Chapter 11 - Don't Eat Magic Anime Rocks
“You know, Spike. I’m beginning to suspect that my hypothesis of second Cutie Marks might not be as accurate as I’d originally hoped.”
He shot Twilight an unamused look. “Really. What gave it away? The fact that Pinkie Pie’s up to four now, or was it when it gave you a big box of shadow gems instead of a new skill?”
“The gems are a pretty firm hint. Additional Talents just meant my theory didn’t go far enough, but I’m not ready to abandon my hypothesis yet. This could be some new unexplored aspect of it.”
Spike just shook his head and turned his attention back to the newest addition to the strange new aspect of their lives.
He’d seen the inside of the Room With The Two Arrows (name pending) only once before, when Pinkie had retrieved her toolbox, and it looked much the same now as it had then. A long hall made of the same kind of crystal as the main room with rows and rows of empty shelves. This time, instead of a toolbox, one spot on the shelves was occupied by a heaping basket of dusky grey gemstones. They ranged in size from as small as a peanut to big enough that he’d need both claws to pick one up. They gleamed in the sourceless light of the room like smoke trapped in ice, some tinted slightly darker or lighter, but all sharing a similar translucent luster.
A quick little taste would—
“Spike!” He flinched back at Twilight’s voice and dropped the sample he’d grabbed. “What have I said about eating mysterious gems?”
“To ask you first.” He paused a beat. “Can I eat this?”
“What—no! Of course not!”
“Oh come on, Twilight. They’re probably fine. Looks like some kind of smoky quartz. I haven’t had a good smoky quartz since we moved out of Canterlot.”
“But what if they’re not that? They’re rocks that literally appeared from nowhere. For all we know that could be refined evil essence trapped in glass!”
“I believe I may be able to help with that.” They turned at Rarity’s introduction. She entered the Arrow Room and appraised the basket of rocks with a gimlet eye. “I received the most surprisingly useful new Talent recently. One that tells me the name of anything I choose to look at as well as a brief summary of what it does.”
Twilight’s ears perked up like prairie dogs as she slipped into what Spike liked to call her Researcher mode. “Really? That’s incredible! And it’s always true and right? A limitless source of objectively true information would shake the foundations of the scientific and magical communities! Oh, I’m going to have so much fun working out double-blind tests to prove its veracity.”
Rarity tittered and patted down some of Twilight’s mane that was starting to spring up and curl in her mania. “Easy, Twilight, easy. It only tells me a little and I swear some of its descriptions have a bit of sass to them. Besides, wouldn’t you like to know about these gems?”
Twilight shook herself into a calmer state (which also took two repetitions of a breathing exercise). “Yes, of course. What are they?”
Rarity picked up one of the smaller gems and rolled it in her hoof, letting it catch the light. “According to my new Talent, it’s called Originite. Specifically, this is pure, highly refined Originite. It’s a highly potent energy source and an important catalyst in the use of Arts.” She paused. “What that means I have no idea, though it does explicitly say that it should not be eaten.”
“Aw man,” Spike griped. “Does it say why?”
“No, but I can’t imagine eating anything called ‘highly potent’ would be a good idea.”
Both unicorns twitched as the pings of a new power vibrated up and down their horns.
“Yours?” Twilight asked, after it passed.
“Not mine. Perhaps—”
A rumble passed through the crystalline floor, accompanied by a worrying grinding noise that rattled their teeth in their skulls like nails down a chalkboard. It passed as quickly as it arrived, leaving two ponies and a dragon unsteady on their hooves.
“What was that?” Spike asked.
“I don’t know,” Twilight said, “But I have an odd feeling. Follow me.” She led them back into the main hall of the Hub.
The central room was unchanged. Same table, same doors, same light that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once. As far as Spike could tell, they’d had an earthquake and nothing more.
And yet, his unicorn companions seemed drawn towards one particular door. The one that no one had managed to open yet with the weird grid on it.
Twilight pushed and it opened as easily as if the hinges had just been oiled.
“What in the—”
“Oh my!”
“What? What’s in there?” He squeezed his way between the two door-blocking ponies until he could finally see inside.
It looked… kind of like a workshop. The walls weren’t even crystal, but worn wood like Applejack’s barn mixed with weathered stone columns. There were three work stations spread across the room that ranged from normal to unsettling. The first looked no different from the kind of home DIY repair stations he’d seen at various farms across Ponyville. A simple worn table with a rack of normal looking tools like hammers, screwdrivers, blade sharpeners, and bottles of polish and oil.
The second workstation was cleaner, with a table made of polished black stone and surrounded by complicated and precise tools that looked more like what a jeweler or dentist might need.
The last stretched the definition of work table to its limit. If anything it looked more like some kind of shrine, its surface cluttered with dozens of candles and roughly-forged tools whose use defied casual inspection.
“What is this place?”
“Hunter’s Workshop,” Rarity replied as she entered. “Used for maintenance and upgrades of a Hunter’s tools.”
“But what does that mean?”
“I don’t know. I’m quite literally reading it off a little hovering panel of text. What I say is all I know.” She gestured to the first table. “For example, for this I get, verbatim: ‘Worn Hunter’s Workbench. A simple and sturdy workbench equipped to help a Hunter maintain and repair their tools.’ That’s it. As opposed to this other one which reads: ‘Hunter’s Upgrading Workbench. A clean and well-equipped workspace with tools to upgrade a Hunter’s tools with’… oh my… it says ‘with Blood Stones and Blood Gems.’ And not a hint as to what those dreadful sounding things are.”
“What about the last one?” Twilight pressed, a quill scratching away behind her as she wrote down, more likely than not, every single thing Rarity said.
“That one says—” Rarity froze in place. Only her eyes moved as they read lines visible only to her.
“Rarity?”
“Caryll Rune Workshop Tool,” she said slowly, “A set of hand-forged tools used to inscribe or remove Caryll Runes from the mind of the user.”
The room was silent for a long moment.
“So.” Spike’s voice broke the silence like shattering glass. “How’s this fit into your extra Special Talent theory?”
Twilight groaned, a soul-wrenching sound known to all those who dabble in the fringe and cutting-edge aspects of academia. “It’s back to the drawing board then.”
Just as she spoke, the room began to rumble once more.
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Best-case scenario, it'll have a kick like Chuck Norris (all memes aside, the man has earned black belts in 5 different martial arts and synthesized his own for a sixth).
you forgot the colors in the perks
can't wait for more!
Another great job on the dialogue and future chapter set-up here. Definitely appreciated Twilight and Spike discussing the former's earlier theory (which has now been OFFICIALLY disproven) as well as Twilight, Spike and Rarity discussing those newly discovered gems AND that new workshop. Definitely liked the description of the new Perks possessed by ALL of the Mane Six now.
VERY definitely looking forward to more of this.
11307616
Indeed. The memes might exaggerate Chuck's greatness, but even without the exaggerations, he is not somebody a sane normal person would want to mess with.
And, of course, WORSE case would be akin to a "serious punch" from Saitama (One Punch Man).
11307629
The kick I was talking about was more metaphorical, in the vein of things like ghost peppers. But yes, one of worst cases is that you literally die.
11307622
I think that was intentional - i.e. depicting the ones that ALL SIX OF THEM got.
11307655
hmmmm... maybe you are right.
Well...If twilight can harness the originite then they're going to revolutionise equestria, the Bloodborne stuff on the otherhand seems of limited use without the appropriate materials
My poor claw... Princess Celestia, would you please hurry with that dictation spell?
trick shift weapons! Trick Shift Weapons! TRICK SHIFT WEAPONS!