The Mystic Fox

by Mysticfox

Chapter 24: Playing With Bubbles

Author's Note:

HI EVERYBODY Back with another chapter. I really started to enjoy writing this chapter and I hope you guys enjoy reading this chapter as the story unfolds.

Chapter 24: Playing With Bubbles

"Merrin, how can you let him eat like that? I mean it's like a bottomless pit in there." Blake said as he watched me clean my 7th order of veggie burger and French fries with ketchup.

"He said it helps him get his magic back. I mean with as much stuff that's happened lately, can you blame him." She said before slurping up some chocolate shake.

"Can you explain the snake then?" He asked as he pointed to Alya head first in her 4th bowl of fruit salad.

"She's a growing girl. And what about you mister 'oh I'm not that hungry'?" Merrin asked in a mocking voice while looking at his two plates.

"Okay for a pony town this place makes some good fish tacos." He said as he pushed his plates to the side with a blush.

"Yeah this place is good but I still prefer to cook." I said as I pat my stomach contently.

"So what's left on the to do list." Merrin asked after finishing her second milkshake.

"Well first we need to see about ordering some stuff for the outpost. Go and check on Twilight. Then go set up the gate stones and get my cart back." I said as I pulled a handful of bits from my bag and put them on the table before picking up my full flying snake. With a content coo and nuzzle she curled gently around my neck for a nap.

(Puff)"I'll let you two take care of that. (Yawn)
I'm going to go be a cat." Blake said after he turned into his small form and stretched his back.

"Alright Blake. We'll be home after an hour or so." I said before we walked out into the streets.

"See ya at home." Blake said before walking away.

"Let's head to Barnyard Bargains." I said as we headed the opposite direction. As we walked my mind began to wonder back to what Twink said this morning.

"Hey Merrin?" I said quietly.

"Hmm." She replied.

"Do you remember that guy who saved me?" I asked as I pulled up my display.

"Yeah." She said as she looked up at me with a raised brow as I pulled up the picture of my mom and dad.

"Is this him?" I asked as I held the image up so she could see.

"A little younger but that's definitely the guy. Who is he anyway?" She asked while looking over the picture.

"My dad." I said before closing the display.

"I heard you talking about your mom but never about your dad." She said with a surprised look.

"That's because I just found out about him this morning. I asked mom a few times about him but she never likes to talk about him. Every time she asked she would tell me a little bit before starting to cry so I stopped asking. There were even a few nights where she would cry herself to sleep." I said with sadness as the memories of her cried in her room while she thought I was sleeping. I wanted nothing more than to hug her and make the tears stop.

"So now that you think he's alive what are you going to do?" Merrin asked with concern as we slowed to a stop while I looked to the clouds in the sky.

"Honestly….I don't know." I said as I watched the clouds drift with the wind.

(Fox Tomes, Twink)

"No that's not it." Twink said as book after book floated by. She was looking for any information on what happened to Nova's village 18 years ago but so far she found nothing.

"Where is it? I know he kept a journal." She said as more books floated by before feeling something familiar in her library.

"I hope you know it's impossible to sneak up on me here." She said while still focusing on her books.

"It was worth a try." Said a dark red fox walking up behind her.

"Hello Cyrus. It looks like I missed one of your secret doors." She said with a smirk.

"Don't worry I'll destroy it when I leave here." He said with a smile before setting down a box wrapped up in a shimmering ruby red cloth.

"Hmmm this must be pretty important to make you come here." She said as she set down her book.

"I found it Twink." He said with a smile.

"You mean?" Asked with wide eyes.

"Yes. The Journal of Light." He said as he opened the cloth to reveal two old leather bound books. The first was dark and weathered with a small strap holding the book closed. A black diamond on the front of the strap with runes circling it.

"So it does exist." She said but as she tried to touch it the runes and diamond glowed before zapping her paw with an electric shock.

"Yeah that happened to me when I tried to open it too. Magic won't work on it either." He said with a smile as she glared at him while rubbing her paw.

"And what is the second book?" She asked as she picked up the second book and found the cover had two foxes sleeping close next to each other, one a dark red and the other a snow white both with loving smiles as they slept.

