//------------------------------// // (Past Chapter 19): Flash in the Dark // Story: The Unique Properties of Dark Magic // by Shadestyle //------------------------------// Padparadscha is currently frustrated, talking to Doctor Dad. "No, I don't want to like, kidnap ponies or anything. I just want to have a bunch of strong wizard ponies, all in one place, and I just kinda want to decide where that place is. How they get there isn't the important part!" he tries again to explain, while Doctor Dad writes in his holopad, humming. "And you're certain that's not kidnapping, Padparadscha?" Doctor Dad asks, wanting to make absolutely sure that Paddy isn't going to inform him of some sort of odd dungeon he's assembled in the basement. "No, I mean, I wouldn't stop ponies from leaving or anything, I know better than that," Paddy mumbles self-consciously. "Well, if you believe it is necessary, why not host something like a convention? If you can find a reason for ponies to gather, then that might help your problem." Padparadscha considers this. He'd need to get food, drinks, and entertainment, but it could really work! He'd finally be able to scratch that itch that he's been having his entire life, to gather up a bunch of magically powerful ponies in one place and... That's basically it. Honestly, Padparadscha had been a bit jealous of his older brothers. Ruby lucked out the most, just having the urge to hoard stuff that ponies didn't want, and Sapphire just had the urge to move things around that didn't belong to him. Paddy shakes his head. "Thanks, Doctor Dad!" With that, the baby dragon hops out of his chair and waddles out of the room, intent on planning a venue to finally satisfy his mutated and distorted hoarding instincts. 'And I know just who to invite first...' Padparadscha thinks to themselves, considering the one pony in the Shadow Realm with the highest magical potential they've sensed so far. "Flash, this isn't a toy, nor is it a game. This is some pretty expensive equipment. Are you certain you're willing to take it seriously if I give you the opportunity to apply for an Arwing Licence?" I question, staring down Eclipse Flash, searching her for even the slightest hint of child-like immaturity. When I fail to find any in her gaze, I deflate slightly. "I swear to god, Eclipse Flash, you break my prototype and you'll be washing tables until time itself ends," I claim, activating the Virtual Dream's relevant flight sim. None other than Star Fox. To be frank, it was either that or Tyrian, and I don't have time to mess with dreamifying a game I only remember in two dimensions. "I need to learn everything the Shadow Realm has to offer, Lord Weiss. That includes prototype flying machines." As I get dragged out of the Virtual Dream's bounding box, and she is dragged into a rapidly constructed digital Arwing, I find myself with only one thing worth saying. "Good Luck." As I watch her familiarize herself with the cockpit and behavior of the ship, I quickly realize she doesn't need luck. That might be because I've overdesigned the shit out of the Arwing's force-manipulation and gravity-negation tech, but even then, Eclipse putting that tech into practice isn't being done sloppily. She flies and guns her way through the various ground-bound and aerial forces arrayed against her, before coming up to the modified boss that I had made specifically for this flight-training version of the game. Two Smart-Bombs from the Arwing's main cannons fly out and strike the mechanized monster blocking her path, blowing it to pieces in short order, which I suppose is technically a fair answer when I also overdesigned the shit out of those... Well, no matter. The next levels will be much harder. Eclipse Flash wakes up with a groan. Flying around might be fun, but it's not good for one's equilibrium. Readjusting to the feeling of gravity on her body is annoying, despite the fact that she never technically lost it. Hopefully, when Weiss finally lets her pilot the real thing, it won't be as awkward to deal with. Or at least she'll be better at acclimating to it. Because to be honest, flying is entirely too much fun for the poor filly to give up doing it whenever possible. That real sense of speed and control, the pure adrenaline of dogfighting, even with virtual opponents. If just the game was that enjoyable, Eclipse can scarcely imagine what she'll feel when she's allowed to pilot the real thing. Until then, though, it's another day of wandering around, looking for trouble. Literally, considering her studies into the Magic of Foeship. Teeth brushed until they