//------------------------------//
// Chapter 3 
// Story: The Price of Magic 
// by Raichu 
//------------------------------//

“This place makes me feel safe.” Spirit commented as Celestia landed in front of the path that led into White Tail Woods. The forest was much bigger compared to the Everfree Forest. Its tall trees seemed to bend towards and grow closer to each other making it so that the only path into the forest was also the only entrance. The trees blocked the sunlight into the forest and made the path look like a dark into the forest. Celestia’s horn glowed a bright yellow while Spirit snuggled into her back.

“Safe?” Celestia echoed as she stared at the forest. She only felt dread. 

“Yeah. I don’t know why though.” Spirit looked up at the spooky forest. “Why are we here?”

“To find your mother,” Celestia said firmly. 

“Mom said she’d be right back,” Spirit replied as her hooves dug into Celestia’s mane. They began to walk into the forest. Trees seemed to block their only exit and closed like doors to the outside world as Celestia began to walk deeper and deeper into the woods.

“I know.” Celestia replied after a few moments of silence. “I just wish to speak to her.”

Celestia suddenly stopped as a rabbit jumped from a bush right into the path before them. It blinked and sniffed the air. Then something leapt out of the bushes and tackled it suddenly. The two creatures fought before a swift bite to the rabbit’s neck brought an end to its struggling. The creature suddenly stood and looked at Celestia and Spirit.

“Well… this awkward.” The Kitsune said, as Spirit jumped off of Celestia’s back. “Either of you want any?”

“Who are you?” Spirit asked. The Kitsune stood up proudly.  

“The name’s Daredevil,” He said and put out a paw. Spirit shook it. “And you must be Princess Celestia. And you…” He looked at Spirit curiously.

“Spirit Blaze.” Spirit introduced happily.

“Ah, a half-tail.” He nodded. “Good to note. Where’s your mother… or father?”

“We’re coming to find her.” Spirit said, sitting on the hard forest floor. “She’s a purple mare.”

“Oh yeah. Her,” Daredevil said, frowning, he looked into the depths of the forest, his sharp blue eyes seemed to be glowing. “She went this way, I think. I’ll show you the way, if you want.”

“Can we?” Spirit asked, looking back at Celestia. Celestia only nodded, lost in thought. Daredevil picked his rabbit up in his jaws and started making his way along the forest floor. They followed him deep into the forest.

Celestia was surprised by how Daredevil talked. The Kitsunes she had spoken with— though it was over five hundred years ago—talked quite like how Luna spoke. They were wise, with more wisdom than Celestia. They seemed to be very traditional and secretive, but this one seemed kind and… modern. Kitsunes stuck to their old traditions. They were wary of strangers. Daredevil seemed fine with Celestia and Spirit Blaze. Even though the Kitsunes she met knew who she was, they still did not trust her. This was odd.

“I’m not saying I’m not grateful for your help, but I assumed Kitsunes didn’t help strangers.” Celestia commented. Daredevil glanced back at her then faced forward again at the path ahead.

“Well, times change. We had to either learn to fit in with today’s culture or hang on to our traditions and die with the past,” Daredevil said. “I’m roughly two hundred years old and I’ve seen a lot. If there’s one thing I know it’s that my species will only survive if we stay with the times, so to speak.”

“So that’s why you accepted Spirit.” Celestia mumbled. Daredevil flicked his ear.

“I can hear you… and yes, that’s why. A lot of clans are pushing the move to breed outside our own species. Spirit is not the only one of her kind,” Daredevil said as he kept walking. “Some of us wish to stick to our old ways so to be careful. Some of us are not as nice.”

“So you all live here in this forest?” Spirit asked.

“No, no. Just most of the clans. It’s the farthest forest away from ponies.” Daredevil said as he came to a stop. Spirit bumped into him and fell over. Celestia nudged her up then looked ahead to the clearing before them.

“Is that her?” Daredevil asked, pointing. Celestia nodded. 

Twilight was crouched near a stone statue of a Kitsune. The Kitsune was sitting and was about Twilight’s size. Twilight was muttered something near the statue.

“Mom!” Spirit shouted as she bounced towards the clearing. Daredevil’s tails seemed to stretch eerily into the air before a tail shot out and grabbed her. She was pulled back towards Celestia and Daredevil with ease. 

“Shhhh,” Daredevil whispered to Spirit as he dumped her beside Celestia. “Something’s not right about her.”

“You’ve got that right,” Twilight said, her voice deepening and echoing around them. She turned around, her eyes bright yellow. Golden mist was circling her hooves. “Hello Daredevil.”

“Smokey.” Daredevil growled. “What are you doing? You know the rules! We’re not supposed to possess ponies!”

