The Hero of Magicby BlaringtheyaysChaptersThe First SignMeeting an Old FriendA Normal Canterlot Castle MorningThe First SignTwilight Sparkle, Alicorn Princess of Friendship, was searching the Canterlot Archives for something to read. She’d been invited to stay at Canterlot Castle by Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria alongside her sister Luna. The reason for her stay was still shrouded in mystery as her old mentor had decided she needed to wait until the court was done for the day. This meant that Twilight had nothing to do for two whole hours. She reached her hand out to take a book when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle.” The hand belonged to Princess Luna, Twilight turning to face her. The princess wore a dress almost exactly like her own. It was without sleeves, a dark blue coloring with a white moon in the middle of Luna’s top half. The skirt was a simple dark blue with black linings. She was also wearing two black stockings that started right below the hem of the skirt. Twilight noticed she was wearing nice high heels. “Oh! Princess Luna, what do you need?” Luna returned the bow Twilight gave her, smiling. “Well, Princess Twilight, I thought you would like to join me in my observatory to watch the sky while we wait for my sister.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what she would she in the sky during the day. “Princess, what exactly would we be doing in the observatory? I don’t think we can see stars in the day…” The Princess of the Night simply turned and walked away, Twilight hurrying after her. They walked in silence, the only sound being of their shoes clacking against the clean floor of the castle hallways. It didn’t take long to reach Luna’s Observatory. It was a bit messy, with star charts and papers with new stars and positions all over the place. Twilight walked over to the telescope at the far end of the room, peering into it. She gasped when she saw many stars in the sky. “It’s magic, Twilight.” She heard Luna’s voice from right next to her, startling her. “This telescope is one of the few that can see the night sky during our sister’s day. We use it to plan star formations and meteor showers more efficiently.” Twilight walked around the room, Luna peering through her telescope. Twilight found a recent star chart with a red circle around a specific part of the sky. She picked it up, comparing it to another star chart. There was something very, very wrong. “Uh, Luna? Does the reason Celestia summoned me have something to do with this star chart?” The Lunar Princess looked over at her and nodded, a serious look on her face. “Indeed, Twilight. I found an anomaly in the sky that I couldn’t rectify. When I showed Celestia, she became panicked. It is why she summoned you.” As soon as she said that, the door to the observatory opened, revealing a servant. He bowed, clearing his throat. “Princess Celestia requests your presence, Princesses. She is in the tea room.” The two looked at each other, curious. Celestia shouldn’t be free for a long while. Regardless, the two quickly headed towards the tea room, jogging slightly. They reached the room and quickly entered, closing the door. They froze, seeing Celestia glaring at a copy of Luna’s star chart, hands on her chin. “Sit.” She said forcefully, her wings slightly extended, her stance aggressive. The two did so, silently taking their seats in front of her. “Luna, you weren’t around so you wouldn’t know what this means. Twilight, you’re too young to have ever heard of this.” Her two younger Princesses looked confused. They had no idea what was going on. “The stars have done this before. When they did… a great evil rose from the pits of Tartarus and almost beat me in battle. If it wasn’t for… a good friend, I’d be dead and Equestria would be burning.” Twilight needed a moment to take in the information, but Luna asked straight away. “Sister, what evil do you speak of?” Celestia sighed. The name of that… creature was almost too vile to say. “It’s name is… Azelus…” The room darkened for a moment when she mentioned the name, the air becoming colder. “Even the very air around us recoils at it’s name… It controls darkness itself, capable of wielding magic far beyond even my own. I was able to survive thanks to the Elements of Harmony, their magic shielding me. It didn’t last long, however… It’s magic was just so powerful… it managed to render the Elements useless and back me into a corner. I was sealed off from the sun, some magic spell placed on me severed my connection.” A smile graced her face. “That was when my friend appeared. He blocked a spell from It, surprising the both of us. My friend waged a long and arduous battle against it. He won, he managed to defeat it…But...” Her smile dropped slightly, Twilight placing a hand on Celestia’s from across the table. “He… He only managed to place a temporary seal on it. At the cost of his physical body, which served as a key to lock It into its cell.” Luna glanced down at the star chart. She pointed at it. “And I’m guessing that the stars suddenly changing is a warning that the cell is breaking?” Celestia nodded. “Well… how long do we have?” Celestia opened an old looking notebook, reading a page quickly. “Two years. Maybe less.” The three Princesses fell into silence. Two years was not enough to train. Even with help from the dragons, the griffons, the buffalo… Even then their hopes were bleak. They needed a Hero. One who was strong enough to fight It. Location: ???? Emptiness. That was the first thing the Soul felt. There was nothing, there never was, there never will be. It was alone. It had been for… a long time. Too long. It sometimes felt something nearby and tried to search for it, but in the end, it could find nothing. It eventually gave up looking for the fleeting feeling, deeming it worthless. “Hello.” The Soul panicked. A voice suddenly echoed across the emptiness. It was a soothing voice. “Do not be scared. I am here to guide you. Follow me…” The Soul followed wordlessly. It simply followed the echo, the soothing voice showing it the path. “You are needed. I will give you that which you lost. Use it well, for it will not happen again.” The voice vanished, along with that feeling the Soul felt. It was suddenly replaced by a new yet familiar sensation. Then, as quick as it had come, it vanished. The Soul then… fell. It fell into blackness. After what seemed like forever, light appeared in the distance. The Soul reached the light, a cool breeze brushing against it for the first time in many, many years. It opened it’s eyes, looking around. It was in a forest. It wasn’t dense, letting it see through the many trees that surrounded it. It… no, he, flexed his hands, moving his fingers. Memories… he didn’t have many, just the one, really. A person, pony, whatever it was, with wings of pure white. He stood, wobbling slightly. It was then he noticed his scarf around his neck. It felt… as if his emotions were running through it. He was happy, so the scarf was happy. At least, that’s what he thought as the scarf moved a bit too much for the slight breeze. “Time to explore!” He said to himself, his voice surprising him. It was deeper. At least he thought it was, he didn’t really remember. He began to walk in a random direction, taking his time looking around. Location: Canterlot As Celestia closed the doors to her personal chambers, the talk with her fellow princesses having drained her, she gasped. She felt a powerful magical surge in her chest. She recognised it. It was a feeling she’d never forget. One she never thought she’d feel ever again. She ran to her balcony, scanning the landscape with her brilliant eyesight for any signs of magic output. “Where are you?!” She half shouted out the window, her heart accelerating. Azelus is returning, the Princesses are worried, someone Celestia knows has returned. Keep reading to find out! Author's Note So, new fic. This fic is gonna be long. I made it because I work better when I work on more than one thing at the same time, means I don't get bored. Hope you like it! Meeting an Old FriendThe Soul walked, the forest welcoming his presence. At least that’s what it seemed. Animals followed him, birds sang songs that on any other day they wouldn’t have sang and the trees rustled their beautiful leaves as he passed. The breeze that flowed through the woods spoke a name. Ambrós. It was a familiar name. Was it his? