Chapter 21: Return to the Mystical House
Meanwhile...
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“So you see, adding elfroot increases the potency of the resulting potion, but too much and it starts to become toxic,” Fluttershy said, carefully stirring a brown mixture. “Now you wait just a moment, and... there.” The liquid suddenly changed to a brilliant red. “That color change shows that the ingredients have melded together just right, making a proper potion.”
“Wow, what kind of potion is it?” Dewey asked, leaning over to get a better look at the concoction.
“Hm? Oh, this is primarily a healing potion, but it does have a secondary effect of restoring the user, refreshing their stamina. It’s very useful if you’ve been injured and need to run away, or if someone needs to get right back up to, um, fight.” Fluttershy answered, quickly taking the small beaker off of the fire and pouring the contents into a small vial. That done, the pegasus quickly stoppered the vial with a cork and set it upon a growing stack of others.
“Who taught you how to brew potions like this?” Louie asked, as he kept tabs on which potions would be theirs and which were Fluttershy’s. “I mean, it’s a really rare skill around here these days and you seem to really know what you’re doing.”
“Er, well,” the pony stuttered, cleaning out the equipment with a spare rag. “A zebra mare named Zecora lived in the woods near my cottage. She’s a true master alchemist. I met her one day when she saw me tending to a poor injured squirrel in the woods. I was frightened at first, but she knew exactly what to do. She took me back to her hut and showed me how various herbs, minerals, and extracts can be combined to both heal,” and here her expression darkened slightly, “And hurt. But sometimes, a little poison is needed to purge illness.”
“Wow, you know how to make poisons!” Huey excitedly exclaimed. He’d been bored throughout all of this brewing, but here was something that’d caught his attention. “What about flashbangs? Could you make those?!”
Fluttershy raised an eyebrow, but if he was so excited... “Well, um, yes, I do know a little bit about making-”
“Awesome! I bet those would sell really well to adventurers like your friends! What materials do we need?” The red clothed duck boy excitedly asked.
“Well, some sulfur, coal dust, fire salts-” the yellow pegasus began.
“Right, here we are!” Huey exclaimed, running back with the ingredients bundled in his arms.
“Wait, careful with those fire salts, they’re rather-” the mare exclaimed, which for her was a quiet but urgent tone of voice. But just as her warning was uttered, the boy tripped, sending the ingredients flying.
“Volatile,” Fluttershy lamely finished, as the fragile jar shattered.
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“Did anyone else hear that?” Twilight asked. They were standing just outside the entrance to Merlin’s house.
“Hear what?” Applejack asked.
“I don’t know, I just thought I heard something, thunder, maybe?” the unicorn replied.
“Hm, I didn’t hear nuthin’,” Goofy said, cupping a hand to his ear. “Nope.”
“Oh well, it was probably nothing. Right, let’s get going.” With that, Twilight drew open the door to the magician’s domain and went inside, the others following her.
“So this is a wizard’s home, huh?” Riku asked, taking in the crumbling tower that sat in the middle of an underground lake. “Seems kinda plain.”
“Huh? Come on, Riku, it’s what inside that counts!” Sora exclaimed, already hopping over the floating stones that bridged the way.
“Hmph, I’ll believe that when I see it.”
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“Hm, Sora? Back so soon?” Merlin said, looking up from an aged tome he had been perusing. “Was there something you forgot?”
“Nah, I’m good,” the young boy replied, holding up the tattered curtain that served as a door to the magician’s tower, “But guess what? I found one of my friends!”
As he said this, Riku stepped inside, looking about curiously at the piles of books and various magical trinkets. “Huh. I’ll say this, it is different than what I expected.”
Soon after, the group of Equestrians stepped inside. Rainbow Dash looked around for a bit, then let out a sigh. “Man, I can tell this is gonna be boring already. Libraries are so lame.”
Twilight’s face turned an interesting shade of red for a moment, but she eventually settled for just shushing the brash pegasus. She could force, er, she meant show her friend the joys of reading later. Rainbow rolled her eyes and flew up, settling into a comfortable looking spot in the rafters.
“Hm, Twilight and her friends return as well? Interesting, most interesting. Well, what can I do for you all?” the wizard asked.
The white haired boy spoke up first. “The name’s Riku. I was hoping you could teach me some magic.”
“Oh? Well, I daresay I can be of some assistance. Do you have any experience with the more subtle arts?”
“Well, I can do this.” A dark sword, reminiscent of a bat’s wing, appeared in his hands.