sparkle, hair combed until it doesn't change at all, because it's made of fire. Face washed until she feels like a pony again instead of a zombie. Today's going to be a good day, Eclipse can just feel it. This illusion is graciously shattered when her parents, Crystal and Gemerald Flash, are talking to that pink dragon kid in the living room. The kid's expression turns creepy when he spots her. "Oh, hi Eclipse Flash! I just wanted to invite you to a party I'm planning! It would really be good if you came!" He says, smiling as wide as he possibly can with nervousness in his eyes. Eclipse, getting some obviously and fairly weird vibes, steps around the baby dragon, and out the door. "Uhh, sorry, kid, I'm going to be really busy. Maybe next time." The dragon waddles after her. "Oh, umm, It's not going to be today, it's going to be... Next week! You won't be busy then, right?" Eclipse groans internally. "I'm going to be busy all month, sorry." With that, she breaks into a gallop, seeking refuge away from the oddly-acting drake. "Drat!" Paddy shouts, kicking the ground with frustration. "Friendly expression, clear flexible timetable, appealing offer. Man, it's not going to be nearly as good without Eclipse there." Mr. Gemerald pats the little dragon on the head. "Eclipse can be squirrely at the best of times. I'm sure if you just take some time to get to know her a little better, you'll be able to discuss her visiting your event." The banana-colored stallion claims confidently, making Padparadscha perk up. "You're right. I've just got to keep at it. My horde-party will have it's guest of honor, no matter how much I've got to work at it!" With this, the little drake skips off with newfound vigor, intent on bringing the Shadow Realm's finest in one place. "Maybe I just need a better hook... I'll ask Lord Uncle!" Paddy shouts suddenly, slapping a fist into his open palm with realization. That said, he makes his way towards the Sapphire Office, intent on receiving advice. Roughly ten minutes of walking later, Paddy reaches the nearest Fast-Travel station. A few taps to a holographic panel cause the gigantic belt of tapestries to swirl and roll around, until one specific portal on its surface is revealed, allowing him to simply walk through into the lobby. "M'am, I'd like to see Lord Uncle, I need some advice!" Padparadscha says, hopping up the steps to bring him high enough to meet the nice receptionist lady's eye. "Mmm, very well, I'll inform Lord Weiss," Mrs. Tablet says, activating the intercom. "Sir, the pink kid is here," she explains into the microphone. "The pony one or the dragon one?" Weiss responds. "Hi, Uncle!" Paddy says, waving into the holographic interface. "Oh, hello little Padparadscha. Come on in, I've got some free time," Weiss claims. With that, the doorway to the Sapphire Office opens, allowing the dragon to toddle in rapidly. "So, how may I help you, little one?" Weiss says as Paddy drags the beanbag chair out of a nearby closet, propping it up on the Dias in front of Weiss's desk, before hopping on it and sinking into it. "Well, I'm going to throw a party, and I'm inviting the most magically potent ponies in the Shadow Realm, but Eclipse Flash doesn't seem to want to go, I was wondering if you knew something I could include in the event to entice her?" Weiss raises his eyebrows. "Why wasn't I invited, then?" Padparadscha coughs. "Umm, well..." Weiss's ears droop. "From the mouths of babes..." He shakes his head. "Well, anyway, I'd be more than happy to help. Right now, she seems to be very invested in getting a chance to pilot one of my prototypes. If you like, we could try to do something with that. How much is in your discretionary budget again, little one?" Weiss questions, pulling up holoscreens for both of them. Padparadscha giggles at Weiss's over-complication of what is basically his allowance. "Yeah, I've got no clue what that kid wanted, but he sure was acting creepy about it," Eclipse Flash says, sipping on a nice cold glass of Star Lemon Quartzade. Priss raises an eyebrow, fiddling with her Materia Harness. "Isn't this the part where you accuse him of having an evil plan, one which you simply must put an end to?" Eclipse Flash blushes. "Please no. I like to think I've matured beyond such petty accusations." "Yesterday, you were going over the footage of Weiss's fight, because you thought he cheated," Priss explains, making Eclipse's blush deepen. "Weiss loves cheating! And it was literally one of my assignments from Lord Weiss himself! He said I needed to keep my investigative skills sharp," Eclipse complains, hiding