Chapters Prologue
Some time has passed since Twilight became a princess, her abilities have grown even stronger, and she has learned many new spells and developed her powers. She has just received an urgent letter from the princess.
Twilight trotted around the Canterlot library, thinking hard. "Why now?" the purple alicorn thought to herself. "I understand that I have learned alot from Princess Celestia, but does she really have to send me back into the past? Is there really nothing else she can teach me?" She sighed, and Spike was watching the mare trotting in circles.
"Twilight, I think you should pack instead of running around thinking about it." Spike blurted outloud, and she gave him a stern look in reply. "I'm just saying. I thought stressing too much was bad for time travel anyways?" Twilight stopped in place, and looked at the purple and green dragon with out a word.
She took a breath, and walked over to the letter from the Princess sitting on the desk under the window. She levitated it with her magic, and studied the letter yet again. She sighed. Part of her didn't want to go. She wanted to stay with her friends, but she knew that they had grown and pursued their own lives, and she would soon have to do the same, instead of thinking too much about the past.
Rarity had gotten her wish, and had a famous boutique in Canterlot, and ponies from all across equestria would come to see it. Rainbow Dash had gotten her way into the Wonderbolts, though she was still technically a rookie. Apple Jack was begining to settle down with a stallion (whom she still hasn't told the name of) and still worked on the apple farm. Fluttershy still lived in her cottage, but was shyly trying to make a move on Big Macintosh. Pinkie, still remained Pinkie Pie, staying in ponyville and still throwing the best parties around. While each one lived separate lives, they did get together time and time again, but it wasn't anything like when they were younger.
Twilight looked at the small dragon. "I'm going to head out now. Princess Celestia said I don't need to bring anything, other than myself." She nudged a disappointed looking Spike on the cheek. "Don't worry, I'll be back before you know it. And I will tell you everything when I get back." Spike hugged the purple and pink maned princess. "Just be safe, okay?" Twilight nodded. "And same goes to you too."
She took a step back, and with a magenta flash she had vanished from the spot. She appeared not a moment later in the castle's entrance hall, standing before Princess Celestia's chair. The glorious sun princess stepped out from behind the chair, and beckoned for the smaller princess to follow. Twilight walked back behind the chair, and found a secret doorway that she didn't know was there. It lead to a round room, and she could feel a powerful emanating energy from the center. Princess Luna was also in the stone room, lighting a select amount of candles.
"Every major form of a spell was cast in this room, thus making it a strong place of power," the moon princess began. "In this room there is a balance of light and dark, fire and water." She said. Twilight could see fine with the light of the candles as she observen the room. There was a pool of water, round and dark in the center of the room. There were several white lotus flowers floating on the surface, making the water look even darker. The candles Luna had lighted were mounted in groups of three on the walls, and there were only six sets around the room. A silver and gold windchime hung just above the pool as well, shining and reflecting the orange light that danced around the room. Princess Celestia then began to talk as the purple alicorn made her observations. "When you go into the past, you must remember, do not talk about the future, or anything involved with it, including your friends or family."
Twilight looked up at her mentor. "But what about spells? Some of them came after the time I'm going to, and they're some of the most common spells I use!"
"For now, just stick to the basics. Also, you will probably have to take on a different name, but you should be able to come up with one just fine. And, I suggest you hide your wings. Luna and I did not exist in the time you're going back to, so the ponies there haven't seen an alicorn before." Twilight blinked at her mentor. Surely the two princesses at least had parents or something at that time.
"When we send you back in the past, you will stay there until you yourself cast the spell to come forwards in time," Luna added. "And that immortal spell you cast on yourself will still be in effect in the past, so do not worry about aging."
Twilight remembered the spell that Cadence had discovered long ago, and she had taken on the attributes of a typical alicorn.. well almost. She still aged like every other pony, just slower, but not as slow as Celestia and Luna. Candence eventually decided to share the spell with Twilight after she had become an alicorn. Twilight tested it on herself, and so far, it worked. She aged slower than the rest of her friends, but she still grew with them. She didn't talk about it too often, so she was surprised to hear Luna talking about it.
"Well, we should get started..." Twilight said, slightly louder than a mumble.
The purple unicorn walked to the center of the room, infront of the dish of water. Luna and Celestia stood across form her, and their horns began to glow with their magic. A peculiar sent of Mint filled the air, and the lotuses in the pool started to move. The air began to spiral around Twilight, allowing her mane to curl around her face. Wisps of silver sparks caught in the wind current, also catching the metal pipes from the windchime that hung above, filling the room with a gentle ringing melody. As the spell intensified, so did the sparks, but the fire from the candles began to blaze. There was a loud flash that lit up the whole room, and once it had ended, the purple princess had vanished, leaving nothing behind. The room was still and the only thing that moved was the wind chime, but quickly it too, calmed down to a stop.
The white princess looked at her sister. "It's time for her to know. When she gets back, she will not be the same."
Twilight blinked her eyes at the blinding light that engulfed her, and held her breath as her stomach lurched from the over whelming stencth of mint. She felt as if she was getting stretched form all sides, like someone was trying to rip her open. Time travel was comepletly different than a simple, quick teleportation spell. Her eyes stayed closed, though she had begun to grind her teeth. Suddenly, she felt her rear-end hit something, cold and hard, and the smell of mint quickly faded to the smell of dirt and wet stone.
She opened her eyes, blinking, and regained her senses. She cautiously used a simple lighting spell, shining it bright enough to see that she was in a small stone room, or rather, a closet. She thought that the spell had worked, but she wasn't comepletly sure. The purple Alicorn took a good glance around the room studying the stone work, before spotting a brown tunic bunched up in the corner. She stared at it. Based on what she saw, she had definetly gone backwards in time. She did not doubt the princesses abilities at all, but mistakes do happen, but there was a greater chance with a more powerful spell. She hesitantly picked up the brown fabric, and with a good quick shake, dusted off a few cobwebs, as well as a lingering spider.
