Starswirl's Apprentice

“Ugh.. where am I?” Allen rubbed his head with his hoof, then panicked for a moment when he forgot he didn’t have hands. His head was throbbing and he was sore all over.

A feminine voice answered, “You’re in the palace hospital. Do you remember what happened?”

“We were attacked.. by a dragon.. then I passed out.” Allen said, struggling to remember.

The mare doctor turned towards another doctor behind her and said, “No signs of amnesia.” Then, turning back to Allen, she said, “Now, how are you feeling?”

“Not great. What were my injuries?” Allen asked calmly.

“We just had to put a patch over your eye. It was injured in the fall. When the dragon held you the claws dug into your side resulting in various wounds. You also broke your left hind leg and fractured the rest. You also broke your hip bone. Fortunately, your injuries are not as bad as they could have been, but you need to stop moving so you don’t injure yourself further.”

Allen put down his hoof, then asked, “When will I be able to get out of here?”

“Well, you’ve been out for two days, so as soon as we splint your fractured legs you can go. Oh and as soon as you go, you need to see Starswirl. He requested to see as soon as you woke up.”

That pony owes me. I swear, if he doesn’t have the portal ready, he’s a dead wizard.

“If you need any more help, just come right back.” The mare said, pushing Allen out on his wheelchair.

He used his magic to rotate the wheels to advance forward. It took him awhile to get to a place he recognized and even longer to try and find his way back to the lab. He eventually gave up and asked a nearby guard for directions. Once he was pointed in the right direction, he managed to find the laboratory. Starswirl was there to greet him at the door.

“Allen, you’re alright. I’ve been working on the portal and I brought the scales in here, but I need the help of another to finish the tests. And, since it is partly your project, you should help.”

Great. “Ok.. what do you need me to do?” Allen asked reluctantly

“You see the scale in the jar on the pedestal? We need it to be in a near liquid state when I cast the spell, so I will teach you a spell to liquify solids, then we’ll see how this all plays out.”

After teaching Allen the spell, Starswirl told him to cast it. As the scale became liquid, Starswirl cast his own spell. The portal opened and swirled around. “Try putting your hoof through.” Starswirl said. Allen tried to, but it shocked him and sent him backwards.

Starswirl stopped casting the spell and started doing more calculations. “According to the reaction, it’s a one sided portal. We need something from Earth to use as a sort of filter. That should set its destination. Even then, however, we need to find a way to open the other side of the portal.”

“We can use the clothes I came in. But I have a question. Will the human me still have a broken bone and fractured limbs?” Allen asked

“Yes. You will. And I am sorry for getting you hurt, so I’m giving you a break. Go relax. Study. Do what you want. I will get you if I discover anything. I have arranged with the princesses for you to stay in one of the suites here and not on my couch.” Starswirl said, already beginning to flip through his books.

“Thank you.” Was all Allen said. “But where are the suites?”

“Oh. I don’t know. I’ve never been in them.” Starswirl said, embarrassed.

“Fine. I’ll go ask the princesses.” Allen rolled out of the room, down the halls and corridors, which eventually opened up to the throne room. He slowly wheeled over to the princesses.

“Allen, you’re alive. How goes your studies?” Luna asked

“Not well. Our experiment failed, but I’ve been given time off and Starswirl said that he arranged for me to stay in a suite here. Is this true?” He worded his sentence carefully so not to make a fool of himself.

“Yes, it is true. I suspect you are asking because you don’t know where it is?” Celestia said in her kind, knowing way.

“Yes. Would you mind telling me where it is?”

“Not at all. Just take the passage you came from, take the first left, then your second right, then it will be the third door on the right side.” Celestia said

Bowing as best as he could, Allen thanked them and left. When he found his room, he opened the door. He was astonished at the sight before him. The suite was nicer than his apartment, and his things were already there. His spell book was laying on his bed, so he decided to open it up and learn some new spells. By the end of the day, he had accomplished next to nothing. Due to his impatience, he kept switching from spell to spell without fully learning the first one. He went to sleep late in the night and woke up just after noon the next day.