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the case, he decided to take the name as his own, feeling content to finally have a name again after all these years. Not too far from where he was, there was a small town surrounded by a wall, Whitemane. The residents of this city were ponies, although a few humans had taken up residence ever since the human civil war ended a decade before. It was a peaceful place, one that didn’t see much strife, except for the occasional wolf packs getting a little too close to the gates. Two pony guards were standing on the wall, looking out towards the treeline line that was the southern Equestrian border. One of them was tired, his eyes closing as sleep wanted to embrace him. He would not drift off into dreamland, however, as his fellow guard jumped up, eyes focusing on the treeline. He could barely make out a silhouette walking towards the town. He kept his gaze focused on it until the shape of a human became visible. He left his post, his fellow guard simply closing his eyes and beginning to snore. “Who goes there?” The guard said, having waited in front of the gate for the human to arrive. “I am Ambrós. I come from a place far away and am unfamiliar with what Equestria is like nowadays. I simply wish to rediscover what it is like.” The pony eyed the human, a warm, calming sensation filling his body when he looked into his eyes. “Very well, you may enter. Try and stay out of trouble.” Ambrós thanked him, going through the gate as the guard opened it. The streets were bustling with activity, ponies hurrying from place to place, baskets in their hands. Ambrós smiled. It was familiar to him, even though he didn’t have any memories of his life before the Void, the feeling of pony and human presence resonated inside him. From where he was, he saw an inn on the right side of the main street of the town. He walked towards it, making sure not to bump into any of the busy ponies. “Hey there, what can I do for ya?” Ambrós looked to his right, someone speaking to him once he opened the door. It was a pony. A pegasus to be exact. Female, bluish fur with a hint of green. Her man was short and a simple white. Her hand was outstretched. “I’m simply looking for some information.” He took the mare’s hand, shaking it lightly. She gestured towards the bar, a human male standing behind it. “Ask Francis, he can tell you anything and everything you need to know. I’m Clear Sweep, by the way.” He gave her a slight bow and approached the bar, the man placing a drink in front of Ambrós. “First one’s on the house.” It was cider, a lovely beverage. In one swig the drink was gone. “Delicious.” Francis took the glass, placing in the sink. “Aye, it’s cider brewed on the farm right outside the wall. Can’t get it better anywhere else. Unless you go to Sweet Apple Acres, of course.” Ambrós made a mental note. It was always good to remember names. “I’d believe it. Now… you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find… umm… a pony whose fur is pure white, would you? If it helps, she has wings and a mane colour that is not common.” The man scratched his head, giving another patron a drink. “Hmm… I mean, there’s loads of white furred ponies around. Pegasus narrows it down… no more details you can give me?” Ambrós searched his limited memories. His frustration grew, his scarf beginning to flow a bit like fire. Then he remembered. “She is a noble. She… she had a calming presence about her, one that would calm any beast almost instantly.” Francis nodded, a smile appearing on his face. “Well, friend, I can tell you who she is. You’re looking for Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. She has a coat of pure white. Wings that any pegasus would be jealous of. A horn that any unicorn would wish they could use, to gain access to all her magical knowledge. Her mane is of many colours, flowing freely in a nonexistent breeze. Finally, her cutie mark, a sun, symbolises her connection with the sun itself, her magical power enough to move it.” Ambrós felt a feeling in his chest. It must be her, that description fit what he vaguely remembered perfectly. “Thank you for your help good sir. I must take my leave now, seeing as I have an urgent matter to discuss with Princess Celestia. Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can find her?” Francis pulled a map out from under the bar, pointing at the bottom of it. “Well, we’re here, on the southern border of Equestria. You want to head north until you get to Ponyville, then either follow the trail leading east or catch the train.” Ambrós thanked Francis, waving goodbye to Clear Sweep on his way out. When he got out, he felt a shiver go down his spine. Something was coming. It was big and he wasn’t the only one who felt it. The ponies all froze in place, the humans looking around, confused. “DRAAAGOOOON!” A guard shouted from the wall, a massive winged beast roaring as it descended upon the city, roaring and breathing fire as it passed by the main square. Ponies and humans ran for their lives, the guards organising themselves and firing arrows up at it. Ambrós felt something stir inside him. He instantly remembered what it was. Magic. “Citizen, you have to get out of here!” A guard shouted to him, the dragon landing behind him, crushing some of the market stalls. Ambrós jumped in front of the guard as the dragon let loose a breath of fire. The guard saw the fire harmlessly pass around them both. When the dragon paused for breath, a sword and shield magically appeared in Ambrós hands. “My Soul burns hot in anticipation of this battle, dragon. My memories of times long forgotten are returning and with them, my eagerness to relieve the battles of old. Shall we dance?” The dragon roared, Ambrós running forward, sword of pure white raised above his head. The dragon pulled his head back, the sword clipping it’s lower jaw. The dragon was confident the sword would do nothing, but yelped in pain as the blade cut through his armour and into his skin like a hot knife through butter. “You shall pay for that, hatchling.” The dragon reared on its hind legs and slammed back down on to the ground, the earth cracking as the human jumped to avoid the shaking. Ambrós landed on the dragon’s back, the beast trying to shake him off. It took flight, flames coming from it’s maw as it rolled to try and shake the human off. The guards on the ground watched with wide eyes, speechless. “That the best you got, dragon?” This only served to anger the beast further, fire encasing them both. Ambrós just let the flames pass over him, his scarf now completely alive as his Soul expressed itself through it. Not too far away, Princess Celestia was sitting in her carriage, four pegasus guards pulling the her and her fellow princesses, Luna and Twilight towards Whitemane. Suddenly the pegasus guards started to descend. “What is the meaning of this? Why are we descending?” Luna was frustrated. They needed to inspect this magical anomaly. It was inside Equestria’s borders and it was dangerous. If Celestia was right, it had the same power of Twilight Sparkle right before her ascension. Luna hadn’t felt it and neither had Twilight, so they could only trust Celestia on this one. “Sorry, Ma’am, but there’s a dragon in the sky up ahead. Whitemane is burning, so I can only assume the worst.” While she barely heard the guard’s words, she caught the gist of it, seeing the dragon in the distance. They landed in the fields not far away from the dragon. It was acting strange though. “Sister, is the dragon not behaving strangely? It does not seem to be attacking the city at all.” Celestia watched the dragon, agreeing with her sister. It was indeed behaving strange. She didn’t have much time to think when she felt the same magical pulse from before. Her heart skipped a beat. On the dragon’s back, Ambrós tapped into his magical power. His scarf turned blue, his blade becoming covered in ice. He brought his sword up above his head, both hands wrapped around the hilt as his sword aimed downwards. He positioned himself above the dragon’s weak spot. A small opening between two scaly plates of