"This should be enough to hide my wings and cutie mark." She thought to herself. "But what if I'm tempted to use my wings, or even worse, some how manage to get a.. a wing boner?" She shuddered and gulped at the thought, pushing the idea to the back of her mind. She quickly searched the room again for anything to help her newly arisen issue, before coming across a bucket with a thin wrapped rope inside of it. "Perfect"
She picked it up, and carefully began to wrap the rope around her wings. She recalled the time when Apple Jack had to tie Rainbow Dash's wings during the Running of the Leaves, and she remembered perfectly well that Rainbow's wings didn't move an inch. As the mare practically covered her wings, she told herself to relax her body. She knew that any tension would make the ropes uncomfortable, either then or later, or there was a possibility that she could end up tying them too tight. With a good firm knot, the rope was secured around her body. She cautiously attempted to move her wings, and the ropes were secure enough around her sides.
Next came the tunic. She stared at the cloth her magic held in front of her, and took a deep breath. "This is all I have to hide myself. I can not show anyone that I'm an alicorn.....Not even Starswirll, which will probably end up being the thoughest challenge. I just hope I can do it..." She thought to herself herself as she closed her eyes. The fabric smelled of wet stone, but it wasn't entirely a negative smell. She slowly covered her self with the tunic, and it was somewhat of a surprise to her that it was a perfect fit for her body. Pushing her small amount of shock aside, she buttoned the two bronze clasps fastened to her cloak. This was all she had to face the old world; well, this and her magic. She was, more or less, ready to head out to the world that lay before her.
She took a step forward, and slid the hood over her head. She placed a hoof on the side of door opposite from the hinges, and with a sharp breath she put out the light that eminated from her horn. She pushed the wooden door open, blinking at the new, more natural light that hit her face. What she saw caught her almost completely by surprise. She was in a town of only unicorns, and at first she freaked out, scared that Earth ponies and Pegasai didn't exist at this time or something. She quickly relaxed when she remebered that the three different species lived apart for a long time in the older days of equestria.
Twilight examined the other unicorns, and saw that they were almost all wearing tunics, some more colorful and decorated than others. All of these ponies had a different look that what the purple unicorn was used to seeing. Their manes, tails, and pelts weren't as bright as the ponies in Twilight's time. However, these ponies were not at all depressed. They had smiles on their faces and acknowledged each others as they went about their business, but that was it. A few were talking to each other here and there, but it was so quiet compared to Ponyville and Canterlot.
After looking at all of these unicorns in her line of sight, she paused before taking a step. "Hold on. How I supposed to find Starswirll here? I could use a searching spell, but he was the one who created it! That would probably mess some things up., so I'm going to say no." She began to unknowingly pace in a small circle as she thought to herself. "I could always ask ponies if they know him or know where he lives, and if they do, I could just ask them point me in his direction...But I also don't want to be noticed more than I have to be. Asking too many ponies would make me acknowledged by too many, and that could change time...." Twilight was starting to pant nervously now, from thinking too much, and then she caught herself in her actions. She sighed, then used a quick breathing technique that Princess Cadence had taught her to calm down.
"Calm down Twilight. You can do this. Just walk around a little bit and keep an eye out for something that seems like it would very much be Starswirll. Who knows, perhaps I'll see him walking around this town? " She nodded once, and began to walk down the street that was directly in front of her. She hung her head, trying not to make too much eye contact with the ponies that passed her. As she trotted along, Twilight was also looking at the buildings she passed. She didn't know what she was looking for, but she had a feeling she would know it when she saw it.
With a loud splash, she stepped in a puddle. The cool water closed in around her hoof, and she quickly took a step back, looking at her reflection in the gray pool of water. Because the water was still rippling, her face was somewhat obscured. Though while she looked at her face, she smiled. "It's funny. This robe makes me look a little like Clover the Clever." She thought to herself. "Hold on, I couldn't be Clover.... could I?" she pondered over the thought. If she was, this would change everything. Everyone always thought that Clover was a pale green unicorn with a Darker green mane, not at all purple unicorn. "I'm going to go crazy if I think about this too much. I'm not Clover." Then again the flowers on clovers were almost always purple and pink, very similar to Twilight's color scheme.She refused to be another pony, she just couldn't be!
She held up her head and looked away from the puddle. She leapt over it, and from then on held her head high as she trotted around the foriegn city. She might be in the past, but she could still be her own pony. She turned down another street, looking around her as she began to slow her trot. "Now where would I find Starswir- OW!" She was cut off mid sentence as she tripped over a grey stallion, who was for some reason on the ground. He looked as if he was in pain, so Twilight felt the need to help him up.
"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry I ran into you. A-are you alright?"
The stallion nodded, and then looked at her, a little smile on his face. "Yes, I'm alright. I was actually chasing after a letter." His voice had an older accent to it, but it was nice and made Twilight feel as if she was actually in another time, not just a different place. He used his hoof to brush off some dirt on his chest, and the removed filth allowed the purple unicorn to see visible scratches.
"Oh, no, your hurt..." Twilight said. She just got to the past and she hurt someone. Hope that didn't affect the future.
"It's alright. Nothing my master won't be able to heal." He responed. He picked up the so-called 'letter' and put it in a one-sided, leather saddle-bag. "Besides, the collision was probably my fault anyways," he added with a chuckle.
"Your... master?" Twilight asked the red maned-unicorn. His eyes were a gentle blue, but they had a good sense of power and strenth in them too. In fact, he seemed like he had a good powerful ability, just from the aura he was giving off.
Every pony had their own Aura, and most unicorns could tell a lot about others from these Auras. A few select amount of unicorns were able to actually see these powerful and magical energies, though from what Twilight knew the skill can sometimes, though not usually, be taught. She would like to learn how to do so, but she had not come across a suitable pony to teach her. She knew that Luna could see them, but the moon princess did not know at all how to teach it.
He nodded. "Of course, I am an assistant to Starswirll," Twilight's eyes light up, and she got excited. This was the perfect stallion to run into. Well, not physically run into, but at least come across.
"You work for Starswirll? I am actually looking for him!"
"Oh, really?" His eyes got all narrow, and he got closer to her. "Why? Have you come to tell him that his great skills and spells are just more ridiculous magic tricks? Have you come to tell him that every spell he uses, or creates, is a lie? A fake?" he body language became a little more over dramatic. His tone was somewhere between furious and annoyed. "Because if any those are your intentions, you can turn around and go right back to the place you came from. We've seen enough of those foul unicorns, and we don't need anymore of them walking around, thinking they know everything there is to know about magic."
Twilight felt really uncomfortable, and she ended up biting her lip. Did other unicorns really think that Starswirll's magic was fake? "No, no, not at all! I was looking for him because I was actually hoping that I might be able to learn from him." After she said this, he instantly took a step back. "You know, like his apprentice."