her face behind her drink. "Anyway, why didn't you just talk to the kid? He's like, one year old. Not exactly enough time to fix any unintentionally creepy habits he might have picked up," Priss asks, before she finishes tightening her harness, and begins today's bout of entertainment for herself. "Delayed Conditional Force," she says, her Materia flashing as it makes the water balloon in her hoof freeze in midair, set to go flying as soon as any unicorns pass by it. Eclipse groans. "I don't know! I mean, at first, it's because I had just woken up, and he was acting really creepy. Now it's just kind of... awkward?" "Awkward," Priss deadpans. Eclipse waves her hoof jerkily. "See? It's awkward just talking about it." Priss shrugs, as the duo walk over to another place Weiss visits consistently, and Eclipse boosts Priss up high enough that she can plant another trapped water balloon in the corner of the room, aimed to conditionally splatter any pony with a horn passing through. As Eclipse lets Priss down, she slips suddenly, and both of them land painfully in a heap. "Ow! What the heck, butterhooves!" Priss shouts, her head jammed under Eclipse's back, who wiggles trying to get back upright. "Sorry! I slipped!" Eclipse explains as they manage to get to their hooves. "On what?" her friend retorts, as they look at the floor, an odd confusion crossing their expressions. "Huh. I wonder how some ice got this far down. That's kinda weird, huh?" Priss says, poking the frozen water with a hoof as if checking to see if it's real. The ice melts as soon as her hoof goes near it, returning to its watery form. "Super weird," Eclipse Flash says, trying to think of how such a thing could have happened, before brushing it off. I consider the cheapest possible combination of parts that would let me produce a second prototype Arwing without compromising my operations too much. The big problem is the antigravity unit. The need to constantly sweep portals over the ship means that it needs an incredibly potent greed-powered enchantment, one that escalates as the vehicle's size increases. Even just producing a small unit takes an entire B-rank Vance. I consider the matter before my gaze settles on Paddy, who is busy doodling in a corner of the graphical table while I sketch blueprints in the center of it. "Say, I think I might have an idea. If Dr. Real approves, I could probably solve our problem and teach you a fun new secret spell, all in one fell swoop. How about it?" I ask, making the drake turn his wide-eyed gaze on me. "Oh man, a secret spell?" He asks, eyes wider than before. "Is it one of the ones in your white book?" Huh. Perceptive kid. I ruffle his head. "Got it in one. It's really important that you don't let anyone know about it, though. Ok? I don't normally do stuff like this, but your party needs a plane, and I'm going to help you get it, even if it means bending my rules a bit." His fists clench with adorable determination. "I won't let you down, Lord Uncle!" "You already have. "Shit, wait, wrong one. I meant 'I know you won't'," I correct myself hastily, having had a bit of a brain fart on sappy responses. I entirely blame Padparadscha's adorableness polluting my thought processes. "Anyway!" I say suddenly, clapping to change the topic of discussion as I walk out of my office with the young dragon in tow before he can question my poor choice of words previously. "The first thing you need to know about this spell is this one, important rule. Momentum, a function of mass and velocity, is preserved between portals. In other words..." I create two portals in my right and left hands, before tossing a rock in one, where it pops out of the other at a roughly equivalent speed, bouncing off the ceiling as gravity loses its grip on the pebble. "Speedy thing goes in, speedy thing comes out," I quote, reminded of the sole authority on portal technology across all alternate universes. Hours later, Padparadscha is walking out of Weiss's training hall, not wanting to bother him while he recovers from the huge hailstone that nailed him in the head while they were practicing. "Hmph. I've got this, I just gotta keep practicing, and I'll be able to get that glider up and running in time for the big party," he mumbles to himself, making his way to Wacky Workbench, where Lord Uncle promised his miniature Arwing would be there, everything finished aside from it's G-Diffuser. Fixing that would be Paddy's responsibility, one that he has no intention of shying away from, despite the incredible difficulty he has had learning the spell. While excitement and anticipation