Chapters Star Waltz, just an old unicron who lives alone in his house in Mustangia. Once an aspiring scientist, now a insane hermit. Ponies say that when gray streaks started to show in his mane and creases in his skin formed, he retired and locked himself in his house. He keeps his house in shape and uses his retirement funds to pay his taxes, so he is not officially classified for insanity by the state. Mustangia is a good size town around the size of Ponyville. Everypony knows each other. Star Waltz has lost his family under the flow of time. He had friends, but he abandoned them. The only time anypony ever sees him is when he gets food from the market. When he is out the house he never talks outside of incorhearnet mumbles under his breath. He passes by everypony as if they don't exist. Star Waltz, just an old unicorn who lives a sad existence. Or is he?
***
How the old days were so grand. The days when his bones didn't ache, when his mane was its most black, when his coat was bright red and smooth. Now his mane has grayed and his coat has dulled. His skin is starting to wrinkle. His parents have passed away and brother took his foals and moved to Fillydelphia. He never was interested in relationships. Now he's too old for mares. He was a scientist, but never did nothing of note. The blue beaker he has for cutie mark had never pulled through for him. Now he had to retire for his green eyes are failing him and he can't properly read his scrolls without aid. Now death is the only thing left for him.
So is the poor existence of Star Waltz. He is on the road to destruction and ruin. The salt on the wound is that he knows nopony will care. Nopony will remember him. Not everypony can leave a legacy like Starswirl The Bearded. Five hundred years down the drain and only about twenty years expected to be left. It wouldn't be so bad if he could be sure about what happens after death. Internal bliss in the sun, being a foal and playing on Luna's playground on the moon, reincarnation, or nothing but expiration. The former two are very desirable. Reincarnation is not ideal. The fact that he would go through growing up again is bone chilling for him. What would he come back as? A poor pony? Will he have disabilities? Will he change genders? Will he come back as a pony? Or even an intelligent creature? He will never see his family again. Though, it's still better than simply expiring. The alicorn sisters never confirmed or denied any of these theories. They say they won't speak on matters they haven't experienced. If only he knew.
Over the years, he grew to resent the only thing he hates, time. The flow of time to be precise. Everything grows old and is forgotten under its withering flow. Time shouldn't be a currency, but that's how one must treat it as. He has to spend his time wisely. He can't afford to talk with others when he gets food from the market. Everypony wants to waste his time with pointless questions. "How you doing," "How has your day been," "You feeling okay," "You feeling dapper?" are self answering, so what's the point in asking? They should see what he's feeling like by how miserable he looks. Why should they care? They should have lives to live on their own. Why bother him? It's not like he can get more time to spend. There are age spells, but to hire somepony to cast it would cost as much to rent out a guest suite in Canterlot Castle for his remaining life. Something only Fancy Pants and Filthy Rich can afford. Can't get it for free either. He's not a national hero like Princess Twilight's friends. He has no divine lineage like Prince Blueblood or Shining Armor. To cast it himself would take decades of study and centuries of practice. Time he dosen't have. However, he can invest his time.
Time has taken much from him, but he still has one thing left. He still has his mind. Alzheimer's has yet to settle in, but it will eventually. He knows the perfect way to invest in his remaining time. He has heard stories of a world where Princess Twilight Sparkle had traveled to, twice. There are stories that there are higher powers that be present in that world. Perhaps he can contact one and gain more time. Maybe all the time he can ever need or want. He might have to do something in turn, but how hard can it be? It's not like he has anything to lose. What he is doing is the equivalent of spending you last bit on a lottery ticket for a shot at the jackpot. Other than taxes or food, he has been buying materials for his contraption. He heard small details on how Twilight built an artificial portal to the other world. He has been in his basement trying to reconstruct her design. He now has a similar machine. With some more adjustments, he can go directly to the power's realm directly.
He spent the better part of five years working on finding where this power resides. Finally, he thinks he found it. He starts up the machine and the oval metal ring filled with swirling purple magic energy. He looks back at his basement lab and takes in his last breath in Equestria. With his most firm posture, he trots through.
Star Waltz comes out the other side of the portal. He looks around. He's in his basement, but there's none of his lap equipment. He looks back at the portal he came in from and it was gone. He couldn't think of a explanation why he's home. Suddenly, an explosion rocked the ground. He can hear screaming. He galloped up the stairs to the ground floor. He came up to the front door and looked out. He may as well stepped into Tartarus. He saw all of Mustangia ablaze. The sunless sky was dark red through the black smoke. Ponies were running around screaming. When he tried to get their attention, they galloped past completely oblivious to him. He heard somepony call out for help from behind him. He turned around to see the most soul crushing thing he ever had the mispleasure to see.
