Tails of Innocence

Chapter 6
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Potions and Tricks - Pt.2

When Rosey told the two her idea of making Kyuubi’s purification magic available in bottle form, the two had called her crazy. While such a thing would be valuable, and help a lot of ponies, not even Kyuubi fully knew how her powers worked, and she’d had them for a long time. Rosey, however, was not one to give up without trying and she had the trio work in the apothecary room in the Royal Castle, with permission of course, to start their experiments.

“I don’t know if you're ambitious, crazy, or both,” Nightbright said as he and Kyuubi watched Rosey prepare all their ingredients and equipment. “How exactly are we going to get Kyuubi’s purification into a bottle? It’s pure magical energy that comes from, apparently, a living god.”

“Hmm, God in a Bottle. That has a nice ring to it!” Rosey said with a sparkle in her eye. “The miracle cure that solves everything.”

“Now you sound like a snake-oil salesman,” Nightbright said, rolling his eyes. Turning to Kyuubi, he asked, “You gonna try stopping her?”

I have a feeling that it’s futile to try, Kyuubi answered, shaking her head. Besides, we might as well try. If they did manage to succeed in doing this, it would help a lot of ponies. Plus, it might give her an edge against Nightmare Moon for the approaching encounter.

Sighing in defeat, Nightbright asked, “Okay, I get that we’re going to try and get Kyuubi’s magic in liquid form. But what’s with the plants we had to get?”

“Simple,” Rosey said, jumping off her stool and walking to the others with some beakers in her telekinesis. “All of these plants are known to be used for curing injuries, help with mental illness, or cure certain diseases and poisons. I figured we could see how they mix with Kyuubi’s magic and a few other potions that exist to make something stronger.”

But how are we going to get my magic out? I can cast it, but it doesn’t exactly stay in one place, Kyuubi described.

“Well, I wrote a list of possible ideas,” Rosey said, showing them a very long parchment.

The two slowly looked at the smiling potion maker who nodded and said, “Yup! Let’s get cracking shall we?”

The others looked at each other. By some miracle Kyuubi's white fur turned even paler.

Three days. Three days of trying various ways to get Kyuubi’s purification magic to work. On the first day, they tried using various aspects of Kyuubi’s physical self to see if it had any magical reaction. While Kyuubi was fine using things like her fur, spit, and even a tear or two thanks to some onions, she drew the line on the more personal stuff. Regardless, none of it seem to have any special reactions to the various mixes and potions they made so that marked it off.

The second day was about using Kyuubi’s purification magic on the various potions that already existed for what they were aiming for. The hope was that it could increase the potency or make something new to use. However, most of the potions either didn’t change, or evaporated into the air.

“Okay, this plant is commonly used to cure colds and flus,” Rosey said, labeling each one to Kyuubi. “This one allows cuts to heal faster while putting a stop to bleeding. And I don’t know what this one does, but according to my cousin it helps stallions in bed with their girlfriends. Don’t know why it would help with a sleepover, but whatever.”

Nightbright blushed, knowing what it meant, and so he took the plant and threw it in the trash.

“I’ll tell you when you’re older,” Nightbright said with a disagreeing shake of his head.

Kyuubi tilted her head in confusion before raising her tail to start the purification. One good thing about all this experimentation was that it was good practice for her. She had gotten quite a bit quicker summoning her purification and healing magic which at this point was becoming instinct for her.

“Let’s hope something happens... my body is sore from working with those plants every morning,” Nightbright moaned as he levitated an ice bag over his right lower knee.

“Oh, hush. It’s good exercise,” Rosey said as she watched Kyuubi place her paw above the plants in front of her. With a flash, her purification magic washed over the plants. At first, it seemed like nothing was happening, but then, to their amazement, the plants started to absorb the magic. They were turning greener with some of the flowers also increasing in color. There was also some glimmer on them as a white aura faintly glowed on the various flowers and roots before fading away.

Both Rosey and Kyuubi stared at the plants before the two looked at each other and grinned.