armour. “This has been a good fight, dragon! I shall remember it in honour of you!” He plunged the icy blade into the dragon’s body, the beast roaring as it’s veins began to freeze. It tried one last desperate roll to kill Ambrós. When that didn’t work, the dragon simply let its heart freeze, feeling at least honoured to have died in combat. It plummeted from the sky, slamming into the ground and sliding to halt right in front of the princesses. The three of them had their magic at the ready, hands glowing just incase the dragon decided it wasn’t dead after all. They waited for the dust to clear, hearing someone moving around near the dragon. When the dust did eventually clear, Celestia couldn’t believe her eyes. “Y-You...you’re alive…” Standing there, in front of Celestia, right hand resting on the hilt of his sword, shield in the other, was someone she knew from long ago. “Celly?” Ambrós’ memories of Celestia came flooding back. Every single one. Even the last one he had… he pushed that away, concentrating on the present. “Celly!” He was taggle hugged by the princess, the infamous Sun Hug almost doing what the dragon couldn’t do. “After all these years, you’re alive! How?!” Celestia didn’t want to let go of him, but she did to let him breath, feeling his fist pound her back. He gasped for breath, the other two princesses and the guards completely lost at this point. “I was in the Void. It’s an empty place where souls are confined to wander alone for eternity. I was given a second chance, Celly.” The princess could have given him another bone breaking hug if not for Luna stepping between them. “Sister, I do believe an explanation is in order.” Celestia blushed, realising she let herself get carried away. Ambrós raised an eyebrow at Luna. She was familiar, but she wasn’t. “Well, Luna, you wouldn’t remember. You weren’t around when he was staying at the castle. The last time you saw each other was when you were a month old.” Ambrós’ eyes widened. He remembered. “THIS is Luna?” He raised his shield slightly. “This shield appeared to me the night you were born. It’s called Crescent Dusk. The excess magic that your body couldn’t absorb when you born created it for me. I used it to block a mighty blow from a powerful foe.” Celestia’s eyes darkened when he said that, memories coming back. “You… are you this friend my sister spoke of?” Celestia looked away from Ambrós, his questioning gaze upon her. “I’m sorry. I hid your existence from everypony. I didn’t want any crazy lunatic to try and break the seal on… It.” Celestia saw her friend nod, a small smile on his face. It turned to a frown a moment later, when Twilight spoke up. “Now, Princess. You said that he gave up his physical body to defeat… this foe. If he’s got it back, then what does that mean?” All eyes were upon Celestia, yet it was Ambrós who spoke up. “It means that my seal is weakening day by day. If the Dark Star has appeared, I fear we have little time.” He looked to Luna, who nodded, confirming his fears. “We must prepare. If we can get enough support from all of the races, we might just be able to defeat him.” Right then, a group of guards approached from the city. “Princesses.” They all bowed, the Captain stepping forward. “Captain Storm Guard, your majesty.” He bowed to Celestia, who told him to rise, asking him his purpose there. “We have come to make sure the dragon is dead and to invite the slayer to the Mayor’s Office, as he wishes to thank the human for saving the city.” After a moment of debating, the princesses decided to accompany the guards on foot, the carriage guards following too. Ten minutes of walking later, they walked through the gates, the townspeople cheering and bowing as they passed through the streets towards the house on the hill that was the Mayor’s Office. Once inside, they were greeted by the Mayor himself. “My my, I seem to have quite the company today. Welcome to Whitemane, Your Majesties.” He then looked towards Ambrós. “So, you are the human who save my city?” The human nodded, a smile appearing on the Mayor’s face. “Excellent. We shall celebrate this immediately!” The Mayor, whose name was Money Saver, quickly set the staff on organising a feast in Ambrós’ name. Ambrós quickly became enamored with the Mayor's dog, Balgwoof. A long, laughter filled meal and a farewell later, the carriage was on its way, Ambrós sitting close to Celestia, the air flowing through his hair. It was a quiet flight, Celestia’s horn lighting up, the sun beginning to set beyond the horizon as Canterlot came into view. For now, they would rest. Even so, Ambrós knew that come morning, he would need to begin preparing for his fight against Azelus, to avoid the events of the past from repeating themselves. Learn from your mistakes, they say. Ambrós had about two years to do it. Author's Note Took me a while to decide how I wanted to do this. The picture was done by my wife. Here's a link to her DeviantArt if you like the style of drawing: netsu06 A Normal Canterlot Castle MorningPrincess Luna watched over the dreams of all beings in Equestria. From her watchtower high above the Dreamscape, she could see every single dream, each one belonging to a creature of the land. She could see a Manticore chasing prey, a pony dreaming about a hunky Minotaur and many dreams she’d rather have not seen. She was about to draw the night off as another boring one when she saw a dream coming from inside the castle. It was their new guest, Ambrós. She decided to pay him a visit, seeing as she never did get to visit his dreams, having just been born when he fought alongside Celestia. “Woah…” Her eyes widened when she entered the dream. Few times had she seen such an… empty place. It was just a great white expanse. “Ah, Princess Luna. Forgive me for this. I don’t really have anything worth dreaming about at the moment. Most of my memories are gone.” The Princess took his statement as a challenge, her horn lighting up as she searched his mind. Ambrós raised an eyebrow when she gave him a sad look. “There really is nothing there…” He put his arms out, as if saying ‘I told you so’. Luna was at least able to create a bench, the two of them sitting and letting a strange silence fall over them. Luna felt as if the whiteness was anything but empty. She felt there were memories and dreams just out of her reach. It frustrated her. “Can you feel it too?” Luna jumped, forgetting her companion for a moment. He was looking at her, meaning she’d zoned out. “My memories, I mean. They’re there, but I just can’t see them. I suppose being dead for about two thousand years does that huh?” Luna had a question form in her mind. “How do you know how long it’s been? I don’t recall my sister or Twilight mentioning the date.” “When I was in Whitemane, I saw a poster that was advertising a festival. Had the date on the bottom. Since it seems Celestia’s maintained the calendar format, it was easy.” Luna nodded, feeling the familiar pull of her magic. “I must go, my friend. Morning is approaching and we both have a long day ahead of us. Celestia wants to present you to the rest of the world.” Ambrós bid Luna farewell and the Princess of Dreams left him, the man waking up immediately. After dressing and refreshing himself in the bathroom, he stepped out his door. Only he didn’t get more than a few feet before being stopped by a guard. “How may I help you?” Ambrós asked the guard, who had an impressive poker face plastered over his face. “I am to escort you to Princess Celestia’s office. She wishes to speak with you.” Ambrós nodded, following the guard through the long halls of the castle. He didn’t really like the decor, the white blinding him from time to time. He also didn’t like the height and length of the halls. It seemed whoever built the castle intended it for giants, as not even Celestia made it a fourth of the way up. They eventually reached Celestia’s office, Ambrós glad he didn’t have to look at another picture of a poodle. He’d have to ask her about that. There were too many poodle paintings. The guard knocked on the door, Celestia’s voice ringing out. “Yes?” The guard said Ambrós name, albeit a pronunciation he’d never heard. “Uh… who?” The man chuckled. “It’s me, Sunbutt.” The guard looked at him, shocked. The door flew open, Celestia