“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.