front one as well, and clean your tongue first. I don't want you to get any of the dirt from the other shoes on this one."

Kefka turned his sights back to the view out the window. He let out a happy sigh as he watched the sun set, a pleasant backdrop to the rising flames that consumed the confectioner's shop.

"No better way to spend an evening."