have been a constant companion to the baby dragon, anxiety is a difficult emotion for him to summon up on command. Weiss's suggestion had been to focus on the deadline. A week. That's how long he's got to convince Eclipse Flash, and it's coming closer. His expression firms, as he walks down to Doctor Dad's hall and slides open the door, almost bumping into Ruby as he flops back onto his rear. "Oh man, sorry! That was-" Ruby drops down to his knee, thrusting his hand out to help his little brother up. "Rude!" Ruby finishes, as Paddy pulls himself up. "It's Ok Ruby, I should have been watching where I was going," Padparadscha says, looking past his brother to see if the package had arrived. Ruby glances over at what the pink dragon is investing his eyes in. "Oh yeah! You got-" Ruby turns in place, jabbing his finger forward at the stone box. "A package!" Ruby finishes with a flex. Paddy nods, glitter sparkling in his slit eyes. "I know, Lord Uncle sent it over, it's a flying machine! I just gotta do the enchantments, and I'll be able to show it off at my party!" Ruby's eyes water as he scoops Padparadscha up. "My little bro, already mastering nerd magic and building nerd machines! You're growing up-" Ruby assumes a pose. "So fast!" he finishes. Padparadscha rolls his eyes. "We're the exact same age, 'big bro'," he responds with no small amount of sarcasm injected into the words. Hopping down from Ruby's grip, Padparadscha runs over to the box, pressing the button on top of it that makes the stone begin to burn itself away in a blaze of black fire. The end result is exactly as he envisioned it, a miniaturized, simplified version of Weiss's own Prototype Arwing, rescaled for a small filly. ...Some assembly required. I groan, ironically rubbing an ice pack on my aching head. Priss's pranks are going way too far. I've had to outright activate my Shell Vance to block these hailstones she's set up to target me! Looks like it's another bath in the healing pod for me... But before that, I decide to check up on a few things. Bringing up a screen, I start by contacting the scout ships. "Shelter calling, news on the weather?" I ask, as the temporal ships begin to respond, one after another. "Clear skies," is the response from almost all of the ships in question, aside from one, that reports with "A few clouds. We think it might be smog." Smog being our codeword for dragons, I groan. Ever since word got out that I was sporting some new scaled appendages, there have been dragons roaming around the area in a vaguely threatening manner. I should probably stop putting off my meeting with these individuals before they decide to take matters into their own claws. I'll prepare the Vances tonight. Until then, I feel like giving Priss a genuine piece of my mind, considering how her pranks could have caused some genuine injuries. Dodging another ball of hail, I swear I can hear a faint giggle on the breeze that infuriates me. Yeah, this is going to be genuine-chewing-out-time, I feel. Stalking down the hall, I decide to start my search for Priss at the most obvious place she would be, namely, that one fast-food place that ended up being built right next to the Kingdom Heart. Spazzies or something like that. Actually, shit, that sounds pretty good right now. I'll pick up a monster burger, maybe some of those Strawberry Quartz things. I gulp in anticipation of a delayed hot lunch, before my shell spell blocks another hailstone. Meanwhile, Admiral Avalanche deactivates his radio for now, returning his sights to the horizon. A ship that can sail through soil and snow. If somepony had told him such a thing less than a year ago, he'd either laugh at them or yell them into submission. A pony living in the landlocked Crystal Empire has no business with maritime Cutie Mark, but Admiral Avalanche did anyway. He's always been fascinated with the open ocean, and here, his talents could finally be realized, and for a good cause, too. "Carver, what's our course looking like?" Avalanche says to his first mate, a young mare with a bold set to her jaw and a lengthy white fire on her head. "Looks clear to me, Admiral. No monsters on the ground and the dragons are still circling," she responds, looking out with her telescope. "Good, good. Rotate the crew out, we'll take an early lunch and finish our patrol around the empire," he says, as his mustache flickers with restrained pleasure. Carver goes to inform the crew of this, as the ship begins to cross into the Shadow Realm's borders, snow transitioning into burning ashes, and boulders of ice slowly being replaced with obsidian