Paradise Lost: Daughter of Gensokyo

by Maziodyne

Chapter 5: Of Dolls and Fairies

I'm sitting inside Rainbow Dash's house, looking out the front window at the rain. It's been a full week since Alice appeared in Equestria, and I'm thinking about how often Rarity compliments Alice on her helpfulness… and smile as I remember how often she asks Alice to put her dolls up for sale, to no avail. My mind wanders to something that happened three days ago: another resident of Gensokyo - named Patchouli Knowledge - found themselves in Equestria. She was very quick to understand and accept all the information given to her, which is very much like her. I smile as I remember how she managed to convince Rainbow Dash, Applejack and Applejack's brother - Big McIntosh - to help her rebuild the Golden Oak Library for her to live in. Patchouli drew the construction blueprints, revising them many times in accordance with the memories of as many ponies as possible, making sure to get the blueprints as close to the original Golden Oak Library as possible. After the construction was completed, all the ponies of Ponyville had started calling the new Golden Oak Library the 'Library of Knowledge'. My smile begins to drop somewhat when my reminiscing reminds me that I had planned to go to the Library of Knowledge today, but the heavy rain had deterred me. I shake that depressing thought out of my head and instead think about my new permanent living arrangements. After my fourth day in Ponyville, I had decided that I wanted to continue living with Rainbow Dash. When I brought this up to Twilight, she was originally a bit skeptical to let me stay, but then when Rainbow Dash stated that she also wanted me to continue living with her, Twilight finally caved and allowed me to live with Rainbow Dash permanently. Rainbow Dash suddenly interrupts my thoughts.

“Man, the rain is always such a bummer,” she says to me. I simply give a half-hearted nod in response. She's silent for a few moments. “Were you planning on going somewhere today?”

I turn to look at her, and after a few seconds, I say, “I was going to go to the new Library of Knowledge.”

She smiles, “to speak with Patchy, right?”

I can't help but grin at the sound of Patchouli's nickname. Since hearing Marisa's nickname for Patchouli, Rainbow Dash wouldn't call Patchouli by anything except 'Patchy'. I respond to Rainbow Dash's question, “I thought maybe she would have some insight on Shanghai.”

We both turn to look at Shanghai, who is napping on a nearby table. The morning after Alice arrived here, I went to see her about her insight on Shanghai. As it turns out, Shanghai is the first doll Alice ever made, meaning Shanghai is actually really old. Alice suggested that Shanghai's age might have something to do with her coming to life. Unfortunately, that train of thought hasn't gotten Twilight anywhere quite yet.

Rainbow Dash turns back to me with a grin, and says in a joking tone, “since you and me are such good friends now, I might be able to do something to help you with your problem.”

I give Rainbow Dash a look, but then she turns and heads outside. I watch out the window, and my eyes widen when I see what she does. Rainbow Dash, using her extremely high-speed flight, flies in circles, blowing away the clouds with whirlwinds. Soon, the sky is sunny and clear. “Ta-da!” Rainbow Dash says triumphantly as she comes back in, “perfect weather to go for a walk.”

I give Rainbow Dash an impressed look. “It really is, isn't it?” I say to her jokingly as I stand up. I make my way over to Shanghai and nudge her, “come on, ya lazy bum. Wakey-wakey.”

Shanghai stands up and stretches, before taking to the air. “What's going on?” she asks, being perfectly awake in seconds.

“The rain stopped,” I inform her, “so we're going to see Patchouli now.”

“Ah, okay,” she answers cheerfully, taking her usual spot on my right shoulder.

“See you later Rainbow Dash,” I say to Rainbow Dash as I leave.

“See ya.”

It doesn't take long to reach the Library of Knowledge. Once inside, I quickly find Patchouli reading a book at one of the tables.

Patchouli has long, dark purple hair - a large lock of said hair hanging in front of each shoulder - and violet eyes - which are surprisingly vibrant. She's wearing a pale purple nightcap - which doesn't have the silly 'tail' part, instead being mostly flat - and a pale purple night gown. There's a golden crescent moon ornament on the front of her nightcap, off to the side, and some blue and magenta tags on top of the cap, to the left and right. She also has some more of the tags - made into small ribbons - tied onto the locks of hair hanging in front of her shoulders.

