It was an average day in Canterlot, everypony was going about their day without a care in the world. One such pony was heading out to do some shopping for her family, the mare walked calmly through the street with little care unaware of how this day would change for her and her family.
The mare in question was Twilight Velvet, she was a wife to a fantastic husband and the mother of three wonderful kids. For her it was the making of an average day with little or no concern, she was doing a small bit of shopping for her family.
She was unaware at the time, who she would meet and how she and her family's life would change due to how events played out this day.
(Outside of Canterlot)
A unicorn colt walks down the path towards the city, his goal was to resupply in town and continue own with his journey. He had been traveling around by himself for a few years now. He would normally avoid a city like Canterlot due to its reputation of its residents looking down on others and belittling them for personal amusement while pretending they were superior in every way.
The colt had cobalt blue fur with his hands, feet, and underbelly. His mane and tail were an icy silver with dark blue highlights and seemed to generate an icy like mist at will. He was wearing a dark grey boot with black pants and a navy-blue t-shirt underneath a dark-blue jacket.
For the colt it was another day same as any other one, he had started wandering around the land after the loss of his parents and his godfather who later took him. He does not remember much of what happened the night his home was attacked due to the fact of a spell being used on him that erased many of the happier times in his earlier years.
Fragments remained from the incident, but he had trouble putting names to faces from the earlier years in life. He was only able to recognize his parents was thanks to a photograph given to him by his late godfather.
After his godfather passed away, he started wondering about the lands, he had made numerous friends on his journey and seem countless wonders as well. One thing that remained the same was no matter what place he visited; he would still feel the urge to keep moving for some strange reason.
He came to Equestria after hearing numerous stories about the country and the ponies that reside in it, he also heard the stories and legends of the Solar Princess Celestia. He can only imagine what it would be like to meet her.
The colt shook his head in order to rid himself of the distracting thoughts, right now he wanted to figure out what was drawing him here to this city. Since he arrived in Equestria he had a strong feeling to come to this city and now he wanted to know why.
Besides finding answers he also had to restock on supplies what he had was running low so he would stop by the marketplace. Before he entered the city, he cast an illusion on himself to disguise himself as a regular stallion to avoid drawing unwanted attention to himself.
It took an hour to get everything on his list, the colt made sure to avoid any nobles while walking around the city, he had dealt with plenty of stuck-up snobs in the past and did not to do anything that will draw their attention to himself.
As he was walking down a random street, the colt passed by an entrance to an alleyway from he began to hear strange noises from further onward in the alley. The colt moved in to investigate the noises, from what he could tell a group of stallions was giving a mare a hard time.
As he entered the alleyway the noises grew louder and louder, as he peeked around a corner, he could see that a group of stallions was trying to force a mare to come with them for bad reasons.
From what the colt could see they looked like a bunch of wannabe gangsters causing trouble for any reason to cause trouble. They dressed in torn-up t-shirts and pants while the mare they were causing problems for was a mare with a grey fur tome and purple with grey highlights mane.
"Come on miss, we just want to show you a fun time," one of the stallions said while reaching out for the mare.
The mare slapped away the hand, "I am happily married, and I want nothing to do with you or your friends. I suggest you leave me alone or face the consequences."
This statement only made the stallions smile in a sickly manner, what the mare just said. The colt had a bad feeling this situation may turn ugly.
From a single glance, the colt could see that the situation was getting uglier by the second and would have to step in if the mare in question did not beat him to the punch.
He readied himself for the fight that was to come, while he could tell the mare could take care of herself, he did not want to leave things to chance if possible. He would use the element of surprise to get an advantage on the stallions and pull the woman from danger.
"I like them feisty, don't worry we are going to show you a good time," the leader said while reaching out to her.
Before the stallion could touch her, a large object slammed into his back and at the same time, two small bags hit the other two.
The two stallions cried out in pain as their eyes started to burn in agony, "It burns, what was in those bags?"
Twilight Velvet tried to figure out what was going on but was pulled from her thoughts when she noticed she was being pulled away from the group by another stallion.
"Who are you?" Velvet asked.
"Not important right now, let's get away from this group, and then I will answer your questions afterward," the colt in disguise replied.
He could hear the group getting towards their feet and the leader was shouting orders at the other two, he was not happy about the surprise attack and wanted both the mare and the stallion brought before him.
Before they could get out of the alley the stallion was knocked on to the ground when a magic blast hit him from behind. The attack broke his transformation spell revealing his real appearance, much to the shock of those around him.
"So, we have a colt trying to play hero, well I guess we will have to teach you what happens to foolish little colts like that," the leader said in an angry tone.
The colt got to his feet while grabbing three pieces of paper with unknown writing and symbols on them, while the stallions could not see them Velvet making her curious about them.
"What do think you are planning on doing with a few scraps of paper?" the leader asked.
The colt just smirked at the trio of stallions, "You will find out soon enough."
The colt channeled his magic into the paper before throwing them at the stallions, the tags transformed in mid-air becoming chains that wrapped around two of the stallions while the leader managed to dodge the chains.
"Ha, you missed me little colt," the stallion taunted.
The colt merely smirked before throwing out another paper this one taking on the form of a knight golem, the golem brought its fists up to defend its master.
The knight had an average knight's helmet and long cylinder arms and legs, the color of the armor was a metallic chrome that shined in the light.
"How cute, you think your little toy will protect yourself and the mare from me," the stallion said in an arrogant tone.
The stallion launched a spell at the golem only for it to bounce off and the golem to charge him, the stallion lashed out with a right hook at the golem. The sound of flesh hitting metal rang out through the alley, the stallion fell to his knees in pain as the golem slowly approached him.
