Chapter Three: The Experiment Begins
--Written by Aceofgods, edited with the help of Shockhoof
Ace knitted his brow and started to concentrate on preparing a spell.
His mind had be clear of all distractions for it to work. The slightest thought, the smallest notion, might give the spell a focus rather than being the empty, purposeless gathering of power that he needed to form pre-magic without it being consumed in the spell.
The hardest part about the spell was that it had to be very powerful, but without a purpose, the pre-magic would form slowly rather than instantly. While the pre-magic was gathering, Ace needed his mind to remain clear of thought; were it not for the pristine environment of his workshop, the task would be nigh impossible.
Focusing on his solid black horn, Ace put forth a small, barely measurable amount of magic, which was likely one of the most difficult things he had done in months. For the spell to do what was needed, Ace had to keep his mind completely devoid of thought or purpose.
Pre-magic began to form around the black point, working slowly down the length as he focused on nothing. Finally, after what had felt like almost an hour, he felt a chill around his forehead.
Slowly and carefully, Ace lowered his focus and let the magic fade from his horn.
’Twenty, nineteen, eighteen, seventeen…’ Ace waited as the pre-magic settled on his horn, before gently caressing it with his magic, but feeling absolutely nothing there.
Ace’s eyes went wide as he could no longer sense his horn. He frantically felt around his environment, coating it in a layer of his magic, emitting the power from his entire body, rather than his horn.
Focusing the field, he analyzed his body to assess any damage. He swallowed hard, combating the panic that rose to meet him in his throat as he could no longer feel his horn through his magic. The only reassurance he could rely upon was the distinct lack of feeling, as though even the air itself had been removed from the space.
Ace, ever reliant on the magical senses that always overflowed from his body at his behest, used said senses to feel his surroundings more than anypony used their physical ones.
The inability to feel a particular object or area was not a first, though it was debilitating at every occurrence regardless; to another pony, it would be the equivalent of touching something you could not see, or seeing something you could not touch.
Ace was a powerful and experienced Unicorn, and had always used his magic to feel everything around him using extrasensory magic. Now, without it, he felt as though he was a newborn foal who had not yet learned to interact with the world around them.
Putting a bit of magic into his horn, he formed a glass container around his horn and lifted it away… Or rather, he meant to, but couldn’t as the pre-magic around his horn prevented him from putting any magic into it, lest it be absorbed by the very stuff the experiment centered upon.
Well, this experiment is off to a terrific start!
Counting his blessings, Ace was glad he had learned to use magic with the rest of his body, though it was nowhere near as effective as a Unicorn’s horn. Using this rare skill, Ace used his chest as a medium to control his magic instead as he formed a sort of glass vase and materialized it, making it solid and no longer needing magic to maintain its form.
With his hooves, Ace delicately scraped the pre-magic off one side of his horn using the reflection in the magnifying glass to guide him, almost staggering as he regained a conic portion of his extrasensory magic all at once.
Peering into the vase he held admiringly before him, Ace finally got a good look at what may yet be his best or worst idea this week; the black semi-fluid-semi-solid, almost gel-like substance drifted slowly to the bottom of the container.
The gooey stuff was a shade of black that appeared to drain all of the light around it like a black hole, while there were still unusual white specs that hovered and flickered like stars in the nighttime sky.
His extrasensory magic helping to guide him, knowing more where the stuff wasn’t than where it was, Ace managed to get all of the pre-magic off his horn, the horn-sized vase nearly half full.
It’s not enough, I need another batch.
Ace emptied the half full vase onto the table, below the enchanted magnifying lens, then set the vase aside as he modified the inside of it to have a hatch-like filter and expanded the width of the opening to fit part of his head instead of just his horn, which would help with the next batch of the pre-magic.
His tools properly prepared, Ace peered through the lens to study the star-scarred black mass, adjusting the lens as needed to get a closer look.
Even upon his closest inspection, the mass appeared to have no texture. It was as though it were water, completely smooth and slick, yet it latched on to anything it could as though it were alive, and being separate from everything would mean certain death.
Ace pulled away from the magnifying lens, noting that the black mass had appeared to lose a portion of its white flecks with the passage of time. Testing a theory, he cast a spell to transform the black mass into a bracelet.