There was a family of three huddled up against the side of a house and a figure was about to strike them down. The figure looked like Princess Celestia, but it couldn't be, right? The protector of all of Equestria, getting ready to strike a helpless, innocent family was too unreal to him. He yelled at the figure, begging it to stop, but it ignored him and began to charge up its horn with magical energy. Star Waltz lost any care for himself. If he's gonna die, he gonna die helping somepony. He composed himself and shot a magic beam at it. The figure was unfazed by the attack and it turned to him. He braced himself as the figure unleashed its powerful blast. He shut his eyes and waited... waited... waited. He didn't feel anything. Nothing at all. Except for the sudden softness beneath his hoofs.
He opened his eyes and he was not in the same place he was. Looking around, he thought he was in Cloudsdale. However, looking around a little more showed that wasn't the case. After all, he was standing on the clouds without a spell. The clouds felt different as well. Unlike the powdery clouds he had touched before, these were like mist. Steam without the heat. All the light in this place seemed to come from the clouds that made everything. He sensed an undefined amount of energy emitting from all around. He didn't feel anything else. Not even the slightest discomfort. It was blissful, peaceful even. Before he could call out for anything to hear him, a white substance flowed out from the clouds. The substance formed in front of him. The form it took was undefinable. It matched the description he heard of to describe The Tantabus, but is completely solid white. It appears like that it was glowing, but the lack of shadows made it seem just a bright white.
"Impressive" Star Waltz heard in his mind in his own voice. The voice was emotionless and spoke very firmly and clearly.
"H-hello?" he said to the being.
"I'm rather impressed you passed the way you did." it said back to him.
"Passed?"
"The test."
"Test?"
"You want something from me. I needed to know that you're worth the attention. You passed."
"You mean, none of that was real?"
"It is as real as it needed to be. You showed that when put to the test, you would try to help another even at the highest cost."
"Oh, thanks."
"Your thanks is not required. You still want something from me."
"Oh, well, yes I w-"
"I'm not one for bargaining. If you want immortality from me, you will need to dedicate yourself to me."
"How did you know that's what I seek?"
"I am omniscient. I knew everything about you, Star Waltz, the moment you came in my realm."
"And what do you mean, 'dedicate myself to you?'"
"You would need to be in my service if you want something so powerful."
"And what does that entail?"
"It entails a great many things. The best I can have you do is to be a guardian. The only problem is, I am not sure what kind of guardian you can be."
"What kind of things are worthy to be guarded?"
"Things that an intelligent species and a society needs to thrive as that is what my interests are."
"Why is it your interest?"
"I serve as the balance for the world. I'm neither benevolent nor malevolent. A society supports my existence. The guardians keep the elements that keeps a society alive on my behalf."
"Well, I'm good with science, how about the guardian of knowledge?"
"I have a guardian of knowledge already and you do not compare to him. For you to become a guardian you will need to 'think outside the box' as the saying goes."
"What about something from my world? Why not the guardian of my world?"
"A good decision. I expect a level of intelligence from my followers. Your society is a self sustaining one, but it needs to thrive. I see you can protect your world even at the cost of yourself. I approve."
The being moved to side to reveal a marble column that comes to his eye level and is rooted into the cloud ground. He trotted up to it. It had a bowel carved into the center of the column like a bird bath, but much deeper. Two metal handles stuck outside the sides of the top of the column. The bowel is filled with water.
"When you are ready, put both your hooves on the handles. Just a word of warning, this is irreversible and might be rather painful to start."
Star Waltz got on his rear hooves and put his forehooves on the handles. Suddenly, the metal became liquid and formed around his hooves and rooted them in place. Then, several tentacle like appendages made of the same substance that the being is formed from came from the bowel and warped around the back of his head. They pulled his head into the water in bowel and held him there, beneath the surface of the water.
Star Waltz is in a fit of panic. His head remained under the water's surface. As he struggled, air was leaving through his nostrils. His trashing was in vain, for he couldn't break free from the tentacle bindings that still were firmly wrapped around the back of his head. The bindings held his head with remarkable force. The only thing keeping him from being pulled into the bowel was the metal warped around his forehooves. The ordeal was made bizarre for he felt no pain. Despite the unbelievable amount of force his body is being subjected to, he didn't feel the slightest discomfort.
