I Ate A Bouncy Ball After Teaching A Lesson
Merlin stood before a rather interesting tree. This particular tree puzzled him greatly for it seemed to hurl nothing but obscenities at him. The rest of the trees in the area seemed to avoid it with their roots as if to say they wanted nothing to do with such vulgarity. Merlin simply found it hilarious as he sat and listened to the old tree go on and on about the horrible state of the world and the fact that saplings just weren't the same anymore.
Plants see things a bit differently than people did, at least back home they did. He met a two hundred year old oak tree that behaved like a child. What was long for most was but a blink in their lifetime. It was endlessly fascinating to find that the flora and fauna here were much the same. He looked up and held out his arm as he simply waited. He was not waiting in vain however, as within minutes he felt the silent presence of a tawny owl swoop in and land upon his arm.
It gave a few hoots as it nuzzled and nipped at his ear and hair. He laughed and scratched the front of his beak. Something this particular owl loved. Merlin had found him flying around the forest several days prior and he had been hooting up a storm. It turned out that his nest had been vandalized by a raven that had flown through the area. It wasn't until he helped rebuild the nest that the owl began giving him its attention.
It started off at a distance and watched him, asking it's silent questions and wondering just what he was. Merlin was patient and intelligent however and after years of talking with the owls of his world, he was rather adept at speaking their language. He knew their wing language, tail feather positions and headfeather positions as well. More often than not, they spoke with body language rather than their minds as many other creatures did.
That did not mean that they weren't intelligent. Owls were incredible hunters and his friend proved this as it left his arm and arched over some flowers and into a tree. As it did so, it disturbed almost no petals. It was as if he was able to slice through the air without disturbing anything around it with needless energy or sound. To Merlin it was a beautiful sight to see and he watched as his new friend took off to his nest.
With having said hello and wishing him a good morning he turned and headed back to the clearing of Poison Joke that he had been staying in. Suspended between two trees in the far left corner was his new hammock. It was made from vines and leaves that he had woven together in a living patchwork. It was strong and sturdy and bore his weight easily when it came time to sleep.
Just away from the trees was his bread oven. It had taken a day or two for his magic to sift out and procure the metals he needed to make it, but this forest was a wealth of resources and it didn't take a genius to make use of them. It also was rather fortuitous that he was able to source seeds for wheat and other grains. Twilight Sparkle had been to visit a few times now to learn from him and had in turn provided both knowledge of the world he now lived in, and many tools and tidbits he needed.
It was no surprise then that his little home away from home as it were was finally beginning to show signs of actually being a home. As he sat in his hammock and nibbled at a slice of bread that he had smeared some berries onto, he watched the clouds above drift by. According to Twilight this place that he was currently living was known as the Everfree forest. A curious place to be sure, as according to her most of their kind controlled the weather and general temperatures of Equestria.
As surprising as this was, it was not as surprising as finding out that the Everfree forest was a place of wild magic, wild weather and wild plants and animals. It was a place that many ponies feared and rightfully stayed away from. He smiled and finished his meal as he watched a manticore lumber about in the distance. They often came by to laze about in the sun of the clearing and he was more than happy to let them. After all, as long as he meant them no harm and showed that he was not to be a source of food, they generally left him alone.
He didn't really have anything planned today and he hadn't really left the clearing much since he had arrived, other than exploring the closer parts of the forest of course. But he knew it was high time he left the confines of his leafy fortress and looked out into the world. First on his list would be this crystal tree castle he had been told about. It sounded like a rather interesting specimen and he was quite curious to lay eyes on it.
With that in mind he walked over and placed his hand on a rather wide tree that was quite short in stature. With a gentle smile he asked it if it would be willing to put him through to the crystal tree. Many don't understand to what degree trees are connected throughout the world. While most remain only connected to their main forest at large, a tree at any given location could use a network of roots that spans just about every plant across the planet. It acted as a message system and if one was capable enough in nature magic then they could use this same system as a doorway through which they can bridge large spans of distance.
It was a rather ingenious idea that had been given to him by an old friend from the past, and it served him well even now as the tree gave its permission in its usual slow and measured pace. With gift of some water pulled from the air, he gave the tree some energy and he watched as the wood and bark morphed and crawled. It did so until it soon resembled an archway that led into what looked like quite the library. He stepped through and closed the doorway behind him, which on this side was just a rather intricate archway made of flowing crystal.