The result was meant to be the black mass changing shape and form as it formed a circle and a hole began to form in the middle the size of a hoof, a clasp forming on one side. The actual result was that more white specks flickered to life on the mass as it leeched the magic of the simple spell.
Did it just move closer to me?
Ace stared for a moment before shaking his head lightly.
Of course not, the pre-magic has no purpose, and thus, no sentience. ‘Tis not a creature before my eyes, but a manifestation of magic given form.
Proceeding with the experiment, Ace began casting the spell that would do nothing once again, beginning the slow process of gathering pre-magic around his horn.
Were the spell something stronger, something with a definite cause, effect or purpose, the pre-magic would form as swiftly as a Unicorn can light their horn, but since the spell had no purpose, building the magic was difficult; the pre-magic needed magic to form, and gathering magic without magic was no easy task.
After what felt like an hour, the pre-magic seemed to have formed, Ace fighting a shiver as the cold touch reached the base of his horn. Ace mentally reminded himself that the loss of his magical senses was to be expected as he combated the panic forming in his subconscious.
Using his chest to control the glass trap he had prepared from the vase, he positioned it directly above his horn. Ace slowly lowered the vase onto his horn with all the grace of a dancer in a play at theatre - that is, he would have, if the contact the trap-vase made with the black substance hadn’t broke the control Ace had over the levitation spell.
Since it did, however, the vase instead came crashing into Ace’s forehead and muzzle, sliding down the length of his horn as the glass-and-wire-mesh hatch spread within the inside of the vase.
Ace used his hooves to center the vase over his horn, the mesh resting against his forehead, touching the base of his horn, beneath the pre-magic. Lowering his head to the floor, he slowly pulled the vase off, the ends of the hatch scraping slightly against the horn, ensuring no pre-magic remained behind.
The vase was again half full, but it would be enough to continue with the experiment for now. For the next step, Ace had to attempt to merge the two different globs of pre-magic into one.
Lifting the vase onto the table and turning it open-side-down, the wire-glass hatch dropping open as the black, amorphous mass clung to the glass, dropping out slowly as though it were a condiment bottle.
While the dark ashen Unicorn waited for the inevitable, unable to aid the descent with magic, he instead used magic to create a pair of glass planes that could be moved by hoof to relocate the black masses around the table.
After a time, the black, starless mass fell to the table with a sloppy sound that resembled forcing something into a vat of gelatin.
Ace prepared for the worst, setting aside the trap-vase and taking up one of the panes to move the new, starless mass under the magnifying lens. Not quite allowing the two masses to touch just yet, Ace left less than a hoof’s width between them.
He adjusted the magnifying lens to focus on the gap that separated the two valuable test materials, zooming in on each and taking mental note of how they seemed to long for each other.
Nearly microscopic tendrils formed on the star-scarred of the two, whilst the pure-black twin seemed to be trying to shift its weight forward, but not having the strength to do anything.
“The separate forms of pre-magic seem to act as a single entity. When in close proximity, they attempt to make contact with one another. The stars that mar the surface of the blobs signify the amount of magic they hold.
"Given enough magic, they appear to be capable of forming tendrils to reach for their goals. Lacking magic, they seem to attempt to… Shift their weight toward their goal, perhaps moving at a rate of three centimeters per hour,” he said, speaking for the express purpose of recording his thoughts through the ACS.
Ace began to make a cup of coffee across the room using his magic as he continued, “The next phase of the experiment will involve… Feeding, for lack of a better word.
First, the ‘food’ will be placed between the two to examine how they interact when there is another entity, a sort of ‘prey’ entity before them.” He took a few drinks of coffee before setting the half-empty mug aside on the far end of the table. The dark gray Unicorn’s black horn continued to glow, preparing to cast an illusion spell.
After a moment, still gazing through the magnifying lens at the gap between the two forms, he formed a simple square with the spell.
Within moments the star-scarred blob reached out a single long tendril that drained all of the magic from the illusion, removing the form from existence. This was to be expected, but what was truly unexpected, was that the star-scarred blob, now filled with a larger number of brighter stars, lurched inches towards the Unicorn before the black glow in his horn was cut short, having cut all flow of magic to the horn the moment the blob moved.