“Interesting, few can manifest spiritual weapons such as those, reflections of the wielder’s soul. Strange that it should appear so grim in one so young, but...” Merlin trailed off, looking meaningfully at the Riku. “My boy, have you been dabbling with the darkness? As Twilight over there knows, such powers are not to be used lightly.”
“So I’ve been told. That’s why I came here, I want to learn how to do more than summon this sword and throw dark fireballs around.”
“Indeed. Well, we’ll get to that in a moment. Now, Twilight, what can I do for-” Merlin gasped as the keyblade wielding mare brought out the accessory Nightmare Moon had given her. “Is that lady Luna’s hairpin? However did you find that?!”
“Nightmare Moon appeared again after I helped to fix the Heart of a world,” the mare began.
“Oh my. You helped fix a world’s Heart? Extraordinary,” the old wizard interrupted. He coughed as he realized he was interrupting. “Please, do continue.”
“Well, like I said, afterwards Nightmare Moon appeared. She claimed that she tried to fix that world’s Heart after Princess Celestia damaged it during a fight she had, long ago. I don’t know if she’s telling the truth or not, but afterwards she gave me a wierd, runed gummi block and the hairpin.”
“Yep, then she left after that. It was kinda strange, if ya know what ah mean,” Applejack added. “She didn’t try to hurt us at all, even though she had us dead ta rights.”
“Hm, it appears that this Nightmare Moon really is Luna. What a pity.” Merlin sadly said to himself, turning the hairpin over. He sighed. “And where is this gummi block?”
“We gave it to that Cid guy,” Rainbow Dash spoke up, suppressing a yawn from her perch in the rafters..
“I see. Well, I can say with certainty that this is Luna’s hairpin, as I recognize both its craftsmanship and its distinct magical signature,” Merlin finally announced, carefully setting the item down upon his desk. “Have you tried putting it on?”
“Yes,” Twilight admitted, looking ashamed. “We were fighting some really tough Heartless earlier and it was the only thing I could think of. After I put it on, I could feel, well, a much deeper connection with the darkness. Usually, when I use the darkness, I have to fight it for control or else I start being influenced by it. With the hairpin, it was...” she trailed off. “Easy. Too easy.” She shook her head. “Oh, and it, um, altered my physical appearance too.”
“Mm, yes. From what I remember, this artifact amplified Luna’s ability to focus and purifies her dark magic. The physical alteration is a side effect caused by the hairpin channeling pure darkness, your appearance changing to suit the energy flowing through your form. Luna herself could reduce that effect of the hairpin so it was almost unnoticeable, but others were not so skilled. One of her assistants in particular took to using a variant of the hairpin almost all the time. I do wonder what became of him?”
“Uh, that’s great and all,” Applejack interrupted, “But is it safe to use? I mean, it is a gift from Nightmare Moon, after all. She’s the one who started this whole mess.”
“Hm? Oh yes, it should be quite safe. Furthermore, I can sense no dangerous enchantments or curses placed upon it, nothing like that black necklace,” Merlin said, waving off her concerns. “The physical alteration should be merely temporary, but it may not be so if it is worn long term. Still, I should caution you to use it sparingly! Even purified of its malice, the darkness is dangerous and corruptive to the Heart.”
Twilight carefully enveloped the hairpin, “Luna’s hairpin,” she corrected herself, with her magic before tucking it into her saddlebag. “Thank you, Merlin, I’ll keep that in mind. I probably won’t use it, but... at least I know it’s an option.”
“It’s my pleasure, my dear!” the elder wizard cheerfully replied with a bow, before turning back to the two boys. “Now, Sora, Riku, come along, I’d like to see exactly what you’ve learned.”
As the platform leading to the second story descended from the ceiling, the unicorn thought, “It’s good to know that the hairpin is safe for a temporary boost, but that just raises more questions. Why would Nightmare Moon give me something that makes me stronger and isn’t too dangerous to use? And whatever happened to change her into Nightmare Moon in the first place?”
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“Strike Raid!”
A glowing keyblade shot forth, connecting with one of the floating chairs with an audible crack of metal on wood. A moment later it vanished, only to reappear in Sora’s waiting hands. The smiling boy easily swung the weapon up to rest on his shoulder before turning to look at his audience. “So, what do you think?”
“Eh,” Rainbow Dash teased. “I’ll give it a seven out of ten. Pretty good, but come on, it could be way better!”