"Oh, my sincerest apologies," he said with an awkward smile. "I was just double checking. You do have a natural magical glow about you, so I didn't know your true intentions. Most unicorns with an aura as strong as yours are usually here to challenge him and his spectacular abilities, or something of that manner." His smiled altered and became more natural, and it was clear that , his mood had definetly brightened. "I suppose I can take you to see him, if he'll see you."
The purple alicorn nodded with a smile, "That would be great!"
With that, the two unicorns began to walk down a different street, side by side "By the way, my name is Ember." The gray stallion said, a small flirty tone lingering under his voice. Twilight glanced at him, searching for his visible name. As the pair walked through a shaft of sunlight, his mane almost rippled like flames. His pelt color also reminded the purple unicorn of ashes, the longer it caught her eye. She glanced at his cutie-mark that was somewhat visible under his sachel, and from what she could see, it looked like a wand that was casting a type of fire spell. It honestly reminded her a little bit of Trixie's.
"My name is.. uh.." She paused, and Ember gave a friendly glance at her.
"It's alright, I'm not one to judge others by their name," he said calmly.
Twilight instantly said the first name that popped into her head, "Clover!" and she regretted it as soon as the word left her mouth. Infact, she mentally did a face-hoof. It was probably because she was thinking about it earlier. Why didn't she just look around and choose a name from a random building? Ponies do that all the time when they lie about their names. Well, apparently everypony except for her. She just took Clover the Clever's name, and it was too late to change it. She would have to be the powerful unicorn, no matter how much she liked it or not.
"Are you alright? You suddenly look upset, or at least concerned." Ember stated.
The purple unicorn quickly came up with an excuse. "I guess i'm just a little nervous, you know? It's not every day you meet such a powerful unicorn. I just hope i can give him a good impression so he likes me."
Ember smiled. "Ahh, don't worry about it. I surely can't find a reason yet on why he wouldn't like you!" he gently nudged her shoulder. "Just be yourself, it's not too difficult."
But that was the thing; she couldn't be too much of herself or she might mess up the future, which was something she couldn't afford. She would deeply regret if she went back to the future and found her friends gone from existence because of a stupid action she did. She could not be herself, but at least she could be the super careful version of herself. But then again, it never hurt to try. However, she also knew pretty well that she couldn't create a complete all around flase identity, because the mare knew very well that they would usually end up falling apart at some point.
"Ah, look we're here!" the gray stallion said, inturupting her thinking. The two of them had stopped at the base of a stone tower, one of decent size but not as big as some of the ones the mare had seen in Canterlot. There was a building at the base of the tower as well, and Ember held the door open for the purple alicorn with a bright blue magic. She slowy strode inside and looked around at the room that caught her by surprise.
The room was fairly small, but it was a much grander enterance than she had expected. The floor was a basic marble tile, but there was a rough red rug that started at the front door and went strait back towards another door, one that Twilight guessed led up to Starswirll's chambers. There were two unicorns guarding that door, and the purple mare was catching strong and serious vibes from them. They each were covered with a white cloak, complete with hoods. The outfit looked a little small for both of them, but it might have been because they each had fair muscles. On the right side of the room there were about six rows of bookselves that went from wall to wall. A few lingering unicorns weaved in between the rows, searching for a reading material or making idle chitchat; and a few others sitting at a lone desk reading, their noses deep into books. The other side of the room held what look like a kind of reception desk, which Twilight could see hid something in on the floor. The walls were lined with pilliars as well, but other than that, the marjority of the room was the typical stone, with a few glass windows here and there.
Ember walked over to the reception desk, and slid off his bag. He pulled out a few papers as well as a book, and smiled at the purple maned unicorn. "I'm going to run upstairs and give these things to Starswirll, and let him know that you are here to see him. Depending on what he says though, you might not be able see him today. If not, you can surely come tomorrow or a few days from now." The purple unicorn nodded at the stallion. "You can also look at the books if you would like, Clover." Twilight glanced to the right of her, smiling at the shelves. The purple unicorn gave him a happy glance, and trotted over to the book case. She watched him from the corner of her eye as he walked to the second door, and with a nod, he began to trot up some stairs.
Her heart was beating a little faster with the increased amount of anticipation. She didn't know what was going to happen when the two unicorns met. She was excited to meet him, but she was also scared. What if he found out that she was an alicorn, and not actually a unicorn? What if he says that he is not able to teach her? What if he finds out she's not from this time? Would he Send her back? She was thinking too much, so she sat down. What ever happens, she will have to deal with.
Starswirll was sitting silently infront of his window, gazing up at the pattern of the few clouds in the sky. It looked like the pegasus ponies were planning rain soon, but hopefully it would not be too much. A small hint of the smell of rain caught the air as it blew through his window, which made the unicorn believe even further that rain would soon fall. The stallion closed his eyes as a second gust of wind, this one stronger than the first, swept through the window. A quick surge of energy followed the gust, and from the vibes he knew that another unicorn had entered the building. In fact, from what he coudl tell, it was probably one of the strongest unicorns that he has felt in a while. The only question was this new unicorn's intentions.
He took a deep breath as he heard hoofsteps coming up his stairs towards his chambers, and figured that his assistant had returned safely. "Welcome back, Ember. Did you get everything that I asked?" The gray-blue stallion mumbled calmly.
The gray and red unicorn gave a somewhat startled nod, though Starswirll was not looking at him. "Yes, I got the book you asked for, as well as another letter from the unicorn princess."
The white-maned stallion stood up and turned to face the younger colt with curious eyes. "Could you read it please? I've been getting a peculiar feeling about the royal family members lately, and I hope that the feeling is directed at something on the brighter side."
Ember nodded. "Of course." he took out the letter, and levitated it with his magic while he cleared his throat.
"Dear Starswirll, I hate having to tell you that my mother, and the current queen, has greatly fallen ill. She has been ordered by the doctors that she is to stay in bed until she is better. Because of this, I have taken rule over the kingdom until she recovers. It has also come to my attention that you have requested a few royal spells, those which require a strong amount of magical ability. While I would be more than happy to give you the spells, I regret to inform you that the book that contains these spells are locked away in the cave behind the castle, due to a risk of them possibly being stolen. This cave is also the home to a dragon, one that only listens to my mother. I would venture into the cave myself, but that dragon hardly even notices me and if something happened to me, the kingdom could wind up without a ruler. But until then, I wish you well. Your princess, Platinum."