“The subject shows a ravenous hunger for magic, while also being… almost intelligent enough to realize the source of magic and not just seeking spells. Thus far, the experi-“
Ace’s monologue was cut short when the bright star-scarred mass did another unexpected thing; it grew another large tendril and reached the several inches that separated it from its purer sibling, conjoining the two near the center of the magnifying lens. Sparing no time, the Unicorn all but pressed his muzzle against the lens to get a solid look at his valuable test subjects as they merged.
Ace informed the ACS of the developments that took place before his very eyes; the pre-magic twins merged together with nary a single scar or seam to reveal the effort.
The elder twin shared its magic with the younger, the entirety of the mass now speckled with white lights. Ace could only hope that the ACS was capable of recording the pre-magic, lest he look a fool in footage. Ace began to traverse the room towards the firing range.
“To prevent accident, I will now force a misfire. Upon my return, the next stage of the experiment will involve practicality testing.”
Ace opened the door to the secured room, sealing the door as he entered. The dark Unicorn prepared a number of combat spells to achieve the planned misfire, causing a loud slam to echo through the workshop.
A few minutes passed before Ace emerged from the room, pulling his coffee towards him, careful to avoid bringing the levitation spell anywhere near the experiment. Finishing the coffee as he reached the table, he began to give voice to the thoughts that filled his mind.
“Next is the practicality test. For this segment of the experiment, I will attempt to coax the pre-magic form onto a solid object before assaulting said object with a spell. Should the object consistently survive with minimal harm, the experiment will advance to the next stage.
As he spoke he pulled another blank table from the back and set it some distance away, locking it in position with a single-use spell so as not to leave behind any magic.
Ace used his magic to create a glass dish, twice the size of his coffee cup, forming a holder on the side of the table to place it.
Next, taking the pane of glass used to move the pre-magic in a hoof, he slid the gooey stuff into the new dish, which landed with another solid, moist sounding flop, before placing a dish-like handled-tray below the glass, should the next step end in the almost expected failure.
“With the test material in a container, I will attempt to teleport the dish and its pre-magical contents to the testing table.” Ending the statement as much with a flash of magic as punctuation, the glass dish appeared on the table across the room evenly, still containing the amorphous mass. Ace nodded as he mentally noted the results.
“Introducing solid test object: one recently used coffee mug, laced with levitation magic.” As he spoke, the attentive Unicorn lifted the aforementioned object over to the opposite table, lowering it slowly into the container to introduce it carefully to the test material.
That was the intended outcome, had the material in question not reached up almost immediately with a long, black tendril the moment the mug breached the surface of the container, draining the magic as the mug landed dead center of the mass, being absorbed as easily as the magic that once surrounded the porcelain vessel.
Ace expected to hear the clatter of the cup against the glass dish, though he never did. The pre-magic caught the cup, taking it into the center of itself and used it take on a solid form as it molded itself to the form of its new host.
“Given a physical object, the mass seems to change form to the object, clinging to it. Proceeding to combat application.” Ace’s horn lit up brightly, casting a level 4 lightning spell over the top of the dish, out of reach of the tendrils.
The testing lab lit up with the flash of the lightning as it struck down into the center of the dish, gone as quickly as it appeared, leaving a long black tendril reaching listlessly out of the top of the dish, attempting to gather more magic, given the chance.
After a few moments, the tendril retreated back to the inside of the dish, gathering around the mass as it disappeared in the black starfield, glowing brighter now. The tendril out of sight, the Unicorn cast the same spell once again, with the same results, the tendril reaching to precisely the same place again, going no further.
“Absorbing more magic has left the mass positively filled with radiant white spots, resembling stars, though the longer time passes, the dimmer the spots become. Mass uses a single tendril comprised of itself to reach toward any source of magic it comes in contact with. Proceeding to verification.”
Casting a teleportation spell, Ace flashed the container back under the magnifying lens, the lip of the glass dish nearly touching the magnifying lens. Peering through the lens, Ace analyzed the white spots, not needing to adjust the spell yet. He noted the magical, electrical arcs that passed as lights as he admired his work.
