The Aetherium Mage

Chapters

Prologue
Strange Place to Wake Up
Magic
Explaining the Dawn Era
Magic, Part II
Magic, Part III
Dinner
Dreams
The Second Morning
Equilibrium
Awakening
The Race
Cadence Arrives
Cadence Goes Around and Feelings Abound
Nightmare Revealed
Getting Certified
Certified Healer
Canterlot
An Interrupted Day
Return to Canterlot
A Lie Revealed
How to Court Your Alicorn
Brewing Romance
Misunderstanding
A Deeper Understanding
A Day with Luna
Trouble in the North
Coltsdale
Defending Coltsdale
Unexpected Resolution
Back Home
The Date

Prologue

The young man coughed once, hard, the rough and vicious movement shaking free a small splatter of blood from his lungs and into his closed hand. Shakingly reaching over to a small table to his right, he pulled a tissue out of a half-empty tissue box, which he used to clean his hand before dropping it in a trashcan to his left. His gaze drifted around the room he was in, taking in every inch of it for what must have been the fortieth time. Stark white walls met a stark white roof, mirrored by a stark white tile floor, with a single window allowing sunlight to stream into the room, though it fed no plant, only the sick. A single, brown oak door led out of the room and into the hallway of the hospital he was in, whichever one it was now. The man was moved around so much that there was just no way he could remember which he was in at the moment, nor could he promise he would still be there within the month.

The heart monitor- EKG?- beeped steadily from farther over to his left, the screen turned just enough that he couldn’t see his own vitals. Three other machines sat silently next to it, each measuring something different in his system, though he knew not what. A small TV flickered images across it, though he paid it no mind. It was near muted, there only to drown out the incessant beeping and provide ambient noise. The man shifted slowly in his bed, a sharp spike of pain driving through his side as he did. The bed was stainless steel, like every other hospital he had been in, and was covered in stark white sheets, a stark white blanket, and he was even given three stark white pillows. No doubt the nurses pitied him.

He hated that. Pity. Even the word itself inspired the feeling within him. So what if his various bodily systems were FUBAR? People died all the time, he himself had outlived his grand-everything. His father had passed away some decade and a half ago as well, his aunts and uncles were who-knows-were and possibly dead from various drugs- though he had last heard one of his aunts had been through rehab, gotten a job, and moved on- and he didn’t know most of his cousins. His mother and step-father had grown unable to watch as he slowly withered away and couldn’t visit, a fact compounded by the fact that he kept being moved to hospitals farther and farther away from home, where they weren’t able to make it to him.

Ranting aside, the man utterly despised pity. Sympathy or empathy? Sure, but not pity. Actually trying to help rather than just offer condolences? Well, help doesn’t exist in his condition but he would appreciate the effort. There was something about that sad, resigned look that just irritated him far more than any pain he was in. There was nothing in that look that actually helped, that tried to make things better; there wasn’t even understanding.

Sighing to himself in his empty room, he weakly grabbed his phone from the table, tapping the screen twice to cut it on. It was an old thing, an LG VS425 if that meant anything, that could store about four gigabytes in a time when most phones could hold a thousand times that. He didn’t care. It could hold the few idle games he had, the sixty or so songs he regularly listened to, and the two and a half thousand downloaded My Little Pony fanfiction he had read, categorized, and then subsequently reread.

The man was many things; a gamer, a scientist, an Atheist, a nerd, but above all, he was a brony. That was one thing that had not changed since he was nine, when the show first came out. Sixteen years, from nine to twenty-five, ponies had been his constant companions. The show, and the characters, felt more like a friend than anything at this point. Through the death of his father, the loss of various friends and girlfriends, and as he got older, the struggle to fight his strange disease was accompanied by the knowledge that he could always retreat from his world via the books on his phone.

Loading the app he used to read .epub files, the app automatically launched the most recently opened book, a cheery, heartfelt, cheesy little romance entitled How to Court Alicorns: A Human’s Guide. Those cheesy romances, he found himself drawn to more often than the action-adventure stories that permeated the fanfiction world. With a small smile on his face, he lost himself to the story, loving the way the characters were portrayed from the start.

Time passed as he descended himself into the book, chapter after chapter flying by over the course of four hours. Sounds were easily heard from outside the door as people walked up and down the hall; families visiting loved ones or nurses taking certain medicine to certain patients. Sometimes, his hearing barely caught the sound of a passerby crying, but nothing registered, lost in the book as he was. It was this distraction that allowed his door to open and four people to walk in without his noticing. They took their seats at chairs around the room and patiently waited for him to look up.

Near a half-hour passed before the man felt a hand on his shoulder. Snapping his head up to look caused him to wince, his hand coming up to rub at his neck. A couple laughs greeted his reaction, the person touching him smiling softly. The man just grinned. “Hey, Ter.”

“How are you today, Ash?” She asked, a slightly worried look on her face. He didn’t sound very bad. She knew he was weak and tired, but his voice was still strong and deep like always. That was a good sign.

Ash sighed, sounding so tired even to himself. “I have news for you, and it’s not good.”

The others crowded around the bed as Ash’s gaze drifted across them. Taytum, Chandler, Jonathan, and Terra. The four people that Ash had kept close over the years. They had been the old friends that accepted everything about him without question, but with plenty of jokes. They were the ones he had kept, slowly dismissing all others. They were the ones who made sure to visit him in any hospital, even with his own parents wouldn’t.

“Things aren’t looking good. The doctors have finally outright told me that there’s no cure for my condition currently.” Ash said simply, not bothering dancing around the subject with those he knew could take the news.

“We knew that, Ash.” Chandler said. “Even if they never told us. There’s something worse than that.”

“Aye.” The man replied. “There’s no cure. There’s also no treatment. I’ve been passed around doctor-to-doctor for the last three years because they hoped that someone would stumble on an answer. I was told that some of the things tried only made it worse, progressing the disease further.”

The room was silent for a moment. None of them felt pity for him, something he made sure they would never do. Taytum’s bruise had healed only a few months ago from that little display. No, no pity was felt. After a moment, Terra spoke up. “What happens now?”

Ash just sighed, leaning back in his bed, Terra’s hand slipping off his shoulder as he did. “I’ve told the doctors to stop. No medicine, no morphine, no melatonin, nothing. I told them that, should I go into cardiac arrest again, don’t try to save me. I live or die under my own power, not the power of machinery.”

Terra’s eyes closed, forcing the forming tears to fade as the others nodded. Of the five, she was the most openly-emotional one. Ash had no doubt that he and the others had cried over his condition- by the God he didn’t believe in, did Ash cry and rage throughout the first year- but only Terra did it in front of others. Reaching out slowly, he grasped her hand and smiled at her, though she couldn’t see it. Slowly pulling, he wrapped an arm around her once she was close enough. As he held her, he allowed his mind to drift through possibilities. Maybe in another time, had Terra been a few years older or he a few younger, they might have been involved, but it wasn’t to be. She was twelve and he fifteen when they first met, so they developed a more familial relationship. Ash didn’t regret it whatsoever, Terra was a wonderful person he was happy to be a brother to. He had to admit that he was closer to her than his other friends, though they all knew every secret about each other. They knew it too, shown by the fact that he received a nod and gesture from Taytum before they left, closing the door behind them and giving him and Terra space and privacy.

After a short while, Terra forced herself to choke out the question on her mind. “H-how long?”

“Two days? Five? Thirty? We don’t know, really. The doctors are amazed my heart is still beating with how many times I’ve been brought back from the brink. They don’t know how much longer it’ll beat without any medicine or help, though, so they can’t say. A couple of the doctors in one of the other hospitals, Lady of the Lake, I think, believe that I won’t even die from this- that I’m too stubborn.” Ash said honestly.

Terra let out a short bark of a laugh through her tears, her eyes still tightly shut, before she asked him what he considered a frankly stupid question, not that he would tell her that. “Are you ready to die?”

Ash just scoffed. “Hell no, I’ve got too many pony books to read.”

He allowed himself to smile, hearing her soft laugh, before he continued. “In all honestly, I kinda am. I mean, if I had a way to survive this, I’d take it, but it’s not to be. Since my death is practically guaranteed at this point, I’m ready for it. I don’t believe in prolonging my suffering, but I’m certainly not eager to die.”

“I meant...after.” Terra said, making him sigh. Of the five, she was also the only believer among them. Maybe that’s why she was so nice and the rest of them were pessimistic assholes. Compared to the guys, Terra didn’t have a mean bone in her body. “After all, an ass like you doesn’t have much to look forward to.”

‘Compared to the guys’ being the keyphrase. Ash laughed loudly, even though it hurt to do so, at her words. He knew she didn’t really mean it. Maybe Ash was going to Hell, maybe Heaven, maybe the nothingness void that he believed awaited him. “You know I don’t believe in any of that.”

“I know. But I do.” Terra said. “Do me a favor, Ash? Pray. Pray and thank every good thing you’ve ever had. Thank your friends. Give thanks.”

“Terra, if God is real, I’m damned to Hell just for not believing.” Ash said tiredly.

“I don’t believe that.” Terra said firmly. “Being Atheist doesn’t matter. God doesn’t require you to believe in Him. God requires faith. Not in Him, but in humanity. In the Love. In the Kind. In the Just. In the Honorable. In all things Good. In Life.”

“You are the strangest Christian I’ve ever met.” Ash said softly, cracking a smile, which she returned.

“I know. I don’t think anyone else shares my belief, but I don’t care.” Terra stood slowly, leaning down to hug him again. “Don’t pray to God and don’t thank God. Pray to the world and thank it for what you have. Visiting hours are ending. We got here late and have to go, Ash. We’ll be back tomorrow, okay?”

“Okay.” Ash replied with a smile. “I love you, sis.”

“Love you too, bro.” Terra replied with a smile, walking out of the room slowly. It was clear to him that she didn’t want to leave, but had to. The door clicked closed, the noise sounding out with finality. Ash didn’t want to think about what that might be hinting at.

Grabbing his phone from his side, he tapped it twice again and resumed reading, the story having caught his attention long ago.

Four Hours Later

Ash set his phone down on the table, the final words of the final chapter drifting through his mind. It had been an adorable story that he loved, sparking a long-familiar feeling of longing within him. Perhaps he preferred romance stories because he himself lacked a partner? Whatever the reason, he did not doubt that it was his favorite genre. Pulling the covers up and over his shoulders, he rolled over onto his side and closed his eyes. He wasn’t going to sleep though, not just yet.

Thank you for every true friend I have. Thank you for every hour I was able to spend with them. Thank you for my mother. Thank you for my father. Thank you for allowing my mother to find my stepfather. Thank you for giving me a love of reading. Thank you for giving me a love of science. Thank you for every year I’ve had…

The list when on and on, slowly getting more detailed as he thanked the world for smaller and smaller things. Tiny things that he had taken for granted for years were thanked, things that were a guarantee in the modern world were thanked. As he thought to himself, Ash felt himself tear up slightly, small droplets of water rolling down his face and into his pillow. He paid them no mind. It wasn’t until two hours had passed that he finally expended his list. Once he had started, the act of thanking the world had felt so good that he couldn’t stop himself. Struck by a thought created by what Terra had said as she left, he added six more things to his thanks.

Thank you for the Love in my life. Thank you for the Kindness in my life. Thank you for the Justice in my life. Thank you for the Honor in my life. Thank you for the Good in my life. Thank you for my Life.

Finished and with nothing more to add, Ash allowed himself to begin to drift off to sleep. His sleep did not last long, descending into something else as flashes of images, phrases of songs, and lines of books faded in and out. Scenes of romance danced through his mind next to scenes of betrayal; kindness next to evil. Behind it all, vaguely in the distance, Ash could hear talking.

“-cardiac arrest, not to be defibr-”

This is gospel for the fallen ones, locked away in permanent slumber.

“-his final wish, we can’t go agai-

...but will you go out on a date with me? Please?

“-duty as a doctor to save this man!-”

You look exotic...and stunning. And yes, I’m frightened, but not of you, not of my Chrissy.

“-specific. Not to be revived by any means. He even signe-”

You roll your diamond dice and you send us all to die in your Pegasus Device!

“-let him go. It’s his final wish.”

She doesn’t love you. All’s she feels is fear! I can love you! I can...love...yo-

“Time of death: 3:04 AM.”

Time to awaken, Ashephyles.

In Another Place and Time

Ash’s mouth snapped open with a gasp, a feeling of intense heat and relaxing cold overtaking him as his sense returned suddenly. The air was filled with the burning scent of sulfur and the myriad of fragrances of a flower field. The ground was hot and felt cracked, yet flowers brushed against his bare arms, back, and chest as he lied sprawled out on the ground, clad only in his pants. Wind flowed over his form, cooling the heat while keeping him at just the perfect temperature. He could hear the field rustle as the wind flowed through the grass and flowers, countless plants brushing against each other. In the distance, he could hear the crackle of fires and popping of magma. He could hear echoing songs being sung around him, the source too far to make out the words. Above all, he could hear someone humming to themselves from several feet away.

Finally opening his eyes, he was greeted by a ring of flowers around his head, above which golden light shone down on him. Moving slowly, he realized the ring of flowers were just incredibly tall flowers around his body, reaching up to the sky. With his movement came no spark of pain like he expected. Instead, he felt healthier than ever. Rising into a sitting position, he looked down to the ground and saw that it looked like baked clay, cracked in countless places, and red light filtered through the cracks, giving off the heat. Slowly standing, he found that the flowers, clad in a multitude of colors that he couldn’t even begin to name, were taller than his six foot two frame, making him wonder just where the fuck was he?

Turning to his left, he slowly started walking, his arms pushing the large flower stalks aside as he followed the sound of the humming. The songs touched at his hearing, singing of praise and of glory, yet the words could not be remembered. As he grew closer to the source of the humming, the songs grew louder. Finally, when he guessed the person was just a few feet in front of him, yet the flowers were still too think to see through, he heard them speak. The man’s voice was clearly old and sounded wise, yet also mischievous. It was deep, yet also soft. It carried confidence, yet also a tinge of curiosity. It was the voice of someone who knew exactly who he was and what he was doing, yet wanted to see if things would go differently. “Come, Ashephyles, join my side.”

“Kudos to you, first in a long while to pronounce my name right.” Ash said, pushing aside the final barrier of flowers and found himself at a cliff edge. A little to his right was no doubt the man who had been humming. He didn’t look very old, maybe thirty. His eyes were multicolored in shades of red, purple, yellow, green, and white. The colors faded and blended around his eyes, strangely looking like they were shifting. Looking over the man, Ash saw that he was wearing a black tuxedo, complete with tie, undershirt, shoes, belt, and jacket. He even had a hat.

“Do you know who I am? Where you are?” The man asked. When he received a shake of Ash’s head, he gestured down off the cliff, then up at the sky. “Look and guess.”

Looking down at the cliff base, he could only see fire. Fire and magma, the two sounds he had heard earlier. Trees, towns, and whole cities were burning down there, yet refused to collapse fully. Small dark shapes scampered over houses and around cars, though they made no sound. Looking up, he could see a city in the clouds. It was the source of the singing. Thousands of voices joined together in a symphony of joy and love that echoed over the plains and down into the cliff base, teasing whatever was down there with a hint at joy. Slowly turning his gaze back to the now-smiling man, Ash frowned. “Fucking damnit.”

The man just laughed. “That’s not an answer.”

“You’re God, that’s Hell down there, and that’s Heaven up there.”

“A shred of each.” The man confirmed. “I can’t truly show you Heaven or Hell without you being truly sent to one place or another. I can only give you a hint.”

“‘Can’t?’” Ash asked.

“Even I have rules I must follow.” God said. “Granted, I made them myself, but I enforce them very strictly.”

“So why am I here?” Ash asked, slightly irritated. “Well, why are you here? I’m here because I’m dead.”

“I personally greet every new arrival, whether they go to Heaven, Hell, or are undecided. I’m currently greeting well over two hundred thousand people right now.” The man answered. “Though I’ll admit that I’ve taken an interest in you. Most everyone give thanks for what they have but not quite the way you have. They thank me for giving it to them. They don’t thank the world itself.”

“Thank my sister.” Ash said with a tinge of amusement, not quite sure why he was taking this so easily. Maybe it had something to do with being dead? “I wouldn’t have done it if she didn’t ask me to.”

“Either way.” God dismissed. “I wanted to ask you a few questions.”

“Can’t stop you.”

“Do you regret all the lying you’ve done?”

The unexpected question threw Ash off guard, making him raise an eyebrow to the man, who just stared back as he waited for an answer. Turning his attention inward, he thought the question over. Ash did regret a lot of the lies he’s said over the years, particularly when he was younger. But he couldn’t say he regretted all the lying. Some of it spared others, even if they never learned it or did learn and came to hate him. Having his answer, Ash replied. “No. I regret some of what I’ve lied about, especially when I was younger, but I can’t say I regret it all.”

God nodded as if he expected the answer. Thinking it over, he probably did. Omniscient and all that. “What about the stealing when you were younger?”

“Yes.” Ash said instantly. “I never stole for a good reason, like trying not to starve. I was just an asshole who wanted what he didn’t have. I most certainly regret it.”

He nodded again. “And the general sinning?”

“The what?

“Swearing, general rudeness, the like. Small stuff.”

“No. Well, maybe the rudeness, but not the swearing. Swears are just words, after all.” Ash replied.

God started humming again, clearly thinking something over as his gaze drifted from Heaven to Hell and back again. Something was on his mind- actually, a lot of somethings was probably on his mind- and he was considering his options. After a few minutes of silence, Ash started to try to memorize the layout of Hell, or at least the city he could see. He wasn’t sure how it worked and didn’t know if he would be trapped somewhere, or free to run as demons chased him down. Ash was sure he was going down, so he wanted to have the advantage of knowing the layout slightly when it came to running from things that wanted to nibble at him. After several more minutes, God spoke up. “What about the ponies? You’re a bit more interested in them than most. Some would say that alone is a sin.”

“I don’t regret that.” Ash said firmly.

“Even though you thought of them in a romantic and sometimes sexual way?”

“Yes.”

God nodded once more and Ash had enough.

“Why are you asking me this? You already know the answer and what I will say.”

“Free will.” The man answered. “I know the answer, yes, and I know what you are most likely to say, but you have free will. You can say something I won’t expect. I don’t know if you’ll lie to me.”

“So it was a test.”

“Yes.”

Ash just groaned, making God crack a smile. “I have a proposition.”

“Oh?”

“I can tell you right now that Heaven and Hell don’t work the way you expect. Everyone spends some time in Hell, depending on how bad they were, before being allowed into Heaven. You’ll go to Hell for a while, won’t say how long, before being allowed into Heaven for the rest of eternity until Hell literally freezes over.”

“Propositions usually have an ‘or.’” Ash replied.

“Or you go to Equestria.” God said simply.

Ash froze as shock hit him. The offer was slipped out so bluntly that he didn’t know how to react. He wasn’t even sure if this was real and not a last minute hallucination done by a dying brain. After a moment of debate, he decided to act like it was real. There was something off about the offer. Ash doubted God would just send a person to Equestria, not without a higher plan. If he did that for everyone who wanted to go, the world would soon have more humans than other species. No, there either had to be more than one Equestria or God only made this offer to him. Or both.

If God was making this offer to only him, then that meant that there was definitely a higher reasoning. He wanted something. Ash needed to know. “What’s the catch? There’s got to be a higher reasoning than just ‘because I like the idea.’”

“There is.” He replied with a nod. “There are other deities than me, and you could say that we started a game quite some time ago. They already got their players ready. Now it’s my turn. I’ve chosen you as my player.”

“What’s the game?” Ash asked, annoyed at being nothing more than a toy, even if he had always believed that if God existed, that’s exactly what he would be.

“Can’t say. It’s against the rules. The players have to figure it out themselves. I can only confirm or deny suspicions.” He replied.

Ash thought it over before groaning. “It’s a free-for-all, isn’t it?”

“It is, somewhat.” God answered with a smirk. “Gather your allies, grow your power, and make your moves against the enemy. Last one left wins.”

“Equestria won’t survive humans going to war.” Ash muttered.

“Different Equestrias. Every player starts off in their own. Entirely random.” The man replied.

The human just sighed. “So I’m supposed to grow my power? How? I have no powers!”

“Yet. General rule is that any power I give you has to be from a game or book or movie.” The deity explained.

“Goddamn Displaced!” Ash yelled aloud. “Motherfucker!”

God just laughed. “Yes, though the ‘Merchant’ isn’t the only deity putting his players in the game. Generally speaking, it’s the Merchant’s Displaced against everyone else, though that’s not entirely accurate.”

“How do I know you aren’t the Merchant and not actually God and that this,” here he waved his hand toward Heaven and Hell. “isn’t just a ruse?”

“You don’t.” God said. “Maybe God doesn’t exist and I’m the Merchant in disguise, maybe God is the Merchant. Maybe I’m telling you there are other people like you but you are actually going to be the only one. Maybe the Displaced don’t exist. You don’t know. True be told, I can’t promise you that the Displaced actually exist. I can’t promise you that I’m not lying to you. The question is, are you going to accept my second option? You get to choose what power, too, rather than just being sent suddenly, like the people who may or may not exist.”

“Of course you pick the one guy who never watched any kind of anime or show where the people had powers.” Ash groaned.

God nodded. “You did always love watching the science channel. Maybe a bit too much. Anyway, games too, remember?”

“Fuck.” Ash groaned out again. “I didn’t play many video games, either. Those I did were usually games like Battlefield and Call of Duty.”

“You don’t have very much options, then.” God replied with a smirk. “Maybe a book?”

“I don’t know the ancient language from Eragon, and I’m not a demigod like Percy.” Ash grumbled. “Lord of the Rings magic wasn’t quite as useful as I would want for something like this.”

God just hummed. “Perhaps this is why others don’t get a choice. They take too long to decide.”

“I’m thinking!” Ash insisted. “Only one franchise or several?”

“Three, max.” God replied, with a hint of a smirk. He knew damn well that Ash didn't know three franchises well. “For each you don’t use, you get a random blessing I won’t explain.”

Ash thought it over, thinking of all the books he read- most of which were, ironically enough, My Little Pony fanfiction, all the games he had read, and all the shows he had watched. He had very few options. Ash groaned. “Skyrim magic, most definitely. It’s the only thing that I’m really familiar with.”

“I’ll include alchemy.” God said. “And everything else, really. You might be able to find all the metals, plants, and other materials throughout the world. I'll give you a guide and nothing else. You’ll have to figure out the rest.”

“Please don’t tell me I’ll level up.” Ash pleaded. “That’s too much.”

“I’m not saying.” God replied with amusement. “You’ll have to figure it out as you go along. I will tell you that it’ll be very different from playing a video game.”

Ash sighed “Thank god.”

“You’re welcome.”

“I wasn’t...er...nevermind.” Ash said.

“Next.” God said. “Two more.”

“Er… I don’t think I know anything else?” Ash replied sheepishly.

“You know plenty.”

“Yes, I know of Dragon Ball, Naruto, Dark Souls, Bloodborne, Avatar, Prototype, Harry Potter, Eragon, Percy Jackson, and so much more! But I don’t know enough to be able to wield any of the abilities. Perhaps you would be able to give me the knowledge?”

“No.” The deity replied.

“Didn’t think so. Yeah, I don’t think I know anything else.” The man said.

“Two blessings, then. You won’t know what they are or when you get them. I’ll give them to you when I decide to. Understand?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“I’m going to send you to an Equestria. It’s entirely random, but most likely attuned to your new abilities. That's how this works, isn't it? Be careful and try not to die because not even I know what you’re going to get while you’re there.” God said.

“Understood.”

“Good luck.”

“Thanks, I guess.”

Ashephyles’ vision faded into white as his hearing, smell, and touch faded away. Mere moments before he blacked out, a single thought went through his mind. Goddamnit all to hell and back. This is going to be strange.

Though he couldn’t hear it, God chuckled. “Most definitely, Ash.”

Author's Note

This is my first, and possibly only, attempt at a Displaced fic. I know a lot of Displaced writers like to do crossovers once their character sends the token into the void, and I intend to do that, just not soon... If there's any Displaced writers left alive. In any case, this idea hit me one night and I started writing on it. I've written four chapters already with several others planned, but I intend to write a chapter for Daedalus' New World after I post this.

As always, feel free to tell me how you feel! Not much really happened this chapter plot-wise except Ash's death, so leave a comment describing how you feel about the scene with the deity.

Strange Place to Wake Up

Ashephyles’ senses slowly came back to him as he awoke. The first thing he became aware of was the agony lancing through his body. His back, ribs, and left arm were in rather severe pain, though he didn’t think anything was broken. He became aware of the fact that he was shirtless when the pain slowly faded, replaced by a chill from whatever he was lying on. When the pain faded from searing agony to a dull throb, he focused instead on his hearing, picking up the sounds of hushed murmuring and sharp clacks from around his position, though he wasn’t sure what they were or where he was at.

Ash then felt something warm and slightly wet press against his chest before moving up and down a little. The warm thing pulled away, then came back and touched him again. It happened twice more before Ash realized that whatever it was was poking him, looking to get some form of reaction from him. The man groaned and opened his bleary eyes, which focused moments later. The sight that greeted him made him freeze. A very familiar large white pony stood over him, gently poking his chest with her muzzle, which was surprisingly warm. When Ash groaned, her large magenta eyes flickered up to meet his as she froze as well. The two stared at each other, Ash in shock, disbelief, and amazement, while Celestia stared at him in surprise, concern, and wariness. After a moment, Celestia recoiled with a loud squeak, her hooves scraping on the floor to get away from him. “It- It’s alive!”

More clacking sounded out as he was quickly surrounded, a multitude of white coated, blue maned ponies forming a large circle around him as spears were leveled keeping him still. However, before any of them could do anything, Celestia called out to the guards. “Wait, don’t hurt it! It didn’t do anything!”

“Your Majesty, it appeared in the throne room via a large burst of white light. Evidence is pointing to this being an assassination attempt.” One of the guards, who he didn’t recognize, said in reply.

“My head was right next to it for several moments, yet it made no aggressive moves against me! It looks injured, or at least disoriented! It is entirely unarmed, even from natural weapons such as claws! All evidence points to this creature being sent here on accident!” Celestia retorted. “I am ordering you to lower your weapons and back away from it.”

While the guards complied, Ash was busy with staring in shock at Celestia. For well over a decade, Ash had read descriptions of what Celestia looked like. The simplest said she was white with a multicolored mane and magenta eyes. The most elaborate went on about her majesty, a regal and motherly aura, and divine presence that surrounded her very existence. It all paled in comparison to what stood before Ash. Her coat was the purest of whites, so natural and radiant that he would know she was the Lady of the Sun even if he had never seen or heard of her before. Her mane, shining with pastel colors, several of which he couldn’t even begin to identify, flowed through the air as it cascaded down her shoulders and to her left. Her tail, colored identically to her mane, drifted out behind her and swayed softly. There was no wind for it to wave on, she simply didn’t need it. Her mane swayed through sheer magical power alone.

Her magenta eyes shone with such open emotion that Ash doubted she could ever lie to anyone. Just one look into those bright eyes told him exactly what she was feeling. She was curious, and nervous, and excited, and even a little scared, but she still managed to walk over to him and give him a nervous smile, hoping the last of hostility would prevent him from being hostile. When she neared, a feeling of such warmth and comfort flowed over him, dulling every last vestige of pain he felt and washing away the worries of what was going to happen. When she spoke up, her voice was angelic, radiating with such kindness that it made his muscles shake in weakness. “Can you understand me?”

Ash opened his mouth to speak as he sat up only to croak out the barest shred of sound before descending into a powerful coughing fit, the dry and nasty sound making even the stoic royal guards flinch in concern. Celestia herself immediately overcame her worry and darted over to his side, gently nudging him with her muzzle while one of her incredibly soft wings thudded across his back, trying in vain to clear his coughing. “Quick, get it some water! It tried to speak!”

Hooves scrambled across marble floors as several ponies rushed to carry out the Princess’ order. However, a short pop of energy beat them all to the punch, a large pitcher of crystal clear water floating over to him, wrapped in a dark blue aura. He gratefully took it and began to drink the cold liquid, being careful not to spill any on the marble floors. After several long moments of tense silence, Ash set the pitcher- now half empty- down and turned his attention back to the curious Celestia. “Can you understand me?”

“Y-yeah.” Ash croaked out, his voice still dry. Celestia jerked her head back as if she didn’t expect him to answer, then came back to him.

“What’s your name?” Celestia asked. “I’m Princess Celestia of Equestria.”

“Ashe-” Ash started, then stopped as he coughed again, unable to pronounce his own name with his dry throat. “Ash. Call me Ash.”

“Very well, Mr. Ash.” Celestia replied with a nervous flap of her wings, hoping that she got his gender right.

“Just Ash, Your Majesty. No need for formalities.” The human replied.

Celestia’s muzzle broke out into a wide smile as she gazed at him. “In that case, just call me Celestia. No need for formalities, after all. We have more pressing matters than tedious niceties.”

When he nodded, she raised her voice and looked around the room. “Guards! Dismissed! Leave the room and ensure word of Ash does not spread outside of the castle.”

Several guards moved to voice their dissent, only to be halted as Celestia continued. “That’s an order.”

With much grumbling, the guards left the throne room, the massive stone doors shutting with a resounding boom. Before Ash could say anything, a powerful voice spoke from his side. “So you are intelligent. That is most fortuitous.”

Turning his gaze toward who he just knew was Princess Luna, he paused as his eyes widened. The Luna standing before him was very familiar in almost every sense of the word. Her soft blue eyes reached into his soul and failed to find fault within him, sparking a small smile to form on her muzzle, revealing clean, white, and flat teeth that almost seemed to reflect the light of the room. Her wings twitched on her back, curiosity permeating her facial features even as her presence cooled his body of the warmth Celestia inspired. Her mane, structured as an ever-changing night sky, called out to his stargazing passion, making him want to get lost within the flickering lights. Her coat was such an honest blue and looked so very soft that Ash just wanted to lean against her and fall asleep, though he knew that would be a very stupid and rude thing to do. Ash could almost say that the blue of her coat was unbroken by anything else. Almost.

“Freckles?” Ash asked himself softly, almost as an afterthought, for indeed did this Luna have freckles. Scattered around her entire coat were black spots that seemed the equine version of freckles, though significantly more obvious than any human’s freckles would ever be. Below her eyes and across her muzzle, small dots of various sizes were splattered across her coat, trailing from behind her eyes and up to ears which were perked at hearing him speak. A soft blush overcame her muzzle as she heard him speak, clearly embarrassed about her spots. Frankly, Ash thought she looked entirely adorable with her dots and red tinted muzzle.

His eyes drifting over her body, the human could see that her freckles trailed down her neck and chest before streaking across her barrel and flank, then cascading down each of her legs to meet her hooves. The black spots held no true pattern, only a grouping that made sure she looked attractive, rather than like a polka-dotted pony. In fact, the only part of her body without freckles were her wings, which were made of feathers rather than fur.

From his side, he could hear Celestia giggling to herself. “This is my sister, Princess Luna. Luna, this is Ash. Ash, those spots are called ‘dapples.’ Aren’t they adorable?”

Ash nodded slowly, then reached his hand out as an offer to Princess Luna, who took it gingerly as her blush remained burning with intensity. “It’s good to meet you, Princess Luna.”

“Nay, if my sister allows you to call her by her name, then you may do the same to us.” Luna said firmly.

