The Rise of the Windigo King

"It's about time someone properly appreciated my arrival around here." Aoi says just a tiny bit smugly.

Torch smirks, then stops, seeing the butterfly. He begins thinking for a moment, looking at the storefront. He then turns to Doc and says, "Doc... is this... who owns this place?"

As Death Ray thought as he heard the noisemaker, saw the confetti, then caught a glimpse of the clockwork butterfly soaring out the window - the first thing he thought was one thing and one thing only - DASTARDLY DISCORD! DON'T TELL ME IT'S HER BIRTHDAY!

Hovering beside the Doctor, GREGG's internal logic processors were in full-gear...

Processing... Processing... High amplitude auditory stimuli that would be considered annoying under normal circumstances but is acceptable during party conditions - Check... Colorful shredded paper that has no practical use outside of festive occasions - Check... The clockwork toy that the Doctor built for Ms. Dream yesterday - Check...

-Bing-

Ms. Dream's birthday sir? Yes sir Dr. Death Ray sir, that would seem to be a logical conclusion.

As Torch asked the Doctor about the sweet shop's owner, the first thing that came out of the Doctor's mouth was a jumbled run-on of - "Buck. Iforgottogetheragift!"

Putting his head in his hooves, the Doctor muttered, "Awwwww-haw-haw-haw... I can't believe this. Of all the days to forget. I had to pick today. It had to be to-day! This is the ABSOLUTE. WORST. THI- Haaaay, wait a sec..." The Doctor paused, looking up with dawning realization, "I didn't... I didn't even know it was her birthday... So... So, I didn't really forget... did I?"

"-But then," He began pacing, thinking out loud to himself, "If I... If I didn't know it was her birthday, then I'm... I'm off the hook... I'm not expected to get a gift... am I?"

"-But then," He spun on his hoof and started pacing the other way, "But then, it's her birthday... it only comes once a year... and... and on your birthday, you expect gifts..."

"-But then," He spun around again, "She seemed like such a... such a sweet little girl. She's not spoiled..." - like some ponies I know - (the Doctor paused a moment to glance at Aoi - then continued pacing), "I doubt she's the type to... to expect anything from anypony... She's probably just happy to have the attention..."

"-But then, that's why she deserves a present even more!"

"-But then, I don't want to just keep giving her more and more stuff every time I see her. That could start a nasty habit. She'd start expecting it of me..."

"-But then, would that really be a problem? -Well, not really. I've got enough spare parts and money lying around... - But then, I don't want to corrupt her little heart and turn her into a material mare... -And then, what if her mom sees that I'm giving her too much stuff? She could get the wrong impression and think I'm like one of those interneigh stalkers. I don't want her getting the wrong idea. -But then, should that stop me from being nice to the kid if I just want to be nice? -No. I don't think so. -Yeah, you're right. -You know I'm right. -Yeah. -Yeah. -So we should get her a gift? -I think so, yeah. -But we don't have one! -Well, we could make something? -We could, couldn't we? -Let's make something. -O-kay! -What should we make? -I don't know. -You're the Doctor. -Well, you are too. -Wait. Are you sure? -I thought you were the Doctor? -I thought you were the Doctor? -I am. -We are. -We are? -Who are you again?"

"WOOOOOOOOOOAH NELLY!"

Death Ray froze in his tracks and looked around at the others blankly, "Where... Where am I? Who am I?"

"-OH WAIT!" The Doctor raised a hoof to the sky, "I REMEMBER! -It's Dream's birthday - and I don't have a present -" Death Ray's eyes went wide with horror as he reared back and yelled at the sky, "I DON'T HAVE A PRESENT!"

"-Wait," Death Ray paused, turning back to the others, "-Do I need one?"

"...Ye could always be performin' a short bit fer her. Ya got a flare for the dramatics, I be thinkin', give 'er some laughter." Land Lobber offers his view of the not-so-internal monologue, offering up his own barked laughter at the thought.

