• Published 30th Nov 2018
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Enchanted - The Whiskey Spirit



An elven mage is shot into Equestria when one of his projects goes wrong. Now this adventurer is opening up an enchanting business. Surely, this could only lead to a normal, stress free life. Right?

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Ch 1: Appearance (Revised)

Princess Celestia’s day had started off as it had for many years. Chucking a brass alarm clock across the room the moment it dared to rouse her from her slumber.

The metal device impacted the wall with enough force to break it apart, warping the metal and no doubt scrambling the clockwork that made up the insides. Springs and the like fell to the floor in a clatter, making more noise, only to be accompanied by a low groan mere moments later.

The head that lifted from the bed looked displeased with the situation. Her eyes half lidded and clearly displaying her desire to simply let gravity take hold and fall back into bed. The world could wait while she slept a little longer.

That, however, was not what she allowed herself to do.

Driven by duty, the Princess of Equestria reluctantly removed her bed sheets from her body and maneuvered herself off the bed. With a short sigh, her eyes were cast towards the doorway of the balcony. The curtains that covered the doors were moved just enough to grant a view through the glass barrier.

The sky was still dark, of course, but the moon appeared close to the horizon. A tell tale sign that it was time to assist the celestial bodies in crossing the threshold on schedule. A thought brought a smile to her face as she likened her duty to taking care of a child. Ensuring that they went to bed and awoke at the proper times.

Taking a deep breath, her magic lit up the room around her, casting a golden glow on her surroundings. Within moments, she felt her sister’s magic activate from her own place, and in unison, they raised and lowered their respective charges.

The process wasn’t a long, nor extravagant one. In fact it was a rather simple manifestation of their powers, only requiring the raw magical strength that she and her sister held. Of course, that didn’t stop Celestia from making a show of it during the Summer Sun Festival.

All for her little ponies, of course.

Her duty now complete, she could focus on making herself presentable, as she could not go out in public with the state she was in. She needn’t look in a mirror to know precisely how she looked in the moment, as she had become familiar with the image over many years of rest.

Her pristine white coat looked terrible. Almost as though she had a number of foals running their hooves across her in wildly varying directions. Her mane and tail were somehow worse off, however. Her mane being the worst offender by far.

The hair that normally flowed elegantly in a magical wind had become twisted and knotted. Shooting out in a number of ways, she would have likened the style to something a stereotypical mad scientist might have.

Of course, it would not do for the Princess of Equestria to be seen in such a state, so she made her way towards the bathroom without a second thought. Though, along the way, her horn glowed golden once more as her magic formed around the broken remains of the alarm clock. With seemingly practiced ease, the mutilated device pulled itself back together, the magic repairing it until it looked as though it were new. It was gently placed upon her night stand, where it awaited its eventual destruction come the next morning.

~-~

Princess Celestia stepped out of the shower with a pleased sigh, a slight smile on her face. Already she looked far better than when she had awoken, but the battle against her uncooperative hair had only just begun. Though Celestia soon would wield the weapon to make her enemy acquiesce to her demands.

A brush.

With long, practiced strokes of the brush, her coat was smoothed out. Her tail was next on the chopping block, and it gave way with little resistance. Her mane, however…

As always, this battle was a hard fought one. Slight pain shot through her scalp as her brush caught on some of the knots, and her mane was determined to have as many of those as possible. She was caught upon one particularly nasty knot when she felt it.

A shockwave of pure magical energy shot through her, surprising her enough that her brush was tugged free. Along with a small amount of hair.

She paid this no mind, her focus entirely upon the magic that she had just felt. Her head turned towards the source, though she couldn’t see it, as she was still in the bathroom. A fact she sought to rectify swiftly.

The moment she exited into her room, however, she was halted along her path to the balcony. A congregation of dark coloured magic morphed into a familiar shape before revealing itself to be her sister.

“Tia, I presume you have felt the same magic that I have?” Luna asked, a slight edge to her voice as she, too, peered past the balcony and to the lands beyond.

“Yes, I have. Do you have any clue as to what it might be? I was distracted when it hit me.” Celestia asked, earning a look from her sister. That look turned to a restrained snort of amusement when she noticed the small portion of hair missing from Celestia’s mane.

“From what I gather, it was a teleportation spell of sorts, but not one that I recognized. The power behind it, however…” A small frown crossed Luna’s face as she turned her eyes away from the balcony. “I believe we should investigate.”

“I would agree.” Celestia said with a nod, taking a few steps closer towards the balcony. “If I’m correct, this originated somewhere close to the Smoky Mountains.”

“That would seem accurate. If we are in agreement, then I shall take the opportunity to organize the guard.” Luna offered, receiving a nod from Celestia who decided to open up the drawer on her night stand. A piece of parchment floating out, only to pair with a quill that Celestia brought out as well.

“I shall contact Twilight and the Elements. I’d like them close if this turns out to require their abilities.” She told her sister, who had raised a brow.