Allen went back to his studies. He grew particularly interested in controlled energy emission spells. They were much too complex for him to actually cast, but he tried anyway. His overall power had increased due to the ‘training’ Starswirl put him through, so he began casting spells and figuring out where his power level was gauged at.

About thirty minutes after he woke, food was delivered. He wasn’t hungry at the moment, so he continued his spell casting, attempting to cast some on the food itself, only he burned it and it looked nothing like food now.

He gave up for the day, deciding to wander the corridors of the castle. It wasn’t long before boredom set in and he gave up on that, too. I should probably check in on Starswirl. Make sure he’s actually working. Maybe he could help me with my spells, too.

Allen began looking for familiar landmarks to help him find the laboratory. Once he found the food court, he began to recognize areas of the castle and advanced towards the way he thought the laboratory was.

Did I pass it? Allen asked himself. An explosion sounded, smoke pouring out from a door down the hall. What’s he done this time?

Opening the door to the lab, Allen rolled inside the room, now charred in patches.

“So that didn’t work either. If this keeps up, he’ll never find a way home.” The brown wizard peaked over his shoulder. “Oh, hello Allen. Did you need something?”

“No.. I was just checking if you needed any help?” Allen asked hopefully.

“I do, but if you’re going to help I need to do something.” Starswirl said.

“Sure. What are you going to do?” Allen asked curiously

“Fix your legs. Those doctor ponies think they know all, but if you grab the fragments of the bone, push them together and use the merging spell, it will completely fix the leg.” He said as he began to use a series of spells on Allen’s leg.

The pain was nearly unbearable, but when Starswirl was done, Allen was able to move his legs again. “Thanks. So what’s first?”

Contemplating for a moment, Starswirl answered, “Well, we need some magical supplies before we can do further testing. Reason being I burnt the current supplies.”

“Alright. Where are we going to get the supplies?” Allen asked.

“Fillydelphia. It’s the largest trade center in Equestria besides Canterlot, and Fillydelphia has some of the more ‘exotic’ items that we need, but we have to pack. I’m also in a bit of trouble for allowing my apprentice to come to harm, so we can’t leave the castle for another week. I can, however, help you train if you like.” Starswirl said.

“That would help. That’s part of the reason I came over here.” Allen said happily.

“Now, which spell would you like to learn first?”

The next week went smoothly, excluding the many explosions and fires that were caused by the training unicorns. By the end of the week, Allen’s powers rivaled many a seasoned wizard, and even though his variety of spells was limited, the power put into them was immense, thus leading to them becoming out of control and exploding.

Starswirl and Allen also had many duels, causing extensive damage to the palace. As a result, they both learned a few cleaning spells. When the week was over, Starswirl called Allen to the lab, the walls of which were now ash and charcoal.

Allen opened the door with his hoof, confused as he entered. He must have opened the door to the wrong room. The room he was in was clean, the walls had been redone and Starswirl was sleeping on the couch. “Hey Starswirl, get up.”

Starswirl fell off the couch and onto the hardwood floor. “Wha-- Oh, Allen. You’re here. Well, I want to show you something. I’ve called you my apprentice but you only have recently gained the power to actually be my apprentice.” Starswirl then used his magic to fling open the closet. Inside was a black wizards cape with stars scattered throughout it. There was a saddlebag as well that matched. There were official documents hanging in front of the saddlebag. “The documents show that you now have access to all parts of the palace except for the princesses chambers; unless invited, of course. It also states that you have permission to conduct experiments in public places without getting arrested.” Starswirl said.

“So you mean to say that I could blow this room up and not get in trouble?” Allen said mischievously

“Well, yes. I would prefer if you didn’t though. Oh, and that reminds me, the cloak and bag have a magical enchantment cast by me. They’re indestructible, so if you’re in trouble wrap the cloak around you. You’ll be safe.” Starswirl said hurriedly, knowing what was coming.

Allen then said, “Well then, guess it won't burn if I do blow this room up.”

Allen then cast the energy wave spell that he had been practicing for the past week.