The Beginnings of Obsession
It was an average day to begin with. The birds were singing, trees swaying in the wind. Various nobles chattering or arguing outside the castle as they waited to be admitted, so that they could complain, whilst servants hustled around with hardly a murmur beyond greetings and the occasional annoyed grumble from a servant who had a task they didn't like. In the libraries book keepers were rushing from shelf to shelf, making sure books were organized and the books that were checked out were the only ones missing. Some were checking the amount of parchment and ink they had, simply for anyone who decided to take notes or possibly attempt to write a new spell. Most guards stood outside important rooms, rigid and firm like statues freshly made from stone, whilst others worked outside keeping an eye upon the nobles, or they were simply training. In Celestia's chamber, only the guards outside could hear the gentle yawn that escaped her muzzle as she woke up, horn glowing a soft yellow as she removed blankets and got prepared for the day.
Somewhere in the castle, in a room cluttered with scrolls, books, and various items of the arcane persuasion, slept a unicorn. His bearded muzzle firmly planted in an open book that he probably was studying the night before. Somewhere, cauldrons bubbled and popped to their own beat. A musical rhythm capable of lulling one into an almost blissful slumber at the slow, carefree pace of it.
Of course, when something exploded, the unicorn's ears twitched as he jumped up. Eyes wide, with panic in his eyes. "What in Celestia's name was that?!" Star Swirl half yelled, his voice slurring as he struggled to fully wake up. Of course, even tired as he was it was still easy to see the source of the issue. One of the cauldrons were smoking, and whatever he was attempting to cook up in it was pouring slowly from the bottom. Probably cooked too long judging by the color. Such a grey and gooey mess was nothing like what the book showed the end result to even mildly look like. At some point he'd get a servant to clean it up. Star Swirl lit up his horn, a teal aura coming over his horn as he carefully moved the book that served as an impromptu pillow towards a nearby desk. He'd finish his studies on gems and their uses in magic later. For now, he had things to do. Like get prepared for the day of advising the Princess, working on spells, and serving as head librarian for the occasional scholar that came to study or hopeful unicorn wishing to be his apprentice.
That teal aura once again came to life as he floated over a small mirror to check he was presentable. Let's see, curly white beard, check. Glasses, check. Eyes still yellow and lively, check. Mane about as kept as beard, check. Robes, not checked yet. Hat, also not checked. With a simple sigh he floated the mirror away, quite prepared for the day besides his robes and matching hat. Instead of searching for it like some normal pony, Star Swirl used his magic to lightly tug them out from wherever they hid. This time they happened to be near a pile of books, or under it in the case of the robes judging by how that pile collapsed. He'd chuckle if he hadn't just woken up. Instead he set his robes upon his body, cinching the pin that held it together and carefully adjusting his hat to deal with a bit of his unruly mane. Convinced he was fairly presentable now, out he went of his room, making mental note to ask a maid to clean it next time he crossed paths with one.
He quietly walked into the throne room, being on advisory duty until noon, when the next adviser would come in. Perks of having two royal jobs, he didn't have to deal with bickering nobles the entire day. Of course, he had to deal with the early risers, but these typically were nobles with actual issues since they bothered getting up before the sun rose to make the trip to the castle to seek advice or resolution for conflict. Usually, anyways. Celestia trotted in, giving him a smile and a small wave.
"Good morning Star Swirl. Did you sleep well?" She asked merrily, trotting up towards her throne before sitting in it. She always was in a sunny mood early on. Nothing like raising a celestial body to raise one's mood. Not to mention, predictably, she was a morning pony, unlike her night owl of a sister. He hasn't actually talked to Luna in a while... He should probably get to that.
"Heh, about as well as I usually do Princess." He smiled at her, horn glowing as he adjusted his hat again. "Of course, still a bit tired, but that's again rather usual. Nothing like reading and studying until you pass out!" He chuckled, lightly shaking his head, setting his hat slightly off center again.
"You really need to work on that you know, sleeping thing." Celestia giggled, waving a hoof dismissively. "How are you supposed to advise me if you're possibly going to pass out at any minute?"
"Same way as I always do, listening to the nobles and their petty complaints. Nothing quite like frustration to wake one up. Speaking of nobles, maybe you should let them in now?" He chuckled, gesturing to the door and the guards carefully standing to either side of the door.