The stallion looked up only to see the golem raise its foot and slam it into the stallion knocking him out, with its job done the knight disappeared in a puff of smoke leaving behind a paper that burned to ashes in an instant.
"Well, that takes care of those idiots," the colt said.
Velvet approached the colt that had protected her from the three thugs, she wanted to make sure that he was okay. She was also curious to find out more about him, from what she could see he was a few years older than her son.
"I am taking you to the hospital, the blast you were hit with could have done severe damages to your back," Velvet said in a firm tone.
Before either of them could move a muscle, they were interrupted by a squad of the royal guards, they were no doubt called in to investigate what happens in the alley.
One of the guards stepped forward, he examined the scene before him, "My name is Steel Feather, what happened here?"
"This stallion trio pulled me into this alleyway and to force themselves to come with them when this colt came to my rescue," Velvet explained.
The guard looked down at the colt who was sitting down on the ground, the guard noticed the blast mark on the back of the colt's jacket. From what he could tell the colt would need to be brought to the hospital to make sure he was okay while the stallions were brought to jail.
"Spear Point and Swift blade bring these stallions to the dungeons while Silver blossom escorts these two to the hospital," Steel Feather said.
A little while later Velvet was waiting for the doctor to come out with the colt that had protected her, the doctor told her that he would be fine. The damage from the spell was minimal due to the jacket the colt was wearing taking most of the damage.
The jacket had a layer of armor in between the fabric that shielded the colt from harm leaving only light bruises from the spell impact. Everypony was curious about where the colt got the jacket from because of how well it protected the colt.
Velvet was glad the colt was okay and did not suffer any major wounds in protecting her from those stallions, however, she had a long list of questions for the colt. She wanted to know why he was out alone and where his family was.
Speaking of family, Velvet was pulled from her own thoughts when two cries of mom followed by twin impacts against her legs signaled the arrival of her family. Steel said he would send a guard to her home to let her family know what had happened.
Velvet looked down to her children hugging her legs, she looked down and saw Twilight and Shining hugging her legs. Twilight was a unicorn filly with a mulberry mane with a streak in it and was wearing a lavender sundress. Shining had a two-toned mane and white fur; he was wearing a light blue t-shirt and black pants.
They were followed by an older stallion wearing a light green sweater vest over a dark forest green shirt and dark brown pants, her husband Nightlight.
In his arms was a small dragon with green spikes, this was the newest addition to the sparkle family Spike the dragon, was dressed in a light green shirt and purple overalls.
Velvet reached down to hug her children, and soothe them of any worries they may have, "Everything is okay, mommy is just fine."
Shining spoke up first, "we were so worried after a member of the guard came to our and told us you were in the hospital."
Nightlight walked up to Velvet and gave her a kiss on the cheek, "Are you ok, the guard said you were uninjured but that a colt was injured when he protected you."
Nightlight was glad his wife was okay and unharmed, he also wanted to thank the colt for protecting his wife from the thugs. He also questions he wanted to ask the colt; Nightlight felt there was something different about this colt.
Velvet sensing her husband's worries patted him on the arm to get his attention, "I know you have questions, but give him a chance to speak for himself."
Nightlight sighed and turned to his wife and smiled, "you can always read me so easily."
"That is because of how long we have been together," while she intertwined her hand with her husband.
They exchanged a kiss, while their kids looked on in disgust, the parents smiled at one other as they remembered how they acted the same way at their age.
A sudden cough drew the family's attention, it was a nurse holding a clipboard no doubt to inform them of the colt's condition. She was wearing the standard nurse uniform, she had olive green fur and light red mane and tail.
"Hello, my name is Olive Petal, the colt that you brought in is doing fine. The jacket he wore protected him from the spell with him only suffering minor scrapes and bruises from the impact against the wall.
Velvet was relieved to hear that the colt would be okay, "That is good to hear, my family wants to meet him if possible and thank him for protecting me."
In a hospital room, the colt was putting his shirt back on after taking it off to have his wounds examined, there was only light scrapes and bruises, but the doctor wanted to make sure anyways.
"Thank you for the check-up doc, it has been a while since I had one," the colt said to the doctor.
"It seemed like an opportune time, since like you said it has been a while since your last one," the doctor replied.
"How is the mare doing, I imagine she is a little shaken up from what happened," the colt asked.
"She is doing fine; she and her family are in the waiting room right now. They probably want to thank you for what you did and ask questions about yourself," the doctor replied.
The colt nodded his head, "That is understandable, especially considering I haven't even told them my name yet."
Nurse Olive entered the room to escort the colt to the waiting room and where the Sparkle family was waiting to talk to him. The colt was a little nervous but did not show it on his face, this was not the first time he has been in this situation before.
As he entered the waiting room and looked at the family, he took a breath to relax and stepped forward ready to answer their questions.
"Hi, I know you have questions but let me start with my name, my name is Stardust Shadow. You can call me Stardust for short," Stardust said.
Shining was amazed at the colt who looked close to his age was able to take down three grown-up stallions with little difficulty, this seems like something you would read in a book.
Twilight was curious about the magic he used, none of the books she had read talked about the magic he had used and that made her want to find more about it. Spike merely looked on observing the entire situation.
Night Light was the first one to step forward, "First thank you for protecting my wife from those stallions. My name is Night Light, my wife Twilight Velvet and our children Shining Armor, Twilight sparkle, and our adopted son Spike.
Stardust waved off their thanks, "Think nothing of it, I heard some pony in trouble and chose to act in the best way possible."
Night and Velvet were surprised at how humble the colt was being, most would be bragging about their accomplishments.