cherry trees. The ship begins to move through a grove of the trees, it's timeshift field allowing it to phase through the trees as they briefly disperse in the altered timestream. Avalanche huffs through his nose when one of his pluckier crew members reaches off the side of the ship, trying to yank one of the fruit from the trees as they pass by. He almost falls overboard, even, before one of his friends grabs him around the waist and yanks the grinning pony back with a mouthful of cherries. It might not be the salty spray of the open ocean, but the rain of flickering embers from the trees certainly come close enough for the Admiral's taste. Eclipse groans in dismay as she spots a certain someone outside of Spezzi's who she really isn't prepared to talk to right now. Priss groans in annoyance when she realizes just who it is that Eclipse is groaning at, jabbing her friend in the side. "Go. Talk to him. Immediately," Priss exclaims, poking her friend as her groans increase, and she hides her face behind a slice of pizza bianca. "Oh crack he's coming in," Eclipse moans, dreading the confrontation. And indeed, Padparadscha is coming in with pure confidence. Priss gives the almighty poke of doom, which finally gets her out of her chair and in front of the drake. "Yes? Hello there!" she says awkwardly, as Padparadscha nods firmly. Suddenly, Eclipse's nervous blend of emotions and desire to not be in this conversation awakens a new spell, as she instantly swaps places with Priss in a flash of teleportation magic. Priss, however, is unfazed by this, walking over and physically shoving Eclipse back into the conversation, where she takes a moment to gulp nervously. "I've been told that you're busy with your flight training," Paddy says, making her nod. "Yeah, ever since I learned about it, I've been wanting to get in Lord Weiss's new prototype, but he won't let anyone fly it unless they're already like, a pro at it." Padparadscha nods, anticipation burning in their gaze. "I know, that's why I had Uncle Weiss help me make a second one, I'll be showing it off at my party if you want to come to pilot it..?" Eclipse's eyes widen. "Wait, you can't be serious, but the diffuser, the hellfire engines!" she shouts. "Uncle Weiss showed me how to make em," Paddy says, pulling out his hologem to display a 3D image of his own miniature Arwing. "It's not as good as his prototype, but..." "Absolutely! I'd love to!" Eclipse shouts with unadulterated greed, leaving Padparadscha to be the weirded out one this time. "Well, uhh. That's good! I've been preparing to invite all the ponies with the most magical potential in the Shadow Realm, and you're at the top of my list! I'm really grateful you can come!" he says, his tail wagging rapidly. Priss just laughs at this entire exchange, much to both Eclipse's and Paddy's consternation. It's around now that Weiss walks through the door, looking extremely displeased. I'm extremely displeased, and by god, I'm going to look the part. Turning my gaze around the area, I spot them and begin my meticulous jaunt over. "Priss, you've gone way too far this time," I explain. Priss, meanwhile, looks confused, pissing me off just that little bit extra. "The Ice Balls! You know I'm not an idiot, right? You had those big honking balls of ice set up to whack me in nearly every room in the Shadow Realm! "I could have gotten a concussion or worse, you know that right? I ended up having to use some pretty strong shield magic just to block the damn things, I'm not as tough as you and your friends are, alright? Something hits me hard in the head and that's a concussion, or a cracked skull, or who knows what else." I sigh at her scrunched up expression. "Look, just be mindful of what kind of pranks you set up in the future, alright? I actually don't mind it when you get a good one over on me, but this was in poor taste, and I could have gotten hurt worse than I already have from those hailstones." Her expression of confusion leaves me slightly annoyed. "What? You look like I've sprouted a second head," I question. She goes on to explain something that confuses me as well. "Weiss, those were water balloons, not ice ones. I never set up any hailstones to hit you. I didn't freeze the water balloons I set up either." My eyebrows curl as my mind goes into overdrive. "That's... suspicious. I don't know of any ice magic right this second that someone could have used to freeze them." The door to Spezzi's opens with a pleasant jingle, and a scout approaches me with nervous sweat dripping down his face. "Sir, we've got a really really big problem."