Prologue 1: Starswirl the Bearded
It was a stormy winter’s day like it had been for the last three months. It was an unnatural snow but it didn't affect the three travelers and their cargo. They walked for hours before they reached a small shack poking out in the storm which seemed too small to fit them all. Kicking the door open a stallion walked in followed by two mare sisters. "Clover, Clover the Clever?" The stallion yelled as he used his magic to light a ceiling lamp revealing the inside of the shack was far larger than its outward appearance. "Where are you girl?" He said impatiently as the two mares followed him in and shut the door. "Starswirl, she doesn't seem to be here," said the older of the two mares as she walked over to a note that rested on an ornate table. "Look at this," she said as she read it aloud.
Dear my most respected teacher, Starswirl the Bearded. I know you entrusted me to watch your home while you and the alicorns were on your quest but the storm is getting too difficult. The king has asked me to help them find a new land where we can escape the snow as well as the pegasi and earth ponies. The king will send you an escort when we find our new land but until then I beg you stay out of this weather. Your student, Clover the Clever.
"Then our friends are safe?" The younger mare asked her sister Celestia who was placing the note back on the table. "It appears so Luna. It's good they have Clover with them as she's a very resourceful unicorn," Celestia said as she turned to Starswirl. "Where would you like the Elements of Harmony?" She asked using her magic to open the two chests that hung from her saddle and levitate out two of the six stone spheres they had found on their quest. "I suppose it's for the best that they're gone as it will allow me to work on my research and omniomorphic spells in peace," said Starswirl as he levitated the two spheres he had. "Follow me," he said as he walked down a hallway into his study.
Walking into the chamber Starswirl levitated some wood planks into the shape of six pedestals in a hexagonal arrangement before casting a spell to change them into marble. "Now carefully place them on the pedestals. Before they are studied they must be purified to remove any dark energy," he said walking behind the pedestals before directing Celestia and Luna to their respective sides. As the three of them leaned into the pedestal their horns glowed causing the orbs to spark as bolts of energy passed between them until the room burst with a bright light.
"Are you okay sister?" Luna yelled as the light blinded her. "Don't worry, Luna, I'm fine. What about you, Starswirl?" Celestia said as she placed her hoof across her face to try and regain her vision. "Don't worry about me," Starswirl said as he watched the light. He had seen it growing and had placed his hoof across his face already so the light wouldn't blind him. As he watched the light die down he noticed something silvery in the middle of the pedestals which he quickly levitated behind his hoof to see it better. It was some kind of alicorn shaped amulet with a red gem embedded in it. "I'll have to study this later," he thought as he placed it under his cloak. When the light had finally died away he watched as Celestia and Luna slowly regained their vision.
"Well it appears to have been a success," he said levitating a quill and writing down the events of the last few minutes but excluding the amulet for private investigation. "You two should get to bed as it's been a long day. I will stay and make sure the elements are secure," he said as he began casting some protection spells around the room. "Don't stay up too late then," Celestia said as they walked out of the room. "It's so good to be back home, isn't it sister?" Luna said before their conversation moved out of earshot.
"Yes it is." Starswirl said under his breath as he pulled the amulet out from his cloak and stared at it. "What secrets do you hold?" he thought as he looked into the eye of the Alicorn Amulet.
The air seemed heavy as Starswirl walked through the darkness. "Hello... who's there?" He called out into the darkness. "Power," a voice called back sending a shiver down his spine. "What kind of power?" the ever curious unicorn asked as he waited for a response. "Amazing... incredible... phenomenal... power!" the voice called out again. "The power you deserve!" it spoke before Starswirl could respond.
As Luna walked into the study the next morning she saw Starswirl asleep as his desk. "Starswirl, wake up. You're mumbling in your sleep again," she said as she nudged him awake. "What?" Starswirl said as he sat up and yawned. "I must have fallen asleep while casting the spells," he said as he climbed out of his chair to stretch his legs. "What's that on your cloak?" Luna asked before trying to pull the Alicorn Amulet off of him with her magic. "Starswirl, did you enchant it onto yourself?" she asked giving up. "Not that I'm aware of," he said as pulled it off with ease using his own magic. "How odd, I must have slept on top of it," he said as he placed it on the desk. "Come on now, sister already has breakfast started," Luna said as she put her curiosity towards the amulet aside and they left the room.
