Dark Ascensionby ThePokeBronyChaptersChapter 1: New BeginningsChapter 2: You must learn to walk before you can runChapter 3: Forgotten TruthsChapter 1: New BeginningsIt all began when a pony wanted to walk. A pony wanted to walk, talk and feel, and to be able to distinguish dream from reality - not initially for any conceivable purpose, but merely the instinctive tourism of infancy. When that pony would walk, he would open a door in front of him, and the image that followed would become his first discernible memory - a small neatly-made bed, a circular striped rug in the middle of the floor, and several magical appliances and artefacts - then this pony would walk out, not in confusion, but in wonder. Such a pony would soon be discovered by an aged, wise wizard, standing high above him with a proud, yet dominant stature, and a menacing, yet not hostile stare. The small pony would droop his head, not in shame but in respect, and wander back to the room in which he was more familiar with, his own. Now in his own room, the age-old wizard stares from his balcony towards the Southern Lands, almost an intricacy in his eyes as he gazes towards the setting sun. Yet at that moment, the small grey pony, who's soft viridian mane covered his nervous eyes uttered softly. "Are you happier with me here, Daddy?" The old stallion looked behind himself, and down at the young colt, seemingly shaking in anticipation of the wizard's response. "Young one, had I not entrusted myself to care for you as one of my own, you might not have been able to ask any pony that question. I am beyond happy to have you reside within these ancient walls, and while the sanctuary of loneliness is a virtue I somewhat adore, the humbleness of a family is a gift I cherish just as much. Now, it's time for you to rest, young one. The night calls to keep you safe within her realm." The small colt gave a humbled smile, and turned his wavering attention to his own room, and walked out slowly but calmly, the soft tapping of his hooves echoing quietly down the hall-way. "Indeed... had I not found him that day... those creatures... they would have taken him, destroyed what life he could live in safety and happiness. They shall not receive what they desire...But when he is of age he must learn his own defence, for I cannot protect the both of them forever. That day..." The age-old wizard walked down the violently windy gorge, returning home from his long journey in the Southern Lands. The crackling of the stones around him as they fall into the dark ravine below echo throughout the chasm, yet as he walks ever onward, different noises emerge, alerting the stallion's senses and leading him to ready his blade within his magical aura. "The beautiful sounds of the wilderness are being corrupted by the vicious screams of battle. Somewhere... somewhere a fight is brewing, I must discover the source of this!" He began galloping through the gorge at top speed, his moon-lit blue cloak breezing through the winds, and the jingling of his bells ringing throughout the rocky cavern. Not long later, and the stallion was covered behind a towering rock, hearing the violence of combat merely inches away from his hiding place. The clashing of steel ringed throughout the rocky terrain, and the violent battle-cries of the warring ponies penetrated the atmosphere with sharpness akin to their blades. "Vile... corrupting the peaceful atmosphere of this beautiful land with their bloody combat... This must end!" The stallion readies his blade, but halts for yet a moment as he hears the two figures speak. One figure, hooded and cloaked in pitch-black garments bellowed furiously, "The child is integral to what our interests and desires hold, fool. Your foolish wife already died trying to pitifully defend her child's meaningless existence, and now you will fall to the same fate, the edge of my blade piercing your foolish heart. Step away and give the child to me, and you may yet have a slow death!" The other, a towering dark-grey stallion, his viridian mane flowing in the wind, stood his ground and yelled defiantly, "You think us foolish and pitiful for defending what's most dear to our hearts? HA! What would you know of love and cherishing what is close to you!? Dark creatures like you, who find pleasure and satisfaction in the torture and suffering of others, you're a blight on the shining light of our proud land, and you will not be allowed to destroy what we work so hard to defend! Defend yourself!" The two battled endlessly, swords clashing and hooves beating against one-another viciously, and small spits of blood beginning to coat the landscape around them. With one final grasp of his blade, the proud protector of his child charged forward, lunging his blade tip-first towards his foe, screaming with a final act of defiance and love, "For my child I shall strike you down, even if it means dying in order to save what I hold precious to my heart! Die, monster!" Both figures charged. A sharp stabbing sound immediately drowned out any other sound audible within the area. "...Hahahaha... Foolish wretch... You died just as you lived, foolishly trying to protect a meaningless existence..." The cloaked-figure laughed menacingly, yet began to cough up his own blood, as the blade of his foe penetrated the right of his chest, seeping his dark blood down the now owner-less blade and barely missing his vital organs. As for the creature's blade, it was rammed right through the heart of the once defiant protector, who's life drifted away in an instant, feeling little pain - perhaps an unintentionally merciful death from his foe. "Ghahaha... Gllhk! Won't... last long like this... going to have to flee. Haha... D-don't worry, little