My Little Witch

by PoisonJoker09

The Castle

I walked down from the hill, with my bags back on their familiar places on either side of my saddle. They were empty in preparation for any and all salvage I should obtain when I got to the ruins.

It was early in the morning, so that I wouldn't have to worry too much about others coming to look for me.

But the real reason I woke up at a strange time was because of the sound of screaming that had somehow erupted from out of nowhere, it went on for thirty seconds until it stopped suddenly. I managed too find that it had come from the entities. Looks like it wasn't only test that could be transferred in their messages.

I also had a number of new messages when I was preparing, I decided to save answering them for the road, to keep my mind occupied, my amulet was glowing brightly as it helped me find my way to my destination.

Dear Scry Fortune

The couriers looks tend to vary due to them being recruited across multiple dimensions and as such can appear rather mundane or incredibly bizarre.

Hmm, well then, if it is so 'mundane' it will likely be very strange for me, after all, different species and different attitudes. I suppose as long as they just do their intended job I will be sure to not be too surprised at their appearance.

As for Primal's... they are essentially a manifested aspect of the world. When a being with an extraordinary amount of power come into contact with an energy that matches their affinity they can...evolve for lack of a better term.

Manifested Aspects? Those are actually a form of entity in a way, a very highly powered one for that matter, I did not know there was a particular name for such, you see, there is this plane called the Spirit in which near everything has an element to it, many different spirits inhabit the different elements and can be influenced in some way.

The strongest of these elements... I suppose would certainly be the Primal's that you speak of.

The most common types of Primal's are ones that represent land, sea and sky but others have been known to appear. Primal's are what they represent and have a connection to their aspect that is similar to you and your foreleg and can feel and/or manipulate it as such. It should be noted that Primal's are singular existences in that there is only one per aspect per dimension and once they become a Primal there is no going back or finding replacements till the end of that dimension.

I would want to meet them in the flesh, they could certainly have seen a great number of things in their lifetimes.

I suppose a pony that became the Primal of the land's appearance might change to where their mane/tail becomes molten stone and have magma running through their veins. While it does sound like they would be grotesque in appearance judging from the one i met briefly many years ago their appearance changes to the point where it looks natural to have magma instead of blood flowing through their body.

So even a mortal being can be one, that is quite the tale, however I wonder how a pony can have so much of an affinity with the land to be granted such power, anymore than it's own kin should. But yet again, if they never came into contact with this energy, or didn't have enough power it is uncertain that they could gain this.

Due to the rarity of such beings it is unlikely you will find any such books at your local library so no need to worry about a rabid Twilight chasing after you for missing books, hehe.

Hilarious... you wouldn't be laughing if you were the one at risk.

With Hope
Professor Killjoy
P.S. As a side note the Primal's from the information i have gathered so far retain most of their personalities from before their evolution and can regain a more mortal appearance if they suppress their energies.
P.S.S. Celestia and Luna are not Primal's although they would be considered among those beings of extraordinary power mentioned earlier.

Hmm, well if the position was not taken, it is possible that they could become Primal's if they came into contact with the celestial bodies they control, Princess Luna was however banished to the moon... or maybe the presence of the entity controlling her managed to disrupt any possible connection of the sort happening.

It is possible, but not likely if it took one thousand years and nothing happened.

I found myself at the entrance to the Everfree, ducking my head under the low hanging bushes I made my way to my destination, many I still had a distance to travel, and hopefully the sea serpent from before is not throwing a fit over something.

I looked at another message soon after as the trees spaced out enough to walk through them without much focus.

I see, I was a bit skeptical at first as to whether or not we would even be capable of transferring physical items across the realms. It would appear that the powers that be are fairly lenient in this regard. I am glad for you that the others did not mindlessly make offers that were impossible to keep.

Hmm, the powers? I suspect that is a more general term about what is separating the world from yours and mine, I am pleasantly surprised at the effect you have, the advice given to me by the others was useful, but I didn't physical help.