Twilight rolled her eyes. Merlin had asked her to see how far Sora had come along while he and the grumpy duck mage worked with the other boy, and, to be honest, she was rather impressed. “He improves so quickly,” she thought. “It’s only been a few days, but he’s already strengthening his strikes with magic, and with hardly any teaching!”
The mare cleared her throat before speaking aloud. “Well Sora, I’ll say that you’ve really improved, but you still have a lot of room to get better. Have you had any luck directing the keyblade after it’s thrown?”
The boy shook his head. “Not really, but I think I’m getting a little better. Oh, and I can, um, summon the keyblade really fast after I’ve thrown it, and then toss it again!”
“Well, Ah’d say if it works better for ya, then go for it!” Applejack chimed in.
“She has a point,” Twilight conceded. “Just because I was taught to do things one way doesn’t mean it’s the best for everyone. People develop their own styles and ways of doing things, no two people are the same, after all.”
“Hm,” the boy hummed in thought before shrugging. “So, what do you think I should do to improve?”
“Well...” Twilight racked her brain for ideas. Her memory of defeating the Darkside in the Everfree suddenly came to mind... “How about imbuing your keyblade with elemental magic?”
“Huh?”
“Like this,” the unicorn said, her weapon appearing beside her. “Now, this is an advanced technique, so pay attention, okay?” The boy nodded. “Right. First, you gather the magic like you would for a spell, in this case, Fire.” A crimson glow gathered around the tip of her keyblade. “But, instead of letting it shoot out, draw it out over your weapon.” The fiery energy slowly crept down the blade, setting the entire length alight. “Finally, launch it at the target.” A wheel of fire roared through the air, striking one of the floating bits of furniture in a startlingly loud explosion. “Er, heh heh, oops?”
The other ponies shook their heads in exasperation as Sora smothered a laugh.
“Right, um, yes, how about you try?”
The boy nodded and held his weapon aloft. Red magic slowly gathered at the tip of his keyblade. “No, no, no,” he muttered to himself as the magic began to grow out of his control, until finally a fireball shot off into the air.
Twilight laughed and shook her head. “Just keep practicing, Sora, I’m sure you’ll get it eventually.” As the boy nodded and gathered his mana to try again, the unicorn stretched, working out some kinks, before sitting down by her friends to watch Sora train and Riku continue to practice with Merlin and Donald. “So, what do you girls think?”
Rainbow Dash shrugged. “Eh, like I said earlier. These kids are pretty good, but they could be better.”
“No, I just meant, well, in general, I suppose,” the unicorn said. “We’ve been rushing all over so much the past few days, it seems like we’ve never really had a chance to just sit down and talk. I mean... that is what friends do... right?” Twilight awkwardly trailed off.
Applejack’s warm laughter met her ears. “They shore do. Lemme guess, ya never had many friends before, right?”
Twilight let out a sigh. “Is it that obvious?”
“Yeah,” their resident pegasus bluntly said. “But that’s not a bad thing!” she hastened to add as Applejack glared at her.
“Darn straight. Everypony has to start sometime, after all! Now me... Ah’m kinda wonderin’ how mah big bro Big Mac and mah little sis, Apple Bloom, are doin’. Ooh, Ah really hope the apple trees are alright!”
“They should be fine. Before we left, I had Spike send a letter to my big brother, Shining Armor-”
“Whoa, whoa, whoa, let me get this straight!” Rainbow Dash interrupted, waving her hooves around. “You’re Princess Celestia’s personal apprentice and the captain of the Royal Guards himself is your big brother?!” At Twilight’s nod, she grumbled, “Some ponies have all the luck.”
“It wasn’t all luck, you know,” the unicorn mare replied, annoyance creeping into her tone. “I trained really hard under Princess Celestia, and Shining earned every one of those promotions himself!”
“Alright, alright, calm down, I didn’t mean anything by it,” Rainbow said.
Twilight sighed. “No, I shouldn’t have overreacted like that. I guess I’m just a little on edge with everything that’s happened. And I’m really worried about Shiny and my parents, the Princess, and everyone else back on Equestria.” A horrible thought struck her and she couldn’t help but say it aloud. “What if what happened back at the Everfree wasn’t just a localized effect?”
“Ah don’t like the sound of that, Twi’.”
“No, think about it. What if the backlash from whatever Nightmare Moon was trying with her keyblade didn’t just catch us, but the Everfree, Ponyville, Canterlot, even the whole world?”
“No, not Cloudsdale! We’ve gotta go back to check, quick!” Rainbow Dash exclaimed in a panic, jumping to her hooves. But, just then, the calming voice of Merlin washed over them.