Velvet chose to ask one of the big questions that were on her mind, "Stardust if you do not mind me asking, is there any pony traveling with you?"
Stardust expression immediately saddened, "I have been traveling by myself for a few years now, ever since my godfather passed away after raising me after my parent's death."
Night and Velvet were shocked at what they heard; Velvet was nearly brought to tears to hear that the colt had been on his own for so long.
"What happened to your parents if you don't mind me asking?" Nightlight asked.
"My parents were killed when a dragon attacked my village, I do not remember much of the attack other than the fact the village was destroyed and the casualties were extremely high. My godfather heard what happened and raised me as best he could until he passed away in his sleep," Stardust replied.
As soon as Stardust finished talking Velvet scooped him up in a hug, she was horrified at what she learned the colt had been through. She did not want to imagine anypony going through such an ordeal.
Night walked up to his wife and Stardust and placed his hand on the colt's shoulder, "I am sorry you had to go through such an ordeal."
After Velvet released him from the hug Stardust shrugged his shoulders, "It was a long time ago and I have had time to morn and move on from that night."
Velvet suddenly gained a look of determination on her face; her mind was putting together an idea but needed to talk with her husband privately first.
Stardust shrugged his shoulders and walked over to where Shining and Twilight were standing, he did not know what they wanted to discuss in private with one other, but he had a feeling that it involved him in some way.
"Hi, my name is Stardust shadow if you didn't hear already. Are there any questions I can answer while your parents are talking?" Stardust asked.
Shining was the first to step forward, "I have one, mom described you throwing papers with strange writing that transformed during the fight. Do you mind explaining what they are and how they work?"
"The papers are a form of spell art known as a talisman; the art has many different branches that do various things based on the branch you would want to study. The talismans are easy to create, the only requirement is skilled brushwork, a talisman will not work if the marking on the tags is sloppy or messy, so you need legible writing skills while using a brush to make a talisman," Stardust explained to the kids.
"Once they are created, a talisman just needs to be charged with magic to activate, this can be done two different ways. One a unicorn could charge the tag themselves or through additional work, the talisman could absorb the natural magic around us and self-activate," Stardust finished explaining to the kids.
Shining and Twilight looked on in wonder as they listened to Stardust's explanation on the talisman while Spike had fallen asleep in a chair.
"So can any pony learn how to make and use talismans?" Shining asked.
Stardust nodded his head, "Yes, anypony can. It is just a matter of learning and practicing calligraphy."
Twilight surged forward asking one question after another, Shining stood right behind her trying to figure out how to rescue their new friend from his little sister's endless questions. Unbeknownst to the kids' Nightlight and Twilight were observing them, they wanted to see how Stardust would interact with their children.
Both were happy to see Stardust getting along with their children, it made what they were discussing easier for them, but it came to whether Stardust agreed to their offer.
"I hope he accepts our offer, Shining, Twilight, and Spike all seem to enjoy his company and he is showing to be a good influence on them," Velvet said.
Night nodded his head in agreement with his wife, he could see Stardust becoming a positive influence on their children.
Night and Velvet looked over to where Stardust and their children were talking amongst themselves, they could see Twilight asking Stardust one question after another while Shining did his best to help Stardust keep afloat under the endless barrage of questions.
The couple walked up to the group trying their best to hide who nervous they were, they took a deep breath to prep themselves and tapped Stardust on the shoulder.
"Stardust if you do not mind us asking what do you plan on doing next? You said you came here for supplies and because something was guiding you here," Velvet said.
Stardust brought his hand to his chin in thought, "Like you said I came to resupply and figure what was drawing me to the city. After that I am not sure, the plan has always been to stay motion."
"Night and I were discussing an idea, but before you say anything please hear us out first. We know you have been traveling on your own for a while but how would you feel about staying with us. We have seen how much of a positive influence on our children. So, will you accept our offer?"
Stardust's mind went blank when he heard what Velvet had asked of him, he can honestly say he was not expecting that. He was unsure of what to say, he did enjoy speaking with Shining and the others and maybe it was time to settle down for good.
"I have been on my own for several years it will take time for me to adjust to being apart of a family again," Stardust said as he rubbed his arm to calm his nerves.
Velvet walked forward and pulled Stardust into a hug, "Everything will be okay, no pony will force you to do anything you are not ready for or cannot handle."
Nightlight joined in on the hug, "we will be with you every step of the way, whenever you feel uncertain of your choice, we will back you with our support."
Stardust said nothing at first, his mind was racing with thoughts of the past. Memories of happier days spent with his family and friends he had met during his travels. The memories soon faded as Stardust returned to the real world.
"Okay; we will take it one day at a time, Shining and Twilight should be happy about me staying. Both had plenty of questions to ask me, no doubt they will ask me to teach them some of the things I know," Stardust replied.
Night and Velvet were happy that he was bonding with Shining and Twilight so easily, no doubt Spike would do the same as soon as he was done napping in the chair. They were hoping their children could do the same for Stardust.
They could tell that Stardust tended to keep himself guarded around others, they noticed it when he was talking with their children that he would avoid or steer away from certain questions. Night and Velvet hoped with time Stardust would fully open to the family.
The group hug was interrupted by Shining, Twilight, and an awoken Spike coming over to see what was happening, "Umm, what is going, why are you three hugging?"
Night and Velvet turned towards their children, "We were asking Stardust to stay with us, the hug was away to reassure him that everything would be okay."
Shining immediately gained an excited look on his face, "Stardust is going to be staying with us, this is Awesome. I can't wait to hear more stories about his adventures in different countries."