“Then it’s good to meet you, Luna.” Ash corrected himself.

“It’s good to meet you, Ash.” Luna replied, a shy smile gracing her muzzle.

“Ash, I’m going to teleport all of us now, okay?” Celestia said from his side, her horn already alighting in a golden glow of energy.

“Okay. Thanks for the warning.” Ash replied.

With a flash of golden light, the trio vanished. Moments later, in another part of the castle, they reappeared. Ash took the chance to examine the room, something he failed to do in the throne room. It seemed to be a study. Dark oak walls contrasted nicely with the marble floor and ceiling, while various large red cushions were scattered around the room next to low-lying tables. A fireplace crackled against one wall, the oak walls giving away to marble to prevent a fire. The man felt a nudge on his back, looking over his shoulder to see Celestia gently pushing him toward one table. Taking the hint, he walked over and sat down, quickly joined by both Princesses. With a flash of dark blue energy, another pitcher of water appeared, followed soon by three large cups that were quickly filled.

Celestia gazed at him curiously, interest shining clear in her eyes. Luna looked at him intently as well, though her blush had now faded. These versions of Celestia and Luna were, as God had warned him, drastically different than what he expected. From first glance, they seemed rather innocent, always cheerful, and entirely trusting of even strangers. In truth, it was in complete contradiction to the temporary imprisonment he was expecting. For God’s sake, they didn’t even make sure he wasn’t a threat before dismissing their guards! Obvious flaws aside, if his assessment turned out to be true, he would be rather happy with this world, even if only because the ponies were incredibly friendly.

Of course, it could also be a ploy for him to lower his guard. If an enemy thought Equestria was weak, defenseless, and all around soft, the hypothetical enemy wouldn’t plan for a powerful country with godlike rulers. If that was the case, he had to admit that the two Alicorns were playing their parts perfectly.

Pulled out of his thoughts by Celestia speaking, he turned his attention to her in time to catch her question. “When I asked you your name, you almost said something else before saying ‘Ash.’ What’s your real name?”

“Ashephyles.” Ash said, saying it correctly. “My throat was too dry to say it right, so I just said my nickname.”

“Asefyleses?” Luna twisted her muzzle to say the word, her tongue flicking out one time in an entertaining fashion as she struggled to pronounce the name that Ash swore his parents made up on the spot.

“A-chef-ill-ease.” Ash corrected, amused. He made sure to pronounce his name slowly to try to help her say it. Praise the God-that-he-now-knows-is-real above that his parents couldn’t give him a simple, normal name.

Luna just huffed. “Ash.”

“That works too.” He said with a smile, which she returned. When Ash turned his attention to Celestia, she just grinned.

“I’ll stick to Ash, thank you very much. I doubt anypony here will have the ability to say your name.”

“It doesn’t bother me. I know most won’t be able to say it easily, not without getting used to it, so I just shortened it to ‘Ash.’” The human replied.

Celestia nodded in reply. “Where do you come from?”

Ash was struck by a sudden confliction. Tell Celestia and Luna the whole truth, a partial truth, or no truth? If he told her that he was from another world, had died, and made a deal with a deity, there was simple no telling how she would react. Even as soft and kind as she seemed, Ash did not doubt she had the capacity for violence. While he severely doubted such a reaction, it was a possibility. Option number one had the most immediate risk, yet long-term safety should the worst not come to pass.

Option number two was a bit of a balanced solution. If he told them that he was from another world, they would be naturally curious. Should they ask how he arrived in Equestria, he could lie and say he wasn’t quite sure. He could also omit the fact that he died. If his lie was discovered, it could create a small bit of distrust later down the line due to him keeping secrets. Other than that, there would be no major repercussions.

Option number three was the riskiest long-term but safest at the moment. He could say that he was from a reclusive village, making up a name and culture for it. While it would allow him to make open use of some of his knowledge of Equestria and some of the ponies, if it were discovered, he would be in severe trouble for hiding such an important secret from the Princesses, and it would cause a major rift between him and any he might befriend before then.

He decided to go with a mixture of option one and two. He would tell them about him being from another world and that he died, but would phrase his death in such as way as to make it sound like he believed that was what brought him to Equestria. All in all, Ash had laid out three possible plans, mixed two, and decided his response in less time than it took him to raise his cup and take a sip, feigning preparation for a long conversation. “Truth be told, Celestia, I’m convinced this is not even my own world.”

The shock was immediate and obvious, both mares recoiling slightly as they stared at him in disbelief. Silence reigned for several long moments as they battled their thoughts, the very idea of an otherworldly entity being almost inconceivable for them. In fact, it might have been unimaginable. Ash had no idea if they even had science fiction and the idea of other worlds or aliens. After several long, yet not quite tense moments, Luna was the first to speak, forced to refold her wings after they had twitched themselves out of place. Celestia, on the other hand, was still busy staring at him in fascination, her wings slightly flared out and pressing against Luna’s side. “How do you know?”

“Frankly, it’s because of you two. You are both talking ponies. Where I’m from, ponies aren’t your size, they have neither wings or horn, and they most certainly do not talk. I can’t even say that we are in a part of the world my kind simply haven’t discovered because we’ve discovered everywhere except the bottom of the ocean and we don’t seem underwater.” Ash explained.

“Perhaps we are just in a location your kind overlooked?” Luna asked nervously.

“Tell me, how big is your country? In square miles, please.”

“Around eleven million, why?”

Ash grunted softly as he looked down, quickly doing some math. “Damn near three times the size of the United States. There’s no fucking way we could have overlooked that. That’s a continent in its own right. No, I’m not from this world.”

Looking back up, Ash’s look became one of confusion at the aghast looks he was receiving from both ponies. Both of their ears were folded, with Celestia’s jaw having dropped. Both of them were staring wide-eyed, a fact that made him a little uncomfortable with their massive eyes. The two Alicorns were, quite honestly, staring at him with such horror it seemed as if he had committed an unspeakable crime that would condemn him to the depths of Hell itself. Naturally, Ash had no idea what he did. “What?”

Celestia spluttered for a moment, trying to form a coherent sentence, before she managed to force out a single sentence. “D-Did you just… swear?”

Sweet mother fucking God damn it all to Hell and back again so I can fuck it with a spike.

“You don’t?” Ash asked in disbelief. “Seriously, none at all? Close to everyone swears where I’m from.”

“Nopony swears in Equestria!” Luna cried out, flapping her great blue wings twice. “Seriously! Don’t do that! Ever!”

Swear to fucking God, that asshole planned this as revenge for all of my swearing. Should I have waited until I was eighteen to start swearing? I still think ten is a good age. First year in the double digits.

“Asking me to forget twenty-five years of hearing it and fifteen of doing it, Luna. I can’t promise you jack sh- anything, but I can certainly try.” Ash replied.

“You were going to swear again, weren’t you?” Celestia asked in disappointment, ruffling her wings as she stared at him.

“Da- Yeah, I was.” Ash said, cutting himself off at first.

The two Alicorns sighed. Ash just grinned. “So about me being from another world, what does that mean for me?”

Their enthusiasm returned with a vengeance as they shared a quick glance. WIth a loud pop, the wood table between them vanished in a flash of light. With another flash, the two mares had teleported where the table used to be, putting them less than two feet in front of him. Quite frankly, the wide grins they sported was a little unsettling. The situation only went from strange to bad when Celestia eagerly asked the first question on her mind. “How’d you get here?”

“Not a good story, Celestia. Let’s save that question for later, right?” Ash replied.

But it was not meant to be. Luna frowned slightly as him. “But it is the most important question. Did you arrive here under your own power, or was it a magical accident? Did another being send you here, or perhaps a rift in space? Will there be more of your kind to follow or not? All of these can be answered by how you arrived here.”

“Trust me, Luna, it’s not a good story. You both are rather excited to learn about my world. How I got here will ruin that mood. Let’s start with something else, okay?” By now, the pair of them were clearly becoming concerned and Ash frankly didn’t want to deal with whatever they would do when they learned of his death. Idly, the thought of lying came to his mind again before he dismissed it; he had already decided to tell the truth about his death if it came up in topic. Damned be him if he wouldn’t try to avoid that topic anyway.

“Trust us, Ash. We can take it. Just tell us.” Celestia countered. “The knowledge of how you arrived in our world is of utmost importance.”

The man just sighed and let his head fall back on his neck, gazing up at the ceiling as his eyes closed. Damned be these ponies that don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.

“Very well. I died. I died in a hospital bed and woke up in your throne room. For the past three years, I’ve been slowly dying of a disease that made my immune system, my circulatory system, my respiratory system, my nervous system, my reproductive system, and even my skeletal system FUBAR. I was hooked up to more machines than I have hairs on my body on a daily basis. Finally, I told the doctors to fuck off and let me die, so they did. They didn’t have a choice since it was my desire and all and they couldn’t stop me. I went to sleep one night and I guess I just didn’t have the strength left in my body to wake up, so I didn’t. I thought that’d be the end. Instead, I woke up to Celestia shoving her nose in my chest.”

The room was dead- heh- silent for a time, though Ash refused to look down and meet eyes with either Alicorn. He wasn’t quite sure what he would see, sadness, disbelief, concern, understanding, or something else, but he was dreading the sight of the barest shred of pity. For that reason alone, he stared at the ceiling as they tried to formulate a response, or even decide whether he was lying or not. As he stared, a thought began to overcome him. I never asked God if he cured my condition of cellular-whatever-the-fuck. Do I still have it? Did he cure it? Or is it just outright gone? Unless God wanted to raise the question of where my body went, this is an entirely new body, which means it should be free from the disorder. Just in case, I might want to work on the Restoration school. If I fuck myself over with a Destruction spell, that should be good practice for both.

That brings another thing up. Do I still need to practice on living targets to get better? In Skyrim, you had to hit an animal or person with Flames to level up your Destruction skill. Do I need to hit someone, or does just casting it count? Can I cast Healing on myself to get better, or do I actually need to be wounded? How much of this runs on ‘game logic’ and how much on ‘real-ish logic?’ I’ll have to wait and see once I have some free time. I can feel a couple things in my pocket but I don’t want to pull them out yet, just incase they are confiscated or revealing of my unique situation.

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts when he felt two large and soft wings, one warm and one cool, drape over his shoulders gently. He looked down reluctantly to see both Celestia and Luna sitting even closer to him, practically on the same cushion, with one wing wrapped around him. They stared at him not with pity- thank God- but sadness and concern, with tears brimming in their eyes. With a human, the sight of tears he would be able to easily ignore, but it was impossible with the ponies. Ash wasn’t sure if it was their large, expressive eyes or the pure innocence the two radiated with practically everything they did, but it started to really get to him, to make him feel bad for upsetting these two child-like Alicorns.

“A-art thou lying to us?” Luna asked, her speech reverting to an archaic form from sheer sadness alone, all the more heart-wrenching and adorable.

“P-please tell me your lying.” Celestia added, her muzzle coming to rest on his knee as her watery eyes stared at his own, beginning to inspire an almost-physical pain in his chest.

After a slow moment of concerned contemplation, Ash finally answered. “I wish I was but I’m not.”

Their eyes snapped shut, a few tears rolling down both of their cheeks and leaving trails of matted fur. Celestia turned her head and began to gently rub her cheek against his knee in what she likely thought was a comforting gesture, though he could barely feel it through his thick jeans. That changed with Luna leaned in and softly nuzzled his chest, which was bare and felt every inch of Luna’s soft fur rub against him. The idea of being nuzzled was always a strange one- Ash having no reason to let a person rub their face against him, but it wasn’t an unwelcome sensation from the Alicorn. After a moment, Ash’s hands came down on both of their shoulders, gently gripping them to reassure them he was fine.

Celestia opened her eyes, a few more tears escaping as she gazed at him, such an intense sadness that it pained him. “How are you taking this so well? Most would be so very sad or so very angry at what you went through, yet you are sitting here comforting us!”

“I’ve had the disease for three years, Celestia.” Ash replied. “I screamed and swore and threatened and cried and begged for a year. I hoped and prayed and bartered and pleaded for another year. Then I resigned myself to an early death, making peace with everyone and everything I could for the final year. I had such a long warning beforehand that I’m not bothered by it, particularly since I guess I didn’t really die, just moved.”

Ash’s hand had started to rub back and forth gently on both of them. A small part of his mind made idle note of how ironic the situation was but he shoved it aside. These ponies were made of softer stuff than humans, it seemed. Less and less it seemed like an act and more just how they were. He couldn’t deny it though, if this had happened two years ago, he would be in a state similar to them. He was fortunate to have the time to think it through, though some would consider it the opposite of fortune. “I’m fine now, you two. Don’t cry for me. Plenty of tears have been shed, both by myself and others. I don’t need anymore of that.”

Luna’s muzzled brushed against his shoulder as she raised her head, her pained gaze meeting his own comforting one. Just by looking in her eyes, he could see she was determined to try to help him. “What dost thou need, then?”

Ash did his best to grin brightly, though he wasn’t sure how they would react to him showing off the teeth of a carnivore. “How about we start with two friends who can help me adjust to this world?”

It certainly seemed to work, at least. They both laughed lightly, though still with tears in their eyes, and moved back a little to give him his space. Ash wiped a few of Luna’s tears off of his chest while she gave him a sheepish smile, which he returned with a reassuring one. Both of them dried their eyes with their wings, making him realize they had practically had massive towels attached to their backs. After a moment, Ash continued. “What’s next?”

After a short moment of silence, Celestia shook her head. “After that bit of information, I think my sister and I need time to think. What do you say about resting in a guest room before meeting us for lunch? You arrived here at about nine in the morning, so it would only be for an hour or so.”

“I think that sounds wonderful. Thank you, Celestia.” Ash replied honestly. The Alicorn mare smiled at him as she and Luna stood up, Ash joining them a moment later.

“I’ll have a maid lead you to your room as well as retrieve you when lunch comes along. In the meantime, take the chance to organize your thoughts and even think up a few questions to ask us. I want us both to learn about each other and our cultures, not just me and Luna asking you question after question.” Celestia finished with a small chuckle. Her horn lit up slightly but no spell was cast, or at least none that he could see, but nevertheless, there was a polite knock on the door before it opened, revealing a light blue Pegasus in a simple black and white maid outfit. Princess, for her voice carried the unmistakable authority of a diarch, Celestia spoke, giving the mare her task. “Feather Down, take Ash here to one of the guestrooms. He will be staying with us for the next few days, perhaps more if he is so inclined.”

The maid gave a low bow before standing back up. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

Princess Celestia began to walk out of the room as the maid stepped in, clearing the doorway. As she passed Ash, she gave him a little hidden nudge with one of her wings, a soft smile on her muzzle. Luna, however, favored him with a more direct smile and spoke.“See you soon, Ash.”

“See you soon, Luna.” Ash replied softly, not sure how Feather would take hearing him not call the Princesses by their titles. The dappled Alicorn walked out as well, leaving him with Feather who walked over with a large smile on her face.

“If you would follow me, Sir, I can take you to your room.” She said as she stopped in front of him.

“Lead on, ma’am.” Ash replied, beginning to follow her as they left the room.

The maid giggled lightly. “Aren’t you a polite one?”

“I suppose so.” Ash said. “But don’t let that fool you. Deep down, I can be a real a- rude, too.”

The maid nodded, but had nothing to really say to that. After all, she didn’t really know him. Nopony in this world did, yet, though Ash didn’t plan on keeping it that way. Thoughts of future possible friendships aside, he planned to take full advantage of this opportunity to try to figure out what he could of his magic as well as whatever the hell was digging into his thigh in his pocket. He also needed a shirt, but wasn’t quite sure where he would get one other than from Rarity and he couldn’t exactly bring her up without them getting suspicious. Severely suspicious.

After a moment of walking in silence, with Ash’s already lost since he had focused on his internal thoughts rather than mapping the castle, the maid spoke up, her voice soft and worried as if she was worried about something. “Are you the new creature that appeared in the throne room?”

That explained it. He remembered hearing Celestia give the order that information on him wasn’t meant to leave the castle. That probably meant that staff and guard alike weren’t supposed to talk about him in case they were overheard. She likely didn’t want to get in trouble, but also couldn’t keep her curiosity to herself. Ash nodded, though she was in front of him and couldn’t see it, before speaking. “Are there are other strange new creatures walking around here that I haven’t met before? If not, I think I am him.”

Ash couldn’t help but be a little surprised that his sarcastic joke put a small smile on her muzzle. Truth be told, Ash expected to be scoffed at. From how innocent the Alicorns were, he doubted anyone would appreciate his sarcasm. Maybe sarcasm was something that was understood, even if ponies were just naturally innocent? Or were only the Princesses as innocent as they were, with the rest of ponykind aware of all the darker things in the world. Or was it still a ploy from the Alicorns to test him? The last he severely doubted, simply due to the sheer skill needed to successfully act and react as they have.

“Why did you appear in the throne room? Were you after one of the Princesses?” Feather asked softly, almost worried about how you would react. A patrol of three guards from up ahead must have heard her, though, because their ears perked as they paid attention too, most definitely interested.

“It wasn’t by my choice, mind you. I had no control over where I would appear. It was quite a shock to find myself being poked by a Princess and surrounded by guards.” Ash answered. “The Princesses took my aside like they did to learn more about me and decide whether I’m hostile or not.”

“And are you?”

The guards were now almost even with them, though they had noticeably slowed their pace so the wouldn’t miss anything. Ash internally smirked, knowing whatever said here would be common knowledge amongst both the guards and the servants by noon. “I’m being invited for lunch with the Princesses, aren’t I?”

Feather looked over her shoulder with a smile, though he could easily see the relief in her eyes. “That’s true, isn’t it?”

The two kept walking, fully passing the guards up as they resumed their normal speed, having heard what they wanted to here. The man and maid continued to walk for another five or so minutes, turning down various hallways and branches before coming across a particularly long hallway. The right side, from his view, featured a large window every ten feet. It was not the ‘Hall of Stories’ styled stained glass windows that depicted major events in Equestrian history, but just large glass windows that allowed natural light to filter into the castle. The left side, however, held a large oak door spaced every forty or so feet. Each door had the emblem of both a sun and a moon on it, indicating the guest bedrooms of the diarchy of Equestria. Feather led him to the fourth one and gestured toward the door with a hoof. “This is your room until you decide to leave the castle or the Princesses move you. Either I or another maid will be by a little before noon to bring you to the dining room to eat with the Princesses.”

“Thank you, Ms. Feather.” Ash replied.

“You’re most welcome!” The maid chirped. “I have to continue my duty for now, though.”

The man nodded to her and she left, continuing down the hall the way they had came. Ash turned back to the door and opened it, walking inside easily. While Ash had an idea of what the room would look like, the reality of it still blew him away. The entire room was in a color scheme blending white, gold, black, and dark blue, something that made sense consider who owned the castle. The guest room was, in fact, guest rooms as he saw a door leading to what he assumed would be the bathroom. The entry room, however, was most certainly a bedroom. The bed itself was massive with enough room for three Alicorns easily, or considering the nature of the room, a curled up dragon of considerable size. It was a canopy bed as well, with thin black sheets giving a semblance of privacy from the rest of the room. Two desks made of the same dark oak wood as the study from before were situated against the walls, joined by a wardrobe near the bed and a nightstand even closer. The marble floors were covered in a soft black carpet that, had he not been wearing shoes, he would be most thankful for.

A large set of double doors framed in etched gold, whether it was real or not being debatable, led to a large marble balcony that likely hung over the side of the mountain. A glass window on each side of the doors allowed light to fill the room, though he couldn’t help but notice the thick, white blackout curtains that could be closed to block all sunlight from entering the room. All in all, it was a wonderful room that Ash hoped he didn’t destroy with his magic.

Author's Note

Chapter Two of The Aetherium Mage and, once again, Celestia acts completely differently from what one might expect. Anyone notice how she's different in every story I've written involving her?

As always, feel free to leave a comment on how you feel about this chapter. If you like it, say so and why! If you don't, say so and tell me what you don't like!

Magic

With quick steps, entirely eager to get started in learning what he could of his new magic, Ashephyles strode over to the dark-stained desk and sat down with his legs crossed, the large cushion being as soft as he expected. Unlike on Earth, the desks, tables, and nearly everything else was very low to the ground, a result of the ponies not having the capacity to comfortably sit like a human, nor having the height of a human. As a result, almost every single chair was replaced by large cushions that could be comfortably sat on by almost every species, though Ash was sure there had to be at least one it didn’t work too well for.

Leaning slightly to his left, he reached into his pocket and grasped the object he had noticed some time ago. Pulling it out and holding it up, he quickly realized that it was a phone. The man wasn’t quite sure what kind of phone it was as it had no discernable markings from any carrier or manufacturer. The entire thing was sleek all around, entirely black, and around six inches tall and two wide. Out of sheer habit alone, Ash tapped the screen twice then realized it wouldn’t switch on like his own did. To his surprise, the phone did light up, the screen quickly showing a familiar lockscreen of a pattern passcode and water dragon background. With a hint of doubt, Ash ran his finger through his pattern, an inverted ‘L,’ which worked and unlocked the phone to show a familiar homescreen of several folders and a poison dragon background.

Well fuck, this has to be my phone, but it’s not the right model. Did God, if he really is God, do some shit to transfer my stuff over to this phone? Did he add anything to it?

Looking over his first page, he saw there was nothing new. The same shortcuts to various playlists, the same folders that held the majority of his often-used apps, and the same apps in each folder. Swiping the screen to the side, he saw exactly what he expected. There were two folders on the second page, the first labeled ‘Dungeons and Dragons’ and the second labeled ‘D&D Extras.’

Fuck, if I knew he was going to give me my phone, I would have asked for Dungeons and Dragons magic, too. That shit’s powerful! Hell, depending on which set of rules the magic would be run by, I’d be able to essentially become more powerful than Discord if I learned the Wish spell.

Just to be sure, Ash swiped to the third page, one he knew should be empty, only to stop in mild surprise. There was a new application on his phone, one he had never seen before. The symbol was the very familiar emblem of the Imperial Legion, originally referred to as the ‘Seal of Akatosh,’ and the first thing one would see when loading Skyrim. It was a solid gray stylized dragon with the wings forming a diamond shape that didn’t quite connect. Underneath the app was the letters ‘MGTAM.’

Tapping the symbol, it opened onto a title screen that held the symbol for Destruction, a stylized flame icon. Beneath the symbol were the words ‘Mage’s Guide to Aetherium Magic,’ which he figured was what the acronym stood for. A moment later, the screen changed as the app seemed to load, showing what seemed to be an index. The very first entry on the list was ‘Introduction to Aetherium Magic.’ Tapping it once, it opened into a scrolling page that Ash began to read.

“What is Aetherium magic, why is it called such, what can it do, and how do I use it are just few of the no doubt countless questions you have for me, Archmagus Shalidor!”

Ash thought that was a nice touch, using the name of an actual Elder Scrolls character in what seemed to be a compendium designed by the deity who sent him there.

“Aetherium magic, at its core, is energy drawn from the plane of Aetherius and harnessed into a variety of deadly and/or useful effects. The most common effects can be categorized into five schools of magic, though there are spells that fall within none of them. The schools of magic are as such; Alteration, dealing with manipulating the physical world for the benefit of the caster, Conjuration, dealing with summoning and/or making deals with Daedric beings as well as creating undead, Destruction, dealing with raw elements with the sole purpose of harming and/or maiming, Restoration, dealing with life energy to heal horrifying wounds, strike blows against the undead, and negate enemy magic, and Illusion, dealing with manipulating the senses and mind to the advantage of the caster.”

“The specific spells that lie under each school will be detailed later in this well of knowledge, under the entry corresponding to the specific school of magic you might be looking for.”

Swiping from the left side out, a sliding drawer extended and revealed the index list again. Sure enough, later down the line were five entries, each named after a specific School. Swiping again, he closed the drawer and continued reading. “One of the most important things for you, an aspiring mage, to do is to understand the ranking of spells. The weakest, and subsequently easiest to cast, are classified as ‘Novice’ spells, which include spells such as Flames, Oakflesh, Fury, and so many more. These spells require only visualization and a little thought to cast. Above Novice are ‘Apprentice’ level spells, which require visualization, an understanding of the spell’s effect, and raw will. Next come ‘Adept’ level spells, the location in which most mages cease furthering themselves. This rank requires visualization, an understanding of the effect, willpower, and directed magic, which we will get to later. Second to highest are ‘Expert’ level spells. These will require almost entirely directed magic, willpower, and understanding. Finally come ‘Master’ rank spells. These requires sheer Magicka reserves, willpower, directed magic, and full body gestures. It is important to not attempt to cast spells that are too high above you! You could engulf yourself in debilitating pain by spending all of your reserves, destroy that which is around you via a failed spell, or even destroy yourself! Follow this guide, for it will tell you when you ready for the next rank.”

“As is, however, you should be more than ready for Novice level spells. Let’s start with Flames. Go ahead, imagine a jet of flames bursting forth from your fingertips, but keep in mind just what fire is! Don’t be upset if it doesn’t work right away, just try it a few different ways until it works.”

Ash looked up from his new phone and glanced at the ceiling, seeing that it was easily ten or so feet above him. From what he remembered, Flames only launched for about six feet before fading out so it should be plenty of room. Pointing his hand at the ceiling, he closed his eyes and imagined a stream of fire erupting from his hand. He thought of the heat and how things blacken and ignite under the force of destruction. For several moments, Ash felt nothing out of the ordinary, so he opened his eyes. Nothing actually had happened.

Let’s try that again, I guess? Ash tried again. He pointed his hand at the ceiling once more, but kept his eyes open this time. In his mind’s eye, he saw flames flicker to life and leap toward the ceiling, only to fade halfway up. He imagined feeling the heat against his skin, though it did not burn him. He imagined the light dancing across the room and dispelling the shadows. He imagined hearing the roar of the flames soaring upward, ravenously consuming the air in its path. For a moment, Ash thought nothing had happened once more. Then he realized that he was no longer imagining anything, but actually sensing it. With that sudden realization, he killed the thought and the fire from his hand stopped, the heat and light and sound fading away in mere moments. Examining his hand quickly, he was relieved to find that he had not burned himself. However, he was slightly confused. He always assumed that a magic user can feel the energy in their body flow into the spell, but Ash had felt nothing. Perhaps that only happens with the spells that require directed magic?

Shrugging it off and turning his attention to the ceiling, he saw that he was right. The Flames spell didn’t have enough range to reach the marble roof. No scorch mark stained the ceiling, nor did the white stone seemed warped or cracked from the fire, though he doubted it was hot enough to do so, even if he was sure it was very hot in its own right. With a final glance toward his hand, and a rising feeling of amazement and elation, Ash quickly forced his attention to return to the guide lest he lose himself to the excitement of having magic.

“You might have found it easier to get the spell to work with your eyes open rather than closed. How did I know that? I’m a mage, of course! I know these things. But in all honesty, I knew because almost all mages find it easier to cast a spell with open eyes. That’s rather fortunate because it’s hard to aim with closed eyes! Now, you may or may not be feeling a sort of, well, strain deep within yourself depending on how long you held the spell. If you don’t feel anything, try casting Flames for about ten seconds and then continue reading.”

With a thoughtful frown, Ash looked up and reached toward the ceiling for the third time. The spell was far easier to call forth this time, now knowing how to channel the magic and how to properly visualize it. However, he did an experiment. Ash imagined the heat and the light, but he didn’t imagine the roaring crackle of the fire, hoping the spell would be silent. To his disappointment, though not his surprise, the spell failed entirely. Trying again but imagining the sound, the spell was still just as loud as it had been before. If it had not been for the marble walls and thick wooden door, he did not doubt the fire would be heard from down the hall. It was good to know that he couldn’t silence a spell just by imagining it was silent. If he had attempted that when his life was on the line, he might have lost it. Once he began to feel a strange tightness located around his chest, he ended the spell and returned to the guide.

“Now that you understand what I mean, that feeling lets you know that you have expended a portion of your Magicka reserves. The feeling is nonexistent as long as you have about 80% or more of your magic left. Between 50% and 80%, it transfers into a tightness that’s merely discomforting. Once you begin to near 30% of your full reserves, you will begin to feel slightly sick, which transfers into incredibly sick at around 20%. Once you drop below 10% of your Magicka reserves, you will experience extreme pain centered around your chest and head, so I recommend always leaving some to spare unless in the most dire of circumstances. If your reserves ever empty, you will either fall unconscious or, failing that, be too exhausted and in too much pain to move.”

“Recovering Magicka varies between everyone, sometimes drastically, sometimes barely. I myself need only sit down for a few minutes before I am ready to continue. Others may need to meditate for several hours or even get a full night’s sleep, depending on the strength of your connection to Aetherius. Those with the weakest connection must sleep. Many believe that the realm of dreams lies close to the realm of the Aedra, which allows the connection to strengthen. Some can strengthen this connection while awake, which are those who need to meditate. If you just need to rest for a while, it means your connection is strong and able to draw Magicka from the realm no matter what. Keep in mind that meditating and sleeping will speed your recovery up even further!”

“Now that you feel that tightness, you should try some of the things I’ve mentioned and see if the feeling disipates. That will signify that your magic has recovered past 80%. Sleeping will refill your reserves entirely, unless you have such a deep container that eight hours isn’t enough. Not even I have that much Magicka, and I’m an Archmagus! Now, sit back and relax and try to refill your Magicka. If that doesn’t work, clear your mind and meditate. If that doesn’t work, take a quick nap! Of course, if you are pressed for time, go ahead and try meditating immediately.”

Ash set his phone on his lap after checking the time and laid back, his bare skin feeling the soft carpet of the room. An idea struck him and he worked to blank out his mind, leaving no thoughts to roam freely. For several minutes he rested, staring at the ceiling as nothing flickered through his mind. Over time, he started to feel warm, and light began to filter through his eyelid, though he did not open them. Slowly, he could feel the tightness in his chest fading away. He relaxed and waited until it was gone, then waited longer for his reserves to refill completely. Sitting up again once he felt that his reserves were recharged, he checked the time again to find that it had actually taken around twenty-five minutes to regain what he had lost. It wasn’t the five minutes he was hoping for, but it was far better than sleeping for a full night. Thinking it over, he realized it actually made some sense. If he took into account Skyrim’s faster time, it did take about twenty minutes for the Dragonborn to regain magic.

Tapping the phone twice, he scrolled down a little more to see that there was two more paragraphs before the entry ended. “However fast or slow your Magicka recharges, keep this in mind as it is incredibly important! During situations of extreme stress, or even if you are just stressed in general, your Magicka will refill at only about a quarter of the usual rate! Since combat is, for most, an extremely stressful situation, do not waste your magic! Having that extra 20% may be the difference between you leaving with your life, or your enemy leaving with theirs.”

“Now, you may or may not have noticed that while the index shows all of the entries in this guide, you can not access any of them as of yet. That is because they are locked. As you read and finish an entry, you will be required to prove that you have read and understood the material before you can progress. Successfully proving you paid attention will unlock various other entries, depending on which entry you just finished. Go ahead, select the box beneath this paragraph and answer the questions.” Tapping a small box at the bottom that reminded him of reCaptcha verifications, he saw a loading circle appear inside the box. A moment later, the screen changed as a box popped up, replacing the text of the entry so he couldn’t cheat.

“What is the final spell rank?”

A.) Novice
B.) Enchanting
C.) Legendary
D.) Master

Tapping ‘Master,’ he received a quick check before the screen changed again.

