Chapter Twenty-one: Workshop Playshop
Twilight and Ace appeared in a dark room, Ace expressing an aggravated sigh as the flash of his magic faded around the pair. “Wh-what happened, where are we? Why is it so dark? How come there’s no room in here?” The room was dark, but there were a few small lights to her right, though they were only bright enough to illuminate themselves, and not the room. Twilight could feel that Ace stood behind her, though even turning her head was not enough to allow her to see him in the darkness. “I really don’t like cramped, dark spaces…”
Ace spoke softly, though she could tell he was slightly aggravated at whatever had brought the pair here. “Just calm down, dear Twilight. It would appear that we are in the backroom of the Dragon Eyes. Sadly, I’ve never taken the time to install a light in the room, as normally ‘tis only I who must use it.”
Twilight started looking frantically around the room, though it was still much too dark to see her surroundings. No matter where she turned, it was as though her gaze was destined to return to the few lights that were in the room. “Well could you get us out of here? I really don’t like dark, narrow spaces, Ace…”
Ace rested a hoof upon her back from behind, causing Twilight to nearly jump into the air out of surprise. “You are closest to the door, on your left side.” Once the initial scare had passed, the contact was somewhat comforting, giving her a sense of direction in the pitch darkness. Raising her left forehoof, she first contacted a shelf, then moved her hoof over more and more, making contact with a wall before touching a doorframe. Almost hysterically, she groped along the height of the door, searching for the doorknob.
Once she had found it, she thrust the door open and burst forth into the connecting room. Twilight laid sprawled upon the floor, breathing deeply and rapidly, not even realizing before that she had been short of breath. From out of the dark room, Ace came into the shop, skirting his way around Twilight as he closed the door and looked down upon her inquisitively. When he had made his way to the front of the hyperventilating heap of a pony, he asked, “Are you okay?”
Twilight nodded as she regained her composure. After a few moments, when Twilight’s labored breathing had nearly evened out, Ace offered her a hoof to help her up. Twilight accepted the proffered hoof with a sheepish smile. Now in a saner state of mind, Twilight looked around the shop, admiring the organized shelves, though the contents were less organized than she had originally thought. “Are all of these spells? There’s so many of them…”
Ace followed her gaze around the shop with a smile as he shook his head. “I am afraid they are just parchment, though the intended assumption is that they are spells,” he said as he pulled one of the blank parchments away from its home upon the shelves. Holding the parchment before her as he spoke, he continued. “As a kindness to all of our customers, each spell is lovingly hoof-crafted, custom tailored to suit the need of the user and made to order!”
Ace replaced the parchment with a soft smile after he had finished what Twilight assumed was once an advertising slogan. Twilight noted the writing desk and pricing chart, as well as another shelf, though she could not tell the contents of the former or the latter with her eyes alone. “Aren’t you worried that another Unicorn might watch how you make the spell scrolls, then start doing so themselves? Surely you must have some competition.”
Ace shook his head as he rested in the center of the shop. “The spell scrolls are written in Al Bhed. Though the manner of script is only a preference of mine, the Unicorn who wouldst try to divine my methods would believe it to be some sort of magical language.” Twilight admired the Al Bhed glyphs of Ace’s scar, noting it would be difficult to duplicate without proper teaching. “Aside from that, the quills and inkwells are enchanted, allowing them to transcribe the spell directly to the parchment, and allowing it to remain dormant until the spell is activated.”
Ace pulled a clay sculpture from the shelf near the poster that resembled a Unicorn’s horn and laid upon the desk. Twilight leaned close to the clay model and noted that while it was weak, there was the smallest glow of magic over the false horn. “So you store a portion of your magic into an inanimate object, and sell it alongside your spells so that everypony can use them?” Ace nodded as he replaced the implement in the shelf. Twilight glanced around the shop once more, noting the grassy hill beyond the glass doors. “Is this all of your home? It seems so… utilitarian, even by my own standards.”