"This is great I can learn more about the various types of magic that he knows," Twilight exclaimed while bouncing with joy.
Spike just seemed to be happy because the rest of the group was happy.
Night and Velvet were happy that to that Stardust was already bonding with their children so easily, to them this was a sign that they had made the right choice.
Author's Note
this is the first chapter of a story that I have had on my mind for a long time, if anyone has questions, please ask me I will try to answer them as best as I can.
Several years had passed since the initial encounter between Stardust and the Sparkle family, Stardust would enjoy the time he spent with the family and would eventually choose to stay with them permanently.
The family would be overjoyed to learn that Stardust would stay with them and become a part of their family. Twilight and Spike would enjoy listening to his stories about the places he traveled to while Shining would form a friendly rivalry between each other.
The years would go by quickly Shining and Stardust transforming from small colts to full-grown stallions in their final year of high school. Both were playing on joining the royal guard after high school. Both felt that this was the natural choice for them.
In the past Shining would see Stardust training hard in various styles and methods, he would eventually work up the confidence to ask Stardust to train him. Stardust would agree to train Shining, prepping him for a future trial that he had already taken.
The trial would grant Shining a unique set of abilities if he passed it, Stardust went through the trial in his younger years to protect himself after his village was destroyed. Stardust wanted to hold off on Shining taking the trial until he felt he was old enough and strong enough, taking the trial when he was younger took his toll on him and he did not want Shining to go through what he did.
We currently find the pair in school, Star was waiting in the hallway waiting for Shining to finish talking with the teacher, he was guessing that the teacher wanted Shining to tutor some pony who was having difficulty.
This would not be the first time they had been asked to help others, neither one had a problem with helping others who were struggling with their work.
Stardust had grown into a fine stallion according to various mares, he had a tall well-toned physique from years of training. He was wearing a red and black camo print t-shirt, black pants, and blue sneakers.
The door opened and Shining came out, much like Stardust Shining had grown into a fine stallion while not as tall or toned as Stardust but that did not mean he attracted attention from various mares. He was currently wearing a white t-shirt that had a picture of a pair of halberds crossed together, blue pants, and dark blue sneakers.
Unfortunately for the mares Shining already had a mare friend due to Stardust intervening and helping the two get together. Star remembered how Shining acted around his future mare friend in the beginning and decided to intervene after getting tired of the awkwardness that surrounded Shining.
As the two headed to the cafeteria for lunch Star asked the teacher, “so what did the teacher want, does somepony need a tutor again?”
Shining nodded his head, “pretty much, a student was having trouble in class and wanted to know if I would be willing to lend a hand.”
“I thought as much,” Star said.
The duo would continue to discuss various topics as they enjoyed their lunch, Star would look up from his meal and notice that Shining had frozen up which usually meant his mare friend was close by.
Star looked over his shoulder and smiled, he waved her over to sit with the pair. Shining seemed to get more nervous when she sat down next to him. He was getting better with time as his confidence grew, it was thanks to Star getting involved and giving Shining a hard kick in the flank that the two would get together.
“Sup Princess,” Stardust said. He knew Candence did not like it when he called her that but said it was any way to get a rise out of her.
Cadence shook her head not bothering with Stardust’s teasing, “I see you two are doing good today.”
“Same old same old, just a different day. I knew it was you when your colt-toy froze up,” Stardust replied.
Shining quickly came back to the world of the living and blushed at his action, “Sorry for freezing up again.”
Stardust placed his hand on Shining shoulder, “Do not worry about it, you just need to relax and have more confidence in yourself. Your mare friend and I are helping you with that one step at a time.”
Cadence sat down next to Shining and hugged him to help him relax, the action caused Shining to blush, but he had a smile on his face.
The trio started making small talk about different things, the talk soon turned to weekend plans. Shining was getting together with friends to play a round or two of Orges & Abilities.
Cadence suddenly perked up, “Stardust I just remembered Auntie wants you to meet with her this weekend, she didn’t say what exactly she wants to talk about, but she said it’s important.”
Stardust was curious about what Princess Celestia wanted to talk about, a few things came to mind but he would have to wait until tomorrow to find out.
“Candence, can you watch Twilight and Spike tomorrow, Shining is hanging out with his friends and Mom and Dad are attending an important presentation?” Stardust asked.
“No problem, you know I always enjoy watching those two,” Candence replied.
The trio finished their lunches and headed back to class; the rest of the day moved quickly without anything interesting happening. The school day ended, and the duo headed home with Shining looking forward to having fun with his friends while Stardust wondered what tomorrow’s meeting would be about.
In his room, Shining was making sure he had everything he needed for tomorrow’s game, while Stardust was preparing for Shining's upcoming test. Stardust had full confidence in Shining completing the trial and gaining abilities like his.
Each pony who took the test and passed had a chance to bond with a spirit that would give them a unique transformation and abilities. There were various kinds of spirits and even different branches of a single spirit, the branches could be seen as different tribes of a single spirit each with their own abilities but a single transformation.
No pony could choose which spirit to bond with each one chose their own host or those who were not compatible were rejected from the trial. In the past, there was a unique branch of Equestria’s military that was made up of those who passed the trials and bonded with spirits.
The branch was no longer active after they were no longer needed and numerous complaints from noble families who failed the trials. Many noble families tried to take the trials in hopes of strengthening the family's power but ended up failing at every turn. So instead, they tried to ruin and disband the military, they would get their wish but under the group's terms.
Stardust brought his hand to his chin in thought wondering if Princess Celestia wants to bring back the group due to the rise in monster-related activity happening across Equestria. If this were the case it would not be an easy feat, he would have to train those who would undergo the trials and there was little guarantee that they would pass.