scowling at him. She dismissed the guard, Ambrós walking in the door before it was slammed shut. “Sunbutt?!” He could see the faint flicker of a smile on her face. “Yes. Because your butt has a sun on it.” She raised an eyebrow, a smile working its way on to her face. “Why are you looking at my butt?” Ambrós shrugged, raising his hands. “Kinda hard not to.” Celestia was about to retort when he raised his hand. “Because you have a sun on your butt. It’s distracting.” She threw her arms up, sitting down in her chair. He took a seat opposite her, picking up a pencil. “Now, what I called you here for.” He began spinning the pencil between his fingers, watching as she began writing on a piece of paper. “I want you to participate in a swordsmanship and magical training course.” Ambrós stopped spinning his pencil. “I know. You killed a dragon yesterday, but that doesn’t mean you could kill it again today.” He leaned forward, placing the pencil back in it’s place. “Why not?” She sighed, pulling out a chart from between her papers. “This chart represents your magical readout. Twilight was kind enough to give it to me. The one on the left is your readout yesterday, around the time of the dragon attack of Whitemane. The second one is this morning, before I sent the guard to wake you up. Both were taken while you were in a passive state.” Ambrós noticed the one on the left was much bigger than the one on the right, which he didn’t understand. “Surely I can’t have just… lost magical power, right?” Celestia sighed, putting the chart away. “Well, you have. I do believe it is to do with your memories. How much do you remember exactly?” Ambrós sat back in his chair, staring at ceiling as he let all the memories he had flow into his mind. They were not many. “I… I remember less than yesterday…” This was strange. Yesterday he could clearly remember everything about Celestia. Today, however, he could only remember things that led up towards his final battle. “Strange…” Celestia pulled out a spell tome, flicking through it quickly. “Could it have been the seal? Maybe the seal also affected me and locked away my memories?” Celestia shushed him, finally finding the page she was looking for. The man waited patiently as she slowly read the page. “I do believe… you’re right. Although, only in part.” She showed him the book, Ambrós taking it into his lap. “Huh… so the seal itself is only part of the problem.” Celestia took the book back in her magic. She grabbed a quill from a golden ink pot and signed the paper she had been writing earlier. “Whatever it is that is not letting you remember, it may be helped by being active. Report to the Captain in the Barracks with this letter. He will plan your training regimen.” Ambrós took the letter, giving Celestia a big hug before walking towards the door. Before he closed it, he turned, a curious look on his face. “Celly?” Celestia looked up from her desk. “What would happen if I called your sister Moonbutt?” This made Celestia roll her eyes, the Princess using her magic to grab a hold of the door. “She’d probably stab you.” With that, she closed the door. Ambrós shrugged and, with the help of a guard, made his way to the barracks. Once there, he handed the rough looking Captain the letter. “So… a lanky guy like you gets a personal recommendation from Celestia herself huh?” The Captain put the letter away and stood, putting his armour on. “Seeing as you’re already in gear, let’s… what’s with the scarf, boy?” Ambrós touched it, his heart beating a bit stronger when he did. “It’s… needed.” The Captain narrowed his eyes, but nodded, walking out into the training field. “Now, newbie. My name’s Iron Knuckle. You will refer to me as Captain or sir, understand?” Ambrós nodded. “Yes sir!” The Captain chuckled. The pony recruits already on the field looked at Ambrós curiously, wondering what a human was doing there. “Paladin White Lance!” A white coloured pony, spear in hand, horn on his head, stepped forward. “You will spar with Ambrós here. I need to see what he’s capable of, both in swordsmanship and magic. Both of you, prepare your weapons.” The two opponents took their positions in front of the other, Ambro’s sword and shield appearing in his hands, many of the recruits gasping. White Lance was surprised, not thinking the Captain was serious when he said magic. Iron Knuckle blew a whistle, Lance charging at Ambrós, thrusting his spear forward, a ball of magic forming in his right hand. In the instant the spear hit Crescent Dusk, the ball of magic curved around the shield, having left Lance’s hand, hitting Ambrós in the side. This winded the human, knocking him sideways. “Ouch… that tickled.” Ambrós had barely felt it through his armour, the armour resistant to magic, even if only weak spells. The man quickly closed the distance between himself and Lance, ducking beneath the spear and knocking it aside with his shield. Ambrós twirled his sword, using the pommel to hit Lance in the chin, knocking his head upwards. The man jumped, placing his shield underneath him. Lance placed his spear between them, using a spell to stop his fall. Ambrós grunted, his arms screaming at the pressure that was needed to counteract the spear and the spell. Lance was strong, physically and mentally. “That all you got?” Lance asked, smirking. Ambrós shook his head, his visible left eye shifting from blue to gold. His scarf began to flow wildly, changing from red to green. Many of the ponies felt an intense magical surge, Lance’s knees almost giving way. Ambrós raised his sword high into the sky and kicked off Lance, the pony’s spell breaking. Ambrós landed five meters away, sticking his sword into the ground. Lance placed a shield around him, a hand made of earth erupting from the ground and punching the dome. The pony grunted, the spell barely holding. He then felt something around his hoof, seeing a smaller hand gripping it. He swore, his spell failing as the hand shook him. The bigger hand slammed into him, knocking him away. Iron Knuckle came between them, ending the fight. Ambrós’ eye and scarf returned to normal, the human falling backwards, panting heavily. “You alright, son?” Ambrós saw Iron Knuckle and a smiling Lance enter his vision. He nodded, taking their outstretched hands. “That was impressive. Dangerous, but impressive.” They helped the tired human back to the barracks, placing him in a bed. Not even a minute later, a concerned Celestia burst in, fretting over him in an instant. “Celly, I’m fine, really.” Ambrós finally got relief when Iron Knuckle called Celestia over. She sat with the Captain, the pony sighing. “He is a natural with the sword and shield. His magic seems to have suffered immensely, as you specified in your letter. He seemed to tap into it when he underwent stress in the sparring match. He used some pretty heavy spells, almost knocked him out cold when I stepped. He needs a real magical teacher, not just a training regimen here at the castle.” Celestia stood, thanking the Captain for his time. She approached Ambrós, who gave her a smile. “When you feel better, ask a guard to bring you to Sun Spot Tower, alright?” Ambrós nodded, Celestia leaving him to rest. The man wondered what he’d be doing there, finding the name quite interesting. A few hours later, Ambrós found himself knocking on the door of the tower. The door opened with a blue magical aura around it, the man walking in. Once inside, he saw Celestia and Luna sitting in two chairs. “Ambrós, sit. We need to talk about something.” He did as Celestia asked, the Princess turning slightly in her chair to face him. “My sister and I have decided that she will train you in magic.” Luna smiled at Ambrós, the man giving her an unsure smile. “Do not worry, dear Ambrós. I am well trained in magic of all kinds. You will be in safe hands.” Luna’s reassurance helped him a bit. He was a bit nervous about learning magic, the only times he’d used magic being when he was under intense stress. Celestia left them alone, telling Luna to go easy on him before she did. “So… what first?” Luna stood, fixing her dress and patting it down, some dust coming off it. She extended her hand, Ambrós taking it. “A test.” She threw him, Ambrós planting his feet into the wall, letting gravity bring him to the ground. Luna’s horn and eyes glowed. “Show me what you’ve got.” Ambrós gulped. He’d be sore after this!
