Unshackled Charge

by Zoura3025

Chapter 1: Strange New Face

Bottled Lightning yawned sleepily as she stirred awake. It was her 20th birthday today, though the mare didn't have many plans. She stepped out of bed, huffing gently as the carpet shocked her. "Ngh! …Man, this carpet just loves to bite, doesn't it?" She thinks to herself, huffing gently as she slowly trots down the stairs.

The mare sighs softly as she turns on the sink, washing her face. She looked at her hooves again as she turned the sink off. Bottle had been perplexed… For years now, her hooves and lower legs, as well as some of her stomach, were stained a dark, yet vibrant blue. It contrasted sharply against her normally gray fur, but admittedly went with her pale blue mane. She'd never thought about getting it checked out; by the time the mare noticed the colour, she couldn't remember anything that could have caused it.

Bottle stood up straight, and walked to her door, opening it. She figured she might as well spoil herself some for her birthday. The mare hummed softly as the walked along the cobblestone road. Despite the ruralness of her hometown, many of the buildings stretched multiple stories over the ground; the town was home chiefly to Earth Ponies and Pegasi, with unicorns generally only being rare travelers. Despite this, the townsponies made do with what they had.

Bottle's attention was caught, however, as she saw a unicorn standing in town square. Bottle would step forward, as would a few of her fellow townsponies.

The unicorn was setting up what seemed to be an alchemy station. Bottle thought for a moment, "Excuse me, miss…" She trailed off.
The unicorn gazes up at her. Before they can open their mouth, they stumble back as their eyes meet Bottle's, their irises flashing for a moment. Bottle blinked, oftering the stumbling unicorn a hoof, "Hey, are you alright?" She asks.

The dazed unicorn shakes themselves off. "F-fine…" They murmur, taking Bottle's hoof, "I am…" The unicorn takes a minute to catch their breath, "Tincture," They introduce, "But… You must already know who I am. You're…" Tincture would stare over Bottle's legs and chest, noting the stains, "It's all over you."

Bottle steps back a pace. "What do you mean?" She asks, sitting back on her haunches, now self-consciously attempting to cover her stomach.
Tincture pauses for a moment, grabbing a scarecrow from their box of supplies, and putting it in the ground, before blinking over to Bottle's side.

"Alright, just… Put your front legs out," Tincture says, "And, focus."
Bottle hesitates, but outstretches her front legs, closing her eyes as she takes a deep breath.
Tincture paces around Bottle gently, before setting a hoof on her shoulder. "Take a deep breath. When you start to feel a shock, don't fight it. You've been suppressing the magic for a long time…" Tincture says.

A small crowd of spectators had long since gathered at the sight of the strange unicorn, but now the crowd watched in awe as twinkles of lightning creeped forth from Bottle's forehooves.
Tincture nodded slowly. "Good… Keep going…" She says.

Bottle would then make the mistake of opening her eyes. She yelped in surprise as she saw the electricity leaking from her hooves, her sudden panic leading to a large bolt of electricity streaking towards the scarecrow, splashing into a large strike as it connects, blasting the 'crow's arm off. A stripe of her mane would light up into a bright, cool-white, slowly dimming down some seconds after.

Bottle would look at her still sparking hooves, then the partially destroyed scarecrow.
Tincture would hesitate a bit, "...Okay, it must not have been as dormant as I thought it was," She admits.
Bottle stares at her hooves. "What did you do to me?" She asks.
Tincture blinks. "I'm… Not sure. I don't remember giving a lightning tonic to anyone…" She admits.
Bottled Lightning would stare at the mare beside her with a fierce gaze. "You have some explaining to do, right now," She says.

Tincture sighs. "I do owe you an explanation. I am a traveling alchemist who makes potions that allow any pony, not just Unicorns or Alicorns, to use magic," She begins, "I have worked many years to perfect my potions and tonics, but they have always been temporary; one potion only fuels a single cast, or dissipates naturally after some time. But, you…" The unicorn briefly grazes one of Bottle's legs, "It seems like it's… Melded to you, somehow. It should have evaporated after that cast, but it seems like your body's just… Holding onto it."

Bottled Lightning stares at Tincture. "So what you're saying is… I'm stuck like… Like this?" She asks, looking down at her hooves, now free of visible electricity.

Tincture sighs. "That's correct," She admits, "I don't know why it's stuck to you like this, but if I may… I'd like to spend some time with you, to see why this is happening," She expresses.
Bottle hesitates, but nods a little. "Alright," She says softly, "This is a lot to take in, but… I'd rather have a second opinion," She says trustingly, offering an uncomfortable smile.
Tincture sighs softly, "Thank you," She says, "I promise, I'll get to the bottom of this. But first, we should get you more in-control of the spell. With how long it's been dormant, awakening it might have some… Unintended side effects," She comments, her gaze briefly shifting to the half-destroyed scarecrow.
Bottle nods, "Yeah, that'd be good," She says, looking at her front hooves again.