"It's our journal." He said with a somber smile and pain behind his eyes.

"....why did you bring these here?" She asked sadly as she held a paw on the journal.

"I want you to give them to him." He said with a smile.

"Why not give them to him yourself." She asked as she carefully wrapped the cloth back around the books.

"You know I can't." He said with a heavy sigh.

"I tell you this time and time again. It wasn't your fault." She said with a glare.

"I saw what was happening to him and could've stopped him before his madness took control." He said with a low growl.

"And what if Fox hates me for letting it happen and hates me for pushing them to a different world. What if he thinks I abandoned them?" He said with downcast eyes.

"I don't think he would hate you at all. If anything he would be overjoyed to have his real father back in his life. I've been watching over him for awhile now and he has a strong sense of family. All those that are close to him, he thinks of them as family. He was so happy to learn that Princess Celestia and Luna were like close sisters to Nova that he called them aunts right after meeting them." She said warmly with a giggle.

"Somehow I'm not surprised. Those two have always been close and she was devastated when she had to help banish Luna to the moon. It's sad to say but because of that I was able to have the courage to tell her how I felt and gave her a much needed shoulder." He said before wiping away a few loose tears.

"Yes I remember one day she was incredibly saddened and the next all smiles and blush. Imagine my surprise when she told me it was you who brought her happiness back." She said with a warm smile.

"I wish I could go back to those times and see that smile again but messing with time is never a good thing so I'll stick with my memories and make some new ones." He said as he stood up and stretched his back.

"So why not start now?" She asked with a smirk.

"I will when that time comes but for now I'll leave him the books and hope he won't hate me." He said as he jumped from the table and walked down a darkened path in between some bookshelves.

"Don't worry he won't hate you." She said as she made a book and a hot cup of tea appeared on the table.

"You know me mom, I'll always worry." He said as he disappeared into the darkness.

(Outside the outpost Fox)

"Alright furniture?" I asked as Merrin, Miss Note, and Twilight, who insisted on making a checklist of stuff we needed for the outpost, all stood outside of it.

"Check." Twilight said with a quill and list in her magic.

"For the offices on the first floor and bedrooms on the second?" I asked.

"Check."

"Stationary supplies?"

"Check."

"Kitchen supplies?"

"Check."

"Pink fluffy pony rolling by blowing raspberries?"

(Pppfffffffftttttttpppppfffffttttt….pffft)

"Um check?"

"Rune stones?"

"And check. That's everything on the list give or take. (Pffft)" She said before the list disappeared and she gave me the rune stones.

"So what do these do again?" Merrin asked as I took a pair of garnets out of the bag.

"How about I show you. You have a place picked out on the island right Note?" I asked as I put one of the gems on an archway in the outpost yard.

"Yes sir. Quake should be right next to it with your cart." She said with a smile.

"Sweet. Now to send him the gem." I said as I held it up and it disappeared.

"Long distance teleportation?" Twilight asked with interest.

"Yep the smaller the item the easier and less magic use. Kinda like how aunt Tia sends letters." I said as we waited until the gem flashed.

"Looks like it's set. Now I just need to open it." I said as I put my finger on the gem and let my magic flow into it and around the archway. Once it was all around it a light blue shimmering wall appeared in the archway before a fluffy lion mane head popped out.

"You know that would have been terrifying if I didn't know you were on the other side." I said with a smile as Quake walked out of the portal.

"It was worth a shot." He said as he brought my cart through.

"Great now that the gate is up for yall. I need to set one up in the crystal empire." I said as I put a sapphire on an archway next to the first.

"Oh speaking off. I got a letter from Cadence and my brother this morning. They want the next Equestrian games held in the Crystal Empire this year and want me, you, and our friends to show around a games committee member and convince her to hold the games there." Twilight said as she handed me the letter.

"Cool when we headed out." I asked as I looked over the letter.

"Tomorrow morning on the first train out." She said as I passed the letter back.

"Sounds like a plan. Miss Note how close are we to getting this place up and goin." I asked as I walked up to my cart and shrunk it.

