Enchanted

by The Whiskey Spirit

Ch 44: Familial Bonds

Aurick watched as Twilight glared at the ring before her. After a number of lessons, he had decide to give her a practical exam to test her understanding of what he had taught her. So far it was underwhelming.

Despite her failed attempts to enchant the ring, he knew it wasn’t for a lack of understanding. The hefty amount of notes and references she made assured him of that. The issue was that she seemed to be having a hard time wrapping her head around it.

The idea was to insert your mana into a container, in this case it was the gem in the ring, and cast a spell, not from yourself, but from the mana in the ring. As if that wasn’t difficult enough, she had to contain the spell and prevent it from fully activating until a mental trigger activated it.

She was used to simply casting the spell, not these magical gymnastics.

Ashwyn had attempted to help her, as she had been paying rapt attention during his lectures, but she couldn’t do much. Her inability to use magic like the unicorn made it difficult and she resigned herself to only encouraging the purple mare.

Meanwhile, Aurick was finishing up the book Ashwyn had given him. Her idea of what enchanting was could only be described as laughable to him. It was so far off from reality that he hadn’t taken the main character seriously for a while. That was quickly changed, however. The portrayal of enchanting was bad, yes, but everything else was great. He even felt himself enjoying the fantastical enchanting by the end, as it was expertly used to drive the tension of some scenes.

He was finishing the last paragraph of a chapter when the jingle of a bell pulled his attention away. Looking up, he noticed two ponies enter. One was a light grey, unicorn mare with a purple and white mane. The other was unicorn stallion, both mane and coat being blue, but his mane was a touch darker.

Twilight hadn’t looked up from what she was doing, but judging on the faces of the two newcomers, they were here for her. Despite that, they seemed amused by her ignorance of their presence. The mare, after a few moments, had shifted her gaze to Aurick and Ashwyn. It seemed like they hadn’t seen them as they entered as her eyes widened and her mouth dropped. The stallion’s reaction wasn’t so severe, as he simply raised a brow.

“Hey, Twilight.” He said, closing the unfinished book in his hand. She frowned as the spell she was concentrating on fizzled out, before looking up at him with an unamused glare. “You got guests.” He pointed idly to the two ponies, her gaze following as he did.

The moment she saw them, her eyes widened in shock. “Mom? Dad? What are you doing here!?” That explained why the mare looked so similar to Twilight.

Her father easily smiled at his daughter as she ran over to give them hugs. “We had some time off, so we decided to surprise you.” Her mother had finally taken her eyes off him, having wisely decided that her daughter was more important. He couldn’t help but smile at the scene, though it was bittersweet. It only served to remind him of what he now lacked.

A small sigh escaped him as the thought crossed his mind. It had been some time since he had such thoughts. His gaze turned towards Ashwyn, the smile on his face becoming more genuine. Though he had lost any chance of seeing his family again, that didn’t mean he didn’t have one anymore. Ashwyn made sure of that.

~-~

Oblivious to the Alpha’s gaze, Ashwyn stared at the trio of ponies that embraced before her, a small frown on her face. It brought a conversation she had with the Alpha to the forefront of her mind. Of a promise she had made.

It had been a week since she had made the promise, and the Alpha had told her that him and the Princess would set up the meeting when she said she was ready. In all that time, she hadn’t even remotely felt close to ready.

There were some harsh words that had been said in her last meeting with her parents. A lot of bad memories surrounded them. She did not wish to revisit them.

She had been happy over the time she had spent with the Alpha. Happier than she had felt in a very long time. She didn’t want that to end. Yet, seeing Twilight and her parents embrace. The warmth in their eyes as they talked amongst one another. She couldn’t help but feel hollow.

Her gaze shifted, and her eyes met the Alpha. That hollow feeling rescinded slightly, even as a small smile came on her face. The Alpha was family now… but it wasn’t enough. She knew that. She could love him all she wanted, but it would never replace a relationship with her parents.

She averted her gaze, not wanting the Alpha to see her so torn. It was a futile effort. As always, the Alpha could read her as easily as the book in his hand, having placed one such appendage on her back. It gently massaged her in an effort to make her relax.

Swallowing a lump in her throat, she looked back up to the Alpha. She wasn’t ready, but she knew that if she didn’t take the leap, then she never would. If it didn’t go well, then she’d still have the Alpha. That would have to be enough for her.