As time passed, Star Waltz started to feel light headed as the water entered his lungs. It didn't burn in the slightest. Rather, it was numbing. Star Waltz stopped resisting as he was in battle with his eyes to remain open. He can feel his heart rate slow. His mind started to shut down as he lost the fight with his eyes. As the seconds tick on by, he started to drift off. He no longer had the capacity to think the most basic of thoughts. He lost consciousness.
***
Star Waltz felt cold. As he warmed up, he opened his eyes. His head was still underwater, but he no longer had the need to breath. He tried to pull his head back, but the bindings were still there. He then forced his head back even harder. Slowly, he felt his face come out of the water. As his eyes got to the surface, the bindings snapped. He flung back at a high speed. The metal around his forehooves shattered. He landed on his back on the cloud ground. He immediately convulsed as his body expelled the water from his lungs.
The ethereal being reached out and tapped his barrel. Suddenly, the water still in his lungs turned into mist and he simply coughed it out. After taking a few breaths, he lost the need to breath. Something else felt off, something on his back. The being spoke to him before he could check it.
"There, it is now over. I can tell it was not that painful." it said to him.
"What did you do to me?"
"A required process. You now have what you wanted, and more."
"And what is that?"
"While I have you bound to me as the guardian of your realm, it will impossible for you to die or to be physically harmed. You need not to sustain yourself. Well, that is not completely honest."
"What do you mean?"
"Your body needs energy to function. It will not kill you, but you will be stuck in a paralyzed state. To get the energy you need will require you to absorb it. It can be a variety of types of energy. Heat and solar can sustain you. However, you want to take in larger amounts of energy to make use of your abilities."
"Abilities?"
"You are capable of certain things. Each guardian has their own set of these abilities. It is up to you to figure your own and familiarize yourself with them."
"Okay, so I can get energy to do great things. How much energy do I need to perform them? Could I just stand outside and get struck by lightning?"
"Different abilities require different amounts of energy; you will just have to find out yourself. Lightning is a good source, but too much energy at once can have dramatic affects on your mind. It can make you insane. Your state of mind is important to control. You must have a balance of your emotions. Too much malevolence, and the power in you can become corrupted. Too much benevolence, and you become too careless. You must be pragmatic, the middle ground of the two."
"Seems simple enough."
"There are a few other things. Do not try to overthrow your monarchs unless they become tyrants, though I doubt that is a possibility. Also, you must not parade my name around. The last time that happened, my followers wared with each other. Just know I have enough followers and I am not interested in more."
"Easy enough."
"One more thing. In exchange for your power, you are unable to sire children or participate in the process of making one."
"I-I understand, umm... what do I refer to you as?"
"I am known by a few names. You can know me as, 'The Lord.'"
"Okay, my Lord"
"Good, now you may return. Have a nice existence."
With a flash, Star Waltz found himself in his basement. Everything is as it should. All his equipment is there. Only one thing felt off, himself. He still had something on his back and he felt, bigger, for some reason. He got to his hooves. He was definitely taller. He decided to look at himself in his bathroom mirror. As he goes to trot up the stairs, his horn hits the top of the stairway's entrance. He feels with his hoof and it was longer. About four times its usual length and ended with a sharp point. He ducks down and makes his way upstairs.
He enters his bathroom. It's a tight fit, but he manages. He looks into the medicine cabinet's mirror. He can see that his vision has improved as he inspects himself. He has grown much. His new size rivals that of Celestia's. His face is alive with the image of youth. His coat a shiny, bright red. His mane is a lively jet black. He looks like he's centuries younger. His cutie mark is unchanged. He turns his attention to the strange feeling on his back. He was blown away by what he found. On his back were a large pair of wings. Once a old unicorn, now a young alicorn. He was truly reborn.
Star Waltz continued to look at the mirror. He kept staring at the alicorn that has replaced him. With some struggle, he unfolded one of his wings until he was limited by the small space of the bathroom. He observed the new feathery appendage in amazement. He traced a hoof and felt the bone structure. The soft feathers remind him of the blankets from a spa he once went to a great number of years ago. He can only wonder how much power he had in him. He wondered what else had changed about him. He lifted his rear leg and was surprised. The Lord really meant it when it said he couldn't procreate. There was nothing but fur and skin. He searched the area and found out that something else that was missing. He became afraid of eating for now there was no place for it to end up. It's as if his coat had became a full outfit that he can't take off.
He continued to stare at himself in the mirror. Soon, a new concern arose in his mind. How will he introduce himself to everypony else? Not only is he a new alicorn, but he's a male alicorn. The first one in history. That moment will be awkward, but inevitable. He leaves the bathroom and goes to head over to his living room, but is stopped by a strange sound coming from his kitchen. He could smell fresh chocolate. That only means one thing, somepony is in his batch of hot chocolate. It's time to see how much more powerful he truly is. He makes his way to the kitchen.