"Let's see. Once all the furniture is in place we will need to hire some workers and caretakers and you will need to have these trade contracts signed by you and the Princesses then we can start the major trades. Right now all the permissions we have is to sell out of your village to the local population." She said as she handed me a folder with the contracts and I looked up to see it was close to sunset.

"Hey Twilight it should be about time for my aunts to switch out right?" I asked as I slipped the contracts into my bag.

"Yes they should be in their dining hall. Princess Celestia always likes to have dinner with Luna before she lowers the sun." She said with a bright smile.

"Great. Merrin, do you mind walking Rosy home. (Puff)" I asked before turning into my big fox form.

"Yeah but what are you going to do?" She asked with concern.

"I need to talk to them about a few things. I should be back in a few hours." I said seriously before opening a portal and walking through into the castle courtyard. I was just going to walk on through the main gates until I noticed who was stationed as guards and with a sly smirk I sunk into the shadow of a nearby bush. I jumped unnoticed from shadow to shadow until I was in Flash's. I slowly raised my paw from the shadow and poked his leg.

"Hmm you need something Bolt?" One said as he looked over to Bolt.

"No, I'm a good Flash." He said as he shook his head before standing back in attention. I raised my paw up and poked him a little harder.

"Ok if you don't need anything why are you poking me." He said as he glared at Bolt.

"Dude, I don't know what you're talking about. I haven't moved from here." Bolt said as he returned the glare. I had to hold my muzzle to keep from laughing as I raised out of Flash's shadow and slapped his flank.

"HEY WHAT'S YOUR DEAL!?" Flash yelled before pushing Bolt with his wing.

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything." He said with a low growl before they straightened back up. I was trying my hardest not to laugh just yet as I gave them a little time to relax before reaching up and slapped his flank harder.

"GRRRRR WILL YOU STOP THAT!!" Flash yelled as he got nose to nose with Bolt.

"I DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!!" Bolt yelled out before I jumped out of the shadows laughing my furry tail off.

"HAHAHAHAHA need to stay alert guys Hahahaha." I said as I got up and took off running down the castle corridor before I was caught in a pink bubble.

"I could say the same to you Sir Fox." Bubbles said with a smirk as Flash and Bolt ran up.

'Ha gotcha Sir Fox." Bolt said as he poked the bubble.

"And in record time too." Flash said with a proud smile.

"No you guys were just lucky I was on my way to get you for shift change and saw him as I was turning the corner." Bubbles said as I chuckled watching their smiles drop.

"Great reflexes there Bubbles but can you let me out now?" I asked with a smile as I sat in the bubble.

"Nope we have to bring you to the princesses for questioning." Bubbles said as she started walking down the corridor.

"Sweet lead the way." I said as I began to walk in the bubble only for it to spin in place before Bubbles laughed and pulled me along with her magic as Flash and Bolt went back to their posts until the night guards swapped out.

"Looks like someone has been practicing her bubble spell. It feels a lot stronger than last time." I said as I tapped the bubble with my paw.

"Thanks I had a little help from Captain Armor." She said with a proud smile.

"Yeah his barriers are top notch. How are Flash and Bolt doing?" I asked as we turned the corner and saw a large wooden door to the Princesses dining hall.

"They've been training hard since the last time you were here. Flash has been working on his speed and agility, and Bolt has been working on his combat and strength." She said before we stopped in front of the door and she looked up at me with a warm smile.

"It's thanks to you that we were able to push ourselves to be better. If you haven't done that drill for us I don't think I would be standing here today. Before you showed up I was really thinking about quitting the guard because I thought I wasn't good enough but you showed me my faults and that gave me the courage to ask for help so I could be better than before. So thank you Sir Fox for everything." She said with a soft smile and blush.

"I'm happy to hear that. Oh I just had an idea that could help you a lot with control and strength of your bubbles and probability give you an offensive attack too." I said with a wide excited smile.

"Really?" She asked with joyful interest.

"Yep let's go in and I'll give you the basic idea." I said as I began to walk in place as the bubble spun making Bubbles giggle before giving the door a heavy knock.