Ever since he was accepted for taking the role as the new Royal Physician for the Princess, Dr. Hornheal had grown to expect many strange things from the Princesses apprentice known as Kyuubi. He had known that the Princess had a new apprentice, but he didn’t know that she was a talking multi-tailed fox that had powers beyond that of all known creatures. Finding out that she could talk in his mind nearly gave him a heart attack. He also didn’t know where to begin with her healing powers or her ability to purify things thanks to a real god. Needless to say, Dr. Hornheal had seen and witnessed things from the fox apprentice that still stunned him to this day.

Today was no different as he, Kyuubi, and her friends attended an injured recruit. It had been a training accident where one of the recruits thrusted hard and managed to pierce the side of his partner. Thankfully, it was non-fatal, but theoretically the guard was going to be out of action for at least two weeks. Now, he was going to have to make a correction to that theory. He might be out in less than six days! It may not have been the minute-long heal that Kyuubi’s magic was capable of, but the Kitsune couldn’t be everywhere at once.

“Fascinating, so it even works on larger wounds,” Dr. Hornheal said in awe as he looked at the potion Kyuubi and her friends had wanted him to try. For the past few hours, they had been using potions for curing things like runny noses, cold, and even bruises and cuts. These potions were no different from the ones he normally used, save for one thing. The plants were blessed by Kyuubi’s holy powers.

This not only made the plants somehow stronger, but it also made the effects of them twice as powerful. While not every potion was made with plants, there were still a good number of them that were. They had double the effect thanks to this purification magic and could do wonders for everypony. His parents had raised him to be religious in the Harmoninist faith, one of the faiths that some Equestrians believed in despite many not believing in such things. Upon entering college, Dr. Hornheal began to join them and put aside such superstitious things.

Now, having seen this god given power grant another miracle, Dr. Hornheal was wondering if he should start praying again.

“So, is it all in the clear?” Rosey asked, eagerly. “Princess Celestia had stated she wants our experiments to be tested out with supervision just in case. Dr. Hornheal’s words will make it or break it.

“Well, I want to run a few more tests, but I think it's going to be a first place winner at the contest,” Dr. Hornheal said with a smile. “You have my official permission.”

“We should make our stand for the contest! I got all the stuff to make it at home!” Nightbright said.

I’ll help too… but at the moment I can’t tell if we’re trying to make purification potions, or boost the healing properties of plants and healing potions. Oh well, as long as it works I have no complaints. She stopped following her friends as she glanced back at her large tails. Note to myself. Ask Princess Celestia to alter my age before the contest.

Rosey turned around and looked up, giving her friend an encouraging glance. "You know you don't need to reduce your size for our sake." She smiled warmly. "We are perfectly comfortable with you, no matter the size, and other students and teachers got used to it a long time ago." She winked. "Not to mention all that fluffy fur to hug. The more the better."

Nightbright turned around and nodded. "We know how uncomfortable you feel in your younger form, having only quarter of your usual magic and paper-like skin. You don't like it so why?"

I know, I know, but I don't want to stand out too much in a cramped room. Not to mention it would look a big awkward if I was bigger than our stand. She stroke her own tails. And I don't want to accidentally damage other student's work with my tails. It is bad enough when my tails accidently knock books of other student's tables.

"Good point," Rosey said before gesturing for the group to follow her. "Just don't shrink yourself too much. You still need enough magic to bless our potions during the presentation."

Kyuubi smiled back as she followed her trotting friends, taking one long step for a few of theirs.

Dr. Hornheal could only smile at the sight. Ah... to be young and excited again. He turned to the potion on his table and wondered. If that holy magic can do things like this... along with curing corruption... what else could it do. If indeed it was a power gifted by a god, the possibilities had to be limitless. Curing illness? Maybe even mental ones? Could it save somepony from the brink of death? Could it even bring the dead back to life?

Silver Lotus had never thought there would be a day when she would question her superior sixteen unicorn generation bloodline, but ever since she arrived at the Academy of Gifted Unicorns everything she believed in had been thrown out the window. It wasn’t the fact that she wasn’t top of the class, there were far more noble and powerful unicorns than her. Even she knew that her family wasn’t the top of the food chain in the jungle known as Equestrian Nobility.