“What do Master rank spells require that others do not?”

A.) Willpower
B.) Strength
C.) Gestures
D.) Rituals

Tapping ‘Gestures,’ he received a green checkmark again before the screen changed to show a new question.

“Who wrote this guide?”

A.) Archmage Savos Aren
B.) Molag Bal
C.) Archmagus Shalidor
D.) Akatosh

Tapping ‘Archmagus Shalidor,’ the screen changed once again to show a list. Quickly reading it over, he smiled lightly to himself. Things were going to get fun in the next few days.

Novice Spell Casting unlocked!
Novice Spell List unlocked!
Enchanting Introduction unlocked!
Enchantment Catalogue unlocked!
Alchemy Introduction unlocked!
Alchemical Reagents unlocked!

Before he could go into Novice Spell Casting, he heard soft knocking coming from his door. He glanced over his shoulder, then stood up and slipped the phone back into his pocket. Striding over to the large oak door that was surprisingly light for its weight, he pulled it inwards for it to open. Standing outside the door with a hoof poised to knock again was a guard. When he saw the human standing at the door, he lowered his hoof and spoke. “Their Majesties requested that I escort you to the dining room to join them for lunch.”

“Lead on, then.” Ash said, stepping out into the hallway and closing the door behind him. The guard nodded once and turned, heading down the hall with Ash right behind him. Now that he got a good look at the guard, he saw that he came up to around his stomach, though the maid came up to around his waist. Celestia was about the same height, with Luna being up to his neck or so. However, with their horns, both were taller than him. He figured that a filly like the Crusaders would come up to about his shin, with foals like Pumpkin or Pound being just above his ankle.

“Is something on your mind?” The guard asked, no doubt noticing that he was being stared at.

“Apologies.” Ash said. “I was thinking about the heights of the ponies I have seen so far. The Princesses are about the same as me, but it just hit me how I’m so much taller than most ponies. Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?”

“I don’t mind, just know that there are things I can’t answer.”

“As expected of any guard talking to a foreign creature.” Ash replied. “You come up to my chest or so, with a maid from earlier coming up to my waist. Are stallions naturally taller than mares or is it something else?”

“Something else.” The guard replied. “In this case, it was just pure chance. The maid you saw must have been either shorter than most ponies, or just young. I’m about average height for a pony, with the Princesses being taller than almost everypony else. Princess Cadence, the niece of Princesses Celestia and Luna, would come up to your chest, I believe. Below your neck is your chest, right?”

“Right.”

“Most would come up to your stomach, with the shorter ones being around your waist.” The guard said. “There’s no real difference in the height of mares and stallions.”

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.”

The rest of the walk was done in silence with nothing else tugging at Ash’s curiosity. Of course, there were plenty of questions he could ask, but he figured he would either learn the answers to them in due time, or he would just ask Celestia or Luna. While the pair walked through the halls, Ash began to think. Let’s see, we’re obviously in Canterlot, and Luna is here, so that puts me after the start of the show. Luna seems to have gotten modern English, or would it be Equish, down relatively well, so I’d make a guess and say we are a year or so past season one, though I’m not quite sure where that would put the timeline. Of course, this is only assuming the timeline will be similar or even identical. For all I know, this will play out entirely differently than the show.

The walk wasn’t quite as long as Ash thought it was going to be because the guard stopped in front of large double doors that were made of the same stuff as all the other doors, that being oak, with the emblems of the Diarchy emblazoned on the doors themselves. Surrounding the doors, as such on the doorframe, were intricately styled vines carved into the marble walls, with flowers placed seemingly sporadically on them. Personally, he would have imagined something food-related would be there to mark the dining room, but for all he knew, vines were considered food considering the ponies were herbivores first and foremost. Two guards, looking like all the other guards in the castle, flanked the doorway and nodded to him. The guard that had been escorting him turned and spoke. “Go on ahead and enter the dining room. Their Majesties are waiting for you.”

Ash nodded as he strode up to the door. The two guards reacted quickly, their hooves grasping the handles somehow and swinging the doors open inward. He gave them both a nod of thanks before entering, seeing that the dining room was designed just as the hallways were; large marble columns from which hung banners depicting Celestia, Luna, their marks, or some combination thereof, white walls, stained glass windows, and an arched ceiling. In the center of the room was a large oak table large enough, and with enough seats, to accommodate around thirty diners. At the other end of the table, seated side by side, were the Princesses of Equestria. Seeing him enter, they both gave him slight smiles before Celestia gestured to her side. Ash walked across the room and sat down on the large cushion, the table itself coming up to his stomach while he was sitting.

The man gazed around the room for several moments before turning his attention back to the diarchs. Neither had spoken yet and he wasn’t quite sure why, though he had a theory. Perhaps, as a member of a species that will often rely on body language, they see no need to speak as often as humans do? He needed to fix that. “You know, I don’t think I could stand eating in such a large and empty room every day.”

The random comment got a smile out of Celestia again and a restrained giggle from Luna, who replied. “Verily. Were it not for the chance to sit down, relax, and speak with my sister, I would likely have a kitchen installed in my room simply so I don’t have to eat here.”

“I happen to like the open space.” Celestia said simply.

“Everypony sees as such in every hallway and room in the castle.” Luna teased lightly. “An adult dragon could walk through some of the main halls if they so felt like it.”

“I won’t deny that it is very impressive, though.” Ash said. “A castle such as this is a work of art in and of itself. The guest bedroom alone is absolutely amazing. I can’t thank you enough for you hospitality.”

“It’s nothing.” Celestia said with a wave of her hoof. “It would be remiss of me to send you away when you know nothing of our world or ways.”

“It’s everything.” Ash insisted. “I can guarantee that you wouldn’t receive anywhere near a warm welcome should you have arrived on my world instead.”

“What would it have been like?” Luna asked in mild concern.

“I’m not fully positive myself since it has never happened.” Ash admitted. “But I would guess imprisonment at the least.”

“Why?” Celestia asked loudly, shock clear in her features. “Why would they imprison somepony who hasn’t done anything yet?”

“To ensure they aren’t a threat.” Came the simple reply. “Frankly, I’m surprised I wasn’t imprisoned while you two made sure I have no hostile intentions.”

“We know you don’t.” Luna said in reply. “We can see that just by looking at you.”

“Truly?”

“Yes.” Celestia continued. “All ponies have the ability to judge another's basic temperance with a look into their eyes, though my sister and I have refined that trait over countless years. It doesn't tell us much about you, but it does tell us that you aren't going to attack us right now. Can humans not do the same?”

Maybe that’s why they seem so innocent? They can tell who’s an enemy and who’s friendly just by looking at them? With that skill, they can afford to be nice and trusting even to absolute strangers because they already know they won’t be hurt. “Not even close, Celestia. Humans are left to guess in the dark at whether a stranger is friend, foe, or just doesn’t care.”

Both Alicorns were clearly visibly disturbed by the thought of not being able to judge a person’s intentions. Ash took note of Celestia’s wings twitching lightly, though he wasn’t sure if it signified just plain old nervousness or something more. Luna shifted her weight to one side, though he doubted that meant anything at all. However, her dappled ears being folded flat against her head showed that she, too, was nervous or worried. After a moment of silence, Celestia spoke up. “W-what do you think about us?”

Ash hummed in thought for a small moment. “Do you want me to be really detailed?”

They both nodded, so Ash started. “The first impression I had of you two is that you are, by your nature, innocent. One of your first actions was to dismiss your guards and isolate yourselves alone with me, a risky move. With the knowledge that you can judge a person’s intent with a look, however, is making me believe that you can afford to be innocent without fear of being hurt, unlike humans. Beyond that, you two show an incredibly amount of kindness, understanding, and friendliness that I would be able to see in a portion of humanity. There are no doubt many humans just as kind as you both, but they are outnumbered by both the bad and those who live neutrally." Ash explained.

Luna was nodding along with him as he spoke, agreeing with most, if not all, of what he had said while Celestia was smiling lightly, thankful for his honesty in the situation. After a moment, Ash continued. “Will you return the favor?”

They nodded and it was Luna who started. “I find you strange, to be blunt, Ash. You have been through an experience that would most likely emotionally cripple a pony, yet you fully intend to play it off as something you had time to adjust to and expect. I doubt it has not left its mark on you, but I do not doubt that you are strong and truly mean what you say.”

When Luna paused for a moment, Celestia continued. “When you appeared in our throne room in a flash of light earlier today, I was immediately curious, if you remember me nudging you with my muzzle. I’m not particularly proud of the squeak I let out when you opened your eyes, but in that gaze I saw a portion of who you are. I saw your capacity for violence and willingness to hurt somepony should the need arise, a trait rare amongst ponies, but I also saw your desire to live a simple, fulfilling life.”

Luna took back over. “I will admit that you brought out an embarrassing moment in us both with how I reacted when you mentioned my dapples, but the look of intrigue and amazement in your eyes proved to me then and there that you had no ill intent to us. One who seeks the death of another would not admire their looks, simply put. Further proven in our earlier talk, you didn’t hesitate to tell us that you were not from this world. That alone showed that you were willing to extend your trust to us, which we decided to extend in return.”

Celestia grinned at him, her clean white teeth nearly shining in the light filtering in through the windows. “Satisfied?”

“Very.” Ash said, having not expected such a detailed answer. Before he could say anything else, a side door that Ash had not seen swung open, allowing several servants to swarm out and set various covered trays on the table in front of the three. Utensils were placed alongside plates and napkins, while cups were filled with some type of juice and pitchers meant for refills were set down on the large oak table. Moments later, the frenzy of moment faded as they returned to their hidden door, which Ash realized it really was hidden once they shut it. He hadn’t simply not seen it before, the entire door was made out of white marble and blended almost seamlessly with the wall. Now that he knew it was there, he could just barely make out the thin crack where the door met the wall itself, but no other hints were there as to the door’s existence, not even a handle.

Turning his attention back to the table, he saw that the Alicorns had already uncovered their plates. Celestia had a small salad of both fruits and greens in front of her, including more than a few flowers. Another covered tray sat to the side, and if stories were to be believed, Ash suspected it was a slice of cake. Luna, on the other hand, had gotten some form of soup. Soup that was going entirely ignored as she was busy tearing into a moon pie, the sight of which made Ash’s mouth water. He wanted one but far be it from him to take one from a mare who had shown him nothing but kindness.

Ash lifted the silver cover off of his plate and set it aside only to pause in surprise at his meal. A large, well donw steak sat on the platter. Just by looking at it, he could see that it was tender and juicy. Some sauce had been poured over the top and Ash swore that it smelled like steak sauce, but the man had no idea where the ponies would have gotten such a thing.

“We saw your teeth earlier today, so we had one of our chefs prepare a Gryphon meal for you. Is it to your liking?” Celestia asked, a small tinge of worry in her soft voice.

Looking up, he saw them both staring at him, though Luna had a few crumbs on her muzzle from her treat. Giving them both another grin, he nodded. “Most definitely. When I saw that you were ponies, and therefore herbivores, I was worried I would have to give up meat. As an omnivore, I can go without eating meat, but I have to eat a lot of alternatives to keep healthy.”

“Provided that you never eat a pony or any other sentient creature, we won’t have a problem with you continuing to eat meat.” Celestia explained. “There’s a stream that runs through one of the gardens that you are more than welcome to fish in, and the Everfree Forest and Whitetail Woods are popular hunting spots whenever we have carnivorous visitors, though the former is rather dangerous.”

Then she gestured toward his plate with a wing. “Go ahead, eat and enjoy. No Gryphon, nor Diamond Dog, nor Dragon has ever left this room unsatisfied. I’m sure Sharp Platter will be happy to add ‘human’ to that list. We’ll continue our questions after we have eaten.”

Ash didn’t need to be told twice. Picking up his fork and knife, he cut into the steak, surprised at how easily it was separated. Lifting it to his mouth and taking a bite, he felt his eyes close. It was amazing. The steak, as he assumed, was tender and juicy and practically fell apart without him needing to chew. He couldn’t identify any of the spices on it, most likely none of them existed on Earth, but it blended together into a perfect, or as close as a chef could get, mixture that went amazingly well with the meat. Seeing that he was more than satisfied with what he was provided, the two Princesses turned their attention back to their own meals.

Author's Note

A little hint of what the magic is going to be here. I had to set up a 'system' that would slow his progression through the ranks of magic down because, to be frank, the Dragonborn is able to completely master magic in less than a year. Ash will NOT be that skilled in Magicka.

I've also taken the liberty to make things harder so he isn't that powerful. Notice how it took him half an hour to recover twenty percent of his magic? Keep that in mind.

As usual, feel free to comment your opinion of the chapter. Have a guess as to what might happen? Feel free to share it!

Explaining the Dawn Era

Ash watched as the hidden door swung closed again, a soft boom sounding out as the no doubt heavy slab of rock stopped. The servants had swarmed in again just moments after they had finished their meals, taking away the dirty plates and replacing them with sweets and deserts of all kinds. Apparently, Celestia always had a slice of cake as her lunch, then even more as a dessert, with the same going for Luna and her moon pies.

To be fair, if it wasn’t incredibly unhealthy, he would probably do the same.

Ash turned his attention back to the table and gazed at everything that had been placed on it. Three full-sized cakes had been left behind, one made of at least four types of chocolate, another vanilla and strawberry, and the final being a cookie cake. Platters of brownies, cookies, and donuts were scattered around their end of the table, some of which were already beginning to run low. Finally, there seemed to be an entire cart dedicated to different types of fudge. With that many sweets of that many varieties in front of him, the scents were beginning to blend together to the point that the air itself tasted sweeter.

In truth, it kind of made sense. Celestia and Luna had only gotten a small salad and a small bowl of soup, respectively, which wouldn’t have been enough to fill the stomach of a human, much less two oversized Alicorns who had to keep themselves energized for ruling a country that spanned thrice the size of the United States, maintaining their powerful magic, and moving the sun and moon themselves. He knew they would most likely eat a lot for every meal they had, and even more if they missed one.

He just didn’t expect it to be a diet of almost exclusively sugar. Ash wasn’t quite sure how they even managed to survive with so much sugar in their systems. By the time he had managed to snag two slices of cookie cake and a small square of fudge for himself, the cake that he swore was a Death by Chocolate cake was already gone, a portion of it ending up on Luna’s and Celestia’s muzzles. Neither Alicorn was a Princess at the moment, just two starving mares that had been let loose on an unsuspecting buffet of concentrated diabetes.

The man just watched, not quite sure if he should remind them that he was there, ignore the sight of two goddesses devouring deserts like rabid wolves tearing into a deer, or accept the sight that very few beings alive had seen. After a moment, he just resigned himself to eating his cookie cake, which he had to admit was absolutely delicious, and waiting for the two to burn themselves out, if it was indeed possible.

After what must have been ten minutes, and a joined effort by the two to commit complete genocide of the cookie race, Celestia finally glanced his way before freezing, chocolate staining her white muzzle with the final cookie suspended in her magical grip. Hearing the sounds of death-by-teeth ceasing, Luna glanced at her sister, then at him before freezing as well with what seemed like a whole brownie pushing out one of her cheeks. Before Ash had a chance to speak, both of the mare’s cheeks began to slowly turn red, embarrassment filling their features.

Ash just smiled lightly and took another bite of his slice of cookie cake. “Don’t mind me, I’m just watching the provided entertainment. I didn’t think you ponies had such ferocity in you.”

Celestia coughed into her hoof and summoned two large cloths, passing one to Luna, before they began to immediately clean their faces. Ash did notice, however, that the solar Alicorn refused to let the final cookie go. The genocide would be completed in due time, if she had her way. The moon pie had all but disappeared from Luna, several swallowing sounds emitting from her throat as she seemed to be too shocked to remember that she had teeth that would make swallowing it easier.

“I’m sorry you had to see that.” Celestia apologized. “I understand if it you feel a little revolted at seeing us eat like that. My sister and I need a lot of energy to replace the magic we use whenever we move our charges.”

“I’m not so much disgusted as fascinated. That amount of sugar could probably kill me, yet it sounds like you do this every day. Or perhaps three times a day.” Looking around at the table near the two, it was definitely messier than it had been before, but it wasn’t too bad. There were plenty of new crumbs all over the area, though neither of them had made such a mess as to smear cake into the wood or drop any on the floor. “Besides, you didn’t make that much of a mess. Plenty of crumbs, but I don’t see cake smeared into the walls or on your coats.”

Luna coughed, finally clearing her throat. From the looks of it, the moon pie hadn’t gotten stuck in her throat so much as refused to be swallowed entirely, which she had fixed with determination alone. “Nay, we only do this at lunch. By this time, we have expended a portion of our magic in the morning exchange of the sun and moon, and need to regain our energy to do so again at night. The process by which our bodies gather magic from the world around us requires energy, which the sugar easily provides. If we ate this thrice a day, I don’t think we would be able to survive.”

“At the very least, we would be incredibly unhealthy, overweight, and with more medical complications than I have feathers.” Celestia added. “Though I’m glad you aren’t disgusted by our habits. Do you mind if we continue? I should have asked that, or at least warned you, beforehoof.”

Ash shrugged. “Feel free. Far be it for me to expect you to hurt yourself by not having enough energy just because I’m here.”

They both nodded their thanks before resuming their devourment of the candy kingdom. The first one to go was the cookie, which Celestia had not failed to forget about. Glancing to the center of the table, Ash saw that the cookie cake itself had managed to avoid the sisters’ attention. Reaching over, he quickly snatched another slice and pulled back. Unfortunately for the inanimate cake, his action had attracted the gaze of two predators. In an aura of gold and blue, the cake was separated in two chunks and devoured, though Ash agreed with their fervor on that one. He always had had a weakness for cookie cake.

Thirty-Five Minutes Later

Celestia set her cloth down, the originally white material now stained with varying shades of brown or black from the sheer amount of chocolate and fudge that had ended up on her muzzle. Next to her, Luna was doing the same, also having to clean off the cream filling inside the moon pies. Ash had to divert his gaze from the sight of the Alicorn with white cream on her muzzle lest his thoughts go to a place they shouldn’t, so he directed his attention back to Celestia.

The alabaster Alicorn flashed him a thankful smile. “Thank you for sitting through that. We needed it.”

“Verily.” Luna added from her side. “We can continue our earlier session, if you so wish.”

“Yeah, that sounds good.” Ash replied. “I thought of a few questions I wanted to know, but why don’t you two start?”

“You are from another world, as you told us. If we were able to find a way, would you like to go home?” Celestia asked, the mood in the room becoming serious and somber. “I can't promise we will find a way, and I can not promise we will even be able to cast the spell even if one exists, but we will search and try if you want us to.”

The idea of going back to home was a good one, Ash had to admit. But he already saw a number of problems with it. First and foremost was that he was dead, likely already moved to the morgue. If God had actually taken his body, brought him back to life, and sent him here, he would have to explain how he, a man in critical condition, had just upped and vanished from a hospital- assuming he didn’t die again as soon as he returned. If God had left his body, made a new one, and sent him here, he would have to explain why there are suddenly two people named ‘Ash,’ one dead from a disease and one healthy.

Of course, all of that only mattered if God wasn’t going to directly prevent him from returning home, or even let him return before sending him to another, possibly far worse, version of Equestria. The deity, whether he was God or not, had sent him there purposely and for a reason. Ash doubted he would take to kindly to him leaving Equestria and returning home. All in all, Ash considered his choice clear. While he would very much like to see his family and friends again, there were just too many risks and obstacles. He had lived with them, loved them, and when he learned he was going to die, he knew he wasn’t going to see them again. He was prepared to lose them already and they him.

“No, I don’t think I would, partly because I died there and partly because of a whole slew of other reasons.” Ash replied after several moments of silence. Celestia nodded like she expected the answer, which she likely did, but Luna didn’t let it lie as it was.

“What about your friends and family? Would they not want to see you return alive and healthy?”

“Yes, they would, and I would like that too. However, understand that I died there. I don’t know if this is ‘my’ body or another one that is identical to mine. If this is mine, I might just die again as soon as I return. If not, then there’s the question of why there are two copies of me, one living and one dead. Finally, my family and friends knew I was going to die. I knew it too. We accepted it, grieved, and moved on already.” Ash explained to Luna, who listened with her large eyes shining with sadness. “Sure, they’ll miss me and I’ll miss them, but we said our goodbyes already.”

“But-” Luna started only to be cut off.

“Sister, let him be. His reasons are several and thought out. This obviously isn’t a spur of the moment decision. If he wishes to stay, let him stay.” Celestia told Luna softly.

After a moment, Luna conceded with a short nod. Celestia looked back at Ash. “Why don’t you ask the next question?”

“How does the Diarchy work?” Ash asked, his question already planned. “Do you take turns ruling, rule together, or what?”

“A mixture of taking turns and together.” Celestia answered. “I rule for three days, then my sister rules for four. The next week I’ll rule for four and she’ll rule for three. That way, we each have time off.”

“We aren’t entirely free, though.” Luna continued for her. “When my sister is ruling, I’ll take some of the paperwork to help, and she does the same for me. Certain situations often call for both of us to be there, such as meetings or important hearings, and certain bills that need to be passed with both of our signatures or vocal approval.”

Ash nodded, accepting the answer. He figured that Celestia didn’t rule during the day and Luna during the night considering she was awake when he arrived, which was in the morning, and didn’t seem the slightest bit tired. For a short moment, Ash pondered what that would change. The most obvious is that ponies wouldn’t be quite as fearful of Luna as in the show, since she was awake during the day like everypony else. That would allow her to meet her subjects more often. She also wouldn’t seem like a fairytale boogeyman that came for children in the night since she slept at night.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts when he heard Celestia speak. “What kind of magic does your kind have?”

Ash hummed in thought. He had already decided to tell them of his magic, but would leave out how he got it. He just had to make sure he didn’t let it slip that he knew about their magic.“Honestly, most of my kind doesn’t have magic. It’s a rare trait, but I’m one of the lucky ones. Considering you’ve been using Telekinesis with ease to do something as simple as eat, I’m going to assume your magic works entirely differently than mine. Telekinesis is a moderately difficulty spell that’s Magicka intensive, so most only use it for something important.”

“Almost every species on Terra gather their magic from the air and land around us. Our bodies store it in metaphysical ‘containers’ for use at a later date. While every species and subspecies uses magic in a different way and for different purposes, the gathering process is identical. Alicorns gather our magic in the same way, we just do it several hundred times faster and because of that, we need far more energy. How does it vary from humans?”

“I do have a ‘container’ that allows me to store Magicka from later use, though where it comes from and how I regain it varies from your kind. My Magicka doesn’t come from the air, nor the ground, nor from water.” Ash said.

“Then where does it come from?” Luna asked.

“Your bodies?” Celestia continued.

“Aetherius, the Immortal Plane of the Aedra.” Ash answered. “It is a godly plane from which all Magicka originates, and from which Aetherium mages draw our strength.”

It was true, in a way. Ash could feel some time of ‘connection’ to the realm where his magic comes from. He couldn’t sense it while casting Flames and while he did notice it while resting afterwards, he couldn't identify it. The mage was sure it was Aetherius that he felt, which would make sense considering he had Magicka, which came from Aetherius. Taking into account the Multiverse theory and the feedback theory, it was entirely possible that Mundus was real, even if it wasn't part of Earth.

Honestly, it confused him. God had told him he would arrive in a random version of Equestria, yet he it seemed like this Equestria was tailored to him specifically, unless Aetherius spanned over all versions of Equestria and all other worlds. Perhaps the Aedra and Daedra were just a few of the other deities God had mentioned? In any case, he didn’t have the time, opportunity, or ability to further explore the possibility that this world had elements of Mundus in it.

Celestia and Luna were looking at him in slight confusion, obviously having never heard of Aetherius, but it was Luna who voiced her doubts. “Are you sure such a realm exists?”

“I am sure.” Ash said with confidence. “I can sense my connection to the realm from which I draw power.”

“Forgive us for our doubts, but we have never heard of this ‘Aetherius.’” Celestia said.

“Nothing to forgive.” Ash said with a dismissive wave of his hand. “This is another world. I do not expect anyone here to know the ins and outs of Mundus. Continuing on, Aetherium mages draw our strength from Aetherius in a variety of ways. Those with particularly weak connections to Aetherius must sleep to regain their Magicka, as the realm of dreams in closer to the realm of Aetherius than the realm of Mundus is.”

“Dreams are close to Aetherius?” Luna questioned, her own dreamwalking abilities making her more interested in that fact.

“‘Mundus?’” Celestia asked, curious as to what Mundus was.

“I can't promise that the dreamrealm is close to the realm of Aetherius, but many do believe as such. I can promise that sleeping is guaranteed to refill a mage’s Magicka reserves. As for your question, Celestia, Mundus is the term given to the the worlds created by the Aedra. The way Mundus was created may not even apply to this world, as I do not know if this world is a portion of Mundus.”

“Why don’t you explain it anyway?” Celestia asked, with a look of interest on the faces of her and her sister. “It would be nice to hear the origin story of another world.”

Shit! Ash thought. He didn't expect them to be interested in the creation of Mundus, and it rose a problem. Earth was not created by Aedra, even if Mundus was, which meant Mundus wasn't his world, but his phrasing- that he just now noticed- made it sound like he was from Mundus! Truth be told, Ash wasn’t sure if he was entirely correct on the way he thought Mundus was created.

Fuck it, I’ll play along. I’ll just go with the fact that I’m from Mundus. Ash decided. It was a long-term risk because they would not be happy with him lying to them, but he had accidently dug himself into a whole too deep to climb out. His only hope was to keep digging and come out on the other side.

“First, you must understand that my world started as a Void, a primordial nothingness. We refer to this, and the creation of Mundus, as the Dawn Era. Time was nonexistent in this Era, and when it was created, it was nonlinear. However, most scholars agree on the events that led up to the creation of Mundus. A lot of what you are going to hear won’t make sense, or it will be hard to believe, but this is what is commonly believed by my world, Nirn.”

“From the Chaos of the beginning, the twin forces of order and chaos were created. They were called Anu and Padomay. Anu was the embodiment of order and stasis and Padomay was the embodiment of chaos and change. Some Not-Time passed before Anu birthed his own soul, created Anui-El, who is believed to be the soul of all living things. Padomay, seeing this, chose to both his own soul as well, Sithis, who represents emptiness and the void. Keep in mind that, while I refer to most of these deities as ‘he,’ some of them have no gender, nor physical form.”

“Now, the constant cycle between these two forces created the Aurbis, the universe, which consisted of Aetherius and the Void at the time. The outermost ‘shell’ of the Universe is the Void, the absolute nothingness of the beginning. Inside that shell is another, which is Aetherius, the source of all Magicka in existence. Further inside of that are the Planes of Oblivion, which we’ll get to later.”

“After the creation of the the universe, other beings began to form in the Void. The first among these were Auri-El, birthed by the soul of Anui-El, and Lorkhan, birthed by the soul of Sithis. With the creation of Auri-El, time began. With the beginning of time, the turbulent Aurbis stabilized and many other deities, which we refer to as the et’Ada, or the Original Spirits, were able to form their own identities.”

“The continuing struggle between Anu and Padomay created many planes for the et’Ada to inhabit, but not all were content. Lorkhan, birthed from Sithis, who was birthed from Padomay, approached the other et’Ada, with a plan to create a plane for them alone to live in. He proposed the idea of Mundus, the mortal plane, and its population of the et’Ada’s creation. Lorkhan, after a long period of Partial-Time, convinced a number of et’Ada, who we refer to as the Aedra, including Auri-El, to form Mundus in the center of the Aurbis, past Oblivion. All other et’Ada are referred to as Daedra. Though they did not call themselves such, those are the terms we gave them.”

“These Aedra began to form Mundus but soon realized they had been tricked. Although Anu and Padomay were infinite and therefore able to create entire planes on accident, the et’Ada were not. They realized they were giving up entire parts of themselves for the creation of Mundus, a fact that Lorkhan was entirely aware of.”

“While Mundus was being created, the Daedra began to create their own realms in mockery of Mundus and the Aedra. They surrounded Mundus with their planes, forever separating Mundus and Aetherius by the Planes of Oblivion. The Daedra, being closer to Mundus than Aetherius, are more easily able to influence the living worlds as they desire, often to the harm of mortals.”

“A number of Aedra abandoned the realm before it was completed. The leader of these Aedra was Magus, the Architect, He Who Planned Mundus. He fled Mundus to return to Aetherius, and his departure tore a hole through the realms of Mundus, Oblivion, and Aetherius. From this hole formed the sun, and it is through the sun that all Magicka leaks into the mortal plane. Many other Aedra followed him, creating smaller holes that became the stars, through which more Magicka leaked.”

“Are you sure this is true?” Luna asked. “While I was not present for the stars’ creation, I doubt they were holes torn by another being.”

“Remember what I said, Luna. I do not know if this world is a part of Mundus. If it is not, then this story does not explain the creation of Terra.” Ash replied before continuing.

“Not all Aedra chose to abandon Mundus. Some, which we now call the Eight Divines, bound themselves to Mundus. These became the gods of the inhabitants of the world, and were seen from Nirn, the center planet of Mundus, as other planets in the night sky. After this, one group of Aedra fully surrendered their divinity and formed the Ehlnofey. They began to procreate in the physical sense and eventually diverged into the mortal races of the Mythic Era.”

“However, before leaving Mundus to the mortals entirely, the remaining Aedra in Mundus created the Adamantine Tower, the oldest building on Nirn, to decide Lorkhan’s fate. The Aedra tore out Lorkhan’s heart and attempted to destroy it, only to find that the fate of Mundus was bound to the fate of the heart. Instead, they cast it down to Nirn, into the sea. Where it landed, the Red Mountain volcano formed, and around it formed the island of Vvardenfell, followed by the Aedra leaving, which stabilized time. This marked the start of recorded history, specifically that of the elves as other races had not yet formed, and the beginning of the Merethic Era, translated as the the Era of Elves, which can also be called the Mythic Era. That concludes the events of the Dawn Era, and the creation of the planes of existence.”

“So, if Terra is not within Mundus, where would it lie within your world’s idea of the universe?” Luna asked.

“Sequestered away within another set of planes somewhere else in the Void. With the Void being infinite, and deities having arisen from nothingness, there is no doubt that there may be other gods and other worlds and other planes in the universe, this one being one such world.” Ash explained. “However, a part of me believes that Terra does exist somewhere in Mundus. Aetherius surrounds the mortal plane, and since I can feel the Immortal Plane, I can only assume that we are still within Mundus.”

“And there’s no other possibilities?” Celestia asked, curiosity clear in her voice.

“Perhaps this realm is actually a previously-unknown realm of Oblivion.” Ash laughed. “But I doubt that. In either case, I doubt it matters. If the Aedra have not interfered with this world, nor have the Daedra, then it does not change anything. Any other questions?”

“Who are the Eight Divines?” Celestia questioned, unable to deny her interest in the topic.

“Chief among them is Akatosh, the Dragon God of Time. He goes by a couple names, though you one you might recognize is Auri-El.”

“Descendant of Anui-El and Anu, right?”

“Right. There’s also Arkay, the God of Life and Death. Most funerals are carried out by priests of Arkay and the dead are entombed in catacombs maintained by priests of Arkay. Then there’s Dibella, the Goddess of Beauty. Some of her followers are teachers of the erotic arts, while others believe in feminine superiority.” Ash started to explain, with the mention of Dibella bringing a small blush to both mare’s muzzles. “Those two are, in some circles, considered the most important two.”