The gray-blue unicorn looked at his apprentice. "Interesting. I must think about this letter... leave it on my desk, please," and Ember did so. Starswirll also noticed a definite scratch on his friend, and with a golden flash, he was able to make it heal with in a matter of seconds. Ember had opened his mouth to thank him, but Starswirll nodded and prevented him from saying a word.
"I also have a feeling that you are here to see me for another reason, am I correct?" Starswirll asked.
"Yes. There is a unicorn here to speak with you. She calls herself Clover, and claims that she has a desire to learn from you...as an apprentice."
A small sly smile curled onto the Older pony's lips. He had tried to take on two apperentices in the past, and both had ended up leaving him. His first apprentice realized that his magical abilites were not able to keep up with the spells and things he was learning, and the second ended up being a spy for a group of ponies who did not like how Starswirll was so naturally talented. Perhaps this new mare would be the apprentice that he was looking for.
Ember, however, was not an apprentice. He was an assistiant, and would do things like deliver letters or arrange certian meetings. Ember was also the spell-caster's closest friend. He did not get out of his tower too often, since he was usually so involved in the types of magic.
"I look forwards to meeting her; you can send her up." Ember bowed his head at his mentor, and walked back down the staircase. Starswirl glanced around his room, making sure it was at least somewhat tidy. The alchemist station was in one corner of the room, sitting and not being used. Next to that on the left was large bookshelf that covered the entire wall. There was a maple desk underneath the window he was gazing through earlier, though on the desk and around it there were several scrolls and books. A large bed was in the opposite corner of the room, with a nightstand to match. There was a single other door that led to a restroom as well.
The room was comfortable and perfect for studies, and it wasn't messier than usual. Sometimes when he followed an idea his room would turn upside down so he would be able to keep a hold on it. He hadn't had one in a while, so his room was fine. The last one he had was when he was working on some healing magic. He had an idea to create a fast working healing spell, one that would work much faster than the older spells that were used; Spells that would make a wound take at least a week to heal. However, that instance was about a month ago.
He swished his tail as Ember returned with a mare close on his heels. She was wearing a simple brown tunic that covered all but her front legs and her face, and it's fabric would gently brus the ground every time she took a step. Despite the fact this unicorn seemed so simple, or so ordinary, Both of the stallions in the room knew very well that she was not. Her aura was immensly powerful, almost to the point where the three auras combined almost overwhelmed the room. Starswirll had not come across a unicorn like this in sometime. He could only think of two other unicorns off of the top of his head with an energy so strong, The queen and an old friend of his.
Starswirl had caught himself staring at her, and this new mare was staring right back at him. He could see out of the corner of his eye that Ember was shifting his weight on his hooves out of discomfort and glancing at both of the two unicorns, So the gray and red stallion cleared his throat.
"I'll leave you two be for now. I'll be up again in about an hour to check on things if she has not left your chambers," he said subtly as he turned, and headed back down the stone staircase.
After Ember had left the pair, the purple unicorn slowly removed her hood from her head, and gave a shy smile. The mare's cheeks had turned a little pink, but she gave off vibes that said she was just excited to see him.
"Hi, mister Starswirl, I am, uh, Clover, and I jus-" the new unicorn began. The blue wizard quickly but calmly cut her off.
"Yes, I know why you are here," He stated with a smile. "Ember mentioned that you had a desire to learn from me, yes?"
Clover gave a nod, so he continued.
"I have taken on only two apprentices in the past, and unfortunetly both of them have left my side." He took a step closer to her. "However, I have not come across another unicorn with such strong a magic in a great deal of time, nor have I had them wish to learn things from me." He paused, which caused the other unicorn to perk her ears a little bit, like had been holding her breath. "If i take you on as an apprentice, I do not know how much my talents shall be of benifit to you," he paused, almost for effect, "but then again, I also do not know how much magic you know currently."
The mare swallowed. "Is there something I could do to show you? Perhaps take an exam or something?" Her voice had become a little more shaky, for she was definetly nervous on this newest topic.
He smiled again. "That is actually not a bad idea, Clover. But it might take me a moment for me to-"
He paused, which caught Clover off guard. The letter. I might be able to have her retrive that Book that I need.
He closed his eyes and thought for a moment. Depending on how tough that dragon might be, it could be the perfect test for her. Yes, I will take her on as my apprentice if she can retrive that book for me.
"I have an Idea, Clover." He walked over to the letter that was still resting on his desk, and skimmed it over again with his eyes. "I think that the perfect challenge for you would be to get me a book that I need."
"A ...book?" She asked, confused. Starswirll understood why she might be though.
The white-maned stallion nodded. "Yes, though this book is guarded by a dragon, one that will only listen to our Queen. However, she has fallen ill, and I am of in need of that book as soon as possible." Starswirll saw Clover open her mouth like she was going to ask something, but the mare's mouth quickly closed.
"The book contains a unique array of spells that I have a desire to learn and study; Spells that might effect our nation forever. " He explained. It was true. That Book that he so strongly desired contained many things that only the royal eyes had been able to see, and for the first time in forever another unicorn, not of royal blood, was able to try these spells. He would be able to do what no unicorn has done before, and he would be proud.
"In case you don't know where the dragon's cave is, I can most likely get Ember to take you, if you would like," He offered. "I would take you myself, but I do have somethings here that I must study; ones cannot leave my attention so abruptly." He actually just had to write back to the princess and then send a pony to deliver it. He might also decide to work on a spell to see if it could heal the queen.
The mare had not spoken for a few moments, but it very well seemed as though she was following the situation along quite well. She didn't not even seem scared, infact, she seemed a little excited about the mission. Starswirll flicked his tail, and huffed a little sigh. She seems like she would be a good student, he thought to himself. I just hope she knows what she could face when she reaches the Dragon.
New sounding Footsteps had caught him off guard, and he snapped away form his thinking. He turned his head to face Ember making his way up back up the stairs. His eyes were clearly smiling, though his mouth had not moved at all. It was almost like Ember knew what was going onthe whole time.