However, the fact that she was being beaten by a vermin was too low of an insult. She thought it was a joke that a multi-tailed fox was going to be a student at their school, but lo and behold she was there during the entrance exam. At first, Silver Lotus thought that the dirty creature would fail or at least be so low she wouldn’t last long. Yet, not only did the creature pass, she passed with a higher score than hers!

To make matters worse, it turned out she was the Princess’s personal student of all things! She could understand such a creature being her highness’ personal pet similar to the Phoenix, but to be the prized student of Princess Celestia herself, something that even most talented unicorns weren’t worthy of for centuries?! She had never heard her father scream such profanity when they heard the news. Being the personal student of Princess Celestia was the greatest dream of every noble child save for marrying into the family. Not only did it grant honor and prestige, but it also had authority behind it. Not as high as Ambassador or Chancellor should the title ever be granted, but it allowed the use of certain powers one could use to one's benefit.

And it was all in the paws of a big fox. A fox of all things! It was an insult to all unicorns everywhere!

Silver Lotus vowed to be better then Kyuubi in every subject so she could show that she was better as both a pony and a noble, but when she showed advantage in one subject, she was surpassed in two others. Not the best in the class, but she was among the top ten, while the highest Silver could go was top thirty. It hurt her pride knowing that some mongrel born in the woods was a better student than her, but it was also annoying to hear it preach on and on about her “God” who had blessed her with power.

Silver Lotus had to roll her eyes at such nonsense. Equestria hadn’t had any deities since the days of Nightmare Moon, when Celestia disavowed the worship of her and her sister. Equestria grew rich and stable without the help of fictional deities, and it didn’t need one from a stranger’s land. She first heard such a thing when one of their students lost their grandmother to old age and missed her. Kyuubi told of a place called “Heaven ” where all the good souls went after they died and were happy for all eternity.

It was a load of minotaur dung, but the sucker actually believed her and so did a few others. Each of them asked how to pray to God. While the thought of a place after you died sounded nice, there was no proof of it and the Princess didn’t say such a thing existed. Therefore there was nothing after death. No God . No afterlife. Just a cold grave and a void to lay in when your time was up.

Honestly, it seems like I’m one of rare sane ponies in this school, Silver Lotus thought as she walked through the halls to the science wing. Her “contact” wanted to meet with her here so she could deliver the goods she promised. When Silver learned that Kyuubi and her friends were planning to take part in the potion contest, she signed up as well to prove that she was better than the annoying fox.

What she didn’t expect was how hard it was going to be to beat her. If she wanted to prove the princess that ponies are more worthy of her personal guidance, she needed something big and shocking to wow the judges so that they would give her the first place prize. And Silver had to do it on her own. Not just to prove she was better, but to prove that she could deal with Kyuubi on her own.

Opening one of the science doors, Silver Lotus saw her fellow student, Red Oak, nervously waiting for her. The glasses wearing geek was way below her status, but he knew his plants well and that was what she needed to win. Doing her best to appear happy, Silver Lotus walked up to him and gave a wink of her eye. “Hey, Red. Got what I asked?”

“Uh, sure...” Red Oak said, levitating a small bag of powder and giving it to Silver. “Crushed and powdered treant leaves. But I’m not sure what you’re going to use it for...”

“If you must know, I plan on mixing it with a growing potion to double its power,” Silver Lotus said, smiling. “Think about it. A method to make your garden grow faster than ever. It will be a first place winner for sure.”

“I don’t know,” Red Oak muttered, fumbling with his glasses. “Treant’s are actual sentient trees, even if they are torn down they still have magical abilities not fully understood.”

“Relax, I know what I’m doing. Here’s your reward,” Silver said, closing her eyes and kissing him on the cheek. The poor colt went woozy and faint with a goofy smile on his face. Rubbing her lips as hard as she could, Silver gagged a bit before leaving the dazed colt. “Ugh, I should have brought mouthwash.”

The day of the contest arrived and Kyuubi couldn’t help but be a bit nervous. She usually didn’t like to come out to huge crowds, especially with the attention focused on her. Most of the visitors had just stared at her while a few took photos or talked to her personally.