“Following them are Julianos, God of Wisdom and Logic; Kynareth, Goddess of Air; Mara, Goddess of Love; Stendarr, God of Mercy; and Zenithar, God of Work and Commerce. Stendarr’s followers hunt down abominations such as vampires and Daedra, as well as Daedric worshippers, and is considered the most ‘active’ of the Divines, though once again, it depends on who you ask.”

“You make it sound like they are secluded from Mundus.” Luna commented.

“They are. When the Aedra chose to leave Mundus to the mortals, they severed a good portion of their influence over it. They are able to interact with Mundus, but no one knows if they are bound by rules or just choose to act only when needed. On the other hand, the Daedric Princes are more than able to interact with Mundus however they desire, either to help or harm those who draw their interest.”

“And the Princes? Who are they? And what can you tell us about them?” Luna asked. From the way Celestia leaned forward again, he saw that she was interested as well.

“The Daedra, who I already mentioned, are the et’Ada who chose not to partake in the creation of Mundus and instead formed their own realms in Oblivion. While they are referred to as ‘Princes,’ they are entirely genderless. Azura is one who is considered not wholly evil, due to her concern for the wellbeing of her followers. Her sphere of influence is dusk and dawn, the balance between light and dark. Her realm is known as the Moonshadow, a plane said to be too beautiful for mortals to comprehend.”

“Next is Boethiah, the Prince of Plots, who rules over deceit, conspiracy, and secrets plots of murder, assassination, treason, and usurpers. Her plane is called Attribution’s Share and she frequently holds an event referred to as the ‘Tournament of Ten Bloods’ there, though I know not what it is.”

“Clavicus Vile is the Daedric Prince whose sphere involves granted power and wishes through pacts and invocations. He is the only one, that is known, to have a companion, a creature named Barbas. No one is sure if Barbas is another Daedra or a part of Vile’s soul, though the latter is mostly believed. His realm is the Fields of Regret, where the air smells of perfume and rotten flesh.”

Ash was really surprised that neither of them interrupted him to ask questions, though they were likely waiting to he finished before asking questions. “Hermaeus Mora is considered the most evil and is the Prince of Knowledge and Memory. His realm is Apocrypha, and endless library of all knowledge, most of it forbidden, where he traps the souls of those who desire to know more.”

“Hircine is the Daedric Prince of the Hunt. He created the various lycanthropic diseases, such as werewolves and werebears, and is known as the father of were-beasts. His realm is the Hunting Grounds, where his infected may hunt prey forever.”

“Jyggalag, the Prince of Order, is considered the most powerful, and also the most obscure. The other Daedric Princes battled him and cast a curse upon him, forcing him into becoming Sheogorath, the Daedric Prince of Madness. Once at the end of every era, he would be allowed to return to his true form where he would wipe out his realm and start the cycle over again.”

“That’s horrible…” Celestia breathed out, with Luna nodding in agreement. “Forced to become the very thing you hate most.”

Ash nodded. “At the end of the Third Era, it is believed that a person known as the Hero of Kvatch freed him from his curse, allowing him to remain as Jyggalag permanently. The Hero then became Sheogorath, allowing both to exist permanently. With the creation of both Sheogorath, he no longer has a plane of existence.”

“Moving on, we have Malacath, Daedric Prince of the Spurned. He is not recognized as a Daedra by the other Princes, which fits his sphere perfectly. His realm is that of the Ashpit, consisting of only dust and palaces of smoke.”

“There’s Mehrunes Dagon, another evil Prince, whose sphere is Destruction, Change, and Revolution. Due to his nature of destruction, and the Daedra being unable to be completely destroyed, he holds a special hatred for mortal species as they are the only ones he can practice his destruction on. He is also the only Daedra to fully invade the Mortal Plane before being defeated and cast back into Oblivion. His realm is the Deadlands, a series of islands surrounded by lava.”

“Mephala the Webspinner is the Daedric Prince of lies, sex, murder, and secret plots. Her realm is the Spiral Skein. It is believed to be a weaved like a web around the Pillar Palace of Mephala, of which the true name is too horrible to be spoken.”

“Meridia is associated with the energy of living things and is especially hateful of the undead-”

“Undead!” Both of the Alicorns shouted.

Ash nodded. “Necromancies are a portion of the Conjuration school of magic. Originally outlawed by the Mage’s Guild, it became legal to practice again with its dissolution, although frowned upon. The College of Winterhold in Skyrim, a country of humans, holds no such reservations and freely practices necromancy within its walls. Moving on, her realm is referred to as the Colored Rooms, though I don’t know what’s it's like, having never heard it described.”

“Molag Bal, yet another evil Daedra, is the King of Rape and Prince of Enslavement. He is the father of all vampires, creating the original by ravaging a priestess of Arkay. His realm, Coldharbour, is a twisted and dark mockery of Tamriel, one of the continents of Nirn.”

Understandably, both Alicorns had disgusted looks on their muzzles and hatred in their eyes as he explained Molag’s sphere, which made sense. The idea of rape alone is horrific and the fact that he called himself the ‘King of Rape’ only meant he takes pride in it.

“Namira is the Daedric Prince of the Ancient Darkness. She is associated with all things repulsive, such as spiders and slugs. Her followers are known to be cannibals, regularly taking part in the flesh of the slain. Her realm is the Scuttling Void, the name along inspiring a feeling of disgust.”

“Nocturnal is the Daedric Prince of the Night and sometimes called Lady Luck.” Ash said, instantly catching Luna’s attention, even though it had never waned. “She does not treat worshippers with the same care as the other Daedra, but the Nightingales are her sworn servants, who are usually thieves that form a ‘business contract’ with her. In return for assisting them in their endeavors, they will serve as guardians in the Evergloam, her sphere, after their deaths.”

“Peryite, the Daedric Prince of Disease, is charged with ordering the lower levels of Oblivion. He is known to ‘gift’ Mundus with disease, though not much else is known about him. Peryite’s pits are entirely impossible to enter, though no one knows why.”

“Sanguine’s spheres include hedonistic revelry, debauchery, and passionate indulges of darker natures. He rules over the Myriad Realms of Revelry and is the only Prince who allows visitors to alter his realm to their whims. As a Daedra who indulges in base desires, he is surprisingly not entirely evil, more concerned with amusement and pleasures than ruining the lives of mortals.”

“Then comes Sheogorath, who I mentioned earlier, and is the infamous Prince of Madness, whose motives are entirely unknown and unknowable. His realm in Oblivion is the Shivering Isles and is often playing tricks on both mortals and other Daedra.”

“Last comes Vaermina, the Daedric Prince of Nightmares and Evil Omens. Her realm is known as the Quagmire, a nightmare land where reality shifts every few minutes to become every more horrifying. She, too, is considered an evil Daedra.” Ash finished.

After he explained Vaermina, Luna glanced over to Celestia with a worried look. “Sister, do you think this ‘Vaermina’ is responsible for Nightmare?”

Celestia frowned, a troubled look on her face and in her eyes. “I’m not sure, Luna. It’s entirely possible, but we don’t even know if they are real.”

Then she glanced up to Ash. “No offense to you, of course.”

He shrugged. “None taken. What’s the Nightmare?”

Ash knew damn well who Nightmare Moon is. He just couldn’t reveal that information. He also didn’t know if events played out the same way they had in the show. The two Alicorns shared a glance before Luna spoke. “The Nightmare is an entity that thrives on sowing chaos and feeds off nightmares. It is skilled in corrupting even the most pure-hearted individuals, no matter how long it takes.”

“That does sound like it could be one of Vaermina’s plots, but it might not be.” Ash said. Celestia, for some reason, chose that moment to summon a watch and glance at the time. Ash suspected it was so they could avoid the topic of Nightmare Moon.

“Luna, it’s almost one. We need to return to the meeting.” Celestia said.

Ash sat up straighter, an idea striking him. “Celestia, do you have a large empty courtyard somewhere in the castle?”

“Yes, why?”

“I want to be able to practice my magic, but don’t want to risk ruining the room you kindly offered to me. Is that okay?”

Celestia nodded with a slight smile. “Of course it’s fine. If you need any materials to practice with, feel free to request them, as long as they are within reason.”

Her horn lit up, but once again no spell was cast. “A guard will be waiting for you outside to escort you to Star’s Yard. She’s also been notified that you have access to Yellow-rank supplies from the armory, archives, and storages.”

“Thank you, Your Majesty.” Ash said, standing up and performing a slight bow. The two Alicorns smiled at him, which he returned. “And thank you for showing interest in this man’s belief.”

“You are very welcome, Ash.” Luna said before Celestia continued. “If time permits, allow us to tell you the story of Terra’s creation, or at least what we believe.”

“I will remember, Celestia. Shall I see you again today?”

“Perhaps tonight at dinner. Sometimes our lunch fills us up even to night, or we are too busy to eat, so we might not dine with you. Even if we don’t, you are permitted to order from the kitchens should you find yourself hungry tonight.”

The two Alicorns stood up and started to walk towards the entrance of the dining hall, with Ash following them. Before Celestia opened the door and parted from him, she leaned over and gave him an odd pony-hug, her neck resting on his shoulder as her muzzle pressed against the back of his neck. When she stepped back, Luna came up and did the same. “Fare thee well, Ash.”

“Fare thee well, Luna.” Ash said with a small smile, receiving a large one in return. Celestia opened the door with her magic and left, Luna and Ash following her. Outside, waiting for him most likely, was another guard. Unlike the previous ones he had seen, she didn’t seem to be under the effect of the armor’s enchantment, if it was indeed an enchantment, so her coat was a soft blue and her mane a deep red.

“You’re my escort?”

“I am, sir. If you will follow me to Star’s Yard, you can begin your practice.”

“Thank you.”

The guard nodded once, turned about, and began leading the way through the castle. Ash could barely quell his excitement. He was ready to read more of his guide and of his magic. He also had to think on Vaermina and if it was indeed possible that she created the Nightmare, or if the Princes existed. The easiest way to prove that would be to contact one, but he didn’t really want to do as such.

Magic, Part II

Ashephyles allowed his gaze to drift around the large courtyard, ‘Star’s Yard,’ the ponies called it. The entire area was inside a section of the castle that was open to the sky, located some three hundred or so meters behind to throne room, according to his escort. Four towering marble walls surrounded the open area, with two large double doors being the only entrances to the courtyard. Here, the hard marble floors of the castle faded away, replaced by soft grass and dirt, with the exception of a few paths here and there.

Oh, yeah, the courtyard was easily a thousand feet in either direction. This castle was massive. He managed to get some information out of his guard; it consisted of four sections, the first and smallest of which was the main bulk of the castle, which consisted of the guest rooms, dining halls, studies, and public areas. The second dug into the mountain from behind, creating a labyrinth of storage rooms, vaults, and other things the public didn’t see on a daily basis. The third section, and the section visible from the farthest away, was the myriad of towers. The third section included the room of both Princesses, the Archives, the Magical Research tower, the Archmage’s Quarters, and housing for a whole slew of other important castle staff, though the Alicorns’ towers were the highest, of course.

The fourth section, and the one that surprised Ash the most, was the section duginto the mountain from underneath, rather than behind. It was around 70% of the guard’s buildings and supplies. The barracks were underground, the forge was underground, the armory was underground, there were even training areas underground. Hell, Canterlot even had fourteen emergency bunkers scattered underneath the castle and the city itself!

Of course, there were a variety of ledges and other flat areas where the guard would train outside, including a few small yards and one large one in the castle itself. All in all, Ash was surprised at how well prepared this version of Equestria’s guard was. That didn’t mean they were good fighters; they could still be just as useless as he figured, but at least they had a fortified area to stage a defense of Canterlot from.

Though Ash took interest in the fourth section, known as the Defense Quarter, the mage knew it would be the various towers he would visit the most. Between the Magical Research tower, the Archmage, and the Archives, he felt as if he would visit the Sky Quarter the most. On that note, the other two areas were referred to, though not officially named, as the Storage Quarter and Public Quarter.

Turning his attention back to the courtyard, he saw that there were a myriad of trees dotted around the area. Some of them were oak, some were pine, and most were of types he had never seen before. An artificial stream ran through one half of the courtyard, flowing right past a large white gazebo with several red cushions situated on it. Ignoring them, Ash walked over to a large rock that sat in just the right place that it stopped the stream from flowing onto one of the paths and took a seat on it. With full intent to continue reading the guide, he slipped his phone out of his pocket and powered it up, quickly opening the Mage’s Guide to Aetherium Magic.

The app loaded the title screen quickly, then switched to the index. The entry Introduction to Aetherium Magic had turned green, whereas before it all the entries were written in white against a simple black background adorned with stars. The next five entries were still white, with all the others were red. He could only assume that green meant ‘completed,’ white meant ‘unlocked,’ and red meant ‘locked.’ One thing that confused him was the fact that the five schools were closer to the bottom of the list. Perhaps, rather than being about the schools of magic in general, they detailed how to achieve mastery over a specific school?

Dismissing the curiosity, Ash tapped the next unlocked entry, which happened to be Novice Spell List. It loaded immediately, showing several paragraphs of text before entering the list itself, which looked to be separated by school.

“As you may have noticed, when you finished the previous entry, you unlocked something called ‘Novice Spell Casting,’ yet it isn’t on the list. That’s because it isn’t an entry. You see, this guide is bound by powerful spells weaved by masters of Alteration, Illusion, and Conjuration schools. I told you previously that you shouldn’t attempt to cast a spell you aren’t ready for, but the truth is that you can’t. Your magic, for the time being, is locked to certain levels. Only after fulfilling the requirements will you unlock access to the next tier of spells, both in the guide and in the world.”

“With that over, this section is a list of all Novice-level spells, separated by their school of magic. You must be able to freely, effectively, and quickly cast the Novice-rank spell in a school to unlock the corresponding Apprentice-rank spell in the same school. To clarify, you must be able to cast Flames with only a moment's thought to gain access to Firebolt. However, knowing Firebolt will not give you access to Ice Spike, for example.”

“Last but certainly most importantly, you must understand the spell to become more skilled at casting it. The easiest way to do so is to cast it repeatedly. Flames against a wall, Calm at a raging wolf, or Muffle on yourself, familiarity breeds understanding, which breeds power. For those of you who have particularly strong connections to Aetherius, this is an effective way of becoming stronger.”

“On the other hand, you can simply skip familiarity and go straight to understanding. Knowing the hows and whys of the magic will give you the understanding you need, allowing your spells to be stronger and easier to cast. Keep in mind that you need to do this for every spell you learn, including higher ranks of the same class, such as Flames and Firebolt. While similar in effect, the process by which both spells are created and function are different. Go ahead and pick a school to focus on, select your starting spell, and begin learning. If you so choose, you can even pick up a few spells from other schools while focusing on your chosen one.”

So he needed to learn a spell in a specific rank of a specific school to progress to the next rank of the same school? That made sense, in a way. Even a scientist would have to start from scratch if he wanted to learn art. Looking over the list of spells, he saw that it included a good few, but it rose a problem. What school should he start with? Unlike in the game, he would actually have to focus on one or the other, he couldn’t mix and match until he started to really get the hang of the magic. As for the understanding… Ash felt like it wasn’t quite as simple as burning oxygen makes fire.

Destruction was the basic school of almost all Aetherium mages, Ash would guess. Being directly combat-oriented, it would allow him to fight and defend as he needed. With control over fire, ice, and lightning, he would be an effective combat mage. He also needed to keep in mind that he would need a job soon to avoid relying on royalty for his life and if he wanted his job to involve his magic, with Destruction as his primary school, he would most likely have to go into some kind of combat field, such as the guards or even as a mercenary. While it would give him practical experience, there were plenty of obvious risks to go along with it. Either way, he would make it a point to learn at least some spells from this school.

Illusion focused primarily around altering the emotions of enemies, such as Fury to force them to fight each other or Calm which would stop a fight. Unlike Destruction, creatures with a certain amount of will would be able to entirely ignore the effects of the Illusion school, though it did also offer Muffle and Invisibility as an Apprentice and Expert ranked spell, respectively, which would be useful if he wanted to be a thief, but he didn’t. Fury and Calm were about the only two he really wanted. Maybe Clairvoyance, which was Novice.

Alteration was one that was also somewhat combat-focused, with the most-used spells from it being armor spells such as Oakflesh and it’s variations. However, it also offered two useful spells early on and one great one later. Candlelight, which would create a ball of light floating over his head, and Equilibrium, which transfers life force into Magicka were both Novice-ranks, and he could even see them on the list. There was also the Adept spell Transmute, which turns iron to silver and silver to gold. If he mastered that spell, he wouldn’t need to work ever. Ash would likely make Alteration his secondary school.

Conjuration was an incredibly powerful school, sometimes even more so than Destruction. With Destruction, even the best of mages put themselves in harms way every so often, usually to get a good shot with a spell. However, those who master Conjuration were rarely at risk. He still remembered when he went down that tree in Skyrim; he would sit back, relax, and let his two summoned Dremora Lords slaughter everything like the demons they were. Not to mention the ability to summon Atronachs, reanimate the dead, fill soul gems, and even create weapons. However, the Conjuration school also had the most risk; a botched spell would result in a loose, uncontrolled Daedra.

Finally came Restoration. Always the spell he would put the least amount of points in, but always the one that kept him alive, Restoration dealt with, primarily, healing wounds. However, it also gave access to Wards, which would block hostile spells and other magic-based assault, and the ability to Turn Undead, which would make any undead affected by the spell flee from the caster. Most importantly, he could really help others by specializing in Restoration; the school was known for being able to heal fatal wounds and cure incurable diseases.

Thinking it over for several long moments, Ash eventually decided. He would focus on the Restoration school of magic, with spells from both Destruction and Alteration being added to his repertoire over time. With his decision made, he turned his attention back to the list.

Alteration, Novice:
Candlelight
Equilibrium
Oakflesh

Conjuration, Novice:
Bound Sword
Conjure Familiar
Raise Zombie

Destruction, Novice:
Flames
Frostbite
Sparks

Illusion, Novice:
Clairvoyance
Courage
Fury

Restoration, Novice:
Healing
Lesser Ward

Each spell was written in white, no doubt showing that they were unlocked. However, he figured each one was a link that led to a new page that would detail the spell in question. Tapping on Healing, he was met with a screen change. The new page had another black, star-ridden background with paragraphs of text. However, there was something new. Centered above the text was a shifting aura of light, which Ash quickly realized was the visual representation of the Healing spell. With that in mind, he began reading.

“The Healing spell, the most well known Restoration spell in Tamriel. Did you know that the only reason it’s well known is because Healing Hands is often mistaken as Healing? That’s right, ridiculous! For those of you not aware, Healing is a self-cast spell designed to heal the caster and the caster alone. Healing Hands, an Apprentice-rank spell, is designed to heal others.”

“With that in mind, realize that the Healing spell will fail to cast entirely should the caster not be injured. Yes, that means you must be hurt to practice this spell! No, I’m not asking you to cut a limb off- mostly because Healing won’t regrow it. Healing can be used to fix broken bones, lacerations, gashes, blood loss, yes, but that’s not what you want to practice on. It can also be used to heal soreness, paper cuts, finger pricks, and other tiny wounds that are nearly unnoticeable, which is what you’ll be practicing on.”

“To properly cast Healing, you must first know the nature of the wound. It doesn’t have to be specific, just known. You know that you have a broken rib? Doesn’t matter if its a hairline fracture, complete shatter, or even four broken ribs! Now that you know the injury, you can heal it all with the spell. Of course, the worse the injury is, the longer it will take to heal and the more Magicka it requires. Depending on both the injury you’ve received and the skill of yourself, it might even take several sessions to heal. You also need to envision a golden light coming from the hand you use to cast with and slowly wrapping around the injury, among other things that I’ll leave you to figure out.”

“Now that you understand how to cast the spell, you just need to do it! Go ahead, get a small knife, and cut your finger or anywhere else you so choose. No pain, no gain, eh?”

Reading that, Ash lowered his phone and turned to the guard who had been tasked with escorting him and gathering materials for him. She had moved over to the gazebo at some point and lied down, watching him and most likely using this assignment as a chance to rest and relax on the job, not that he blamed her. Seeing his attention turned to her, she quickly gained a curious look. “Do you need something, sir?”

“Will you find me a small knife? It doesn’t need to be big, but it does need to be sharp.” Ash requested.

She nodded and stood up from the cushion and quickly walked over to him. “You can use mine, if that suffices.”

“It will, thank you.”

The mare nodded once, using a hoof to reach underneath her left side, where her foreleg connected to her body, and he heard the sound of sliding metal as a knife seemed to appear out of thin air. Seeing his intrigued look, she smiled lightly. “Invisibility enchantment. It’s so nopony can disarm a guard and use their weapon against them.”

Flipping the knife around so she was holding it by the blade, she held the handle out to him, which he took. Looking it over, he saw that it was a plain thing, with a steel blade and a wooden handle. There were grooves in it that provided better grip, but they weren’t aligned to a human’s fingers so it felt a little uncomfortable. Idly, Ash wondered if the smoothed grooves aligned to a pony’s grip, however they gripped it aside. “Thank you, miss?”

“Private Star.” The mare replied, holding out her hoof to him.

Switching the knife to his left hand, he gripped her hoof with his right and shook it. “Ashephelyes, though you can call me Ash. Though, Star as in Star’s Yard?”

She smiled lightly and shook her head. “No, sir. This courtyard is called Star’s Yard because off-duty guards and staff will sometimes come here to stargaze. Every so often, Princess Luna will make an appearance to get to know the guards and staff a little better, which only makes this place more popular. May I ask what you are doing, if it’s not too bold?”

It seemed that the request had broken the ice and caught her interest, though Ash didn’t mind the questions at all. “It’s not too bold at all. I’m practicing and learning my form of magic which is different than that of a Unicorn’s or Alicorn’s. I’m currently learning a spell from the Restoration school of magic, specifically Healing.”

“So you want to be a doctor, or do you want to know the spell just in case?” Star asked.

“A little bit of both, honestly. If I’m right, and so far it seems like I am, some of the higher rank Restoration spells can heal fatal wounds and cure previously incurable diseases. If that’s the case, I want to be able to help, though I’m sure ponies will need to test my spells thoroughly before allowing me to cast them on patients.” Ash explained. “Healing, the lowest rank spell, only works under two conditions; it only works on the caster, and the caster has to have some type of wound to be healed. Otherwise, the spell just doesn’t cast.”

“That’s...actually a noble goal, Ash. If the spells really work that well, my advice would be to bring it to Princess Celestia herself. You’ll likely be able to avoid all the hoops a certifier will have you jump through and get certified much quicker.”

“Certifier?” Ash asked.

“A group of accomplished mages whose jobs include examining new spells, discovering what they are most effectively used for, and so on. If this healing spell works, you’ll have to get certified to use it on patients, or else you’re doing it illegally, and that involves a lot of tests and other things.” Star explained.

“Thanks for the warning. I’m going to start casting the spell now, and if you want to watch, feel free.” Ash said, receiving a nod in reply.

Gripping her knife in his right hand again, he quickly ran it across the palm of his left hand, leaving behind a trail of red that was growing. While the cut did hurt, it wasn’t incredibly painful, and it was lessened even more by the fact that he was expecting it entirely. Holding his right hand palm-down above his left, he imagined beams and ribbons of golden light trailing down from his hand onto his left, gently wrapping around it. He imagined the red blood slowly fading away, his hand itching as the wound slowly knitted itself closed. He imagined the pain fading away, replaced by a sense of warmth that relaxed the muscles and washed away any left over discomfort.

“Woah…” He heard Star breathe out. At some point, the line between imagination and reality blurred, the golden light seeming to fade out of his mind and into the real world. The itching he had imagined was now real, Ash having to force down the urge to cancel his spell and scratch the hell out of his hand. The blood that he imagined fading away was evaporating, a soft red mist rising from his hand and fading out. With the blood gone, he could watch as the wound began to close, the two sides coming together seamlessly, leaving behind not even a scar. Throughout the entire process, the two could hear a high-pitched humming sound that was the familiar sound of Healing.

Ash ended the spell and set his hand down, surprised to feel nothing, not even the tightness in his chest that he had expected. Then again, healing that tiny would had most likely taken almost no Magicka at all, just time. All in all, it had taken Ash about ten seconds for the spell to begin and about two for the spell to heal the cut. Examining his palm, he saw that the wound had entirely healed, no remaining discomfort, pain, or even tightness of flesh. Just a palm that was perfectly normal. From his side, he heard Star speak in amazement. “I’ve never seen magic look like that!”

“What do you mean, Miss Star?” Ash asked, tearing his gaze from his hand to the mare. Her pink eyes were wide, amazement and wonder clear in them.

“Most spells just have a glow around the caster’s horn, and another glow around the target.” She explained softly. “That magic… it seemed almost alive!”

Aetherius is the Immortal Plane of the Aedra, after all. Maybe it is alive, in a sense. Maybe that’s part of understanding spells and becoming better at them?

“Can you heal others with it?” Star asked curiously.

“Not yet, Miss Star.” Ash said, but before he could continue, the mare spoke.

“Just Star since we’re the only ones out here.” Ash nodded and continued.

“This spell is called Healing and it only works on the caster. Healing Hands, however, only works on another target. In order for me to learn Healing Hands, I need to be able to cast both Healing easily and quickly, and I'd like to be able to cast Lesser Ward.” Ash explained.

“What’s Lesser Ward?”

“A simple magical barrier than can block other magic. It does have a limit, though. Should the opponent spell be too powerful, it’ll shatter my Ward and stun me. I want to practice Healing a bit more before moving on to Lesser Ward.” Ash told her, which she nodded and proceeded to plant her rump on the ground, obviously enthralled by his magic. In all honestly, Ash found it surprising that an Earth pony was as interested as she was, but he didn’t mind. She provided the opportunity to talk and even bounce ideas off of if needed, which he would be thankful if it came to it.

Grabbing the knife from the top of the rock beside, he quickly ran it across his palm again, the sharpened cleanly slicing deeper into his hand than before, thankfully a clean cut rather than tearing or ripping his skin apart- a much more painful injury. Before he set the knife down, he cut his hand again perpendicular to the first cut, putting a large ‘X’ across his palm, wincing as the knife ran over the first cut again. He set the blade down and focused again, the same feelings and thoughts running through his mind as he imagined the wound healing.

This time, he was able to separate reality and his mind easier, actually noticing when the spell went from nothing more than his imagination to actual magic being casted. The light, once again, wrapped around his hand. This time, between the noticeable pain, the warmth, and the powerful sensation of his skin crawling and shifting, his concentration wavered. With a sound like a snapping thread, the ribbons of light split and the spell faded away. To his side, Star recoiled from the sudden sound, the loud noise entirely unexpected.

Ash grunted, breathing out a swear as the pain returned in full-force, seemingly even greater than before. Reaching down to the stream, he washed his hand of the blood and examined it. To his surprise, the wound was worse. What was once two clean lines was now two jagged slashes, with the air they met looking red and smooth like it had been burned slightly. Before anything else could happen, his phone let out a soft beep, catching his and Star’s attention. Sticking his left hand back in the water to wash the blood off and cool the burn, he grabbed his phone and tapped twice, lighting the screen up to the same app. However, the Healing page was gone, replaced by a pop-up message from the app.

“Congratulations, you experienced your first backlash! This means your concentration wavered or vanished while casting a spell! All spells can do as such, though higher-tier spells have a much worse consequence. As you may have noticed, a failed Healing spell actually makes the wound worse! Why? Because the pure Magicka snaps, crackles, and pops, leaving behind mana burns and damaging the flesh. I have good news and bad news for you, though.”

“Good news, the damaged flesh can be healed by casting the spell again and not losing your focus. Bad news, mana burns can’t be healed by Magicka, as the burns themselves are created by Magicka and therefore immune to magic. I know what you’re thinking. Don’t. While covering yourself in mana burns to make yourself immune to magic does work, it’s not worth it. I’ve lost two students to such a foolish idea!”

The information was useful, since Ash had never heard of mana burn nor backlashes, though that made sense. The Dragonborn wouldn’t have been nearly as successful if his spells exploded in his face while fighting Alduin. Once he set the phone back down on the rock, Star quickly walked over, nervousness clear in every step. “Are you alright?”

“Ish.” Ash replied. “I lost my focus because of the pain and the distraction of the spell itself, which made it backlash. The cuts are worse now and there’s a bit of a mana burn, there, which I’ll have to deal with.”

“Why can’t you just heal it?”

“Mana burn can’t be healed by Magicka because it’s caused by Magicka. I guess it’s like trying to heal a fire burn with fire. Well, not exactly like that, since a mana burn is outright immune to magic.” Ash explained.

“I get the idea. What was that thing that beeped?”

“My guide on magic. It’s attuned to my own magic...somehow. Because of that, it knows when I fuck a spell up and can even restrict my access to higher level magics to prevent me from killing myself by casting a spell that’s too high or too hard for me.” Ash explained, though Star winced when he swore.

“Don’t...don’t do that. Don’t swear. It’s wrong.” Star pleaded, her large eyes staring at him.

I don’t give a fuck.

“Like I told the Princesses, I’ll try, but my kind swears all the time, so I’m trying to undo two decades of conditioning and I’ve been here less than a day. Give me a moment for me to try to heal the cuts, okay?”

“Okay.” Star replied softly.

Ash pulled his hand out of the water, watching as cuts began to leak blood, which ran down the side of his hand and dripped into the stream, where it was washed away by the miniscule current. Keeping his hand flat and still, he held his right hand over it and imagined the tendrils of light again, the simple yet effective Healing spell that would close the cuts. He imagined the humming of the spell, the ribbons of light, the itching of his flesh, and closing wounds. Soon enough, the spell began to cast, his jagged cuts on his hand slowly inching closer and closer to each other. Several seconds later, Ash allowed the spell to end, running his thumb over his palm. While the cuts were healed and gone, the burn still remained. It stung to the touch, but wasn’t too bad. It felt less like being burned by hot grease and more like holding his hand over not-quite boiling water for a couple seconds.

“I think that’s enough cutting and healing myself.” Ash said, mostly to himself. “I don’t want to cut my left hand again with the burn there, and I’m not sure how it will affect my casting if I try to cast with my left hand.”

“Why don’t you start to learn the Ward?” Star asked. “I can get a Unicorn to cast spells at you for you to block.”

“I’d appreciate that, but not yet.” The mage said. “I’d like to be able to hold it up, first.”

From what Ash figured, he still had most of his reserves left. With his connection to Aetherius, he was always regaining his Magicka, except when he was casting, and Healing wasn’t a hard to cast spell, so he should have plenty left. He figured he would practice until he could hold a Ward, then ask Star to find a Unicorn and ask them to help. Lighting up his phone screen and hit ‘back’ brought him back to the Novice spell list from before. Tapping Lesser Ward brought him to a new page, which showed a blue shield of energy instead of golden light.

“Wards are, amongst the Restoration school, some of the hardest spells to cast. The Lesser Ward, fortunately for you, is just as easy to cast as any other Novice spell! Now that you’ve experienced a backlash, I will begin warning you what the backlash of each spell does. A Lesser Ward, when failed, will temporarily sever your connection to Aetherius, which will be reformed after a few minutes. It will also physically throw you backwards, up to ten feet or so, so make sure you aren’t on a ledge!”

