//------------------------------// // Ch 14: Until Dusk // Story: Enchanted // by The Whiskey Spirit //------------------------------// Aurick ended up at a restaurant. He was lucky that the mare in the forest only pierced his shirt, so it was a simple task to hide the blood stains underneath his cloak. It would be irritating to explain that to everyone he talked to. He vaguely remembered Twilight explaining a washing machine in his basement, but he didn’t remember how to use it. Perhaps he’d ask her about it later. He didn’t want the his only shirt to be ruined by blood stains forever. He was brought out of his thoughts by the waiter bringing him his food. It was a good looking vegetable soup. He didn’t exactly enjoy eating greens too much. He prefered to have a slab of meat in front of him instead. He would have to deal with it, though. At least it was pretty decent soup. He had almost finished with it when he spotted Rarity walking by the building. She evidently saw him too, as she stopped and smiled at him before quickly entering. “You are surprisingly hard to track down!” She told him as she approached, a small frown on her face. “I am?” He’d have thought that the over six foot alien that just moved into town would be easy to find. “Yes, but no matter. I’ve found you now.” The mare’s smile returned as she pointed at him. “Alright. Now what?” “I need your measurements, darling!” The mare tittered. “Unless you’d prefer I make some ill fitting garments for you instead?” “Uh, no. No. Just let me finish my food first.” He told her tapping the lip of the bowl with his spoon. “Of course, darling. While you do that, you could tell me all about your new house.” It didn’t take long for Aurick to finish eating, but while he did, he told the mare about his plans for the house. She listened with rapt attention. He failed to mention the cold room and what it’d be used for. If Twilight was uncomfortable about it, he’d wager the fashionista would be even more so. “I must say, you have some peculiar ideas. Knowing how to enchant things certainly opens up more avenues than I thought possible.” Rarity commented as he put his spoon down. “Only really limited by your imagination. I knew a couple enchanters back home that got hired to help with expansions like that.” He pulled out a number of bits and left them on the table as he got up. “Sounds like a wonderful place.” A sigh escaped the man as he ran a hand through his hair. “It was.” They shared an awkward silence for a moment before Aurick spoke up again. “So, my measurements?” “Yes!” The mare was all too happy to change the subject, a smile returning to her face. “Yes, and while we’re at the boutique, you can look at the designs I’ve drawn up.” “Sounds like a plan.” The trip to her shop was uneventful. The ponies around town were certainly friendlier than they were the day prior, but that was about it. Once they entered the boutique, Rarity levitated over a tape measure. “If you’d take the cloak off for me?” She asked, a small smile on her face. Aurick simply nodded and took off his cloak, calmly folding it up and placing it down. When he turned back, the tape measure was on the floor and Rarity was looking at him in shock. “Wh-what happened.” His hand met his face as he was reminded of the blood. “I don’t think I need to tell you this, but don’t go into the Everfree. Something far more dangerous than the monsters moved in there.” “Why would you go in that forest at all, darling!?” The mare asked incredulously. “I’m an omnivore, Rarity.” He didn’t think it was possible for white to look paler, but that’s what happened. “As in… you eat meat?” “Yes. I was told there are other people in this world that eat meat too, so I don’t see why it’s an issue.” He raised a brow at the mare, who waved a hoof, as if dismissing the notion. “No, that’s not the issue. It was just unexpected.” She took a breath to regain her composure, a hoof on her chest as she did so. “I’m sorry about that.” “It’s fine.” Aurick shook his head and swiveled his hand in a motion to continue. “Let’s just get these measurements done with. Luna gave me a lot of work to do.” “Oh, of course dear. Let me just take care of this real quick.” Her horn glowed as she summoned her magic. His instincts told him to hit her and avoid the blow, but he knew better. He didn’t think Rarity would hurt him, and if he was wrong, then he’d laugh about it in the afterlife. Nothing beats dying to an adorable little horse. As he assumed, the magic wasn’t an attack. In fact, it was pretty helpful. The blood on his shirt had disappeared. Sadly, the holes were still there, but he couldn’t complain. “Okay, I’ve gotta ask. Why do you know a spell for getting blood stains out?” “When I started out, I would occasionally prick myself when I was sewing. The blood would drop onto the clothes and stain it. The spell prevented those mistakes from ruining my works.” Aurick found no fault in the logic, so he just shrugged. “Fair enough.” ~-~ After he was doen getting measured, he decided to go find some rings. He’d need something to enchant