"We should probably go inside. The folks around here aren't used to interacting with magic," Bottle explains.
Tincture would nod, magicking up her things as Bottle leads the way to her home.

After a bit of time spent unpacking, Tincture would find Bottle eating a sandwich in her kitchen.
"You got settled in okay?" Bottle asks.
Tincture nods, "The room is nice, thank you," The mare laughs awkwardly, "I didn't realize I had so much stuff; it's a little… Precarious in there," She concedes.
Bottle just chuckles a bit, "Alright, I'll make sure not to head in there too fast," She comments.

Tincture takes a seat at the table, a small smile on her face. "Well, now that I'm settled in, did you want to practice some control?" She asks.
Bottle nods a bit, finishing off her sandwich and wiping her hooves off, "Alright, what do I need to do?" She asks.
"Okay. Hooves up, a couple inches apart…" Tincture says, pacing behind Bottle and moving her front legs into position, "Close your eyes, focus again. Don't fight it," Tincture instructs.

Bottle was caught off-guard by the sudden proximity, but she steadied herself, closing her eyes as she focused.
Bottled Lightning's hooves would light up with a small arc of electricity, and the stripe of her mane would glow a bright white as the mare's dormant magic activated. "Good. Now, open your eyes; don't freak out this time. Just hold it steady," Tincture says, a small smile on her face.

Bottle took a sharp breath in, opening her eyes. The lightning between her hooves wavered slightly, but remained stuck between her hooves.
Tincture nodded in approval, "Good. It's not so scary, is it?" She asks.
Bottle smiles, "I guess not," She says, "It's kind of nice, actually… Like a hoofwarmer," She admits.
Tincture nods, "When unregulated, electricity is dangerous. However, when controlled, it can be a source of light and heat," She explains.
Bottle looked at the arc in her hands; eyes wide not with fear, but with intrigue.
"You're already doing more than you realize; electricity likes to move. Holding it still like that isn't natural; you can try shaping it more, if you want," Tincture says.
Bottled Lightning would nod slowly, closing her eyes. The arc began to swell into a loop, stretching from her hooves into the air before her. It would be drawn taut into a point, and Bottle would reopen her eyes.

"Interesting…" Bottle murmurs, shaping it into various curves and rings, forking thorns of lightning from the central arc to experiment with the dexterity. However, the arc would soon fizzle out, as the mare's mane flickered, eventually draining.
Bottle winced in exhaustion, as she watched her hooves spark and fizzle with the lingering traces of exhausted magic. "Ugh…"
Tincture was slightly puzzled, "Are you tired, or did the spell run out?" She asked. By now, she had grabbed a quill and paper, and was notetaking as Bottle had experimented.
Bottle thought for a moment. "I think it ran out? My hooves are all tingly, though," She comments, "Though I do feel kinda sleepy…" She admits.
Tincture looked at her ponderously, still furiously scribbling, "Well, it doesn't seem like it's drained from you, anyways… I wonder if…" She'd magic a large book from a small pile next to her, flitting through the pages quickly until she came to a page on earth pony magic.

She mumbled to herself as she quickly skimmed through the page, "...Stored in the body…Grows with time…Tied to physical exhaustion…" She checked her notes, then the book again.
Bottle had stolen one of the books to rest her head on, her ears twitching as she overheard Tincture's muttering.
"I think I have a tentative theory on what's going on," Tincture finally says, "Earth Pony magic normally translates as an increase in strength as they age, but because the spell has been interacting with you for however long, it's essentially become a muscle for you," She explains, "You're tired because you basically just exercised for the first time in forever."

Bottle would roll her head so she could side-eye the unicorn. "So basically I'm going to wake up with a wicked headache tomorrow because I overexerted myself," She says, only half-grasping the other mare's hypothesis.
Tincture nodded, "Well… Something like that," She comments, "Unicorns get headaches from magic exhaustion because our horns are right next to our brains; I'm not sure where your fatigue aches will end up," She supposes.
Bottle yawned a little, "Well, right now, it's just fatigue, no aches," She remarks, "Feel like I just ran a marathon."
Tincture laughs a bit, rubbing the exhausted mare's head. "Get some rest. I'm sure your body will appreciate the break, anyhow."
Bottle needed no further invitation; she was already passed out, leaning in the book on the table, snoring softly.

Tincture just smiled, turning to her notes, jotting down various observations she'd made: The way Bottle's mane glowed when using the magic, how it exhausted her, and how naturally the dormant spell had come back to her. Her smile faded into a curious, neutral frown. She just didn't understand why it "stuck". The spell should have evaporated as soon as it was exhausted, but the markings were still there, and she could sense the energy building back up in the mare as she slept; slowly, of course, and weakly like an aching muscle, but it was coming back.

"How long has it had to soak?" She thought to herself, standing up, looking around for photos. The house was sparsely decorated, but there were a few pictures of Bottled Lightning and some of her family and friends; but all of these pictures were of the adult mare.