one... I'll be back s- GLAHCHK!" The wizard's blade slashed right across the creature's chest, ripping his heart in two and spilling his dark blood to the floor. "You shall not harm this child, fiend... Whatever you are, you shall not defile the last remnant of this deceased pony's family, and you deserve a death far more painful than what you gave him." At that moment, he rammed the blade deep into the creature's lungs, yet still hearing his faint breath. "Gahh...Glk-hah... hahahahah...! K-killing me w-won't... stop my people... Starswirl. Do... as you wish, we will find you one day... Glhhkkk......" The creature's menacing voice slowly faded, and his body fell upon the wizard's blade. "It seems even ancient creatures know my name... let's find out just what you are." Now removing his blade from his foe's chest, he slashed the dark garments to reveal its figure. "...No... no it- it can't be... If... if they are after this child, that means..." The wizard hesitated no longer. He levitated the young colt into his cloak to prevent him falling to the cold of the night, and slowly guided their way back to his home, leaving the scene of two violent deaths behind him. Starswirl's expression, once calm and collected, was now of fear and disbelief. "It can't be... Why could they want this poor child...? I must discover why this child is so special to them... I shall take him under my tutorship and lead him in the right way. For now... he can never know of what happened here, but one day, he shall learn." Lowering his head, he heard a faint weeping coming from the tiny child, who teared up quietly yet didn't cause much fuss, as he was comfy within the wizard's tattered cloak. "Hush, young one... you are safe, now... your parents will not have fallen for nothing, I promise that to you now. I shall protect you, young one." He then gazed at the small veil that the child was left in, and saw a small tag labelled 'Wild Encounter' written in worn but eligible text. "I see... so that's your name, is it, child? Very well... I shall protect you, young Encounter... sleep now, child. Sleep." Starswirl galloped back through the cavern he once came through, taking a right-turn in order to proceed back home, not once looking back at the gruesome aftermath he had left behind, and hoping dearly he would never have to return. Chapter 2: You must learn to walk before you can runThe alluring intricacies of a child's infancy once seemed all but a foreign concept to Starswirl, never considering the strange, yet intriguing nature of the development of a young colt into a proud stallion, nor a silent filly into a beautiful mare, yet his parenthood over Wild Encounter and Clover the Clever taught him an intricacy to his own life that he had regretted not discovering sooner - family. "Family... Something I've never considered an importance before. I thought it best to confine myself to the lonely solitude of being around my own person and no other, yet these two young children... they awake a strange feeling inside me that I am glad to experience. I believe they call it... Love" Starswirl chuckled after uttering his self-imposed monologue, and gazed towards the attractive shining of the morning light, allowing the sun's gentle rays to flood into his dark chamber. He soon heard the echoing sound of tiny hooves clapping and tapping around the hallways and vacant chambers of his home, no doubt knowing that those he cared to protect had stirred from their slumber. "Thank you for protecting my children under your light, Lady Luna... I take them back into my care" Now leaving the quiet vacancy of his chamber, Starswirl came towards the two young ponies, and announced his presence directly "Good morning, young ones. Today's lesson is going to be a little different from what you two are used to. No magic, no spells, nothing like that. Follow me out to the courtyard when you are ready" The colt and filly looked at each other puzzled, wondering just what kind of new lesson Starswirl had intended for them to pursue. Nevertheless, they both eagerly followed him, staying cheerfully by his side, yet never seeing a smile from his blank expression. As always, whenever Wild would trot down the almost-endless hallways, he looked side to side, observing all the tiniest details of wonder and intrigue that caught his curious attention - strange looking flora, alluring artifacts, and often menacing memoirs. He thought it best to not let his mind wander, and kept up with Starswirl and Clover. Now that they were outside in the glistening sunlight, the wide-open area of Starswirl's courtyard was in full-view, whilst the wizard stood clear in the middle of the field, the two small ponies sitting eagerly in front of him. "Today's lesson is not one of magic, defense or fighting, but one you might find strange at first. I wish for you to learn how to walk." True to his expectations, the two looked confusingly at one another, then back at him, yet not once did they break into laughter, as they knew Starswirl had some sense of sensibility to his words. At that moment, the lavender filly spoke with somewhat of a hesitance in her voice. "Learn to... walk? What exactly do you mean by that? Is it some kind of metaphor we're not understanding, or have we been walking wrong our whole lives?" Starswirl gave a slight chuckle at her inquisitive nature, and nodded. "Indeed, you have not been walking wrong, but you have also not been walking right" He pointed at Wild instantly, and gave a direct command in his confident tone "Wild, I want you to walk from here over to that tree 10 meters away. This is not a test of speed, this is merely an observation. Go right ahead." Thinking against wanting to question Starswirl's