Wanting a closer look, the Unicorn’s horn lit up as he began to adjust the lens, zooming in on one of the white spots…
As he did so, however, the tendril shot up from the surface of the ooze to make contact with the lens, draining the magic out of it as Ace jumped back, just managing to cut the magic from his horn before the tendril could shoot up and make contact with him, which it certainly had attempted to do as it longed to feed on the magic he held.
“Note: Subject still displays ravenous hunger, as well as lightning reflexes,” Ace noted with a nervous laugh.
Using the pane of glass to move the dish out from under the lens, Ace then reached for the trap-vase with his hooves, dipping it into the dish as the wire-and-glass mesh parted over the coffee cup.
Pulling the vase back out of the dish, the mesh scraping against the cup, the scientist studied the cup to examine if it had sustained any damage… Perhaps he would have, that is, if any of the pre-magic had come off the cup and into the vase.
Attempting the process once more, and gaining equal results, Ace sighed before taking a note: “Now stronger with the magic fuel it gained, the mass more tenaciously clings to its host. As a countermeasure, moving a future step to present.”
Whilst taking the note, he headed towards the storage room beside the spare tables and equipment. Within the room, Ace withdrew a box from a low shelf, the heavy parcel falling to his hooves as the weight within shifted when it moved over the edge of the shelf.
A small curse escaped his muzzle as Ace witnessed the pink colored, almost-crystalline stones within the box spilling across the floor, two of which touched his hoof and caused him to jump at the almost shocking contact.
Forming a glass container with his magic, the Unicorn scooped a number of the stones into it and kept it several feet away from his body, taking up a nearby book in his magic as he proceeded back to the experiment’s table, reading the book as he went. Everything Known about Anti-Magic Stone (a Study conducted by Ace Deus Fenrir).
Having written the informational text years past when he had discovered an island upon which no Unicorn could cast magic, Ace knew nearly every fact written herein, but still wanted to have the original copy should he need to make an amendment as the experiment he was presently engrossed in revealed some new light upon the mysterious stones.
Nearing the experiment table, Ace pulled a metal tray from the rack of equipment, then laid the stones upon the tray on the floor before stomping and grinding the Anti-Magic stones into powder, save for a shard that he lifted with a tool resembling a pair of tweezers, then dropped the sliver onto the black pre-magic mass-turned-coffee-cup.
As the sliver neared the mass, and inevitably landed in the center of the cup, the gooey solid let out an almost audible hiss as the white stars flickered before blinking out entirely.
“I have introduced a foreign contaminant to the mass of pre-magic: a sample of Anti-Magic Stone, discovered around eighty five years ago. The stone’s natural properties of dispelling any magic it comes in contact with have left the ooze defenseless against the gravity-fueled assault.
“Upon making contact with the substance, the pre-magic emitted a form of hissing sound – Result of magic leaving the ooze, or perhaps a feeling of pain passing through the form…”
Ace paused a moment to shake his head, “Likely the former, rather than the latter. The following tests will consist of testing the changes in behavior of the test material while exposed to the foreign contaminant, an Anti-Magic Stone.”
Using one of the glass panes, Ace moved the experiment dish to the center of the table, away from the disenchanted magnifying lens, before levitating the pane over the top of the dish. The gooey substance encasing the porcelain figure looked as though it were attempting to crawl out of the dish to make contact with the magic-touched glass pane, but with little result. Setting the pane aside, Ace took a number of steps away from the table for the next test.
“Testing capacity for absorbing aggressive magic.” Once again punctuating his sentence with a jolt of lightning, the room lit up with a flash and the bolt struck the center of the pre-magical substance, again raising a tentacle that was spotted with stars…
For just under a second, the tendril remained in position before the hissing noise returned, the tendril disappearing into the mass as quickly as the bolt struck, the stars blinking out of existence once more.
“Result is as expected, the pre-magic absorbed the attack that would have normally overloaded the sliver of Anti-Magic Stone, which in turn saved the contaminant within. Within moments, the Anti-Magic Stone dispelled the magic from the form, once again making the sound of a bestial hiss.”