The First SignTwilight Sparkle, Alicorn Princess of Friendship, was searching the Canterlot Archives for something to read. She’d been invited to stay at Canterlot Castle by Princess Celestia, co-ruler of Equestria alongside her sister Luna. The reason for her stay was still shrouded in mystery as her old mentor had decided she needed to wait until the court was done for the day. This meant that Twilight had nothing to do for two whole hours. She reached her hand out to take a book when she felt a hand on her shoulder. “Twilight Sparkle.” The hand belonged to Princess Luna, Twilight turning to face her. The princess wore a dress almost exactly like her own. It was without sleeves, a dark blue coloring with a white moon in the middle of Luna’s top half. The skirt was a simple dark blue with black linings. She was also wearing two black stockings that started right below the hem of the skirt. Twilight noticed she was wearing nice high heels. “Oh! Princess Luna, what do you need?” Luna returned the bow Twilight gave her, smiling. “Well, Princess Twilight, I thought you would like to join me in my observatory to watch the sky while we wait for my sister.” Twilight raised an eyebrow at this, wondering what she would she in the sky during the day. “Princess, what exactly would we be doing in the observatory? I don’t think we can see stars in the day…” The Princess of the Night simply turned and walked away, Twilight hurrying after her. They walked in silence, the only sound being of their shoes clacking against the clean floor of the castle hallways. It didn’t take long to reach Luna’s Observatory. It was a bit messy, with star charts and papers with new stars and positions all over the place. Twilight walked over to the telescope at the far end of the room, peering into it. She gasped when she saw many stars in the sky. “It’s magic, Twilight.” She heard Luna’s voice from right next to her, startling her. “This telescope is one of the few that can see the night sky during our sister’s day. We use it to plan star formations and meteor showers more efficiently.” Twilight walked around the room, Luna peering through her telescope. Twilight found a recent star chart with a red circle around a specific part of the sky. She picked it up, comparing it to another star chart. There was something very, very wrong. “Uh, Luna? Does the reason Celestia summoned me have something to do with this star chart?” The Lunar Princess looked over at her and nodded, a serious look on her face. “Indeed, Twilight. I found an anomaly in the sky that I couldn’t rectify. When I showed Celestia, she became panicked. It is why she summoned you.” As soon as she said that, the door to the observatory opened, revealing a servant. He bowed, clearing his throat. “Princess Celestia requests your presence, Princesses. She is in the tea room.” The two looked at each other, curious. Celestia shouldn’t be free for a long while. Regardless, the two quickly headed towards the tea room, jogging slightly. They reached the room and quickly entered, closing the door. They froze, seeing Celestia glaring at a copy of Luna’s star chart, hands on her chin. “Sit.” She said forcefully, her wings slightly extended, her stance aggressive. The two did so, silently taking their seats in front of her. “Luna, you weren’t around so you wouldn’t know what this means. Twilight, you’re too young to have ever heard of this.” Her two younger Princesses looked confused. They had no idea what was going on. “The stars have done this before. When they did… a great evil rose from the pits of Tartarus and almost beat me in battle. If it wasn’t for… a good friend, I’d be dead and Equestria would be burning.” Twilight needed a moment to take in the information, but Luna asked straight away. “Sister, what evil do you speak of?” Celestia sighed. The name of that… creature was almost too vile to say. “It’s name is… Azelus…” The room darkened for a moment when she mentioned the name, the air becoming colder. “Even the very air around us recoils at it’s name… It controls darkness itself, capable of wielding magic far beyond even my own. I was able to survive thanks to the Elements of Harmony, their magic shielding me. It didn’t last long, however… It’s magic was just so powerful… it managed to render the Elements useless and back me into a corner. I was sealed off from the sun, some magic spell placed on me severed my connection.” A smile graced her face. “That was when my friend appeared. He blocked a spell from It, surprising the both of us. My friend waged a long and arduous battle against it. He won, he managed to defeat it…But...” Her smile dropped slightly, Twilight placing a hand on Celestia’s from across the table. “He… He only managed to place a temporary seal on it. At the cost of his physical body, which served as a key to lock It into its cell.” Luna glanced down at the star chart. She pointed at it. “And I’m guessing that the stars suddenly changing is a warning that the cell is breaking?” Celestia nodded. “Well… how long do we have?” Celestia opened an old looking notebook, reading a page quickly. “Two years. Maybe less.” The three Princesses fell into silence. Two years was not enough to train. Even with help from the dragons, the griffons, the buffalo… Even then their hopes were bleak. They needed a Hero. One who was strong enough to fight It. Location: ???? Emptiness. That was the first thing the Soul felt. There was nothing, there never was, there never will be. It was alone. It had been for… a long time. Too long. It sometimes felt something nearby and tried to search for it, but in the end, it could find nothing. It eventually gave up looking for the fleeting feeling, deeming it worthless. “Hello.” The Soul panicked. A voice suddenly echoed across the emptiness. It was a soothing voice. “Do not be scared. I am here to guide you. Follow me…” The Soul followed wordlessly. It simply followed the echo, the soothing voice showing it the path. “You are needed. I will give you that which you lost. Use it well, for it will not happen again.” The voice vanished, along with that feeling the Soul felt. It was suddenly replaced by a new yet familiar sensation. Then, as quick as it had come, it vanished. The Soul then… fell. It fell into blackness. After what seemed like forever, light appeared in the distance. The Soul reached the light, a cool breeze brushing against it for the first time in many, many years. It opened it’s eyes, looking around. It was in a forest. It wasn’t dense, letting it see through the many trees that surrounded it. It… no, he, flexed his hands, moving his fingers. Memories… he didn’t have many, just the one, really. A person, pony, whatever it was, with wings of pure white. He stood, wobbling slightly. It was then he noticed his scarf around his neck. It felt… as if his emotions were running through it. He was happy, so the scarf was happy. At least, that’s what he thought as the scarf moved a bit too much for the slight breeze. “Time to explore!” He said to himself, his voice surprising him. It was deeper. At least he thought it was, he didn’t really remember. He began to walk in a random direction, taking his time looking around. Location: Canterlot As Celestia closed the doors to her personal chambers, the talk with her fellow princesses having drained her, she gasped. She felt a powerful magical surge in her chest. She recognised it. It was a feeling she’d never forget. One she never thought she’d feel ever again. She ran to her balcony, scanning the landscape with her brilliant eyesight for any signs of magic output. “Where are you?!” She half shouted out the window, her heart accelerating. Azelus is returning, the Princesses are worried, someone Celestia knows has returned. Keep reading to find out! Author's Note So, new fic. This fic is gonna be long. I made it because I work better when I work on more than one thing at the same time, means I don't get bored. Hope you like it!