While she wished she could just disappear, Kyuubi still acted polite to those who wished to see her. If there was one positive thing about this attention is that it was giving them a chance to show off their potion to others. Of course, Kyuubi’s healing abilities lured many ponies with cuts, bruises or more serious injuries in hopes to get her aid, giving the trio a chance to test their potions instead. They were amazed just how much faster their injuries were healed. Even someone with poison ivy was cured in an hour.

“We are so going to win first place!” Rosey cheered as she waved to another pony who was grateful their bruise marks had disappeared from their cheek.

“Only if the judges get here already. Seriously, it's been two hours,” Nightbright sighed, taking a sip from his bottled water.

Well, there are a lot of children, Kyuubi said, yawning. I just hope they get here so I can stop getting asked to take a photo or shake hooves with my tails.

“I’m surprised that you don’t have any guards here to look after you,” Nightbright pointed out.

Well, I doubt I need them. This is a school with advanced and powerful unicorn teachers everywhere. I think whatever problems come they can handle them, Kyuubi pointed out. Also, I got a slight impression that not many guards train to stay in shape. I feel they aren’t as reliable.

“Speaking of powerful teachers, is Princess Celestia going to come? She’d be a big boost for us if she was seen taking your potion,” Rosey said.

First, I would never ask the Princess to do such a thing. That would be giving us an unfair advantage, Kyuubi said. Second, she got called last night for an emergency down by the shore. Apparently, some pirates kidnapped the Mayor of Baltimare’s daughter and Princess Celestia is leading a rescue effort.

It would normally seem odd for a princess to go personally deal with some pirates who were far inferior to her power, but Celestia had said that every pony was precious to her. And she wasn’t going to stand by while one of them was in trouble. It only further proved in the eyes of Kyuubi how noble of a leader Princess Celestia was. She was even far more noble than some of the human leaders she read about in history before leaving the church.

On the other side, not many human leaders had even fraction of her raw power and the ability to teleport to assist on frontlines. Maybe she overestimated the princess a tiny bit as there was far more she could have done to help away from the throne.

“Well, I hope everything works out,” Rosey said with a warm smile, before a thought came to her. “Hey, if something were to ever happen to the Princess would you be in charge?”

“I don’t know. You’re her apprentice and all. I mean, there is the Blueblood family, but they’re only adopted, not really of royal bloodline. It’s kinda debated if they are her heirs or not should Princess Celestia retire or pass away. After all, she has no official children of her own and Princess Luna died a thousand years ago with no heirs either.”

Princess Celesia said that members of each of the tribes would decide a new ruler or form a new government should anything happen to her. At least that’s what’s in the agreement she and Princess Luna made with the Founders of Equestria when they came into power, Kyuubi explained.

While the Bluebloods were a likely candidate, there were others who were more qualified such as Fancy Shirt, who was one of the most popular and wisest of nobles, Commander Iron Wing of the Wonderbolts, Guard Captain Radiant Sparkle, and a few others. Not that Kyuubi would let anything happen to Princess Celestia. She was more than willing to die in her stead. Kyuubi was just a multi-tailed fox from a home far away. Celestia was the ruler of an entire nation. It was only logical that she was the more expendiable one of the two.

Besides, I doubt the ponies of Equestria would want to be led by someone who isn’t even one of their own kind, Kyuubi pointed out.

“True, a lot of institutions tend to look down on non-ponies. It’s why it’s hard for some immigrants to get a job here,” Nightbright pointed out. “Don’t get me wrong. When it comes to kindness, friendship and trust, Equestria’s citizens have a strong moral code and are always willing to help.” She rubbed her foreleg nervously, her ears drooped. “Sadly, we’ve became a bit xenophobic. I’m not sure why. Maybe it has something to do with other species being more aggressive, or maybe it is something to do with the education system… or maybe both.”

Kyuubi sighed before her body started needing some relief. I’m heading to the bathroom. At least it will give me a break from all this... attention.