intentions, young Encounter stood up and paced carefully towards the looming tree in the distance, taking up to a minute at his minute pace. As he walked slowly towards the tree, he noticed a small blade jammed right into the bottom-right trunk, leaving a small indent underneath it. He took note of this, then returned in the same time-frame, as his small hooves brushed softly against the many blades of grass comforting his walk. "Alright, I walked to the tree and back. What was I supposed to learn from it?" Starswirl stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity, yet only a few seconds had passed, then he gave a chuckle, and uttered his words with little restraint "Good. I see that you took care and observed even the most simplistic of surroundings. But now I want you to run to the tree in the same manner. And this time, I want to see if you can observe your surroundings just as well. Go." The dark-grey colt obeyed, this time galloping at a moderate pace, the blades of grass now carrying his pace across the field as he ran somewhat playfully, yet still looking around and observing his surroundings, trying desperately to understand the lesson he was supposed to learn. He made a turn when he reached the same distance he'd hit last time, and galloped back with a swiftness in his step. As he stopped in front of Starswirl, he now saw what looked like a disappointed stare on his once blank expression. "Did... did I do something wrong, sir...?" Starswirl spoke with a sternness he often did not use lightly "As you recall, I asked you to observe your surroundings when you ran. Did you notice that the tree now had a small blade stuck right in the bottom-right side?" Wild gazed back at the tree, and looked down to its bottom-right trunk, but the blade was no longer in sight. "I-I saw the blade the first time, but- but if you moved it I-" Starswirl interjected with an even harsher tone, no hesitance being present in his voice. "You see its absence now, but you did not see it while you ran. You noticed its appearance as you walked, yet as you ran you got reckless, didn't observe, and that blade could have been anywhere. Had it been in the hooves of a pony with malicious intent, it could have been jammed into the back of your neck with no hesitation from this pony. You must learn to walk before you can run, young one. I hope you learn from this, because I will not always be here to protect you." Starswirl walked off back to their home, not once looking back at either of the small ponies, as the echoing of his hat's bells jingled quietly as he faded into the dimly-lit hallways. Clover sighed, then heard a slight sniffling, then looked over at Wild, who had hunched into his hooves in embarrassment "How... how can I learn to be a great wizard like him... when not only am I bad at magic as it is, but I can't even learn to walk? I'm useless like this... you're both so much better than me..." Clover tried to comfort him, placing her hoof gently on his shoulder and stroking down his right foreleg. He began to emit small whimpers, then at a sudden moment hugged Clover tight, his tears flooding her chest. "Clover... please never leave me... I don't want to be lonely, I don't want to lose you or daddy... I love you both so much..." Clover remained speechless, yet gladly wrapped both forelegs around her best friend, and kissed his forehead to comfort him in kind. The both of them stayed in place for some-time, and began to head back into the Wizard's home when they heard the ringing of the dinner bell. Chapter 3: Forgotten TruthsOne must wonder once in their lives where the illustrious beauty of the endless world before them came to be. What cosmic event in long, ancient history could have brought birth to such a grand, ancient land such as Equestria. This knowledge was privy to few, not even to the likes of Starswirl, yet the origins of his world didn't deter him from cherishing it any less, and seeking to protect everything close to him - both his family, and his home. Once again, as the aged-wizard does every morning of which he wakes, he gazes towards the distant southern lands from his small balcony, and thought as to what beauty could be hidden in those undiscovered forests that even the great Princesses had not dared to venture toward. "Those distant lands... what could lie beyond those grand mountains and endless rivers of woodland? Maybe soon I will find out..." He gave a calm sigh, and retreated to his chamber, soon hearing the noises of his students as they had awoken moments ago. Wild, now entering his teenage years, was once again wandering through the quiet halls of Starswirl's Oak-wood home, gazing his eyes across the quaint patterns of the bark as it spiraled endlessly across the walls, with some spots forming bright circular formations of lighter wood with strange brown marks dotting them, and then returning to the ever-endless spirals and curves around the bark of the wood. The outside pattern resembled beautiful leaves, surrounded by a florid arabesque. Wild perceived it like a toadstool in joints, an interminable abundance of toadstool fungus, budding and sprouting in numerous versions. Wild's eyes simply puzzled along as if the walls were a maze for him to solve, being entranced by the never-ending wonder of Starswirl's home. His wandering gaze halted when his eyes gained focus on a brightly-lit blade upon a rack on the wall. The florescent lights seeping into the hall-way coated the steel blade, glaring with blinding intensity as Wild peered over it. The hilt was a midnight blue, the scabbard resembling the emblem of the two sisters who together united Equestria under one banner. The tip of the blade in particular shined with distinct