"Ember, I have given Clover here the task of fetching me my book," Starswirll explained, "Though I would like for you to be her guide and take her to that cave." He walked closer to his gray-pelted friend, and whispered in his ear so that Clover wouldn't overhear. "I want you to study what she does, examine her movements and the spells that she uses along the way." Ember was starting to back away from the closeness, but Starswirll wrapped his hoof around his arm. "And try to contain yourself around her, please. Don't get too many crazy ideas while you are gone."
Ember's cheeks had turned a little red from the last comment, and huffed an awkward sigh.
With a nod, Starswirll turned to Clover and let his friend's arm go. "Clover, I leave you in Ember's hooves, and I cannot wait to hear about your adventure with the dragon when you return." He flicked an ear, signaling them to leave. "I shall see you both with in a few days, with the book."
He watched the pair begin to walk down the steps, before he turned towards the letter. He read it over again with quick eyes and smiled. Soon, I shall have the Book and a list of spells that I desire, as well as a new apprentice. Things could not be going better.
Author's Note
I really don't like making chapters noticeably shorter that the previous, especially since the Prolouge was kind of Long.
The First Steps
Twilight began to make her way down the stair staircase, Ember right in front of her. A lingering smile was still on the purple pony's face, and the excitement that radiated from the mare was enough to make anypony happy.
"My first task!" She thought to herself in her head. "I should be able to take care of the dragon, but it won't exactly be easy. She gave a little skip as she reached the bottom of the stairs. "I can do this, I'm sure of it!" Laughter in front of her cut off her happy thoughts.
"You are sure excited about this, aren't you?" Ember asked, a giggle in his tone. He was smiling too, and he was certainly amused with Twilight's reactions.
"I haven't been this excited since the time I got my Cutie Mark!" Twilight exclaimed.
"Well, that's very good to hear, Clover." He cleared his throat. "We should make a quick little stop at my place before we head out, just so we can get a few things for the trip."
Twilight Nodded. "Yes, I agree, That would probably be a good idea, especially if it will take a while to get where ever it is that we are going."
"The cave just a little north of the Capital," He added quickly. "And in any case, It's about a three to five day walk, depending on how well you manage your time, though sometimes it's even less if you don't stop at night." Ember explained. "It should give us good enough time to know each other."
Twilight cheeks flushed pink, mainly because she felt uncomfortable. He had just met her, and he was already trying to make a move on her? "Geesh. He could have contained his thoughts a little longer." She thought to herself.
Ember had watched her blush uncomfortably, and he tried to fix it. "Well, not in that kind of way, you know, unless you would like for it to be that way," He pondered. Twilight gave him a disapproving look. "But I can see you don't! I just thought that since we will both be doing things for Starswirll, er, well, you'll be learning from him, but, It would be good to know each other a little bit, right?"
Twilight stuck out her tongue, but didn't look at the stallion. His rambling still wasn't helping much.
"Right?" Ember asked again.
Twilight only flicked her ear in response. She had gotten used to colts and a few mares hitting on her before, and she's been getting better at being able to turn them down. The first few times she didn't like turning them down, mainly because she didn't like to make others feel bad. Celestia had helped guide her though, which made things easier. The only thing different about this stallion was that he didn't know she was a princess. That was often the first reason ponies hit on her in the first place.
"Well, in any case, we're here." Ember said, looking at a row of houses, all squished together. Most of these houses looked the same, but some were better cared for than others. Ember walked up to the one door that had a small, rectangular box of flowers hanging from the window above the door.
Twilight followed him in, and she sighed. The door had opened to a stone hallway with a wooden floor, one that would sometimes creak when you would take a step. There were a few paintings up on the wall, some done very well of a particulary large family, and a few others more random paintings that looked like they had been done by a foal or two. They brought Twilight's mind back to her younger years, and they made her smile as she studied them.
Ember had called down the house to his family to let him know that he had arrived, if they didn't hear it from the door banging against the hinges as it closed. Twilight had eventually pulled her attention away from the paintings and walked into a little living room, one that was connected to a little kitchen. She Was looking at the simple chandelier that hung from the ceiling, when she head loud, stomping hoofsteps flying down a staircase behind a wall that was on her right. She turned her head just in time to sea a small little colt fly from the staircase towards Ember.
Ember had raised his hooves just in time to catch the smaller unicorn, and then he tossed him back up into the air, then proceeded to catch him again and give him a heartfelt hug. He was adorable, and he looked so much like the colt he had jumped on. His pelt was a slightly darker gray though, and his mane was more brown than red.
"I'm glad you're home brother! Mom just started making supper!" The little colt said, a happy tone in his voice.
"Oooh, What is she making?" Ember asked him, a smile on his face.
"Dandelion Stew! Your favorite!" The small foal yelled, raising his hooves in the air as he talked.
More hoofsteps came down the stairs, and while they were on the louder side, they weren't stomping. Twilight blinked her eyes several times at the two teenaged mares that stood on the staircase. They each had a pale gray coat, and a red-violet mane that was pulled to opposing sides in a braid. They were perfectly identical, other than how their hair was braided and their cutie marks. One of them looked at Twilight, and spoke in a flat tone, "It looks like Ember brought a mare-friend home."
The three new ponies turned and looked at Twilight, whom she gave a shy smile to. She looked at Ember, whom she was expecting to introduce her to his family.
Just at that moment, a white mare with a purple mane walked into the room, a little smile on her face. She was mixing a bowl of something green intently with her blue colored magic. While she had age lines around her mouth and eyes, she looked very cheerful. Her mane was pulled back into a somewhat messy bun, and an apron had been tied around her body. In all honesty, she reminded Twilight of an older version of Rarity, and seeing the mare pulled at Her heart strings. She and Rarity were probably the closest friends in her group of friends, and other than maybe Rainbow Dash. This was only because the three of them were all located around Canterlot.
"Oh Ember, You should introduce us to your friend that you have brought home," the older mare said with a humble smile.
Ember put down his brother, and cleared his throat. "Clover, this is my family," He ruffled the mane of his young brother, and he told his name. "This is my youngest brother, Frenzy." He then pointed to the two mares still standing on the staircase. "These are my sisters, Nova and Eclipse." they blinked their green eyes simultaneously, revealing that their eyelids were colored with a charcoal eyeshadow. "And this mare by the kitchen, is my mother, Moonglow." He walked over to the old mare stirring the bowl, and gave her a little side hug. "And family, this is Starswirll's soon to be apprentice, Clover."
"It's nice to meet you," The twins said together. The two mares were starting to give Twilight little goosebumps on the back of her neck.