"They be feelin' love, kids. It be the thought that be countin', and ya clealy be thinking about it."

Aoi sighs in disappointment when she realizes fanfare was not for her and narrows her eyes at DR at the spoiled comment. After he's done speaking (and Land Lobber too) she says, "I... might have an idea. Though it depends on if you have a way to prevent ice from melting."

Torch stands back, silent, staring at the building with a mixture of apprehension and disgust.

Ragnarok immediately turns to Torch after realizing who likely owns the building. "You realize that you do not have to go do you not?"

In response to Lobber, Death Ray grinned, running a hoof through his spiky mane, "-Yeeeeeah. I... guess you got a point there Lobber. I'm... I'm definitely thinking about her... so that's something... I also gave her a gift yesterday already too, but... but it wasn't... officially... a birthday present..."

Turning to Aoi, Dr. D raised an eyebrow, "Prevent... Prevent ice from melting? Hmmm..." Death Ray hummed thoughtfully, looking up at GREGG.

We... uh... we got anything that can prevent ice from melting?

What about your Freeze Ray sir?

-But it doesn't actually freeze things GREGG... you... you know that. It just... kind of... well... it... it stops them... from moving... The best I've gotten from it before were squirrel-sickles, but Princess there wants... Never... melt... ice... Hm... Nevermeltice... Why does that name sound so familiar...?

What if you were to supercharge the Freeze Ray, Dr. Death Ray sir?

That would still only allow me to stop a larger area... or... or freeze a squirrel-sickle for a longer duration... Hmmm... Longer-lasting squirrel-sickles... Wonder if Dream likes squirrels?

Sir?

What? Maybe... maybe we could get her one for a pet? ...but where... where would we find a squirrel at this hour?

The Doctor shook his head.

Neigh. Scratch that... Ooh! But wait! Maybe... maybe I -can- make Nevermeltice... if I overcharged the discombobulator... rewired the locomotion inhibitor... compensate for all that by rerouting power from the thingamerbod to the whatchamacallit and the do-hickey...

Turning back to Aoi, Death Ray rubbed his hooves together, "Oh - where there's a single-minded evil determination... there's... there's always a way. It'll take some... reconfiguring..." the Doctor reached into one pocket of his hoodie and pulled out the length of his Freeze Ray, patting it on the chrome gun-barrel, "-Buuuuuuuut this little baby should do the trick."

Death Ray cocked his head to the side, "What'd ya have in mind?"

-For the record, the Doctor was completely ignoring both Torch and Raggie, at least for the time being. In his mind he had more important things to think about than one ponie's Changeling hang-ups - He had a birthday present to make!

Aoi thinks really hard to herself, practically wishing someone could overhear it, "How is making a birthday present for a little filly an evil determination!?" As she does so she says, "I thought I could make an ice sculptor of a flower she might like. Do you know what kind of flower she would prefer?"

Death Ray turned to his robotic companion, "GREGG?"

"Yes sir, Dr. Death Ray sir?"

"Do a web search for flowers... and... uh... connections to... um... changeling hives? ...Maybe?" The Doctor scratched his head, "Don't know... don't know if there are any flowers like that... but, uh... maybe they've got a... something like a... a national... flower or something? I mean, even... even Dastardly Deeds is linked to Nightshade..." Death Ray shrugged, falling silent as he waited for GREGG...

-And after a moment, GREGG's red eye flashed - "Sir, did you know that globally there are several dozen major hives? ...And it says here... there are also countless minor ones. Imagine that?"

"Uuuuh... Narrow... the... uh... the search... maybe? Let's stick to just hives in Equestria."

"Roger-roger!"

Death Ray stared up at GREGG for a moment. "-Never do that again."

"Yes sir Dr. Death Ray sir!"

"-Much better."

GREGG took another moment before speaking up again, "Ooh! Sir! Hey! Look! Listen! -I think I found something! There are three major hives known to inhabit Equestria. The hive controlled by Queen Chrysalis is associated with the 'Clematis Crispa'," at this, a beam shot from GREGG's robotic eye, spreading out and forming a hologram of a purple flower, "-It says it's because the flower resembles the queen's crown sir..."

