Magic Duel Remix
A mare with a strange amulet arrives in Ponyville, causing chaos and challenging Twilight to a Magic Duel, claiming the purple unicorn has ruined her life. Twilight isn't looking for a fight, and in fact hardly even remembers her, but does she have a choice in the matter?
Prologue: SPC Breach
It was raining in Manehattan. The unnaturally empty cobblestone streets were slicked wet with rain, grey and bleak; it was still bright enough that the streetlights remained unlit, so there was no warm glow to save the scene. All the colors looked mute and faded, and a strong oppressive feeling imbued the atmosphere.
A lone figure scurried down the street, avoiding the worst of the puddles but in too much of a hurry to mind the smaller ones; their black cloak was soaked around the bottom, the less damp regions higher up streaked with grime and dust in the way only a traveler’s cloak could be. A grey-blue light shone from their hood, indicating an active Unicorn’s horn.
As they passed a certain alley, their head jerked suddenly to the side with an unpleasant snap, and the aura instantly faded away. The Unicorn stood for several long moments, silently withstanding the pain in their neck, before jerking their head to the other side in an attempt to straighten back out. Judging by the almost imperceptible hiss of pain, it worked, but the Unicorn stayed for several moments more, before trotting back to the entrance into the alley.
The glow returned, and the Unicorn began trotting in, though at a more cautious pace. The moment their head began to turn again, they stopped, now taking slower steps, trying to triangulate the position of their quarry.
There. Before the figure was a small, battered door. A half-soggy scrap of paper, still legible only because of the slight overhang above the door, said only
Lost And Found
Curiosity Shop
The Unicorn ended the spell, and with one hoof pushed open the door.
Inside, it was hardly lit; only a few spots were illuminated by a sourceless dim glow. The Unicorn could make out Zebra masks, flasks with rather questionable-looking potions, and other, stranger odds and ends piled alongside eerily everyday-looking bits.
The Unicorn’s horn lit once more, and a simple ghost-light formed a few feet before their hood. At the figure’s direction, it zipped to the nearest wall and began moving along the bookshelves. Beneath the hood, a pair of magenta eyes roved in the ball’s wake; skimming titles, inspecting the stranger items on the shelves, and gauging an estimate of the place’s size.
It was rather cramped, actually; the door she had entered by took up a third of its wall’s width, the two sides crushingly close and the large and rather messy piles of random curiosities didn’t help the feeling of claustrophobia. However, the space made up for it in height and length, with enough space for a second floor overlooking the entrance area, and the back sections flooded with darkness. Not finding their quarry in the front section, the figure began picking their way further inward, sending the light zipping forward to reveal more.
‘More’ was apparently the shopkeeper, and the Unicorn tripped over themself in shock.
The shopkeeper was a pale blue stallion, his fur looking washed out under the blindingly bright ghost-light. It was hard to estimate his age; he looked young, but his eyes were those of an old soldier who had seen far more of the world than he’d have liked to. The Unicorn met those eyes only briefly before looking away. He wore a strange hat, and a long, multi-pocketed jacket that concealed Cutie Mark. His hair was in a braid, and perched on the tip of his snout was a pair of ridiculously tiny circular glasses that forced the newcomer to wonder how he could even see through them.
His expression was somewhat bemused; he knew these types, who tried to act all mysterious and dramatic. Still, business was business. “May I… help you, traveler?”
The cloaked figure swept past imperiously, and he had to resist the urge to chuckle. Yes, he most certainly knew this type, and knew how to play along. “So are you looking for any items in particular, or simply browsing?” Once again he received no answer, but that was to be expected. What he didn’t expect was for the figure’s head to rapidly jerk downwards, horn, now glowing, pointing at the floor. The Unicorn ended the spell once more, and rearing their head, the cloak’s hood fell off.
The mare rubbing her now distinctly sore neck was unusual only in how forgettable she was; the instant the shopkeeper looked away, he couldn’t have said what color her fur or mane were, or if she was old or young, and he wasn’t even entirely sure if he’d guessed her gender correctly. A spell, he supposed, that would preserve her anonymity, but that was just another thing he’d grown used to with these customers.
“Stupid tracking spell, why does it have to nearly kill me every time I use it?” The visitor evidently hadn’t extended the anonymity charm to her voice, as that was rather memorable. Snooty and self-assured, it killed the mood right then and there, and forced the shopkeeper to re-evaluate his customer; usually the mysterious ones didn’t speak or had something more… ominous sounding. This character was new to the business, apparently.