I make my way over as I greet Patchouli cheerfully, “hello Patchouli.”

Patchouli looks up from her book as I sit at the table - with Shanghai settling on the table top - before she responds, “ah, Alexandria, what can I do for you today? Here to borrow a book?”

I smile at how quickly and easily Patchouli has become accustomed to running a public library. “No, actually. I'm here because I want your opinion on something.”

Patchouli marks the page in her book before closing it and putting it down, respectfully giving me her full attention. “Go on.”

“As you know, Shanghai came to life unexpectedly a little over a week ago. The original theory was that the innate magic of Equestria did it, but that didn't lead anywhere. Alice's theory is it has something to do with the fact that Shanghai was the first doll she ever made, however that isn't making much progress either. I was hoping you would have some ideas.”

Patchouli thinks my words over quietly for a little while. After a minute or so, her expression suddenly changes, and she mutters to herself 'could it be…?' before getting up and scanning a nearby shelf for a particular book. After finding the correct book, she comes and sits back down at the table, flipping through the pages, looking for something. While she does this, I notice that the book is from Gensokyo. She probably has many books from Gensokyo in this library. Reading the title, I'm confused when I realize that the book isn't about dolls, but rather appears to be some kind of Fairy encyclopedia. My thoughts are interrupted when Patchouli finds the passage she was looking for.

“Yes, here it is,” Patchouli says, before reading the passage to me, “'On exceedingly rare occasions, it has been observed for a humanoid, inanimate object to gain life, and become a Fairy. It is currently unknown what causes this to occur. Although not enough instances currently exist to have detailed information on the nature of these Fairies, two things are known about them: 1) All instances were inanimate objects for an exceptionally long period of time before becoming Fairies. 2) All instances were precious belongings before becoming Fairies, and after becoming Fairies, all instances have been observed to draw their power and life force from the individual who held them dear.'” Patchouli looks at Shanghai as she closes the book and speaks again, “I would say that Shanghai is most likely this type of Fairy. She fits both of the known requirements: being exceptionally old, and being a precious belonging.” Patchouli then looks at me.

I'm shocked as I think about this. Shanghai is a Fairy? (Wait) I think as I realize something about the explanation which worries me, “I was the one who held Shanghai dear, and I still do, but according to the book, that means she draws her power and life force from me. Is that dangerous or life-threatening to me in any way?”

Patchouli gives me a reassuring smile as she answers, “of course not. She does not actually drain away your power or life force. It would be more accurate to say that her power and life force are dependent upon yours.”

Shanghai looks extremely concerned as she speaks up, “but, wouldn't that mean I'd die if Alexandria dies?”

Patchouli turns to her with a slightly solemn look, “well, yes. That would be true. You would also feel any pain that Alexandria suffers, and likely even experience Alexandria's emotions to a certain degree.”

Shanghai falls silent, thinking about this, the look on her face being one of deep thought.

I turn to Patchouli, “thank you for your insight.”

Patchouli smiles as I stand, “I'm glad I was able to help.”

I begin to leave, when I realize that Shanghai hadn't noticed me stand up. “Shanghai, come on.”

This startles Shanghai out of her thoughts, “oh, um, sorry. Are we leaving now…?”

“Yes, we are…” I say a bit worriedly. Shanghai seems really troubled. I was planning on going to the Carousel Boutique to tell Alice the news, but - seeing Shanghai so out of things - I decide to just return home for the time being.

After entering the house, Shanghai floats away absent-mindedly, Rainbow Dash watching her as the two pass by each other. Rainbow Dash turns to me, “what's up with her?”

I explain to Rainbow Dash what Patchouli told me. After I'm done explaining, Rainbow Dash still looks a little confused as she speaks, “so let me get this straight. In the place you come from, there are these things called Fairies. According to Patchy, there's a very rare kind of Fairy that is made when human-shaped, non-living things come to life. Also according to Patchy, Shanghai is almost definitely this kind of Fairy, and she gets her power and life from you.” I nod in response to all of Rainbow Dash's statements. Rainbow Dash has a look sort of like understanding on her face as she continues, “maybe Shanghai is just having trouble believing that?” I don't have enough time to consider the viability of that as Rainbow Dash speaks once again, “anyway, what are you going to do now?”

