Enchanted

by The Whiskey Spirit

Ch 19: Foals in a Forest

Author's Note:

Here's a gift to all of you for being so great. Don't expect to be treated like this too often, though. You'll get fat!

A day had passed. He had taken the day to purchase a metal band for his wrist. A band that had four stones that would absorb mana and hold it as a secondary source for him to tap into. He never needed to make one before, but with the amount of enchanting he’d been doing as of late, it only made sense. After completing some projects for the ponies around town, he went back to work on the armour. With the new mana stores, he was able to make more progress on the armour. Sadly, time was still a constraint he had to deal with.

That night Luna had visited him again. She requested an update on how long the armour would take, and was pleased to hear that he was already starting on the second set. He also told her the price that his service would cost her, having finally done the math. She didn’t even blink at the number. She agreed without question. After that, she departed to continue her duties.

~-~

Once again, Aurick was woken by a knock at his door. This time, however, it wasn’t the calm knocking that any respectable person would give. It was a frantic knocking that gave a sense of urgency to the elf. He instantly threw on his cloak and scarf and rushed down the stairs. On the other side of the door was exactly who he didn’t want to see.

It was one of the royal guard, and he had a look of near panic on his face. Behind him was Applejack and Rarity, as well as a mare he vaguely remembered purchasing an enchantment from him.

“Sir!” The guard said, his hoof still in the air to knock on the door.

“What happened? Was it Inkheart?” He asked immediatly, his eyes narrowed.

“Maybe.” The guard said, confusing him. “It appears three foals entered the forest in search of Zecora.” The colour drained from Aurick’s face as he heard that. He quickly motioned for the four to come in as he ran downstairs and grabbed the necklace he made for the mare. The guard continued once he returned. “These three came to me about it, and we can’t enter because of…”

“Fuck. Okay, I’ll handle it.” He turned to the three worried looking mares that had tagged along. He walked over and knelt beside them. “What do they look like?”

They each listed off a variety of features about the foals. Applebloom was yellow with red hair. She has a bow that she almost never takes off. Sweetie Belle was white, like her sister, and had two tone purple hair. She was a unicorn too, but couldn’t use her magic much. Scootaloo was orange with short purple hair. She had small wings and couldn’t fly, but she might have her scooter with her.

With a frown, he turned to the guard. “Okay, I’m going to need you to take these mare’s back to town.” He ordered, leaving no room for complaint. The guard fell into habit and saluted before carrying out his task. The worried mare’s gave him concerned looks as they left, and he gave them a reassuring smile. At least he hoped it was reassuring.

~-~

She watched from the trees. A commotion was happening at the creature’s house. A guard and three mares were involved. After a short time, the guard lead the mares back to town, the smell of fear and worry wafting off them. As soon as they left, the creature followed, but he did not go into town. He came to the forest, a scary look on his face.

She could tell something was wrong. Perhaps it would be best not to follow him this time.

She tried to get away from him, but she was too focused on him. She didn’t see the branch she hit. Her heart stopped as she hit it though, because the creature reacted in an instant. She was flung to the ground, impacting the forest floor hard enough to eject the air from her lungs. In the space of time it took for her to register what happened, the earth around her rose up and held her to the ground. Only her head was free from the earth.

She could hear him approaching. His footsteps heavier than they ever had been before. Once again she felt fear grip her. When she arrived she had been foolish enough to think herself the ruler of the forest. It was here that she realized how wrong she was. As he came into view, his eyes bore into her.

They were cold.

“Did you take them?” He asked in a level voice, his face showing no emotion. It her a long time to answer. The fact that she was pressed down on all sides only made it worse.

“Who?”

“The foals.” His response was quick, making her eyes widen. Foals? She would never harm a foal! She might be a monster now, but that didn’t mean she had to act like on all the time.

“No!” She exclaimed. “No hurt foals!”

“So you didn’t see three foals come in the forest?” She quickly shook her head. Were those foals stupid? Why would they enter the Everfree? Perhaps they were friends with that zebra?

“Go zebra?” She asked, making the creature scratch his face fur.

“Probably.” He waved his hand and she felt the earth loosen. In an instant she shot ten feet back. Rather she tried to. What actually happened was that the creature grabbed her by the back of the neck and held her down some more. She could easily have broken away, but she thought better of it. “How do you always find me?”

“Smell.” She replied hesitantly. She didn’t want to tell him, because he could probably find a way around it. If he did, he’d be able to sneak up on her and kill her. Then again, he hadn’t needed to so far. All because she let herself be affected by fear. “Can smell good. Doctor make happen.”

“How far?”

“Far.” He raised a brow. “Er… experiment… mess word. Hard speak.” She told him, making him frown.

“Can you sniff them out?”

“Yes.”

“Good, then do that.” She nodded as much as she could within his grip. He let her go, but kept his gaze on her. She didn’t even move as she lifted her nose to the air. She found them within seconds. As she had thought, they were at the zebra’s hut.

“Zebra place. Three.” She told him, getting a nod in response.

“Lead me.” He gestured for her to walk in front and that’s exactly what she did. They didn’t take any roundabout way. She made sure to lead him as straight as possible. They arrived in only fifteen minutes. Without any fanfare, the creature stepped into the hut. She shuffled outside, the cold snow below making her paws uncomfortable. It took only a minute to realize that the creature had left her out there.

She took her opportunity and ran.

~-~

Aurick entered the hut with a sigh of relief. The three foals were huddled under a blanket in the corner. The white one sneezed as he approached.