Ace quizzically raised an eyebrow to the pony as though she had just suggested that stone would make for a good nutritional supplement for elder ponies. “This is the Dragon Eyes spell shop, not my home, Twilight. We only arrived here because my teleportation spell misfired.” Ace shook his head softly. “Fortunately, the backroom of the shop has a return spell upon it, making it easier to teleport here when needed. When the spell misfired, it took us to the easier location, rather than landing us inside the ground between the shop and workshop as it likely would have otherwise.”
Twilight sighed in relief, no longer worried that Ace lived in such a small building. “Then why are we still here? Surely it would be simple to teleport us to the workshop from so close a distance. Is there something in the store that we need?” Ace shook his head as he started for the door, opening with a hoof as he bowed for her to pass. As the two passed the doorway, Ace turned to lock the door with his magic before he spoke.
“It would matter little, as we still need to open the way to my workshop so that we can transport the anti-magic stone.” The two started to circle around the shop to the back. “Honestly, the workshop is easier to open from the outside than the inside; a safety precaution should an experiment take to a bitter result.”
The pair started to descend the grassy hill beyond the shop. Twilight looked around and noted to herself that there was not much for wildlife or plant life upon the hill; only a solitary Yew tree that grew beside the shop. “Ace, how come there are so few plants around the shop? Is there a reason behind it, or is it mere coincidence?”
Ace shook his head with a smile. “You are quite the observant student, I must say. There is method to such madness, as with the spell shop as well as the workshop, there is no telling when a spell might go awry and afflict something even as innocent as a plant.” Ace turned his head to admire the Yew tree beside his shop. “It is true that the Yew tree presents a risk all the same, but it is a valued tradition of mine that I grow a Yew to honor my family wherever I spend many years. That includes the shop and my home as well.”
Twilight bowed her head at the commendable tradition as Ace stopped at the bottom of the hill, standing just off of the gentle slope. “Tell me Twilight, is there anything that appears odd in this area?” Twilight was perplexed by the question, but looked around all the same. In the far distance away from the hill, she saw there were trees and other plants, but all around them was nothing but grass, a few boulders, and little else. She shrugged and shook her head in response.
Ace horn lit up, and a section of the hill rose up like a wing, resting at a forty-five degree angle. Beneath the hillside exterior, the gate was constructed of metal, as was the large locked door that rested before them. In the center of the solid metal wall of an entrance was a small hole that Twilight thought looked familiar. Around the door, there were markings that Twilight identified as Al Bhed. Ace approached the thick iron structure and placed his horn into the cavity in the center. The glyphs upon the door lit up as Ace stepped back, the doors opening outward, walking between them as soon as he was able, motioning for her to follow.
Twilight nodded, her likely reflecting her awe at the elaborately hidden entrance as she proceeded into a long, dark hallway alongside Ace. The structure easily wide enough for a pair of Pegasi to fly alongside each other without their wings touching. The doors behind them begun to close, the light from the outside no longer reaching them. Twilight started to panic, but Ace engulfed in an embrace as he held a hoof to his lips to calm her. Twilight shakily watched as the hallway succumbed to the darkness.
As soon as the sound of the doors resealing themselves reached her ears, the entire length of the hallway was alight with a magical, pale blue glow that came from numerous spheres that ran all throughout the corridor in threes. Twilight grinned sheepishly as she retreated from Ace’s calming embrace, though grateful for the consideration.
Twilight regained her composure once more as the pair moved through the empty passage, finally giving voice to the question in her mind; “This hallway seems quite long… Is it really necessary?” Ace shrugged as they proceeded through the expanse.
“In all technicality, not really. I simply chose the center of the workshop to be in the center of the hill, as it would afford me the most options where expansion is concerned.” Ace stifled a laugh before he continued. “The original concept involved a slide down to the initial workshop, allowing for both vertical and horizontal expansion, but was later discarded, as moving objects by hoof would have been too difficult with steps. Blessed foresight, some may say.”