Tincture looked to the stairs and bit her lip. It would be rude to snoop, but this was for research! Before she could debate herself, she was already heading up the stairs.

Tincture would creep around the room upstairs, looking for any kind of photo of the mare downstairs. Then, she found a box of old papers. Carefully, Tincture would sit before the box, pulling it off the shelf and carefully opening it to look through the papers, carefully leafing through them one at a time. Her eyes lit up as she started seeing pictures of a visibly younger Bottled Lightning; she kept flipping. Younger, and younger, yet the spellstains remained.

"How long…?" She murmured to herself. She flipped faster, skipping 2 or 3 papers at a time. The pictures reflected a filly now; no older than 10 years. She froze as she finally found a picture without the spell markings. She tried to discern the date from the faded corner of the image.

"This has to have been years ago. Over a decade," Tincture said to herself, a quill furiously taking notes on her almost full sheet of blank paper, "But… I didn't start my training until…" She trailed off, before rapidly refiling the paper, closing the box, and putting it back on the shelf. She practically ran down the stairs, only marginally careful to not wake the mare sleeping at the table below.

Tincture rushed to her new room, pulling out a leather-bound bundle of books, the door closing behind her as she thumps a thick book about historical alchemists on her crowded desk. Tincture froze as she realized what else she needed to look for the answers she needed, slowly peeking her head out from around the door, looking at the sleeping earth pony…

Bottled Lightning groaned gently as she awoke. She was in… A bed was being generous; it was a cot, on the floor, and she felt a bit… Itchy. She huffed softly, scratching at a sticky spot on her chest. "What the…?" She murmurs. She caught a look at Tincture pouring over a thick book, looking at her notes, then a page in the book would flip, and the process would repeat.
Bottle squirmed lightly out of the cot, which was crammed beneath a large table in the back corner of the room. "Tincture…?" Bottle questions.
The unicorn would look up from her book, "Sorry, I meant to put you back at the table," Tincture would comment idly, looking back to her notes.

Bottle would gently plod over to the unicorn's side. "What are you looking for?" She asked, yawning a bit.
"Even when following the same recipe, any alchemist leaves a fingerprint on each potion they make," Tincture explains, "If I can match the magic in you to someone in this book, we could find the pony responsible."
Bottle thought for a moment, "Makes sense…" She supposes, taking a seat, "Any luck? You look like you're most of the way through."
Tincture sighs and shakes her head, "Nothing… I just don't understand…" She murmurs, "I have to be missing something," She hisses, facedesking into the book.

Bottle thought for a moment. "Now, I don't know the first thing about magic, but… You said it's grown into a part of me, right?" She asks.
Tincture would slowly lift herself from her book, giving the earth pony an attentive gaze and nodding.
"Well… If it's a part of me… Doesn't that mean it'd inherit my 'fingerprint' or whatever?" Bottle asks, her ears flattening in anticipation of a "that's not how it works" response.
A number of emotions flickered over Tincture's face, until she settled on an unamused scowl, facehoofing. "That… Makes perfect sense," She mutters, "If your body can regenerate the magic, it means that it and your body work have figured out how to co-operate. You aren't letting it go because it's not foreign to you anymore; it's a new part of your body, long since accepted," Tincture theorizes, sitting back on her haunches and rubbing her temples.
Bottle blinks in surprise. "O…kay. I didn't think I'd get it right," She admits, "Though… That means there isn't much hope of figuring out where it's from, right?"
Tincture sighs. "I'm sorry, but you're 2 for 2."

Bottle just sighs softly, "Can't say I've ever wished I was wrong before now," She admits.
Tincture would share the earth pony's sigh. "Believe me, I wish so too. This… Makes things difficult," She concedes, taking a seat, "Without some way to trace the spell attached to you back to its owner, well… We can't find out where it came from," She admits.
Bottle thinks for a moment. "...Now that I think about it, does it matter where it came from?" She asks, voice somewhat low.
Tincture looked at her, "Don't you want to know?" She asks.
Bottle shrugs a bit, "Well, it would be nice, I guess, but it's not like it matters. It's not gonna leave regardless, right?" She supposes.
Tincture nods a bit, her ears lowering slightly as she turned away. She couldn't help but feel like she had failed the mare before her. "...I'm sorry," She says softly.
Bottle would set a gentle hoof on her shoulder. "Hey," She begins, "The fact that you're so willing to help someone you barely know says a world more than not knowing how something works."
One of Tincture's ears twitched, and she looked up some. "But…" She attempts, before Bottle shushed her with a hoof.
"Sometimes the optimal result doesn't come to fruition," Bottle says, "All you can do is try."

Tincture just nodded a bit, sitting up straight as she recomposed herself, taking a breath. "I… I suppose you're right. Thank you," She says, offering a weak smile.
Bottled Lightning nodded slowly. "Of course," She says, pausing for a moment, "Let's go get some lunch. Some fresh air and hot food would probably do both of us good."
Tincture nodded in agreement, briefly throwing her book a conflicted glance. "I… That sounds lovely," She agrees softly.