Silver Lotus had made sure to use her family’s money to give her one of the best stands possible to stand out. Bright colors. Glowing crystals. Some beautiful looking plants as background all with a sign that said “Miracle Grow” on it. Unfortunately, due to working alone, she only had enough time to make a single batch of the potion while hoping that it would be enough to impress the judges. It did make some plant lovers and gardeners who were among the crowd disappointed, but they didn’t matter.

The judges were coming towards and she was ready to wow them with her potion. The leader of the three, Professor Jewelcrust, looked at the plants that Silver Lotus had around her and asked, “Are all these plants grown by this miracle grow of yours, Silver?”

“Yes, sir,” she lied, they didn’t need to know that she hadn’t used the potion yet. By the time she finally got it right, at least in theory, there wasn’t enough time to give it a test. Levitating a potion vile, Silver dramatically said, “Behold the future of gardening. With just a few drops, any plant will grow into an enormous size the likes of which nature has never before seen!”

She poured a few drops into the potted plant where some seeds were dug inside, then added a few hundred droplets for a good measure, hoping that something spectacular would happen. Sure enough, a small fern started to grow and grow until it was barely able to stay inside the fern. A few claps from nearby watchers while the judges wrote some stuff on their boards. Silver was annoyed to see that their faces were so impassive that it was hard to get a read on them.

“Very well done. Now how did you manage to... to...” Professor Jewelcrust raised her eyebrows. “It is supposed to rumble like that?”

Silver and a few others stared at the shaking fern which was starting to glow while also growing thorns. A few seconds later, everypony’s vision went green when it exploded and large vines started to spread out in all directions. Ponies screamed before getting caught up in the green bounds of the large thorny vines, both from the shock and the sudden pain of having sharp edges into their flesh.

Ponies who could fly or teleport were able to get out of the way and closer to the exit, but some were too late or didn’t get far enough as it began to spread all over the auditorium. Trapped beneath her own creation, Silver Lotus could only realize that maybe she should have tested it out first rather than use half a bottle.

Thank God for toilets, that’s all I can say, Kyuubi said, sighing in relief as she flushed. Getting off, she opened the stall and made for the sink to wash her paws. Good thing the princess agreed to alter my age this morning, or else fitting into a stall and using toilet would be a nightmare, she thought, her size now no bigger than an average mare.

She was now only a little bit bigger than her best friends, who has grown quite a bit since they first meet at the library. As much as she wished she could remain at this age so she could talk with her friends and classmates as equal, she now had only a quarter of her usual raw power and durability, barely enough to bless potions and plants with her magic. On the bright side, she could always return to her normal size very quickly in case of emergency.

With her paws wet, she rubbed them against a silvery towel with golden insignia, while the toilet itself was clean enough that she could see her reflection in the marble floor, which reflected on her now more luxurious life among the high society. Back in the human lands, they were still using chamber pots and Kyuubi had often had to go outside to do her business. Learning of such a way had made it much more of a relief for Kyuubi. Of course, the learning process was embarrassing, but the less said about that the better.

Thinking about her old home made Kyuubi lower her head and caused her ears to drop, feeling sadness inside her heart. Chances were that some of the priests she knew her entire life had passed on either from old age or were so old they were close to passing on. Kyuubi wished there was a way to say goodbye to them, but chances were she was still on the wanted list. Will I ever go back? I mean, surely in a few hundred years I’ll be forgotten?

Her inner thoughts were interrupted by the sound of screaming and shaking that was coming from outside. Worried, she rushed out of the bathroom, nearly tearing off the door frame, and saw something that made her jaw drop. Giant thorny vines were coming right at her. After panicking for a millisecond, Kyuubi cast the first spell that came to her mind and unleashed her sacred fire at the vines. They didn’t stand a chance and were burned to a crisp, but just as soon as they were gone, more were coming. Jumping to the left, Kyuubi ran down the hall along with a few other ponies who were either retreating or casting spells to hold off the vines. She joined them by using her fire spell and paralyzing shock spell on the vines. What the heck is happening?!

Tails of Innocence

by CommanderX5

Chapter 6 - Potions and Tricks - Pt.2