I remember that I wanted to tell Alice what I learned, “I think I'll go tell Alice this news. I'll probably leave Shanghai here to let her think.” Rainbow Dash nods, and we wave to each other as I leave again.

Once at the Carousel Boutique, I enter the shop. I look around for Alice, and find her folding clothes near the back of the shop. I head over there to speak with her.

Alice looks up momentarily at the sound of approaching footsteps, but then goes back to folding with a slight grin on her face when she notices it's me. She speaks to me - attempting to make a joke - once I'm near enough to hear without her shouting, “hey Alex, come to look for a change of clothes?”

I grin slightly as I respond, “sorry, but not today.” My grin drops as I continue in a serious tone, “I came to give you an update on Shanghai.”

Alice's eyes flick up towards me for a moment while she continues folding, her grin disappearing as she catches my serious tone, “really now? Made any progress towards figuring out what happened?” Her slight grin returns as she adds, “was I right?”

I continue, my tone remaining serious, “actually, you might be.” This catches Alice's attention, a serious expression on her face as she stops folding to look at me as I continue. “I spoke to Patchouli at her library here, and the explanation she gave uses your age theory. She said that it's very likely that due to Shanghai's age, she's become a very rare kind of Fairy.”

This news takes Alice by surprise, “a Fairy?”

I continue as I look at Alice, “I personally think that it could be very likely, the way Patchouli explained it made a lot of sense to me. Shanghai, however, has been really out of it ever since I left the Library of Knowledge earlier, not paying attention and being deep in thought. I've left her at home for the time being to let her think in peace. I'm starting to think that she's having an existential crisis.”

Alice thinks about this for a few moments, “well, you do what you think is right: I gave Shanghai to you, so any decisions regarding her are yours. I need to get back to folding anyway. Talk to you again soon.” With that, I leave the shop. Outside, I wonder what I should do next, since there's still a while before sunset, my curfew. I decide to head over to Sweet Apple Acres - the apple orchard Applejack's family runs - since I haven't spoken with Applejack very often in my time here.

Once at Sweet Apple Acres, I'm immediately aware that something is very wrong. The problem isn't the fact that the trees' branches have plenty of apples. What catches my attention is that the apples all appear to be either rotten, withered or both in varying degrees. I'm standing there, dumbfounded, when a shout from behind me grabs my attention.

“What in tarnation!?”

I look behind me just in time for a very pissed off Applejack to grab my arms - painfully - and shout into my face, “what in th' hell were you thinkin'!?”

I flinch as she shouts at me point-blank, then respond, “wha…? I just got here!”

Applejack doesn't seem to buy it, “yeah, sure, that's a great excuse! Ah saw you admahrin' yer handywork jus' now! Yer gonna hafta help me re-plant awll these trees now!”

I'm incredibly confused, “but I-”

Applejack doesn't seem to be in the mood for a debate as she cuts me off, “No excuses!”

Flashbacks of Gensokyo inadvertently invade my mind: unwelcome memories of people who refused to hear me out and unfairly assumed my intentions. Feelings of helplessness and rejection begin to overwhelm me, tears welling up in my eyes as I begin to lose my will to argue, “b-but…”

Applejack is caught off guard by my crying, and after a few moments, her expression softens and she lets go. “Are you awright?”

I wipe away my tears and shudder almost imperceptibly as I try and push the terrible flashbacks from my mind. I sniff before I answer her, my voice a little wobbly, “I-I'm fine.” I manage to regain my composure as I continue, “if you're willing to listen, I just wanted to point out that I have nothing to gain by destroying your crops.”

Applejack blinks at me, then she looks at the destroyed apples, then turns back to me as she speaks, blushing and rubbing the back of her head in embarrassment, “right… sahrry 'bout that Alix.”

I give a small, relieved sigh as I answer, “it's alright. I can understand that you'd be upset finding all your crops dead. If you want, I can help you look for anything that could tell us who did this.”

