After the successful defense of Newvale from the CRA, I decided I could use a shower. And then I paused, realizing something vital.
What with all the excitement, I hadn't had time to properly make a home for myself.
I mean, granted, I had Newvale, but there was no house specifically for me. Or I could have used the Penumbra Sanctum, were it made for, y'know, the living. And that time I crashed at Twi's didn't count. Both because that night, I didn't sleep, and that I couldn't actually go there for fear of the second coming of The Crazed Purple One.
So, yeah. No proper home, and I needed one. Nothing for it, I would have to make one. I idly scratched behind Measured's ears while I mused about my conundrum out loud. "Huh. I've only just now noticed I don't have a place to live."
At this, she jerked her head around and stared at me. "What."
I shrugged. "Things've been hectic. Phenomenal power comes with phenomenal responsibilities, and mine have kept me going from place to place so much that I only just now realized my predicament."
She blinked a few times, clearly not expecting a reasonable answer to her statement. And then she got the creepiest grin.
"You know, my place in Canterlot has a guest room. I could-"
"No." I shot that idea down before she even voiced it fully, causing her to frown, then pout slightly and give me puppy dog eyes. Fortunately, I'd had a younger sister, so I could put up with a reasonable amount of pouting. "Not just no, but hell no. There is not enough no in all the world. I want my own place, thank you very much, where I can do experiments with my power and not have to worry about the neighbors. And with all this crap that keeps coming up, it'll need to be defensible as well. That's pretty much the definition of a Keep, and I'd like to take over and refurbish one than build one."
Measured's frown increased as her brows furrowed. "There are no vacant keeps, besides the Castle of the Royal Sisters in the Everfree."
I sighed and ran my hand through her mane. "I doubt they'd let me take that over, it's sort of a relic at this point. Which means..."
And here I got a wicked grin.
"I get to make one. Now all I need is to decide on a location, and really, it's a no-brainer."
"Oh?" That head cocking thing people do when they're confused is adorable on a pony.
"Yeah. Only problem is making it alicorn-proof."
At this, Measured grinned. "That's not really a problem, considering your unique situation. I know of a spell or two to cancel out magic. If I provide the framework, you can provide the energy. Combined, the theoretical applications are limitless."
And at this, I turned to her and turned my grin up to eleven. "Mah dear, I think this is the start of a beautiful friendship."
-----
(3rd POV - Twilight)
Everything was normal in Ponyville, surprisingly.
The sun was shining, the foals were playing, the weather was just perfect.
Twilight sighed to herself as she began to plan around the day Auric had all but forced her into going at without a schedule.
He had said nothing about making general plans, or plans around the day after all! She could still have some form of structure, just not one as rigid as she normally used! It was technically not cheating, just exploiting a loophole he'd accidentally left open!
And that was when the earthquake struck.
Casting a spell to stabilize all the bookshelves so that none of them fell over onto her, or worse, spilled their contents, Twilight braced herself as well as she could. The drain of keeping the library stable was starting to show just as Spike started to bounce down the stairs.
"What's going on?!" Fortunately, Spike's scales protected him from too much damage as he slammed into various things. The same could not be said of the objects that he was unlucky enough to hit.
"I don't know, Spike! Just hang on to something!"
After five minutes of non-stop shaking, the world settled back into something resembling normalcy. Spike crawled out from underneath the table he'd managed to crawl under, and Twilight ceased her spell, wiping her brown in the process.
"Phew. Well, whatever it was, it's over now." Twilight looked around the lobby of the library, noticing that the damages from Spike being jostled around weren't any worse than Rainbow Dash crashing in. She looked over to her number one assistant and sighed. "Well, we should go see if anypony else needs any help."
Spike climbed up onto Twilight's back and nodded. "I don't think Dash will need help...or have even noticed. Pinkie's probably fine. Applejack will probably appreciate the shaking if it got any apples off her trees. That just leaves Fluttershy, who'd be more scared than anything, and Rarity," and here the drake's eyes widened, "and all her needles and scissors and...we gotta go now, Twilight!"
Twilight blanched at the mental picture Spike was painting. "You know, for once, your crush pays off."