It shimmered and flowed closed like a waterfall and when it was finished there was only a wall of crystal that arched up into a vaulted ceiling. Around him were shelves and shelves of books that rose higher than he stood tall, and a soft lavender carpet rolled out through each of the walkways added a blend of nice but soft color to the place. He grabbed a book out of curiosity and sat down to flip through the pages. The fact that this society possessed a form of writing was astonishing but to find that it was remarkably similar to anglo-saxon with a few differences was mind blowing.
Merlin was able to pick up quite quickly on their text and language after the first book Twilight had brought him. It was a thick tome that contained a comprehensive history of Equestria, from it's creation to now. It was a lovely read and the look on Twilight's face when he had finished it in mere moments was humorous to say the least. Speaking of Twilight, he wondered if she was around and putting the book back where he found it, he stepped out and into a hallway. He could feel the living will of the tree and it seemed rather pleased to have him there.
Judging by the faint light that shimmered through the walls, it seemed to be guiding him somewhere. With a gentle grin and a shrug he followed it, after all it's not like it meant him any harm and if it did, well he knew many different ways to explain to trees why they shouldn't attack people. The light took him past quite a few rooms that all seemed empty and unused, a bit of a common sight with some castles after they are first built. The castle at Camelot had the same issue and they really hadn't used all of the rooms for at least the first two years that it was in use.
Finally after a moment of this delightful little chase, it led him to a large door that opened into a circular throne room. In it's center was a table with a large map on it and six thrones surrounding it. Each showed the cutie mark of the bearer that was suppose to sit there. He smiled as he recalled this from his reading, this was what Twilight came to eventually call the Hall of Harmony. What seemed to shake him from his admiration though was the floating cutie mark that hovered above a castle that was situated on the side of a mountain.
With this being Canterlot, and that being Twilight's cutie mark, he could only surmise that that is where she would be. After all she was the Princess of this land and she more than likely had a lot of duties to take care of. Another curious fact about the map though was the mark that floated over the crystal tree. It looked a lot like a staff with magic coming from it. As far as he knew he was the only one in the castle right now, which meant the mark belonged to him.
When it flashed and vanished, it reappeared next to Twilights and grew a bit brighter than before. It didn't take a genius for him to realize the map wanted him to go to Canterlot. Why it wanted that was beyond him, but after years of dealing with magic, he learned some very important lessons. One of which is that you don't question all power magical artifacts unless you wish to spend half a century arguing.
Doing as he did with the tree in his clearing, he asked the castle for permission to use it as a gateway to Canterlot and faster than he would have thought possible, it opened up a gateway the led through to the gardens. He gave his thanks and stepped through, allowing it to close behind him. He looked around and found a few rows of statues, one of which was quite menacing. It contained three of Equestria's vanquished foes, frozen in their last moments. He had read all about the things they had done, and while not nearly as atrocious as some of the things humans have done, it still made his skin crawl.
And it started crawling even more as he felt the energy of the world ripple suddenly from nearby. Ripples this intense meant only one thing. Twilight was frustrated. He chuckled and followed the source through some empty hallways and past guards that seemed surprised to see him. He didn't really make a point of visiting the castle and they didn't really know him all that wall, despite having been briefed on who he was and what he looked like.
What he found at the end of this little labyrinth was a very frustrated purple Princess who at this point was trying to glare a hole through a ball that sat in front of her. Merlin laughed and snapped his fingers, causing the ball to start bouncing in place before bouncing over to him and landing in his palm. Twilight followed it with a look of surprise before her eyes landed on him and her scowl got worse.
"You're the last creature I wanna see right now." She said in a sour tone as her wings drooped. She was obviously not happy.
"And what is it that stumps you today Princess? I thought you'd have this down by now." He chuckled, tossing the ball around a few times before tossing it back at her. She wasn't paying much attention as it almost smacked her right in the face, but before it did so it exploded into little lavender butterflies that made a break for the window.
"Ha ha, very funny. You owe me a new ball now." She said with a grumpy tone.
"Providing you with a new focus would be simple. But first I need to ask, what is it truly that has you so thoroughly perplexed?" He asked as he snapped his fingers again causing a single one of the butterflies that had been lounging on the windowsill to come forward and morph into a new yet smaller ball.
"I've been trying what you told me, about reaching out and feeling the energy of the world but all I keep feeling is my own magic. I don't understand what im doing wrong." She explained in a huff as she blew a strand of her mane from her face. Merlin gave her a soft smile and using his hands he brushed her mane back into place.