"You may enter." The voice of aunt Luna and Bubbles pushed it open and saw Celestia and Luna sitting at the table with a maid taking down a food order.

"Private Bubbles, why do you have our nephew in your spell?" Luna asked as she saw me happily trotting in place within the bubble.

"I'm Sorry Princess, it is a training exercise. When Sir Fox comes to the castle unannounced we are to see him as an intruder and catch him on sight." She said with a respectful bow.

"And how did they manage this time?" Celestia said with a smile as she sipped her tea.

"Rather well actually. Both Flash and Bolt were quick to react to my intrusion while Bubbles here had fast reflexes and had me trapped the moment she saw me." I said with an honest smile, making her blush.

"I see. I might have to have you do the same exercise with my night guards." Luna said as she the maid brought out their dinner

"Thank you private bubbles, you may release him now. Fox, would you like to join us for dinner? We had the chef prepare some of the Tuna you sent us." Celestia said as she showed me the seared tuna with sesame seeds and spring spinach salad with strawberries and walnuts before the bubble popped and I landed softly on my paws.

"That sounds wonderful Aunt Tia but first." I said before turning to Bubbles.

"Bubbles, can you make a bubble the same size as the one you held me in?" I asked with a smile.

"Sure." She said before making a bubble appear.

"Now what do you see inside the bubble?" I asked as I poked the bubble.

"Um nothing Sir." She said as she tilted her head.

"Wrong. You see the air." I said before I popped her bubble.

"Nephew what you talking about you can't see air." Luna said as Celestia watched with interest.

"Yes technically you can't see air but you know it's there." I said as I made a bubble the same size as the one Bubbles made.

"Now I noticed that your bubbles allow air to freely pass through the bubble, correct?" I asked as a maid brought me a cup of tea that I happily took.

"Yes Sir. My spell is used to confine my target and not suffocate them." She said with a raised brow.

"Well forget about that. For this exercise your target is the air itself." I said with a smile at the confused mare.

"Hmm interesting." Celestia said as she watched with curiosity.

"Ok now make another bubble but make it air tight." I said before she made a bubble next to mine.

"Good now, can you control the size of it?" I asked, getting a nod in return.

"Fox, what are you trying to accomplish?" Tia asked as the maid set a plate of food next to my tea.

"Thank you miss." I said with a small nod before turning my attention back to my bubble.

"I guess it would be better to explain it with a demonstration. The main focus of this exercise is compression." I said as I raised up my bubble.

"Like I told you earlier, this exercise will increase the strength of your bubbles. In physics if you apply compressive force on something, in this case it's the air in the bubble, the air will push back with equal force." I said as I began to shrink my bubble.

"The more you compress, the stronger the inner force pushes back." I said as the bubble continues to shrink.

"Now this part of this exercise will strengthen your concentration and control." I said as the bubble shrunk from the size of a basketball to the size of a bit.

"Now comes the dangerous part. Once you can get to this stage one slip in your concentration can lead to the bubble exploding in your face." I said as the bubble floated above my paw.

"But if you can maintain your control." I said as I looked out the window to a small cloud just outside it.

"You can turn it into a devastating attack." I said as I pointed my paw at the cloud and launched it out the window. With a loud pop the cloud was obliterated.

"Depending on the initial size and how much you can compress it will determine the explosive force of the attack." I said as I turned back to the slack jaw mare.

"Once you get the hang of compressing air you can move on to an advanced exercise." I said as I walked up to a waiting maid.

"Wait there's more?" Bubbles said in shock.

"Oh of course. The application of compression is vast. Can you please bring me a large pot of water?" I asked the maid and with a small bow she walked into the kitchen and a few seconds later she returned with the water.

"Will this be enough Sir Fox?" She asked as she pushed the heavy pot next to me.

"Perfect. Thank you, miss." I said with a smile before she bowed and returned to her position.

"Now this step will be much harder than compressing air because you have to exert more pressure to compress water." I said as I floated the water from the pot and formed a bubble around it making a water bubble the size of a beach ball

"This part will also take a great concentration and control of your bubble." I said as I slowly compressed the bubble until it shrunk to the size of a softball.

