//------------------------------// // And Finishing an Experiment. // Story: The Warlock // by JediWyrm //------------------------------// Hearts Shadow allowed a grin to spread across his face as he finished checking over his calculations. Everything seemed to match up so it was time to set up the small scale test. Looking over to his desk he saw Beaky reading a book about modern jokes and comedy styles. The dark blue stallion shook his head and began making a mental list of what he would need. The hardest part will probably be some volunteers so He tackled those first. "Okay. Thanks for volunteering. I will now explain the procedure that we will but using for this test." Stated the odd skull sitting on a desk along one side of the room. The earth pony and unicorn who had agreed to assist the warlock in his experiment examined the room they were waiting in. There were lines drawn on the floor warning them to stay on one side of the protective barrier they bordered. The interior of said barrier was filled with several different types of magical equipment to aid in research. "So to start Hearts Shadow is going to set up a secondary barrier to prevent the experiment from going out of control. Once done we will infect the flora in the planter." Beaky started, the attention of the ponies being drawn to the stallion setting up poles around a wide planter filled with grass and a small clump of flowers. "With the plants affected, Nettlekiss will charge the spell we practiced and channel it into Grassy Fields, who will mix it into his earth magic and pour it into the dirt in the planter." The skull finished. The two ponies looked at each other. They had already tested the process but were wary about doing it for real. As they prepared themselves mentally Hearts Shadow finished setting up his barrier. He gestured for them to join him inside it. After they got into place he floated a thermos over and checked with them to make sure that his assistants were ready. Opening the thermos caused magical runes covering it to deactivate. Tipping it over the planter caused a small blob to fall out of it and land in the middle of the flowers. Almost immediately the plants began to wilt. Hearts Shadow gave it several seconds before using his magic to place the blob back in the thermos and reactivated the runes as he sealed it. Once it was closed and placed to one side he nodded at Nettlekiss. She wrapped magic around her horn as she started to weave magic into shape. When it was fulled crafted she placed her strongly glowing horn against her earth pony counterpart. Grassy Fields felt the spell enter his body and focused on channeling it through himself while mixing it into the earth pony's natural magic. Reaching a point he felt it was ready he placed his forehooves into the planter as the blight finished infecting it. Hearts Shadow watch with interest as the two ponies focused on their tasks. Checking on the planter he detected the blight being purged from it shortly before the damage done was reversed starting from Grassy Field's hooves. When the planter was fully healthy again he called the experiment to an end. Running a disinfectant spell over all three of them as well as the thermos containing the blight he brought the barrier down. Once the blight was secured in a safe, the three ponies left to get some food to celebrate their success. A few weeks later found Twilight and Celestia wandering out to the royal gardens. While she had previously allowed the warlock to set up an experiment, it had slipped her mind due to a rather aggravating dispute amoungst the nobles until her assistant informed her of a gathering happening. They arrived to find Hearts Shadow meticulously placing tall rods about the gardens in a large ring. An inner ring had already been setup and a small thermos was sitting just inside it. "Hearts Shadow. I hope this day find you well." Celestia greeted as she walked up to the warlock. He held up a hoof to prevent her from crossing the invisible line between the already set up poles. Digging a hole into the ground he was at he carefully placed another pole into it. Checking the height of the top as compared to the others, he nodded before nudging it slightly so it sat at an angle. "The day is good. Just putting the last few touches on my safety measures." He finally replied before moving off to place another pole, taking careful steps to ensure they were equidistant. Celestia looked around and saw several of her royal gardeners sitting around in pairs, one earth pony to one unicorn. She sat down next to Twilight who was carefully examining one of the poles. She watch as Hearts Shadow finished placing the poles before giving each on a final check. He then walked over to the inner ring and gestured at the waiting ponies to get into position. When they had placed themselves loosely around the area between the inner and outer rings the warlock turned to the thermos. Floating it up he opened it and poured out the blob once more. Celestia stiffened as she recognized the blight as it affected the ground inside the inner ring. Hearts Shadow waited for a minute for the blight to fully infect the ground before securing the blob back in the thermos. After several more minutes the blight had spread throughout the small area it was secured in. Glancing at the pony pairs he removed one of the poles. The blight spread quickly passing underneath a couple of the ponies before Hearts Shadow gave the signal to use the counter spell. Celestia and Twilight watch enraptured as the unicorns cast a spell and channeled it into the earth ponies. The alicorn then noticed the earth ponies mixing the unicorn magic with their own before pouring it into the ground. The effect slowed the blight down before stopping it completely. After a moment it began being pushed back slowly while the ponies who were surrounded by it created small cured spots around themselves. It didn't take too long before the blight started being cleared faster and faster while the edge started being revived. Watching the plants go from dead to healthy was exciting to those watching leading to a cheer when all the blight had been cleared and the field was entirely healthy again. Hearts Shadow walked around making sure the blight was fully taken care of before smiling. Taking down one of the outer poles he thanked all the ponies who helped him with the full scale test. "And that concludes one of my more tenacious experiments. I'll leave it to some other pony to study my spell and find more practical applications." The warlock said as he joined Celestia and Twilight. "Yes, that spell will do wonders for famines and droughts. How about we get a cake to celebrate your triumph." Celestia stated, rising from her haunches.