And if what she’d just said about a 'tracking spell' was true, then she was looking for something that was in The Basement, and the shopkeeper didn’t hide anything away in The Basement unless there was very good reason to. In spite of his instincts suddenly screaming DANGER, DANGER, he put on a forced smile. “I wouldn’t really know,” he shrugged, “but I suppose that would be frustrating, would it not?”
The visitor gave him a deadpan look. “I don’t suppose you’d happen to have other items than the measly collection I see up here? Perhaps downstairs?”
The shopkeeper was conflicted. This was a somewhat unusual visitor looking for one of a set of some very dangerous artifacts; something like that could only spell trouble. On the other hoof, if he tried to stop her by force, she was already a Unicorn, and he wasn’t exactly the strongest specimen by Earth Pony standards anyway.
So he chose a third option. “Well, indeed I do, but a number of those downstairs are not for sale. Are you certain you can’t find an adequate stand-in up here?”
The unicorn ignored him, magically unlocking the door leading downstairs and trotting down. The shopkeeper followed. “Now you listen here!” He grimaced; this was starting to fall apart and he hated his helplessness. “Unless you can tell me exactly what you’re looking for and give me some assurance that you know what you’re dealing with, I refuse to allow this! Those items are locked away for a reason! I say, listen to me!”
The unicorn reached the bottom of the steps, entering a space that was, perhaps surprisingly, rather sterile compared to the shop’s calculatedly mysterious main level. The stone floor was bare save for a small drain in the center, and against the walls were spotless, if rather old-looking display cases and bookshelves. There was no lamp, the only illumination coming from a small window on the far wall, up right beneath the ceiling.
The bookshelves were filled with ancient tomes, some sporting ominous leather binding, others with nasty stains that looked suspiciously like blood. Few even had titles on their spines, and those that did were written in indecipherable runes.
The display cases were less immediately uninviting, though the fact that each item was inside a thick glass dome, those in turn surrounded by faintly glowing crystals, inscribed with runes of protection, entrapment, and anti-magic, hinted at the nature of the contained objects. The visitor scanned these, eyes passing over a pile of approximately two-hundred small chocolates, pausing briefly on an angular goblet made of silver and glass and inscribed with the stylized image of a gryphon, and coming to rest on an amulet.
The locket’s chain was made up of square steel plates attached end-to-end with hooks. The insides of the plates were lined with randomly placed spikes; though they were no more than a centimeter long and the tips visibly dulled down, it looked painful to wear, and the unicorn’s already-tortured neck twinged in worried anticipation.
However, the visitor could ignore that, for her eyes had been caught by the object’s centerpiece. It was primarily made of steel as well, worked around a blood-red crystal that glowed with an inner energy. On either side, metal pieces jutted out, formed into a stylized approximation of wings; the feathers made of a badly rusted and pitted copper. From the top was an acute triangle of metal, diagonally grooved like a horn. It looked like a single jostle of the amulet would send that horn plunging upward into the wearer’s jaw, and the unicorn shook her head to clear that unpleasant image.
The shopkeeper caught up, glad to see she hadn’t tampered with anything yet. “Now, see here…” He began, but trailed off as he followed her gaze to the Amulet. Despite himself, he couldn’t help but to scoff, and positioned himself between the unicorn and her quarry, speaking firmly, giving her a stern frown. “Listen. I do not know your story, or why you’re looking for this in particular, but let me assure you, I have several dozen potions and spellbooks, upstairs, that would give you the same advancements without any of the heartbreak. This artifact has a lot of stories, and none of them have happy endings.”
The unicorn broke her gaze away, giving him a confident grin, though he could see it wasn’t quite reaching her eyes; in the few short seconds before the anonymity charm did it’s work, he could see that beneath her mask was the spirit of a pony who’d all but given up; she saw one way out, and was crossing her hooves and praying it would work. “Yes, I know the stories, all of them. I’ve done my research.” She telekinetically pulled a large sack of bits out from beneath her cloak and jangled it.
The shopkeeper only gave her another stern glare; did she really think that would work on him? “And what makes you think your story will be any different? I’d be remiss in my duties if I just handed one of the more dangerous artifacts in Equestria over to you, and let history repeat itself.”
The unicorn looked surprised he hadn’t taken her bribe, and in spite of herself found her respect for him increase by a bit. From her other pocket, she floated a large book, flipping it open. The page she landed on contained a detailed illustration of the amulet and several magical specifications. “Like I said, I did my research, and I noticed something common across all the stories involving it. The wearer kept it on all the time, allowing it’s side effects to take hold and increase exponentially. I plan to only use it to take care of some business, put my life back on track, and wear it only when I’m using it. If I get even the slightest feeling it’s doing anything other than what I want, I’ll remove it immediately and wait until it’s safe to use once more. In fact, that’s exactly why I chose this one; it has the power to allow me to fix things, and the negative aspects are temporary so long as I’m careful in how I use it, which I will be.”