“Ah, of course.” Luna nodded in understanding. “A swell idea, sister. I shall leave you to it, then.” Luna’s horn lit up in a dark blue, already a spell charging to no doubt take her where she needed to be. She paused, however, before releasing the spell, turning back to her sister. “Oh, and good morning, Tia.” With that, her spell started up, melting her visage into shadow and fading away.

Celestia couldn’t help the small sigh that escaped her when she looked out the balcony again. “A good morning, indeed.”

~-~

Twilight Sparkle was frustrated.

She glared at the vial of green liquid that floated in her magical grasp. It was a potion that would allow non-pegasus ponies to walk on clouds for a day. Rather, it should have been. The cloud walking potion was supposed to be a swirling mix of gray and white, not green.

Twilight wasn’t even sure what she did wrong. She had double, triple, and quadruple checked her notes and followed the steps to the letter. Yet, despite three days and her best efforts, she had failed once again. She felt enticed to just smash the bottle and the rest of her equipment, and vow never to take up potion making again. That wasn’t what she did, however. Taking a deep breath she placed the vial down and sighed as she levitated a scroll and quill over.

Test Number 37: Failure

The potion that was created maintained a green colouration instead of the desired result.

Placing her notes back where she had them, she began to rub at her eyes and wondered just how long she had been at it this time. Sadly there was no clock in her basement lab, so she had to go upstairs to find out what time it was. Her stomach made itself known as she ascended, and she decided to grab a quick meal before heading to bed for the night.

Upon opening the door into the main room, her hopes of sleep were dashed by the brilliant rays of light that pierced her eyes. Her desire to throw herself out the window was overpowered by her stomach as she smelled the tell tale signs of breakfast. With a groan, she shuffled over to the kitchen to find Spike at the stove, his frilly pink apron on.

“What are you making, Spike?” She asked, smiling as she saw a cup of coffee already on the table for her. She swiftly took the cup and drank the dark liquid, not caring about the burning sensation on her tongue. Spike looked over with a knowing smile, spatula in hand working on something in the pan.

“Some eggs and pancakes, Twi. How’d the potions go?” A muffled groan was all he got in response as he flipped over one of the aforementioned pancakes. “That bad, huh?

“I don’t know what I’m doing wrong!” Twilight growled as she took a seat at the table, head rolled back as she closed her eyes. “Everytime I try, it comes out different, and I’m not doing anything different in the process.” Her head shot up and her eyes peered into Spike’s. “It’d be perfectly fine if I was the problem, but as far as I can tell, the potion just doesn’t want to follow the basic rules.”

“You sure you don’t want to ask Zecora?” Spike asked as he began to pull out some plates. “She could probably tell you exactly what’s happening.”

“At this point I might.” Twilight sighed and took another swig of her coffee. “I just wanted to figure this out on my own.”

“Hey,” Spike placed a plate of food in front of her and laid a hand on her hoof, “remember what you told Applejack about? Learning to accept help from your friends?” Twilight snorted and let out a small smile.

“Yeah. You’re right. I’ll go see her later today after we reorganize.” With a satisfied nod, Spike went to his own chair and began to dig into the breakfast he made. “Remind me to get a clock for the lab today as well. It probably won’t stop these all-nighters, but at least I can feel like an idiot before I come up.” Spike nodded as he quickly pulled a paper from somewhere and scribbled it down before continuing to devour his food.

The pair continued on in silence for only a few moments before Spike belched a gout of green flames. A scroll manifested itself within the blaze and Twilight plucked it out.

“Sheesh. Morning barely started and the Princess is already sending messages.” Spike mumbled, but Twilight wasn’t listening as she had already broken the seal and began reading. Her brow furrowed as a frown crossed her face. After a moment she placed the scroll down with a sigh before rubbing her temples. “Element business?”

“Yeah.” She admitted in a resigned voice. “The princesses are worried about a magical signature they picked up this morning and requested the Element’s presence in case we were needed. A chariot should be arriving soon to pick us all up.”

She got up from her seat and started making her way out of the kitchen, the message floating with her..

“That doesn’t sound too bad. You want me to save the rest of your breakfast?” Spike asked, eyeing the remains of her food.

“No, you can have it. We probably won’t be back for a while.” She looked back over her shoulder for a moment. “Actually, I’ll take this.” She quickly levitated the cup of coffee and poured it into a thermos, filling it with more from the pot. “Can you get started on reorganizing while I'm gone? I’ll try to get back and help as fast as I can.”

“No problem. It’ll be done before you know it.” Spike puffed out his chest as he gave her a confidant smile.

“I have no doubts.” Twilight smiled before turning around making her way out. A brush levitated out of the corner and straightened her mane before she walked out the door. With a sigh, she took a drink of her coffee and made her way towards Rarity’s.

~-~

Princess Luna wore a slight frown as she landed. Guards swiftly snapped salutes before returning to business. A fact that pleased her. They were in the field, after all, there was no reason to halt their duties for a bow.

The princess was swift to make her way towards the commanding officer here, who had seemingly seen her arrival and met her halfway. The stallion snapped a quick salute before standing at attention, seemingly ready for the question they both knew she was going to ask.