Upon hearing this, Death Ray cocked his head to one side, squinting, studying the plant carefully. "I guess... I can... kind of... see it...?"

"And then there's the 'Baby Blue Eyes'," GREGG's hologram shifted to display a light blue flower with a white center, "which matches the coloration of the other most well-known hive of the Equestrian region, a hive controlled by Queen Hydrophilia."

Spoiler:

"What about the third hive GREGG?"

"They're in a more remote, arctic region Dr. Death Ray sir, so my logic circuits assure me that it's unlikely a Changeling from that region would choose to come to a climate such as Junna's. It would be difficult to adjust, to say the least."

Death Ray turned back to his dragonnel compatriot and shrugged, the universal sign for - Whatcha think?

"Personally Princess..." Dr. D tapped his chin thoughtfully, "...uh... well... I like roses - but I honestly have... no idea... what Dream would like. Clema... Clemaclabaclis or Baby Blue Eyes... You... uh... you think one of them would work? I'm not sure where she's from exactly, but-" Death Ray grinned, "Of the two... I'd... I'd have to say I like the one who's name I can remember..."

"Oh, this is a small changeling hive? Huh, wouldn't have thought such a small island would support that. Ah! But, this is a tourism based island at this time so... yes, I suppose that makes some sense. Hmmmmm. Not knowing the hive they're a part of... I think a rose would be the best bet for us." Aoi replies, leaping to a conclusion and seemingly unphased by the knowledge of nearby changelings, and then she takes a few steps back.

Aoi then breathes frost into her claws and begins to spin strands of it together, somewhat like how it looks when one makes cotton candy but, a lot more delicate looking. As the sculpture is made it's slowly spinning around and near the end it looks like the ice rose is almost dancing between her claws. When she's finishes spinning it together she delicately holds it in her left claw, which is still lightly coated in frost, and she carefully cuts away imperfects and loose strands. When she's finished she then holds it gingerly out to Death Ray and GREGG (who she presumes will take it instead of DR pointing the freeze ray directly at her) with a self satisfied smile.

---

Acrobatics: 11 + 10 = 21.

Torch nods at Ragnarok's suggestion, saying, "Well, I guess I'll wait out here while you guys do... what exactly are we doing here again, Ray?"

Death Ray was pointing his freeze ray directly at Aoi when Torch asked his question.

“Wha?” The Doctor turned to Torch (consequently turning the ray on him as well). “Oh.” Death Ray nodded to the café, “I just happen to have met some…” he thought for a second before settling on, “-some friends… that… just… so… happen… tooooo… live here. They’ve been having some trouble with a couple of… uh… rough customers lately… and I wanted to catch them while they were home and see how I could help out… Apparently though…” Death Ray glanced up at the second story window that the clockwork butterfly had flown from just moments before, “I… I think they might be having a birthday party up there for… well… this nice little filly… and… and I’ll be a Pink Pummeler if I’m going to go up their empty-hooved with no present like some deadbeat superhero. That would be… well…” the Doctor shrugged, “-just horrible.”

Upon finishing his monologue, Death Ray nodded in determination, then slipped down his black goggles over his eyes (by this point he’d made a complete wardrobe change, and was back in his red and black villainwear). He leveled his ray gun at Aoi again – then paused and lowered his weapon.

“Oh yeah,” Death Ray grinned, “Almost forgot… GREGG?” The Doctor rapped the side of his ray, “Assist me with this wouldja little… little buddy?”

“Yes sir, Dr. Death Ray sir!” GREGG piped up, zipping to his creator’s side, an assortment of microtools flipping out of his shiny gold casing. Death Ray plopped down on the ground, reached into his red lab coat, and retrieved an oversized power drill for himself – then he set to work unbolting a side panel of his ray gun and fiddling with its inner workings. As sparks flew in every direction and the screech of metal on metal, pounding of a sledgehammer and hammering of a jackhammer echoed up and down the street – Death Ray began singing softly to himself, nodding to a rhythm only he could hear…

“With my freeze ray I will
                                   -Stop-
                                        the world...

