Dancing Mad

"Ugh, remind me why we're out here again."

"Because you said you absolutely needed the components on your list to mix up a larger batch of poison for your plan to work, and this is the closest location where they can be found."

Kefka twisted his head to give his companion a piercing death glare. Lyra continued staring blankly at the path in front of her, unaffected by her master's foul mood.

"Well you could have said something about it being in the middle of all this disgusting... nature." Kefka trudged along the winding dirt path, muttering death threats under his breath. He hadn't thought anything of it when Lyra had informed him that the herbs he needed were located in a place called the Everfree Forest. She had mentioned that an apothecary lived out here, so it was quite a shock to find that the place was so... unlivable.

It'll all be worth it. Just think of the prize. Get in, get the goods, get out. It's not like anything in here could possibly hurt you. It's just that it's all so dirty. Blech.

Kefka squinted his eyes to try and see further down the path ahead of him. According to Lyra's information, there should be a hut or something out here. She had never seen it herself, so her description was next to useless, but judging by the lack of civilization to be found, it didn't seem like it would be difficult to pick out the only structure with a door. During his scan, Kefka spotted something in his peripheral vision that gave him pause.

"Lyra! Puddle."

Lyra quickened her pace until she caught up to where Kefka had forged ahead. Sure enough, there was a shallow puddle of muddy water about a foot across directly in Kefka's path. Lyra laid down on her side, covering the puddle with her body as she had been instructed to do in these types of scenarios. After Kefka had safely crossed the offending body of water, Lyra picked herself up and followed her master from a safe distance, dripping wet on one side and freshly bruised on the other. This was the third puddle they had come across so far, and it felt like she had cracked a rib this time, though she cared little.

"Lyra, come along now, time is of the essence! Oh, I think I see another puddle up ahead."

Lyra quickened her pace until she caught up to where Kefka had forged ahead.

"I'm tellin' ya Twi, somethin' don't seem right about this Kefka fella. I can't put my hoof on it, but I just got a bad feelin'."

Twilight Sparkle barely looked up from the book she was reading. "Applejack, this isn't another case of premature apprehension based on corporeal idiosyncrasies is it?"

Applejack's deadpan stare spoke volumes. "Twi, ya gotta meet me halfway here."

Twilight closed her book and gave her friend an apologetic and slightly embarrassed smile. "Sorry, you know how I can get when I'm in study mode. What I meant was you aren't prejudging him because he looks different, like with Zecora, right?"

Applejack pulled back at hearing Twilight's accusation. "Twi, you know I wouldn't make that mistake again. I am offended that you would even think that."

"Well, I'm sorry, but you don't seem to have much proof other than a 'bad feeling'. I just don't want to repeat past mistakes. Have you tried talking to him?"

"I suppose I can see where yer comin' from, and yes I have talked to him." Applejack put a hoof to her chin as she wracked her brain to try and remember the details of her interaction with the strangely garbed stallion. "I found him unconscious a few days back, brought him to the hospital, we talked a bit when he woke up, and then I left."

Twilight raised an eyebrow. "That's the only interaction you've had? So, where's this bad feeling come from?"

"That's just it. I can't figure it out, but I know it had something to do with this weird stone he had. He was a mite snippy when he woke up, askin' about this thing called a 'magic sight'. He got real mad when I picked it up, but he calmed right down again when I gave it back to him. I've never seen somepony get so defensive over a rock before."

As soon as Applejack had mentioned the 'magic sight' stone, Twilight had already begun pulling books on geology off of the library shelves. "Did you notice anything else about that stone, any physical characteristics? Maybe I can narrow it down a bit, make it easier to find."

"Well, it was blue, sky blue, and it had a bright glow comin' off it, like a blue firefly. That's not the weirdest thing about it though. I don't think that was no ordinary stone, Twi. When I touched it, it felt almost like it was alive. It tried to speak to me, I think, but it was too faint to make out any words."

"Wait, hold up." Twilight's levitation aura faltered and the book she had been reading dropped to the floor. "The stone spoke to you? Like, actually tried to form words and communicate with you?"

"Yeah, it did, but that's not all. I felt stronger just by being near it. You shoulda seen it, Twi, I don't think I've ever run so fast before. I ran clear from Sweet Apple Acres to Ponyville General in record time, and I wasn't even winded, and it just keeps gettin' weirder. I felt like... I felt like the sky was callin' to me, like I could sprout wings and take off into the air if I had a mind to. I don't exactly have prior experience to base it on, but I think that must be how it feels to be a pegasus. I can't think of any other way to describe it."

Twilight's hoof tapped a steady rhythm on her forehead as she pieced together everything Applejack had said. "A glowing blue stone that makes the holder feel what a pegasus feels, and significantly increases their physical capabilities. Applejack, I'm going to have to send a letter to the princess to confirm this, but I have never even heard of a mineral with properties like that. If it exists, it's not written in any of the books in this library, and that means it may be a new discovery!" Twilight had already begun to gather stacks of parchment and quills to document any possible findings. "Applejack, I need to talk to that stallion. Kefka, right? Do you know where he is?"