“What’s the situation?” Luna peered out towards a crater a distance away as she asked this.

“We have traced the magical burst to that crater over there and have set up a perimeter. A pegasus scout had done a fly by to see what the source was. He claims there is some form of creature within the center of the crater. It appears injured, but we have not approached in the case it was still awake and hostile.” The guard informed her, receiving small nods as she continued to observe the crater.

“There has been no further magical activity?”

“...Uncertain, ma’am.” He responded hesitantly.

“Elaborate.” Luna’s eyes shifted back to him, making him squirm in his armor a little.

“We have the mages searching for any further magical outbursts from the source. They have claimed that there have been no spells cast, but there is a constant flow of magic in the area. They have likened it to Lieutenant Light Step’s enchanted armor.”

“Truly?” Luna failed to keep the surprise from her voice. Enchanting was an incredibly rare and expensive talent. If whatever this creature was possessed enchanted items, it was something to be wary of.

“That is what they claim, ma’am.”

“Claim what?” Both of them turned to find that Celestia had somehow snuck up on them while they were speaking. The guard was swift to snap another salute.

“It would seem that the creature that caused this holds some enchanted items.” Luna informed her sister, gesturing with a hoof towards the crater in the distance.

“If that’s the case, we must be wary. Wielders of enchanted items could be quite dangerous.” Celestia spoke as she followed Luna’s hoof. “Is this creature active?”

“No, ma’am. Our scout says it looks injured.” The guard answered helpfully.

“Interesting.” She mumbled to herself before turning towards Luna. “Do you think there’s a chance this might have been an unintentional spell?” The thought hadn’t occurred to Luna before, but she couldn’t fault her sister’s line of logic.

There were very few spells that could injure the caster, and none of them were a teleportation spell. So long as it was cast correctly, of course. There was a real possibility that this was a botched teleport that went out of control with excess magic. It could explain the crater as well as the burst of magical energies they had felt that morning. Then something else came into her thoughts.

“If that were the case, there is a chance this creature has been severely injured. It could very well be dying.” The moment Celestia heard those words, her eyes widened. To a normal pony, it wouldn’t have been noticeable, as the difference was miniscule, but Luna knew her sister better than normal ponies. As such, her magic was enough to halt the larger alicorn before she could rush into the crater. “We must still be cautious, sister.”

This earned a hard glare from her sister, but after she took a steady breath, the gaze softened. “Of course, Luna. You’re right.” Closing her eyes and seemingly taking a moment to steady herself, she turned towards the guard and addressed him. “Me and my sister shall approach this creature to guage this threat. I would ask that you prepare yourselves.” She made to move off before turning towards him once more. “Have medics on standby, there is a chance we might need their assistance should this creature not be hostile.”

“By your orders, ma’am.” He saluted once more before turning to fulfil the role he was given. Waiting no further, the pair of princesses stepped forward and calmly strode towards the crater ahead of them.

As they moved, their horns flared as a multitude of spells were cast upon themselves. Protective spells, scanning spells, physical enhancements, as well as various others, all with the intent to give them as much of an edge as possible should things go south.

All of this preparation, however, was soon found to be unnecessary, as when they approached the edge of the crater, they were easily able to observe the state of the creature before them. It was not good.

It was clear to them that their scout hadn’t had the best of views upon this creature, as ‘injured’ was a very light way of describing the state it was in.

Celestia moved at a much swifter pace as she made her way closer to the being, and Luna did not attempt to halt her this time. It was clear to her, even from this distance, that this creature would not be able to make any form of attack. Instead, she turned back to face the guards that were trying their best to watch what was happening.

Bring the medics!” She called out in the Royal Canterlot Voice, easily loud enough for them to hear. And hear they did, as it only took a few moments before a number of ponies sprinted towards her carrying medical supplies. Towards the back of the group, she spotted Fluttershy attempt to step forward before one of her friends stopped her. Luna approved, as she did not think the meek mare capable of handling the sight behind her.

Satisfied that trained help was coming, Luna decided to follow her sister towards the creature. Upon closer inspection, she was able to see just how terribly this being was injured by this spell.

The creature was horribly mangled. One of its arms was barely hanging on by loose muscle, and a leg was cleanly blasted off. It’s skin was burned in such a way that it appeared he was cooked from the inside out, rupturing in places that caused the dismemberment. Despite this, its clothes were surprisingly unharmed, aside from being blood stained on a sleeve and leg. It was a good chance they were enchanted. Somehow, the creature was still alive, though based on its desperate gasps for breath, it wouldn’t be for long.

Celestia was doing the best she could, a powerful healing spell pouring out from her horn, but her ability was limited. She did not know this creature’s anatomy, and as such couldn’t heal as much as she normally could without the possibility of causing more problems. Of course, this would be remedied once the medical practitioners had time to examine the creature, but for now, Celestia could likely only stabilize him. Luna was unsure of how long it would take to be healed, but she was certain of one thing.

The times to come were certainly going to get more interesting.

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