With my freeze ray
                     I will find the time
                                       To find the words
                                                             To-”

Spoiler:

A few minutes – and explosions – later, Death Ray rose from the ground, dusting himself off and flipping up his goggles, his face pitch black with soot except for the goggle-shaped ring around his eyes. He picked up his ray gun – then reared back and laughed maniacally at the open sky – before pausing to grin at his little robot assistant, “I think… I think it’s ready.”

“Yes sir sir!”

“The trick… I think it was fiddling with the timey-wimey doodad… and… and reconnecting the temporal whatchamacallit to the time stop thingamahoozit.”

“I couldn’t have said it better myself Dr. Death Ray sir.”

“Well then…” Death Ray turned back to Aoi and leveled his ray gun one final time, “Let’s see if this does the trick…”

As the Doctor began adjusting dials and pressing buttons, Aoi could feel an invisible force take the ice rose from her hand. At the same time, GREGG nodded his casing curtly, “You may wish to step back now Princess Aoihime.”

-Those were the only words of warning the dragonnel received before the barrel of Dr. D’s freeze ray began glowing with voltaic energy. As the weapon began vibrating steadily in the Doctor’s hooves, he pulled another side switch, slipped his goggles back down over his eyes and grit his teeth. “Initiating Operation: Ice Rose, Stage 2, Take one… Right – now.”

-And with that, Death Ray pulled the trigger…

Spoiler:

Deciding to help out further, Aoi summoned up a bolt of icening. Which is like ice and lightning combined into one thing. Suffice it to say, when it struck the freeze ray, this totally helped and totally didn't cause it to explode in existential questioning.

Spoiler:

As the doctor pulls the trigger, a blast of bright blue-ish silver light shoots out of the freeze ray and towards the ice rose. The instant it hits the crystal sculpture the light reflecting off it turns it into a blinding miniature star of energy. The device's shaking itself quickly becomes more violent as the blast itself intensifies. Smoke begins to waft viably from the casing of the machine as the faint smell of something burning becomes noticeable.

And then the icening bolt hits.

In an instant a shower of sparks erupts from the freeze ray as small explosions rip apart its casing several times a second. The beam of energy intensifies to a bright white so blinding everything around it is the deepest black by comparison. The light so intense that even when you're forced to close your eyes you can still clearly see it.

As quickly as the moment came, it is gone. The blast suddenly ends with one final explosion from the freeze ray itself. As you blink your eyes to clear them, ghosts of the intense light still dancing in your vision, you take in the situation before you. The activity in the street has completely halted as every pony seems to be rubbing their eyes. More than a few appear to have walked face first into objects when they were blinded by the light.

The freeze ray itself is blackened and burned, smoke billowing from it as melted bits of plastic and wires fill the air with a distinct stench. The explosions have ripped holes all over it through which you can see clearly through, and the very front is blown out completely, to the point of resembling a peeled banana.

On the other end is the ice rose itself, floating in midair with a distinct prismatic glow. The rose itself seems to shift through every color of the spectrum depending on how you hold it and faint waves of rainbow light roll gently off it as it seems to float on its own in place. Something about the air around it seems...off. As you reach out towards the glowing sculpture you feel your hoof impact something solid. An invisible casing in the shape of a diamond of some unidentifiable composition which you assume to be temporally frozen air. The impact sends the floating sculpture drifting an inch or two in whatever direction you poke it weightlessly, in a way similar to a balloon. It doesn't appear to matter how hard you hit it as it only drifts an inch or two in any direction before becoming stationary in midair.

DM stuff:

"Whoah! That was awesome!" Aoi exclaimed, gesticulating with her wings, having enjoyed the show. "Oh, uh... looks like your thing kinda.... broke." she commented, a bit worried Death Ray was going to get mad about it.

