Neby

is a character that debuted in Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing. She is a Smart Crystal assigned by Akko as the Guest Student's partner. It's revealed later that Neby is, in fact, the carrier of the surviving essence of Yggdrasil Broom referred to as "catalyst" in the old tome pertaining to Yggdrasil Sprout.
==Appearance==
Neby appears as a glowing emerald Smart Crystal with reflective dark green eyes and a white mouth. She also wears what appears to be a witch hat seemingly made of solidified magic energy (it is the same color as the rest of her form), adorned with the Luna Nova insignia, which is the same color as her eyes.
==Personality==
Like other Smart Crystals, Neby was created as a knowledgeable and reliable guide for her assigned partner and able to interact with human beings just as a living person. But due to the essence of Yggdrasil Broom inside her, Neby's sentience is much more evident when Diana remarks her as extraordinary compared to the rest of her kind, especially when the Smart Crystal unexpectedly gives an ambiguous answer when she reveals her familiarity with Yggdrasil Sprout but struggled to remember more about it and how she did in the first place. Another instance of her display of human-like sentience is admonishing Sucy for provoking Stardust Ghosts to behave erratically in response to consuming the Manbavaran mushrooms.
==Plot==
===Background===
Neby is a unique Smart Crystal because unlike others like her, being an amalgamation of two things; a fragment of Luna Nova's Yggdrasil Sprout fashioned into the sentient Yggdrasil Broom to better regulate the flow of magic energy in it, and the namesake Smart Crystal. Sometime prior to Guest Student's fateful arrival, Yggdrasil Broom got separated from its Yggdrasil Sprout and broken. To sustain itself, the surviving essence of Yggdrasil Broom possessed one of Luna Nova's Smart Crystals. While this leads Neby to inherit her other half's powers and memories, neither of them was accessible because its original Seven Broom Stars got destroyed prior to that point.
===Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing===
Neby is given to the Guest Student upon her arrival at Luna Nova by Akko. The Smart Crystal then takes Guest Student on a tour of the academy as she becomes acquainted with Akko's friends and learns about the overflowing of magic there hence why students are encouraged to utilize Bond Magic as they train for the upcoming Stellar Cup to make the professors' role in containing the problem via. Starlink Ritual is much easier. The phenomenon also occasionally opened a rift to the land of the dead from which Stardust Ghosts came out compounding the issue. When Guest Student finally meets Diana, the Cavendish heiress notices how the possible root of the problem, Yggdrasil Sprout, bothers Neby for some reasons, more so because the Smart Crystal's sentience is more human-like compared to the rest of her kind. Nevertheless, Neby is assured by Diana who decides to examine old texts pertaining to Yggdrasil Sprout, particularly the part about the Seven Broom Stars which supposedly appear in times of disaster.
The overflowing of magic within Luna Nova grounds increases every day leading to anomalies occuring there; a sizable portion of Sucy's own inner spiritual realm manifested in the real world, a nearby tree grew into gigantic proportions, and more frequent appearances of Stardust Ghosts. Neby believes this will spark bigger disasters such as disastrous outbreaks of magical beasts and harmful seismic activities, especially considering the ongoing magic power build-up happens to be in the largest concentration ever recorded in history hence stressing everyone to do their part in containing it.
To Neby's chagrin, Sucy begins to mess with Stardust Ghosts by feeding them some of her mushrooms. In response to this, she, Guest Student, and Sucy had to banish them back to the afterlife before they could cause major problems to Luna Nova. Afterward, Lotte, who joined them in such an endeavor, reprimands Sucy not to pull such a stunt again, though Neby is skeptical whether the Manbavaran will keep her word upon her interest with the possibility of mushroom-shaped ghosts emerging from the same rift Stardust Ghosts emerged to the land of the living.
Later that night, a pillar of magic energy surge erupted between the main building and New Moon Tower, which gets bigger despite Guest Student, Akko, and Lotte's efforts to contain it. For some reason, Neby has foreseen this but is unable to discern why. It is when Diana shows up to inform her friends that she has deciphered the contents of an ancient tome pertaining to Yggdrasil sprout, hoping that her discovery will help them understand their current situation.
As they get close to the magic energy pillar, Diana reveals the existence of seven special Broom Stars which serve as the key to solving their current predicament, though she has yet to figure out their whereabouts. The Cavendish nevertheless adds that a new Star can be forged by two witches who fly together via. Bond Magic and gain each other's trust while doing so. Although Diana and Guest Student attempt to create theirs to prove it fails, they successfully subdue the magic energy surge for the time being. The progress they made further confuses Neby as it doesn't help her struggle to remember important things that have something to do with their current crisis.
Not long after the eventful Stellar Cup, the sky turns red as the pillar of magic energy surge returns stronger than ever. At this point though, Guest Student and co. have acquired all seven Seven Broom Stars of Yggdrasil Broom required to stop the calamity, which leaves Yggdrasil Broom itself. The Stars' presence triggers an unforeseen miracle where they combine with Neby on their own, restoring her true Yggdrasil Broom form at last. With her memories restored, she reveals her origins to Guest Student and co.. With no time to lose, Guest Student takes off with Neby as her broom along with her friends to stop the ongoing cataclysm.
But the magic surge is too great for everyone to enter. Unwilling to risk her friends, Neby resolves to cease the calamity in the only way she knows how; flying straight into the heart of the vortex in order to restore the flow of magic in Luna Nova back to normal right from within Yggdrasil Sprout itself at the risk of her well-being. Bidding Guest Student and Co. farewell, Neby proceeded to sacrifice herself. As she does, Neby expresses her desire to fly alongside her friend a bit more over the clouds and beyond deep down along with understanding what it felt like bonding with others through their time together.
As everyone mourns Neby's apparent death in the aftermath of the now averted disaster, there's still hope for the dedicated Smart Crystal; Guest Student's bracelet shines as it manifests the 8th Broom Star — a Broom Star born from her friendship with Neby and the one nobody foresee to come to existence. Remembering Neby's final thoughts, Guest Student expresses her desire to see Neby once again, leading it to merge with the cracked Smart Crystal, restoring their dear friend back to life. Delighted that she has been given a second chance, Neby acknowledges that she still has some work to do as a fully dedicated Smart Crystal.
At the end of the game, Neby and Guest Student join Akko and co. as they take pictures together.
==Powers and Abilities==
As a Smart Crystal, Neby displays considerable knowledge about things pertaining to Luna Nova which allows her to carry her purpose as her designated partner's guide to its fullest. This includes Flight Magic and Bond Magic spells taught at the academy. She can also teleport.
Due to being bonded with Yggdrasil Broom utilized to regulate the flow of magic in Luna Nova's Yggdrasil Sprout, Neby's sentience became heightened to the point of being able to behave truly like a human being. She can even transform between her Smart Crystal and Yggdrasil Broom forms at will once attaining all of its Broom Stars. At the end of the game, however, Neby can no longer assume her broom form but still retains her improved sentience.
==Gallery==
Yggdrasil Broom Render LWA VR.png
Guest Student and co. in a picture together.jpg
Guest Student and co. in a picture together alternate hairstyle 1.jpg
Guest Student and co. in a picture together alternate hairstyle 3.jpg
Guest Student and co. in a picture together alternate hairstyle DLC.jpg
Guest Student and co. in a picture together alternate Snow Witch.jpg
==References==
Category:Little Witch Academia: VR Broom Racing
Category:Characters