"The only family members who aren't here is my Husband, Charcoal, and our oldest son, NightWatch." Moonglow noted.
"My brother is a guard for the Queen and princess, and my father is a traveling trader." Ember explained. "Our family might be a little on the bigger side, but we love each other and we can surely deal with difficulties when they arise." It was true, they were a family of seven. It kind of reminded Twilight of the Apple family, but even then, most of the Apples didn't live under one roof, since there were so many of them.
"Clover!" Frenzy shouted. He ran up to her and hugged her leg. "Are you my brother's special-somepony?" He asked. Most of his family was probably wondering the same thing.
"No, No," Twilight started, "He and I are just friends right now."
"Then why are you here?" He asked.
"Well, we have to go on a long trip," Twilight explained.
"Why?"
"Because Starswirll asked us too. "
"Why?"
"Because he wants us to get something for him." Twilight flicked her ear in slight annoyance of the young colt.
"Why?"
Ember stepped into the conversation as Moonglow walked back into the kitchen. "Because it's just what he needs, Frenzy. When somepony needs something, you shouldn't ask why."
Frenzy gave a little, "Okay," before trotting off through the kitchen. The twins rolled their eyes, and finished walking down the stairs before sitting themselves down on a couch that was sitting in the living room.
Ember smiled at Twilight. "I am going to run upstairs and grab a tent and a few blankets. I will grabs some things for you as well. You can make yourself comfortable on the couch, if you would like. I shouldn't be long."
"Are we staying for your family's supper?" Twilight asked, curious. She hasn't eaten in a while, and her time travel earlier almost entirely ruined her appetite. However now that she had been approached with the option of food, she was pretty hungry.
"Sure, If you want. My mom has a tendency to make extra," He said with a little nod. He flicked his tail, and then ran up stairs.
Twilight turned to face the twins, and was taken aback to see them giving her a disappointed looking glance. Actually, the longer they looked at her, the more they reminded her of Pinkie's sister, Maud, just duplicated twice.
"You do know you can take off your cloak, right?" One twin asked, whom Twilight guessed could have been Eclipse, because of the cutie mark seen on her flank. It was of a 3 quarters Red moon, or a lunar eclipse. The other mare had a cutie mark that was of a solar eclipse. Though now that she shout about it, either of them could have been Eclipse.
"Yes, It's not going to rain in our house, " The other twin said, in a similar tone.
"Though you never know, It could rain today," Eclipse said, looking at her sister.
"But whether or not it will rain in our house is the question." Nova said, also turning to her twin.
"It shouldn't."
"But it could."
They turned to look back at Twilight, who was staring at them awkwardly.
"Sorry, sometimes we can be a little overwhelming." They said, simultaneously.
"Though you haven't exactly answered us," Eclipse pointed out to Twilight.
"Yes. Why not remove your cloak?" Nova asked.
Twilight could only sigh, until she noticed the unicorn's auras. They were almost exactly the same, giving off the same vibes. If she was blind, she probably would have thought that they were just one large pony. She just hoped that dinner would be over soon so that she might be able to escape the turquoise eyes of these two ponies.
Frenzy walked back out of the kitchen and called for his sisters to help with something, so Twilight was left alone in the room. She took the time to observe it, from corner to corner. The couches were of a material she didn't exactly recognize, but it was definitely comfortable. A rug lay on the floor beneath the furniture, one with a simple but also elaborate design or swirls and diamonds. A little brown coffee table sat in the center of the room, and a little vase of daisies was set atop of it. There was a small bookshelf set in one corner, and there was a small fireplace in another. The home was cozy and looked like it would be good for a small family, but probably not a family as big as theirs.
She heard hoofsteps walk down the stairs again, and she smiled at Ember carrying a somewhat bigger bag of things. He tripped at the bottom of the stairs, and Twilight had taken a step forwards to save him, but it was too late. He fell face first on the wooden ground, his bag landing on top of him. He gave a depressed moan, and then Twilight helped him up. She removed the bag from the top of his head, and he laughed.
"Sorry, I lost my footing," Ember explained, blushing.
"You should be a little more careful. You do that too often and you could get seriously hurt," Twilight commented.
"I know, I just... Uh," He swished his tail, and he gave a sigh. "Um, Sorry."
"It's alright. So what did you get?" Twilight asked, trying to stray away from the conversation that was starting to grow more awkward.
"Oh yeah!" He picked up his bag that Twilight had set aside, rustled through it. "I brought the largest tent we had, as well as a mat for sleeping and several blankets. It might get cold, so It's better to be safe rather that sorry."
"It sounds good. That should be everything we need, other than food." Twilight replied.
"Well I did also grab a map. I usually know how to navigate well, but it's mainly just for after we get to Everfree."
"Everfree?" Twilight asked. He used the same name that Twilight new from the dark forest just outside of Ponyville. If the forest hadn't always been there, it could change a lot.
"Yes, the Capital," Ember said, rather slowly, like he was confused. "It's been our capital for many years now, surely you knew that?"
"Yes, I knew that," Twilight shot out. She needed to act like she at least knew what he was talking about.
"Alright. We could probably stop there for a night if we wanted to, at least, just before we have to go and face that Dragon. "
Twilight shrugged. "If we need the rest there, then sure. We'll see what time of day we get there."
"Well, yes, though I-" He was cut off by his mother.
"Ember! Clover! Supper is ready!" Moonglow had called from the kitchen.
Twilight smiled, and walked through the kitchen, missing the disappointed look that Ember had given. They walked through the kitchen to a table set for six, and seeing the dishes set on the table made Twilight's stomach growl even more. There was a bowl of Dandelion stew resting on the table, but there was also a plate of hayrolls and a colorful and sweet looking salad placed there as well. The twins were set next to each other, and Moonglow was on one side of the table, and Frenzy to her right. Twilight sat down across from her, carefully making sure that her cloak was still covering her wings.
Ember had sat down to her left, a smile on his face. Twilight could tell that he was hiding something though, and it was almost dissettling. His aura was not what it had been a few moments ago, and it felt like he was trying to push those vibes away. Twilight's attention was pulled away from him as the unicorns said a quick little prayer, and then got into their food.
Twilight had taken some of the salad as well as the stew, and she had to admit that it was probably one of the most interesting things she had tasted, but she loved it, and it was probably one of the best things she had tasted in a while. When she finished her serving, she went on to the stew, which was just as equally delicous. She ate her roll as well, and she would sometimes take a peice and dip it into the warm broth.