"IT'S ALIVE GREGG! ALIIIIIIIVE! BWAHAHAHAHAHAHHHHAAHAA-Oh, wait." Death Ray paused, turning to Aoi, "Did you say something?"

Flipping up his black goggles, the Doctor blinked a couple times before the dragonnel's question truly sunk in.

-Meanwhile, GREGG drifted up to the floating ice sculpture, extended a mini-grabber claw, and then, very cautiously, gave it a test poke.

When he saw it drift like a balloon - he poked it again...

"-Oh," the Doctor glanced at his smoking, blackened, pock-marked, freeze-ray-turned-banana-peel-gun; seeming to see it for the first time. He turned back to Aoi, tapping a hoof to the charred remains, "Oh... You mean this..."

"Oooooooooooooooooooh..."

-Death Ray paused a moment to look at GREGG (who in turn was watching as the aforementioned ice sculpture drifted through the air with each new poke of his robotic claw).

Turning back to the dragonnel, Death Ray nodded to his gun, "This old thing? You... uh... you mean my freeze ray?"

The Doctor shook his head, waving off it off with one hoof like the idea of a broken freeze ray was nothing. "Pfffft... Naw... I-I totally got this..." He tapped a hoof to his chin, looking the freeze ray over again, "All I need is a... a few nuts here... a bolt... or two there..." He nodded, "Polish it up a bit... and it'll be as good as-"

Death Ray paused for a moment as the remains of his gun disintegrated, the ashes drifting to the ground and collecting in a small heap...

...

"-As good as new!"

Glancing down at the ashes of his weapon, the Doctor ran a hoof through his spiky blond mane, "-I'll... Heh heh... I'll... uh... I'll sweep that up later..."

-"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah..."

"GREGG?" Death Ray turned back to his robotic companion (who was still entranced by the ice rose - but who, at the utterance of his name, gave a little, shocked jump to attention and turned to his creator).

"Yes sir, Dr. Death Ray sir!"

Death Ray raised his hoof, still grinning.

Without hesitation, GREGG zipped up and knocked little robotic grabber hand to hoof - brohoof style.

-Then Death Ray turned to Aoi, offering her the same gesture.

Aoi stares at the hoof in confusion and then very unsure and not very quickly mimics GREGG and gently places her closed claw against the hoof.

Huh. Maybe she's not so bad after all? -Dr. D thought to himself, giving Aoi a nod of approval before trotting excitedly over to the floating ice rose, scooping it up, and motioning to the others to follow, "Alright everypony! Let's go! Don't want to keep the birthday girl waiting! Operation: Ice Rose is on to Stage 3!"

Aoi scratches her head, not really sure what's going on with Death Ray at this point. "At least he's in good spirits now." she thinks and follows along, wondering what a changeling hive outside of Neighpon will be like.

Torch stands back and says, "Have fun, guys. I'll be waiting out here. Er, tell the kid i said happy birthday." He turns around and sits, thinking to himself.

"I must say that was a rather impressive display Ray. I shall have to excuse myself from the celebration however. Ragnarok then sits down and silently keeps watch.

Death Ray was a bit relieved when Torch said he'd be staying outside (probably better that way... after all, the Doctor didn't know how the green unicorn might react if he found out just how many changelings were actually in the cafe...) although he was just a tad perplexed that Raggie would be staying with him (maybe to keep an eye on Torch...?)

Oh well, Death Ray shrugged, "Suit yourselves guys. If there's any cake though, I'll... uh... see if GREGG," he nodded to his robotic companion, "can't... maybe... send you down a couple slices." Turning to Land Lobber, Dr. D then asked, "You coming big guy?"

Land Lobber was looking at the tiny gem-like flower since his eyes cleared. 'Bet that'll sell for a bundle... But the question is how to gracefully steal it without it looking like taking candy from a child...'

He startles at being addressed. "Oh! Yeah, if there be cake, I be going, of course!" He gives a laugh. "Free cake be best cake, eh?"