As a side note, I would avoid perusing anything called a Cornerstone of reality. If it's name is anything to go by, it could have disastrous effects in anypony's hooves. Especially the pink one's. She's out of touch with the laws of physics in her natural state, and you saw firsthoof what happens if her awareness of things beyond your plane expands any further. Furthermore, acquiring the Alicorn amulet needed for the trade would place you under very high scrutiny by Twilight and her friends.
Machina.

I wonder, indeed the name Alicorn likely shows an amount of power, as well as the Cornerstone of Reality, at the moment I don't know the location of the amulet, and I will pay close attention to wherever it should be.

Now, about the item in trade, the Cornerstone... I must admit I am worried about the possibilities if the name turns out literal, I will have to weigh exactly how dangerous one or the other is before making the trade.

Hmmmm, yes I dare say your explanation satisfied, and I must agree that our definitions of witches are vastly different.

Please to be of assistance Daideo. It isn't everyday that I actually can speak to another about my families life, so it was my pleasure.

The biggest difference, I think, is probably the difference in priorities. Your ancestors went out of their way to avoid conflict, I assume, to live their lives as peacefully as they could, my worlds witches, for the most part, did not. They instead sought it out to occupy their puppeteers with the blood of others rather than their own.Then there was the difference in retaliation. Burning, stoning, the water test, and the weight pallet in Salem...

... Well, punishments might be more accurate than you think, ponies in Equestria are too mild to consider such a thing, but there are those out there that blame us heavily for the bad conditions in the world. I think I mentioned the water test, it was a weird process that came up in one town that my family had passed several hundred years ago, did it have something to do with floating or sinking depending on whenever you are a witch?

It was also a very prejudice one, not a single unicorn lived there because the residents didn't distinguish from magic and dark magic. I unfortunately managed too see first hand how many bodies were at the bottom of that lake.

If your witches are affected by dark spirits, it should be a simple process of putting them near raw magic and watch if it becomes corrupting or not, you see, raw magic is simply power, and if it doesn't have a affinity to some form, then dark magic naturally takes over it to assert dominance.

Anyway! I was wondering about something else, or two something elses rather. What's your favorite kind of muffin? And might you have heard about a little thing called the Crown of Zudulameir?

Hmm... can't say that I have heard of such a crown, and I suppose any muffin can do, with some type of apple zest present.

Mmmmm, oh yes, one more thing, don't be surprised if you meet Zecora and she knows exactly what you are as soon as you're within a few meters of her. She might not, but the zebra has a way about her that leads me to think that she will know, and probably know enough about you and yours as well to not immediately persecute you.
~ Daideo

That is a very optimistic view, and also a scary thought if she could work out exactly what I am.

My kind haven't had that many interactions with Zebra's in the last century, and we don't have any distinguishable signs of out body or aura.

And I said I might visit her, I don't know the exact location of her home.

At the moment I was leaving the dense forest canopy and came across the lake once again, the serpent wasn't insight so I moved ahead again, through the shallow water. Not ten minutes later I found myself at the bridge, looking up at the large structure that was in ruins.

As you wish my dear I can provide you with the location of most of artifacts that lie within Castes of the Two Sisters.

Ah, good, it's convenient you appear when I need your services. Before I read anymore, I crossed the bridge and entered the door, looking around at the crumbling structure. It was humming with energy, none of it present when I had first came.

... I suppose it's because the Elements were used nearby.

Hmmm. From what I can tell there are a couple of small magical artifact in the treasury, two in the bedroom formally occupied by the solar princess and one in the lunar princess's old room.

I also can detect three artifacts that are of greater value.
The first is in the library of the castle; pull on a small brown book with no name on it to open the passage to it. However be warned this item is not benign in nature.
The second will show itself when the arms of the pedestal which held the Elements of Harmony point to the rising sun.
The last can be found in the kitchen cellar; through an old giant ale barrel and into the abandoned lair of The Pony of Shadows.