finesse, entrancing Wild's curiosity as to its sudden existence in his mind. Inquisitively, he began to slowly reach towards the blade. "Do not touch that blade." Starswirl was behind him in an instant, as if moving like a quiet breeze, as Wild had not picked up so much as the faintest trotting of hooves behind him. "I- I was just wondering why it was there all of a sudden, sir, I-" "Do not touch that blade!" Starswirl's yell bellowed throughout the dormant halls with a grinding force. Wild's foreleg had gone from reaching for the blade, to hiding his face in shame and fear. Clover had emerged from her nearby dorm, frantic to see what the commotion was over. "What's going on out here? Why are you shouting at Wild?" She spoke with a hint of defensiveness to her tone, not afraid to protect her best friend, even from Starswirl. "You dare question my authority when I give you an order? I am your teacher first, and your father second!" Clover immediately stepped back, and found herself just beside Wild, who was still cowering behind his foreleg. She spoke up for his sake once again, "Why must you be so harsh on him? You never shout at me like that even if I do something awfully wrong! You are always so distant with Wild, and you've never once told us how you found him!" Wild slowly began to raise his head, yet kept his eyes firmly aimed towards Clover, inspired by her determined retaliation. Clover slammed her foreleg to the floor in anger and her voice raised twofold. "Even if you are our teacher, we are still your equals! You don't have the right to hide his origins from him anymore, tell him the truth!" Starswirl's dominance had seemed to dissipate, and his stern glare had subsided into a soulless expression. He closed his eyes slowly, and sighed. "...I am sorry. I had convinced myself that even now, you would not be ready to learn of Wild's past... why he is here, why I found him and took care of him." Starswirl took a step back, and lit his horn within seconds. The dazzling wisps of his bright blue magic swirled around the hilt of the blade above their heads, and he lowered it, levitating it beside him. At that moment, the two young ponies noticed him staring at the blade with a look of sadness. "This blade... belongs to me. It is the blade I used many years ago, when you two were only just beginning your lives in this world. It is called Twilight's Edge. It is the blade with which I... saved Wild's life when he was merely a foal." Wild looked up, confused as to why this blade held any relevance to him. "Saved my life...? What... what do you mean?" At that moment, Starswirl's magic swirled around the three of them. A spacial dimension began to fade into reality, and the three were floating within the time-space pocket. Wild was shocked, and for a moment wondered why he wasn't falling, yet once his fears were abolished, his instinctive curiosity once again peaked, as he looked around the dimension. Beautiful streaks of bright blue and turquoise clouds coated the atmosphere, and bright stars dotted the almost endless space. Within the center of the three ponies, Starswirl's magic began to swirl into a circular formation, and the two young ponies could make out a vision within the swirling ether. "This night... was the night when I had found you, young Wild... observe through my sight the events that transpired that day." Wild could make out two ponies in a desolate field, the younger Starswirl observing from behind a battered rock. One was cloaked and little of his features could be made out. The other, a tall, dark-grey stallion with a vibrant viridian mane that flowed in the winds. After mere moments, Wild noticed what he wished he knew for so long... This pony was his father. Even Clover noticed this, hiding her expression of shock behind her foreleg. She saw that this stallion was a spitting image of Wild, their mane being slightly darker, with a brighter coat than Wild possessed. At that moment, both ponies within the vision charged, and the younger Starswirl's vision was averted. The vision then warped and distorted, before returning to what could be made out of Starswirl's past vision. The younger Starswirl was gazing at his blade, covered in the eerie green blood of his fallen foe. Starswirl had intentionally hidden the creature's identity, still not believing they were ready to comprehend the threat that faced young Wild. This however, did not occur to them, as they merely gazed back up at Starswirl, and the blade held in his magical grip. The spacial dimension around them began to fade into nothingness, and they found themselves back in the dimly lit hall within Starswirl's home. He raised Twilight's Edge above them, and placed it atop the rack once again, not once having his eyes on the blade. "That blade... I had slain the pony that killed your father and mother. When I ran away from the battle... I had found your Mother... She was slashed... across her chest." Starswirl could say no more. He levitated a small piece of paper from the saddle-bag underneath his cloak, something that looked like a photograph, and placed it solely within Wild's hoof. "I found this... on your father's corpse." Within the picture, Wild observed the late stallion standing proud, with his left foreleg around the neck of a bright-blue Pegasus, with a beautiful brown mane that fell all the way to her wings. Within one of her folded wings, a small grey foal was curled up in a little ball, sleeping as he snuggled into his mother's wing. She wore a neat pair of glasses that gave her sea-blue eyes a distinct sparkle. Written in the bottom right corner was a small note. "To my beautiful Takara, thank you for giving me the life I had always cherished, and the family I had always dreamed I could have. I love you." Signed, Emerald Wisdom.