“Screw the rules, as the youngsters say today,” Smokey said and coughed. Golden mist began to leak from his mouth. 

“Get out of my mother!” Spirit shouted. “Get out you monster!”

“Don’t you know who I am, child? Didn’t your mother ever tell you? I am your father.” Smokey grinned eerily. 

“What?” Spirit asked, taking a step backwards, her ears flattening on her head. “You’re not my dad. Mom said that my dad was dead!”
“Well, she lied. He’s not dead, he’s right here.” Smokey said and laughed. “And dead? That’s a good one. How did she say I died?”

“I don’t know,” Spirit whispered. “She never mentioned the how.”

“Well, I hate to break it to you, sweetheart, but Kitsunes don’t just die. We live a very long time and if we do die, then well… it’s complicated. The thing is, we just don’t die.” Smokey said and trotted up to the edge of the clearing. “But that doesn’t matter. It’s good to see that you’re here, Spirit. We should have a little chat.”

“How did this happen?” Celestia asked, speaking up for the first time in a while. “Twilight would be smarter than to let a Kitsune possess her. She would fight back.”

“I don’t believe you know my predicament,” Smokey said, smiling at Celestia. “I’m stuck in this body. You see, Twilight allowed me to possess her. But she tried to pull me in with her magic rather than letting me do it naturally. It combined our souls and now we share a body.” 

“Why would Mom let you possess her?” Spirit asked.

“She wanted to learn more about magic. More than her mentor could or would ever teach her. There were books, she claimed, that, even as a princess, her mentor would never let her access. Some mentor she has, I say. But she knew I could teach her that kind of magic. And I could possess her and teach her the magic from within her… for a price.” Smokey said and grinned at Spirit. “I’ve always wanted kids.”

“You didn’t,” Daredevil growled. “You forced her to bear your young in exchange for teaching her about magic. That’s sick.”

“Well, every Kitsune’s family line is expected to live on for a very long time. I’m not exactly attractive and I was an only child. I think it’s a great deal,” Smokey replied, watching Spirit. “Spending years stuck inside your mother was a great way to observe your progress. She never did spend any time with you. Always spent her time learning that magic I was teaching her. After a few years I refused to teach her because she never spent any time with you. She argued that it wasn’t part of our deal and tried to force me out. It didn’t work because our souls have become one, something she never realized. She came here to try and force me out. It didn’t work so I took over when I smelled you all coming here.”

“You forced Twilight to have a child in exchange for teaching her magic? And she agreed to it?” Celestia asked, surprised that her former student would be so desperate to do such a thing. She knew Twilight wanted to know more about magic but the books she wanted to access were on dark and light magic.

They were very dangerous and powerful spells and when handled improperly, could be dangerous to the user and everypony around them. Celestia intentionally kept them away from her until she was sure that Twilight had learned enough as a Princess to handle them carefully. She never knew that her former student was so desperate to learn new magic that she’d bare a stranger’s child in exchange for knowledge. 

“Tell Twilight that I’m extremely disappointed and angry at her,” Celestia said firmly to Smokey. Smokey nodded.

“She can hear you, she just can’t do anything.” Smokey said. He closed his eyes and opened them a few seconds later. “I believe she’s angry yet crying. She says you didn’t trust her.”

“Can I speak to her?” Celestia asked.

“Sure. She won’t be able to move though. I have business to handle.”

“What kind of business?” Daredevil growled.

“None of your business, that’s for sure.” Smokey said. “Give me a sec, Princess.”

He grinned. The golden mist began to spread across Twilight’s entire body before it encircled everything but her head. Her eyes cleared and became purple again. She shook her head and blinked before looking up at Celestia. Her eyes watered but she blinked them away and frowned.

“Celestia.” She said, her voice wavering. “Hello Spirit.”

“Don’t give me that hello crap!” Spirit burst out unexpectedly, both Daredevil and Celestia looking at her in surprise. She walked up to the edge of the clearing. Daredevil held out a tail that kept her from going any further. “You only had me so you could learn magic? Really? So you don’t care about me at all?”

“It’s not like that, Spirit.” Twilight said. “I do love you.”

“No, you don’t.” Spirit said, her ears flattening as she looked up at her mother. “Most of my life, you never paid any attention to me. Smokey was a better parent than you ever were.” The next few words were said with the most malice Celestia had ever heard a child say in a long time. “And I don’t love you, Twilight.”

“T-that’s enough, Spirit.” Celestia said. Spirit turned around and raced back to Celestia. She fell next to the Princess, sobbing on the ground. Celestia looked sadly down at the young filly then back at Twilight.

“I’m very disappointed in you, Twilight.” Celestia said coldly. 