"Do I haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaave to?" Celestia smiled, a slight whine in her voice, before shaking her head as her horn glowed, opening the door.
Once that door opened, in came the flood. Dozens of brightly colored ponies wearing extravagant clothing and bickering with each other. Honestly some would call them a bunch of grown, well dressed, kindergartners. Sadly enough they wouldn't be far from the truth. From what little bits of conversation he could understand with so many talking, some lord built something that barely touches the other's land, and some count refused to pay another lord's kid for doing some work for them. Honestly, was this seriously what royalty had to settle? Sadly yes, and it happened more often then not since Equestria was mildly peaceful now. Occasionally there'd be a crime or someone expressing the tribes old view, yet that's to be expected. Not like suddenly being forced together under beings that represented all three of them meant the tribes had to get along after all. Probably didn't help that most of the nobles happened to be unicorns. Then again, judging by how all three tribes ran themselves, it made sense. Earth ponies were a more agricultural focused group, the Pegasi were war hawks, and the Unicorns ran themselves like a kingdom. That by itself gave the unicorns a hoof over the others when it came to a kingdom.
"Ahem, silence! Please form up with whom you have a dispute with and wait to be called up to orderly tell the Princess your problems." Star Swirl's horn glowed, amplifying his voice to be heard over the chaos of this group. Although slightly harsh on his voice, it was indeed worth it. They fell into lines quickly and without fuss. "Alright, good job. Now first group, step up."
Two unicorn stallions walked up, shooting glares at each other. They both bowed, identical blonde manes and white coats. Huh, they both must have been family, or simply coincidental color scheming. Probably the former though. Anyways, he should probably get them talking. "Ahem, state your names and quarrels, one at a time else I'll have you both removed from here for disorderly conduct." Both stallions shared a glance at each other before nodding. They knew not if he was serious, but they'd prefer not finding out.
"Sir Blue Blood the First, and..." The unicorn on the right turned and looked at his brother, who nodded. "Sir Reginald Pants."
"Welcome to the court both of you, now if you don't mind, state your business here." The stallion on the left rose a hoof, Blue Blood it seemed, would start. "Yes, you, go ahead."
"Ahem, I, Sir Blue Blood, would like to announce, that my brother, Sir Reginald Pants, has done me a grave wrong!" Shocked gasps came from everypony but those waiting patiently for him to continue. "He has stolen from me something that simply can't be replaced!" More gasps, because the drama queen couldn't just simply tell the story.
"Alright, just get on with it. What has he stolen?" Star Swirl interjected, annoyance in his voice. Celestia seemed mildly amused by this. Blue Blood merely huffed.
"Fine! He stole from me the right to be the first one to have a royal title, and I want his revoked so that I can be the first noble!" All throughout the room, ponies facehoofed, be it physically like Star Swirl, or mentally like Celestia.
"Alright, let me just get this straight. You came here, and dragged him along, just because he got to be recognized as a noble before you? We have to alter all the records because you feel like this is something worth while?" Star Swirl was annoyed and frustrated.
"Sorry, I wanted the Princess' opinion on the matter, not some adviser." Blue Blood huffed. Judging by the look on Reginald's face, this wasn't necessarily his idea either. He probably agreed to simply shut the fool up.
"Well, I'll have to agree with Star Swirl on this one. We already have the records, and it doesn't really matter who is where on the list. The number is trivial." Blue Blood looked shocked, hoof on his chest. "Now, please leave. I'm sure we have more important cases coming up. I bid both of you good day." Both bowed and walked out, Blue Blood already speaking about the nerve.
"Ahem, next group."
Thus, the morning progressed. Some issues were sincere, land disputes and theft. Some were just as silly as Blue Blood's and were about instantly shut down and thrown out. Honestly why the Princess bothered dealing with them evaded him. If he were King or Prince, he'd have gotten rid of them long ago. Possibly have them tell their complaints to an adviser who would sort out what issues were actually important so as to avoid wasting time. Finally, it was about noon judging by the sun, and the end of his shift as an adviser.
"Princess, are you going to be fine dealing with the nobles?" Star Swirl was merely being careful here. One thing he didn't want to deal with is being pulled from the library because the second shift adviser couldn't handle some nobles whining about tax rates or whatever it is they will.