Chapter 1: New BeginningsIt all began when a pony wanted to walk. A pony wanted to walk, talk and feel, and to be able to distinguish dream from reality - not initially for any conceivable purpose, but merely the instinctive tourism of infancy. When that pony would walk, he would open a door in front of him, and the image that followed would become his first discernible memory - a small neatly-made bed, a circular striped rug in the middle of the floor, and several magical appliances and artefacts - then this pony would walk out, not in confusion, but in wonder. Such a pony would soon be discovered by an aged, wise wizard, standing high above him with a proud, yet dominant stature, and a menacing, yet not hostile stare. The small pony would droop his head, not in shame but in respect, and wander back to the room in which he was more familiar with, his own. Now in his own room, the age-old wizard stares from his balcony towards the Southern Lands, almost an intricacy in his eyes as he gazes towards the setting sun. Yet at that moment, the small grey pony, who's soft viridian mane covered his nervous eyes uttered softly. "Are you happier with me here, Daddy?" The old stallion looked behind himself, and down at the young colt, seemingly shaking in anticipation of the wizard's response. "Young one, had I not entrusted myself to care for you as one of my own, you might not have been able to ask any pony that question. I am beyond happy to have you reside within these ancient walls, and while the sanctuary of loneliness is a virtue I somewhat adore, the humbleness of a family is a gift I cherish just as much. Now, it's time for you to rest, young one. The night calls to keep you safe within her realm." The small colt gave a humbled smile, and turned his wavering attention to his own room, and walked out slowly but calmly, the soft tapping of his hooves echoing quietly down the hall-way. "Indeed... had I not found him that day... those creatures... they would have taken him, destroyed what life he could live in safety and happiness. They shall not receive what they desire...But when he is of age he must learn his own defence, for I cannot protect the both of them forever. That day..." The age-old wizard walked down the violently windy gorge, returning home from his long journey in the Southern Lands. The crackling of the stones around him as they fall into the dark ravine below echo throughout the chasm, yet as he walks ever onward, different noises emerge, alerting the stallion's senses and leading him to ready his blade within his magical aura. "The beautiful sounds of the wilderness are being corrupted by the vicious screams of battle. Somewhere... somewhere a fight is brewing, I must discover the source of this!" He began galloping through the gorge at top speed, his moon-lit blue cloak breezing through the winds, and the jingling of his bells ringing throughout the rocky cavern. Not long later, and the stallion was covered behind a towering rock, hearing the violence of combat merely inches away from his hiding place. The clashing of steel ringed throughout the rocky terrain, and the violent battle-cries of the warring ponies penetrated the atmosphere with sharpness akin to their blades. "Vile... corrupting the peaceful atmosphere of this beautiful land with their bloody combat... This must end!" The stallion readies his blade, but halts for yet a moment as he hears the two figures speak. One figure, hooded and cloaked in pitch-black garments bellowed furiously, "The child is integral to what our interests and desires hold, fool. Your foolish wife already died trying to pitifully defend her child's meaningless existence, and now you will fall to the same fate, the edge of my blade piercing your foolish heart. Step away and give the child to me, and you may yet have a slow death!" The other, a towering dark-grey stallion, his viridian mane flowing in the wind, stood his ground and yelled defiantly, "You think us foolish and pitiful for defending what's most dear to our hearts? HA! What would you know of love and cherishing what is close to you!? Dark creatures like you, who find pleasure and satisfaction in the torture and suffering of others, you're a blight on the shining light of our proud land, and you will not be allowed to destroy what we work so hard to defend! Defend yourself!" The two battled endlessly, swords clashing and hooves beating against one-another viciously, and small spits of blood beginning to coat the landscape around them. With one final grasp of his blade, the proud protector of his child charged forward, lunging his blade tip-first towards his foe, screaming with a final act of defiance and love, "For my child I shall strike you down, even if it means dying in order to save what I hold precious to my heart! Die, monster!" Both figures charged. A sharp stabbing sound immediately drowned out any other sound audible within the area. "...Hahahaha... Foolish wretch... You died just as you lived, foolishly trying to protect a meaningless existence..." The cloaked-figure laughed menacingly, yet began to cough up his own blood, as the blade of his foe penetrated the right of his chest, seeping his dark blood down the now owner-less blade and barely missing his vital organs. As for the creature's blade, it was rammed right through the heart of the once defiant protector, who's life drifted away in an instant, feeling little pain - perhaps an unintentionally merciful death from his foe. "Ghahaha... Gllhk! Won't... last long like this... going to have to flee. Haha... D-don't worry, little one... I'll be back s- GLAHCHK!" The wizard's blade slashed right across