Twilight nodded nervously as she contemplated the current effort that would be required to move the anti-magic stone, then compared it to the idea of moving it up stairs the whole way. A playful smile fell across Ace’s features as he looked over at her. “How about we race to the workshop to pass the time, shall we?”
Twilight, remembering their last race, was ready for a rematch, but already knew that she couldn’t easily win without at least a head start. “Are you sure you should be racing so shortly after receiving that injury? I would think running with your hoof that way would likely hurt far too much…”
Ace lifted each of his hooves in turn, a questioning look on his face. After examining each of his hooves with both his eyes and his magical senses, he could feel nothing out of the ordinary. “I don’t understand; what injury do you mean?” Ace raised his head, and realized that while his magical senses were focused, Twilight had ran on ahead without him. Laughing as he started to work into a gallop, he called after the tricky mare, “You learn much too swiftly, my dear student!”
Ace was certainly faster than Twilight, but she had quite the lead on him. Twilight ran and ran as efficiently as she could, making sure that her pace was not only fast, but also conservative. After several moments, Ace came alongside her at a gallop, but trotted at her side for quite some time, neither pony speaking. Ace was winded after his strenuous effort to shorten the distance, which gave Twilight an advantage.
In the distance, a double-door entrance came into view, which Twilight assumed was likely the finish line for their race. Ace and Twilight both put in a final burst of speed, both of them turning their trot into a gallop as the gate loomed closer and closer. Twilight pulled ahead, though she thought she had heard something from behind her. Twilight pressed her hoof against the doors first, with no sign of Ace immediately behind her.
She looked behind her to see that Ace was laughing quite uncontrollably as his horn lit up in his dark magical glow. It was then that Twilight noticed a few things… First, the floor she stood on had small holes, as though they had been meant to allow something to pass through. The second, Ace had allowed her to win, perhaps. The third, the door she had her hoof against had no handle and was locked. The fourth, there was a double-handled switch upon the wall beside the door. The fifth, and much too late fact, was the multiple perforated discs that hung out in difference angles above her. The sixth and final fact, was the ice cold liquid flooding over her body from the fifth fact.
Twilight let out a squeal as the ice-water cascaded over her form, which only afforded her a mouth full of the sweet-but-foul tasting fluid, lightly burning her mouth where it touched. Meanwhile, Ace was all but rolling around on the floor behind her as he laughed. Twilight fixed him with a solid glare as she spat out the foul liquid that burned her senses. Nodding at the glare, but still laughing uncontrollably, he took the end of his cover in his mouth and pulled it off, along with his glasses, and sat them on the floor before joining her in her shower.
Twilight’s glare turned into a blush as he made certain the fluid reached all over his body, and scrubbing it into the pre-magic over his hoof. Twilight started to do the same as Ace smiled sincerely, his laugh long gone. “That was by far the cutest noise you’ve made since I’ve met you. Care to do it again?” Twilight’s face alit in red as her blush returned in full force as she body checked him with her flank.
Ace laughed as he lightly body checked her back. She smiled at him despite herself as she spoke. “So why are taking a shower, exactly?” Ace nodded as he arced his body in various positions, allowing the water to pass over himself thoroughly. “The water feels like it’s… almost biting into my skin; it tastes terrible and it burns my mouth like cheap cider. The smell makes my nostrils burn, as well.”
Ace nodded, still keeping an eye on the pre-magic as the water worked its way through the amorphous mass. “It’s a powerful cleaning agent, and I wouldn’t suggest swallowing it; it will make you sick if you swallow a large enough amount.” Twilight immediately spat out the small bit that had accumulated in her mouth as she spoke. “Yes, that would be best. You see, the workshop is a pristine environment, and it needs to remain so, as it is not always spells or magical experiments that occur within.”
Ace made his way past Twilight, lightly brushing himself against her as he did so, eliciting another blush from her as he turned off the showerheads from one of the switches upon the wall. After the water had turned off, he turned and stared at Twilight for a moment, a gauche smile gracing his features as he watched her. “Wh- Now what are you doing?”