Spike was too worried to even correct her as they ran to Carousel Boutique. As they ran through the streets of Ponyville, they noticed a few of the citizens were coming outside to see what, if anything had caused the sudden quake. A few were holding hooves to bruised parts of themselves, and every so often somepony would come out with a smashed item. Spike and Twilight were too engrossed in checking on Rarity to notice a common theme: after a few houses, ponies would be staring behind them with their jaws wide open.
The bell chimed as Twilight and Spike ran inside. "Rarity? Rarity are you in here? Are you alright?"
A voice drifted down from the upstairs. "Twilight dear? Oh thank goodness! I could really use your help up here!"
Twilight and Spike raced upstairs. "Where are you, Rarity? Is everything okay?"
Rarity's voice emanated from behind her bathroom door. "Everything is most certainly not okay!"
Spike hopped off of Twilight's back and rapped the door a few times. "What's the problem?"
"Spike? Oh Spikey, don't open that door!"
Spike blushed a bit and stepped back. "Of course not, m'lady."
Twilight took his place and pressed an ear to the door. "What's the problem, Rarity?"
"Well, I was getting ready for my usual spa date with dear Fluttershy, when that ghastly quake struck! Before I could so much as cast a spell, all my shampoos and conditioners and dyes and...everything just fell on me! I'm afraid to look!"
"Do you want me to?" Twilight had her hoof going for the doorknob before she even finished her question, and was quickly rebuffed by Rarity's response.
"Absolutely not! Nopony must see me like this! Or dragon, either. I have a plan. Spike, if you would be so kind as to go downstairs, please?"
Spike nodded and scampered off. "Now Twilight, if you could close your eyes, I will open the door and come into contact with you. Do you think you could teleport me to the Spa's lobby like that?"
Twilight turned the idea over in her head. "Yes, I think I could. It isn't how I would normally do it, but it is doable."
The alicorn shut her eyes. "I'm ready whenever you are, Rarity."
There was the sound of a door opening and a hoof coming into contact with her coat. "Ready, dear. And do tell Fluttershy for me why I couldn't pick her up, please?"
"That was our next stop," Twilight responded as she charged the spell to send Rarity on her way. There was a bright flash through her eyelids, and when she opened them, the unicorn was gone. The bathroom, however, was a disaster area, and Twilight cringed at the thought of Rarity being coated in that mess.
She made her way downstairs to see Spike gawping out the window at something. "Spike, what is it?"
Wordlessly, Spike pointed, and Twilight followed the line his claw made until she saw it.
Straddling the border between the town and the forest was a huge stone tower, taller than any building had a right to be, though not nearly as tall as Canterlot Castle. Sticking out of it at base level were several smaller additions, and surrounding it was a stone wall just as tall as any house, with a set of wooden doors that seemed to be thick and sturdy.
Rarity's shriek from across the town punctuated the sudden appearance of the tower and its wall perfectly.
"THIS IS THE WORST POSSIBLE THING!"
-----
(POV - Auric)
I grinned as I stood atop the wall surrounding my new home. It wasn't easy convincing the earth to move, but once it started, the problem was getting it to stop again, and exactly how I wanted it to.
Seriously, if I hadn't managed it, Ponyville would have had a new mountain on its borders. And that wouldn't have been good living space at all.
Measured looked up at me and managed to put her jaw back where it should have been. "I think I seriously underestimated the amount of power you have."
I shrugged. "Hell, far as I know, there's not a limiter on the amount or ways I can use it besides what I can think of." I scratched the back of my head as I turned that last statement over in my mind. "Okay, well, technically there is a limit, and when I was fooling around in Canterlot, I nearly hit it. And there are rules and laws about things I cannot do, which is why I try not to do them. I mean, besides my own morals."
I waved a hand at the wall we were standing on. "Anyways, the wall should be full of gemstones. Tower too. Equestria just seems to be a more gem-rich place than I'm used to. If we use them to store whatever spell you have in mind, it should hold for a lot longer."
Measured nodded at me and charged her horn up with some form of spell. "There, the framework is laid. All it needs is power, and this tower will be secure from all manner of things." Here she grinned at me. "Alicorns included."
I reached out with my right hand and clasped her horn, letting power flow from me into the spell she had prepared. And that was when I heard a very familiar voice.
"Auric? Auric, you get down here right now and explain yourself!"
I turned to see Twilight coming up to the front gate and smiled. "Ready, Measured?"
