Uncle lay back in his seat in First Class, his body being gently massaged by his chair as they flew back to San Francisco. At Apple Bloom's insistence, he'd taken the Dog Talisman off as soon as they were back on the plane...and the cost kicked in. Everything his body had been through while wearing the Talisman was now taxing both his physical energy and his chi. Had he not built up such huge stores of chi from his wizard training and study, he might well have wasted away as so much of his chi was rapidly directed to repairing the damage done. As it was, he was struggling to breathe and move. Apple Bloom had insisted that she and the others move to a different part of First Class so as not to disturb him, so he could rest easy with the flight attendants fetching whatever he needed.
Reaching out, he carefully lifted his cup of tea and took a small sip, trying to ignore the sippy-cup lid placed for his own safety in case of turbulence or his muscles failing him. Plainly, using the Dog Talisman was not something he should try with any frequency. However, he would recover...so in his mind, it was worth it. Though, probably not again for a long while. Being young was exhausting.
As he rested, however, he was distracted by a heated argument two empty rows in front of him. The man that had asked if Audrey was related to 'Mr. Mumbles' was on the same flight back, along with the lady he'd been travelling with. They were now arguing over something.
"I can't believe the place blew up before we even got there!" the man growled out angrily, throwing his hands up in the air in frustration. "Of all the inconsiderate gall!"
"It's not like we missed anything," the girl offered placatingly. "I mean, we were going to blow the chocolate factory up ourselves..."
"No less than they deserve for trying to poison me!" the angry man insisted.
"Snukikins, I don't think the mislabeling of those regular chocolates as lactose-free was intentional," the woman suggested affectionately. "Sneaking explosives onto an international flight - after getting you off the No-Fly list finally - and off the flight might have been a bit excessive. I mean, we could have just bought them there."
"Never trust foreign markets," the angry man grumbled. "Besides, it's the principle of the thing! We came all this way and we didn't even get to get vengeance ourselves! We're supposed to be the carriers of karma, not the world at large!" He crossed his arms, lowering his head. "Should have just borrowed the super-spy jet again..."
"The whole reason she got you off the no-fly list was because she didn't want us doing that again," the girl chided gently.
"But this whole trip has been such a waste!" the angry man proclaimed angrily. "Who knows what's happening at the bakery without us to ride hard on the idiots and nutcases we have working there?"
"Hmm...maybe I could come up with something to make the trip worth it?" the girl purred suggestively.
The man let out a surprised yelp. "Hey! What happened to keeping our displays of affection less public?"
"These couples cocoons I sprung for come with a soundproof dome," the girl purred hungrily. "Now...let's see about this 'Mile High Club' I've heard so much about, shall we?"
As the dome closed over those seats, Uncle let out a long sigh. Even when it wasn't happening to him, being young was exhausting!
Hak Foo stared up at Valmont from his kneeling position, struggling not to wince from the pain of his injuries. He knew this would not be a pleasant interchange. Valmont finally spoke up. "Hak Foo, do you have an explanation for how exactly you failed in your mission? And how you came to be so injured as a result?"
Hak Foo swallowed as he felt Tohru's gaze boring into his skull from across the room. "I...I'd rather not say," he offered lamely.
Valmont's frown deepened. "Hak Foo, I am giving serious consideration to shifting your payscale to on commission, with payment on successful completion of missions."
Hak Foo felt himself begin to sweat. He needed the steady income of a retainer desperately. "...you won't believe me," he offered hopefully. He had only managed to come up with one way to explain what had happened without mentioning Tohru, and it sounded absurd even to him.
Valmont gestured to the statue behind him. "My present client is a talking, fire-breathing statue who lends us ninjas made of living shadow for backup force. Our targets are magical Talismans. My credulity stretches quite far."
Hak Foo sighed, finally forced to give his 'explanation'. "I was defeated soundly by Splinter and the Power Puff Girls."
Valmont blinked. "...I admit, that's the last thing I expected you to say. I'm not entirely sure..."
"Master," Tohru spoke up as he got his suppressed laughter under control, "the Chans do have access to the Rat Talisman, and it's magic to animate the inanimate."
Valmont sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "There is that, I suppose. Dismissed, Hak Foo. And I expect much better performance in the future."
Nodding, Hak Foo went to his quarters. Once there, he made a note that his exercise routine the next day had to be much more intense. Tonight's workout, however, had to be cancelled. He needed...therapy.
Going to his freezer, he grabbed a gallon of Fudge Ripple ice cream, then sat down in front of the TV. Sticking in a DVD, he watched and listened as the show began to play.