as precautions for the mare in the forest. He would go back in there tomorrow, and he would get some meat. He wouldn’t let her stand in the way of that. He spent the next hour simply enchanting gems and binding them to the rings. He had bought a small chain necklace that he placed each ring on. It would work like that, but it ran the risk of the chain breaking and losing the rings. Should that happen, he made another teleportation ring. By all means, he was prepared to go back in. However, he had duties to work on. He decided he’d make the cold room the next day and work on the armour as much as he could before he went to bed. Sadly, because of the complexity of the enchantments and the mana needed for it, he was only able to finish two of the gems before he was drained of mana. With nothing left to do, he lazed about the house and thought about more ways to expand the house. With the cheap cost of gems, he could certainly do a lot. As he said before, he was limited by his imagination. Eventually he felt the pull of sleep, and the man brought himself up to his room and collapsed on the bed. A smile crept back onto his face. This was his bed. In his house. In another world. The smile disappeared, replaced with nothing more than a sigh. His good mood killed, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep. ~-~ Aurick took another bite of steak as Jurda told him about the job. “She’s a real dangerous one.” He promised, a smirk crossing his face. “A werewolf. Apparently she’s gained full control over the curse, and can change forms any time she wants. So be careful.” “Killing her’s not gonna be the problem.” Aurick stated, pointing his fork at the king. “It’s doing it without anyone suspecting anything. That camp is crawling with Ranian soldiers.” “You’ll manage. You always do.” The king took a sip of his wine as he met Aurick’s gaze. “Guess we can’t take Agni, then.” The king snorted and shook his head. “Gods, no! That woman would end up waking the entire town!” “I really need to get around to enchanting that armour so it doesn’t make as much noise.” “You do. Wait, what’s that?” The man dramatically cupped his ear to hear better. “I think I can hear her from here!” Aurick snorted, but he did hear something. The sound of hooves on tiles behind him. Looking back at Jurda, he found the man not reacting. In fact, he wasn’t moving at all. Luna stepped up beside him, looking at the king before her. “An interesting looking fellow. I assume he is of royalty?” She asked, pointing a hoof at the crown on his head. “Yep. King Jurda, the Warrior King. Good man.” “Interesting.” Luna commented but said nothing more. “So, why are you here this time? Figure out what you want that last enchantment to be?” Aurick asked, eating another bite of the dream steak. It might not have been real, but the memory of the flavor was still there. It would do until he could get some real food. “No. It is about the reason you are enchanting that armour.” Luna turned to fully look at him with a serious look on her face. “My scouts report that she has entered the Everfree. You should be careful.” “Oh! So that’s who that was!” Luna looked shocked. “You mean you’ve already encountered her?” “White mare? Paws instead of hooves? Teeth that’s make a shark jealous? Yeah, we played tag.” The mare blinked at him. “She tried to eat me.” “Oh. Did you hurt her?” “Slammed her into the ground hard enough to make her bounce, but she didn’t even care! If you want me to kill her, I can, but I’d need a set of armour myself.” He offered. “No!” The force of her word blew Auricks hair back and threatened to pop his eardrums. “Ahem. No. I would like her to remain alive. She is not at fault for what happened to her.” “And what did happen to her?” He asked with a raised brow. “When you said there is always something dark under the surface of peace, you were right.” His brow went higher. “There was a scientist who kidnapped a pony, Inkheart, to experiment on. He spliced her dna with that of animals and monsters to make her a sort of living weapon. For what purpose, I have no idea, but that doesn’t matter now. He is in custody, but Inkheart escaped. We were hoping to capture her and try to cure her, if possible.” “Shit, now I feel bad for her.” Aurick sighed and put down the fork. “When I saw her, she was starving. I feel like she won’t attack the ponies in town, but I’d recommend getting some guards to keep an eye on the forest. Just in case.” “That is troubling. Winter is coming, and food will be harder to find for her. I’m certain she would be able to find some, but I doubt it’ll be enough for her. I fear she might go after ponies if it gets too bad.” “I’ll keep an eye out for her. See if I can’t help her out, but I make no promises. If she attacks me again, there’s a chance I’d need to kill her to survive.” She scowled at him, but she didn’t berate him for it. “Fine. Just try to avoid that. In the meantime I shall figure out how to deal with this new info.” “Alright.” He said to nothing. Jurda regained motion, and the dream continued on it’s course.