She nodded and prepared to loose the spell, but I waved at her with my other hand. "Not yet, I want to do something that will drive her bonkers first."
Measured blinked a few times in confusion, and I turned to face Twilight, channeling what little I could of Ian McKellen.
"You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Balance, wielder of the Flames of Alchemy. Your magic will not avail you, Twilight of Ponyville! Go back to the village." Here I nodded at Measured, who let loose the spell. It took hold in the wall, and then rushed upwards to the heavens, creating the illusion that there was, temporarily, a huge golden firewall in place of the regular one. After a moment, it dissipated, and I drew in a deep breath, attempting to use my own version of the Royal Canterlot Caps Lock.
"You! Shall not! PASS!"
Surprisingly, that echoed far more than I thought it would. Apparently, just like music is sometimes magic in Equestria, so is drama.
Twilight shook her head a few times and glared at me. "Get. Down. Here." She bristled at me, and I put a hand up to my chin.
"Hmm. Nah, I don't think so."
"Auric, get down here, or I swear to Celestia, I will-"
I smiled at her. "Will what, Twilight? Go on, try. I'm not coming down."
At this, her horn lit up, and a huge bolt of purple magic rushed at me.
The moment it crossed the line the wall made, though, a rush of golden flames reached up and sort of...ate away her spell. Twilight blinked a few times, then tried it again, only to get the same result. And then, only when her anger had been replaced with confusion, did she walk up to the wall and put a hoof on it. "What sort of magic is this?"
I nodded to Measured, who took it as her cue to begin telling the story. "I know of several methods to make dwellings or rooms secure from all manner of hazards. Comes with being a researcher. When Auric said he wanted to make the place he would make secure from 'just about everything,' I cobbled together all my theories and known spells together into making one huge security spell. The only problem is, it would normally be uncastable. It would require power held only by those with a talent for such spells, a highly powerful unicorn, or one of the Alicorns."
"Which is where I come in," I interjected. "I've got more power than I can shake a stick at, and the wall itself has so many gems embedded in it. Combined, we pulled it off, and the spell is self-sustaining now. Now, only anything either of us invite in can get in. Including you and your magic, Twilight."
The gears turned in her head, her jaw dropped, and Twilight's wings started to twitch in irritation. "Yooooooou..."
Spell after spell flew from her horn at us, only to vanish in a flash of gold as they crossed the boundary. I smiled smugly at her, and that just seemed to infuriate her all the more. She let out an inarticulate scream of rage as she realized I had set up a barrier she could not breach.
I merely turned to Measured and sighed. "Let's tour the place, shall we?"
Measured nodded and winced as Twilight started ranting at me. "Yes, let's."
-----
Though there were eight stories to my tower, and four laboratories on ground level, there were no stairs. Or excess of doors.
I forget which book I'd taken it from, but the thought of a door that constantly changed which room it connected to was one I admired. There was, of course, a loophole: if you ask it politely, it would connect you to where you wanted to go.
The only rooms not connected to my door network were my laboratories, which would not even open for anyone but me if I were not in there. It'd be far too dangerous if anyone just walked in, after all. I'd be meddling with things just as primal as nature itself, and one stray hoof could spell disaster.
While it was currently very bare in here, that could be remedied eventually. Either by making furniture from the nearby woods, or by Measured saying she intended to move in. I glanced at her when she said that.
"Isn't that a little fast? We've not even gone on a date!"
She blushed at that. "It's...not just that. It's just...you make me feel safe. You saved me, after all. And it doesn't look like Twilight is in any hurry to do you any favors. So she's probably not in a rush to help me with that either."
I grimaced as I heard another scream through the stone. "Yeah, fair enough. Well, I think the tour is pretty pointless until we get some defined places placed, such as your room, mine, the study, the kitchen, the dining room, and the like."
Measured nodded and opened her mouth to say something when we heard a sudden hush fall outside. We'd grown sorta used to Twilight and her angry rambling that when it vanished, it felt odd.
And then there was the ringing noise from the doorbell I'd installed. Well, it was more of a bell-pull, but it served its purpose.
I reappeared atop the wall and looked down to see Celestia looking at the gate. I coughed to get her attention, and she looked up at me without batting an eye.
"And what does the mighty Sun Princess need from me?"