“Three days.”

“Three days?” He responded, his brow raised. She couldn’t help but frown. He wanted her to say it aloud.

“I meet parents in three days.” She confirmed, subconsciously pulling into herself as she said it. Her only consolation was the hand that started to run through her mane.

~-~

Aurick looked up when he heard someone clear their throat next to him. It was the grey mare who had desired his attention. A fact that hadn’t surprised him.

“Can I help you?” He asked politely, a friendly smile appearing on his face.

“I’m sorry if this is rude, but what are you?” She asked, curiosity clear on her face. He couldn’t help but raise a brow at this. Hadn’t there been that newspony who had taken a picture of him? Had that not been circulated?

“I am an elf.” He responded, placing Ashwyn’s book down on his lap. He had a feeling he wouldn’t get to finish any time soon. The mare had a small notebook floating next to her, and if she was anything like Twilight, he doubted she be short in her questions.

“I’ve never heard of elfs before, do you come from another continent?”

“First off, the plural is elves, and concerning the question, that could be considered true.” He told her with a smirk as she crossed off something on her notepad and corrected her mistake. “I highly doubt you’ll ever hear of another elf in this world, and though I’m sure you have a number of questions about my origins, I’d request you not to ask them.”

She was visibly displeased at his request, but didn’t make any complaints. She merely sighed. “Fine.” She wore a pout as she said that, and Aurick wasn’t oblivious to the fact that she was attempting to guilt trip him. Sadly for her, he would not budge.

“Mom!” Her cheeks were tinted red as she was reprimanded by her daughter. Aurick couldn’t help but think it a bit hypocritical, but didn’t complain.

“I know, dear.” She waved her off with a sigh. “But think about it! Wouldn’t he make an interesting character in one of my stories?” She asked, turning back to Twilight, who was simply face hoofing.

“Stories, huh?” Aurick said with a grin. He could feel Ashwyn stiffen from under his hand. The mare had turned back to look at him with a smile.

“Yes!” She said cheerfully. “I’m a published author, and I’ve been looking for a good inspiration for my next book.”

“I doubt I could be of much help, but Ashwyn here…” He pat the thestrel mare on the head, bringing the mare’s attention to her.

“Oh? Do you write too?”

Aurick couldn’t help but smirk at the look on Ashwyn’s face. She had glanced at him with a look of betrayal in her eyes before she looked to the mare that had addressed her. Like usual, she was unable to meet the mare’s gaze, and idly messed with her paws. “Er, yes.”

Twilight hadn’t been oblivious to the direction he had taken the conversation, and he could see a devious smile on her face. They shared a look and he gave her a nod. “You might know her better as Inkheart, Mom.” Twilight called out before returning to her conversation with her father.

Her mother’s reaction was instant. A look of shock coming over her, swiftly replaced with one of delight. Aurick highly doubted that anything could have stopped the words that began to come from the mare. It wasn’t long before Ashwyn’s responses grew more confident. Eventually the pair began to talk in equal excitement about their works.

Satisfied that she had someone new to talk to, he picked up the book and set out to finish it so that he could give her his thoughts.

Comments

[Venerable Ro]

It's always nice to get a chance to converse with another expert.

[shadow wolf1573]

Short. Sweet and I still am waiting for the maid

[link4]

short but sweet.

[Shattered_Moon]

9480566
The sexy maid~?

[shadow wolf1573]

9480590
No the maid from the Queen's palace OF COURSE THE SEXY MAID

[Fireeaters]

Nice

[Bookish Dracon]

9480626
Of course.

[Morphy]

Kinda ironic that Twilight, the Element of Magic, the brightest unicorn of her time before she turned into an alicorn... cannot enchant. Hah!

He's gonna have to go Yoda on her, "You must unlearn what you have learned." "No! Do not try! Do. Or do not. There is no try."

[lazyreader19]

9481917
Funnier still that she wields an element of harmony, one of the most enchant-y things in the universe!

Then again, using an enchanted item is vastly different than creating them in the first place I suppose.

[Greenhorn]

“I know, dear.” She waved her off with a sigh. “But think about it! Wouldn’t he make an interesting character in one of my stories?” She asked, turning back to Twilight, who was simply face hoofing.

Aurick: Twilight? Have you told your mother using me in her story would entitle me in patent fee?