Star Waltz then began to creep to the kitchen and peak around the corner. Sitting in one of his chairs was a creature he did not recognize. Based on its body structure, it's bipedal. Most of its exposed surface is hairless and pale skinned. It's handling its cup of hot chocolate with hands, a appendage he knows minotaurs have. The creature has a trench coat fit for its strange body. The coat is a dark green as well as its uniform pants. It has dark brown leather boots. The only obvious hair Star can see is brown and coming from a garrison cap on the top of its head. It's a tall creature as its legs are too long to allow it to comfortably sit in the chair. It didn't seem to notice him and has its back turned to him.
Star shifted his weight and a creek came from the wooden floor boards. The creature stood up and faced him. It had a toothy smile plastered on its face. It held out it's hand and approached him while saying something in it's deep voice...
"You are Star Waltz, correct?"
"Ye-ye-yes, w-who needs to know?"
"You are the new guardian if I'm not mistaken?" It stopped walking towards him once it was before him. The creature stood up straight and it was indeed tall for it's a few inches higher than the tip of Star's horn, making him about six foot seven, and was very thin. It outstretched its hand to him. Star lifted his hoof to it and it grabbed his hoof and shook it. Star noticed that only its right hand is wearing a black glove. "I thought it would be kind if I met you. It's something the other guardians never did to me when I was initiated. After all, you're the only non-human guardian."
"You're a human? You do kinda look like what was described of them, now that I think about it, but I heard you were supposed to be multicolored like us ponies."
It chuckled, "Hmm, what a strange dimension that would be, but that's not where I'm from."
"So who are you exactly?"
"I'm the guardian of knowledge, the most recent guardian, and the commander of the most powerful military in existence."
"But what's your na-"
"Anyway, I thought I could try to help you to get grasp on a few of your new found powers."
"B-b-bu-, you know what fine, what kind powers will you show me?"
"Well, let's start with an easy one."
"And that would be?"
The fellow guardian took the glove off its hand, revealing that the creases of the palm emitted a white glowing light.
"Now for us human guardians, our palms are the source of most of our abilities. I believe that in your case though, your horn is your source. Anyway, this is a simple ability that all guardians have."
It held its hand out and the glowing light came up like smoke to then take form. The form it took was that of an apple. The whiteness became filled with red and, with a flash, materialized. The created apple fell into the human's awaiting hand.
"Now before you try, we should take it outside for safety reasons."
"How? If we go outside, everypony will see us."
"Leave it to me."
He (going off on the low pitched voice) tossed the apple on the counter and the light from his palm came and in circled the both of them. In the blink of an eye, they were out in the town's apple orchard which is owned by Apple Bumpkin, a member of The Apple Family. It's the first time in many years since Star has been here. The orchard is decayed. The trees are mostly bare and what apples they are bearing are brown and shriveled. The trees themselves have little leaves, that are in poor shape, and all of them just look dead. Their very branches look as if they are unable to support their own weight. The smell of rot is leaving a sour taste in Star's mouth.
"Well this is depressing, isn't it?" His fellow guardian inquired.
"I don't understand, has there been an infestation of vampire fruit bats?"
"Not likely, this appears to be the work of a disease of some kind and by the looks of things, it not recent. I'd say about a year's worth of damage."
"Have I been that distant? This used to be the centre of my town's market structure, now it's gone." The taste of sour in his mouth is getting worse as the rotting smell assaulted his nostrils even though he's not breathing. An idea pops into his head. "Could I use my ability to heal the trees?"
"In time, yes, but not in your current state. You need to practice before you take on all these acres of orchard. You can, however, heal one tree for a start. This one should do." he pointed at one tree in particular, "Here's what you need to do: focus on a image of a healthy tree and try to force the energy through your horn. The energy will try to make the image in your mind and will fix whatever is preventing the object from being what you imaging. Back at your place with the apple, I imagined that an apple was there above my hand and the energy made the particles in the air, as well as the air itself, to form an apple. Now you must keep that image in your mind through the duration of the process. You'll know when it's done when you feel the energy cuts off. You may now begin"
Star stood before the tree and pictures a healthy apple tree in the decrepit one's place. A bead of energy probed from the inside of his skull. He guided it to his horn. The energy sprayed out through his horn like water through a hose. The smoke like, white glowing energy encased the tree. Before the energy cut out though, he lost focus due to the sour in his mouth. When the energy cut out, there wasn't an apple tree there.