She actually sighed at that. "Auric, can I come in?"
I put a hand to my chin. "Can, certainly, I have every faith your legs are capable of locomotion. May? That's another matter. Why do you want to?"
She let out a wry grin at my statement before it faded as swiftly as it came. "I need to enter Newvale. And I want your help in doing it."
I was stunned for a moment until she pulled out of...somewhere a blue crystal that resembled the control crystals I was unfortunately familiar with. With a burst of magic, she activated it, and it played a message in that familiar stallion's voice.
"Princess Celestia, I hereby give you one week to abdicate your throne, to ensure that there are none in line for it, and to get all of your affairs in order while I take care of that settlement known as Newvale for you. After that, I shall come for Canterlot. And I will take what I want and lead ponykind to a glorious new era. Else my name is not Omega, Master of Psynergy!"
I growled at that. "His arrogance knows no bounds." My look of anger was quickly replaced with confusion. "But why does that necessitate your visiting the town?"
"Because," she replied, "I wish to protect it and those that dwell within."
I blinked a few times and facepalmed. "Cel, I've already thought of three ways that can go wrong. No. Just...no. Don't do this. Please don't do this."
She merely smiled her insufferable smile, and I groaned.
Things are starting to get interesting.
Omega is about to come face-his-face with the living alchemy, and the wraith of psynergy.
Could Auric teach Dullahan an altered version of Djinn Storm that depletes the target's psynergy rather than Djinn? Because that would prove extremely amusing...
"You can't match me!"
Auric raises an eyebrow, because Dullahan can't.
Suddenly, lashing lights everywhere.
"I'm...impossible..."
Dullahan and Auric unleash the full might of Djinn upon the fool.
"Whatever plan you have, I have one better, so not just no, but Hell no."
Someone needs to show some backbone when dealing with Celestia.
Dammit, Sunhoers
Sorry Auric, but you aren't a Celestia leveled troll yet.
Oh shit this can only end horribly
ohhhh nice chapter indeed...
Anti-everything shield? even twi proof'd? wow she will be raging at that for a week!
also nice doors.Are thay made of Mahogany? The higher wood for higher men!
you need to have a giant underground vault for all the money you can create ad have .....
and then go swimming in it!
also create artifical intelligence as guards... like golems or elementals!
Then a new modern kitchen self cleaning with a gratis toaster!
Mahogany table and chairs in the dining room
a pool for personal use with a dolphin made of blue tiles and an eclipse in the middle
a tower has a wizardry feeling to it ... make it look like the one of age of wonders 2!
also a gym for lifting... dont want to disapoint the muscle wizard, do we?
oh god so many ideas argh better go sleeping beforei create a mile long ideas list
YOU SHALL NOT PASS!!!
LOL
Wonder if Celestia considers this a way to repay Newvale for her part in their grievances. But I'm betting that the message was actually a diversion to draw her away from Canterlot, since that poser already failed to take Newvale once he might decide that it would be easier to go after the heart of Equestria first.
And then Auric turned Celestia into a banana.
Just a thought.
Sweet you updated and hooray for driving twi insane oh by the way happy (3 hour early central time) birthday!
4255644 yeah, that was my thoughts as well and she did as she was told
someone shoot that pony
4255817 what about luna?
4255486 it's been interesting since it began!
funnypicturesplus.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/11/funny-birds-tweet-meme-264x361.jpg
this is twilight
Pfft... That f***er has no idea what he's dealing with. There is no physically possible way that he is The Master of Psynergy*. To become that, you would need to be fully proficient in all types of psynergy, not to mention several advanced psynergy techniques/abilities would be impossible for him to pull off, seeing that the only beings in their universe with the ability/knowledge to do them are Dully and Auric. Specifically, summoning and ultra-powerful "spells", like marking them for a "visit" by Charon. Also, did it ever mention some of the local populace being kidnapped from the other two places where the Stars were? I only recall hearing about some Canterlot ponies, some changelings, and some crystal ponies.
*Wait a minute... I might be detecting a Chekhov's Gunman. Could it be that the douche from last story, the one who was judged as guilty by the citizens of Newvale, who's punishment was to Understand, was unintentionally given all of the knowledge that could possibly be obtained about psynergy by Eureka? That would explain part of the reason why he had to do the experiments on how to confiscate psynergy, he had all of the knowledge of the greatest psynergy users to exist, yet he had no psynergy to use.