Hmm... a number more than expected. You would think the princesses would take out such things. Well, I should get to it then I suppose.

I turned my attention to the pedestal, it was the time critical part of the list so I should start with that.

I tried to push the arms, it didn't do much and so they stayed locked in place, I looked around the chamber and couldn't find any signs of levers or switches that could operate the device, so that lead to the thought that it was magic that was the item needed to turn them.

I didn't have that of course, so I decided on that next best thing.

I still had one bag that held a number of potions on me, ones to clear rubble and others to protect myself from any threats in the forest. This jar held a number of small shapes, black and oily in nature. I opened it and took out a number of them, sticking them to each of the arms of the pedestal in a certain position. I stepped back and tipped a hoof into the small bag that Cheshire had given me, a single match was pulled out.

Lighting it, I aimed and threw it accurately towards one of the black sticking lumps, in an instant, a expulsion of power erupted out and the arm swung away from it's position, likewise, several more activated once the sudden pressure caused them to burst, expertly putting them closer to the direction of the rising sun.

I took a few more out and repeated the process, making them slide perfectly into place.

A second later, the large base of the structure shivered and shook, a panel suddenly slotted open neatly.

Inside was a single compass.

I took it out, it was a shining gold color, and larger than a normal one, it didn't have any bearings to it, and instead of one compass arrow it was six with several small pictures on them, of a star, an apple, a balloon- it was the cutie marks of the element bearers.

It had a very strong magic presence to it, flitting my vision slightly, I saw golden tendrils of some kind pointing in the direction of town, so this gives the obvious deduction that this compass points to the element bearers.

Now the next order of business is your answers to my new riddle, you were very close to the right answer. The answer is that the poison was in the ice cubes and since the pony drank the punch quickly the ice cubes did not get a chance to melt and release the poison into the punch. So unfortunately you were incorrect this time.

Hmm, fair enough, that one was actually quite clever at least.

I will give you another riddle next time I send you a message.
Yours sincerely Prophet
P.s You might want to go to the library first and read Princess Celestia’s diary first it has some useful information about getting around the castle. But I ask you to not take it out of the library as another will need that book in the future.

The library you say? I guess that is the next location on the list. I put my new compass inside my bags and make my way towards it, I stopped suddenly when a new messages appears in front of me.

Heh. What do we have here. A story in the making.
Fascinating. Fascinating miss Fortune. I will see how it goes.

I am uncomfortable already, I know that you entities see yourselves as superior but I can't help but feel a little bound to my path when I am seen as a book to read the pages of.

Who I am? I am Voidwalker. Why I am here? Your...story interested me.
I will only watch and not interfering much aside from the matter of death.

... What?

I am...as you can say a Necromancer...Not those idiots who are hell bend on destroy the world with undead or silly things like that...
I'm telling you this because I have an offer that you may or may not need. It will work at all times as soon as you accept.

"I am not interested, malevolent spirits hardly call themselves evil when trying to procure a host." I spoke out loud to empathize my point, Necromancy was never an art without drawbacks.

I can bring you back from the death. You will be at top condition and all the negative effects will disappear. You will be dropped at random location away from the spot you died in the radius of 1 miles. And no, this will only work if the cause(s) is/are considered unnatural (or in other word: caused by any entities be it mortal or immortal and from inside the universe or outside the universe through passive means or active means.

"I have lived for most of my life alone, why in the world would make such a deal?" I ground out, moving forward again to explore the castle, "And I used to live outside of Equestria, the badlands are much less friendly than here."

You have caught quite a bit of attention in the Void and not all of them want to see how a mortal life plays out due to your...communication with those who are outside and they might heavily influence those that are within to do generic bad things only on a much more nightmarish scale.

...

While about 80% of them just want to kill you for whatever stupid reason. I have been holding them back for a while but better safe then sorry).