“All Wards will allow spells to pass through them one-way, so make sure you don’t hold them backwards! With an active Ward, you will be able to block incoming spells while still casting your own, though Wards should be used only when necessary as they are rather Magicka intensive. My recommendation is to dodge most spells and block the ones you can’t dodge.”

“To cast a Lesser Ward, you must first hold your hand flat, palm out, in front of you. The direction of your palm is the direction the Ward is facing, so never face your palm toward you. Spells will pass straight through the Ward and hit you! To cast, you must imagine a stream, a blue stream specifically. This stream is your Magicka. Imagine it flowing through your body, out your casting hand, and into a shield around your hand. This will cast the Ward. Should the ‘stream’ be interrupted, the spell will backlash. Should this stream begin to ‘dry out,’ end the spell immediately. It means you are running low on Magicka, and if you run out with an active Ward, it will backlash. Try casting it. Practice maintaining the spell under normal conditions before having another mage shoot a spell at you. You don’t want it to fail mid-combat!”

Looking up from his phone that he held in his left hand, he pointed his right hand outward, the palm and fingers as flat as he could make them. He imagined the stream Shalidor had said, imagined the flow of pure Magicka as the energy exited his reserves, flowed into his hand, and into the air in front of him. As he watched, the air began to turn blue with a flickering ‘rim’ around the shield as the Ward took hold. He held it for several seconds, feeling a tightness in his chest form and held it for several more. Ash ended the spell up abruptly as the tightness faded, replaced by an urge to throw up. He doubled over, holding onto his throat with his right hand as he let out a loud groan.

Ash heard Star quickly trot around the edge of the rock and stop next to him, speaking softly. “Are you okay? Do you need me to get a doctor?”

“No,” Ash forced out. “Just a little sick from spending too much Magicka. Give me a few minutes. I’ll be fine.”

She nodded and sat down, patiently waiting for him to recover. After about fifteen minutes, Ash sat up again and gave her a small smile. “Thanks for waiting for me. How long did I hold it up for?”

“About twenty seconds.”

“That’s why.” The man grunted. “I’m going to have to cancel on testing the Ward against a Unicorn today.”

“Why?”

“I’m at about 40% of my reserve. I won’t be back to full for another hour or so.” Ash explained.

“Why don’t you go take a short nap on the gazebo, then? I can bring you something to snack on and then go search for a Unicorn to practice with.” Star offered. At this point, she was interested in his magic just as much as he was, and she didn’t know if she would be assigned to him again so this might be her only chance to see him cast his strange magic. The way the Ward had flickered and shifted made it seem even more alive than the Healing spell had. It amazed her.

Ash considered her offer for a moment. He didn’t like the idea of taking a nap in the middle of the day. Actually, with a glance to his phone, he saw that it was now three in the afternoon. Still, he didn’t want to sleep. Instead, he wanted to read up on the Enchanting entry. That was something that he could really use, and he wanted to know how Soul Gems worked or even if they still existed in the real world.

“Yeah, I think I’ll take you up on that.” Ash said, slowly rising to his feet. “Though I don’t think I’ll sleep. I’ll probably just read some more of the guide. Thank you.”

“No problem, sir. A maid will be by with a snack in twenty minutes or so, and I’ll be back once I find a Unicorn.” The guard reassured him before walking toward the door they had used to enter. Ash watched her leave for a moment, then turned and walked over to the gazebo and lied down on it, using the soft cushions to keep him off of the hardwood. While the sun outside wasn’t particularly hot, it was warm in the sunlight, and the shade provided a nice cool area for him to rest in.

“How hard can enchanting be, anyway?” Ash murmured to himself, opening his phone once again.

Magic, Part III

“Enchanting is the process through which Aetherium mages imbue raw Magicka into various clothing, armor, and jewelry. However, there are certain requirements needed to be taken in order to properly enchant an item. The first requirement is an Arcane Enchanter, which is the device that will focus the Magicka into specific enhancements. The material an Enchanter may be made out of is entirely up to you, however there must be several specific additions that allow an Enchanter to work properly.”

“An Enchanter must have a skull as the centerpiece. It can be anything- a horse, a wolf, a troll, or any other manner of creature. However, the more attuned to magic the creature was, the more effective its skull will be in powering an Enchanter. Above the skull must be a focusing crystal, which I will detail how to make later. There must also be several wax candles, five on each side of the skull, that are lit only when the Enchanter is active. Simply blow out the candles when you aren’t using the Enchanter and relight them when you are.”

“On the table itself must be the five symbols of the five schools inscribed into the table and imbued with Magicka, which I will teach you later. Set between those five symbols must be another symbol, the symbol of equipment. Together, these symbols represent the imbuement of Magicka into the piece of equipment.”

“One of the most effective materials to make an Enchanter out of is wrought iron, though any metal or wood will work as well. However, be warned that a failed Fire enchantment could set a wooden Enchanter on fire, forcing you to remake the entire table. After you create an Enchanter, you will be able to augment it with various additions and upgrades, which will make it more effective. However, doing as such requires knowledge of enchanting, which requires a basic enchanter.”

“Once an Enchanter is fully built, you can begin enchanting. The first question you must ask is ‘How do I power my enchantments?”

“Simple. Soul gems! Soul gems are rare gems found all over the world, both deep underground and on the surface. A filled soul gem can power the initial enchantment of an item, or refill the enchantment on a weapon. To fill a soul gem, you’ll need to either have a weapon enchanted with Soul Trap already and kill a being, or know the spell Soul Trap, cast it on the target, and kill the target.”

“Another question you may ask is ‘How do I learn new enchantments?’ By disenchanting existing items, first! Keep in mind that the process of ripping out an enchantment will invariably destroy the item in question, so make sure it’s worth it. Once you discover an enchantment, the corresponding entry will be unlocked in the ‘Enchantment Catalogue’ where you’ll be able to keep your memory fresh.”

“The final question you might ask is ‘I have a soul gem, I know an enchantment, now how do I enchant?’ With an Enchanter! Sarcasm aside, you start by placing the to-be-enchanted equipment in the center of the table, no matter the size. Then, you focus your energies (to be explained later) to the correct enchantment, and tap a filled soul gem to the focusing crystal, which will shatter and fill the crystal with energy, which will then be weaved into the proper enchantment by your Magicka, and imbued into the equipment via the table itself.”

Ash reached the bottom of the page and saw another verification, which he selected. The first question appeared instantly, which he quickly read over.

“What must the centerpiece of an Arcane Enchanter be?”

A.) Focusing crystal
B.) Live rabbit
C.) A Skull
D.) Daedra Heart

Tapping ‘Skull,’ he received a check mark before another question appeared.

“What is the ideal material for an Arcane Enchanter to be made of?”

A.) Wrought Iron
B.) Pure Gold
C.) Dragonbone
D.) Ebony

Wrought iron.

“What must a soul gem be touched to in order to power an Arcane Enchanter?”

A.) Equipment symbol
B.) Candle
C.) Focusing crystal
D.) Skull

Focusing crystal.

“How does one fill a soul gem?”

A.) Soul Trap
B.) Flame
C.) Fortify Magic
D.) Fortify Stamina

Soul Trap.

The pop-ups vanished, replaced by another series of messages.

Everything You Need to Know About Soul Gems Unlocked!
Building an Arcane Enchanter Unlocked!

Ash smiled lightly, closed the app and set his phone down, and closed his eyes. Star had been gone for a little over half an hour now, giving the mage time to practice Healing a few more times even with his mana burn. With his extra practice, he felt confident that he would be able to cast it without failing even if he was slightly injured. Going farther than small cuts and tiny lashes, Ash wasn’t sure if his concentration would hold out. If he ended up breaking a bone, the man had no doubt that he wouldn’t be able to cast a spell as it was.

True to Star’s word, a maid had come some twenty minutes ago with a small cart, giving him a bowl of fruit and a large cup of tea, both of which were gone now. As it was, Ash didn’t want to cast any more spells so he would have enough Magicka to practice his Ward with the Unicorn.

He had noticed that, while resting and meditating, not only did his recharging speed increase drastically, but he could see a ‘light’ filter through his eyelids. The first time it had happened, he opened his eyes but nothing had changed. Every future time, with the light and warmth appearing, he could not pinpoint the source, but then a thought struck him. Ash could only notice the light when he was meditating, which was used to strengthen his connection to Aetherius. Perhaps the light that he saw was the light of Aetherius? And the warmth was pure Magicka? He wasn’t sure, but he was willing to bet on it.

“So you’re the one practicing magic?” Ash heard a voice ask him, making him jump in shock. He had not heard anyone walk up, nor had he heard the large oak doors open or shut, likely too deep in his own thoughts to notice it. Ash looked up at the pony, who was giggling lightly as she watched him, to see a familiar face, even if this was the first time he saw it in person.

“Sorry about that, I didn’t mean to scare you. I thought you heard the doors.” Twilight said with a reserved smile on her muzzle, with Star standing behind her and smiling as well. Ash quickly stood up and held his hand out to her, which she placed her hoof in and they shook.

“I was lost in thought, ma’am. I’m Ash.” He said. Truth be told, he was also amazed that of all the Unicorns Star could have found, she found Twilight.

“Twilight Sparkle.” She replied, though he already knew her name. “I already know about you, at least somewhat. Princess Celestia told me. Are you really the only one to arrive from your world?”

“Only one of my kind here.” Ash said, though he was surprised she didn’t seem quite as excited as he expected. She seemed much calmer, almost relaxed, considering she was speaking to a being from another world. He had expected to be bombarded by questions already. “If you want to know more about it, feel free to ask one of the Princesses. I assume Star informed you of my intentions before you came here?”

“She said that you wanted to practice some kind of magic shield, right? And you needed a Unicorn to practice with.” Twilight said.

Ash nodded in reply, leaving the gazebo and walking toward the rock again, the two mares following him. “That’s right. My Wards can block my kind of magic, but I need to test it to see if it can block Unicorn magic.”

“So you want me to fire a bolt at you?” Twilight asked. “I’m not too sure how strong it’ll be. I’m not very well-learned in combat magic.”

“No, I’d like to start with something that doesn’t hurt but it’s still a bolt or ray. My magic requires focus, and I don’t want to lose my focus with a firebolt flying at me.” Ash replied.

“So you mostly want focus training?”

“That’s right, for now at least. I’m just beginning to learn my magic, so I need to practice keeping focus. If I lose it, my spells ‘snap,’ which has rather unfortunate consequences. The strongest of my spells could outright kill me if I let them backlash.” Ash explained to her, making her frown thoughtfully.

“While most Unicorn spells can backlash, it’s not as dangerous as your magic is. I can help you practice your magic today, and whenever I’m at the castle or you’re in Ponyville, on one condition.”

“Which is?”

Twilight flashed him a wide smile. “You’ll explain to me how your magic works, and demonstrate to me spells that you know. Deal?”

“Deal.” Ash replied, a smile likewise on his face. Twilight nodded firmly, a satisfied smile on her muzzle. “Let’s work on my focus for a bit, and once I get tired, I’ll explain my magic.”

“Alright!” Twilight exclaimed. Slowly, Ash could see Twilight’s near-fanatical amazement with magic and anything new coming out. While she wasn’t quite as exuberant as he expected, it likely had something to do with him being someone and something she didn’t recognize.

“Just stand across from me, about five feet, and when you see the barrier start to form, fire a non-lethal magic blast at me. If it just pases through my Ward, we’ll have to quit.” Ash told her. She nodded and walked a few feet away, then turned back to him with her lighting up. Star walked several feet to the side, out of the way of any blasts, and stopped to watch. “Ready?”

Ash received a nod from Twilight, so he held out his hand with the palm facing toward her. He imagined a stream of pure Magicka flowing from his body, through his arm, into his hand, and into the air around his hand. A blue barrier began to form, bright and flickering. Seeing that, Twilight immediately launched a bolt of white light that flew towards him. Knowing that the bolt wouldn’t harm him anyway, Ash didn’t flinch at all Right before it reached halfway, the Ward seemed to ‘solidify,’ turning a darker blue and less transparent, signifying that it was charged. Moments later, the light impacted the Ward and dissipated instantly, splashing against the magic like water.

“Now we know that your Ward can block my magic. Do you want to keep practicing with the Light Ray spell?” She asked him.

“No.” Ash sighed, letting the Ward drop. “Because I’m not in a stressful situation, I can ignore the spell easily enough. My fears of losing my focus with a Ward are unfounded.”

“Why is that?” Twilight asked walking over to him.

“I have confidence in the spell.” Ash explained. “Because of that, I know nothing will hit me.”

“So there’s no fear or worry to distract you.” The Unicorn guessed.

“Right.” He agreed. “Unless I’m in an actual battle for my life, I’m at no risk of losing my focus.”

“Remember,” Star added from the side. “You only lost your focus with the other spell because you were in pain. Maybe only pain can cause you to lose focus?”

“It would seem so.” Ash said. “Either pain or an actual distraction. I’m prepared for this so there’s no surprise or worry. Any way you know how to fix that, Twilight?”

“Other than randomly slinging a spell at you every now and then, no.” Twilight said with an amused look. “However entertaining the idea might be, it’s not possible. It looked like that ‘Ward’ needs time to charge, which means you can’t put it up with a spell already in flight at you.”

“Right.”

“Unicorns are trained to keep those focus by casting the spell again and again, or by channeling a continuous spell for an extended amount of time.” Twilight explained.

“That’s pretty much what my guide recommended. Keep casting it until I get used to casting. With that being a bust, I suppose I owe you a discussion, don’t I?”

Twilight’s mood shifted instantly into pure eagerness. However, before she could start jumping around, she forced herself to calm down. She seemed to take a couple deep breaths before speaking. “Actually, why don’t we continue practicing with your Ward? It’ll give you time to familiarize yourself with the process and give me time to prepare some questions. Okay?”

“Okay.” Ash agreed. With a flash of light, Twilight was once again several feet away with her horn alight and ready to cast spells. Star immediately scrambled away, tales of Twilight’s magical prowess making her realize she did not want to be nearby for this.

“Fair warning, Ash, I’m going to be using energy blasts. It’s not a spell, per se, but it is active magic. It’ll help get you accustomed to the feedback of something impacting your Ward, and if your Ward should break, it’ll feel like a hard shove rather than a massive get of fire.” Twilight warned him, making him give her a thankful nod.

Ash held out his hand and called forth his Magicka, flowing it into the Ward he had formed thrice now. The now-familiar blue shield faded into existence, then hardened in time to block a purple bolt of magic from Twilight. Ash felt his arm jerk as a shockwave of energy seemed to reverberate up the ‘stream’ of Magicka. Moments later, Ash felt two more hit the Ward, almost knocking his arm to the side. With every blast, it felt like something was physically grasping the stream of energy and yanking it, threatening to jerk his arm to the side entirely.

Fortunately, it didn’t seem like blocking magic took extra energy. Even with Twilight blasting away at his shield, he felt the stream was flowing at a constant speed, neither increasing nor decreasing in response to Twilight’s magic. After about four hits, he felt a tightness in his chest begin to form. When nine more hit his shield, which still had yet to waver or fail, he felt the tightness vanish and be replaced by a light nausea. “Twilight, that’s enough.”

Her aura vanished and he let his Ward drop. Seeing the vaguely sick look on his face, she quickly trotted over. “Are you okay? You’re not looking well. We can… can have the discussion later.”

While it seemed to physically pain her to say she would wait until another time to talk about his magic, she was concerned enough for his health to be willing to bear with it. That made Ash smile. “I’m fine, or I will be. If I run low on my reserves, I start to feel bad. It starts with a strain in my chest, then nausea, and ends with pain once I’m almost entirely out. I’m feeling just a little sick, which will go away once I recover some Magicka. Thank you for helping me.”

“You’re welcome.” Twilight said with a small smile surfacing, happy to know he wasn’t hurt. “Here, place your paw on my withers and we’ll walk over to the gazebo.”

“Hand.” Ash corrected. “I’m not that sick, though. I’m more than fine to walk.”

Ash proved his words by walking his way over to the gazebo, Twilight keeping up as Star joined them. From the looks of it, Star seemed interested in learning how his magic worked just as much as Twilight was. He sat down on one of the cushions with Twilight taking a spot across from him. Star chose to sit down next to him, but sat in such a way that she was able to keep an eye on the doors, still doing her duty of guarding and escorting him. “How do you want to start, Twilight?”

With a flash of purple light and soft pop, a journal, inkwell, and quill appeared in her magical grip. She smiled at him sheepishly when he gave her an amused look, then spoke. “Why don’t you start with how you regain your magic?”

“Well, first thing to clarify is that my magic is referred to as ‘Magicka,’ which should help you differentiate between the two types. As I explained to the Princesses, I gain my Magicka from Aetherius, another plane of existence. Everyone is born with a connection to Aetherius, though some people’s connection to it is so weak they can’t harness it. Others can only regain Magicka by sleeping, as it is commonly believed the dream realm is close to Aetherius. I have a relatively strong connection to Aetherius, which means I can regain my Magicka just by resting for a little while.”

“You said this ‘Aetherius’ is another plane, right? How does it come into this plane?”

“The sun and stars.” Ash explained. “During the creation of Mundus, the Mortal Plane, the God of Magic, Magnus, abandoned this plane and tore open a hole into Aetherius, which is said to be the sun. The stars are said to be smaller holes torn open by those who followed Magnus, and they too emit Magicka. My connection to Aetherius is like a… a thread, that runs from me and into Aetherius through the holes.”

“No offense to your kind’s culture, but I don’t think that’s true. The sun is moved every day by Princess Celestia, and it’s three-dimensional, so it can’t be a hole in this world.” Twilight replied.

“Not all holes are two-dimensional, Twilight.” Ash replied.

“Fair point.” Twilight admitted. “Though that still leaves the problem of how you’re getting Magicka here. Your sun isn’t the same as this one.”

“Twilight, what’s a far off sun?”

“A star, wh- Oh, nevermind.” Twilight answered, flashing him a sheepish smile. “So instead of getting your Magicka from your sun, you’re getting it from ours because, as a star, it’s still a hole into Aetherius.”

“That’s what I figure, at least.”

“How come Princess Celestia can move it, though?” Twilight asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I’m going to have to guess sheer magical power, though it doesn’t really change anything. Whether it’s a hole into Aetherius or not doesn’t change the fact that she moves it twice a day.”

Twilight conceded his point, then asked another question. “What about Magicka itself? Is it combat-focused, or what?”

“Well, there’s more than just spells that it’s used for. Enchanting is one such use, as it runs off of Magicka, even if an enchanter doesn’t power it himself.”

“So the magic for your enchanting comes from somewhere else? Where?”

“Soul gems.” Ash answered. “A special gem that can store a large amount of energy. It provides the Magicka required for enchanting, instead of the enchanter having to use his Magicka. Depending on who you speak to, Alchemy is a process that requires Magicka as well. If it’s true, the plants and ingredients themselves provide the raw Magicka needed to make various potions.”

“Of course, there’s also the classic spells that fall under five schools of magic, those being Alteration, Illusion, Restoration, Destruction, and Conjuration.”

“Can you give me a basic rundown of each school?” Twilight asked, jotting down what he said as quickly as he was saying it.

“Of course. The Alteration school deals with manipulating the physical world to the benefit of the caster with spells that harden the flesh and create magical lights. The school of Illusion deals with manipulating the minds of enemies, such as forcing them to attack anyone in sight, forcing them to calm down, or even inspiring a sense of pure fear in them. The Restoration school deals with healing life-threatening wounds, striking blows against the undead, and creating barriers that block enemy magic.”

Ash paused to take a breath, easily spotting the worried looks the two mares shared when he mentioned the undead. Obviously, necromancy wasn’t a respected school, as he suspected. “Destruction deals with using fire, ice, and lightning in a myriad of ways to directly harm an opponent. Last but not least is Conjuration, which involves summoning Daedra from Oblivion and reanimating the dead.”

“Necromancy!” Twilight shouted while Star physically recoiled. While Star looked disgusted, Twilight looked more concerned that disgusted. “Have you raised the dead?”

“No, I haven’t. The only spells I know right now are Healing, Lesser Ward, and Flames.” Ash explained.

Star sighed. “Good. Necromancy is illegal in Equestria.”

“Actually, you just need a dark magic license to practice it.” Twilight corrected. “I don’t have one, but there somewhat easy to get. Summoning creatures also counts as dark magic, so you can’t do that either, Ash.”

While Star was busy staring in shock, Ash took note of the fact that dark magic was legal, if restricted. “Twilight, where would one go to get a dark magic license. I do plan to learn some Conjuration spells, so I’ll need one in the future.”

“Princess Celestia or Princess Luna.” Twilight replied. “They’re the only ones legally authorized to give them out.”

“Right, thanks. That’s something to discuss at a later date.”

Twilight nodded. “So how do you cast your spells? Unicorns have to consciously weave our magic into an effect with our horns, then release it into the world through our horns.”

“Well, it depends on the rank of the spell, which goes from Novice, to Apprentice, Adept, Expert, and Master. The higher the spell, the harder it is to cast and the more it requires. I think some later spells will require something similar to that, but Novice rank spells just require a basic understanding of the spell and imagination.”

“Imagination?” Star, surprisingly, was the one to asked. Twilight and Ash shared a look, both of them agreeing that Star was looking for a distraction from necromancy.

“I have to imagine how the spell looks, feels, sounds, etc. If I do it properly, my imagination becomes real and the spell casts. For Flames, I have to imagine the roar and crackling of the fire, the heat it gives off, the light it emits, and so on. If I do it right, the spell casts.” Ash explained.

“Then wouldn’t it be incredibly simple to create new spells?” Twilight asked. “I mean, all you would have to do is imagine a new effect and let it happen.”

“I’m...not sure. I don’t think it’s that easy, but you might be onto something, honestly. I’ll have to see if my guide says anything on it later.” If that was the case, this magic might be quite a bit more useful than even he expected. Ash really did doubt it was that simple, but if it was, it would be amazing.

“Can a pony learn your magic?” Twilight asked curiously, though the hint of desire in her eyes made it clear that she mostly wanted to know if she could learn his magic.

“Once again, I don’t know. Learning my magic requires a connection to Aetherius, which I think is only possible if your species was created by an Aedra. Ponies might be created by one, but I’m not sure.” Ash told her, making her practically deflate. “However, once I know more about my magic, I would be willing to give it a try, at least.”

That cheered her up. “Thank you. If it works, I’m sure it’ll be easy to learn it!”

Ash chuckled. “Not at all. From what I understand, Unicorn magic comes from an entirely different place than Aetherius Magicka, and it’s also stored in a different place. Which means that if you can learn Magicka, you’ll be starting from a Novice rank and having to learn everything all over again.”

Her eyes folded back as she became a little disheartened, but that passed quickly as she seemed to take it as a challenge, looking up at him with fire in her eyes. “That’ll make it more interested, then. At least I’ll have my own magic to fall back on.”

“If it’s possible.”

“If it is, I’ll be sure to surpass you.” Twilight said with a smug little grin on her muzzle.

“Try it, Sparks. I’m already ahead of you.” Ash replied with his own. Their moment was broken when he heard Star groan from the side.

“Oh, Celestia help me now. There’s two of them! The castle is doomed!”

“I’m not that bad!” Twilight defended herself.

“Miss Sparkle, I was here when you were first accepted as Princess Celestia’s protege. I know exactly how enamored you can get when it comes to practicing new magic. They had to abandon the old laboratory!”

“What’s this about abandoning a laboratory?”

Star moved to speak only to be silenced utterly when Twilight’s magic gripped her muzzle, forcing it shut. The Unicorn let out a nervous laugh toward the two while Star gaved her a mildly irritated yet amused glare, even as Ash watched on. After a moment, Twilight let go of the guard, who quickly spoke. “Ask Princess Celestia what happened on Miss Sparkle’s fourth magical surge!”

Ash grinned as Twilight’s ears folded flat, trying to intimidate Ash from bringing it up to the Princess. Unfortunately for the magenta mare, she looked nowhere near scary or intimidating. Instead, she just looked adorable. “I’ll have the chance to ask her later tonight. I’ve been invited to dinner with her and her sister.”

Star nodded like she knew the information, which she probably did. In fact, it wouldn’t have been surprising if she was ordered to escort him to the dinner once the time came around, though it would still be a while until then. By Ash’s reckoning, it was closing in on six and the dinner likely wouldn’t be until closer to seven or eight. Twilight didn’t seem surprised, either, but she did seem excited. Chances are, Celestia had told Twilight about him being invited when she told her student about him being from another world.

Actually… that posed a question. “Twilight, how long have you been in Canterlot? I’m just curious that I didn’t see you when I arrived. Star said that you were her student, so I’d assume you would have been nearby.”

At that, she blushed lightly, “I live in Ponyville and usually sent my lessons to here via dragon fire because she has me studying friendship, but every so often she’ll want to teach me something new like she did when I was younger, so I’ll plan a trip up here. We had actually stayed up really late last night and I was still sleeping when you appeared in the throne room.”

“Another thing, why aren’t you shocked by me being from another world? The Princesses accepted it pretty fast and you barely even mentioned it earlier.”

“It’s not that strange of a concept to Equestria. With Starswirl’s experimentation into portals, the knowledge of the multiverse theory, and legends of visitors, the idea of an otherworldly visitor isn’t that shocking. Of course, most ponies would look twice if they saw you, but they won’t gasp in shock or run in fear.”

“And for those who don’t know you’re from another world, they might mistake you for a new species recently discovered. With the ongoing expeditions south of the equator, well over a hundred new species and closer to six hundred subspecies have been discovered, though none of them have been intelligent so far.” Star added.

“Expeditions?”

Twilight answered his questions, no shocker there. “For close to three thousand years, nopony’s known what is south of the equator. Between the oceans, the heat, and the distance, nopony has been able to fund or successfully travel there. Only with the recent invention of airships have we been able to begin sending teams there to research and explore.”

It made sense that they had yet to explore their entire world. Humanity did the same so quickly and so early due to an innate curiosity and desire to know and have more. Ponies don’t seem to have that instinct and so they settle for what they have. Not to mention, ‘Terra’ seemed to be much larger than Earth, which would explain why it is harder to explore the surface.

Ash opened his mouth to speak but closed it when one of the sets of doors opened. Moving quickly, Star grabbed her knife from where he had set it and spun around, ready to face whoever it was that entered. She relaxed immediately when another guard entered, his gaze settling on the two. He trotted over, his metallic armor clanking together as he moved, until he stopped at the stairs that led up to the gazebo. “Their majesties Princess Celestia and Princess Luna invite you both to dinner with them. Private Star, you are to lead them there.”

“Yes sir!” She said, snapping to a salute.

Or they have dinner at six. Just means I can ask them about the surge sooner.

The newcomer nodded once, turned around, and walked out the way he came without a second glance. Seeing the iconic attitude of a royal guard made Ash wonder why Star didn’t behave the same way. He tried pushed the thought aside when the mare turned to them both and gestured toward the door with her head. “Come on, I’ll lead you to the dining room.”

Twilight and Ash both followed as she led the way, though the question kept bouncing around his head. “Hey, Star?”

“Yes?”

“How come you aren’t as formal as he was?” Ash asked, hoping it wasn’t an inappropriate or offensive question.

Fortunately, it wasn’t. Star smiled and let out a light laugh. “As my duty to escort and guard you, and since you are neither nobility nor royalty, I’m allowed to act as I am. Should I have been assigned to Princess Celestia, I would be acting much as he was. Not all guard assignments require absolute discipline. In fact, they had to change their guidelines because too many guards were quitting out of boredom or they couldn’t put up with the stress standing in one position for twelve hours can put on the body. For the most part, actual ‘guard’ duty is dealt as a punishment, with the exception of when there’s not enough guards in trouble to fill all the positions.”

“Thanks, that was bugging me.” Ash said.

“No problem, sir.”

Author's Note

Yet another chapter, still sticking to my daily schedule. As always, feel free to comment what you think about the chapter or story in general.

Dinner

Boom!

The loud noise made Twilight jump, a softer-yet-still-loud squeak emanating from her muzzle. Her four hooves hit the floor with a clack before she spun around, glaring at the door. Ash, for his part, just grinned at the two Alicorns on the other end of the dining room. “Why are the doors in here so loud?”

“How is somepony going to rob us when every door sounds like a bomb going off?” Luna retorted with a joking smirk.

“Fair point.” Ash said, then patted Twilight on her withers. “Stop glaring at the door and go sit by your mentor.”

Twilight nodded rapidly, then trotted around the table and sat on a large red cushion next to Celestia. Ash walked around the other way, taking a seat next to Luna on yet another large red cushion. Food had already been delivered, with all four of them receiving some type of soup that Ash didn’t recognize along with some type of deep green juice that smelled sour and tasted just as it smelled, though he liked it. After trying to soup, he realized it was a vegetable stew with a few additions.

Seated at the table were two Alicorns, a Unicorn, and a human; otherwise, the room was empty of both guard and servant. Idly, Ash wondered if the dining room had ever been full before, not counting parties, but he doubted it.

“How did your magic practicing go, Ash?” Luna asked him, a curious glint clear in her eyes.

“It went rather well. I’ve decided to go down the Restoration school, which focuses on healing for the most part. I’ve got a decent grasp on Healing, which heals the caster, and Twilight helped me practice with Lesser Ward, which blocks magic up to a certain power.” Ash explained.

“Restoration, you say?” Luna asked. “Just how effective is it?”

Idly, Ash noticed Celestia and Twilight discussing something as well, though he wasn’t listening to whatever it was. “Well, right now, I only know Healing, which heals the caster at a slow but constant rate. Once I get better at Healing, I’ll be able to cast Healing Hands, which heals a target at a slow but constant rate. As I progress through Restoration, I’ll be able to learn Fast Healing, Heal Other, Close Wounds, and Grand Healing.”

Luna hummed in thought, an idea obviously coming to her. “I have a proposition for you, if you are seeking employment.”

“I’m listening.” The man replied.

“Once you learn Healing Hands, and once my sister or I certify the spell, perhaps you can work for the castle infirmary. With the training the guards go through, minor and moderate injuries are common enough to require healers to be on call.”

Ash took a moment to think, surprised at the offer. He had expected to have to attend some type of school or training course for several months or even a couple years before being allowed to provide medical assistance. Thinking it over for a moment, Ash realized it made sense, in a way. With healing magic replacing medication and treatments, a mage only needed to know enough to identify an injury rather than being able to go through proper procedure to fix it or wait for one who could. As a result, becoming a healer required almost nothing but medical magic.

“I’d appreciate it.” Ash replied after a moment. “Though I’d need to practice with the spell beforehand to become more efficient at it. As it is, it would take me hours to heal something like a broken bone, if not longer. It takes me to much Magicka and too much time to channel the Magicka to heal wounds as it is.”

Luna nodded in understanding. “I would be willing to assist you when the time comes. Should your spell be unable to heal a wound of mine, I will heal it myself.”

“I couldn’t ask you to injure yourself, Luna.”

“Then it’s a good thing that you aren’t asking me anyway.” The Alicorn replied with a small smirk. “Don’t expect me to break my leg for you to practice on. It’ll be small cuts for you to familiarize yourself with the spell. I don’t particularly enjoy pain.”

What that…? Could that have really been a sexual joke? However, before he could confirm or deny his concern, he heard Celestia speak.

“Ash, my student informs me that you seek to learn the Conjuration school, which involves necromancy and summoning.” Celestia said with an even tone.

