Rune Cascade

by Valtyra

Chapter 7

“Of course, but why Princess Luna?” Twilight asked, “Surely Princess Celestia would need to know about this?” Twilight moved towards Frederick and frowned.

“I spoke with Luna earlier, she pulled me into her dream.” He replied, sitting down on the couch, “she wanted to help me research Runes together.”

“Surely that’s a good thing, right?”

“I’m not sure, she seems more impulsive than her sister and I’m not sure that’s good.”

“I see what you mean... we can sleep on it and figure it out tomorrow. It’s getting pretty late.” Twilight suggested, “anyway, we need to make up with Smart Glass, I’m sure she was just tired from the trip.”

“I hope, but having you help will be more than enough to be honest.”

“Y-you mean that?” Twilight asked.

“Of course. You seem like a good scientist, quite methodical as well, I don’t see why you wouldn’t be enough.”

Twilights face lit up, “That’s kind of you to say, but I haven’t done anything like this before.”

Frederick walked over and knelt down next to her, “First time for everything, Miss Sparkle.”

“I guess so...” she replied, grinning. “Come on, let’s get some sleep.”

“Let’s.”

Frederick and Twilight headed upstairs; Twilight to her room and Frederick to his. He walked in and sat on the bed, placing his hand over his face.

He mentally chastised himself for acting like an ass in front of a guest and decided he would make up for it tomorrow. He would try and win Smart Glass over, but if it didn’t work, he would write to Luna and see if she was still interested in helping.

He took his clothes off and got into bed, hoping he wouldn’t wake up in Luna’s chambers again; he would have to work on his mental defences at some point.

___

Twilight walked into her room and jumped on her bed, “Yes, my first proper experiment...” she whispered, hoping that she wasn’t being too loud.

She lowered herself down and got into bed. She tried calming down, but her excitement wouldn’t let her. Huffing, she got out of bed and walked over to the balcony.

She opened the doors and stepped outside, taking a gaze at the stars above. She sighed and laid down on her blanket, which was left out from a few nights before.

Slowly, but surely, she drifted off to sleep, dreaming of the experiments that she would be able to do in the future with Frederick.

___

“Frederick, wake up,” Twilight whispered, “its morning.”

“Huh, what-” Frederick shouted as he opened his eyes to see two lavender ones surprisingly close to his, “Twilight, please.”

Her face went bright red and backed away, “I’m sorry, it’s just that I’m so excited at the prospect of learning a whole new type of magic!” She announced.

“That’s all well and good, but could you let me get dressed first?” He asked, looking down.

Twilight blushed again and ran out of the room, “Take your time!” she shouted.

Frederick sighed and slipped on his trousers and top. He knew he would be constructing stuff today, which meant he wouldn’t want to get too stuffy.

He got up and stuffed his feet into his shoes, taking care not to scuff them on the wooden floor. After that was done, he walked out of the room and down the stairs.

“Ah, Spike, where were you yesterday?” Frederick asked, seeing the dragon sitting at the table.

“Oh, hi Frederick. I was sleeping over at Rarities with Applebloom, Sweetie belle and Scootaloo.”

“I see,” Frederick replied, not knowing who those ponies were. “Have a good time?”

“It was so-so, they kept putting make-up on me.”

“I’m sure it was fun after all.”

“I guess...”

“Anyway, I have some errands to run, can you tell Miss Twilight I’ll be out until lunch.” Frederick asked, making his way to the door.

“Oh, one second!” Spike called out, “this came for you.” He ran into the kitchen and brought out a small bag.

“What is it?”

“Princess Luna thought you might need some spending money, don’t know what for.” He shrugged.

“Hmm, okay. Thanks.” Frederick replied, gripping the money. He made his way outside and down to the market.

A short walk later and he made it to the bustling centre of town. Although he stood a few feet taller than most ponies, he had a surprisingly hard time picking the vendors out.

Sighing he walked up to one nearby pony and asked, “Hi there, do you know where the metal smith is located?”

The pony in question looked up with a slight hint of fear, before calming herself down, “Y-yes, its right over there.” She pointed towards one of the larger shops over the road.

“Thank you, good day.” Frederick smiled at her before walking off.

He opened the door to the shop and whistled at the selection of wares all lined up on the walls. “How can I help you?” A voice asked from behind, knocking Frederick out of his gaze.

Turning around, he saw the pony in question to be a quite young, normal pony. His main was a dark blue colour with his coat a light blue. His cutie mark being a hammer and anvil.

“Ah yes, I’m looking for some specific equipment.”

“Well, you’ve come to the right place, we have almost everything you would need for forging.”

“Good, I was hoping for that...” Frederick replied, turning to inspect some tongs lined up along the wall, “I need three sets of these to start with.”

“Alright, can I ask why?” The pony said, moving behind the counter. He picked up a pad and a pencil, “it’s just that Ponyville isn’t the hub of metal-smithing...”

“Just a personal project I’m working on, nothing to worry about.”

“I see, anything else?”