Omega can go fuck himself with a cactus.
If I thought you needed it and weren't already powerful enough without it I would gift you a NOVA bomb.
However they're mine and I don't wanna share.
4255707
He can't. The Alchemical Law of Equivelent Exchange, as well as the Law of Coservation of Mass prevent this. The (possibly) immortal/ageless pseudo-goddess with the power to move the sun does not have a value or mass somewhat equal to that of a fruit. He could probably turn her into a fountain of youth that grants magical powers and lowers your age by a year every for every liter that you drunk from it, that never runs out of water AND just so happens to be shaped like a giant banana, with water that tastes like bananas, though.
4256067
I bet Omega isn't even his real name.
4256144 Probably not but he can still go fuck himself with a very large cactus.
4256033 An interesting theory, but I kinda doubt it.
4256164 I agree whole-heartedly
4256139
Right. To turn an alicorn into a banana, you need Discord. Or possibly Twilight when she's really freaked and not thinking at all.
4256067
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4256260 Or just up the density to a ludicrous amount.
4256818
Oh my fucking god thank you for showing that to me.
Seriously, you are the best kind of people.
4256864
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Twilight proof home that happpens to be right near her will break her mind possibly beyond repair.
Keep up the great chapters! I wouldn't even want to guess what will happen next
4255564
Here is a useful guide to moving house for the mildly insane.
4256818 sd.keepcalm-o-matic.co.uk/i/keep-calm-and-go-fuck-yourself-with-a-cactus-3.png
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcT5OZ8PhwAcZqsrWgeGFJ5z8k0ZRbgGQzTGTc94TL8dB8ubRIPkLQ
4256260 or you could just turn her into a REALLY BIG banana
Oh boy, Celestia visiting Newvale... There's no way this can go wrong, right?
Huh... Celestia asking for permission. That's new. But yeah, that asshole needs a big 105mm shell to land on his head.
4258483
No, he needs an 800mm to kill him for good measure. Who doesn't want over 15000lbs. of subsonic steel to kill your worst enemy from about 25 miles away? Even though they were terrible people, the Nazis made a lot of good inventions (Helped Volkswagen, Medicine, Rockets, Film etc.).
Well, I see twenty different ways Celestia visiting Newvale can and might go terribly, horribly wrong for all involved.
s2.quickmeme.com/img/31/31f0d5251afe33c8ea07605e6cb8de830f91a4f8fb2775f1080ec12fe7497825.jpg
4262238 ooooooh, how about 10 hours of justin bieber singing the trolololo song?
4262287 ....That is a complete an utter nightmare and you know it. Why would you suggest such a torture?!
4262537 because I am the python of fire, or how you would say the snake in the garden of Eden?
4262548 you could always shove an ice pick down your ear canal, just like that one guy I know
Oh, and an addition to the job singing the Trolololo song. He sings it in the theme of his song 'baby'
Thadius, you always have The Lady to help you with normally really taxing tasks.
As long as they involve fighting.
...
Now I really want to finish MY GODDAMN CHAPTER. D:
But seriously, I think the card you have is a Queen of Hearts, so you should be able to use it without risking TOO much.
...
Yeah I really enjoyed writing that crossover, it was fun, except this time... We can do it in your universe...
GASP!
IT'S GENIUS!
Mweheheheheehehehe
*Continues to ramble, either not knowing or ignoring the fact that no one is reading this*
4255564 mahogany you say?
is there a reason for the red dash?
4608368 we must know!
Enchanted forest cronicals
Poor Twilight, she's likely to suffer an aneurysm at this rate.
...
Your castle...
...
It's vulnerable...
4608368
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Low battery, maybe?
So scratch the idea of a mad pony scientist... but instead it’s a pony dwelling in powers beyond their understanding and is arrogant of the number of deep shite he has gotten himself into... you sir are probably the most dumbest - not intelligence but common sense in general - into believing you call yourself master yet the power by someone more powerful over 1500years who... this is the most saddest attempt of an evil takeover I ever seen...
4255644
Maybe but if she had said she wanted to try to make things right and help protect them from a possible danger he might have help her. She just asking for trouble this way.