Ace just shook his head without his gaze leaving hers, his one Al Bhed swirled eye watching her. “Just admiring the view.” Twilight flush was now in full effect, reaching even her ears as she sat, sopping wet with the not-quite-biting fluid, her coat hanging taut and showing off her frame perfectly, laid bare before the stallion who was equally soaked.
Twilight started to cover herself with a hoof as she shifted her weight uncomfortably. “Well- Not that I mind, but- I mean I – Shouldn’t we be –“ Twilight was all sorts of flustered, to the point she wasn’t even able to properly form a sentence. Ace smiled lovingly at the embarrassed mare when she felt his magic flooding over her as his horn lit up. She all but basked in the warm glow of the drying spell that encompassed her entire form, feeling his magic flowing all around her, all through her body.
When the magic had faded and her coat was pleasingly silky smooth again, she blushed deeper than she had thought possible with a sheepish smile as Ace used his spell to dry himself as well, flicking a hoof over the second switch to open the doors to the workshop, proceeding ahead of her this time rather than bowing to allow her to pass.
When he entered the workshop, a purple field of light passed over his body. Now that she thought about it, the light almost matched the color of her magic. She proceeded through the doorway into the solid stone and metal room. As she did so, however, the magical field of light passed over her as well. As it did, the room lit up with red as a klaxon alarm sounded throughout the room. “Subject: Twilight Sparkle. Class: Assistant Unicorn. Clearance level: Three. Authorization: Ace Deus Fenrir. Confirmation: Two-seven-six-six.”
The alarm halted as the red faded from the room, replaced again by the pleasant blue glow of the spheres. Welcome to the Workshop, Twilight Sparkle, and may the moon grant its divine blessing upon you. Noblesse Oblige. Twilight was taken aback by the magical, female voice that filled her head, sounding almost like a secretary. Twilight looked up to see where the light had come from as it faded, and she saw what looked like two stones, riddled with glyphs, floating above her before they retreated to a recess in the wall.
“Anti-magic Countermeasure System, A.C.S. if you are taken to acronyms.” Twilight nodded, but still wished to know more as she looked around the barren room, noting the doors and the stacks of tables and equipment to the far side of the room. “It’s a system of magical spells with set conditions and emergence values. Whenever the sensory spells detect the doors have opened, for example, they run a check to see if somepony has entered the lab, or left. If somepony has entered, they scan the pony or ponies and greets them, as well as updating to any relevant information left by the previous visitors.”
Twilight followed Ace as he proceeded through the large room towards the equipment pile in the back of the room. “When the system detects that the last pony has left, it cleanses all of the magic in the room by means of absorption. Whenever somepony it doesn’t know enters, it sounds the alarm and contacts me, as well as locking down the lab as necessary.” Twilight marveled at the concept, as well as the implications and uses of such a system. “Much more importantly, if it detects the vitals of a pony reaching unfavorable values, it will give them medical aid using magic, as well as a few surgical tools kept in the lab. In addition, it can bring dangerous experiments to a halt. Of course, there are also overrides in place to prevent any bugs or glitches from impeding more… risky experiments.”
Ace’s magic began to glow around what resembled a mining cart as he pulled it from the stacks of equipment. It was then that Twilight realized that what appeared to be a disorganized pile of desks, benches, tables, and various tools and equipment was actually a very organized shelving system, each of the objects having small rings for pegs upon the wall to fit into to hold the wares in place.
Ace pushed the cart to a nearby door, opening it in his magic as he picked up a box that had fallen into the floor, picking the pink stones from the floor as he refilled the box. Twilight moved into the cramped room to help as she spoke. “So what does it mean that I have a level three clearance?” she asked as she put a few of the anti-magic stones into the box, the pure form of the crystals not affecting her, though it made the pre-magic of Ace’s hoof hiss each time it touched them.
Ace nodded, noticeably wincing at the sound of the hissing so close to his ear. “It means that you have access to the entirety of the lab when accompanied by me. Without me, your access is limited to the storage rooms and the recordings. As an Assistant, you also have access to the firing range and equipment.” The box once again full, upright and closed, the two carried it, two hooves each on the box as well as on ground, more for stability than for the weight. They hefted the box into the mining cart, setting it gently into it.