I suppose I should be thankful...

The price will be...What? Oh yeah, I will take them out and make them plead mercy while I rip them apart for the sins they have commited, don't worry...Sorry, ahem! Personal business...

"Of course, because that makes you all the more reliable to trust." I sarcastically state, I glanced behind me, a familiar habit I hadn't felt since I passed the Equestrian border.

Right. The price will be a dozen poison joke flowers, 1000 bits, 1 small bottle of liquid rainbow and a small lock of your...hair (About as big as a marble). You can give them to me by wrap them up and say "Cold as the Void Eternal" and they will simply pop out of your little world. It equal 1 life each time you offer them and you can have 5 at any given moment.

"Necromancy must be less strict in your world, it usually is a lot more severe..." I was wary of my limited supply of supplies as of the moment.

Other than that...I will remain silent and keep a watch on both you and those...interested.
Here is some music for your ear...

A classical piano then sung it's song through the empty hallway, it was eerie that it had no echo in the empty place. More instruments and a vocal entered it, and I would have enjoyed it as well.

Unfortunately, I was too busy planning the extra measures to enforce once I had got back home.

"Killjoy, if your listening to this, any artifacts here that may be of use to you, I expect you to make a note of it to let me know if you are willing to trade. I need some assistance for the coming days." My perception already heightened into the other realms, quickly scanning over anything that may be spying on me.

It was a tense search for the library, with music only for my ears breaking the silence, the warning is appreciated Voidwalker.

Whenever it rings true will be for myself to find out.

Comments

[DJ Discharge]

Dear Scry Fortune

For the first artifact of greater value mentioned by Prophet I believe it may play a role in the future of the timeline in your world and as such it would be best to ask Machina about it. If it doesn't then I would be willing to give an Alchemists Unending Flask. This flask can reproduce the last potion placed in it every 24 hours until a new potion is placed inside it.

As for the second as much as i would love to get a hold of that compass I would suggest you keep it for now as I believe you will need it in the future if my hunch is correct.

And the third... judging by its location i doubt its of a kind nature and will gladly take it off your hooves. In return I will part with a Cloak of Baldarian which allows the wearer to assume the form of a wolf at will. I'll even form a clasp that makes it so only you and those you wish can use it.

as for the smaller artifacts ill give a list.

For the one in Luna's old room ill give Elune's Tear (the amulet i mentioned earlier).

For the ones in the Celestia's room Solarion's faith (The counterpart to Elune's tear in that it increases magic regeneration and protects against physical attacks. It is strongest when Elune's tear is weakest aka during the new moon and vice versa) and Solarion's Sightstone (allows the wearer to see an object or persons true nature when held close to the users heart. Unfortunately due to Solarion being a solar deity it has a reduced range to about 5 meters at night.)

As for the ones in the treasury I can trade a number of rings, pendants and gemstones that can reproduce a spell that was used on them up to three times before needing another spell to be applied.

Good Luck

Professor Killjoy

P.S. I am familiar with Voidwalker's brand of necromancy and I do believe he can be trusted to do what he says...at least for the bringing you back part. Also I will keep an eye out for these dangerous entities he has mentioned and try to ward off as many of them as i can for you.

[potdl]

Professor Killjoy is correct the first item can indeed play a role in the future. However, even if this item is taken the events that I believe Professor Killjoy is referring to will still happen with or without it. But it is your choice to make dear do what you feel will benefit you the most.

Now time for the promised riddle.

With thieves I consort, With the vilest, in short, I'm quite at ease in depravity; Yet all divines use me, And savants can't lose me, For I am the centre of gravity! What am I?

Yours sincerely Prophet

[kamachakta]

Well, I find optimism to be a good way to keep one's sanity when faced with a vast wasteland of nothing but darkness and decay, but to each their own I suppose. Still, I believe Zecora could be a great friend to you.