Stardust shook his head, there was no point worrying about things, he would find out tomorrow what Princess Celestia wanted to talk about.
Instead of worrying about tomorrow’s meeting with the Princess Stardust chose to relax by pulling out his sketchbook and drawing whatever came to mind. He had developed skills in various forms of art but mostly did it as a hobby rather than make a career out of it.
Stardust let himself get lost in his drawing nearly missing the call for dinner if Shining did not knock on his door and telling him to come down. Stardust put his things away and headed downstairs to meet up with the rest of the family.
Everypony was sitting down at the table discussing how their day had gone, Twilight was excitably talking about what she learned from Princess Celestia today. Twilight was always very excitable when it came to know new things.
Before Stardust sat down, he made sure to ruffle Spikes' head spikes, the action got an annoyed reaction from the dragon and smiles from the rest of the family.
Night Light was the first to speak up, “How was everypony’s day? I know Twilight was excited about what she learned from Princess Celestia.”
“Of course, I am excited, Princess Celestia talked about one of the ancient kingdoms that were around the time of the Three Tribes. According to her the kingdom actually had all three tribes living in harmony with one other.” Twilight said in an excited tone of voice.
Shining gained a confused look on his face, “I have never heard of such a kingdom before.”
Stardust chuckled, “That is not surprising that you are not aware of it, the kingdom was originally a shining example of harmony and unity. The ponies that lived there were dedicated to the study of various forms of magic.”
Everypony was interested in the conversation now, Shining beat the others to the punch and asked the question they had on their mind first.
“So, what happened to the kingdom them, something must have happened if the kingdom is not around or in the history books,” Shining asked.
Stardust took a deep breath, “The kingdom fell to the darkness from within itself. A powerful unicorn wizard was slowly corrupted by dark magic after being denied what he thought was rightfully his. The darkness consumed everypony in the kingdom twisting them into dark monstrosities. According to legend a powerful warrior came to the kingdom and fought back against the darkness, he fought his way through the kingdom until he found the monster the unicorn wizard had become and put an end to his madness.”
The family was amazed at what they heard, Night Light and Twilight Velvet had heard of the kingdom in passing but they did not know what happened to the kingdom. Shining, Twilight, and Spike were impressed with Stardust’s knowledge of myths and legends.
Twilight looked down at hearing the story, “Princess Celestia said the kingdom was lost to darkness, but I did not think she meant it in a literal sense.”
Shining looked at Stardust while rubbing his chin in thought, “who was the warrior that defeated the corrupt unicorn?”
“The“The warrior was believed to be one of the kingdom's former champions, he had originally left the kingdom to wander the lands when he lost the mare he loves to his friend,” Stardust replied.
“Once again you astound this family with your knowledge Stardust,” Nightlight said.
Stardust waved off the compliment, he always enjoyed sharing his wisdom with the family. The family would continue to enjoy dinner until Stardust remembered what Candence told at lunch.
“Twilight, Spike I know you two were looking forward to spending the day with me tomorrow, but something came up. So instead Candence will be coming over to watch you two, I am sorry about the change in plans.”
Twilight and Spike were sad that Stardust would not be hanging out with them tomorrow but were excited to have Candence would be coming over. The duo wondered what happened to cause a sudden change in plans though.
“What brought on the sudden change of plans?” Twilight Velvet asked.
Stardust ran his hand through his mane, “Candence told me during lunch that Princess Celestia wanted to see me.”
Everypony minus Shining was curious about what the Princess wanted to talk to Stardust about, they would find out later what she wanted after Stardust filled in.
The rest of dinner continued with everypony making small talk, after dinner, the family chose to relax and unwind in their own ways.
The next day came quickly Stardust was playing a board game with Twilight and Spike to pass the time until Candence arrived, the rest of the family headed out to their various plans.
Stardust enjoyed playing with Spike and Twilight when he could, his schedule made it difficult to hang out with the two so he did so when could.
A series of knocks alerted the trio to Candence’s arrival, Twilight and Spike rushed towards the door eager to greet their favorite sitter. Stardust smiled at the pair's excitement; they always get this way whenever whenever Candence watches them.
Stardust stands up and moves to greet Candence, “I was not expecting you to come so early, I was playing a game with them to pass the time.”
Cadence smiled at Stardust, “I thought it would be best if I came early.”
Stardust sighed aloud, “I head out to my meeting with Celestia, I am not sure when I will get back. You three have fun.”
Stardust headed out to the castle; he had his hands in his pockets as he walked towards the castle. In his mind, he was thinking about the possible return of the Beast corps and what that would entail for himself.
If Celestia fully extends to bring back the corps it would not be an easy task, to add to the fact he was the only living being who was a member of the spirit clan. It would be a difficult process and there was no guarantee that a new group could be created but this was something he would have to discuss Celestia.
Just training Shining proved itself to be difficult at times, the training to make your body strong enough to handle the spirit bonding was not to be taken lightly. It was possible to go through the trial without the training, the pony would be unable to use the full extent of the potential of the spirit.
This would come into fact during the final years of the beast corps, some ponies who wanted the power of the spirit skipped the training and jumped into the trial. They would only be able to use a quarter of their spirit's power and very few could use half of their strength.
If they tried to use more power their bodies would start to break down from the effects of the overwhelming power ripping apart their bodies. Several ponies would die this way, their deaths would be of their own making as they let themselves be consumed by their lust for power.
Unbeknownst to Stardust while he was having his mental discussion he had walked to the castle, while his mind was distracted his body moved on autopilot to his destination.