Applejack smiles as she answers, “well, thank you kindly. An' when we fahnd th' culprit, Ah'm gonna give 'em a piece'uh mah mahnd.”

As the two of us walk through the orchard, looking for clues, I notice something odd about the apples. Applejack notices me inspecting the apples, and comes over, “didja fahnd somethin'?”

I respond absent-mindedly, still looking at the apples, “this isn't natural…”

Applejack sounds confused, “course not. Somepony destroyed mah crops.”

“No, I mean the way the apples were destroyed: no normal person could have done something like this.” I point to an apple that I'm inspecting. It's somewhat shriveled and dry-looking, but the colour is surprisingly intact. “See, this apple looks like it died from dehydration.” I move to a neighboring tree, pointing to an apple with a fairly normal shape, but its colour is dull, and the leaves on the tree are brown. “Then this one looks like it got plenty of water, but was somehow unable to get enough light.” I look at Applejack pointedly as I continue, “which is strange, since it has the most sunlight shining on it out of all the apples on this tree.”

Applejack's eyes widen in realization, “those sound like the simtums of pestisahd poisonin'.”

One of the words she said catches my attention, “poisoning?”

She answers me matter-of-factly, “As an apple farmer, Ah hafta be well-versed in the rights an' wrongs of growin' apples. From a yung age, Ah was taught that several pestisahds can cause several different types'a poisonin' in apples.”

I think about this. The word 'poison' bounces around my head, accompanied by an intense nagging feeling. I know the answer has something to do with poison; I swear I've heard about someone that could have caused this, but who was it…?

“Finally, someone I can get directions from.”

A girl's voice interrupts my thoughts. I look up in the direction of the voice.

The girl has blonde, shoulder-length hair with a red ribbon tied into a bow on top of her head, and her eyes are blue and glassy. She's wearing a black and red, short-sleeved dress, the skirt being red with black stitching, and the torso being black with red stitching. On her feet she has red shoes with white soles. She is accompanied by what looks to be a small doll with Fairy wings on its back, wearing a simple short-sleeved dress with a red torso and black skirt, red shoes, a small red bow on top of its head, and with hair and eyes that look identical to the girl's hair and eyes.

Everything in my mind slots into place as I look at this girl- no, this doll, that I've heard so much about.

“You,” she addresses me rudely, “where in Hakugyokurou am I?”

My eyes narrow as I answer, “I have no reason to tell you that. I've heard a lot about you, Medicine Melancholy. And it seems obvious to me that you were the one that killed all these apple trees.”

Applejack's eyes also narrow at Medicine, who is taken by surprise by my accusation and looks around. After noticing all the ruined crops, she turns back to us and shrugs as she speaks, “whoops. I guess I lost control of my poison while walking around here. I didn't mean to do it though, so I'd like you to tell me where I am.”

This pushes Applejack over the edge as she gets right up in Medicine's face, “here Ah was, thinkin' everyone from this Gensoak-yo place was nice, like that doll maker workin' at th' Kay-roo-sell Boo-teek. But then there's you. You think you can jus' waltz inta mah apple farm, kill awll'a mah crops, be so rood ta us, then jus' expect us ta tell you how to leave without whoopin' yer ass? Ah'm gonna teach you fer messin' with th' Apple Family!”

Medicine's attention is caught by something Applejack said. “Did you say 'doll maker'? Does she have blonde hair and a blue dress, always carries a book wrapped in a red ribbon?”

Applejack is furious, “don' ignore me!”

Medicine isn't paying attention anymore, “why am I wasting my time with you schmucks? I've gotta find this 'Kay-roo-sell Boo-teek' place.” With that, Medicine takes off.

(Shit)

Applejack is raving mad, “who th' hell does she think she is!?”

I turn to Applejack, “calm down. I'll wait for her at the Carousel Boutique, and I'll make sure to stop her. In the meantime, you need to start replanting these trees. I promise I'll come back to help after dealing with Medicine.”

Applejack is still seething as she responds, “fahn. But you better give her a real good ass-whoopin' fer me, ya hear?”