Meeting an Old FriendThe Soul walked, the forest welcoming his presence. At least that’s what it seemed. Animals followed him, birds sang songs that on any other day they wouldn’t have sang and the trees rustled their beautiful leaves as he passed. The breeze that flowed through the woods spoke a name. Ambrós. It was a familiar name. Was it his? Maybe, maybe not. Whatever the case, he decided to take the name as his own, feeling content to finally have a name again after all these years. Not too far from where he was, there was a small town surrounded by a wall, Whitemane. The residents of this city were ponies, although a few humans had taken up residence ever since the human civil war ended a decade before. It was a peaceful place, one that didn’t see much strife, except for the occasional wolf packs getting a little too close to the gates. Two pony guards were standing on the wall, looking out towards the treeline line that was the southern Equestrian border. One of them was tired, his eyes closing as sleep wanted to embrace him. He would not drift off into dreamland, however, as his fellow guard jumped up, eyes focusing on the treeline. He could barely make out a silhouette walking towards the town. He kept his gaze focused on it until the shape of a human became visible. He left his post, his fellow guard simply closing his eyes and beginning to snore. “Who goes there?” The guard said, having waited in front of the gate for the human to arrive. “I am Ambrós. I come from a place far away and am unfamiliar with what Equestria is like nowadays. I simply wish to rediscover what it is like.” The pony eyed the human, a warm, calming sensation filling his body when he looked into his eyes. “Very well, you may enter. Try and stay out of trouble.” Ambrós thanked him, going through the gate as the guard opened it. The streets were bustling with activity, ponies hurrying from place to place, baskets in their hands. Ambrós smiled. It was familiar to him, even though he didn’t have any memories of his life before the Void, the feeling of pony and human presence resonated inside him. From where he was, he saw an inn on the right side of the main street of the town. He walked towards it, making sure not to bump into any of the busy ponies. “Hey there, what can I do for ya?” Ambrós looked to his right, someone speaking to him once he opened the door. It was a pony. A pegasus to be exact. Female, bluish fur with a hint of green. Her man was short and a simple white. Her hand was outstretched. “I’m simply looking for some information.” He took the mare’s hand, shaking it lightly. She gestured towards the bar, a human male standing behind it. “Ask Francis, he can tell you anything and everything you need to know. I’m Clear Sweep, by the way.” He gave her a slight bow and approached the bar, the man placing a drink in front of Ambrós. “First one’s on the house.” It was cider, a lovely beverage. In one swig the drink was gone. “Delicious.” Francis took the glass, placing in the sink. “Aye, it’s cider brewed on the farm right outside the wall. Can’t get it better anywhere else. Unless you go to Sweet Apple Acres, of course.” Ambrós made a mental note. It was always good to remember names. “I’d believe it. Now… you wouldn’t happen to know where I could find… umm… a pony whose fur is pure white, would you? If it helps, she has wings and a mane colour that is not common.” The man scratched his head, giving another patron a drink. “Hmm… I mean, there’s loads of white furred ponies around. Pegasus narrows it down… no more details you can give me?” Ambrós searched his limited memories. His frustration grew, his scarf beginning to flow a bit like fire. Then he remembered. “She is a noble. She… she had a calming presence about her, one that would calm any beast almost instantly.” Francis nodded, a smile appearing on his face. “Well, friend, I can tell you who she is. You’re looking for Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria. She has a coat of pure white. Wings that any pegasus would be jealous of. A horn that any unicorn would wish they could use, to gain access to all her magical knowledge. Her mane is of many colours, flowing freely in a nonexistent breeze. Finally, her cutie mark, a sun, symbolises her connection with the sun itself, her magical power enough to move it.” Ambrós felt a feeling in his chest. It must be her, that description fit what he vaguely remembered perfectly. “Thank you for your help good sir. I must take my leave now, seeing as I have an urgent matter to discuss with Princess Celestia. Would you be so kind as to tell me where I can find her?” Francis pulled a map out from under the bar, pointing at the bottom of it. “Well, we’re here, on the southern border of Equestria. You want to head north until you get to Ponyville, then either follow the trail leading east or catch the train.” Ambrós thanked Francis, waving goodbye to Clear Sweep on his way out. When he got out, he felt a shiver go down his spine. Something was coming. It was big and he wasn’t the only one who felt it. The ponies all froze in place, the humans looking around, confused. “DRAAAGOOOON!” A guard shouted from the wall, a massive winged beast roaring as it descended upon the city, roaring and breathing fire as it passed by the main square. Ponies and humans ran for their lives, the guards organising themselves and firing arrows up at it. Ambrós felt something stir inside him. He instantly remembered what it was. Magic. “Citizen, you have to get out of here!” A guard shouted to him, the dragon landing behind him, crushing some of the market stalls. Ambrós jumped in front of the guard as the dragon let loose a breath of fire. The guard saw the fire harmlessly pass around them both. When the dragon paused for breath, a sword and shield magically appeared in Ambrós hands. “My Soul burns hot in anticipation of this battle, dragon. My memories of times long forgotten are returning and with them, my eagerness to relieve the battles of old. Shall we dance?” The dragon roared, Ambrós running forward, sword of pure white raised above his head. The dragon pulled his head back, the sword clipping it’s lower jaw. The dragon was confident the sword would do nothing, but yelped in pain as the blade cut through his armour and into his skin like a hot knife through butter. “You shall pay for that, hatchling.” The dragon reared on its hind legs and slammed back down on to the ground, the earth cracking as the human jumped to avoid the shaking. Ambrós landed on the dragon’s back, the beast trying to shake him off. It took flight, flames coming from it’s maw as it rolled to try and shake the human off. The guards on the ground watched with wide eyes, speechless. “That the best you got, dragon?” This only served to anger the beast further, fire encasing them both. Ambrós just let the flames pass over him, his scarf now completely alive as his Soul expressed itself through it. Not too far away, Princess Celestia was sitting in her carriage, four pegasus guards pulling the her and her fellow princesses, Luna and Twilight towards Whitemane. Suddenly the pegasus guards started to descend. “What is the meaning of this? Why are we descending?” Luna was frustrated. They needed to inspect this magical anomaly. It was inside Equestria’s borders and it was dangerous. If Celestia was right, it had the same power of Twilight Sparkle right before her ascension. Luna hadn’t felt it and neither had Twilight, so they could only trust Celestia on this one. “Sorry, Ma’am, but there’s a dragon in the sky up ahead. Whitemane is burning, so I can only assume the worst.” While she barely heard the guard’s words, she caught the gist of it, seeing the dragon in the distance. They landed in the fields not far away from the dragon. It was acting strange though. “Sister, is the dragon not behaving strangely? It does not seem to be attacking the city at all.” Celestia watched the dragon, agreeing with her sister. It was indeed behaving strange. She didn’t have much time to think when she felt the same magical pulse from before. Her heart skipped a beat. On the dragon’s back, Ambrós tapped into his magical power. His scarf turned blue, his blade becoming covered in ice. He brought his sword up above his head, both hands wrapped around the hilt as his sword aimed downwards. He positioned himself above the dragon’s weak spot. A small opening between two scaly plates of armour. “This has been a good fight, dragon! I shall remember it in honour of you!” He plunged