“You wouldn’t let me see those books.” Twilight replied just as coldly. “What was I supposed to do, steal them?”

“Considering the situation at hand, I believe that would have been better.”

“I did nothing wrong.”

“Just so you know, Spirit Blaze will be taken into my care, permanently. I have two witnesses that say you neglected a child. Smokey has permission to visit her but not you, Twilight.” Celestia said as she trotted forth. 

“Smokey won’t be visiting her either then. He’s stuck in me.” Twilight said.

“I can fix that,” Celestia said and smiled. “With ease.”

“I only wanted to read some books. But you kept them locked away from me. Didn’t you trust me?” Anger shook Twilight’s voice.
“You wanted to read on dark and light magic. That is the most powerful type of magic. You were still a young Princess and alicorn. I wanted to make sure you were ready,” Celestia said. She stepped into the clearing. “Apparently you weren’t ready, nor are you ever going to be, it seems.”

“It doesn’t matter. I learned everything I needed to,” Twilight said. “And I didn’t do anything wrong.”

“You used illegal spells.”

“What?”

“Combining souls is not a natural concept. The spell you used on Smokey was a specific type of spell that fuses you to another living creature. You wanted to make sure he wouldn’t break your deal so you fused him with you.” Twilight looked down as she spoke. “The fusion of souls is an illegal practice. It’s highly dangerous to use for a short time but you kept it in use for years. When you spilt, there will be complications. Smokey will be fine, but you will probably not be.” Celestia said and frowned down at Twilight. “And I will be splitting you apart. For Smokey’s sake.”

There was a quick flash of yellow and two beings were flung apart from where Twilight’s body was held in the mist. Twilight Sparkle flew to the left and landed on the ground on her side. Her wings were twisted at odd angles, and her horn was cracked. Smokey flew to the right. He was a gray Kitsune with nine long tails with fine white tips. He got up quickly, his golden eyes flashing before rushing towards Spirit. 
Twilight stood slowly while Celestia quietly watched. Her horn’s glow flickered in and out like a candle in the wind. She winced and stumbled before getting up once again. She rubbed her horn, her eyes widening with the realization that it was cracked.

“You will come quietly back to Canterlot. There will be a trial there waiting for you,” Celestia said. Twilight’s horn glowed again, this time a darker color, closer to red.

“No. I’m going home and I’m taking Spirit Blaze with me.” Twilight growled, her eyes flashing red. “I didn’t do anything wrong! All I wanted to do was learn and you’ve been keeping knowledge from me because you don’t trust me.”

“There is why we don’t study dark and light magic, Twilight. There’s a reason it’s in the restricted section of the library.” Celestia’s horn glowed white. Twilight growled and raced forwards towards Celestia, her horn emitting  a red light at her. Celestia stepped sideways as Twilight crashed into the ground where she’d been standing. The red blast hit a nearby tree, turning it to ash.

“You’re quite fighter, Twilight. But not good enough.” Celestia side stepped Twilight again, this time the purple mare flew past her and landed on the ground in front of Celestia. Her mane had new darker streaks in it and her eyes glowed an off shade of purple. Her hooves were surrounded by a black mist that seemed to come straight out of her horn, which glowed a pinkish red. 

“I’ll beat you before I ever come back to Canterlot,” Twilight growled, her voice taking on a more echoing sounding voice. “Even if I have to use a darker type of magic.”

“Dark magic corrupts good ponies, Twilight. We both know that and yet you dare to use it without any necessary protection spells?”
“I’ve used it before. I’ve never been corrupted. Why are you worrying about me anyways?” Twilight asked as Celestia’s horn glowed white. “Ha! You’re using light magic. If you’re so worried about me getting corrupted, what about you?”

“I’ve used it longer than you have, Twilight. I’ve much older and wiser than you. I know what I’m doing. You, on the other hand, don’t. You’re inexperienced and young. Give up now before the magic fully corrupts you. You’ll have a fair trial.”

“So I used one illegal spell. So what?”

“You used many illegal spells, actually.”

“What?”

“The practice of dark and light magic is illegal.” 

“You’re using it.”

“This is a flash spell, used to blind ponies, Twilight. It’s a legal light spell and it’s the only legal one. We allow the Royal Guard to use it to fight opponents,” Celestia said, her horn fading into yellow again. 

Twilight only growled.

“You’re losing yourself to the insanity of the spell. Please Twilight, I beg of you, please give yourself up. It’ll be easier for you in the long run.”
“Never.” Twilight hissed as she launched herself at the Princess. Celestia let loose her spell and Twilight did as well. A bright red blast exploded, white light filled the area at the same time, blinding everyone in sight of it…