“I hope to, yes. Twilight’s informed me that I would require a dark magic license, so I’m hoping to get one once I’m ready to undertake the Conjuration school.” Ash told her.

“You understand that, during the application process, I’ll ask you questions about your reasons for wanting a license, your mental ability to resist the corruption, and your intentions once you have the license, correct?” Celestia told him.

“I understand, however the Conjuration school doesn’t corrupt the mind like Unicorn dark magic does. For Aetherium mages, Conjuration is just another school.” Ash replied.

After a moment of thought, Celestia nodded. “I’d still like to test you on your ability to resist corruption, though.”

“I’m fine with that, but it’ll be awhile before I actually try to get one. I want to at least become an Adept so, if I do get the license, there’s less chance of me messing up a spell and having a summoned creature roam free.” Ash said.

With that, her stoic demeanor dropped and she gave him a small smile. “That’s rather good to hear. Out of curiosity, how long do you think it will take you advance?”

“As it is, I’m a Novice under the Restoration school. I know Healing and Lesser Ward, I just need to master them, and I’m hoping to learn Healing Hands within the next two weeks or so, depending on how easy it is to master Healing.”

“How does Healing Hands work?” Celestia questioned curiously.

“I’m going to assume it works like Healing, so as long as I know the injury and correctly envision the spell, I can heal any physical wound, like gashes, broken bones, and even just plain soreness.”

Her head tilted to the side, an action that looked adorable, even on a massive pony like it was. “Will it work on ponies?”

“I can only assume. The spell I know now, Healing, only works on the caster.”

Celestia hummed lightly for a moment. “If it works on ponies, would you like me to certify the spell and get you on track to becoming a healer? The guard could always use more, and it’ll be up to you if you stay in Canterlot or to another city.”

Luna just laughed before he could respond. “I’ve already made the same offer, sister.”

Ash nodded. “And I’m interested in it. If I make a job based on my magic, I’d rather it be for Restoration than any other school. Once I know Healing Hands and can cast it with ease, I think I’ll take you up on that offer.”

Celestia had a soft smile on her muzzle as she replied. “It’s always nice to hear somepony seeking to be a healer. I have great respect for those who practice medical skills.”

Celestia returned to her soup and when Luna and Twilight followed suit, Ash decided to eat as well rather than continue talking. As he had noticed earlier, it was some type of vegetable stew with several vegetables he didn’t recognize in it. Silence reigned for several minutes, the only noise being quiet eating and the clinking of spoons on bowls, before a thought struck Ash.

“Celestia?” Ash asked, catching the attention of all three ponies.

“Yes, Ash?” The solar diarch asked.

“What happened on Twilight’s fourth magical surge?” Ash asked. Immediately, Luna gained a curious look while turning to face Twilight, whose face had instantly shifted into a deep red as her ears folded flat. She took a keen interest in her stew, embarrassment clear on her features. Celestia, for her part, simply held a hoof in front of her muzzle and giggled.

“Where ever did you hear that?”

“My guard mentioned it and told me to ask you.” Ash answered.

Celestia said, a smile on her muzzle as her gaze drifted toward the end of the room, clearly remembering the event. “Well, in those days, summoning creatures didn’t yet require a license. Twilight was still learning some of the more basic principles I could teach her, but she had a powerful hunger for more powerful magics. See, she snuck into the Archives and took a book that detailed the summoning process for an ice golem.”

“Then she snuck into the labs by hiding in a server’s cart and waited until everypony was gone. My student moved around the room and grabbed all the materials she needed, then successfully summoned the creature… with one problem.”

“Which was?”

“Well, Twilight, what was the problem?” Celestia teased.

After a moment of silence, Twilight spoke from across the table, her cheeks burning red as she stared at the table. “My spell malfunctioned because I had grabbed a damaged crystal. When I summoned the golem, one of its limbs was almost three times the size it should have been.”

“And Twilight, being an excited young filly who was more focused on successfully summoning a golem than on examining the golem for defects, didn’t notice a thing and proceeded to order it to be an lab assistant.” Celestia explained, making Luna start giggling as she realized the point Celestia was making.

“With the golem’s extra large limb, it started to knock over equipment all over the lab, shatter glass instruments, damage and crush machines, even freeze biological samples near it. All the while, Twilight happily tried to further the experiments and didn’t notice a thing happening. My guards had heard the ruckus and gone to investigate, but the golem had froze the door shut on accident some time earlier. So they ran across the castle to wake me.”

Mirth began to tint Celestia’s voice, just a hint at how funny she thought the whole event was. “So I melt open the doors a few minutes later thinking somepony is stealing the castle’s research, and do you know what I see?”

“What?” Ash asked, a smile firm on his face.

“I see my student in the center of the lab, surrounded by thousands of bits of broken machinery and shattered equipment, humming to herself as she waved a leyline locator around. The poor golem had froze itself to one of the counters and was walking in circles around her, dragging a two ton steel countertop around with it as it banged its large arm in time to Twilight’s humming.” Celestia said, barely restraining herself from laughing loudly. "Of course, with a few quick spells, I fixed all the damage with the exception of the biological materials, so I wasn't particularly mad at her."

Luna, however, had no such restraint and began to truly laugh. The sound itself was one of pure amusement, interspersed by a rare snort. Luna’s laughter was what broke Celestia, forcing her to laugh as well. Ash chuckled along, seeing Twilight glaring lightly at the three, her face still bright red from embarrassment. After several moments, the three eventually calmed down enough for Twilight to stop pouting and for him to speak.

“What does an ice golem look like, Celestia?”

“While I don’t have a picture of the incident, I can show you from one of the spellbooks for summoners.” Celestia, her horn alighting with magic, said right before a book teleported onto the table, already open to a specific page as it slid over to him.

The moment Ash saw the creature, he coughed twice in sheer surprise. The two Alicorns gave him a worried look like Twilight just looked confused. When he started hitting his chest with a closed fist, Celestia questioned him worriedly. “Are you okay, Ash?”

After a moment, Ash was able to quell his coughing enough to speak. “Yeah… I’m fine. Celestia, that’s a Frost Atronach.”

“A what?” Three voices chorused in unison.

“One of the creatures able to be summoned by Conjuration. It’s from Oblivion. It’s a lesser Daedra.” Ash said slowly. “I easily recognize those creatures.”

“What’s Oblivion? And Daedra?” Twilight asked, making Ash realize that she wasn’t there for that discussion. Quickly, Ash gave her a rundown of Oblivion, Mundus, Aetherius, and the Void while simplifying it to save time. As he spoke, she listened with such rapt attention it made him wonder if she was mentally taking notes rather than physically. Once finished, Ash regained his breath before speaking again.

“This ‘ice golem’ is a Frost Atronach, which is a lesser Daedra that mages often conjure as defenders. There’s another two types, those being Fire and Storm, that will also protect the caster to an extent.”

“‘To an extent?’” Luna asked.

“If you attack an Atronach, if will attack back, even if you are the one to summon it. Normally, it takes quite a few hits, but if you hit a Frost with fire or a Fire with ice, they’ll attack instantly, I believe. The Storm Atronach, having no opposite element in the Destruction school, doesn’t have a weakness. For that reason, I believe, is why summoning a Storm Atronach is harder than summoning the others.” Ash explained to them, going off onto a small tangent before stopping himself.

“So…” Celestia started, trailing off as she seemed to lose the words she was going to say.

After a moment, Luna picked it up. “We’ve been summoning things from this ‘Oblivion for millennia now?”

“I believe so.” Ash said with a nod.

“How come we have no evidence of these ‘Aedra’ and ‘Daedra,’ then?” Twilight asked.

“Well, the Aedra have mostly retreated from Mundus and lost most of their power when they did so. They only really act when in opposition of the Daedra. Otherwise, their actions are almost unnoticeable, with the exception of the blessings they can give through their shrines.” Ash explained to her. “The Daedra likely haven’t interacted with the Mortal Plane because they aren’t worshipped, and therefore they have no interest in this world. If someone were to build a shrine to one, it would likely catch their attention.”

“Is it worth it?” Twilight questioned.

“For the most part, not really.” Ash told her. “Some of the Daedra are just plain evil in their entirety. Others are less evil, just not nice. Clavicus Vile, one such Daedra, will happily make a deal that benefits you as long as it benefits him, too. He’ll just as happily make a deal that ruins your entire life as long as it benefits him in some way.”

“It doesn’t seem worth it.” Twilight decided, making the two Alicorns give her an agreeing nod. Ash, after a moment, nodded as well. While the idea of becoming a Champion of a Daedra was nice, and so would the artifact be, he had quite a few things to worry about. The first major problem was that he was not the Dragonborn. If the Dragonborn made a deal with a Daedra, his soul was going to Akatosh’s realm no matter what, for he had the greatest claim on his soul. That wasn’t true for Ash. If he, say, became a Nightingale, he would have to guard Nocturnal’s realm after his death. He would belong to whatever Daedra he chose to serve.

The second was that some of the Daedra were just pure evil and would require evil things to gain their favor. While that was all well and good in a video game, it boded quite a large problem in real life. With no priests of Boethiah, he could only imagine what it was that Molag Bal would require, being the King of Rape and all. Similar problems rose for almost all of the Daedra.

Finally was the problem of drawing attention. If he made a deal with, say, Azura, things would be fine. If, however, that deal caught the attention of Molag Bal, Hermaeus Mora, or even Mehrunes Dagon, things started to get dangerous quickly. Overall, it just wasn’t worth the risk for some nice trinkets and bragging rights.

Though Mehrunes’ Razor was a great weapon when it finally decided to work.

“It’s still amazing that you managed to summon and bind a Frost Atronach, Twilight.” Ash told her, making her ears perk and a shy smile come to her muzzle. “I know you can’t use Magicka, which meant you had to do the ritual, which requires much more complex magic weaving. I know there’s an entire forge where you can summon unbound Atronachs, but the forge is what does the work.”

“It’s a simple ritual.” Twilight said sheepishly. “Just requires a charged arcane gem, frost salts, an uncut sapphire, and two specific spells.”

“That sounds like the forge recipe for summoning one, too. Just replace the arcane gem with a soul gem, the first spell with a forge, and remove the second spell. I’m going to assume the second one binds it?” Ash asked, receiving a nod. The fact that these ponies had frost salts did not go unnoticed. “That’s pretty much the same, then. What’s an arcane gem?”

“It’s a rare crystal found in places all over the world, usually a few feet underground. However, they can also be found in entire veins deep underground in caverns. While arcane gems are rather common on their own, it’s the charged ones that are very rare. As of right now, nopony knows how to charge arcane gems. They refuse to accept magic into them, so we have to hope we get lucky and find one already charged.” Twilight explained. “They actually come in different sizes, with the largest giving off the most power.”

Celestia nodded in agreement. “The demand for charged arcane gems is rising each year, but our supply isn’t increasing. I’ve taken to having mines opened for the sole purpose of finding charged gems, and a chunk of the Research department’s budget goes to discovering how to charge arcane gems.”

Ash hummed lightly for a moment. Something sounded very familiar about these arcane gems. They almost sounded like soul gems, but that couldn’t be true. The ponies didn’t know the spell to charge them, and soul gems can’t be found charged, they have to be charged by a person. “These arcane gems almost sound like soul gems.”

“Soul gems?” Twilight asked. “You mentioned them before but I didn’t get a chance to ask what they were.”

“Soul gems are just that- gems designed to house a soul.” Ash explained. The three just gave him curious looks and he realized they didn’t know he meant steal a soul by killing. “By casting Soul Trap on an animal or person, and then killing that creature, you can trap their soul inside a soul gem. Certain creatures require larger soul gems, with all sentient lifeforms requiring a black soul gem.”

There were the disgusted and horrified looks he expected. Considering necromancy was outlawed except in certain circumstances, it didn’t surprise him that stealing souls was also looked down upon, since it was technically a form of necromancy. “Soul gems are used to initially charge an enchantment on armor or weapons, or refill an enchantment on a weapon.”

“What,” Twilight forced herself to swallow. “What happens to the soul?”

“Depends.” Ash said. “All souls have a rank depending on their size and the power they give off, with each rank of souls having a soul gem able to hold the same size. Both souls and soul gems are ranked from petty, to lesser, common, greater, and grand with black soul gems at the top. A petty soul can fit inside any gem, with a lesser soul requiring a lesser or higher soul gem. If a soul is stored in a gem that’s petty through grand, when the soul gem is used, the gem shatters, the soul is drained of its energy, and then released to whatever afterlife it belongs in.”

“Black soul gems is where it changes. If any soul is stored in a black gem, then used, the soul goes to the Soul Cairn, a realm for the undead and lost souls. There they are fed upon by the rulers and possible creators of the realm, the Ideal Masters. While harvesting animals and the like for their souls is considered fine and mundane, using black soul gems for anything is looked down upon due to where the souls go.” Ash explained to them, noticing that they seemed a little less disgusted, likely because the souls aren’t destroyed.

“So the souls don’t suffer?” Luna asked.

“Only with a black soul gem. With any other type, I’d assume it’s like a sleep before being sent to their afterlife. At most, they feel tired when they get their, considering some of their energy was used.”

“What do soul gems look like?” Celestia questioned.

“Well, petty, lesser, and common soul gems are a purplish color and are somewhat similar in shape to a pillar. The color starts to change to a bluish hue with greater and grand and they begin to look like a cluster rather than a singular gem.” Ash explained, making both Alicorns and the Unicorn gain a shocked look. “Black soul gems look like common in shape but are pure black in color.

A moment later and in a flash of light, a large crystal appeared on the table in front of Ash. His eyes widened, the shape and color being very familiar to him. A blue crystal with shades of white and purple laced throughout it, shaped like several crystals fused into one larger cluster, which Ash recognized instantly. That was a grand soul gem. One that was glowing softly, a light blue light emanating from it.

“Celestia, that’s a grand soul gem.”

“It’s charged, too.” The Alicorn said, confirming his suspicions.

“With a soul, most likely. Where was this found?”

“Didn’t I say?” Twilight asked, to which Ash shook his head. “The Badlands.”

“The Badlands?”

“Mmhmm. It’s a region south of Equestria where there’s no life growing whatsoever. All of the arcane gems are found there.” Twilight told him.

That’s interesting. Very interesting. Charged soul gems were found in a region with no life? Did something happen that caused them to absorb nearby life? Or is it just chance? Were these arcane gems really soul gems or were they something else entirely? Ash honestly couldn’t say.

“Celestia, can I pick it up?”

“Of course. There’s no harm in it. Charged arcane gems, or soul gems, I guess, are very stable.” The Alicorn replied. Ash reached out and grasped the gem, lifting it up and examining it. From the moment he touched, he had some sort of feeling, like something was off.

Looking closer at the softly glowing gem, he realized something. It wasn’t ‘off,’ per se, but wrong. Something about the soul gem was just wrong, yet familiar. It brought to mind what paranormal encounters supposedly felt like, that something wasn’t right, that something was there that shouldn’t be. That’s how the gem felt.

There was something about the gem that shouldn’t be there. Something unnatural, something that made it different than an actual soul gem. The more he thought of the feeling, the more it seemed to intensify. Ash felt the hairs on his arms and the back of his neck stand up and he felt goosebumps develop. The man actually had to set the crystal down before he threw it across the room. Of course, the three noticed immediately when Ash set it down with a look of intense loathing on his face.

“What’s wrong, Ash?” Luna asked him, tilting her head just as Celestia had done earlier.

“Something doesn’t feel right about that gem. I’m not sure what, but something isn’t right.” Ash answered.

“What do you mean?”

“I just said I wasn’t sure what!” Ash snapped, making Luna visibly flinch. Ash, seeing this, closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “I’m sorry. Something about that gem just...isn’t right. Not to me.”

After a moment, he heard Luna speak again. “It… it’s alright. I think I understand.”

He heard a small pop as he assumed one of them teleported the soul- no, arcane gem away, back to where ever they had taken it from. After a few more moments, he opened his eyes and gave Luna an apologetic look, which she returned with a small smile that just said ‘no hard feelings.’

Silence reigned for several more seconds before, quite suddenly, he heard an amused snort come from Celestia. Looking up, he gave her a questioning look even as Luna and Twilight did the same. When she noticed them looking at her, the barest shred of a grin surfaced before she spoke. “I’m just thinking of how eventful this day has been. Ash, you’ve been here, what, nine hours? Already, you’ve proven the existence of other worlds, provided an alternate theory for the creation of the world and supported evidence by revealing that we have ‘soul gems’ and are able to access Oblivion by summoning ‘Frost Atronachs.’ More than that, you’ve shown the capability to harness a form of magic that we don’t have, which is able to charge soul gems.”

“It has been eventful.” Ash admitted quietly. “I’m not too keen on eventful days, but this one wasn’t too bad.”

“What’s wrong with eventful days?” Twilight asked curiously. “Those are the days that I usually have the most fun with my friends.”

Ash opened his mouth to speak, then closed it as he thought better of it. “Nevermind. It’s not really important anymore. If there are days like this again, I wouldn’t mind it. It hasn’t been bad, much less horrible.”

Celestia and Luna nodded in agreement, though Twilight still had a confused look. After a moment, Luna spoke. “Your arrival certainly has made today much more bearable. If not for you, today would have been nothing more than a long meeting with several nobles. While that happened anyway, at least you were a welcome distraction once we were out.”

“Do you think you could charge an arcane gem for me once you learn the spell?” Twilight asked, entirely out of the blue. Apparently, her mind had somehow drifted from eventful days to a charged arcane gem. While Ash was confused, even if understanding, and Luna was surprised, Celestia just had a small smile on her muzzle. From being Twilight’s teacher, she likely had a good deal of experience in her sudden changes in topic.

Realizing what she had done, Twilight’s muzzle shifted into a light shade of red, though the hopeful gaze she gave him did not abate. “You remember what I have to do to fill a soul gem, right?”

Her eyes instantly flattened out as she remembered. “Oh, right. I think I can hold off on that. Even if the animal doesn’t suffer from it, I don’t like the idea of killing a creature for magic.”

Ash shrugged lightly, then suggested a solution. “I eat meat so I’ll likely need to go hunting or fishing one day anyway. I can use whatever it is I catch to fill soul gems so I won’t be killing unnecessarily.”

“That’ll work.” Twilight replied, though she still looked slightly uncomfortable. To be fair, she was a peaceful herbivore that had likely never killed anything bigger than a bug, and even then it was likely on accident rather than purpose.

Celestia’s eyes seemed to light up suddenly, a wry smirk surfacing. “Twilight, why don’t you come with me to my chambers? I recently decoded one of Starswirl’s journals and I thought we could read it together, just like we used to.”

Before Ash could even fully comprehend what Celestia had said, Twilight had fully risen and moved over to her mentor’s side, a wide smile on her muzzle that clearly flashed teeth. “Of course, Princess! I’d love that.”

Celestia stood after giving her a small nuzzle, making her flush again, before turning to face Luna and Ash. “Ash, the same room you were in earlier will be available for you until further notice, in case I haven’t already said as such. Since I can’t promise that you’ll see myself or my student until tomorrow, I’d like to wish you both goodnight.”

“Goodnight, sister.” Luna replied with a soft smile.

“Goodnight, Celestia. Thank you once again for allowing me to stay in the castle.” Ash said, giving her a polite nod, one which she readily returned. Turning again, she walked out of the dining room with Twilight firmly at her side. Once the doors closed again with a massive thud, Luna turned to him with a slightly nervous smile.

“I doubt you have learned this already, but I am the Princess of the Night. As such, I have the power to enter the dreams of another being. If you are willing, perhaps you could show me some of your world tonight?” Luna asked quietly.

“Of course I will.” Ash replied. “You don’t have to ask so nervously.”

“I normally only enter a pony’s dream to help with a nightmare.” Luna told him. “And considering the nature of nightmares, I rarely have the opportunity to ask permission to enter a dream. I just do so and try to help the dreamer.”

“I think you’ll find Nirn fascinating.” Ash said, having already decided to show her Nirn rather than Earth. “If you are the Princess of the Night, I think I know at least one, or rather two, things you’ll be interested in.”

Luna gave a quick nod. “I’ll look forward to it. I’d like to return to my room and patrol the dreamscape for some time before joining you in your dreams. Is that fine?”

“You don’t have to ask permission, Luna.” Ash said. “Far be it from me to be so rude as to keep you here. In any case, it’ll likely be a few hours before I go to sleep. With my Magicka recharged, I’d like to practice Healing some more. Wait, do you happen to have a knife I could use? I think I’ve explained how Healing worked.”

“You have.” Luna said, her horn glowing for a moment. With another pop, a general kitchen knife appeared in front of him, the handle being held out to him. Taking the knife from her aura, he could tell that, while simple, it was still sharp. That was good as it would help lessen the pain from cutting his hand. To avoid the mana burn, he would likely prick his fingers.

“Goodnight, Luna.” Ash said, standing up even as Luna did the same.

“Goodnight, Ash. I’ll see you again in a few hours.” Luna said, giving him a small smile that he easily returned.

Author's Note

Yet another chapter of The Aetherium Mage. This one reveals a little more on the Terra and how it might fit into the Aurbis. Also, as you may have noticed, I've used some pictures to assist in helping anyone who hasn't played Skyrim know what I'm describing, such as the Frost Atronach and the Grand Soul Gem. Should I continue to do so, or cease?

As always, leave a comment of your opinion, whether good, bad, or neutral, or even if you just have something to say.

Dreams

Steam filled the room in a haze that made everything just a little harder to see. After stepping out of the shower and drying off, he donned his boxers and pants and walked over to the mirror, using his towel to quickly dry the mirror off so he could see. With the mirror clear enough to see, Ash gazed at himself. His hair, a brown so dark is seemed black, was shiny from still being slightly wet. Having not had access to razors for several months due to hospital regulations, Ash also had a slight beard, which he ran his hand through. He considered shaving it but, after a moment, decided to keep it. Once he got a razor, he would certainly be sure to trim it, at least. His eyes, a deep green color, seemed to shine for some reason. Looking closer and leaning toward the mirror, he noticed that his eyes were just brighter, not actually shining, which he was thankful for.

Leaning back from the mirror, he took note of his chest and stomach. He was far from the most fit of person, what with three years of being tossed around hospitals and growing weaker making it impossible for him to work out in any way. On the other hand, neither was he fat or even pudgy, since the hospital food was rather lacking on sugar and stopped him from gaining weight, even with the little exercise he was able to get. For a moment, he considered keeping a simple workout routine to keep himself from gaining weight, but he wasn’t sure if he would keep it. Knowing himself, he figured he would get distracted by his magic and forget it entirely. Maybe the castle had a track he could run a few laps around every morning.

Ash turned and left the bathroom after tossing the towel in a basket near the door. He made his way over to the large bed and proceeded to fall into it, instantly realizing that it was incredibly soft to the point of him nearly sinking into it. The blanket was cool to the touch, something that felt great against his bare chest. Ash allowed his eyes to drift closed as, moments later, he fell asleep.

In the Dreamrealm

Ash wasn’t sure when he became aware that he was in a dream. It was sometime during the spell battle with a dremora, yet after he summoned two Storm Atronachs to help him. One moment, he was lost in the haze that was a dream, and the next he became aware of the world entirely right before his final Thunderbolt slammed into the dremora’s chest, launching him back and turning him to ash.

“An impressive feat.” Ash heard from behind him. Once he had become lucid, he had instantly realized he was in a dream and that there was only one person who could have entered his dreams and made him lucid.

Ash turned around, seeing the sight of a dappled Luna standing behind him, a soft smile on her muzzle. His own face split into a smile at the sight of her, her dapples just absolutely adorable. “Just a taste of the kind of power the Destruction school can give.”

“And these creatures?” Luna asked, gazing at the construct. It looked like a collection of floating rocks held together by lightning, given only the vaguest of human shape.

“Storm Atronachs, summoning which is an Expert-level Conjuration spell.” Ash answered.

“So this is a dream that shows you what you want to be? A master of the different schools of magic?” Luna mused. “Where are we, anyway?”

Around the pair, ancient stones formed a large circle, hundreds of feet across. The two stood on one side of the large circle with the outer rim of a massive maze obscuring the other side of the arena-like structure. The ancient wall was adorned by markings of runic symbols, writings in a language neither could read, and imagery that depicted the assumed shapes of various Aedra and Daedra.

They seemed to be standing in the entryway of the maze, with a large runic circle glowing with four floating staves, a small garden of various flowers growing past that in front of them. To their left and right, two large staircases led to raised areas where the participants of the maze could be watched. Ash gestured his head toward one of the raised platforms and the pain walked over to it, climbing up to the higher platform. From their new vantage point, both Ash and Luna could see a literal labyrinth running inside the maze, waving back and forth repeatedly.

“Welcome, Luna, to Shalidor’s Maze.” Ash said with a wave of his hand. “I will admit that this place is different than the last time I had seen it, but it’s a close enough replica of the maze.”

“Who was Shalidor?” Luna asked curiously, gazing around the maze. “And why did he build this?”

“Shalidor was an incredibly talented and powerful Nord mage back in the First Era. In fact, he was an Archmagus, which is the old term for Archmage. He invented a number of spells, furthered the knowledge of the different schools, and, toward the end of his life, retreated into the ancient city of Labyrinthian and built Shalidor’s Maze. Here, he continued to research anything and everything that his mind came across until he eventually passed.” Ash explained, gesturing toward the information recorded on the walls. “Of course, that’s an incredibly simplified version of who he was and what he had done, but it’s enough to understand.”

Luna nodded. “He sounds almost like Starswirl the Bearded, the first Archmage of Equestria, which is the title given to those who advise the crown on matters of magic. It is because of him that my sister and I created the position as we valued his word highly in those days, more than a thousand and two hundred years ago. We still do, as seen by my sister being eager to read one of his recently-translated journals. He was one of the leading minds in almost every field of study and some of his discoveries and technologies are still considered cutting-edge.”

“Such as?” Ash asked curiously.

“It was Starswirl who first learned to harness charged arcane gems for the purpose of powering spells. While the field has advanced beyond simple spellcraft and now includes machinery and other equipment, nopony has yet discovered a more effective way of draining them. The only one who comes close is you, provided the arcane gems are soul gems and you can charge them.” Luna explained with a reminiscent look in her eyes. It was clear that she remembered Starswirl well and likely looked back on those days with a fondness that was unmatched.

“I think they would have gotten along.” Ash said, receiving a nod from the Alicorn.

“I think so.” She replied, a soft melancholy in her voice. Ash, not wanting to see her upset, wracked his brain for something to distract her. After a moment, an idea struck him. In fact, it was his original idea, the very reason he was eager to show her Nirn.

With a thought, the world around Ash and Luna shifted. Gone were the ancient ruins of Labyrinthian, replaced by the fields south of Whiterun. To their left, the massive center of commerce sprawled across several tiers, with the palace of Dragonsreach at the very top. Around them were green fields, flowers dotted everywhere. In the distance, Ash could see two deer bounding across a stream. Behind them, three mammoths were being herded, led by two peaceful giants.

Far off in the distance, mountains rose and breached the sky, their snow-capped peaks in contrast to the starred void of the night sky. Ash turned to Luna, seeing her gaze around the landscape in wonder as several soft green, glowing butterflies floated through the sky, the mesmerizing Luna Moths catching Luna’s attention, a fact that Ash found mildly amusing. Reaching over and lightly grasping her muzzle caught her attention, even as the softness of her fur surprised him, he pushed her muzzle up, tilting her head toward the sky in the distance, above a mountain.

The rising question died in her throat as a gasp tore out of her mouth, her eyes widening in pure shock. Above the two, a few scarce clouds did nothing to block the sight that greeted her eyes. Hundreds of stars both bright and dim made constellations she had never seen nor heard of before, but that was not what had her shocked. Nirn had two moons.

One of them was massive, easily thrice the size of her own. It was a dark grey, similar to her own in color, yet also had a tinge of red to it. Even from the planet, hundreds of thousands of miles from the moon, she could see some parts of the moon were smooth, where ancient magma had cooled into plains of rock. Other parts were cratered, ages old marks where meteors had once hit the surface of the satellite, sending plumes of rock and dust miles into the sky of the moon.

Allowing her gaze to drift to the other, much smaller moon, she saw that it was almost the same size as her own, though it seemed a little smaller. It was even the same color, a solid gray that seemed almost white. Several smooth plains of rock and massive craters were visible, though they were harder to see from her view due to the size of the second satellite. Luna, gazing upon the two moons, felt like she couldn’t breathe. Never in her dreams had she seen a world with two moons, and yet the being next to him was showing her his world, sharing his moons with her.

“You know,” Ash started, speaking softly. It seemed fitting to nearly whisper, the awe of the moment and the silence of the night making it seem like a crime to be loud. “They said that Masser, the larger, and Secunda, the smaller, are the physical remains of Lorkhan, split in half after he was punished by the Aedra.”

“Two moons…” Luna whispered. “You have two moons.”

She fell onto her rump, sitting there beneath the sky and staring at the moons. Ash sat down next to her, crossing his legs and he watched the sky, too. With this being his dream, he had no worry of wild wolves or feral vampires attacking them. They were perfectly safe to just sit in the middle of the flower fields for the entire night.

“It’s beautiful.” She breathed out. Luna wasn’t sure why she was so affected by the sight of two moons. Maybe it was the novelty, the majesty of it all? Two massive orbs of rock orbiting the world below when she had always seen one for her thousands of years of life.

Or maybe the fact that, attuned to the moon as she was, she felt different, more special with two in the sky? The sight of the night sky, even if it wasn’t her night sky, with strange and foreign constellations, adorned by two massive and awe-inspiring moons made her feel alive. No matter the reason, something about the sight moved her to tears, small trails of water running down her cheeks and dripping to the ground below. They were not tears of sorrow nor loss, nor of joy and happiness, but of awe and beauty.

The Alicorn was vaguely aware of Ash’s hand on her shoulder, the man who felt the need to share such an amazing sight with her. Even more, he did so to help her, to distract her from her thoughts of Starswirl and her longing. Ash had seen that she was upset and so shared such a sight with her to cheer her up. She couldn’t thank him enough for that.

Turning suddenly threw Ash’s hand off of her shoulder and made him lean back in surprise, yet it didn’t slow her down or make her hesitate. Darting forward, she set her head on his shoulder even as her wings came and wrapped around him, holding her close to him. From her position, she heard his heart beat faster, so she spoke in a whisper, one so soft it was hard to hear even in the dead of night. “Thank you. Thank you for showing me this.”

“Whatever do you mean?” Ash asked with a playful grin, his arms wrapped around Luna’s barrel, just under her wings. “I just figured you’d be interested in Masser and Secunda.”

“No jokes.” Luna said firmly, her wings tightening around him. “I know what you did. Why?”

“I didn’t like seeing you upset.” Ash answered simply, patting her side with one of his hands. “So I thought I’d show you something you might like.”

Luna’s muzzle softly nuzzled his neck, lighting his nerves on fire, though he doubted she knew it. Her wings slowly came apart as she leaned back, a warm smile on her muzzle as she stared at him, her teal eyes meeting his own green ones. The Alicorn scooted over slightly and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder as she looked to the sky again. “Tell me of some of the constellations, Ash.”

The stars above them winked out of existence as the sky shifted. Slowly, thirteen different groups faded into sight again as the constellations formed, Ash speaking all the while. “There are thirteen constellations in total, but not all of them are visible from the same location at the same time, so I’ve shifted the sky so we can see them. I’m leaving the moons as they are, though.”