Before long they had finished their meal, but then Moonglow had broughten out some kind of pudding, and it too, was delicious. It was vanilla, yes, but it had small peices of cherries mixed with in it, and there was surely some honey in it too.
After they had finished their meal, Ember had given Twilight a bag, and they took a few bags of food with them, including carrots, apples, spinach, and some green beans. They were pretty much set out, so they did.
When they left Ember's family's house, the sun was halfway behind the horizion. The colors were warming and comforting, until Twilight thought about princess Celestia. She would be without her for a very long time, and she wouldn't be able to ask for advice from her in anyway. But apon thinking about the sun princess, Twilight also began to wonder how the sun and moon were raised. If the princesses were not here, who did it? Surely it wasn't a single unicorn; one alone wouldn't be powerful enough to do so. The only thing that even remotely made sense was if every unicorn helped raise it.
Ember commented on the sun, taking twilight aback. "We should probably help with raising the moon here shortly."
Twilight looked at him, and asked, "When do you know when to do so?"
Ember smiled. "The clock tower chimes, remember? It's the only way that all of the unicorns will help."
Twilight nodded. "Right." She was probably beginning to act a little dumbfounded around him, mainly because she didn't know most of the things they were talking about, like their capital city, or even how they remembers to raise the sun and moon. She had actually even forgotten that they had even done so until the last conversation.
They made their way west, and they were following the sun's path. They were about a halfr of a mile outside of town when the sun dissapeared behind the horizion. they could somewhat hear the clock echoing behind them, and they knew that it was time to raise the moon.
They stopped on their path, and Twilight watched as Ember's horn glowed brightly with his magic. Ever so slowly, the moon began float from behind the same horizion line. Twilight only focused on that glowing white orb, and concintrated all her magic in to raising that moon as she joined her partner. Right after she did so, the moon started to move slightly faster, and she knew this was because she was an alicorn.
Her powers had grown since she had become an alicorn, which made her maximum magical abilities increase so much more. While she didn't have enough power as the royal sisters who were born alicorns, Twilight had about half of their magical abilities.
As soon at the moon had reached a high enough point in the sky, Twilight and Ember let their magic fade away. Ember looked drained of his magic, while Twilight only looked a little tired. Ember gave his companion a smile, and twilight gave him a nod. They traveled a little farther, about another half mile, before they finally set up their tent, and lay down to sleep.
Author's Note
I wanted to throw some back ground about Ember in there,
And don't worry, There will be action coming soon enough. :)
Starswirll had grabbed a small amount of things almost right after the sun had risen. He knew that he should probably make his way over to Everfree and see the queen as well as the princess. He knew that he would have to be quick, so he could beat the pair there and back.
He grabbed his blue cloak, the one with a hood. If it was supposed to rain soon, it would surely be useful. He didn't bother to bring a tent with him, because he knew that he wasn't going to stop. All he had with him was the letter, his cloak, and a small supply of food. He left his building with his head held high, leaving his two guards to close the tower and to take the weekend off. One of them had asked to accompany him, but he declined. He knew that he could handle himself.
He had only made it a quarter mile out of town when he felt raindrops on his back. He couldn't help but smile. Unlike most unicorns he actually liked the rain, because he found it soothing, and the noise it usually made was also rhythmic and comforting. However, it always wasn't the best thing when it was raining buckets.
He passed a tree on his left, and he spotted a traveler's wagon perched underneath it. He looked at it for a few moments, trying to recall when that wagon had been there. It wasn't there last week, nor had it been before. Perhaps it was the wagon that Clover had come in, but his questioning was stalled as rain was picked up. He didn't exactly want to get soaked, so he walked over to the wagon, and gently knocked on the door, seeing if anypony was inside. A few seconds had passed before a small red muzzle poked out from the crack in the door.
"What do you want? We're not preforming right now, so you can leave," She said in a brisk tone, and then shut the door in his face.
He proceeded to knock on the door again, and this time she answered right away.
"I said to leave! what part of 'we aren't preforming' don't you understand?" She was sour and sharp, and clearly didn't like visitors. This time when she had opened the door, Starswirll had quickly noticed a little golden chain on the door, which prevented her from opening it all the way.
Starswirll had quickly placed his hoof in the door, and took on the pain in his hoof as she once again tried to close it. He could now see the mare's face. She had a scar on one eye, but it was covered by a a strapless eye patch. Her visible eye had beautiful golden irises, and her long Black mane almost touched the floor. But the biggest shock to him was the fact that she had no horn. This meant that she was either an Earth Pony or a Pegasus.
She looked up at him with scared and angry eyes, and he lowered his ears in sympathy.
"All need to ask is for a little shelter, just until this rain lightens." He looked back behind him. "And if you can't offer shelter, then perhaps you have an umbrella I could use?"
There was a low mumble that was heard from inside the wagon, and the Mare had turned to look behind her to listen to something. She muttered something in another language, one that even Starswirll didn't understand. She eventually turned to look at him again, and after a look up and down, She closed the door again.
He frowned at first, until he heard clicking behind the door. She opened the door all the way, and cautiously let him inside. What he saw greatly surprised him. He saw that the mare he was talking to was a pegasus. The lower voice he had heard earlier was an Earth Pony, and there were two unicorn ponies, a male an a female, asleep on a bed. However they looked almost Identical, so Starswirll was right to suspect that they were twins.
He looked up at the pegasus mare, and expected an explanation. All three types of ponies didn't get along at all, and they were rarely even caught giving another so much as a sideways glance. So the fact that these three ponies were living together confused him a great amount. They didn't look at even closely related, so that option was probably out. The only mare that had visible injuries was also the pegasus, so the possibility that they might have been fugitives or something was very slim. His thoughts about the group were interrupted by the earth pony, who had a rather low voice.
He was a golden yellow stallion, though his hooves were green under the yellow wisps of hair that dangled from his ankles. His mane was also two shades of green, and from what Starswirll could see he had blue eyes. He tried to see the stallion's cutie mark, but he was unable to do so with out being awkward.
"Are you going to report us?" The stallion asked.