Stardust looked and realized he was standing at the gates of the castle; he was in far deeper thought than he realized. Stardust was let in by the guards who knew him from his numerous visits to the castle, after that he headed towards Celestia’s study.
After reaching the room Stardust knocked on the door and waited to be let in, upon entering Stardust saw Celestia at her desk filling out various sheets of paperwork. She wore a white elegant dress with her usual jewelry and her golden shoes.
Celestia looked up from her paperwork to see Stardust standing in front of her, she smiled at him and motioned to him to take a seat.
“I am glad you were able to come in today, there is something I wish to discuss with you,” Celestia said.
“Candance said as much when she informed me that you wanted to meet with me, so what do want to talk about?” Stardust asked.
“I am sure you are aware of the recent surges in monster-related activity, I also know you are training Shining to take the trial and become spirit bonded. As you are aware of there was a military branch in the past that was made up of the spirit bonded. I want to reform the beast corps with you leading the group,” Celestia said.
Stardust said nothing at first, his hands were folded in front of his face. He took a breath before replying to Celestia.
“I figured that was the reason you called me in, I know you are aware of the challenges that this will bring upon us. Multiple things will be needed to make this work, including finding the right ponies to bond with the spirits,” Stardust replied.
Celestia nodded her head, “I am fully aware of the challenges that this will bring, but I feel with the rise in attacks that this is the best course of action to protect my ponies. I know you and Shining are joining the royal guard after graduation, I want you to select those who you think are the best fit for the corps from those who will go through basic with you.”
Stardust sighed, “I agree with you that the recent upsurge in attacks is causing problems, I will give it my all to lead a new generation of Beast Corps. Shining will be undergoing the trial next week, he will be the first of the new corps members.”
Celestia smiled at Stardust, “I am glad that he is doing so well, and I did not realize that he was ready for the trials already. I know you have been training him well to prepare him for what is to come after the trial.”
Stardust nodded his head, “It has been a long road for him, he has worked hard to earn his place. The other recruits will have an easier time since they will be prepped by the instructors before I take over their training for the trial.”
Celestia smiled at Stardust, “you have come a long way from the boy that rescued Twilight Velvet, so many years ago. I know it was difficult for you to open to them considering everything you went through.”
Stardust smiled as he thought about the good times he had with his new family, “it took time, but I am glad I became a part of their family.”
Stardust remembered a familiar topic that Twilight brought up at last night’s dinner, he knew that Twilight loved to learn new things. It was not surprising that Celestia told her about Sanctuary, before its destruction it was a place of great knowledge.
“Twilight told the family you told her about the ancient kingdom of Sanctuary,” Stardust said while looking at Celestia with one eye open.
Celestia smiled, “I did, the kingdom was what I wanted for the three tribes at the beginning of the unification, I believe that we could have learned much from the kingdom if it wasn’t consumed by darkness.”
Stardust nodded his head in agreement, “The kingdom was a wonderful place to live in, especially after the war with the ancient dragons had ended. Those were dark times for everypony, the ancient dragons were overwhelmed by the plague stripping them of their sanity and leaving them as mindless beasts attacking everything and anything.”
Stardust's mind wandered to that fateful day when he was wandering through and came across a large lake, he stopped to eat and refill his canteens when he noticed a strange magical aura coming from a path on the left side of the lake.
When he investigated the disturbance he would find a strange rift pulsating with dark magic, Stardust sensing danger tried to back away from the rift but was unable to get far, a large hand of an unknown creature grabbed him and pulled him through the rift.
He would lose consciousness as he pulled through the rift, when he awoke, he would find himself on the outskirts of Sanctuary. He would go through many trials and tribulations doing that time before returning to his time and de-aging to the same age he was before he was pulled into the rift.
Very few ponies knew about the event, he avoided talking about what happened mostly because he doubted anypony would believe him if he told them.
Princess Celestia was one of the few that knew the truth, but that was because she had discovered the truth on her own. She would later seek him out to discuss what happened and Stardust told her everything.
Celestia tried to talk him into telling the rest of the family the truth, but he was quick to avoid that, what he went through doing his time in Sanctuary. The war and the kingdoms fall to darkness are events he never really liked talking about, due to the ones he lost and what he had seen.
Celestia coughed getting Stardust’s attention, “I take it from the look on your face you were thinking about what happened in Sanctuary again. I know I have asked this before, but you should consider telling your family the truth, they will not judge you in any way.”
Stardust sighed aloud, “I know, it’s just not easy to talk about that time, there was so much death and destruction that happened. I lost so many friends during the war and the fall of Sanctuary.”
Celestia said nothing at first, she had heard rumors about the war of dragons and the fall of Sanctuary, but she would learn the truth upon meeting Stardust. Both events were horrific to learn about, Stardust would later show her what happened with a spell.
So much had been lost when the kingdom fell, Stardust was able to recover some of the kingdom’s knowledge before its destruction, but still so much was lost during that horrific time.
Celestia shook her head, “Sooner or later the truth will come out, you cannot run from run from your past forever.”
“Believe me I know, it’s just not the easiest situation to explain to any pony, who would believe that a pony would travel over a thousand years into the past and take part in an ancient war and see the destruction of a kingdom,” Stardust replied.
The two would continue to discuss various topics until it was time to go, Stardust bid the princess farewell and headed home. In his mind he thought about what he discussed with Celestia; the return of the Beast Corps is sure to ruffle more than a few feathers.
It will not surprise Stardust if certain ponies try to block the corps from returning, he knew Celestia could handle the situation though. She had been thinking about this for a while and made plans on how to deal with any pony who would cause trouble for herself and Stardust.