Ace used his magic to pull a metal cart from the side of the room, pulling it alongside the table before taking note of the action for the ACS recording the events that transpired.
“One last test remains for this sample; Physical impact trauma testing.” With that, Ace teleported the mass to the top of the room, about 30 feet to the left of himself.
The dark, gooey coffee cup shaped mass fell to the floor within the container until it hit the ground.
The coffee cup within shattered to pieces, flying about the room and small bits of shrapnel reaching out to fleck against the dark Unicorn’s coat… At least, that is what would have happened, had the gooey mess not held the cup together, as Ace had anticipated.
While the glass dish of a container shattered to bits and filled the floor of the workshop, the coffee cup landed with a solid yet liquid ba-bloosh sound, open face down.
“The pre-magic mold around the cup has saved the porcelain container from a fragmented demise. Tests have concluded for this sample, as the sample cannot be removed from the cup without endangering myself.”
Casting a reparation spell on the glass that laid strewn through the workshop, Ace reformed the dish next to him as he proceeded toward the black mess in the floor, relying on his eyes to see the form rather than his magic, which was still debilitating to the dark Unicorn, so accustomed to relying on his extrasensory magic.
Taking the pane from the table as well, Ace coaxed the gooey solid into the dish once more, then carried the dish to the cart.
“The sample will be taken to the experiment storage room, pedestal number one-five-one, as it is the only Anti-Magic Stone pedestal already prepared. My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, this is Experiment ‘Magic Immunity Test Number Zero.’ The date is-“
Ace continued prattling off information for the end of the recording, as was necessary for the system to categorize and archive the recording, though the crystal would not be moved to the archives for a month, for the sake of review.
As Ace recited the figures the recording required, he pushed the cart to the door closest to the trophy room, though this thicker, pink door was operated by a hoof-crank as the solid door was made of Anti-Magic Stone to prevent any magic from the workshop leaking through to affect any of the leftover samples and materials within.
Working the door open, the Ace pushed the cart inside, leading the cart to the fifth row, the first column on the left. Pushing the cart alongside the pink pedestal, comprised of carved Anti-Magic Stone, with a matching pink see-through dome, composed of glass that was blown with powdered Anti-Magic Stone mixed in with the molten form.
Carefully removing the dome with his hooves, setting it on the cart before transplanting the glass dish to the pedestal and replacing the dome. His work here finished, the Unicorn proceeded out of the room, sealing it once more and placing the cart where it once rested before.
“ACS, begin recording. My name is Ace Deus Fenrir, and this is a recording for experiment ‘Magic Immunity Test Number One – Application of Pre-Magic to Living Organisms. The date is-“
This time choosing to recite the information at the beginning, while the information was fresh on his mind, Ace prepared the table for the coming experiment, stowing the magnifying glass down within the compartment built into the table, as it will not be used now that Ace had recorded the properties of the gooey mass in the previous experiment.
“The first section of this experiment will require that I amass a sizeable, usable amount of pre-magic.” With this, Ace braced himself and cleared his mind, casting the spell that was not a spell as he allowed the pre-magic to gather around his horn until he felt the cold absence around his forehead.
Once again, Ace gathered the pre-magic in the trap-vase used previously, then emptying the contents on the table.
What felt like hours passed as Ace repeated the collection process another five times, making a cup of coffee a time or two along the way, being careful not to introduce any magic to the growing mass of pure black goo.
The collection phase finished, Ace leaned down to inspect the goo, making sure there were no complication in conjoining so many different section of pre-magic without ever introducing magic to fuel the process.
"Where am I going to find a living organism to experiment on? I dare not use ponies, but I don’t want to hurt any animals either… Perhaps I should-“
Ace felt a twinge of magic pass through his horn, his eyes going wide as he bolted backwards, but too late – the pre-magic goo leapt toward his horn, the source of the magic it had felt, lusting for food, a ravenous hunger fueling the primitive, bestial urge to feed.
Out of reflex, Ace began to prepare a barrier spell, quickly reprimanding himself mentally at his own foolishness, as the magic charging in his horn was about the least helpful thing he could have done.
His next reaction, a much more helpful one, was to lift his left hoof to guard his head and horn from the gelatinous assault. More helpful, but still a problem – Ace’s extrasensory magic pulsed through all of his body, not just his horn, which meant the ooze had effectively made contact with magic.