the creature's chest, ripping his heart in two and spilling his dark blood to the floor. "You shall not harm this child, fiend... Whatever you are, you shall not defile the last remnant of this deceased pony's family, and you deserve a death far more painful than what you gave him." At that moment, he rammed the blade deep into the creature's lungs, yet still hearing his faint breath. "Gahh...Glk-hah... hahahahah...! K-killing me w-won't... stop my people... Starswirl. Do... as you wish, we will find you one day... Glhhkkk......" The creature's menacing voice slowly faded, and his body fell upon the wizard's blade. "It seems even ancient creatures know my name... let's find out just what you are." Now removing his blade from his foe's chest, he slashed the dark garments to reveal its figure. "...No... no it- it can't be... If... if they are after this child, that means..." The wizard hesitated no longer. He levitated the young colt into his cloak to prevent him falling to the cold of the night, and slowly guided their way back to his home, leaving the scene of two violent deaths behind him. Starswirl's expression, once calm and collected, was now of fear and disbelief. "It can't be... Why could they want this poor child...? I must discover why this child is so special to them... I shall take him under my tutorship and lead him in the right way. For now... he can never know of what happened here, but one day, he shall learn." Lowering his head, he heard a faint weeping coming from the tiny child, who teared up quietly yet didn't cause much fuss, as he was comfy within the wizard's tattered cloak. "Hush, young one... you are safe, now... your parents will not have fallen for nothing, I promise that to you now. I shall protect you, young one." He then gazed at the small veil that the child was left in, and saw a small tag labelled 'Wild Encounter' written in worn but eligible text. "I see... so that's your name, is it, child? Very well... I shall protect you, young Encounter... sleep now, child. Sleep." Starswirl galloped back through the cavern he once came through, taking a right-turn in order to proceed back home, not once looking back at the gruesome aftermath he had left behind, and hoping dearly he would never have to return.
Chapter 2: You must learn to walk before you can runThe alluring intricacies of a child's infancy once seemed all but a foreign concept to Starswirl, never considering the strange, yet intriguing nature of the development of a young colt into a proud stallion, nor a silent filly into a beautiful mare, yet his parenthood over Wild Encounter and Clover the Clever taught him an intricacy to his own life that he had regretted not discovering sooner - family. "Family... Something I've never considered an importance before. I thought it best to confine myself to the lonely solitude of being around my own person and no other, yet these two young children... they awake a strange feeling inside me that I am glad to experience. I believe they call it... Love" Starswirl chuckled after uttering his self-imposed monologue, and gazed towards the attractive shining of the morning light, allowing the sun's gentle rays to flood into his dark chamber. He soon heard the echoing sound of tiny hooves clapping and tapping around the hallways and vacant chambers of his home, no doubt knowing that those he cared to protect had stirred from their slumber. "Thank you for protecting my children under your light, Lady Luna... I take them back into my care" Now leaving the quiet vacancy of his chamber, Starswirl came towards the two young ponies, and announced his presence directly "Good morning, young ones. Today's lesson is going to be a little different from what you two are used to. No magic, no spells, nothing like that. Follow me out to the courtyard when you are ready" The colt and filly looked at each other puzzled, wondering just what kind of new lesson Starswirl had intended for them to pursue. Nevertheless, they both eagerly followed him, staying cheerfully by his side, yet never seeing a smile from his blank expression. As always, whenever Wild would trot down the almost-endless hallways, he looked side to side, observing all the tiniest details of wonder and intrigue that caught his curious attention - strange looking flora, alluring artifacts, and often menacing memoirs. He thought it best to not let his mind wander, and kept up with Starswirl and Clover. Now that they were outside in the glistening sunlight, the wide-open area of Starswirl's courtyard was in full-view, whilst the wizard stood clear in the middle of the field, the two small ponies sitting eagerly in front of him. "Today's lesson is not one of magic, defense or fighting, but one you might find strange at first. I wish for you to learn how to walk." True to his expectations, the two looked confusingly at one another, then back at him, yet not once did they break into laughter, as they knew Starswirl had some sense of sensibility to his words. At that moment, the lavender filly spoke with somewhat of a hesitance in her voice. "Learn to... walk? What exactly do you mean by that? Is it some kind of metaphor we're not understanding, or have we been walking wrong our whole lives?" Starswirl gave a slight chuckle at her inquisitive nature, and nodded. "Indeed, you have not been walking wrong, but you have also not been walking right" He pointed at Wild instantly, and gave a direct command in his confident tone "Wild, I want you to walk from here over to that tree 10 meters away. This is not a test of speed, this is merely an observation. Go right ahead." Thinking against wanting to question Starswirl's intentions, young Encounter stood up and paced carefully towards the looming