Stardust soon arrived at home, he entered to find Shining had arrived home early from his friends and was playing with Candence and the kids. Twilight and Spike ran up to greet him talking about all the fun they had with Cadence and Shining when he joined in when he came home.
“I am glad to see you two had a good time while I was gone. Did Shining behave himself, I know he can get to mischief when no one is watching him,” Stardust said while chuckling.
Shining shot Stardust, a dirty look while Candence giggled lightly behind her hand, “yes, Shining behaved himself while you were gone. How did the meeting with auntie go?”
“It went well, what she wanted to talk about was one of the things I had already figured out. Doing what she wants me to do will not be an easy task and I will be under a lot of criticism from different parties,” Stardust replied while sitting down in a nearby chair.
Cadence and Shining exchanged a curious look before Shining turned to Stardust “What did Princess Celestia ask you to do, it must be difficult if it’s getting this type of reaction out of you.”
“Due to the increase in monster-related activity accruing throughout the country, Celestia asked me to lead a new generation of the Beast Corps. She knows that Shining has already undergone the training and will be nearing the trial soon and wants me to select others to join the corps.”
Everypony in the room was surprised at what they heard; they knew of the Beast corps from stories from various sources. The corps was the front-line hunters who were tasked with dealing with any monster attacks that occurred throughout the land.
Cadence was the first to speak up, “I was not expecting that, I know that attacks have been on the rise, but I did not know that this was auntie’s plan to deal with the threat. The guard had been having difficulties fighting some of the more dangerous threats.”
Shining turned to Stardust, “both of us planned to join up with the guard after high school, how will this affect us?”
“It’s actually fortunate that we are joining the guard, Celestia wants me to select members who will join the corps from those who complete basic training with us. I believe that we may have trouble bringing in seasoned guard members due to the fact they would be receiving orders from lower-ranked and fresh guard members rather than trained and seasoned members like themselves,” Stardust said.
“Okay, but I am not at your level when comes to the spirits. I have not even undergone the trial to determine which spirit I will bond with yet,” Shining said in a worried tone, he was unsure if he was ready for the trial and the responsibility that came with it.
Stardust walked over and placed his hand on Shining shoulder to comfort him, “you have nothing to worry about, you worked hard completing each level of training, even when you stumbled you picked yourself back up and continued moving forward.”
Stardust turned Shining saw he was looking into his eyes. “you are more than ready for the trial, I do not which spirit will bond with you, but I know you will be able to unleash its full potential.”
Shining smiled at his friend's words, he knew that Stardust would have his back through thick and thin. He was a great teacher who helped him along and guided him when he needed it.
“As for the trial goes, you will be taking it next week. All your preparation training has been completed and you are ready for the selection to take place. After that, your spirit partner will take over your training teaching you how to harness your new abilities,” Stardust explained.
Shining and the others were surprised at what they heard, especially Shining because he did not think his trial would be so soon, he finished his training only a few days ago. Cadence, Twilight, and Spike were excited to find out which animal that Shining would bond with and what abilities would he gain access to.
The shining face showed how nervous he was, “are you sure I am ready for it?”
Stardust smiled at his friend, “I know what you’re feeling, and it's okay to be nervous, you have worked hard and completed the training essential to honing your body, mind, and spirit. Now you will have to take the next step on your journey.”
Cadence turned to Stardust, “That was wise and inspiring.”
Stardust nodded his head, “thank you, I had something similar to that said to me in the past when I had to go through my own set of trials.”
Stardust felt a tug on his pants leg, she turned to see it was Spike trying to get his attention, “what do you need little man?”
“Stardust what kind of spirits are there, and which one will bond with Shining?” Spike asked in a curious tone.
The others in the room turned to Stardust, Spike had raised a good question. What types of spirits were there in the contract? How many types of spirits existed? Who was the strongest spirit?
Stardust brought his hand to his chin in thought, “Hmmm, the second question is easy to answer, the spirits chose who they bond with. We do not have a choice on which spirit bonds with us. To answer your first question there are numerous spirits including various types of a single spirit.”
The others were confused by what Stardust said at the end, Shining was the first to speak, “What do you mean by various types of a single spirit?”
“Some spirits have the main spirit which is the oldest and strongest version and then it could have sub-level spirits which are different forms or evolutions of the main spirit. The difference between the two is when you bond with the main spirit, you have access to all branches of that spirit and their abilities, however, if you bond with the branch spirit you can only use the powers of that branch.”
“I did not know there are so many levels to the spirits, as far as I have known there was only a singular spirit,” Candence said.
Stardust chuckled, “that is what most believe, so do not feel bad Candence.”
Stardust turned to the group, “if that is all the questions a will summon the gate now.”
Stardust went over to a rolled-up scroll that he had brought out earlier, he channeled his magic into the scroll trigging a poof of smoke and the ritual gate to appear.
The gate was a large mirror with numerous animals carved around the mirror itself acting as its frame. The mirror was taller and wider than most ponies, it rivaled a minotaur in size.
The group looked in awe at the mirror, the glass shined in the light and the carving was incredibly lifelike and seemed to come alive at a moment’s notice.
“All you have to do Shining is place your hand on the mirror, after that, you will be pulled into the spirits home to be judged and find out which spirit will bound with you,” Stardust said while looking at Shining.
Shining looked nervously at the mirror, Candence seeing her colt-friends nervous behavior gave him a quick kiss on the cheek to give him more confidence. It seemed to work after calming down his blush Shining stepped forward and placed his hand on the mirror.