The mare cursed at him in the language she had spoken earlier, and then rolled her eyes. Starswirll only grown more confused, until he was able to realize what the language was. He recognized it as Runaeic. It was very close to a dead language, and while he himself had been able to read most forms of the language, he had only been able to sound out a few syllables, because he knew that most of the syllables were very complex and not at all like the language that everypony else spoke.
Starswirll had raised an eyebrow and looked back to the mare again. "Where did you two learn how to speak Runaeic?" Starswirll asked, almost ignoring the yellow stallion's question.
The mare had lowered her ears and her eyes had grown narrow. "How did you? " she countered.
Starswirll wasn't even affected by her reaction. "I am a very knowledgeable unicorn scholar, thus I have studied a few other languages other than my own."
The two ponies exchanged a glance with each other, before the stallion asked, "So you know what we are saying?"
"While I can read the language like it was my own, I cannot speak it effectively." Starswirll replied honestly.
They nodded, and then The pegasus sighed. "My name is Tornado, or Torn for short. I am the daughter of the high Commander Hurricane. The yellow stallion is Forest, and the twins sleeping on the couch are Sugar and Plum." She had explained.
If this pegasus was truly the daughter of the pegasus commander, then something strange had happened. It was not known to any unicorn that he had a child, with any of his three wives that he had over the years. And the fact that she was living with these other ponies that were not of her race.
"Well, how did you end up coming to be with these other ponies?" Starswirll asked her, as well as the rest of the group.
She closed her eye and walked over to the couch that forest was resting on, and she sat next to him.
"I was patrolling one day on the lowest sector of our city. I had only one other stallion with me, a close friend. On our patrol, we had come across the twins, Sugar and Plum. We watched them, as they were clearly nervous. There were noises in the distance, so we had figured that they were being chased. I watched as the two of them panicked, and then they cast a spell of some kind on themselves. They helped each other onto the clouds, and that was when I sent my patrol partner to get reinforcements. I flew closer to them, and saw that they had possession of a valuable pegasus artifact that was supposed to have been owned by our first leader. But they had not stolen it from us, they had stolen it from the unicorn government that had stolen it from us."
"I confronted them about it carefully, And they explained that they stole it because not only did it never belong to the unicorns, but they also wanted to prove to themselves and to others that they could steal anything. seeing what they had did and with their reasoning, I decided to bring them to my father to have them personally return the artifact. The troops that my partner had called joined us at this time, and the help in the escorting."
"When we met my father, while he was relieved and thankful, he also knew that these ponies had trespassed onto pegasus land, even if they were doing the pegasai a favor. He put them in prison, practically starving them. I took on pity on them after about a week or so, so I devised a plan to help them escape. In doing so was when I had damaged my eye, since things didn't go entirely according to plan."
"Since the three of us were running from our countries, we fled to a little house on the edge of the earthpony's country. We hid in the attic, and we stole some of the homes goods so that we might stay alive."
She turned and looked at Forest, who would continue the story. "Yes, I had discovered that my food garden was being taken from, and the evidence showed that it wasn't stray rabbits or other forest animals. This went on for several weeks, so one day I decided to get to the bottom of it. After digging through my house, I had finally found the three of them hiding in my attic. I had been told many bad things about pegasai and unicorns, but after finding them scared and in such poor of condition, I decided to care for them until their health had returned to normal and then allow them to leave in peace. How ever, as their health grew, so did my kindness for them. I felt bad that I would have to throw them back out into the wilderness, especially since winter was approaching at the time. So I had changed my mind, and told them that I would allow them to stay in my house, as long as they helped me with my farm work. They agreed, and both of us kept our promise."
"But my friends were growing suspicious that I was hiding something in my house, something that was not meant to be there. They were asking to come over more and more often, and they found it suspicious because I was usually very social and would never turn people away from a get-together at my house, at least until the three of them showed up. I declined more ponies away, and my friends actually threatened to have my house searched by the government if they weren't allowed over. It was ridiculous."
He cleared his throat, and looked at the twins as one let out a loud snort, and the other had rolled so much that half of her body was hanging off of the bed they were laying on.
"I decided to sell my house, and I was thankful that it was sold rather quickly. I bought this wagon that we are in now, and we left to another city. We have been roaming around the countries for a while, living on the outskirts of cities. If we are ever met with militia, then we tell them that we are traveling performers that wear costumes. It usually works, but in one case that it hasn't, we had to preform a few stunts to get them to leave us alone." He smiled, and look at the three other ponies.
"In fact, staying and living with these ponies has changed my opinion on them, and I know they are not as bad as we are told they are, or at least some of them aren't." Tornado smiled in agreement. "I'm very thankful that I have met them, and that we have become friends."
Starswirll nodded once. It was very different seeing all three races living together, but it was actually quite a nice site to see. It was a change from the hateful stares or turned up noses in disgust every time one race would see another that was not themselves. If this was what living with other races would turn into, then perhaps something needed to be changed. But that was easier said that done, especially since some are more hateful than others. The only way he saw a way that they might join would be if there was a leader to represent all three of them., but as far as he knew, there was no pony like that, and simply breeding them together would not work either.
"What did you say you needed again, by the way?" Forest asked, though he was looking at the one twin who was so close to falling out of the bed and landing on the ground.
"Oh, well I was looking for shelter until the rain lightened, or to perhaps have an umbrella to use in the rain. Even though my cloak has a hood, after some time in the rain I will get soaked anyways, most likely ruining the context of things in my bag."
"You should have thought about bringing an umbrella before you left," Tornado said, as she walked over to a small bag and pulled out a blue umbrella. She handed it to him, and smiled. "You take care now, alright? A handsome stallion like you shouldn't be risking his life too much."
Starswirll blushed a little bit, and then gave a thankful nod. "Thank you for letting me borrow an umbrella, and it was nice to meet both of you. I wish you well on your endeavors."
And with that, he turned and went to walk out the door. The rain had lightened a small amount, but it was still on the heavy side. He gave a nod to the ponies behind him, and as the door closed, he could hear the unicorn fall onto the wagon, and then a yelp quickly followed.
He put up the umbrella, and began to follow his path. Only two hours had passed, so he still had time to pass Ember and Clover if he was quick. he knew that he would pass them at night, since they were farther ahead. He kept walking, the clicking of his hooves turning into a melody as he stepped on the gravel road, which only added to the pitter-patter of the rain against his umbrella. He hummed to himself as he walked, creating a little song as he went along his way. It was the best way from him to make his long journey a shorter one.
