Anontificer 9

>You are Anonymous.
>And today, you have a job.
>It’s about time.
>But this job is unlike anything you’ve done before.
>Living items, whether from having a soul bound to them or not, have their own will and influence, and can use any spells or spell-like abilities conferred to them without a user.
"Alright, miss Drifter. Here’s the plans; either I enchant your sentient armor with..."
>You are interrupted as she begins to speak.
> "Hmm...that's not good...divine contact is needed for the actual resurrection portion of the spell.  That could be a problem..."
"What."
>She is poring over your notes, still.
> "Nothing, nothing. Please continue."
"No, let me see that."
>"Fine, just please, continue."
"Alright, as I was saying, I could give it—“
>"Her name is Bulwark, by the way."
“…her an armor enchantment of movement: Animation."
>"Can that be done permanently or will it require re-casting?"
"Or perhaps I could...she is warforged related, is she not...add a rune or two."
"Permanence is assured in either choice, miss."
>B"Spells can be removed. Runes can interfere with each other."
"Not when handled by a professional, Miss Bulwark. Perhaps you'd like the more costly version then? The ability to call upon spells at any time?"
>B "I am not a magician."
>Wow, never had anyone turn down magic.
"Besides, enchantment and spells are like squares and rectangles. The enchantment would only break for so long as YOU are broken."
>B "Spells can always be removed by skilled mages; permanent or not."
>Now this is starting to get annoying.
"It is not a spell. Have you not worked with enchanted items before? A powerful dispel would only affect it for no more than 24 seconds."
>B "Are you familiar with the spell 'Mordekainen’s Disjunction?"
"Disjunction...let me look it up. Which school?"
>B "I am unsure."
"Ah, here it is, no matter...miss, with your sentience, you are well above the level of a mere artifact. You could easily resist any casting of that spell."
>B "I could indeed, but my body holds spells in the same way any artifact does."
>"Actually I have a suggestion: use both."
"..."
>"The spell and the runes."
"Hmm..."
> "The runes act as a back-up in case a disjunction removes the spell. Runes not active are not affected as magical either."
"Once more I am to say it is no mere spell...but that is intriguing. Keeping runes inactive to use later...genius tactical planning...and you said your name was Drifter?"
>"... Yes."
>As interested as you are to know…if you continue to pry, nothing will be accomplished.
"Alright, the components I would need to have are all about this room. Now if you would step out of your armor, I can begin."
>"I'll need you to leave the room for a few minutes than."
"Privacy is important. Sure. Oh, and we'll discuss payment after I'm finished."
>Nuts.
> "Sure. I'll call you down when I'm ready. Bulwark, you're alright like that?"
>B "Fine."
.>You step out of the room.
>Out of mild curiosity, you place your ear back to the door and do not close it fully.
> "Alright... Now to find somewhere to hide myself… ah, good, a closet..."
"I've heard of privacy and secrecy...but are you really so ashamed, Drifter?"
> "It's for everyone’s good. Now please try and hurry, this closet is stuffy."
"Actually...this will take some hours. Would you not prefer a room to wait in?"
> "... How many hours?"
>Oh boy, you love this part.
"36.”
> "... I'm going to need a bed."
>Yes, yes she is.
"All that and more; shall I bring something to cover you up with?"
> "Unless you know an invisibility spell, that would be appreciated."
"One Invisibility, coming right...actually, I'd have to see you for that, ironically enough."
>No really, you have to have line of sight for the target of invisibility.
> "A tarp or something will have to do then."
"Tarps are located in the closet..."
>How convenient.
> "Ah..."
> "Alright, I'm good to go. Just can't see anything...just...lead the way please."
>You lead her slowly, with the tarp over her.
>Even with the cover you can tell it is definitely a unicorn underneath the tarp.
>Once you’ve led her to the master bedroom (if it is going to take you 36 hours to imbue the magic, she’s going to need an easy access to a bathroom, like master rooms usually have) you close and lock the door behind you.
"Okay, just sit tight in there, I can have Sweetie bring you some food in a few hours."
> "Make sure she knocks please. And thank you. You really have no idea how much this means to me...us..."
"Right. I'll get right to work after I inform Sweetie and Rarity that our guest is not to be disturbed. Besides, it's about time somepony came to me for a job."
> "Alright, just yell when it's okay to take the tarp off."
"Safe now, Drifter. I've locked the door."
> "Thank you."
>Right. With that taken care of, you move on to actually readying the tools and equipment.
>Your artificer's monocle and Masterworked (a fancy way of saying the most damned expensive) Artificer's tools set, and the inscriber for the rune.
>You look back to Bulwark, who has, expectedly, not moved an inch.
>To be honest you were definitely worrying about a trap, but got up in conversation with Drifter.
>Since no traps are being sprung while you're alone, though, you relax a bit.
>You walk over to the living armor and try to figure out how she opens up.
>You begin tapping and prodding her.
>It is about ten minutes after you've started that you've reached her backside and she speaks up.
>B "Second...base...only."
>Flabbergasted (and surprised as she has not said a word since Drifter left the room) you back away from her.
"I-I...uh...I didn't mean...I'm taken!"
>Silence.
>Calm down, Anon, she's sentient armor, not a mare on her own, whose body you're being paid to explore and fiddle with.
>...
>"What is wrong...with your face?"
>You regain control of yourself, and shake the disgusted face away.
"Nothing. Say, Bulwark, where are your runes located?"
>"They are in the joints...neck...tail...head...horn...legs...flanks...and underbelly."
>...
"Are there any places without runes?"
>"There is...some space...yes. For...your...movement runes, space...is within...my left foreleg."
>Well that was much easier than tapping around by yourself.
"So how do I get inside it without damaging you?
>"I...do not...know. I...have never...been dismantled...since...creation."
>Well shit.
>That could be a problem.
“Well then how does Drifter get in?”
>”The segmented…back…and tail.”
>The back. On ponies, was that the butt or the top?
>…probably the top.
>HOPEFULLY the top.
>You move to her side and press down and against the part where the tail merges with the rest of the suit, and find that it does indeed open up from there.
>You shake your head
>She, not it.
>You shine a light through and find the inside of the left foreleg.
>Placing the monocle on, you can see all the active effects and runes.
>There are, quite simply, a lot.
>You would love to stop and look at them all, but you haven't the time.
>You take out your tools and begin inscribing it immediately.
>An hour later you've finished the job of the inscribing.
>You'll still have to imbue it and activate it, to have Bulwark test its functionality, but for now, you'd better talk to Sweetie Belle and Rarity.
>And hopefully, they hadn't found Drifter first.
"I'll be right back."
>She doesn't respond.
>Not much of a conversationalist, you guess.
>Time to inform your girlfriend pone and her sister.
>Then it’s back to work for the long haul.