Alchemist's shop

by Cookie_Pone

Not just alchemy

Peritia rolls onto her back, keeping her eyes closed as her mind wakes up. The tingling from the pendant has mostly faded, leaving only a dull buzz throughout her body. She feels tired and lazy, her muscles feel sore and a headache is starting to cut through the haze.

"Ah, you are awake! A thousand apologies for that, but you should be very happy, I have never seen a pony come to so quickly!" Tuitio sits beside Peritia, finally pushing her to open her eyes and let the blinding light in. After a bit of time adjusting, she tries to sit up, barely managing to not fall onto her face as her balance starts working again. A small potion floats in front of her face, containing a pale blue fluid.

Peritia reaches out and grabs the potion, looking over to Tuitio curiously before drinking it. The headache is greatly reduced, soon disappearing entirely, and her whole body relaxes, bringing a sigh from her mouth. The buzz, however, grows more distinct and noticeable. She can't place the feeling, but it's all too familiar.

"So... What happened? What does this pendant do?" Peritia questions, looking down at it and poking at it with a hoof, causing the red gem to glow.

"That pendant is filled with magic, it flowed through your body and you fell unconscious because it's not used to magic of this intensity. You've been slowly adjusting over time since then, enough to wake up now, not long before you can start using it." The mage explains, her words seem rehearsed, like she's done this before. Peritia freezes in place as Tuitio finishes, her mouth hanging open slightly in shock and awe.

The young mare's reaction gets a chuckle from the elder Unicorn, who reaches out and places a hoof on her shoulder, bringing the dumbstruck Earth pony back to reality. She's now got a big, contagious smile on her face.

"So you mean... I-I can use..." Peritia stutters, barely able to form words, let alone full sentences, amidst all the excitement she's feeling. Tuitio stands suddenly, turning to head for the stairs, only stopping to motion for Peritia to follow.

Soon the two are at the top floor of the towering structure, the walls are lined with racks full of practice weapons, shelves covered in shapes of various sizes and materials and a table holding scrolls that are who knows how old.

Already some of the small wooden cubes have been moved to the centre of the room, in front of an excited looking Tuitio. Peritia walks over, sitting down on the other side of the blocks, looking up at the Unicorn with a questioning look.

"You can't expect to be any good with magic without some training, obviously! So we're starting with telekinesis, first I just want you to try lifting a block on your own." Tuitio says, seeing the confused look on Peritia's face. She lights up at this new information, her eyes locking onto one of the blocks on the floor before her.

The pendant glows gently as she focuses on the block, the magic trying to reach out but falling short and simply sending out a tiny spark. The second time she closes her eyes, trying to relax a bit more and imagine the block, the magic manages to reach the block, enveloping it in a very weak red sheet. When she imagines it moving she feels a small weight in her chest, the magic tugs upwards and then fizzles, too weak to move it. She is disheartened by the failures, frowning as she looks to Tuitio.

To her surprise, she is beaming at the display, practically bouncing on her hooves. The tall Unicorn suddenly sweeps the small Earth pony into a tight hug, spinning around a little bit, much to the confusion of the younger mare.

"Oh, sorry, you must be so confused! That was great, your first time and you managed to grab it! Look, it may feel like you failed, but trust me, that was fantastic!" Tuitio cheers, finally bringing a smile back to Peritia's face.

"I'll do it now, watch and try to follow along." She looks towards the boxes, slowly lighting her horn before wrapping one of the blocks in her blue magic, giving it a second to settle before lifting it and rotating it around.

After the block is back on the ground, Peritia takes a deep breath and tries the same, first trying to focus the magic into the gem. The gem glows in response, heating up further. She tries to reach out, successfully wrapping one of the blocks in a magical field, much more opaque this time. She smiles, then attempts to lift it, which she does with a bit of effort. The block is a little shaky in the air and she has trouble manipulating it accurately, but it's working!

The block suddenly drops to the ground as the magic's user is nearly toppled to the ground by a bone-crushing hug from their over-excited mentor. This happens a lot more in the coming hours, she's a very hug-gy pony.

---

With a few scrolls packed into her saddlebags, Peritia waves a goodbye to Tuitio, both ponies have smiles on their faces. Telekinesis is used my most Unicorns for a reason, it's easy to learn, during the time they had together her body had adapted more and she had been able to properly control a block of wood. She could even manage multiple at a time, just not separately, they all moved together. She struggled a bit with an off-weight object and heavier ones, but got the hang of it eventually.

It's about time for Peritia to meet with the adventurers now, judging by the sun approaching the horizon. The streets are denser than when they arrived, somehow. After a while she arrives back where they had separated, finding Letalis already waiting there. Filled with confidence after the training, she trots over and sits beside the intimidating Unicorn.

Despite the usual death glare, Peritia decides to strike up a conversation, besides, she's got a few questions on her mind and time to waste before Fortis arrives.

"I noticed your cutie mark, it's fitting. What's your gift?" She asks, a smile naturally coming to her face, the same can't be said for her conversation partner though.

"I'm deadly, always. No opponent has ever crossed me and lived to tell the tale." Letalis responds, glancing at Peritia's flank, clearly waiting for an answer.

"My potions are a little bit better, a bit more magic goes into every single one." Pride is evident in the young alchemist's voice, she's very happy with her talent and cutie mark. Before a witty retort can be returned, Fortis arrives, cutting his fellow adventurer off.

"There is an Inn nearby, come, no time to waste, I've already paid." The stallion commands as he approaches, already turning to leave. Letalis doesn't hesitate, neither does Peritia and before long they're all in their room, ready to rest for the night.

Peritia has trouble sleeping tonight as well, though for much different reasons. Her mind is filled with ideas and she's ecstatic as she lies down to sleep, eager for the next day. Sleep comes all too slow to take her mind away from the conscious realm.

Comments

[Luminous Lead]

Peritia is incredibly trusting or possibly naive: abandoning the storefront to mix potions in the back, travelling with strangers without knowing the travel plan, sleeping after a beast roams through the camp, putting on strange magical devices from conspicuously helpful people...

She's either reaally lucky about the people she runs into or the standard population is just super nice.

[Cookie_Pone]

9691313
Hey! Thanks for commenting. I read it a while ago but forgot to reply.
You make a good point and I completely agree that Peritia is a bit naive and too trusting, she's young and excitable. She's often blinded by this and can make some unsafe decisions, so far she has been very lucky.
Thanks for reading, hope you've been enjoying it so far! My focus has been on Roommates, so this hasn't had much attention. Now that it's finished, I should be able to continue.

[Starlight Nova]

How'd you come up with Peritia's name?

[Cookie_Pone]

9750103
Hi! School has been killing me, so I haven't been online at all, so sorry for the late response. Peritia's name (and all the names for that matter) is Latin, when you translate the names to English you'll get one main meaning, and a bunch of side meanings. I chose the ones which had meanings fitting the characters. Peritia, for instance, translates roughly to experience, knowledge and skill, since she's a well-versed Alchemist. Thanks for reading and commenting, hopefully, the assignments will stop soon and I can actually get back to writing!

Stay safe,
Cookie