Suddenly Shining felt his hand sink into the mirror and was quickly pulled in afterward, the group minus Stardust looked on in shock and concern but quickly relaxed when they saw how calm Stardust was acting.
“Does that always happen when some pony touches the mirror?” Cadence asked.
Stardust nodded his head while keeping an eye on the mirror, “pretty much, Shining was pulled into space where the spirits reside. They're one of them who will choose to bond with him, we just have to wait until the ritual is complete.”
“Do you think we will have to wait long for Shining to come back?” Twilight asked.
“It’s hard to say, most of the time the process does not take long, there have been a few cases where the process took a while, but it was due to the spirits fighting among themselves for the right to be the one who bonds with the host,” Stardust replied.
Shining found himself standing in an unusual area, several landscapes were surrounding him: there was a lush forest, an icy tundra, an endless ocean, a volcanic field, and a desert plain. Suddenly multiple voices spoke at once, “a newcomer appears in our land, how long has it been since a pony underwent the trials, he must have trained him because he protects the gateway.”
“Agreed, his soul is pure and filled with strength times must be changing to bring us back into the fold,” an aged male voice called out.
“He shall be judged then, we will see who will be the one to bond with him,” a feminine voice said in an elegant tone.
“Young stallion steps forward into the circle before you and the process will begin,” the same aged voice from before called out.
Shining was confused until he looked down and saw the glowing circle on the ground, he took a step forward as the sky lit up with various constellations of the different spirits.
Shining felt a massive rush of power from all around him, he could see multiple elements swirling around the circle forming a massive pillar around him. He could hear multiple animals crying out in unison at the same time.
Suddenly, the elements seemed to fade away except for a single element, the remaining element was a strange golden fire. Shining could feel the power coming from the flames, but he did not feel threatened by it, he could feel an unusual warmth coming from the flames themselves.
Before he could move in any direction the flames shot forward and entered his body, Shining patted himself down to make sure he wasn’t hurt in any way.
“Okay that was weird, what was that about?” Shining asked himself.
“That was me choosing you to be my partner, the flames were making sure you are worthy of such a title,” a female voice cried out.
Suddenly, the golden flames returned and took the form of a massive golden phoenix, the flames swirled around the phoenix constantly changing colors as they moved. Upon the phoenix’s head was a tiara made from various colored flames.
“You have been chosen worthy of being bonded to the Empress Phoenix tribe, you should feel honored because we rarely find ponies who are pure enough to bond with us. You have trained hard under your teacher to get this far but your journey is far from over. Never forget the lessons you have learned under him,” the phoenix cried out before disappearing in a flash of light.
Shining put his hand in front of his eyes to shield them from the light, when the light cleared away, he was once again standing in front of the mirror.
Just like when he entered this mysterious area, Shining placed his hand on the mirror and walked through it back to his friends. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the light before he could get a word out Cadence ran up and hugged him glad to have him back.
Shining soothed his marefriends worries before turning to his friend/brother, “you could have warned me before about what was going to happen you know.
Stardust laughed at the dirty look Shining gave him, it brought back old memories of two others who went through the trial like Shining did and gave him the same look.
“I could have warned you, but it would not be as fun for me to see your reaction, as you were pulled into the mirror. I can feel that you were chosen by a spirit, so are you going to tell us which one or are we going to have to guess which one?” Stardust asked with a smirk on his face.
Twilight and Spike ran up to Shining, both wanted to find out which spirit selected Shining.
“The spirit that chose me was called an Empress Phoenix, she radiated power and seemed to control various flames at once,” Shining explained.
Cadence, Twilight, and Spike were confused, they had never heard of such a phoenix. Stardust however was caught off guard by the news, he was not expecting Shining to be selected by such a rare spirit.
It took a moment for Stardust to compose himself, “I can honestly say I was not expecting you to be chosen by the empress phoenix. That tribe of phoenix is known for only choosing mares to bond with, to my knowledge you are the first stallion to be chosen by them.”
The group was surprised to hear that Shining was selected by such a rare spirit, Stardust felt a tug on his pant leg he looked down and saw Spike trying to get his attention.
“What’s up my friend?”
“Stardust why are they called the Empress phoenix and what makes them so rare?” Spike asked.
Stardust smiled at Spikes's question and patted him on his head, “they are called the Empress phoenix because they are the oldest tribe of phoenix in the world, it is believed that they are the original tribe which the other phoenix tribes descended from. They are known for their mastery of all forms of magical fire, making them dangerous to fight against. They can hold their own against some of the most dangerous monsters of the ancient world.”
Once again, the group was astounded by what they heard, Shining was nervous that he had been selected by such a spirit. He knew he had a long road ahead of him, Stardust explained that unlocking the true potential would take a lot of hard work and dedication on his part.
Shining took a deep breath to relax, while he was nervous, he knew he was in good hands with Stardust. He had a long road ahead of him, but he would not run away he knew what would happen when he started down this path.
The group decided to head out and get a treat to celebrate Shining’s success, Stardust had informed Shining his training would pick up again in a few days to give his body time to adjust to the spiritual bonding.
His body and magic will be dealing with a power boost so that meant he could not train until his body h had fully adjusted to the changes. After that, he would be starting with the basic task of calling forth his partner's power.
Stardust looked up towards the sky, this was the first step in the return of the beast corps. He was nervous about being responsible for the return of such a legendary group, but he knew he would not face the challenge alone.
Stardust wondered what other challenges life threw his way and what surprises would be waiting for him. He did not know but he will do whatever it takes to protect the friends and family he had come to know.
Author's Note
Well, another chapter is done with so many left to go. I know I am so with updates but I have difficulties with finding the time to write.