As he watched, tears ran down his cheeks. "Kaoru-chan...doushite?" he whimpered softly.
Apple Bloom stared from the Dog Talisman to her 'nerve restoration' potion. She knew she was on the verge of a breakthrough, and could only hope she would get the one she wanted. She had a few ingredients arranged to add to the potion, and wasn't sure what she would need. However, recognizing the runes from the back of the Dog Talisman from the books she'd done her research in for what should have been a youth potion had given her a crazy idea.
As such, she lit the burner under the potion vial, waited for it to start to bubble...and added a few hairs she'd gathered from the tail of a puppy dog (painlessly to the pup, of course).
She watched as she saw the potion change colors, beginning to glow. "It's...it's almost there...maybe...?" Carefully, she added a few snips taken from the garden, and a tiny amount of snail trail slime. Before her eyes, the glow of the potion started to blaze...and the vial began to shake. "Unstable? I need to balance it, but how...?" Thinking quickly, she grabbed a teaspoon of sugar and a pinch of cinnamon, tossing them into the vial. Not sure what else to do for the last ingredient, she focused her chi into her pendant, drew out a merest fraction of the Christmas Magic inside, and fed it into the blazing potion.
The vial and burner both exploded, though no shrapnel appeared. As the smoke cleared, all that was left was a tiny red crystal that Apple Bloom didn't recognize, though when she picked it up she could feel power stored within.
"...okay, not what I wanted..." she groaned, burying her face in her free hoof. "But...maybe it can do something? I mean...what is it?" She gently set it rolling along the table, where it fell into Rhino's water dish, making the water sparkle.
At that moment, Rhino crawled slowly up to get a drink. After a few sips, he raced away as quickly as he had five years prior, looking as fresh as a youngin.
Blinking, Apple Bloom lifted the stone again. "It...gives energy to liquid?" she mumbled thoughtfully. "Hmm..."
Unsure what else to do with it, she went over to Uncle's favorite tea cup and affixed it to the bottom of the cup on the inside. To her surprise, the crystal shifted to match the coloration of the inside of the cup. Shrugging her shoulders, she made a mental note to only serve Uncle tea in that cup from now on. With luck, it would actually help him.
What no one knew was that the paint on the bottom of the outside of the cup was lead based, though it never reached far enough for any of it to ever enter Uncle's systems. Had Apple Bloom looked a little longer, she would have noticed the paint taking on a golden sheen.
And... she made a philosopher's stone. Without using human souls to boot.
I have no clue who that couple is though.
Hmm, Applebloom is Nicholas Flamel?
The best thing to serve with Uncle's tea is a... Philosopher's scone?
A Philosopher's Stone?! Apple Bloom made a freaking PHILOSOPHER'S STONE?!?! How hasn't she received a Cutie Mark for that!? Heck, I'd have expected her to ASCEND for something that incredible, aware of her accomplishment or not!
7779538 I think that might be Dan from Dan Vs.... not sure about the girl, though.
And we have Dan and Pinkie vs world adventures again ,if someone like me read the certain crossover and knows what I meant.
Snips, snails, and puppy dog tails; the things little boys are made of
Sugar, spice, and everything nice; the things little girls are made of
mix them together, and you apparently get a freaking Philosopher's Stone!
Makes me think Chemical X might not be the active ingredient in certain pint-sized supers.
Okay this chapter was made entirely of , especially Hak Foo.
Love seeing Dan and Pinkie cameo in this!
Leave it to Apple Bloom to make a philosopher's stone...
7779538
7779554 You should both be ashamed of yourselves for not reading one of the most amazing stories on this site.
7779539 Your a witch applebloom
7779585 I'm a what?
7779538
Applebloom is now a full-fledge alchemist?
7779582
Look, just because someone on this site made something good out of it, doesn't mean that those who us who loathed the source material (Dan Vs.) are somehow indebted to read said fic.
7779582 Oh, THAT'S where it was from. Didn't realize it was a cameo from another FIMfiction story, so I didn't really draw the connection. Kudos to your good taste, though.
7779610 A witch.... a young filly able to use magic
Apple Bloom made the philosopher's stone?
Eh...par for the course.
Sweet Dan and Pinkie make an appearance! Please let there be more.
Interesting line of thought that Hak Foo splintered into. Too bad he didn't call for the mean green fighting machines with pizza.
Now if only Applebloom found out what she made she'd be golden.
At least that fun little cameo wasn't blown out of proportions although it still flew over some people's heads.*
PS. It's a fun story. Too bad Chris wasn't brought along, he would have demolished the factory by himself.