"Then allow me to explain in a better way. When you reach out and feel your magic, what is it that you feel?" He asked, allowing her to look up at him as he gave her a soft smile.
"I feel a bit of warmth, and almost the sensation of something vibrating." She replied. Merlin nodded and held up the ball and focused on it, feeling out it's vibration as he explained this to her.
"Precisely. That vibration you are feeling is the waves of energy that are produced when the molecules of the world are altered or moved. They move against each other and give off these signature waves." He said, as he turned the ball into a fine rubber mist. He rearranged the mist to show a representation of what molecules would look like. In this case they resembled round lavender droplets.
"Take these for example. What I have done is I have used these to represent the molecules of your magic. When you use your magic, you are forcing these molecules to interact in a specific way that allows you to alter the world at large. This is what you call magic."
He collapsed the molecules and rearranged them into larger more unstable forms. "This is what the molecules of the ambient energy of the world look like. They are unstable and stable at the same time, in this they have found a balance or equilibrium. They give off their own unique waves and energy based on the way they naturally interact."
He showed this as he forced them together, sending off waves that seemed lighter, not nearly as large as the waves sent off by her magic. "The waves differ in frequency and due to that difference is how you isolate that energy and thus can manipulate it. Provided that you have the gift to manipulate it and as I can tell, most unicorns seem to have the aptitude."
Twilight stared at his little display as the gears in her mind began turning. With having it explained on such a deep level, it allowed her mind to make jumps and connections it never would have made before. She gasped out loud and smiled as she looked at what remained of the ball. With a blink it began to regain its form and after a few second it had congealed once more into a ball. With a yell of triumph she began hopping around the room with a chorus of "Yes! Yes! Yes!" before she ran up and hugged him.
"Thank you. I hope you don't mind continuing to teach me though. I still have a lot to learn about this nature magic." She said, stepping back with a wide grin on her face. Merlin smiled back and said, "You did perfectly, now it's just a matter of having control over your own will and what you want to do with the energy of the world."
He winked at her and snapped his fingers as the ball morphed one final time. Twilight watched in fascination as it became a grape that he popped into his mouth. He hummed in delight and said with chuckle, "Hmmm, tastes a bit off, but it'll bounce back Im sure."
Twilight stared at him with a dead-pan look and swatted him with a wing as she shooed him out of the room and into the hall. He laughed and moved with her as they made their way to the Grand Dining Room. Twilight was struggling not to laugh at his awful use of puns on the way but their laughter cut short when she opened the door and found two other alicorns sitting there.
"Ah, hello Princess Twilight, who's your friend?" Celestia asked as she brought a fork full of cake to her mouth. Twilight sat there looking flabbergasted with her jaw on the floor as Merlin stepped forward. Celestia and Luna actually already knew of him, they hadn't met him in person yet, and they were every bit as beautiful as the books had said.
"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance. My name is Merlin." He said with a flourish and a bow. Twilight had already explained that they had retired and were no longer considered Princesses, but that didn't mean that a gentleman did not bow when in front of beautiful ladies, or in this case mares.
"It's a pleasure to meet you as well Merlin, I'm Celestia and this is my sister Luna." She said as she motioned to the darker alicorn who at the moment was attempting to lick a bit of whip cream off her nose. With no warning, Merlin stepped forward and with a single finger he swiped the dollop of cream from her nose and ate it. Leaving three shocked alicorns now staring at him.
"So, what's for the royal breakfast today?" he asked as he acted oblivious to their stares.
"I'm thinking Waffles with marshmallow and blueberries...and maybe some lavender syrup."
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this is more the length of chapter i like
just long enough to properly savor
anyways, a question: will Discord be showing up in this?
The issues I spotted. Tossed in some spoilers just in case.
The highlighted sentence is a bit confusing with 'corner' used twice. Would suggest changing the underlined section to 'between' since a hammock is being referenced.
sight
thought
tone
him
they
You should consider splitting the sentence into two, between 'yet' and 'however', and change up the second sentence for grammar. Or place a comma after 'yet' and remove 'however'. This will remove the run-on sentence.
The ending of this chapter is priceless.
11277547
He absolutely will :) And I think it'll be a fun chapter.
11277551
Thank you so much for the help. I've fixed the aforementioned errors and hopefully it comes off better now.
Merlin is so. slick? smooth? suave? one of those
I am having some trouble understanding that explanation about nature magic, but the tree root system thing was a very nice touch