Frederick looked about the store, his gaze lingering on one of the prebuilt forges in the corner, “Yes, that.” He pointed.

“That old thing?” The shopkeeper chuckled, “that’s been there for a good few years, and no pony has any need for it.”

“Well, I do.”

“Alright, I’m guessing you want it installed ASAP?”

“Preferably,” Frederick looked about for some more supplies, “I’ll need molding sand, plus a lot of metal; steel if you can, iron if you can’t.” He sighed, “plus I’ll need safety equipment, three... no, four pairs. Plus anything you would recommend.”

“Can I ask, how are you paying for this?” The shopkeeper asked, raising an eyebrow.

Frederick laid the sack of coins on the counter, “I’m not sure how much is here, but consider this a down payment. Think of it as a promise to pay.”

“Wow, Sure.” The pony whistled, “I’ll have your equipment ready in the next few hours. Where are you located?”

“I’m living with Miss Sparkle. In the library.”

“You want a forge in a Library?”

“No, that goes outside,” Frederick laughed, “I’m not crazy... at least I hope not...” he shrugged.

“Alright, if you’d excuse me. I’ll get everything ready.”

“Sure, I’ll see you later. Good doing business.” Frederick said, walking out of the shop.

Looking around, he saw Smart Glass sitting outside one of the cafe’s over the road. Deciding it would be a good time to patch things up, he made his way over.

“Hi Miss Glass,” he said. Moving in front of her table.

She looked up and scoffed, “What do you want?” She looked away at some distant object, “Have you come to humiliate me?”

“No ma’am. I’ve come to apologise.” Smart Glass turned her gaze to Frederick, “It was quite unprofessional to let my emotions rule me yesterday, I’m sorry.”

“Why... why are you saying that, I’m the one who insulted you...” She admitted, frowning as she gazed into her cup.

“Because, apparently you are one of the best specialists in crystals, and the Princess seems to trust you enough to let you help.” He said, “And... I’d like the help, even if you are kind of a jerk.”

Glass chuckled and shook her head, “Yeah I guess I was.” She pushed some hair out of her face, “I’m sorry I called you an Ape.”

“I’m not going to say it didn’t sting, but thank you.” Frederick pointed to a chair next to Glass, “may I?”

“Sure.”

“I have some news,” he said, sitting down. “It’s regarding the research. As well as you and Miss Twilight, I am thinking of letting Princess Luna help.”

“What!” Smart Glass shouted, annoying some of the other patrons, she looked around apologetically, “what do you mean!?”

“Well, not completely. She wants to learn about the Runes I can use and seeing as she’s taken it upon herself to help fund the research, I don’t see why she can’t help.

“But... Princess Celestia, what would she say?”

“What do you mean?” Frederick asked, suddenly confused, “are they not equals?”

“Well, yes but...”

“Then it should be fine, if anything, we can just send her a letter and talk to her about it.” He reasoned.

Glass sighed, she couldn’t see any way around it, “Fine, you win. But I want to know everything you plan on doing, crystal wise.”

“Sure, that seems reasonable, but Miss Twilight will be lead researcher with me. I owe her that.”

“Are you two...?”

“What?” Frederick asked.

“You know, together or something?” She asked, looking around.

“Uh, no... We are not. We aren’t even the same species.” He frowned. “Why?”

“Well, you live there. You’re making her lead and spend a lot of time together... one could assume.”

“Well, don’t. I’ve been here for less than a week.” He whispered, “I’m not a master at relationships, but it would seem strange. Plus, I got ripped from my own world, do you know how that feels like?”

“No...” Glass replied.

“Exactly, I’m in no position for anything like that. I just want to get home.”

“Alright...” It was clear she had touched a nerve, “Can you tell me more about what you plan to research into?” She asked, hoping to change the topic, fast.

Frederick sighed and rubbed his face, “Sure.” He got comfortable in his seat, “I need to recreate the experiment that brought me here, that means I need to create new parts for the machine.” Smart Glass perked up. “That’s where you come in; you know about crystals, my machine runs off a certain type, called Unox by my people.”

“Its passive energy output can power Runes that are etched, sown or imprinted onto a surface.” He continued, “For this to work, I need the highest quality grade crystals and to be sure, I might need to create them myself.”

“Creating crystals, that’s... not possible.” Glass interjected, “only dark magic can do that...”

“Normally yes, but Unox grows differently than most crystals, it can repair itself using magic; unfortunately, I’m not a fully-fledged mage, only a novice at best.”

“I guess I’ll have to see it in action.” Glass mumbled, before raising her voice, “It’s been a pleasure, but I must make it back to the inn. They are serving dinner soon.”

“Of course, I suppose I should get back as well,” Frederick held out a hand.

Glass looked for a second before realising and shaking it. “I shall be round tomorrow to start research, good day.”

“Bye,” Frederick replied as he watched Glass wander off down the street. He looked up into the sky and wondered what his family’s doing right about now; there was no body to be found, meaning no burial.