"This is where control is crucial." I said as I pulled an unused gem from my bag and floated it under the water bubble.

"At the bottom of the bubble you need to make a super tiny hole with a slight bevel that will compress the water into a highly pressurized high powered thin jet of water and If done right." I said as I opened the hole and produced a thin jet of highly pressurized water before using it to cleanly cut through the gem.

"You can even cut through steel." I said as I closed the hole and launched the bubble out the window where it bursted into a sparkling mist.

"That's incredible." Bubbles said as she picked up one half of the gem while Celestia picked up the other.

"Indeed. I never would have thought to use water in such a manner." Luna said as they inspected the clean cut of the gem while I sat down to eat my dinner.

"Hmmm tuna. Tell me, do you know how diamonds are made up of and formed." I asked as I cut into my tuna while I used my magic to pull a piece of charcoal from my bag.

"Not really." Bubbles said with a confused look as I held out the coal.

"It's made from this." I said with a smile.

"I highly doubt something as weak and brittle as coal could make something as hard as diamonds." She said with a doubtful look that made my smile grow.

"You would be wrong my dear. you just see this as a simple lump of coal but in the scientific community it goes by a different name. The building block of life, the element of Carbon." I said as I began to explain happily about how it works.

"It all comes down to pressure. You see, all diamonds are made from the extreme pressure and heat from the earth's mantle layer. In the mantle, carbon is compressed to such a degree that the molecules get pressed together and forms unified chains that make the diamond hard." I said as I slipped the coal back into my bag and pulled out a small imperfect diamond that Rarity gave me out of the bag.

"I'm finding it hard to believe an indestructible diamond is made from simple coal." She said with a raised brow.

"Diamond may be one of the hardest gems there is but it's super easy to destroy and I can prove it." I said with a smirk.

"And how is that nephew?" Celestia asked curiously.

"Simple. What is the most common use of coal?" I asked as the diamond floated in front of me.

"To fuel a fire." Luna said after a moment of thought.

"Correct and because a diamond is highly compressed coal it stands to reason that you can just burn up a diamond." I said as I held my paw under the diamond and used my magic to produce a small jet of flames and we watched as the diamond glowed bright orange and began to shrink as the flame reduced it to nothing as they looked on with wide eyes
(It's a fact. Google it haha)

"That is cool and all but how does that pertain to my bubbles." Bubbles asked as she made a bubble and popped it.

"Sorry haha kinda got off track there. The main lesson behind all this is the power of compression and pressure. If you practice what I told you, your bubbles would be a force to recon with." I said with a warm smile.

"I agree with you nephew and with the right instructions I'm sure you can pull it off. Now I do believe your shift has ended, why don't you head to the mess hall and relax with a good meal. You are dismissed." Celestia said before finishing her tea.

"Thank you princess and thank you Sir Fox. I'll start practicing tomorrow." Bubbles said with a bow before heading for the door.

"Please don't push yourself. One slip of concentration can be very dangerous." I said as she left with a wave.

"Now what brings you to the castle dear nephew?" Luna asked with curiosity.

"In a moment. It is time to lower the sun and raise the moon. Fox, why don't you order another plate while we take care of our nightly duties." Celestia said with a small chuckle.

"What do you mean….Really, I had like one bite." I said as I looked down at my now clean plate with a chubby pink snake lying next to it.

"Coooo (burp)." Alya cooed with a satisfied smile.

"You're lucky, you're adorable." I said with a smile as I scratched her chin.

Comments

[Starlight Nova]

Why did you make your OC the only anthro character? I'm not complaining, mind you, it just seems weird to only have one anthro pony.

[Jlan]

10872090
He's not an anthro pony. He's a kitsune, a shapeshifting human with fox features. Or more accurately a "Mystic Fox" as they are called in this fic. Hence the title.

[Mysticfox]

What he said lol plus all of the other mystics are anthro as well like his mother and so on. Also the abyssians (problem spelt that wrong lol) are bipedal cats so yeah.

[funtime_foxy455]

Dayum! Does this mean that twink is fox's grandmother or something? Cause it looks like it to me.

[Mysticfox]