tree in the distance, taking up to a minute at his minute pace. As he walked slowly towards the tree, he noticed a small blade jammed right into the bottom-right trunk, leaving a small indent underneath it. He took note of this, then returned in the same time-frame, as his small hooves brushed softly against the many blades of grass comforting his walk. "Alright, I walked to the tree and back. What was I supposed to learn from it?" Starswirl stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity, yet only a few seconds had passed, then he gave a chuckle, and uttered his words with little restraint "Good. I see that you took care and observed even the most simplistic of surroundings. But now I want you to run to the tree in the same manner. And this time, I want to see if you can observe your surroundings just as well. Go." The dark-grey colt obeyed, this time galloping at a moderate pace, the blades of grass now carrying his pace across the field as he ran somewhat playfully, yet still looking around and observing his surroundings, trying desperately to understand the lesson he was supposed to learn. He made a turn when he reached the same distance he'd hit last time, and galloped back with a swiftness in his step. As he stopped in front of Starswirl, he now saw what looked like a disappointed stare on his once blank expression. "Did... did I do something wrong, sir...?" Starswirl spoke with a sternness he often did not use lightly "As you recall, I asked you to observe your surroundings when you ran. Did you notice that the tree now had a small blade stuck right in the bottom-right side?" Wild gazed back at the tree, and looked down to its bottom-right trunk, but the blade was no longer in sight. "I-I saw the blade the first time, but- but if you moved it I-" Starswirl interjected with an even harsher tone, no hesitance being present in his voice. "You see its absence now, but you did not see it while you ran. You noticed its appearance as you walked, yet as you ran you got reckless, didn't observe, and that blade could have been anywhere. Had it been in the hooves of a pony with malicious intent, it could have been jammed into the back of your neck with no hesitation from this pony. You must learn to walk before you can run, young one. I hope you learn from this, because I will not always be here to protect you." Starswirl walked off back to their home, not once looking back at either of the small ponies, as the echoing of his hat's bells jingled quietly as he faded into the dimly-lit hallways. Clover sighed, then heard a slight sniffling, then looked over at Wild, who had hunched into his hooves in embarrassment "How... how can I learn to be a great wizard like him... when not only am I bad at magic as it is, but I can't even learn to walk? I'm useless like this... you're both so much better than me..." Clover tried to comfort him, placing her hoof gently on his shoulder and stroking down his right foreleg. He began to emit small whimpers, then at a sudden moment hugged Clover tight, his tears flooding her chest. "Clover... please never leave me... I don't want to be lonely, I don't want to lose you or daddy... I love you both so much..." Clover remained speechless, yet gladly wrapped both forelegs around her best friend, and kissed his forehead to comfort him in kind. The both of them stayed in place for some-time, and began to head back into the Wizard's home when they heard the ringing of the dinner bell.
Chapter 3: Forgotten TruthsOne must wonder once in their lives where the illustrious beauty of the endless world before them came to be. What cosmic event in long, ancient history could have brought birth to such a grand, ancient land such as Equestria. This knowledge was privy to few, not even to the likes of Starswirl, yet the origins of his world didn't deter him from cherishing it any less, and seeking to protect everything close to him - both his family, and his home. Once again, as the aged-wizard does every morning of which he wakes, he gazes towards the distant southern lands from his small balcony, and thought as to what beauty could be hidden in those undiscovered forests that even the great Princesses had not dared to venture toward. "Those distant lands... what could lie beyond those grand mountains and endless rivers of woodland? Maybe soon I will find out..." He gave a calm sigh, and retreated to his chamber, soon hearing the noises of his students as they had awoken moments ago. Wild, now entering his teenage years, was once again wandering through the quiet halls of Starswirl's Oak-wood home, gazing his eyes across the quaint patterns of the bark as it spiraled endlessly across the walls, with some spots forming bright circular formations of lighter wood with strange brown marks dotting them, and then returning to the ever-endless spirals and curves around the bark of the wood. The outside pattern resembled beautiful leaves, surrounded by a florid arabesque. Wild perceived it like a toadstool in joints, an interminable abundance of toadstool fungus, budding and sprouting in numerous versions. Wild's eyes simply puzzled along as if the walls were a maze for him to solve, being entranced by the never-ending wonder of Starswirl's home. His wandering gaze halted when his eyes gained focus on a brightly-lit blade upon a rack on the wall. The florescent lights seeping into the hall-way coated the steel blade, glaring with blinding intensity as Wild peered over it. The hilt was a midnight blue, the scabbard resembling the emblem of the two sisters who together united Equestria under one banner. The tip of the blade in particular shined with distinct finesse, entrancing Wild's curiosity as to its sudden existence in his