As they sat down at the breakfast table Celestia was busy cooking some eggs in a fireplace. "Hello old friend, it's good to see you awake," Celestia said as she looked at Starswirl. "You know I don't have time for friends, Celestia," Starswirl said as he rubbed the sand out of his eyes. "But we’ve found the Elements of Harmony, Starswirl. Surely you have time now to relax," Luna said as she put some plates on the table. "Luna, you are still a young mare. I wouldn't expect you to understand how important the study of magic is compared to friendship," he said rather bluntly. "Enough of that please," Celestia said as she levitated the copper pan over them. "Breakfast in served," she said before serving their portions.
After Breakfast was done Starswirl locked himself in his study to continue his research on the Elements of Harmony and the Alicorn Amulet. Turning to a blank page in his notebook he began writing down what he knew so far about the amulet like it's magically lock on the wearer and the strange dream he had had. "I should start my research from the beginning," he said as he placed the amulet on his desk and began to use the same purification spell they had used on the Elements of Harmony.
At first it seemed to be going well. The Alicorn Amulet had begun sparking like the spell was designed to do until the energy shifted taking on a deep red color as the amulet lifted itself into the air and repelled the energy back sending Starswirl into a bookcase with a load crash. "Are you okay in there Starswirl? Do you need help?" Celestia said through the door as her and Luna had heard the crash. "Your concern is commendable Celestia but I can handle my own research," Starswirl said as he stood back up and shook himself off. Walking back to his notes he raised his quill "Purification spell has a failure. Further testing is required," he said as he brought out a small case and put the Alicorn Amulet in it for safe keeping.
It took only three weeks for Starswirl to crack the secrets of the Elements of Harmony. They contained such immense and complex power but needed only a simple spark of magic to activate them. However, they only seemed to respond to Celestia and Luna regardless of how much Starswirl tried to tap into their power. "Don't worry Starswirl, there are stronger things to look foreword to than power," Celestia said as she tried to make him feel better. "Yes like this friendship you always speak of." He said a tad sarcastically as he turned away from her and Luna. "I have further work to do girls," When he was sure they had left he locked the door and opened the case to the Alicorn Amulet. "If I can't use the Elements of Harmony then I might as well use the next best thing." He said as he continued his research on the amulet.
A few weeks later the snow storm stopped and the following week and group of nine pegasi showed up at the front door with a large cart behind them. "What's the meaning of this?" Starswirl yelled as answered the door and prepared to fight them. "The fighting is over teacher!" a light green unicorn said as she jumped out of the wagon. "The unicorns, pegasi, and earth ponies have unified for the greater good of pony kind!" she said as Celestia and Luna had showed up at the door to see what the commotion was about. "Then the king, chancellor, and commander have become a tribunal?" Celestia asked Clover the Clever as she stepped out of the house only for the pegasi to bow. "Not exactly, they have all agreed to make you and your sister the rulers of the new diarchy of Equestria," Clover said as she bowed as well.
"You mean we're royalty?" Luna asked as she stepped out followed by Starswirl. "You are Princess Luna," Clover said as she stood up. "Then my first decree as princess is that Starswirl the Bearded is to hold the same title of Royal Conjurer in Equestria that he held in the old kingdom," Celestia announces as she turned to Starswirl. "That's very kind of you Celestia. Now we must be on our way," He said as the four horned ponies levitated Starswirl's entire home onto the cart followed by Clover and Starswirl himself before they began their flight to Equestria.
"I can't believe it's already been a year now," Luna said as she looked over the Everfree Forest thinking back to their adventure. "And no time was wasted in getting your castle built princess," Starswirl said as he looked out the window with her. "Excuse me Luna; I have some more research to perform," he said as he walked by the ornamental structure that now held the Elements of Harmony and down the hall to his new chamber in the castle. It too was larger on the inside like his old home but far more stable being made of stone. As he walked in he levitated the Alicorn Amulet out of the case and onto his cloak. It had almost become a ritual how often he wore it in his chamber. He could feel the power that flowed through him when he had it on and he enjoyed it.
Opening his spell book he turned to the last page and pondered. "What am I missing in this spell? It can't be power as I have plenty of that now," he said before taking a deep breath to perform the smell in question only for it to fizzle out. "Cursed spell of my own design! Why won't you work for me?" he yelled as he slammed his hoof on the desk. "I am Starswirl the Bearded after all! The greatest unicorn in all of Equestria!" he yelled again as he smacked his ink and quill off the table.