“I hear you, loud and clear,” I say before turning and flying to the Carousel Boutique. Once there, I head inside and find Rarity. “Rarity, I just wanted to warn you that someone's planning to attack the shop.”

Rarity is taken aback, “What?”

I put my hands up in front of myself as I continue, “relax. I'm here to protect the shop from the attack.”

Rarity looks a bit relieved by this, “well, how chivalrous of you.”

After that, I step outside to wait for Medicine… which doesn't take very long, as she comes down the street after about a minute. She stops in front of the shop and looks at me, annoyed. “Let me in.”

“No.”

She glares at me for several seconds, before she seemingly comes to a realization. “Wait, aren't you that one girl I've heard about around Gensokyo? Somebody-or-other's daughter, or something?”

I'm caught off guard by the shift in topic and answer her without thinking, “I'm Alexandria Kijin: Seija Kijin's daughter.”

Medicine's eyes widen when she hears this. “You're Seija's daughter!? You're supposed to be unbeatable, so I can become famous by beating you! That's it, taste my Danmaku!”

Without even setting up any safety precautions like Marisa did a week ago, Medicine suddenly tosses a ton of bullets at me. I'm caught off guard, and - because I can't react fast enough to avoid them completely - I try to get past the first volley by grazing… but as a bullet skims my arm, it leaves a very painful scratch. “Ow!” I shout in surprise. “What in Hakugyokurou!? That's against the rules!” I shout at Medicine.

Medicine smirks as she answers in a tone of amusement, “rules? I already figured out earlier that this isn't Gensokyo. Why would I care about the rules if they don't apply here? Without those stupid rules, I can hurt you as much as I want, and I can just keep throwing bullets at you without worrying about some shitty time limit. I can kill you if I want to! In fact, what reason do I have to let you live in the first place? I can kill you! So, DIE!”

(SHIT)

Medicine throws out an incredible number of bullets, but this time they're accompanied by several poison clouds. I weave between the bullets the best I can, while trying to avoid the poisons, not knowing what they'd do to me. Many of the bullets leave scratches and other injuries as I 'graze' them. My only way to win this is to fight back, but I can't shoot unless I stop moving, and I'd rather not take my chances with so many potentially lethal bullets flying everywhere.

After a while, I'm starting to get worn out. I make a poor judgment as I dodge… and find myself in the middle of a poison cloud. I'm momentarily relieved that it didn't kill me, but that relief is quickly overwhelmed by the feelings of terror I'm feeling as the poison's effects set in. My vision blurs as I breathe in the toxins, and movement becomes incredibly difficult, feeling like I'm trying to swim through molasses. Through my hazy vision, I see two small objects flying through the air, coming straight at me. I close my eyes, waiting for them to end my life.

…

……

………

Nothing happens. I open my eyes to see the poison cloud dissipating, and as my vision and strength return to me, I look in front of myself…

“Alexandria, are you okay?”

I'm filled with relief by the sound of that voice and the sight of the small doll- I'm sorry, Fairy, that had blocked the bullet intended to end my life. I smile - though it's mixed with confusion - as I look at Shanghai and say, “Shanghai! Yeah, I'm alright, but…”

Shanghai smiles at me as she speaks, “I wasn't really sure what to think about being a Fairy. I was also unsure what to think about being a Fairy owned by someone. But, when I thought about how much fun I've had with you, how much I enjoy being with you, and how many good times we can still have together, I realized that it doesn't matter-”

Medicine suddenly speaks up, interrupting the moment Shanghai and I were having, “wait, that's a doll too! You're no better than the doll maker! I knew Seija's daughter would be the kind of person to enslave dolls for enjoyment!”

That does it. For as long as I can remember, all of the rude comments, assumptions and insults people would throw at me for being Seija's daughter, they would always fill me with feelings of helplessness, rejection and solitude. But this is different. That one comment from Medicine was the last straw. I can feel the rage inside me boil in response to this wooden jackass' insults. (Who does she think she is, just going around insulting people as she pleases!? I'm not letting her get away with this! And Shanghai isn't a doll, anyway! She's a Fairy!)