As he had said, the two moons stayed in the sky, where they were framed by the constellations. Luna noticed quickly that there were three groups of four and a single outlier, which she assumed there was a story for. A moment later, when the sky had stilled again, he continued talking. “There are three Guardian constellations, each of which protects three charges, with the exception of the Serpent, who wanders the sky alone and in a different location each night. It is said that those born under certain constellations often have either certain temperaments or abilities that depend on the constellation.”

“The first Guardian is the Warrior, who protects the Steed, the Lady, and the Lord. He protects his charges during their season. Those born in his season, the Last Seed, are skilled with weapons of all kinds, though they are also prone to short tempers.” Ash said as he gestured toward a collection of stars that made out a warrior holding a shield and axe.

“The Steed is one of the charges of the Warrior, and its season is Mid Year. Those born under the Steed can be rather impatient and tend to hurry from one place to another throughout their lives.” Ash said, pointing to a constellation that resembled a rearing horse.

“The Lady is one of the Warrior’s charges and her season is Hearthfire. Those that are born under the sign of the Lady are said to be kind and tolerant.” This time, he pointed toward a constellation that that resembled a kneeling woman.

“The Lord is the last of the Warrior’s charges, and his season is the month of First Seed, and as such, he oversees all planting. Those born under the sign of the Lord are said to be both stronger and healthier than others.” Ash said, directing Luna’s attention to a constellation that resembled a man. Luna was listening intently, paying close attention to what he was saying. She was very interested in hearing the story behind another world’s constellations, a fact that did not surprise him.

“The next Guardian is the Mage whose season is Rain’s Hand, the month that is believed to be when man first used Magicka. His charges are the Apprentice, the Golem, and the Ritual. Those born in Rain’s Hand are said to have more Magicka and are talented spellcasters, yet tend to be more arrogant and absent-minded.” He gestured toward a man holding a staff in one hand, with his other waving forward as if he was casting a spell.

“The Apprentice is the first of the Mage’s charges, and his season is Sun’s Height. Those born under the Apprentice have an affinity for all magic, yet are more vulnerable to magic in turn.” Ash said, pointing toward a constellation that depicted a man holding a staff with both hands.

“The Golem, most often called the Atronach, is the second of the Mage’s charges, and its season is Sun’s Dusk. Those born under this sign are natural sorcerers with deep reserves of Magicka, yet cannot generate it on their own and must absorb it from other spells.” Ash explained, turning Luna’s attention to a star constellation that showed what seemed to be a mix between a Storm Atronach and a Frost Atronach.

“The Ritual, the last of the Mage’s charges, has the season of Morning Star. Those born under this sign are said to have a variety of abilities depending on the mood of the Divines.” He pointed toward a constellation that looked like an eye, an eyebrow, and a curled symbol below the eye.

“The last Guardian is the Thief, who protects the Lover, the Shadow, and the Tower. His season is the Evening Star, the darkest month of the year. Those born under the Thief are not always thieves, though they do have unnatural luck. However, it is said that their luck will run out and that they will not live as long as those under other signs.” He gestured toward a constellation that showed a man running through the sky.

“The Lover is the first charge of the Thief and her season is Sun’s Dawn. Those born under the sign of the Lover are said to be graceful and passionate.” Ash pointed toward a collection of stars that showed a woman.

“The Shadow’s season is the Second Seed. Those born under the sign of the Shadow have the ability to hide in darkness and avoid detection.” Ash said, pointing at a constellation that showed just the hand and head of a man.

“The Tower is the final charge of the Thief, and its season is the season of Frostfall. Those born under the sign of the Tower are skilled at opening locks of all kinds and can find gold in all kinds of places.” Ash explained, pointing to the final constellation under the Thief, one that showed a large tower.

“And the Serpent?” Luna asked curiously. “Why is it alone?”

“The Serpent has no season and no Guardian. It wanders across the sky and is not always in the same place at the same time of the year, though it can be predicted to a vague degree. While the Serpent has no season, it is possible to be born under the sign, provided it shares the sky with the sign of your birth.”

“So, if a pony is born in the month of the Ritual, ‘Morning Star,’ and the Serpent sign is in the sky that night?” Luna asked to clarify.

“That’s right. Those born under the Serpent are said to have their natural abilities amplified, yet are also doomed to meet the most cursed of fates.” Ash said. “It is said to wander the sky for the sole purpose of attacking the other signs.”

“What sign are you born under?” Luna asked curiously.

Let’s see, I was born on July 15th, and July corresponds to Sun’s Height, which is the season of the Apprentice. Huh. You know, that’s kind of funny. I’m learning Magicka and I was born under the sign of the Apprentice. “Sun’s Height, the sign of the Apprentice.”

“So, more gifted in Magicka, yet more vulnerable to it as well?” Luna asked, making sure she remembered right.

“That’s correct.” Ash said, gaining a bright smile from her, happy that she had remembered what she told him. “Does Equestria have twelve months?”

“Yes, we do.” Luna said. “Why?”

“What month were you born under? Or Celestia?” Ash asked.

Luna hummed lightly, realizing what he meant. She thought for a moment, making Ash think she had to remember when she was born. After a few moments, she spoke. “I was born in the second month. My sister was born in the ninth month.”

Second month is February, which is Sun’s Dawn. Luna was born under the sign of the Lover. Why am I not surprised? Celestia was born in September, which is Hearthfire. She was born under the sign of the Lady. That’s not surprising, either.

“You were born under the sign of the Lover,” Ash said, which made Luna’s dappled muzzle flush lightly. “So, if the signs have an effect on this world, too, you are graceful and passionate. Your sister was born under the sign of the Lady, so she is kind and tolerant.”

“I suppose both of those are fitting.” Luna said. “Moreso my sister, though.”

“I don’t know.” Ash said in a teasing tone. He couldn’t pass the chance up. “I don’t know you well enough to say for sure, but I think you can be rather graceful and passionate.”

Her muzzle darkened even more, though a sheepish smile came across her muzzle. “I don’t think so.”

“Do you dance? Waltz, perhaps, or another type of dance I don’t know of?” Ash asked, draping a hand over her shoulders. Internally, he was tensed, hoping that he wasn’t going to be thrown a few hundred feet away by being so bold.

Fortunately, he was safe. Her muzzle dipped as it shifted from a light pink to solid red, embarrassment clear on her face all around even as she spoke shyly, her ears folding down flat against her head. “Waltz.”

“On rare occasion, such as a party, or perhaps even just for enjoyment?” Ash asked, bringing his head closer to hers, which was still partly on his shoulder.

Her head moved away quickly, darting under her wing to try to hide for him, a tactic that was both utterly useless and absolutely adorable. Ash followed her as best he could, leaning over slightly as his voice dropped, softly whispering. “You know, I can box step waltz and forward progressive step.”

That seemed to be the tipping point. Luna’s wing shot to the side, smacking him hard enough to push him away, yet the soft feathers prevented it from hurting. She surged to her hooves and resolutely stared at the sky, specifically the Serpent constellation. Her muzzle was flushed a red so dark that he couldn’t see her dapples anymore, a fact that made him feel surprisingly disappointed. “So you said something about the Serpent chasing the other signs across the sky to try to harm them? What’s the story behind that?”

Ash rose to his feet and walked up beside Luna, placing a hand on her withers again. That caught her attention again, making her look over her shoulder with a nervous look in her eyes. Ash flashed her a soft smile as he spoke. “I’m sorry. I’m shouldn’t have teased you like that.”

The nervous looked faded, replaced by a smile, though her eyes drifted down. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at you. I didn’t hurt you with my wing, did I?”

“No, you didn’t. The feathers were soft enough that prevented it from hurting.” Ash said, making Luna give a nod of relief. After a moment, he continued. “You looked adorable with the flush, though.”

Dropping his hand and taking a step forward before Luna could think he was going to start again, he pointed back up to the sky again. “The signs aren’t just stars in the sky, Luna. All thirteen constellations are known as Celestials, living beings that have ascended to the skies and gained godlike power, though they are still mortal.”

“They...they are alive?” Luna asked in shock.

“Yes, they are.” Ash said simply. “The only time they have walked Nirn is in the Second Era, the year 582. The Warrior, the Thief, and the Mage fell from the sky and took on mortal forms, reappearing in the sky some years later.”

“What year is it now?”

“Fourth Era, 202.” Ash said in reply. “It was two Eras ago. Nirn measures an Era based on important events, rather than a number of years. The Fourth Era will end when something sufficiently important happens, beginning the Fifth Era.”

“So, it’s been a long time.” Luna said. Even though she hadn’t said it, Ash knew what he was thinking.

“It was a long time ago, yes, but it was something that was never forgotten because of how important it was.” Ash explained to her.

Luna hummed for a moment, then replied. “You were right about Oblivion and the Daedra, so I’ll take your word for it about the Celestials.”

“In any case, it is said that the Serpent was a Celestial who was an enemy of the others, choosing to follow them into the sky to destroy them. That is how it has gone for ages, but nothing has changed. I do not know if the Serpent is capable of destroying the others, or even if it is repelled each time.”

Luna nodded and allowed her gaze drifted around the world, taking in the sight of the mammoths, giants, and deer, eventually settling on the city in the distance. “Where are we, Ash?”

“Skyrim.” Ash explained. “On the continent of Tamriel, which is a part of Nirn.”

“Your homeland?” Luna asked.

“No, but I’ve been here.” Ash answered. “The city in the distance is Whiterun, which lies in the center of the country, and as such is the trade center of Skyrim. Almost everything passes through the city at some point.”

“Tell me about Skyrim, Ash.”

“A frozen land, ringed by mountains on three sides and the Sea of Ghosts on the fourth. It is always cold here, though not all places are coated in snow, as you can see. Northwest holds a swamp, with the southeast holding a hot springs. Otherwise, the country is full of mountains, hills, and snow plains.” Ash said.

“What kind of beasts dwell here?”

“As you can see,” Ash began, pointing to the giants. “There are mammoths and giants that wander the plain. You can find bears, big cats, trolls, wolves, deer, foxes, rabbits, and so much more. However, the most recent addition is the return of dragons.”

“Return?” Luna asked.

“A story for another time, I think. The story of the dragons is a long one that requires me to go back hundreds of years to explain, explain artifacts that predate Mundus, and further explain the Aedra and Daedra.” Ash explained.

“Fair enough. Perhaps another time.” Luna said, understanding his point.

“Whether in dreams or in life.” Ash replied.

Luna’s gaze snapped to him, a surprised look on her muzzle. “You will allow me to enter your dreams again?”

“Yes, I will.” Ash said with a smile. “After all, you seem rather interested in Nirn, so why not?”

The two fell silent for some time, Luna seeming to think something over, though Ash knew not what. Ash, however, was gazing at Whiterun, remembering all the times he had gone into the city to sell his collected gear, walking out with a broke city behind him only to repeat the process two days later.

After what might have been ten minutes had time actually passed in the dream realm, Luna firmly nodded, though it seemed to be to herself. She turned rather quickly and approached him, a deep blush on her face in addition to a very nervous smile and folded ears. The black spots on her muzzle stood out even more, making her seem even more adorable to him.

“Luna?” Ash asked curiously.

Luna circled around him, her nervous smile growing wider as she did so, with her left wing extended out toward him. “It’s been many years since I’ve last danced with a friend, and nopony nowadays knows how to waltz. So I ask you one thing, Ash, my friend.”

“Will you dance with me?”

Ash grinned to her, then held out his left hand, the fingertips barely brushing against her wingtip as he copied her movements, circling with her. “I will dance with you.”

Luna brought her right forehoof forward and around as Ash did the same, both pivoting to face each other directly. Ash’s moved his left hand to rest on her shoulder while his right lightly grasped her wingtip and held it out from them, with Luna’s right wing wrapping around his back gently. Her smile had grown from nervous to hopeful, though her blush had darkened again several times over. After all, she had only known him for a day, so she must have been nervous to dance with him.

Ash took a step forward with his right foot, then stepped again to the right while Luna did the same, but mirrored. A second later, he slid his left foot forward and right to meet his right foot in one smooth motion, the bottom of his foot an inch off of the ground. Stepping back and left with his right foot, then sliding his left foot to match, he completed a box step, with Luna mirroring him perfectly.

Her movements were, as he expected, perfectly graceful and coordinated. Considering she had four legs to move to his two, she was doing an amazing job keeping in time with him, both rhythm and actual movements. Her shoulders did not bob at all, keeping entirely smooth and steady as she swayed side to side, back and forth, in time with him. The entire time, her smile was wide and bright, her blush dark and large, with her eyes shining with happiness at being able to indulge in one of her passions once again.

On the contrary, Ash’s movements were slightly hesitant, having to take the time to remember the correct motion rather than moving by instinct as Luna did. His shoulders actually moved up and down as he walked rather than stepped, the smooth feel Luna gave off fading away at him. While he had no blush, he did have a content grin on his face, the idea of dancing with Luna a very attractive one that he did not hesitate to do and would not hesitate to do again in the future.

Truth be told, the only ones he could have been romantically interested in were immortals, mostly Alicorns. He had always felt an attraction to Celestia, Luna, Cadence, and certain depictions of Nightmare Moon. Although the idea of ‘herding’ was one he did not enjoy, and the characters had not been real to his knowledge, so he never put any thought into why he felt a slight attraction to them. Truth be told again, he had never expected to ever use his knowledge of the waltz, but he was content to know it was being put to use.

Ash wasn’t sure how long the two had danced under the twin moons of Tamriel. Ash wasn’t sure if the constellations had truly gathered around to watch, or if that was just his imagination. Neither was Ash sure when the dream began to collapse, the distance fading out as he slowly awoke. The only thing he remembered for sure of that time was that, right before the dream ended entirely, Luna had leaned forward and gently nuzzled his neck once more.

He also knew that, when he awoke, his legs were sore as if he had danced under the stars for hours on end.

Author's Note

The next chapter of The Aetherium Mage and the one that I've been looking forward to for a while. It's less about Magicka, as several other chapters has been about, and more about setting up some character development.

Also, did anyone notice that all previous chapters happened in a single story day?

That aside, feel free to leave a comment and tell me what you think about this chapter! It reveals a bit more about Ash's obsession with horses and horse words and helped develop Luna's personality a bit more, and even reveals a few things about the signs, which is just more world building and lore expansion.

The Second Morning

Ash awoke early the next morning, though not by his own choice. The very first thing he became aware of is the sound of loud banging against his door, though it was neither particularly aggressive or violent, which revealed the fact that it was most likely a pony just knocking on the door with solid hooves. He rolled out of bed with a groan and, forgetting for the moment that he was shirtless, walked over to the door and opened it, rubbing his eyes. “Can I help you?”

“I was wondering if you would join my sister and I for breakfast, but you look tired.” He heard Celestia say with an amused tone of voice. He let his hand drop and opened his blurry eyes, seeing the Alicorn standing in front of him.

“Of course I’ll join you two, just let me put my socks and shoes on.” Ash said, walking back towards the bed and leaving the door open. Celestia took a couple steps in, content to wait for him before heading to breakfast. Ash sat down on the bed after grabbing his clothes from the nightstand beside the bed, stooping over to put his socks and shoes on.

“Socks? I thought you were male.” Celestia asked curiously.

“I don’t know what ponies use socks for, but humans use them to protect our feet while wearing shoes, which will chaff otherwise. Everyone, provided they can get them, wears socks, unless they choose to go barefoot or wear shoes that don’t require them.” Ash explained. “What do ponies use them for?”

“Well, for the most part, only mares wear them, with few exceptions. Usually, a mare will wear them to make themselves seem more attractive, but there are also socks that are sold for, ahem, use in the bedroom, if you get my meaning.” Celestia told him, her cheeks turning a very light pink toward the end.

“I understand.” Ash said. “What about winter clothing?”

“Winter clothing is very rare, though it does exist for ponies with thin coats. Winter clothes usually consists of a scarf, socks, and a saddle, though they are very visibly designed for functionality rather than appearance. As for saddles, they often have the same use as socks, though they tend to be more focused on lingerie.” Celestia explained, making him nod again.

“Winter clothing for humans consists of pants, like my jeans, and a jacket, which is a thicker shirt with longer sleeves.” Ash explained, not quite knowing if they used the same terminology for their clothing.

“The same terms apply for the same things here.” Celestia told him.

Ash pulled his shoes on quickly enough and stood, gesturing with his head toward the door. “I’m ready.”

“Let’s go. My sister and student are already there, though I think my student would rather be sleeping.” Celestia explained, causing the two to start walking.

“So, Celestia, what’s on the agenda for today?” Ash asked curiously.

“Well, I have royal duties today, though that doesn’t start until after my morning canter. Luna, on the other hoof, has nothing to do. The meeting is over, so she’s free for the next two days before she takes over for me. You’ll have to ask her what she plans to do.” Celestia told him, the pair walking toward the dining room once again.

“What’s your morning canter? I mean, I know what a canter is, it's a run, but you understand my point.” Ash questioned as the two turned a corner, passing by a trio of guards who were patrolling. Celestia nodded to the three, who all returned the greeting with a salute.

“Every morning, I canter a few laps around a track I had installed a few centuries back to keep in shape. It’s a half-mile straight path that is between the castle and the exterior wall, placed there before the Storage Quarter was built. Back then, I didn’t have days off like I do now, so a scheduled exercise was the only chance I had to make sure I wouldn’t gain weight from an otherwise sedentary lifestyle.” Celestia explained.

Ash knew damn well why she didn’t have any days off in the past. While asking would give him the chance to be able to say ‘Nightmare Moon’ without them wondering where he had learned the name, he didn’t want to bring up painful memories. Instead, he just continued with his original plan. “Do you mind if I join you for your run? My diet is a bit more substantial than it used to be, so I’m worried I’ll start gaining weight if I don’t start exercising in some way.”

“I don’t mind at all, as it’ll be nice to have a cantering partner, but why was your diet not ‘substantial,’ as you put it?”

“I was in a hospital for three years. The food there was specifically tailored to give the nutrients needed, but also be lacking enough to not make the patients gain weight unless they needed it.” Ash explained, making Celestia’s ears fold back.

“I’m sorry for bringing it up.” Celestia said softly.

“Don’t be, it was just a question.” Ash said, idly thinking how the situation could have been reversed had he asked the question he considered earlier. “In any case, how far do you run and how fast?”

“Five miles at a trot.” Celestia said simply, making Ash visibly wince. “Is something wrong?”

“Five miles is a lot for a human who doesn’t run often. I won’t be able to keep up for all of it. I probably won’t be able to run five miles a day for a good while.” Ash told her.

“I’ll lessen my distance, if that helps?” Celestia offered kindly, making Ash remember that she was born under the Lady stone.

“No need, Celestia. I’ll keep up with you for as long as I can, but I’ll stop once I’m really tired.” A thought hit him and he continued. “I’ll even be able to do it every day. I’ll be able to use Healing to stop myself from getting sore.”

Celestia nodded in understanding as they rounded another corner, the door to the dining hall coming up. “That is very useful, then. The only reason I canter five miles instead of ten or more is because I don’t want to be sore while ruling, just in case. If I could move further than that and not worry about the pain from my muscles, I would be able to lose the extra weight in my flanks.”

“First, you don’t have extra weight.” Ash began. In truth, she really didn’t. Her flanks were bigger than an average pony’s, but that was only because she was bigger overall. For her height, nothing about it seemed large or fat. “Second, I’d be happy to help you once I learn Healing Hands.”

“First, I do have extra weight on my flanks. Two hundred years ago, I weighed almost thirty pounds less, though I appreciate the compliment!” Celestia said with a slight grin, smacking him with her wing playfully. “Second, I’d appreiciate that very much, Ash.”

“Two hundred years ago? Wouldn’t you have been shorter and less muscled back then, hence smaller?” The man asked simply, making her blink twice before humming thoughtfully.

“Perhaps. I don’t quite know what my height was back then, so maybe I did just grow taller.” Celestia said as the two guards beside the dining room swung the door open, giving them entrance. The pair walked in, seeing that Luna and Twilight were both there already. Luna was wide awake and even gave him a large smile when she saw him, which he returned. Twilight, on the other hand, looked dead to the world with a fully zombified face, which was hovering over a cup and nurturing it like it was the Holy Grail...that apparently actually existed. Celestia walked toward the end of the table and took a seat by Luna and Ash sat across from Twilight, also next to Luna.

Breakfast had already been served, a large helping of pancakes, eggs, and orange juice. However, Ash also had several large strips of bacon, which he was very thankful for. In fact, Ash was thankful for meat in general. Not having to go vegetarian was amazing. However, before they began to eat, Luna smiled widely at the man and spoke. “Thank you for showing me such a wonderful time last night, Ash.”

Instantly, Twilight started coughing as a sip of her coffee went down the wrong pipe, with Celestia’s fork dropping to the table with a loud clink. Ash, doing nothing more than setting his head into his hand, sighed loudly. After a moment, Celestia apparently overcame her shock well enough to speak. “What? Luna!”

“What?” Ash could practically hear the honest innocence dripping off of her words, confusion in her voice. “All he did was show me something wonderful under the stars last night.”

All thoughts of Luna actually realizing what she said went out the window with that statement, so he looked up and cleared his throat loudly. Celestia and Twilight, who had calmed her coughing, looked up to him, bright blushes on their muzzles. “I invited Luna into my dreams last night. I showed her that Nirn has, in fact, two moons. I also told her the story of our constellations and showed them to her. We did not, in any way, have relations, despite what it sounds like Luna is saying.”

Now Luna’s muzzle was bright red, finally realizing what it sounded like she meant. “Y-yes, what he said! We didn’t do anything intimate except dancing!”

Seeing the look she received from Twilight, though Celestia had nothing more than an understanding smile, she spoke defensively. “It’s a hobby of mine and he could help! Nopony knows how to waltz anymore, so I asked him once I learned he could.”

With a sigh, Ash went back to eating once he saw Twilight calm down as she started to understand what had happened. Celestia, apparently piecing it together once he had spoken, had already started eating. After a moment, she spoke, though she made sure to swallow before she did. “I was somewhat worried you had managed to seduce my sister in one night. It’s good to know that you two simply spent some time together.”

I mean, I wouldn’t mind seducing her. If I thought I could, I’d probably try. Ash thought to himself, then spoke. “No worries there. I don’t think your sister is the type of mare to sleep with someone she met earlier that day.”

The two Alicorns nodded, agreeing with him, before they all turned back to their meals. Unlike the previous lunch and dinner, none of the four spoke until they were finished eating. Embarrassment and misunderstanding had seemingly killed the conversation for the time. The only thing to be heard was the soft clink of forks on plates, the sounds of cups being raised and lowered, and a single soft groan of delight when Ash tasted the first bacon strip. Ten minutes later, the four had finished.

“So, Ash, what do you plan to do today?” Twilight asked curiously.

“I’m going to run with Celestia for a bit, though I’m not going to be able to run as far as she will. After that, I plan on testing my Healing more and try to get closer to learning Healing Hands.” Ash explained. “So I’ll probably head back to Star’s Yard and continue to train there.”

“I’ll help you with that.” Luna said, nodding to him. “I’ll head to the Yard a half hour or so after this.”

“Thank you. What about you, Twilight?”

“I’ll be heading up to the Archives and possibly check out a few books to read before it’s time for me to head to the station. I won’t be here at lunch since I’m heading back to Ponyville.” The Unicorn said, receiving a nod from him. With plans shared, the four slowly stood up and made their way out. Twilight and Luna walked down a hallway together, the Alicorn likely accompanying her to the Archives. On the contrary, Ash followed Celestia down a similar route that had led him to Star’s Yard, which made sense. Star’s Yard was set close to the back of the Public Quarter while the track was built after it, from what he understood.

The ancient Alicorn- not that he would ever refer to her as that vocally- led him through the halls of the castle for what must have been easily twenty minutes, eventually coming across a door that was different than all the others. While it was still made of oak wood, the normal markings, a sun and moon, were missing from it. It was also much smaller than the other doors of the castle. Whereas Ash could kneel down on Celestia’s back and pass through most of the doors in the castle, this one required both Ash and Celestia to duck to walk through, which caused her to speak. “This is a back entrance into the castle, really only accessible from the Storage and Defense Quarters of the castle. It wasn’t built for somepony of our heights, so I usually teleport here. However, I wanted to show you the route so you can walk here if you decide to 'run' without me, or have to find me here on your own.”

Ash nodded, appreciating the sentiment. The more places he could successfully walk to alone, the better chance he had of eventually making a mental map of the Public Quarter of the castle. Now that they were outside, Ash took a look around and saw that the track really was small and nearly unnoticeable from the outside of the castle. About fifteen feet in front of him, a sheer rock wall of the mountain greeted his vision, while the track ran for a little over two thousand feet to his right before the mountain blocked the exit. Up above, the area gradually narrowed until a half-mile long and foot wide strip allowed light to fill the area.

Looking back toward the track, he saw that the path itself was marble, just like the rest of the castle, but the floor of the area was simple gray rock. In fact, it looked like this area had been carved out of the mountain and started to be turned into a full room before the builders gave up on it, broke a hole in the roof to make a light, and then abandoned the place to be used once a day by Celestia. “So why doesn’t Luna join us?”

“Luna never really developed this habit because we implemented our system a few months after… Anyway, rather than running every day with me, she goes camping sometimes. I don’t mind it when she goes to Whitetail Woods, but whenever she’s feeling particularly brave, she camps in the Everfree. I know she can’t really be hurt by anything in there, but I still worry nonetheless.” Celestia said, trailing off at first to avoid mentioning Luna’s banishment.

“Hmm. I might go with her one day, if she’ll allow me to, though probably not to the Everfree. You’ve mentioned that it was dangerous twice now, so I think I’d rather avoid it until I’m stronger, physically and magically.” Ash said, purposely changing the subject, as the pair started to walk the final ten or so feet to the start of the track.

Celestia flashed him a thankful smile. By this point, she no doubt knew that he figured something had happened involving Luna. She also likely knew he was avoiding bringing it up to respect their privacy, which she was grateful for. While the truth was that he already knew about Nightmare Moon, he still wasn’t going to bring it up until one of them directly offered the information. Ash had absolutely no doubt that it was a sore subject, so he felt no need to upset them to satisfy his curiosity.

The pair stopped at the beginning of the track, looking down the marble path that was clearly two thousand feet long and eight or so feet wide. Celestia turned her head and gazed at Ash with a grin, which he returned with a slightly nervous one as she spoke. “Try to keep up for at least two and a half miles. Remember, that’s five times across the track. When we get to the other side, we’ll stop and turn around and run back. If you are wondering why the track doesn’t loop around, I didn’t want to have a full oval track built in the mountain, so I chose to have a stop-and-go track.”

“Understood.” Ash said.

“Ready?” Celestia asked, receiving a nod in reply. “Go.”

The two started forward with Celestia leading, moving at a trot. Quickly matching her pace, he came up beside her, which was rather easy. A trot for a pony was a jog for a human, which made sense. If he remembered correctly, a horse had four speeds, those being a walk, a trot, a canter, and a gallop, which were walking, jogging, running, and sprinting, respectively. If Celestia moved at a trot the entire time, he might be able to keep up for three or so miles before getting tired.

Thirty Minutes Later

“Too much?” Celestia asked, trying and failing to keep an amused grin off of her muzzle. Ash had done rather well for a bipedal species who had not kept an active lifestyle. He kept up with her jogging easily for two miles. He knew how to breathe properly and kept it steady rather than panting or gasping, he kept his stride long but not long enough to strain himself, and he gradually slowed to a stop at the end of the track rather than stopping as quickly as he could. Nothing had happened for those four laps, not even talking, as Ash was too focused on measuring his paces and breathing to speak to her, not that she minded. Running was a chance to clear her mind and relax just as much as her days off were.

The change came from the fifth lap. Celestia had proposed the idea of speeding up to a canter for the final lap and Ash, not realizing that he was actually much more tired than he felt, agreed to it. When they stopped and turned for the fifth lap, both of them took off at a run and kept pace, though Ash started to slow down around halfway through. By the time they got to the end of the run, Ash had slowed to a trot again and promptly collapsed onto the hard rock, not even Celestia’s reaction speed allowing her to try to catch him.

While initially worried he was actually injured, his waving and weak but reassuring grin told her otherwise. Her own frown had faded, replaced by a grin as she watched him regain his breath. “Next time, we won’t run. We’ll just keep to a solid trot the entire time.”

“That’s good.” Ash breathed out, allowing his eyes to close for a moment. A few seconds later, he opened his eyes again and rose to his feet with a groan, having to transition to his knees before he could fully rise. “I think I’m done running for the day. I’m going to head to Star’s Yard.”

“How will you get there?” Celestia asked, a smug tone to her voice.

“I’ll ask a guard for directions.” Ash said, his tone still tired but resolute.

“Or you can just ask me to teleport you there.” Celestia said.

“It won’t be a problem?” Ash asked.

“Not at all.” Celestia said, her horn alighting in magic.

“This won’t make me throw up, will it?” The man questioned warily. He had read too many stories where first-time teleporters threw everything up and did not seek that fate for himself.

“Not even the slightest. That effect was fixed three decades ago.” Celestia said, flashing him a smile. With a pop that was much louder for him now that he was the one teleporting, Ash’s vision was replaced by a white field, likely the flash he could always see. A split second before he reappeared at Star’s Yard, his vision seemed to flicker with color for a split moment before the courtyard appeared with another pop.

Looking around, he took in the various plants and trees that filled the courtyard, flower bushes of bright colors dotted here and there. The white wood gazebo still sat in the same place it had before, the stream running right in front of it. Following the stream with his eyes, he noticed that Luna was already there waiting for him. She was on the flat-topped rock he had sat on last time, reclining on her back with her wings splayed out, likely sunbathing with her head hanging off the rock in his direction, her eyes closed. Ash slowly walked over, her upside-down ears perking as his shoes crunched old leaves and brushed aside grass.

Luna’s teal eyes opened as he neared, looking up, or down in her case, to meet his own. With a quick motion, she rolled and righted herself, now looking at him as mild amusement played through her eyes. She took in his sweaty hair, his disheveled clothing and heavy breathing. “Have fun?”

“I did, in fact, enjoy myself.” Ash replied. “Though I decided to accept her challenge to run the last half mile rather than jog it. I shouldn’t have.”

“Jog?”

“Trot.”

Luna made a noise of acknowledgement before continuing. “So, are you ready to continue practicing your magic or do you wish to rest some more?”

“Rest, most definitely rest. My mind’s muddled right now and my spells require focus. If I mess up Healing, it will worsen the wound I’m trying to fix and will even cause mana burn.” Ash explained, showing her his left hand. “It’s pretty much just a burn that magic can’t heal. My guide said it was entirely immune to magic, which is why it can’t be healed by anything other than time.”

His palm had been a bright red a few minutes after the burn had first formed, but it looked to have healed some in the sixteen or so hours it had been since it happened. The shiny red flesh had faded to a dull red, through it wasn’t quite the same color as the rest of his hand yet. While closing his hand into a fist did sting some, it didn’t hurt enough that he tried to avoid it.

“Very good idea, then. I’d rather not lose any of my fur and have to wait for a burn to heal before it regrows.” Luna said, hopping off of the rock and gesturing toward the gazebo with one wing. “Join me in the shade, then.”