"Well now, I'd tell ya if I knew, but I ain't run into him since our first meetin'. I was hopin' to get Rainbow Dash to do a little aerial scoutin' around town, but she's been missin' for a few days now. Fluttershy's out of town with Mac, so I can't ask her to do it either. Don't suppose you know anythin' about where Rainbow's gone off to?"

"No, I haven't seen her. She isn't off on some training trip again? I know she's been doing laps between here and Manehatten lately to work on her stamina."

Applejack shook her head. "Nah, she just got back from one of those. Besides, you can always tell when she starts a run." Applejack chuckled as she remembered her friend's training habits. "She always sets off a sonic rainboom when she leaves. Blows everything she's got right out the gate and loses steam halfway through. I swear, that pony has never heard the word 'pacing' before."

"You don't think it has anything to do with the other reported disappearances, do you?" Twilight bit her lip. "You don't think she's hurt, is she?"

"Rainbow Dash? Hurt?" Applejack chuckled halfheartedly. "If there's something that can take down Dash, then the whereabouts of one pegasus is going to be the least of our worries, I reckon. I'm sure we'll see her tonight at Pinkie's party." Her smile faltered as she tried to reassure her worried friend. She wanted to believe that Rainbow Dash was okay, but the bad feeling she had in the pit of her stomach still hadn't gone away. "Hey, Twi, I'm sure everything'll turn out all right. We'll go to the party, Dash'll be there safe and sound, and we'll all hang out and have a fun time. No big deal."

"I hope you're right, Applejack. I really do."

"Lyra, what is the holdup? We are losing precious hours while you waste the day playing around."

"My apologies, master." Lyra ducked behind a large boulder just as a massive claw sliced through the air, shaving off the tip of her tail. "This Ursa is proving more difficult to subdue than was first estimated."

"What are you doing trying to subdue it? It is an animal, a beast," Kefka explained as though he were lecturing a child. "Its life is insignificant, and now it is wasting our time. Kill it, and let's be done with it."

Lyra nodded and looked up at the hulking blue bear that stood before her. The thing was as big as a house, if not larger, and could squash her fragile form with a single paw if it could catch her. Now that she had been ordered to use lethal force, however, evasive maneuvers were no longer on her mind. Lyra's horn began to glow as she focused her mind on her spell. As the bear began to charge at the stationary unicorn, a single bolt of lightning struck, paralyzing the creature inches from Lyra's face. Without missing a beat, Lyra summoned forth a massive ball of fire, molded it into the shape of a lance, and thrust the flaming weapon through the Ursa's chest. The bear managed to let loose a single strangled roar before succumbing to its wounds and falling dead to the forest floor. Kefka walked up to the creature and poked it with a hoof.

"No blood? What is it, actually made of stars? I thought that was just some kind of useless camouflage. What's the fun in killing something that can't even bleed?" Kefka continued poking the beast for a little bit while thinking aloud. "Ooh, maybe it's an esper? If so, I'll have to return here once I have my magic back. I'd better make a note of this."

Before the investigation could go any further, a tremor caused Kefka and Lyra to lose their footing. A gargantuan saber toothed bear with a star speckled purple coat poked its head above the treeline and looked in the pair's direction. The behemoth's eyes darted back and forth until its searching gaze landed on the body of its deceased cub. An earth shaking roar echoed throughout the Everfree Forest as the mammoth beast charged at the two ponies standing nearby.

Kefka sighed and stepped away to a nearby tree and sat down. "Lyra, try to be quick about this. We really don't have all day."

"No, no, no, no, no! There's nothing here!" Twilight cast aside book after book in her ongoing pursuit of knowledge. After her conversation with Applejack, she had sent a letter to her mentor, Princess Celestia, asking if she knew anything about a magical blue stone that could make an earth pony feel like a pegasus. Her teacher's response had come nearly as quickly as the request had been made, and the fact that she had not heard of it either had kick started a frenzied research session. Twilight had begun to pull books off the shelves once again, determined to find something, anything, about the mysterious stone. Ultimately, her search had been fruitless and she now sat in the midst of hundreds of unshelved books with absolutely no leads and not much time left before she had to leave for Pinkie's party.

"Grah! It's just so frustrating! How could a stone with such powerful magic go undetected like this, especially if some random noble from Canterlot has one? Maybe he doesn't even realize what he has." A lightbulb turned on in Twilight's head as she considered the implications of an undiscovered stone's existence so close by. "Oh my gosh! I could be the first to uncover a new type of magic! This is an opportunity to research something brand new, and I can write a report and maybe even get published! Oh my gosh oh my gosh, I need to come up with a list of questions to ask this Kefka guy at the party."