mind. Inquisitively, he began to slowly reach towards the blade. "Do not touch that blade." Starswirl was behind him in an instant, as if moving like a quiet breeze, as Wild had not picked up so much as the faintest trotting of hooves behind him. "I- I was just wondering why it was there all of a sudden, sir, I-" "Do not touch that blade!" Starswirl's yell bellowed throughout the dormant halls with a grinding force. Wild's foreleg had gone from reaching for the blade, to hiding his face in shame and fear. Clover had emerged from her nearby dorm, frantic to see what the commotion was over. "What's going on out here? Why are you shouting at Wild?" She spoke with a hint of defensiveness to her tone, not afraid to protect her best friend, even from Starswirl. "You dare question my authority when I give you an order? I am your teacher first, and your father second!" Clover immediately stepped back, and found herself just beside Wild, who was still cowering behind his foreleg. She spoke up for his sake once again, "Why must you be so harsh on him? You never shout at me like that even if I do something awfully wrong! You are always so distant with Wild, and you've never once told us how you found him!" Wild slowly began to raise his head, yet kept his eyes firmly aimed towards Clover, inspired by her determined retaliation. Clover slammed her foreleg to the floor in anger and her voice raised twofold. "Even if you are our teacher, we are still your equals! You don't have the right to hide his origins from him anymore, tell him the truth!" Starswirl's dominance had seemed to dissipate, and his stern glare had subsided into a soulless expression. He closed his eyes slowly, and sighed. "...I am sorry. I had convinced myself that even now, you would not be ready to learn of Wild's past... why he is here, why I found him and took care of him." Starswirl took a step back, and lit his horn within seconds. The dazzling wisps of his bright blue magic swirled around the hilt of the blade above their heads, and he lowered it, levitating it beside him. At that moment, the two young ponies noticed him staring at the blade with a look of sadness. "This blade... belongs to me. It is the blade I used many years ago, when you two were only just beginning your lives in this world. It is called Twilight's Edge. It is the blade with which I... saved Wild's life when he was merely a foal." Wild looked up, confused as to why this blade held any relevance to him. "Saved my life...? What... what do you mean?" At that moment, Starswirl's magic swirled around the three of them. A spacial dimension began to fade into reality, and the three were floating within the time-space pocket. Wild was shocked, and for a moment wondered why he wasn't falling, yet once his fears were abolished, his instinctive curiosity once again peaked, as he looked around the dimension. Beautiful streaks of bright blue and turquoise clouds coated the atmosphere, and bright stars dotted the almost endless space. Within the center of the three ponies, Starswirl's magic began to swirl into a circular formation, and the two young ponies could make out a vision within the swirling ether. "This night... was the night when I had found you, young Wild... observe through my sight the events that transpired that day." Wild could make out two ponies in a desolate field, the younger Starswirl observing from behind a battered rock. One was cloaked and little of his features could be made out. The other, a tall, dark-grey stallion with a vibrant viridian mane that flowed in the winds. After mere moments, Wild noticed what he wished he knew for so long... This pony was his father. Even Clover noticed this, hiding her expression of shock behind her foreleg. She saw that this stallion was a spitting image of Wild, their mane being slightly darker, with a brighter coat than Wild possessed. At that moment, both ponies within the vision charged, and the younger Starswirl's vision was averted. The vision then warped and distorted, before returning to what could be made out of Starswirl's past vision. The younger Starswirl was gazing at his blade, covered in the eerie green blood of his fallen foe. Starswirl had intentionally hidden the creature's identity, still not believing they were ready to comprehend the threat that faced young Wild. This however, did not occur to them, as they merely gazed back up at Starswirl, and the blade held in his magical grip. The spacial dimension around them began to fade into nothingness, and they found themselves back in the dimly lit hall within Starswirl's home. He raised Twilight's Edge above them, and placed it atop the rack once again, not once having his eyes on the blade. "That blade... I had slain the pony that killed your father and mother. When I ran away from the battle... I had found your Mother... She was slashed... across her chest." Starswirl could say no more. He levitated a small piece of paper from the saddle-bag underneath his cloak, something that looked like a photograph, and placed it solely within Wild's hoof. "I found this... on your father's corpse." Within the picture, Wild observed the late stallion standing proud, with his left foreleg around the neck of a bright-blue Pegasus, with a beautiful brown mane that fell all the way to her wings. Within one of her folded wings, a small grey foal was curled up in a little ball, sleeping as he snuggled into his mother's wing. She wore a neat pair of glasses that gave her sea-blue eyes a distinct sparkle. Written in the bottom right corner was a small note. "To my beautiful Takara, thank you for giving me the life I had always cherished, and the family I had always dreamed I could have. I love you." Signed, Emerald Wisdom.