“Hey, aren’t you that weird guy that moved in recently?” The orange one asked. Scootaloo if he remembered right.

“Yep. And I’m also the one that decided to find you when your sisters and mother came to me in a panic.”

“Why, we were just trying to visit Zecora?” Applebloom asked, her eyes portraying her confusion.

“Zecora’s not here. She’s with Twilight until the situation clears up.” He told them with a sigh.

“What situation?”

“Haven’t you heard the guards warning everyone? The Everfree is more dangerous now. We can’t have people in here right now.”

“And what about you? Why are you in here, huh?” Scootaloo asked with a frown.

“Saving you apparently.” He sighed, a hand running through his hair as he got closer to the trio. “Gimme a second and I’ll take you home.” He went back to the door and opened it. Taking a look outside, he found that the mare had disappeared. Probably left the moment he took his eyes off her. He had been hoping to talk to her, seeing as she had proven to be intelligent, but evidently that would have to come at a later time. Until then he had to bring those foals home.

Comments

[shadow wolf1573]

OOOOOOOOOOOOOOHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH good show sir. Jolly good show

[Venerable Ro]

Scary war-mage is scary. 'tis good they had that discussion.

Come to think of it, as long as he's getting meat delivered, there's no reason he can't get something for her too.

[Fireeaters]

Nice

[foxsevent]

Okay now this doesn't make any sense, Aurick had her dead to rights he could've easily captured her and let Luna deal with her or he could offer her food and place to live so she wouldn't have to hunt since Aurick can just buy meat now and shes conscious enough not to kill foals or ponies, which means she can be reasoned with.

[Sweetblue]

9394755
It is confusing, he did not even plant the seed by suggesting something related or reward her with something that would make her less prone to attack ponies. Then again he has yet to actually sell those armors so...

[The Whiskey Spirit]

9394770
In my head, he was more focused on the foals safety and was far less concerned with someone who was no longer a threat. In a different scenario, he might have acted that way, but in this one, he didn't.

[foxsevent]

9394770
Well even without the profit from the armors Aurick has plenty of money from being the only enchanter in Equestria, or at least that's what I'm getting here and his business hasn't even boomed yet.
Aurick pretty much has monopoly on this.
So I don't think money is of any problem.

[stephen51991]

9394787
He's gonna be kicking himself over it later though, right? I mean, he had her! As in straight-up captured and restrained.

And even when he let her go to make use of her enhanced tracking capabilities, he had an additional opportunity to remove the need for further confrontation through either diplomacy or incapacitation, but he passed that up too!

I imagine that his reaction when he realizes just how badly he screwed the pooch on this one would look something like this:

media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lxv3mlwibL1r2qgn1.gif

[link4]

9394755
cherrywise, if he HAD captured her, still would need the armor, until she settled in the crowns custody and was no longer a problem. the armor can go to the guards that keep n eye on her.

[Timuri]

9395135
Even after Inkheart's situation is fixed, they'll still need the enhanced armor for the other issues Luna was going over last chapter.

And while this seems like a missed opportunity, it also furthers the relationship between Aurick and Inkheart. It will be best for her if he is able to bring her to the princesses with her willing cooperation.

[link4]

9395184
true. and i think her reaction to the thought of harming foals is a good sign, and puts points in her favor(always a good sign when someone like that still refuses to harm the young). if anything, inkheart could be a boon to the night guard. no doubt the palace hs meat for delegates. no need to hunt, less issue.

[Neece]

I bet the in the end the armors will be useless for this capture, as she'll just go to his house and ask for food. He'll just buy more meat, ask Luna for a refund and convince Ink Heart to be treated by conquering her heart the easiest way possible. Through her stomach

[Timuri]

9395199
Honestly, I expect that Aurick is going to start rebuilding an adventurer team, though he may not realize it until well into doing so. Inkheart will simply be the first of this new cadre of close friends.

[link4]

9395303
that's also a good idea. could be the go to team for things like inkhearts case.

[Trent Roogna]

Edit improve chapter much.
Sry for bad English. Trent drunk.

---sober edit:
This is much better.

The prior version had what seemed to be out of character actions by Aurick and left us (the audience) with a general impression of "are you really that stupid/mean"?

Now we see everyone making the best of their respective bad situations..

[PaintedPony]

9395257
I could see it going that way, and I wouldn't be mad about it at all!

[JOEBLACK]

Ahhh, I was looking forward to the CMC running behind the scary but cool looking creature to hide from the scary but cool looking (remember that this is the CMC we are talking about) creature.

[Midknight Defender]

He also told her the price that his service would cost her, having finally done the math. She didn’t even blink at the number.

And when the nobleponies learn of the Enchanter of Ponyville and start showing up in their gilded carriages, remember not to give them the Princess Discount Rate. :D

Definitely not the Common Pony Charity Rate. Nope, nobleponies get the Extravagant Rate For Extravagant Individuals deal. Only a measly 5000% markup!

[Morphy]

9395103

He needs to enchant a post in his house for that. I suspect he will be doing that a lot...this is Ponyville after all.

Hmm, he might need a second head-thumping post just for Pinkie Pie shenanigans.

[Animatorsnake]

While I'm glad Aurick isn't being prideful he can handle Inkheart, he is way more capable than he thinks though being cautious is better than being prideful and dead

[Kadigan]

9604746
Yeah... Reminds me of this lil' conversation in one of the Witcher books:

- Where are the best archers in the world?
- I don't know... I do know where the ones that boasted to be are, however.
- Where?
- In their graves.