Ace closed the door, taking the cart to another storage room on the other side of the equipment racks. “So does this mean I can watch the recording from the experiments with the pre-magic?” Ace nodded. “What other rooms are there? I assume one of the rooms is for the recordings.” Ace shook his head.
Pointing to the room to the right from the entrance, “That’s the firing range. You’re welcome to use it to practice combat spells, but for the most part, it’s meant for triggering my misfires before an experiment.” Twilight nodded as Ace’s hoof pointed to the doors to the left, first closes to the exit, then furthest. “That’s the trophy room, where I keep my artifacts, such as the Alicorn Amulet. This room is off-limits to you unless I open it first; it’s the experiment storage. It houses the experiments that cannot be cleansed, destroyed or repurposed. It also keeps written records for said experiments.”
Twilight nodded as the pair neared the storage room opposite of the previous one. “I take all the other doors are just storage rooms?” Ace nodded. “What about the recordings? Surely you must keep them somewhere.” Ace pulled an amethyst gem to the pair in his magic before he moved it in front of Twilight, who took the hint and held it in her magic.
As she did so, she could tell that the gem was enchanted in such a way that it absorbed magic around it, allowing it to record its use. “As you can likely tell, the gem is enchanted. Amethyst gems have an affinity for magic unlike any other gem. Amethysts can be enchanted to record magic levels and activity. In conjunction with my magical senses, the gem is able to record the activity of everything my magic passes over. If you gaze upon the gem with your magical senses, you can review the recordings.” Twilight nodded, doing exactly that as Ace pulled the next box out of the storage room and placing it into the cart.
Twilight could feel Ace leaving her side, proceeding to the next storage room, but all of her senses were locked on the gem she held in her hooves. The recording started off with Ace prattling off his name and other information for sake of review before conducting the actual experiment. The recording then played in swiftly, the time passing quickly as it progressed past the monotonous stage of collecting the pre-magic from Ace’s horn, which looked more difficult than she had thought.
Once the fast-forward of the recording had ended, however, it didn’t take long for the experiment to take a terrible turn for the worse as Twilight watched the accident that led to Ace’s current affliction. Once the pre-magic grasped hold of Ace’s left hoof, Twilight could not only watch as Ace impaled his own limb with glass, but could feel it, too. The pain nearly brought Twilight to her knees, dropping the Amethyst recording to the ground, using her magical focus to levitate the gem delicately along the fall so as not to break it. Twilight watched with a strange mixture of both awe and nausea as she both watched and felt Ace carving the Al Bhed glyphs into his own hoof with the enchanted knife.
When Twilight had finished reviewing the gem, Ace took it in his magic and replaced it upon a pedestal that was hidden behind a moving wall, the wall enclosing upon the gem once more as it was replaced. Twilight looked to Ace, who was standing at the entrance of the workshop alongside the cart, which now carried four boxes of anti-magic stone. Twilight trotted across the room, and upon reaching him, took his left hoof into her own.
Twilight gingerly ran the tip of her hoof over the markings, all but wincing as she recalled the pain that Ace had to have endured, Twilight likely having felt only a portion of the pain from the recording. “Does it… Does it still hurt?” Ace shook his head slowly as she started to feel the pre-magic for the first time as well. It felt almost like uncooked batter, except that it moved and pulsed as though it were alive. Ace and Twilight’s eyes met for a moment before Twilight realized how intimate her actions were. A flush flooded across her features as she released his hoof. “Uh, um – We should go.”
Ace nodded, pushing the cart through the door, a light flush framing his cheeks as well after the brief contact. Once the door was closed, Ace took his glasses and replaced them on his muzzle before asking Twilight to help him replace the sleeve. The two shared another intimate look into each other’s eyes, but Ace turned his head and just nodded his head with a word of thanks. The two pushed the cart through the tunnel in awkward silence.