Speaking of the stripey one, I noticed that quite a few of the others are asking for a certain flower in exchange for various thing, the one called 'poison joke'. And yet none of them thought to give you a description of it, nor a warning of its effects on the pony body.

I suppose I may as well then. The flower known as Poison Joke is a breed of lily, its stem is a dark blue, it's leaves are light blue, a vein of a blue the same as the stem running down the center of them and its bulb stalks sharing the coloring of the leaves.

As for its effects, as far as I can tell physical contact with it causes a magical effect that might be described as a prank that affects the part of yourself you value the most. I suspect the reason it only affects those that touch it is that its magical effects are concentrated in its pollen, please don't take my word for it though, as I am neither a professional botanist, scholar of magic, nor even from Equstria.

And as for why Zecora made me think of it, she knows the recipe for the cure of its effects, which can actually be found in a book titled 'Supernaturals: Natural Remedies and Cure-Alls That Are Simply Super' a copy of which is in the Golden Oaks library.

But back to witches. My condolences for your ancestors, as well as the other innocents, that suffered similarly to the witches of my home without cause. That aside, our water tests seems to be very similar from the little you mentioned, the minor details may differ, but the basis is that the accused is thrown into a lake, should they float they're innocent, if they sink they're left to drown as a witch, the same for if they start smoking and dissolve. Though I've heard that elsewhere the process was reversed, which seems incredibly silly as the one being accused would die either way.

As for another point of yours, the raw magic detection method you mentioned, well, it's moot. In my world magic resides in its own plane, when it's drawn out without direction it returns to where it came from immediately, immediately being unfortunately literal in this case.

And as for the things beyond the veil that want you dead. I apologize, I'd offer my help, but I'm kind of... Stuck, at the moment.

But on to happier things. Like a crown! Which is actually more of a helmet with a face and a crown set onto it, but in anycase please keep an eye out for an ornate full headed mask with a crown on it, it could prove useful to one of your... profession. I promise I'll tell you the story behind it later.

~Daideo

[Sols Sojurn]

Hello Mouse having some fun I see. Word of advise when it comes to the library look all you wish but take nothing much with in are linked to Twilight and her friends. I can not speak on the others but I don't see my self as any better off then you or any other entity, I'm just happy when I can lend a helping paw.

The Cheshire Cat

[Amethyst Blade]

5883941 Of course I will keep my words on bringing someone back from the death dear Killjoy. And it happend automaticly so I don't have to monitor all the time. As for the entities. Well, you might want to use something with 'crowd control' ability. These etities are not dangerous because of their power...after all, they have to influent. Unlike the more dangerous ones who can directly alter certain aspects which I have to deal with before and let me tell you, they are a pain to deal with. But, what make them a danger in the first place were their numbers...As of this momment, I have put up a...universe shield with the ability to remove those with...unsavory intentions from existence.
And to you miss Fortune...You don't have to worry much about me you adorable little thing . You can expect me to comment here and there but nothing too...Huh? Oh, you can shut your mouths you xenophobic fanatic zealots Inquisition. You call me an abomination for using necromancy while you done very immoral things. And you! Your soul is mine!Oh! where was I? Ahem, so you can expect me to comment here and there but nothing too much...Think of me as a reader who will probably comment on things as the story progress.
The price of a life was like that because honestly, you cannot give me anything that I don't already have...Those were just some ingredients that when combine with MY magic, will help create a new life for you. Though that 1000 bits were actually to pay Death...He can get pissy when you bring someone back from his realm. Oh? I can bring you back from the death without those ingredients...But, I want you to make a little bit of effort in getting them. It show your acceptance.
You don't really need to trust me like I am your Guardian Angel or lover...I am after all, an outsider that 'read' the stories from many realms...like yours...It help make my immortal life less dull.
Best regard, Voidwalker.

[DJ Discharge]

5885409 I have more then a few ways to control large numbers and I'm also gonna call in a favor that Cthulu owes me since I helped out his wife and daughter 5 years ago.