He doubted they had moved on by now, but at the same time he knew they wouldn’t grieve too hard; they knew his hobbies were dangerous.

Still, Frederick couldn’t help but feel partly depressed about his whole situation, which made him think back to Glass’s comment, "You know, together or something?"

The thought made his stomach turn, not in a bad way, but with apprehension; what if he couldn’t make it back, what if he had to stay here for the rest of his life. Frederick knew the risks, very well; he knew that once he turns the machine on again, there’s a good risk of him ending up dead, or worse, in another universe. One less hospitable than this.

Shaking his head of these thoughts, he noted down to think these things over at a later date. For now, he had to get back to the library; no doubt Twilight would be wondering where he was.

“I have to send a letter to Princess Luna, she’ll be excited to know the good news.” He mumbled as he got up from his seat.

___

Making his way through the entrance to the Library, he tensed up. Normally the lights were on and at least some noise would be coming from somewhere; but not now, it was silence.

He walked in a few steps and heard the door slam behind him, spinning around, he jumped as the room was bathed in light and the large group of ponies that were hiding shot up and shouted, “Surprise!”

Frederick fell back, but was caught by a pair of pink legs, he turned his head and came face to face with Pinkie Pie, “Were you surprised!” She shouted, “I think you were, your face was all like,” she imitated a goldfish with her mouth, “so?”

“What is all this?” Frederick asked, dumbfounded. He looked around and finally put the pieces together; the guests, balloons, food. It was a surprise party, “Miss Pie, why did you do this?” He asked, as he got up and looked at her.

“Well, I never got to give you a "welcome to Ponyville and thank you for saving Twilight party".” She replied in one whole breath.

“That’s right,” Twilight said, walking over. She was holding two cups of punch in her magic. She passed Frederick one. “You couldn’t find me as I was helping.” She smiled, “I hope it’s satisfactory, I’m not very good at parties.”

“It’s great, thank you.” He replied, hugging Pinkie, then Twilight.

“Alright, let’s stop the mushy stuff,” Rainbow announced as she flew over, “let’s get this party started!”

As soon as she said that, the lights dimmed slightly and music came on. Frederick hadn’t heard of this genre before, but Pinkie had said that "Pop" was "all the rage" nowadays. Suffice to say, Frederick liked it.

He mainly stood on the side-lines and talked to some ponies that had arrived a bit late, preferring to converse than dance.
Twilight noticed this and feeling a bit sneaky, decided to spike the punch, just a little bit; she only wanted him to loosen up.

She poured in some Applejacks famous whiskey and passed Frederick a cup, which he graciously accepted; downing the whole thing in one, which surprised Twilight.

“What did you put in this?” Frederick asked, “this is really good punch.”

Twilight looked away with an awkward smile, “Oh you know, Pinkie made it so it was bound to be good.”

“Well, tell her it is.” He grinned.

“Sure, I got to go... over there.” She quickly mumbled as she rushed over to Rainbow.

Frederick shrugged and turned back to the pony he was talking to, “No, I don’t think it’s cool to have a box that’s bigger on the inside. If anything it’ll be annoying to clean.”

Twilight made her way over to Rainbow, “psst, Dash.”

“Oh hey Twi, what’s up?” Dash asked, turning from the table of food, crumbs lining her mouth.

Twilight frowned and wiped Rainbow’s mouth, “I need your advice,” she asked.

“Sure, what do you want to know?”

“Well, I just spiked the punch. Silly idea, I know...”

“Silly, no. Awesome, yes. This party could use some livening up to be honest.” Rainbow admitted, shrugging.

“That’s the point, I did it to get Frederick more involved...” Twilight sighed.

“Why would you...” Rainbow asked, “Oh, I see.”

“What’s that meant to mean?” Twilight asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Never mind, I don’t see the problem. He looks just fine.” Rainbow pointed towards Frederick who was calmly standing around chatting to Bon-Bon and Lyra, “See, he can take his drink just fine.”

“I guess, still...”

“No, I think you should drink some instead. You’ve been worried about how he’d take it when you should be worried about yourself. You’re not having fun.” Rainbow suggested, “Drink up!” She grabbed the cup and made Twilight down it.

“Rainbow, seriously!” Twilight groaned as she finished the cup. Thinking it over, she wondered what he harm was in having a few more.

Comments

[Maeroon]

I found myself hooked in this story, not many HiE's has a mage on them. The best one I read was Machinations of a Trickster. I hope this doesn't diasappoint, but from what I read you're doing great so far.

[Valtyra]

3649400

Of course, I'll try not to dissapoint :)

is there any thing specific, other than a mage in the story, that you found enjoyable? Just so I know what to do better next chapter?

[Maeroon]

3650384 Not much as of the moment. I find it amusing that his powers aren't overpowered or underpowered(I hope I'm right about this one) and the fact that you use runes makes this mores interesting. I like the running gag seeing him naked.

... not much as of the moment.

[damnaion]

wow ok

[kingmoonwar85]

3694033 ?????????????