"Teacher!" said Clover the Clever as she walked down the stairs. "Please calm down. You'll never figure it out if you're angry," over the last few months Clover had noticed how strange Starswirl had acted when he wore that amulet and she was genuinely concerned for him. "Why don't you take off the amulet and go have some fun with your friends?" her suggestion however fell on deaf ears as Starswirl glared at her. "Friends, what good are friends? Everypony talks about friends as if they're needed for something but I have none and I prefer it that way!" he yelled as his eyes glowed red with anger while tears formed in Clover's. As Clover ran out of the room Starswirl sighed. "That girl needs to get her head away from such things," he said closing the book and retiring to his bedchamber.
Starswirl was fast asleep by the time the moon was at its highest point in the sky. It was around this time that somepony bypassed his magical barriers and crept into his room. "This is for your own good Starswirl," said Clover the Clever as she slowly levitated Starswirl's blanket revealing the Alicorn Amulet on his chest. The moment her magic gripped the amulet however something was wrong. "What are you doing Clover?" Starswirl said as his eyes shot open and he sat up to look at her in the moonlight. "Me? I was just making sure your blanket was tucked in," she said with a smile.
"Really?" Starswirl said as the door locked and the candles in the room lit with a deep red flame that cast its ominous light across the whole room. "Because it looked like you were trying to steal my amulet!" he said as his eyes began to glow the same red they had before. "Steal your amulet? I would never do that Starswirl," Clover said as she tried to move but couldn't. "You know Clover, you're one of my best students and I've never known you to lie to me," he said as the candles went out and his eyes stopped glowing. "Does that mean... I can go?" she said looking at him.
"Can you go?" he said thinking it over for a moment before his eyes glowed red and he shot a beam of magic at Clover. Her screams of agony would have echoed through the whole castle if it wasn't for the sound proofing spell he placed on the room when he locked the door. As the screams dies down a horrific creature stood up in Clover's place. "W-w-what have you done to me?" she said as Starswirl looked over his creation. "Why I've just used the amulet's power to create a new life form. I think I'll call you a Changeling," he said as he lifted Clover off the ground in a bubble of red energy. "But don't think I'll just leave you empty hoofed," he said as a large egg formed inside the bubble. "Give it plenty of love. That's what you feed off of now," He said as the bedroom window opened wide. "Now you can go," with that Clover and the egg zoomed out of the kingdom at unfathomable speeds and clear out of the land of Equestria itself.
"That actually felt nice," Starswirl said as he climbed off his bed and levitated his cloak and hat on. "I bet I could rule this kingdom if it wasn't for the Princesses and the Elements of Harmony," he said as he walked down the stairs and left his chamber going in the direction of the main hall. When he reached the holder of the Elements of Harmony he carefully levitated them off it and placed them down. "Some great magic you turned out to be," he said kicking one of the spheres with his hoof. "But I have the great power now so you're no longer needed," he said as his horn started to glow with intent to destroy. As the glow engulfed the Elements of Harmony they began to spark before the same bright light that created the Alicorn Amulet blinded Starswirl causing him to scream with the same pain he had inflicted on Clover the Clever.
As the screams echoed through the castle the royal guards ran in to see what was the matter followed soon after by Celestia and Luna. "Starswirl, what's going on?" Celestia tried shouting over his screams but he was in too much pain to answer. As the screams died down a new creature took Starswirl's place. "Starswirl, is that you?" Celestia asked before a lion's paw swung and knocked her off her hooves. "I'm not Starswirl the Bearded anymore and don't forget that!" he said as he stood up and loomed over all of them. "You can call me Discord now!" he said ripping off the cloak and hat and tossing them aside.
"Also, there's going to be a change in power," Discord said levitating the Elements of Harmony into the air along with the Celestia and Luna. "But sadly I can't let you two stay to see it," he said teleporting the three of them and the elements high into the air above the castle. "So sad really, I think I was just starting to understand that friendship thing you always talked about Celestia," he said sarcastically as he began spinning the Elements of Harmony and the Princesses in a circle. "Bon Voyage!" he shouted before launching them in eight different directions. "I won't be seeing them anymore and I won't need this trinket anymore," he said taking the Alicorn Amulet off and throwing it to the north. "Now let's unleash some chaos!" he said as he let loose his new awesome powers.
And so as the story goes, the princesses found the Elements of Harmony and used their power to seal Discord in his stone prison.