“Settle down, ladies, I’m quite sure Equestria is still there,” the wizard reassured them. “I’m sorry, but I couldn’t help but overhear your discussion, this room isn’t exactly built to muffle sound.”
Twilight suspiciously peered up at the elderly human. “How do you know for sure? I know you said you’d been to Equestria before, but still...”
“My dear, this old mage still has a few tricks up his sleeves. The first time I visited your world, it was as a guest. I suppose it was a bit ungracious, but back in those days I had a bad habit of leaving behind little trinkets in my travels.” At Twilight’s reproachful glare, he quickly continued, “Nothing dangerous, mind you, but with just enough of my magic put into them to act as a beacon so I could find my way back if needed. Still, it does come in handy, as even now I can track their faint echo, and let me assure you, the one I secreted in Canterlot Castle is still quite safe.”
“Wait, Canterlot Castle?” Twilight muttered, remembering. “I remember there was this strange, unidentified magical artifact unearthed in the Starswirl wing-”
“Er, moving on,” Merlin quickly said, cutting her off. “Another reason I know that Equestria is still there is that its star is still aloft in the sky.”
“Huh?” Sora asked. He had grown tired of practicing and had started listening in alongside Riku.
“Ah,” the old wizard began, “I do wish it was night outside so I could show you, but as hard to believe as it might be, every star in the night’s sky is actually an entire world.”
“Woah. Every star? That’s...” Sora trailed off.
“Amazing,” Riku finished for him. “There must be hundreds of worlds out there.”
“Thousands, tens of thousands, more like,” Merlin corrected. “And if a star ever goes out...”
“Then that means that world has fallen into darkness,” Twilight concluded, nodding. “Well, that’s a relief, but I still wish I knew how everyone was doing. Say, Merlin, do you know the way back to Equestria?”
The old man sighed. “Once, my dear, I did, but the paths I used have become choked with darkness. They’re far too dangerous to use now. I could point you in the general direction, but without the proper route it would be nigh impossible.”
“Hey, wait,” Rainbow spoke up. “That wierd gummi block Nightmare Moon gave you, Twi’!”
“Oh, I get it! Maybe it has a way to get back to Equestria!”
“Now hold on girls, we don’t know what’s inside that thing,” Applejack cautioned. “And Ah don’t trust gifts from her of all ponies. Just because that hairpin turned out OK, more or less, doesn’t mean we should just use whatever she gives us all willy-nilly. And besides, much as Ah hate to admit it, findin’ the princess is more important than checking up on our homes and families. ”
Twilight sighed. “You’re right, but still, it is a possibility.”
“I’ve never met this ‘Nightmare Moon’,” Riku cut in, “But if she’s anything like Maleficent you’ll definitely want to be careful with her. All of her gifts came with strings attached, if you know what I mean.”
The keyblade wielding unicorn nodded in understanding while Merlin just sighed and began to lower the elevating platform they were standing on.
“Well, I think this concludes this meeting, boys, ladies. Sora, your skills are coming along quite nicely. Riku, for all of her shortcomings, Maleficent turned out to be a fine teacher, yet I beg that you don’t rely on the darkness too much. You have a budding talent for fire and barriers, I suggest that you practice it. I believe young Twilight here is something of a prodigy when it comes to combat magic, so you might enquire of her further.” The aforementioned mare blushed at the praise while Riku favored her with a glance. “Good luck with your travels!” He said, bidding them good-bye.
A chorus of thank you’s came from the rather large group, with Riku’s quiet “Thanks,” being the last as they filed out of the Wizard’s tower.
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yay i freaking love this story!
PLOT POINT! I'm calling plot point! XP
And ya might want to take a look at this sentence, not sure what you're trying to say here.
About Nightmare Moon, for some reason I'm getting a DiZ sort of vibe from her last encounter. I'm probably wrong, but that's just what it feels like to me.
Looking forward to the next chapter.
2507435
Good catch.
And fixed that sentence, apparently I was misusing the word, "arch". I just meant annoyed, feeling slighted, etc.
As for NMM being DiZ-like... well, I guess you'll just have to wait and see.
I'm really loving this story, please update soon!
So NMM isn't all bad... interesting. She IS the Riku of Equestria. And I'm starting to think Celestia fucked up big time in order for Luna to become NMM.
2614119
If you'll remember in KH2, it was revealed that everyone had forgotten the original name of Radiant Garden, and so always referred to it as Hollow Bastion.
2507435 DiZ as in pretending to be somebody else?