...is it bad that the first thing I thought of when I realised that was a Philosopher's Stone was "Okay, what country was sacrificed for that Transmutation?"
Wasn't expecting Hak Foo to recover with that. And it took me a second to get the "lead into gold" thing. As for the cameo, I have my suspicions but I'm not entirely sure. Anyone want to spell it out for me?
Okay... I think the cameo was Dan from Dan Vs? Dunno who was the woman though... Doubt it's that Spy Girl in the series since she's in a relationship with Dan's friend and Dan doesn't (Rightfully, ironically enough,) trust her.
Hak Foo now sees the ref... And possibly feels betrayed. Is it weird that I feel sorry for him? Also, HAH! He's an Otaku!
Welp, Applebloom just figured out how to make the Philosopher's stone... Without sacrificing mortal souls. Something tells me that the Formula on the Dog Talisman was made by the Nicolas Flamel, possibly as a means of passing on his legacy to a worthy person. What they do with that knowledge, is another story...
Did she just make a Philosopher's Stone?!
7779627 No need to be a dick about it, man.
1000 likes!!!
People whine and BI*$ about ponies in other Tatsurou stories ending up OP and Applebloom manages THIS and yet has barely raised an eyebrow?????!! Wait, sorry, we're dealing with the CMC, this is but another Monday morning before breakfast.
Loved the Hak Foo bit, almost can bring myself to pity him. ALMOST!
7779755 I believe it was referring to a story called "The Wheel and the Butterfly A Dan X Pinkie Pie Saga".
7779636 Iwas quoting the meme video about Harry Potter being a wizard. XD
Man now that they got a philosopher's stone i hope we can figure out how to camio Edward Elric....ahh if only
7779543
Badum-tish.
Somehow, creating a Philosopher's Stone isn't too big a surprise. Better than Cthulhu, anyway.
Dan and Pinkie, hmm? Go figure...To bad Chris wasn't along for the ride
Not a bad story from Hak Foo.
Somewhere in the vast universe, Edward Elric let off a sneeze
7779690 Mean while in the North Pole a virulent plague causes most of the elves to drop dead from heart attacks.
Y'know, something about that teacup though...
I've got it!
Daring Do and the Lost Crusaders! "He hath chosen... Poorly." #whata
..................................That's an accurate description.
Well Applebloom just made a philosophers stone
......at some point, you should include a chapter in the future where Hak Foo sees the abomination of a reboot that PPG got.
Seriously? Applebloom made the Philosopher's Stone? I mean, considering all of the extremely potent magic she put in it, of which some can warp reality, I suppose some allowances can be made... but I'm fairly certain that thing needs life-force to be stabilized, and not a small amount of it.
Well, I suppose it doesn't matter. You may have nerfed it for all I know, lowering the requirements for its construction. Either way, this should be interesting.
AB be careful, a strange old man could try to hide your stone in his magical castle and manipulate a young boy to fight the spirit of a dark lord.
Or a young blonde without a arm and a leg acompannied with a living talking armor.
But seriously, when Uncle find about it... Who knows what is going to be his reaction to AB creating something that could revolution alchemy.
7779755
Well, if Tatsuro is a fan of The Wheel & The Butterfly, the answer would be
breathe
I'm not even going to comment on Hak Foo, I'm just going to get to the part that really twists the mind.
So...she made a special potion...added snips, snails, and a puppy dog tail (technically) to it...then sugar, spice, and something incredibly nice...
And it turned into a Philosopher's Stone...
(removes glasses and rubs eyes)
You know what, forget it. I'm going to go play Pokemon. That has sanity.
Oh poor Ham and Cheese he needs a hug he still deserved the beating but it should be followe dup with a hug. I wonder if Tats is going to do an aside after the talisman business is done showing the girls spending a day with Valmont and crew. Sweetie learning legitimate business with Valmont, Scoots working out with Hak Foo, of course AB just spending a day vegging out with Tohru maybe lunch with Finn, Ratso, and Chow.
7779538 It's Dan, Chris, and Chris's Girlfriend from the awesome show "Dan Vs."
7780443
Nope.
It's Dan and Pinkie Pie from "The Wheel and the Butterfly: A Dan X Pinkie Pie Saga" by Justice3442.
For Applebloom's birthday she was given a red hoodie with the Flamel symbol on the back.
7779820
My apologies. I was aiming for a neutral tone. That said, you were coming off as aggressive as well. Let's just chalk this up to text not conveying tone very well, and move on.
7779690 no it means you have good taste in anime.
...she created the philosphers stone?
Chapter Sixty Nine
"Aiyah!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 38
"One More Thing!"
Chapter Count: 0
Total Count: 68