Twilight levitated the pile of books she had been sitting in to an unused corner of the library for her assistant, Spike, to take care of later. Relieved to find that she had a few fresh sheets of parchment on hand, Twilight began to write down the questions she would need answered, but one question stuck in her mind more than the others.

"Who is this Kefka guy, anyways? Normally, I'd just brush him off as any other noble, but he can't be too normal if he managed to get his hooves on an unknown magical artifact." Twilight continued writing down questions, but for once in her life, she was unable to fully concentrate on her research topic. "And then there's that name, Palazzo. Now, I'm not the authority on Canterlot nobility, but I've lived there for most of my life, and I've never heard that name before. Hmm, an unknown noble with an unknown magic. Oh, but maybe it's a newly elevated family, I really shouldn't jump to conclusions without any proof."

By now, Twilight had left the parchment and quill on her writing desk and was now pacing around the library's main room. "Applejack said she found him on the side of the road four days ago, but wouldn't a noble have some sort of escort? However, if he was collapsed on the side of the road, it's possible that his escort was attacked and driven off. Oh but wait, Applejack said that he had collapsed from a severe magical feedback reaction, so he probably wasn't ambushed by a random highwaymare."

Twilight slowed her pacing as she continued trying to rearrange the various puzzle pieces she had assembled in her mind. "Okay, noble shows up from Canterlot, he's got an unknown magical artifact. Said noble suffers from pH desynchronization, if what Applejack said is true. I would hate to jump to accusations, but the fact that ponies started disappearing almost the same day he showed up is a pretty big coincidence. That doesn't make sense, though. He claims to be a relative of Lyra's, and ponies have seen Lyra with him around town. I've known Lyra since we were both little fillies living in Canterlot. Surely, she wouldn't be working with a ponynapper. Oh, this is just so confusing!"

Twilight looked up at the wall clock to check the time. "5:30. Just about time to head over to Sugarcube Corner. If I could just get a chance to talk to him, I should be able to get the answers I need. For once, I really hope I'm on the wrong track."

"Lyra, this had better be the place. My legs are killing me from all this walking."

Lyra limped to Kefka's side. Her left hind leg was bruised and twisted slightly, but otherwise usable, and she had a cut above her right eye which had mostly healed, but still left the fur around the area stained a dark red. "I believe this is Zecora's home, yes."

"Excellent, now stay hidden." Kefka strolled up to the door of the gnarled tree that doubled as a house and knocked on the door. A muffled voice called from inside.

"Now who could that be, this late in the day?" The door opened and in its place stood another horse, but this time with a coat striped black and white. "To what do I owe the pleasure, if I may?"

Kefka hadn't been expecting to see a zebra, though it wasn't entirely surprising to him at this point. It certainly wasn't the strangest thing he had seen so far. "Are you Zecora?"

"Your guess is correct, that is my name. I was not aware that it carried such fame."

Kefka smirked at the zebra and her odd way of speaking. This could have been fun if he wasn't in such a hurry. He pulled a rolled up piece of parchment out of his cloak with his teeth and held it open with his teeth. "Do you have all of these?"

Zecora eyed the list of ingredients before responding. "Surely I do, though I don't recognize this brew. What is your plan for the things on this list? Perhaps if I knew, I might be able to assist."

Kefka placed the list on a nearby table. "It's nothing special, just a... surprise for some friends of mine. An old family recipe."

Zecora nodded as she started picking ingredients off of the various shelves around the hut. "You know, I could have sworn these plants were an unhealthy mix. Is it possible you've somehow managed to create a fix?"

"Oh, of course. I've got a secret ingredient that'll fix it right up."

Zecora placed the last requested ingredient on the table. She examined the plants spread before her and looked back at her strange guest with a frown. "I hope you do not think me fickle, but this secret of yours assures me little. These herbs alone would make a nasty drink, the affects of which I shudder to think."

Kefka simply grinned as he responded. "Oh, I assure you, it will work as intended."

Zecora glared at her guest. "To reveal your plan was quite foolish, sir. Surely, you didn't think that I would assist in murder?"

Kefka's grin never left his face, though Zecora noted that it seemed more malicious than it had before. "Then I'm afraid, Miss Zecora, that you have outlived your usefulness."

Zecora's eyes widened in shock. She turned to escape, but instead came face to face with Lyra. The air around her became unseasonably warm. "I... wha... what?"

Kefka pouted. "Aww, no more rhymes? I was just starting to enjoy them too, such a pity. If you are unable, then allow me to assist." Kefka approached the frightened zebra until their faces were nearly touching. "You've been a big help, though it wasn't enough. Unfortunately, your judge of character is not up to snuff. We've had our fun, but in the end I have won. Now, I suggest that you run, or you'll be well done."