Shanghai turns to Medicine angrily, “who do you think you are, just going around insulting people as you please!? We're not letting you get away with this! And I'm not a doll, anyway!” I'm surprised as I listen to Shanghai echo my thoughts. I realize that my intense rage probably had an influence on her. However, I'm even more surprised by what Shanghai finishes with: “I'm Alexandria's Fairy!”

Shanghai angrily takes her position on my right shoulder as Medicine responds, “you've even brainwashed the poor thing? Unforgivable! Now it's really time to die!” Medicine begins to shoot more bullets and poison clouds at us. I expertly dodge them with a renewed vigor.

Shanghai speaks to me, “I realized that as your Fairy, I actually learn a few things from your memory. So, she's not playing by the rules?”

I nod as I answer Shanghai, “she's using deadly bullets and the only way to win is to shoot back and weaken her.”

Shanghai looks to me, “and you can't shoot and dodge at the same time?” I nod silently. “Well, I'm supposed to get my power from you, right? How about I shoot her while you dodge?”

I realize that it makes sense: Shanghai gets her power from me, so she should be able to shoot in my stead. I make sure to clarify something to her, “don't use lethal bullets. I'm not stooping to her level.” Shanghai nods as she begins shooting small Danmaku bullets in the shape of cartoon-styled lightning bolts.

With this new strategy, Shanghai and I manage to defeat Medicine quickly. “GAAAAHHHH!” Medicine shouts, throwing her hands up to block her face as another volley of Shanghai's Danmaku rains down on her, “okay, okay, stop! You win!” As Shanghai stops shooting, and Medicine's bullets and poison clouds disappear, Medicine turns to us and says angrily, “but this isn't over! I know the doll maker is here! And I know you've got that brainwashed doll too! I'll kill both you and the doll maker you're trying to protect one of these days, I swear it!” With that, Medicine turns and flees.

I wipe the sweat off my forehead, somewhat light-headed from exhaustion, as I realize that the sun is setting. I make my way to Sweet Apple Acres to tell Applejack about my curfew. I'm relieved to hear her say that she understands, and I promise her I'll help her with the replanting in the morning. Then I return home, my injuries shocking Rainbow Dash once I step inside.

“Are you okay Alex!?” She asks, worry clear in her voice.

I grin tiredly as I answer, “just a bit tired. According to you, I'm a badass, so I don't know why you're so worried.”

Rainbow Dash is caught off guard by this, “wha-” She then stops speaking suddenly, continuing after a moment with her hand behind her head, a nervous grin on her face, and her cheeks turning pink, “oh. Right, uh, what was I thinking, heh heh…”

Too tired to think anything of it, I yawn and say goodnight to Rainbow Dash as I head to my room. Shanghai floats over to the bed, and I climb in, Shanghai getting comfortable.

“Goodnight,” I say to Shanghai through a yawn.

“Goodnight,” she answers sleepily.

Shanghai and I fall asleep at the same time.

End of Chapter 5

Author's Note:

Looks like it's all about surprises this time around:
1) It's chapter 5 already. I already had it done for a while (see chapter 4 author's note), I just had to look over it a couple times, and I'm really happy with it right now, so I thought I'd upload it.
2) Turns out, Shanghai is a Fairy! Surprise! Anyway, I thought it would be an interesting dynamic.
3) The antagonist makes their appearance! Not sure if any Touhou fans reading this were expecting Medicine Melancholy, but yeah, I went with her. If you think about it, it makes sense: in Touhou canon, Medicine actively vouches for doll freedom, so that gives her plenty of reason to attack Alice repeatedly. Also, Shanghai gives her a reason to attack Alexandria directly. All in all, I thought she worked well as the antagonist.

With that, I'm finally at the point where the next chapter is still a WIP. I hope you enjoyed this chapter.
P.S. Dammit, Applejack, you made Alex cry.

Comments

[mattchilly]

Medicine Melancholy. Wasn't expecting her but this is still a great choice. Can't wait for more!

[Maziodyne]

8149459
Yeah, the choice came right out of left field, as the expression goes. But as my Author's Note says, the logic behind it was pretty sound. Chapter 6 is in the works, and I'm planning to have a one-off antagonist in it.

[Maziodyne]

8151661
Excellent!