the icy blade into the dragon’s body, the beast roaring as it’s veins began to freeze. It tried one last desperate roll to kill Ambrós. When that didn’t work, the dragon simply let its heart freeze, feeling at least honoured to have died in combat. It plummeted from the sky, slamming into the ground and sliding to halt right in front of the princesses. The three of them had their magic at the ready, hands glowing just incase the dragon decided it wasn’t dead after all. They waited for the dust to clear, hearing someone moving around near the dragon. When the dust did eventually clear, Celestia couldn’t believe her eyes. “Y-You...you’re alive…” Standing there, in front of Celestia, right hand resting on the hilt of his sword, shield in the other, was someone she knew from long ago. “Celly?” Ambrós’ memories of Celestia came flooding back. Every single one. Even the last one he had… he pushed that away, concentrating on the present. “Celly!” He was taggle hugged by the princess, the infamous Sun Hug almost doing what the dragon couldn’t do. “After all these years, you’re alive! How?!” Celestia didn’t want to let go of him, but she did to let him breath, feeling his fist pound her back. He gasped for breath, the other two princesses and the guards completely lost at this point. “I was in the Void. It’s an empty place where souls are confined to wander alone for eternity. I was given a second chance, Celly.” The princess could have given him another bone breaking hug if not for Luna stepping between them. “Sister, I do believe an explanation is in order.” Celestia blushed, realising she let herself get carried away. Ambrós raised an eyebrow at Luna. She was familiar, but she wasn’t. “Well, Luna, you wouldn’t remember. You weren’t around when he was staying at the castle. The last time you saw each other was when you were a month old.” Ambrós’ eyes widened. He remembered. “THIS is Luna?” He raised his shield slightly. “This shield appeared to me the night you were born. It’s called Crescent Dusk. The excess magic that your body couldn’t absorb when you born created it for me. I used it to block a mighty blow from a powerful foe.” Celestia’s eyes darkened when he said that, memories coming back. “You… are you this friend my sister spoke of?” Celestia looked away from Ambrós, his questioning gaze upon her. “I’m sorry. I hid your existence from everypony. I didn’t want any crazy lunatic to try and break the seal on… It.” Celestia saw her friend nod, a small smile on his face. It turned to a frown a moment later, when Twilight spoke up. “Now, Princess. You said that he gave up his physical body to defeat… this foe. If he’s got it back, then what does that mean?” All eyes were upon Celestia, yet it was Ambrós who spoke up. “It means that my seal is weakening day by day. If the Dark Star has appeared, I fear we have little time.” He looked to Luna, who nodded, confirming his fears. “We must prepare. If we can get enough support from all of the races, we might just be able to defeat him.” Right then, a group of guards approached from the city. “Princesses.” They all bowed, the Captain stepping forward. “Captain Storm Guard, your majesty.” He bowed to Celestia, who told him to rise, asking him his purpose there. “We have come to make sure the dragon is dead and to invite the slayer to the Mayor’s Office, as he wishes to thank the human for saving the city.” After a moment of debating, the princesses decided to accompany the guards on foot, the carriage guards following too. Ten minutes of walking later, they walked through the gates, the townspeople cheering and bowing as they passed through the streets towards the house on the hill that was the Mayor’s Office. Once inside, they were greeted by the Mayor himself. “My my, I seem to have quite the company today. Welcome to Whitemane, Your Majesties.” He then looked towards Ambrós. “So, you are the human who save my city?” The human nodded, a smile appearing on the Mayor’s face. “Excellent. We shall celebrate this immediately!” The Mayor, whose name was Money Saver, quickly set the staff on organising a feast in Ambrós’ name. Ambrós quickly became enamored with the Mayor's dog, Balgwoof. A long, laughter filled meal and a farewell later, the carriage was on its way, Ambrós sitting close to Celestia, the air flowing through his hair. It was a quiet flight, Celestia’s horn lighting up, the sun beginning to set beyond the horizon as Canterlot came into view. For now, they would rest. Even so, Ambrós knew that come morning, he would need to begin preparing for his fight against Azelus, to avoid the events of the past from repeating themselves. Learn from your mistakes, they say. Ambrós had about two years to do it. Author's Note Took me a while to decide how I wanted to do this. The picture was done by my wife. Here's a link to her DeviantArt if you like the style of drawing: netsu06
A Normal Canterlot Castle MorningPrincess Luna watched over the dreams of all beings in Equestria. From her watchtower high above the Dreamscape, she could see every single dream, each one belonging to a creature of the land. She could see a Manticore chasing prey, a pony dreaming about a hunky Minotaur and many dreams she’d rather have not seen. She was about to draw the night off as another boring one when she saw a dream coming from inside the castle. It was their new guest, Ambrós. She decided to pay him a visit, seeing as she never did get to visit his dreams, having just been born when he fought alongside Celestia. “Woah…” Her eyes widened when she entered the dream. Few times had she seen such an… empty place. It was just a great white expanse. “Ah, Princess Luna. Forgive me for this. I don’t really have anything worth dreaming about at the moment. Most of my memories are gone.” The Princess took his statement as a challenge, her horn lighting up as she searched his mind. Ambrós raised an eyebrow when she gave him a sad look. “There really is nothing there…” He put his arms out, as if saying ‘I told you so’. Luna was at least able to create a bench, the two of them sitting and letting a strange silence fall over them. Luna felt as if the whiteness was anything but empty. She felt there were memories and dreams just out of her reach. It frustrated her. “Can you feel it too?” Luna jumped, forgetting her companion for a moment. He was looking at her, meaning she’d zoned out. “My memories, I mean. They’re there, but I just can’t see them. I suppose being dead for about two thousand years does that huh?” Luna had a question form in her mind. “How do you know how long it’s been? I don’t recall my sister or Twilight mentioning the date.” “When I was in Whitemane, I saw a poster that was advertising a festival. Had the date on the bottom. Since it seems Celestia’s maintained the calendar format, it was easy.” Luna nodded, feeling the familiar pull of her magic. “I must go, my friend. Morning is approaching and we both have a long day ahead of us. Celestia wants to present you to the rest of the world.” Ambrós bid Luna farewell and the Princess of Dreams left him, the man waking up immediately. After dressing and refreshing himself in the bathroom, he stepped out his door. Only he didn’t get more than a few feet before being stopped by a guard. “How may I help you?” Ambrós asked the guard, who had an impressive poker face plastered over his face. “I am to escort you to Princess Celestia’s office. She wishes to speak with you.” Ambrós nodded, following the guard through the long halls of the castle. He didn’t really like the decor, the white blinding him from time to time. He also didn’t like the height and length of the halls. It seemed whoever built the castle intended it for giants, as not even Celestia made it a fourth of the way up. They eventually reached Celestia’s office, Ambrós glad he didn’t have to look at another picture of a poodle. He’d have to ask her about that. There were too many poodle paintings. The guard knocked on the door, Celestia’s voice ringing out. “Yes?” The guard said Ambrós name, albeit a pronunciation he’d never heard. “Uh… who?” The man chuckled. “It’s me, Sunbutt.” The guard looked at him, shocked. The door flew open, Celestia scowling at him. She dismissed the guard, Ambrós walking in the door before it was slammed