The shopkeeper was also impressed; she had evidently thought this through. Still, though… “What exactly are you planning to do with it?”
“It’s a long story, but in short, I made some mistakes and set myself up for failure. I’m hoping that I can use this power to give myself some credence again, and then once I’m no longer instantly reviled by those who set eyes on me, continue on my own merits once more, and return this to you.” At the shopkeeper’s unconvinced look, she gave a final push. “Just because this was created for evil, doesn’t mean I can’t use it for good. Would you really deny somepony the chance to change their life for the better?”
The shopkeeper hesitated a moment longer, then with a heavy sigh moved aside, though he kept a careful eye on the mare. Her horn glowed, and one-by-one, the protective crystals deactivated. The glass lifted, and the amulet floated out. The mare just looked at it for a long time, expression unreadable, before slipping it into one of the pockets in her cloak, the book soon following. She left the sack of bits at the shopkeeper’s side, giving him a thankful smile, though she couldn’t bring herself to speak. Her face was that of a drowning pony who’d just been brought to shore, and she gave him a nod before trotting up the stairs and out of his life.
The shopkeeper stood where he was for several more moments, hoping he’d done right but realizing that in spite of the mare’s assurance she could handle the amulet, the more likely scenario was that he had just made a grave mistake.
A half-hour later, another figure sprinted across Manehattan, going dangerously fast and almost slipping several times on the wet cobblestone. He finally reached his home, barely nodding at the pony in the lobby before taking the stairs two at a time up to the third floor. Flinging water everywhere as he burst into his modest apartment, the shopkeeper-who-was-more-than-that took off his hat and set it upside down at his desk, pulled out a sheet of paper, a jar of ink, and a quill, and set them down beside it.
Pulling a small silver marble out of one of his jacket pockets, he cast it into his hat, where it began glowing. A faint light radiated from the hat’s brim, signaling that that part was ready. After a hurried dip in the inkwell, he pressed the quill down onto the page- so hard that it snapped. He grabbed another quill and began writing.
"Dear Princess Celestia…”
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Second part?
It didn't cover the whole story.
So second part please.
Magic duel and shit.
1906336 I never wrote past this point, and I don't intend to. It's in the cutting room floor for a reason, after all.
So this is a collection of ideas you thought up and posted on fimfiction... YOUR A GENIUS
The liker wuz here
1906417
dashie.mylittlefacewhen.com/media/f/img/mlfw889_1317142302841578.png
Your fucking grammar.
Anyway, cool.
1906443 the liker wuz here part I do that on purpose though my computer did not pick up any grammar mistakes but still you hath been liked, embrace it, maybe
1906417 If nothing else, hopefully it will inspire someone.
1906443 I think that was an attempt at 'leet speak' or whatever.
Anyway, thank you.
1906494 Bro you have already inspired people so go ahead and keep on keepen on brother
very fast at commenting no ?
1906502 Ok then
And sometimes.
1906587 and sometimes what
Cold gold, what are you doing, cold pls, stahp pls stahp
1906595>>1906612 I'm confused...
1906615 Stahp bringf confused pls goy pls Ir made a crompt
So yeah decifer it if you can pls and try not to stahp
1906622 Um, okay...
Interesting way to tend to personal plot bunnies without committing yourself to any further writing. Though on a minor formting note, wouldn't it make more since to put the cover-art and summary at the top rather than the bottom? Since if you were actually publishing this as an independent fic people would see that stuff first anyway.
On a semi-related note, it seems to me that the associated blog post you made explaining why you scrapped this fic could have just been included here using the author's notes feature.
1907419
I sound so lazy when you put it that way...
Ah, true.
I tried that, but for some reason it didn't work.
N,gkugujhviyjhgr Jolynn g hunkbjn hbgbjhmbgvgjbmfgjbnfvjgfvjgbfnjvgbfvgjhgiyhgvyjbvhgjfgjf.
Dont mind me.
1908723 Huh?
... I honestly thought I left a comment on this, due to me thinking that this used to actually be MDR which was then renamed, etc. and I realised as I was typing that I had in fact faved this only several minutes earlier, so yeah.
Anyway, hopefully not much actually appears here in the future.
1919940 Indeed
2178392 Holy fuck that was a delayed reaction.
2181588 I also thought I replied earlier. Guess not.