Thinking quick as the white spots began to form on the ooze, fueling the tendrils that began to inch along the dark Unicorn’s leg, the panicked pony slammed his hoof into the tray in the floor by the table, which was covered in Anti-Magic Stone Powder.
A loud hiss filled the lab as Ace used his magic to pull the emergency glyph/rune carving knife to his other hoof, the other, afflicted limb still standing in the savior that was the fine pink powder.
With the enchanted knife in hoof, Ace hesitated as he considered the options.
The knife is enchanted, thereby magic. If the ooze makes contact with it, even for a moment, the magic will be drained from it. Without the magic, the knife is next to useless and the enchantments are complex, it could take me an hour to make another.
I need to stop the pre-magic from touching it, but I must save my limb at all costs. I cannot shed the pre-magic, as it would cling to my body, the only source of magic in the room, too tenaciously. Fangs and talons, this is going to sting…
Forming a ring of glass around his afflicted limb using his magic, just out of reach of the ooze before it could ascend the dark coated hoof any higher, Ace slammed the glass into the limb, severing the muscle and contacting the bone.
Biting his lip to fight the pain, blood attempting to pass by the glass to greet the wound, but the cut was, fortunately, too clean for the blood to escape. Ace cut the cord of magic he used to control the glass, the only thing holding it now being the muscle and bone it was braced against.
Working fast and having no time for compromise, the panicked and fatigued Unicorn drove the knife into his hoof much less deeply, cutting only deep enough that the tissue would scar above the glass barrier.
With the practiced grace of either an assassin, a surgeon or an artist, any of the roles describing the action, Ace carved the runes into his left hoof, just above the knee.
Groaning in pain, the Ace could not close his eyes or avert his gaze, the process being far too delicate to perform with only feeling alone. Using his magical sense to feel the runes, he could tell he was not making any mistakes.
The runes were a non-magical spell in and of themselves, enhanced by the blood and flesh it was carved in, and enhanced even further as they were carved using a ceremonial carving knife with an opal hilt, a sapphire studded in the mithril blade, and enchanted with a spell specifically for crafting ritualistic runes and glyphs.
Since the runes were a symbolic nature, they were not innately magical once they were enacted, but until they were all carved together, they remained a magical entity until they were put in effect, which was why they had to be separated from the anti-magic affliction.
Once activated, they would prevent the passing of any magic, or anything created by magic.
Fortunately, the pre-magic was still an entity of magic, which Ace believed was how the pre-magic melded together so well, and why it literally longed to join with other parts of itself.
Ace was in a dead-sweat as he finished carving the last of the runes, the symbols each glowing a dark color that matched the signature of his magic one at a time, until all of the symbols were glowing, then they all stopped glowing, leaving only the running blood that was amassing on the glass barrier behind.
Casting a rapid regeneration spell on his shoulder that would affect his whole leg, he placed the knife on the table and took a deep breath to steady himself, the pure black, still lightly hissing ooze pressed against the underside of the glass barricade.
As the spell took effect, the runes he had carved sealed themselves and scarred, easily noticed up close but indiscernible at a distance.
Ace winced back as a new wave of pain passed through his arm as the spell attempted to remove the glass from the wound, breaking and fracturing it in places as it was pushed from the wound, cutting nicks and chunks alongside the until-now clean wound, but healing it over all the same.
This scar, as he thought, was much larger and could easily be seen by the naked eye as clearly as his solid black horn. Ace began to regain feeling in his hoof as the muscles and nerves connected, having the thousand-needles feeling throughout the appendage.
Ace could no longer do this alone, he needed help, and he knew of only one pony who could help him in his troubles of magic other than the Princesses, who could possibly be very angered by his experimentation and getting reprimanded after waiting hours to be granted an audience would not help whatsoever.
I have little other option, but Princess Celestia is always granting praise to her star pupil… Time to put her through her paces… I need to visit Twilight Sparkle.
“Cease recording! I leave to seek aid!”
And with that, Ace teleported out of the lab, hoping that the only pony he knew could help him, a total stranger, would be at home…