shut. “Sunbutt?!” He could see the faint flicker of a smile on her face. “Yes. Because your butt has a sun on it.” She raised an eyebrow, a smile working its way on to her face. “Why are you looking at my butt?” Ambrós shrugged, raising his hands. “Kinda hard not to.” Celestia was about to retort when he raised his hand. “Because you have a sun on your butt. It’s distracting.” She threw her arms up, sitting down in her chair. He took a seat opposite her, picking up a pencil. “Now, what I called you here for.” He began spinning the pencil between his fingers, watching as she began writing on a piece of paper. “I want you to participate in a swordsmanship and magical training course.” Ambrós stopped spinning his pencil. “I know. You killed a dragon yesterday, but that doesn’t mean you could kill it again today.” He leaned forward, placing the pencil back in it’s place. “Why not?” She sighed, pulling out a chart from between her papers. “This chart represents your magical readout. Twilight was kind enough to give it to me. The one on the left is your readout yesterday, around the time of the dragon attack of Whitemane. The second one is this morning, before I sent the guard to wake you up. Both were taken while you were in a passive state.” Ambrós noticed the one on the left was much bigger than the one on the right, which he didn’t understand. “Surely I can’t have just… lost magical power, right?” Celestia sighed, putting the chart away. “Well, you have. I do believe it is to do with your memories. How much do you remember exactly?” Ambrós sat back in his chair, staring at ceiling as he let all the memories he had flow into his mind. They were not many. “I… I remember less than yesterday…” This was strange. Yesterday he could clearly remember everything about Celestia. Today, however, he could only remember things that led up towards his final battle. “Strange…” Celestia pulled out a spell tome, flicking through it quickly. “Could it have been the seal? Maybe the seal also affected me and locked away my memories?” Celestia shushed him, finally finding the page she was looking for. The man waited patiently as she slowly read the page. “I do believe… you’re right. Although, only in part.” She showed him the book, Ambrós taking it into his lap. “Huh… so the seal itself is only part of the problem.” Celestia took the book back in her magic. She grabbed a quill from a golden ink pot and signed the paper she had been writing earlier. “Whatever it is that is not letting you remember, it may be helped by being active. Report to the Captain in the Barracks with this letter. He will plan your training regimen.” Ambrós took the letter, giving Celestia a big hug before walking towards the door. Before he closed it, he turned, a curious look on his face. “Celly?” Celestia looked up from her desk. “What would happen if I called your sister Moonbutt?” This made Celestia roll her eyes, the Princess using her magic to grab a hold of the door. “She’d probably stab you.” With that, she closed the door. Ambrós shrugged and, with the help of a guard, made his way to the barracks. Once there, he handed the rough looking Captain the letter. “So… a lanky guy like you gets a personal recommendation from Celestia herself huh?” The Captain put the letter away and stood, putting his armour on. “Seeing as you’re already in gear, let’s… what’s with the scarf, boy?” Ambrós touched it, his heart beating a bit stronger when he did. “It’s… needed.” The Captain narrowed his eyes, but nodded, walking out into the training field. “Now, newbie. My name’s Iron Knuckle. You will refer to me as Captain or sir, understand?” Ambrós nodded. “Yes sir!” The Captain chuckled. The pony recruits already on the field looked at Ambrós curiously, wondering what a human was doing there. “Paladin White Lance!” A white coloured pony, spear in hand, horn on his head, stepped forward. “You will spar with Ambrós here. I need to see what he’s capable of, both in swordsmanship and magic. Both of you, prepare your weapons.” The two opponents took their positions in front of the other, Ambro’s sword and shield appearing in his hands, many of the recruits gasping. White Lance was surprised, not thinking the Captain was serious when he said magic. Iron Knuckle blew a whistle, Lance charging at Ambrós, thrusting his spear forward, a ball of magic forming in his right hand. In the instant the spear hit Crescent Dusk, the ball of magic curved around the shield, having left Lance’s hand, hitting Ambrós in the side. This winded the human, knocking him sideways. “Ouch… that tickled.” Ambrós had barely felt it through his armour, the armour resistant to magic, even if only weak spells. The man quickly closed the distance between himself and Lance, ducking beneath the spear and knocking it aside with his shield. Ambrós twirled his sword, using the pommel to hit Lance in the chin, knocking his head upwards. The man jumped, placing his shield underneath him. Lance placed his spear between them, using a spell to stop his fall. Ambrós grunted, his arms screaming at the pressure that was needed to counteract the spear and the spell. Lance was strong, physically and mentally. “That all you got?” Lance asked, smirking. Ambrós shook his head, his visible left eye shifting from blue to gold. His scarf began to flow wildly, changing from red to green. Many of the ponies felt an intense magical surge, Lance’s knees almost giving way. Ambrós raised his sword high into the sky and kicked off Lance, the pony’s spell breaking. Ambrós landed five meters away, sticking his sword into the ground. Lance placed a shield around him, a hand made of earth erupting from the ground and punching the dome. The pony grunted, the spell barely holding. He then felt something around his hoof, seeing a smaller hand gripping it. He swore, his spell failing as the hand shook him. The bigger hand slammed into him, knocking him away. Iron Knuckle came between them, ending the fight. Ambrós’ eye and scarf returned to normal, the human falling backwards, panting heavily. “You alright, son?” Ambrós saw Iron Knuckle and a smiling Lance enter his vision. He nodded, taking their outstretched hands. “That was impressive. Dangerous, but impressive.” They helped the tired human back to the barracks, placing him in a bed. Not even a minute later, a concerned Celestia burst in, fretting over him in an instant. “Celly, I’m fine, really.” Ambrós finally got relief when Iron Knuckle called Celestia over. She sat with the Captain, the pony sighing. “He is a natural with the sword and shield. His magic seems to have suffered immensely, as you specified in your letter. He seemed to tap into it when he underwent stress in the sparring match. He used some pretty heavy spells, almost knocked him out cold when I stepped. He needs a real magical teacher, not just a training regimen here at the castle.” Celestia stood, thanking the Captain for his time. She approached Ambrós, who gave her a smile. “When you feel better, ask a guard to bring you to Sun Spot Tower, alright?” Ambrós nodded, Celestia leaving him to rest. The man wondered what he’d be doing there, finding the name quite interesting. A few hours later, Ambrós found himself knocking on the door of the tower. The door opened with a blue magical aura around it, the man walking in. Once inside, he saw Celestia and Luna sitting in two chairs. “Ambrós, sit. We need to talk about something.” He did as Celestia asked, the Princess turning slightly in her chair to face him. “My sister and I have decided that she will train you in magic.” Luna smiled at Ambrós, the man giving her an unsure smile. “Do not worry, dear Ambrós. I am well trained in magic of all kinds. You will be in safe hands.” Luna’s reassurance helped him a bit. He was a bit nervous about learning magic, the only times he’d used magic being when he was under intense stress. Celestia left them alone, telling Luna to go easy on him before she did. “So… what first?” Luna stood, fixing her dress and patting it down, some dust coming off it. She extended her hand, Ambrós taking it. “A test.” She threw him, Ambrós planting his feet into the wall, letting gravity bring him to the ground. Luna’s horn and eyes glowed. “Show me what you’ve got.” Ambrós gulped. He’d be sore after this!