The pair walked over toward the gazebo and walked up the two steps that kept it off of the wet ground. Luna took a seat on one of red cushions and grabbed the rest in her magic, setting one beside her and laying the rest out in a row. Luna moved, lying down on the two cushions she had while gesturing for him to take the other three, which he did with a nod of thanks. Ash lied down on them on his stomach, the position he was most comfortable in, and rested his head down on the side, toward Luna, before speaking. “Did you go with Twilight to the Archives?”

“I did.” Luna confirmed. “I took the chance to spend a little more time with her before she has to leave. She is a good friend of mine, and I usually visit her when I’m off, but it’s not quite as often as I would like. Do you plan to join Celestia’s runs more often?”

“Yeah, I do.” Ash said. “I want to get and stay in shape and running is a good way to do it.”

The Alicorn made a face. “I don’t like running, mostly because I hate being sweaty. It makes my fur mat, messes up my feathers, and stinks, though your smell isn’t nearly as strong as a pony’s. I think it’s because you don’t have heavy fur. Anyway, I’d rather camp in a forest, which is something I do quite often.”

“I heard from Celestia when I asked why you don’t join her. I’ve also heard twice now that the Everfree is unsafe. What makes it more dangerous that any other forest?”

“There’s wild, untamed magic that fills those woods. Outside of the Forest, ponies control almost everything. Plants are grown by Earth ponies, animals are taken care of by farmers and veterinarians, and the weather is controlled by Pegasi. In the Forest, everything runs on its own. The weather is wild, plants grow quickly and uncontrolled, and the beasts there follow primal instinct rather than pony discretion.” Luna explained, a fond look coming over her face as she spoke. “Of course, that’s not to mention the animals themselves. Sure, there are normal wolves and deer, but there are also timberwolves, manticores, cockatrices, hydras, cragodiles, quarray eels, chimeras, and so many more dangerous predators that would love to snack on an Alicorn.”

“And yet you camp there for the challenge, don’t you?” Ash asked, beginning to understand why the Alicorn liked the Everfree.

“Yes, I do. There’s something about knowing that a single mistake can end me that really gets me excited and my adrenaline pumping.” She said with a smile. “Of course, I’m always careful enough that I’m never really at risk, but the possibility of it is enough. What about you? Do you enjoy the thrill of danger?”

“I don’t rightly know.” Ash said. “I’ve never really been in that situation. For the most part, the area of my world I lived in had no ‘natural’ dangers. However, the Everfree does remind me of home, mostly.”

“What do you mean?” Luna questioned curiously, an interested look clear in her eyes.

“The weather, plants, and animals. In my world, the weather is entirely random and we try to predict it, but we don’t always get it right. The plants will grow wild and utterly take back any building, town, or city if they are left alone long enough, though it’s only really happened with buildings in the woods and old ghost towns. The animals are completely wild with the exception of certain domesticated species such as dogs and cats, and going into the true wild can be a death sentence if something decides your on the menu.” Ash explained to the Alicorn, who seemed equally interested and worried about an entire world that ran on Everfree logic.

“You should join me for my camping the next time I go into the Everfree, then.” Luna suggested. “It might remind you of your world, and it’ll give you the chance to find out if you like the thrill of being in danger or not, and with my magic, I can teleport us out should we actually be in danger.”

“I likely will, though I think it’ll be a long while before I actually do.” Ash said, then continued when Luna looked at him curiously. “I’d like to know a few more spells before I do such a thing, simply so I can be of assistance should we be attacked by an animal.”

“That’s a fair point, I suppose.” Luna said, nodding slowly in agreement. “Very well, then. It will be some time before you join me, then, but I will not forget.”

Then she grinned at him, continuing on. “You’ll go camping with me eventually, whether I have to trick you or not.”

Ash just chuckled. “I don’t think that’ll be necessary. As long as you actually give me time to learn a few new spells, I’ll happily come with you. I think I’m ready to practice my Healing now, in any case.”

“Eager to get started, hmm?” Luna asked, sitting up again as Ash followed suit.

He flashed her a smile as he replied. “The faster I learn, the faster I get to be in the Forest with you, alone.”

Her muzzle flushed lightly, understanding his joke, before she slapped him with a wing. “Cease your teasing or you’ll be testing your Healing on yourself.”

Ash chuckled, but then gave her a confused look as what she said registered. “I am testing it on myself, remember? I don’t know Healing Hands yet and Healing only works on the caster.”

She froze for a moment, her ears splaying back, making Ash laugh louder. “You forgot, didn’t you?”

“Perhaps.” She admitted. “I’ll still stay and try to help, though.”

“It’s appreciated.” Ash said. “Do you have a knife for me to use? I think a maid came in while I was sleeping and took the other one back to the kitchens.”

With a pop of magic, another simple kitchen knife appeared in her magical aura, which she held out to him. “What do you need to do to learn Healing Hands?”

“Honestly, Luna, I’m not quite sure.” Ash said. “My guide is magically connected to me through some very complex spells, and I unlock new information after certain events. I had never heard of mana burn before until I burned myself and unlocked the entry on my guide. It said that I need to get used to the casting Healing to gain access to Healing Hands, though I’m not sure what exactly counts as ‘used to casting Healing.’ It said something along the lines of ‘familiarity breeds understand, which breeds power.’”

“What is your guide, anyway? I’ve never seen it.” Luna asked curiously. Ash reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone, tapped the screen to switch it on, and loaded the guide. Once the index popped up, he held it out to her, which she took in her magic. He let go of it, and to his surprise, the phone fell straight to the floor of the gazebo. It hit the ground and bounced once before Ash picked it up, checking it over.

There weren’t any cracks on it, so he looked up to the confused Luna. “Sorry, I thought you had a hold on it.”

“I thought I did, too.” Luna said, confusion present in her voice. “Set it on the floor.”

He did so and, a moment later, her aura wrapped around it, yet the phone refused to move. Twice, the aura faded off of it before she tried again, eventually giving up. “I can’t lift it, Ash. The guide simply slips out of my grip every time I try to lift it. Do you know why?”

“No, I don’t.” Ash said, humming afterwards as he thought it over. “Perhaps it’s a spell wrapped around it to prevent it from being tampered with by magic?”

“Perhaps.” Luna mused for several moments before ultimately pushing it aside. “In any case, I suppose you should start practicing your magic, or do you wish to try to understand it instead?”

“How about both? I can practice my magic, and while waiting for it to recharge, we can try to learn more about the spell itself.” Ash suggested, receiving an affirmative nod from Luna.

Ash took the knife in his hand and, deciding not to test the spell on his right hand lest he burn himself on both hands and be unable to cast a spell, rolled up his pants leg enough to expose his lower leg. Setting the blade of the knife against the back of his leg, he prepared to quickly pull it across, though he would be careful not to cut deep. Just a light nick would work for Healing. No need to hurt himself worse, after all. However, before he could actually bring the blade across his leg, Luna spoke up, concern for him lacing her voice. “Ash, does this hurt you? I don’t know many ponies who would be willing to injure themselves just to learn a spell.”

Looking up at her, he replied. “Luna, I just nick myself. It’s not like I’m giving myself a gash or anything. Think of a papercut, just bigger, but not deeper. That’s about it. I have no desire to lacerate my flesh to practice Healing.”

Then, with a smirk, he continued. “That’ll be your job once I know Healing Hands.”

“Oh ha, ha, ha.” She said sarcastically, though she was smiling now. “Very well, continue. If you fail to heal yourself, I’ll take matters into my own hooves. Fair?”

“Fair.” Ash said, then brought the sharp blade across the back of his leg, opposite of his shin so he didn’t hit bone. True to his word, the cut barely bled, closer to a scratch than a cut. If Luna had to guess from the amount of blood, it really was practically a paper cut. It was no wonder he wasn’t learning anything about his spell with tiny cuts like those. Private Star had made it sound so much worse when she described the way he cut his hand to her.

Ash stared at the shallow but long scratch on his leg and focused, bringing his right hand near it. Imagining the golden ribbons of light once more and the tinkling sound of Healing, his imagination transitioned into reality much faster than it had before, likely because he had a chance to sleep, and talking with Luna had only given him a chance to rest again from his running. The cut quickly mended, the two sides coming together to leave sealed flesh, not a scar or scab left behind.

Looking over at Luna when he realized that was the first time she had seen a non-combat spell, he saw her gazing on with a curious look. A curious look that shifted into one of understanding as a smug grin came over her face as she sang out. “I understand it~”

“Understand what?”

Luna pointed at his hand with one of her hooves. “Healing. I understand how it works and why it works.”

“You were able to figure that out just by looking at it once?” Ash asked. If he was being truthful, it made him a little jealous. That was the kind of mastery of Magicka he wanted and Luna now had the first step. After a moment, he spoke again. “As much as I want to know, don’t tell me. I need to figure it out myself. How did you figure it out, though? You don’t even have Magicka!”

“Alicorn.” Luna said innocently, pointing toward herself with one of her blue hooves. “I’m very old and have a lot of experience with magic. Perhaps if you were four and a half thousand years old you would understand it just as I do.”

Ash’s eyes widened, surprised at her age. Truth be told, he expected her to be around sixteen hundred, not forty-five hundred. Then he saw the chance and took it. “You know, you don’t look half bad for your age.”

“Thank you, Ash.” She said with a slight flush and grin before continuing. “I may not be able to tell you how the magic works, but I can help you get there. You’re not healing enough. A Unicorn will never become better at levitation if she only lifts a pencil. If she, however, starts trying to lift a desk, she will become better.”

“So you want me to slice open my leg?” Ash asked to clarify. That’s what it sounded like she was hinting at. However, Luna just rolled her eyes and took the knife in her aura.

“Trust me.” Was all she said before she nicked the back of his leg again, his left hand above the burn, and his right arm. “Now try to heal all three at once. A full-body heal, if you will.”

Ash’s eyes widened as he understood her point, then nodded. It made sense, truthfully. The Healing spell had always covered the entire body in the game, which made sense. A soldier wouldn’t have the time to focus on his wounds one at a time, so he would heal them all at once. It also made sense why Healing wasn’t really draining his reserves at all- he wasn’t casting it in a large enough radius.

Making sure he kept his eyes wide open even though he wanted to close them as he tried to cast the spell, he focused as best he could with the feeling of blood dripping down his leg, arm, and hand. Luna had cut him deeper than he had, though the pain wasn’t very great, but the flowing warmth was a little distracting. Following Luna’s words to heal all three at once, he imagined golden light wrapping around all three cuts, the wounds mending as the blood faded, and the soft humming of the spell and the warmth that came with it.

He heard the spell cast, though he was looking at his left hand with his right behind held in front of him, out of his sight. Ribbons of light snaked around his left hand and he could see more on his leg out of the corner of his eye. He could feel warmth making its way down his right arm, to the aching cut, before the pain in all three areas began to fade away. The cut on his hand, which he was watching, was steadily closing, though he noticed that the ribbons of light avoided touching the mana burn in the slightest. A few moments later, he allowed the spell to drop, panting lightly. The strain in his chest had returned, showing that he was now doing it right. Now he was actually straining his reserves, which would allow it to expand.

“Good.” Luna praised from the side. Ash quickly looked over his arm and leg, having seen his hand heal, and saw that both cuts were gone. “But not quite what I asked for.”

“What? You said to heal all three at once.”

“As a full-body spell. The creature you fought in your dreams had used a spell that made a single line of golden light wrap around its entire body and I saw its wounds begin to close before your lightning bolt hit it. Isn’t that what a healing spell is supposed to look like?” Luna asked, making Ash blink twice. He hadn’t even noticed that the Dremora mage had casted a healing spell on himself, which made Ash respect Luna all the more for seeing something that must have only been a second or two.

“Yes, it is.” Ash said, looking back at her. “I hadn’t even noticed the Dremora had tried to heal itself. What did I look like?”

The Alicorn giggled lightly. “It looked like your hand was trying to turn you into a mummy.”

Then she got a gleam in her eyes, levitating the knife in the air again as it flickered through the air four times, four small aches appearing on his body. “Now, try again, and do it like the ‘Dremora’ did.”

Author's Note

And the second day begins! It's interesting how I can draw out a single day into thirty thousand words, but the first day of the arrival is almost always the most important. However, I don't plan to do that often, though it will most likely happen again.

As always, feel free to leave a comment on how you feel! I love reading what people think. Have something to say about Celestia's morning run? Share it! Feel like commenting on Luna's camping habits? What's the comment?

“Of course I’ll join you two, just let me put my shirt, socks, and shoes on.”

No one caught the fact that Ash didn't have a shirt when he arrived in Equestria? I just did.

Equilibrium

“I’m not any closer to understanding it, Luna.” Ash said, tossing the blood-stained knife aside. For the past two hours, it had seen constant use by Ash and Luna. He felt sick once more, his Magicka reserves well below half, yet just enough to stop him from feeling pain. Once Luna had learned how much Magicka he had, she had quickly calculated exactly how much he could spend before being in pain, and kept pushing him to that limit again and again. While the fact that she was helping him learn as much as she could, the fact didn’t change that he was sick to his stomach, tired of pain, and the scent of copper was filling the air around the gazebo. “I think I’m done for today.”

Luna nodded her understanding, sympathy in her eyes as she cleaned the knife with her magic and then teleported it away. With another spell, the few drops that had managed to get on his clothing or fall onto the gazebo vanished and the smell of blood began to fade away. “Do you wish to take a nap in your room? I can teleport you directly there if you wish.”

“I’m not sleepy, just a little sick until my reserves refill.” Ash couldn’t help the irritation that was in his voice, knowing that the only reason he felt sick was because Luna had pushed him to that point. Otherwise, Ash would have stopped at the strain and let his magic refill before repeating the process.

Her ears folded flat against her head and let her gaze drop to the floor, understanding his irritation, and tried to defend herself. “I’m sorry, but to truly master magic, any form of it, you have to push yourself well past your comfort zone.”

“I know.” Ash said simply. “But it doesn’t mean I like it. Let’s talk about something else.”

“Like what?” Luna asked. Ash thought for a moment before a thought came to mind and he figured he needed to discuss it.

“Luna, I need a way to earn money, whatever it may be called here. I need clothes, materials, and the like. I can’t just wait and bum off of you and Celestia until I learn Healing Hands and get it certified. I think I have a few ways to do so with magic, but I wanted to discuss them with you.” Ash said, gesturing to his only set of clothes once he mentioned them.

“We don’t mind, Ash.” Luna said honestly, gazing at him with those large eyes that all ponies had. “At this point, you’re already closer to a friend than anything, and we always help our friends.”

Ash just sighed. “Letting me stay in the castle is one thing, Luna, but I’m not letting either of you provide me with clothes or anything else. I need to find a way to get an income, but I’m not sure what positions are open or even if I’m allowed outside the castle.”

“What do you mean ‘if you’re allowed outside the castle?’” Luna asked, a confused and slightly worried look in her eyes. “You aren’t a prisoner here!”

“I’m aware, but Celestia’s first order once I arrived was to prevent news of me from escaping the castle, so I’m assuming I’m a secret right now.” Ash said. Luna made a noise of understanding before shaking her head quickly.

“She rescinded that order last night, after dinner, once we knew you weren’t hostile. She would have done so earlier, but the meeting made us both forget. News has been trickling out of the castle about you since last night, though we also haven’t done anything to spread the news more. You’re free to leave the castle at any point, Ash.” Luna explained before continuing. “But what ideas do you have for making money with your magic?”

“Well, first of all, is turning iron to gold illegal?” Ash asked curiously.

“Yes, Ash, scamming ponies by painting iron to look like gold is illegal.” Luna said, looking at him with slight worry. “You weren’t planning to counterfeit, were you?”

“No, I meant literally turning iron to gold. One of the Alteration spells, Transmute, can turn iron to silver and silver to gold.” Ash explained, making Luna’s eyes widen and splutter.

“S-s-silver!” Luna stuttered out. “Truly?”

“Yes.” Ash said, giving Luna a strange look. “Luna, are you alright?”

“Ash, silver is one of the most sought-after metals on Terra!” Luna exclaimed. “Not only is it incredibly rare, but it’s in very high demand in Equestria due to it being an ingredient in magicite, a metal that conducts magical energy with almost no waste. Magicite is the primary metal used inside our machinery because it can easily draw power from a battery gem and into the device. How soon can you learn that spell?”

“As soon as I learn the prerequ…” Ash trailed off. “There’s no lower tiered Transmute.”

“What?”

“I learn spells by learning their lower-level counterpart. To learn Firebolt, I need to know Flames. To know Healing Hands, I need to know Healing. There’s no ‘lesser Transmute.’ I don’t know how to learn it.”

“Is there any spell before that in the same school that involves turning one thing into another?” Luna questioned, her wings twitching repeatedly on her back.

“Equilibrium, I think. You think it might be required for Transmute?” Ash asked.

“Yes.” Luna said simply. “Ash, if you learn how to turn iron into silver, I will personally pay for everything you desire and just accept several pounds of silver as payment.”

“I’ll get started, then.” Ash said slowly. The situation had developed incredibly fast, which threw him off guard. Between suddenly learning that silver was essentially a magical superconductor to Luna’s excitement, he was rather startled.

Luna closed her eyes and forced herself to calm, a long exhale leaving her nose. After a few moments, she opened her teal eyes again and looked at him softly. “I’m sorry, Ash, but Equestrian magitech has always been limited by our supply of silver, and you just provided the opportunity to rectify that problem.”

“Luna, even if I learn the spell, I don’t think I’d like to spend my entire life transmuting iron to silver for Equestria.” Ash told her slowly, making her blink in surprise before she starting chuckling.

“We wouldn’t need you to produce that much. Maybe two hundred pounds of it a year? The recipe for magicite is low on silver, but it does require it.” Luna told him.

“Two hundred a year.” Ash mused. “Once I learn the spell, I can do that. I believe Transmute converts a pound at a time. I’ll get started on learning Equilibrium, then.”

Reaching to the side, he grabbed his phone and navigated his way through the app to the Equilibrium page. Before he could begin reading, he found a dark blue muzzle suddenly appear beside his face as Luna moved to behind him and started looking over his shoulder to read with him. “You don’t mind me reading with you, do you?”

“No, I don’t.” Ash said, then began reading.

“To learn Equilibrium, you must understand that there are three energies within the body of an Aetherium mage. Those energies are Magicka, Vitality, and Stamina. Magicka is the magical energy from Aetherius that provides the ability to cast spells, as you should know well enough by now. Stamina is the mundane energy gained by eating and sleeping that allows a warrior to swing his sword or brace his shield. It is the energy that is expended by walking through your home, exercising, or any other physical activity. Vitality is an energy that is not well understood as of yet, but it is best described as life energy.”

“Vitality, when lost, will begin to make a person feel tired and sluggish, though they will be physically rested and active as ever. At a later point, their mind will begin to slow and dull. As such, it is sometimes confused as Stamina, though pains should be taken to avoid such a confusion. Should you lose too much Stamina, you will simply pass out and awaken some time later, having regained your Stamina. Should you lose all of your Vitality, you will die, plain and simple. Do avoid this fate.”

“Now, Equilibrium is an incredibly useful, if dangerous, spell for mages of all types and calibers. Equilibrium, a Novice-rank Alteration spell, allows the caster, you, to convert your Vitality directly into Magicka at an equal rate. No energy is lost or expended during this process, something that continues to astound mages the world over. Be careful when casting this spell as it can drain you of your Vitality entirely, which will result in your death.” Apparently, Luna had read that section at the same time as he did because one of her wings wrapped partly around his shoulder, squeezing gently.

“Perhaps I was too hasty in convincing you to learn such a dangerous spell.” The Alicorn said softly.

“I’m learning it, Luna. The guide is right; Equilibrium is an incredibly useful spell that I want to know, doubly so if it is the precursor to Transmute.” Ash said, placing his left hand- the one not holding the phone- on her wing gently. “Thank you for your concern, though.”

A light nuzzle to the side of his face was all he received in reply before he continued on.

“Keep in mind two things. The first is that Equilibrium is one of the only spells known that has no backlash. Perhaps it is because the spell itself muddles the mind and distracts the caster that it is inherently safer? The second thing is that healing spells from the school of Restoration restore Vitality just as easily as they heal wounds. As such, you are able to cast Equilibrium until you are low on Vitality, then cast Healing or a higher-rank spell until you are low on Magicka, and repeat the process continuously. Keep in mind that both transfers are equal rate, or 1:1 ratios, so energy is not lost in either case. However, the risk with this is attempting to cast Healing while drowsy and sluggish from low Vitality, which can cause massive injury.”

“I know several healing spells. We can test if Unicorn magic can restore Vitality as well.” Luna whispered into his ear. “If that’s the case, you can cast Equilibrium continuously until you ‘understand’ the spell and gain access to the next spell.”

“Good idea.” Ash replied, then kept reading. They still hadn’t read how to actually cast the spell.

“As previously stated several times, Equilibrium is an incredibly dangerous spell to cast. As a result, or perhaps just coincidentally, it is also incredibly easy to cast. Simply imagine two pools of water, one red and one blue. Imagine the red liquid dripping into the blue liquid, turning blue as it does so. Take note that this is also the only known way to ‘measure’ your Magicka reserves, as the size of the bowl, well, pool, etc directly corresponds to the depth of your reserves. Should you try to imagine either pool larger or smaller than it is, it will fail. Also take note of the fact that the speed of the ‘dripping’ directly transfers to the speed of the exchange of Vitality and Magicka.”

“Rather fortuitous that the spell will show me how much Vitality I have left, isn’t it?”

“Very much so.” Luna replied. “Go ahead and channel the spell, Ash. As soon as I notice the spell working, I will begin casting one of the healing spells I know on you. If you notice your Vitality is still draining, cease casting it.”

Ash nodded once, nervously, before imagining two pools of liquid, one red and one blue. It was difficult to do with open eyes as he kept wanting to close them, to give himself a ‘blank slate,’ as it were, to imagine them on rather than having to do so with his eyes open. Eventually, however, he succeeded. In his mind, two large cooking pots, one black and one silver, appeared, the silver one filled with a deep red, viscous liquid that looked like blood and the black one filled with a dark blue liquid that reminded Ash of colored water. His Magicka pool was low, still drained from his Healing spells. Slowly, he imagined the silver pot was lifted and tilted, slowly pouring the Vitality out. The red liquid turned blue as it fell, just as slowly refilling the Magicka pot.

Unbeknownst to Ash, whose entire focus was directed into his mind, a small ball of red light formed in his right hand. The ball glowed red, though rather than the glow seeming to flow out of the ball, it seemed to flow into the ball as blue energy filtered into his body from his arm. It was the physical sight of Vitality transfering into Magicka. Reacting quickly, Luna began casting a basic Rejuvenation spell on Ash, the dark blue aura around her horn channeling into his body and seeking out any wounds to heal. She just hoped the spell considered low Vitality to be a wound.

Inside his mind again, Ash leveled out the silver pot once it had been drained half way. With the pot now leveled and smooth, he quickly discovered that it was refilling. There was no liquid dripping into it or anything, just the level of ‘water’ was rising. Refocusing on the outside world, Ash turned to Luna who was easily channeling the spell. “It’s working. It’s refilling my Vitality, just not as quickly as I was draining it.”

Suddenly, the energy around her horn intensified, turning a deeper, more opaque blue as she seemingly switched spells. Maintaining it effortlessly, she grinned at him. “Look again.”

Reimagining the two pots, he saw that the Vitality pool was filled entirely. In fact, it was overflowing, though the red liquid vanished as soon as it fell a few inches away from the silver pot. As far as he could tell, there were no consequences to it, so he ‘lifted’ the pot again and quickly poured some of the red liquid into the other pot. However, he failed to take into account that his Vitality was still filling, so a veritable flood of Vitality fell into his Magicka all at once, overflowing the black pot suddenly. The next thing Ash was aware of was a flash of light, roaring warmth, freezing cold, motion, and darkness.

Ash wasn’t quite sure when he came to whether it had been an hour, a day, or just a few minutes. All he knew was that he snapped awake instantly, feeling perfectly refreshed and rested and ready to continue his day, or start it if that was the case. He opened his eyes and rolled to his feet with nary an ache and looked around, his eyes widening and heart dropping as he did so.

He was still in Star’s Yard, that much was clear, except for quite a few differences. The first thing he noticed was that he was on the other side of the Yard, easily a hundred feet away from the gazebo that he was last sitting on. However, the gazebo was now gone. All that remained of the pristine white wood and comfortable red cushions was ash and blackened ground, the signs of an intense fire. The few scattered trees around the gazebo were buckled, bent, and split as if lightning had struck them. A twenty-foot section of the stream was frozen as solid ice, ice that refused to thaw from the temperature outside.

Then he noticed something beside one of the doors. A dark blue lump that wasn’t moving. Luna.

Ash surged into motion, running over to the Alicorn without hesitation. It only took him seconds to cross the seventy or so feet that had separated them and he came to a stop next to her, kneeling down on the ground. Idly, Ash noticed that his clothes were dirty and damaged, but it mattered not with Luna seemingly injured.

Whatever had destroyed the gazebo and torn up his clothes had struck Luna fully as well. Entire chunks of her fur was missing, the flesh beneath blackened and charred, sometimes with zagging lines of scarred tissue from where fire and lightning had struck her. One of her wings was frozen to her side with another leg frozen to her barrel. She was unconscious, both thankfully and scarily, and silver blood trickled from her mouth, nose, and ears. Ash couldn’t do anything. He didn’t know Healing Hands. He didn’t know where Celestia was. He didn’t know where the infirmary was.

Right before he decided to run and find the nearest guard, something just clicked and a series of thoughts shot through his mind almost faster than he could comprehend.

Magicka = Aetherius. Restoration: -Magicka, +Vitality. Transfer, Aetherius connection. Heal. Transfer, physical connection.

Before Ash even knew what he was doing, he placed both of his hands on Luna’s charred side. A second later, both of his hands ignited into golden light, the light around his left hand flickering as the mana burn interrupted the Magicka flow, before the familiar ribbons shot out and wrapped around Luna suddenly. Within moments, the charred flesh fell off, replaced by unmarred skin which quickly regrew fur as a strain in his chest appeared. The ice thawed and evaporated as the frostbitten limbs healed quickly, silver blood flowing through the veins once more. Lightning scars faded as sickness grew and intensified and shifted to agonizing pain. Right before his vision blackened, he saw a hint of teal as Luna’s eyes flickered open.

A moment later, Ash fell to his side, entirely unconscious.

Ten Minutes Earlier

Celestia was in a panic. There was no other word to describe it. Her heart was beating furiously, her eyes were wide and wild, her wings kept twitching and refused to lie flat, and she was moving through the halls at a near gallop, forcing servants and guards alike to dive out of the way of the crashing airship that is a panicking Alicorn.

Just moments ago, a guard had burst into the throne room, interrupted two arguing nobles, and informed her that Star’s Yard had exploded. She had tried to get more information out of the guard but there was no more information. One set of doors had been melted shut and another was frozen shut. Wild lightning had apparently agitated clouds above the Yard and now Pegasi couldn’t go near without being struck, particularly due to their metal armor.

The only thing she knew for certain was that Ash and Luna were both in the Yard when it detonated. That neither of them had been seen since the incident. That the explosion was magical in nature.

Had she been wrong? Could ponies not judge a human by looking at them? Had Ash actually turned against them and hurt Luna? The idea of Ash betraying them hurt her. He was already turning out to be a good friend and she couldn’t imagine why he would throw that away.

The idea of Ash hurting Luna, however, infuriated her. If he had hurt her, and truly meant to do so, there was going to be nothing that stopped her from hurting him back. Forget banishing him to the sun, she was going to throw him to the sun. Things would not turn out well for him if he betrayed them.

Several moments later, Celestia rounded a corner to see one of the doors to Star’s Yard, the one that was frozen shut, with several guards attempting to break it open. None of them were Unicorns so there were no fire spells being used. Right before Celestia ordered the guards to move and fix the issue themselves, the doors were ripped off of their hinges by a familiar blue aura and thrown inward. Celestia wanted to cry, she was so relieved.

Luna, entirely unharmed, trotted out of the Yard, which neither Celestia or the guards got a chance to see, before the younger sister began yelling in her Royal Canterlot Voice.

“Guards! Take Ash and bring him to the infirmary immediately. I do not know what injuries he has, if any!” Luna yelled, making Celestia notice for the first time that Luna was levitating Ash in her aura. He was in a much worse condition than she was. While he didn’t seem physically injured, his clothing was torn and stained all over.

Two guards immediately approached Luna and she laid him on their backs before they made their way through the castle toward the infirmary, moving in time to prevent him from falling. Three other guards attempted to enter the Yard only to be blocked by Luna’s wing as she spoke, having dropping the Voice. “All is fine here. Return to your posts.”

Two of them looked like they wanted to protest, but they knew better than that. The final three quickly turned and left, leaving the two Alicorns alone. Celestia quickly strode forward and immediately wrapped a wing around Luna, quickly nuzzling the side of her neck. “I’m so happy you’re okay. When I heard there was a magical explosion, I thought…”

“You thought Ash betrayed us.” Luna said.

“I didn’t know what to think, but I thought it was a possibility. What actually happened?”

“I pushed Ash into learning a new spell and it backfired.” Luna simplified. “I think most of his Magicka escaped him as raw energy, which is what caused the explosion.”

“And you weren’t hurt?”

“I think I was.” Luna answered. “I remembered being in pain as soon as it happened, but I’m not hurt now. I think Ash healed me somehow.”

“I thought he didn’t know Healing Hands?” Celestia questioned, her wing still wrapped tight around Luna’s barrel.

“He didn’t. I don’t know what happened because I was still unconscious.” Luna explained. The pair silent, thinking over the events of the last few minutes. Luna thought of the fact that she had clearly been hurt yet now wasn’t. She was firmly convinced that Ash had healed her somehow, she just didn’t know how. On that note, she didn’t know how the Yard exploded or anything else. She just knew it did.

Celestia, on the other hoof, was thinking about how she immediately assumed Ash betrayed them. She didn’t know how to feel about that. She felt justified that she assumed it because he was a new creature with mostly unknown abilities that had only been here for a day and a half. She also felt guilty because he had shown nothing but kindness and friendship to those he had met so far, even going so far as to invite Luna into his dreams and show her some of his world.

With a long sigh, Celestia decided to wait for him to awaken and explain what happened. Only then would she decide which to feel. If he hadn’t hurt her on purpose, she would owe him an apology and would most certainly give him one. If he had hurt her on purpose… well, to the sun with him.

“I hope he’ll be okay.” Luna said softly. “I didn’t see any injuries on him, but that doesn’t mean he wasn’t hurt.”

“I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Celestia replied. “He’s in the infirmary where the best doctors and healers are.”

Maybe Luna had detected the hint of concern in her voice, or some threat of doubt in her eyes, but the younger Alicorn leveled a sharp gaze on the elder Alicorn. “He didn’t betray us, Celestia.”

The confidence in her voice was absolute. Luna had absolutely zero doubt that Ash had not turned against them, that he had not purposely hurt her. To Luna, what had happened was a product of misfortune and ignorance in the hows and whys of Ash’s magic, nothing more or less. To be honest, Celestia wished she felt that kind of conviction, but she didn’t. She was too worried about possibilities than anything else.

“I believe you, Luna.” Celestia said slowly. “And I hope you are right. Ash has done nothing to insinuate he was our enemy.”

“Exactly.” Luna said, nodding once.

Author's Note

This chapter was a bit shorter than all the others, but only by a thousand words. Anyone have an idea of what exactly happened or what those things Ash thought mean? Feel free to comment about it!

Awakening