"Oh I'll be fine Star Swirl. I'll just handle it like usual." Celestia chuckled, waving her hoof dismissively. "Now go, I'm sure you've been waiting to head back to the library since you woke up." Star Swirl nodded and smiled, trotting away. Celestia sighed as more nobles were already entering. Seems second shift was running behind.
Star Swirl's horn glowed, a light teal aura enveloping a door handle as he opened it. He stopped inside the library and took a deep breath. The smell of old parchment, ink, fresh parchment and wood all came to him. This would lead the old stallion to sigh softly, simply taking a second to appreciate this moment. Despite coming here everyday he could, he'd never tire of this wonder. A room devoted to purely academic pursuits. What more could one ever hope of needing? He didn't really know nor care.
Star Swirl carefully trotted through the library, doing his best to not disturb the small groups and single ponies whom were busy reading. After all, he was the head of this section of the castle. It's not quite a good example for him to be disturbing others. Besides, learning is always something to respect. Be it from the timid curiosity of a pony to the awe and joy an apprentice and teacher get from researching and learning together. Ahh yes, student teacher bonds forming and strengthening over a good book and a bit of laughter. The only better thing would be the advancement of any worthwhile field. Who knows, maybe he could even find a new apprentice.
Hmm, another apprentice? Clover has long since gone on her own way. After helping discover Equestria and stopping those Wendigos, there wasn't much left to teach her. She did accomplish something he probably couldn't do with only himself, an earth pony, and a pegasus. Not even him and the other unicorns who once rose and put down the sun and moon could do that alone. Fire spells can only last so long before burning out after all. He still needed to figure out how she did it. This whole fire of friendship thing sounded like a load of cheap lies. Magical prowess exceeding his own was necessary. He felt mildly proud his apprentice managed it in a burst like that, which seemed near impossible. Yet there wasn't any other proven way those three could beat the Wendigos so easily.
By the deities that be, what was that feeling he was feeling? An ache in his heart, a soft sigh escaping his muzzle. Was this what it felt to be lonely? Probably not. He had Celestia and Luna. He had all those assistants in here. He even interacted with those nobles. He wasn't lacking company. What is this feeling over? Clover? Doubt it, she was merely a student, albeit a close one. Almost like a daughter...was it someone to call his own that he missed? He did see Clover often enough, but she's her own mare now. He doesn't even have a special somepony, never has. Much more interested in courting knowledge. No children, because Star Swirl doesn't just sleep around. That's for common whorses to do. Nay, he didn't even have a pet. His entire life had just been studying, practicing, inventing, and teaching. Maybe a bit of advising for the King before Equestria was founded. No, now he had nothing but the Princesses as anything even remotely close to him as a family. The old mage finally reached a specific section of the library, one dealing with one of the two things he currently was studying. The theories behind golems, and the process behind creating one. Why would he be researching this? Well, he felt he could at least give it a lookover. Not like he was some grand potionmaker, yet he still is trying his hoof at it. The golem thing may just be something he read about. Though...might be interesting to try it out.
Just wish he knew exactly where this interest in golems had derived. They're not exactly his usual interest. It was more in line with summoning, due to the creation of a minion meant for a specific task. Usually guarding at that, which he doesn't exactly need. After all, he had guards. Sure, they were the guards of the castle, but he trusted them... Mostly. Maybe he'd enjoyed seeing some more unicorns in the guard, but that was more just bias due to the fact he felt that their ability to use magic made unicorns much more versatile in most situations. As he mused over this, his horn glowed and a book began floating down from the high shelf, sprinkling a little bit of dust upon his hat as he continued moving. Perhaps this desire came from the weird dreams he's had recently. Something about the seemingly endless loneliness until he wakes up is a bit bleak for his taste.
Bah! Not important. He shook his head slightly, not wanting to ring the multitude of bells on his hat whilst in the library. Respect for fellow academics is a rather important concept to show. With his chosen book retrieved, he began his walk back to the front desk of the library. With luck, everyone who comes in will be someone he can push off to his assistants here.
Author's Note
Now, I'm not gonna lie, I'm a horrible writer in my opinion and if you want to complain, complain. Just do realize I'll probably ask for examples if not provided or ways to make it better. If you can't provide these, you'll probably be ignored. Oh, and I hope to respond to all of you who leave a comment, unless you give me reason not to. Well, now that I'm currently rambling on, might as well end this note. Till next time, stay interesting my little readers.
