Star-Strider

Starswirl awoke with a cold sweat. His nightmare had been so real. Too real. I thought I taught Luna to watch over us better than that he queried. He sat up from his bed, the sun barely half up. He dawned his robe on and began making some morning tea, trying to shake the horrifying thoughts of last night’s dream. It was nothing more than a dream. The Lichen is gone, and so is my master. I needn’t worry about this; I am THE sorcerer after all. He sipped calmly as the morning birds began arising singing their tales of glory that the sun was back. He thought for a moment as he looked out from his cottage porch. This was a nice retirement life he could get used to. Still, he missed being important and contributing. He knew his time was running out. He wasn’t as young as any of the other pillars, save Mistmane. They all still had important jobs they could pass to others. Starswirl was content knowing his teachings were passed on and he did not hold anymore teaching positions. I only need to see my friends every now and again and this would be perfect.

His thought was interrupted by a scroll appearing in front of him from the magic delivery system he set between himself and his former pupils. Speaking of… must be my lucky day! He unfolded the letter and read the text. “Ah! They want to visit me? Today? How wonderful! This will be a glorious day after all!” He sat up quickly and began moving his cottage around to make room for the two grown alicorns that would keep him company later that morning.

Celestia and Luna had their small saddlebags packed for a day trip to Starswirl’s with food and books for them to discuss. Luna had noticed quite a few of the castle’s patrons sporting exhausted looks as though they slept with little rest the previous night. She worried only for a moment as her sister interjected- “So what do you think?”

“Hm? Right. Yes. I think the idea could be a good one, but again, we must know if the Lichen would return. But maybe there would be a way to defeat it anyway?” Celestia was fixated on bringing back Starswirl’s old master by any means necessary. Luna only hoped it was a promising idea. Bringing back the pillars, although it resulted in great accomplishment, had brought back a truly fearsome foe. The Pony of Shadows was able to be reasoned with, but from what she had studied about the Lichen, it could not be.

Celestia and Luna arrived at Starswirl’s cottage a little past the midday. He waved them down as they descended in his front yard. “Luna! Celestia! My favorite ponies!” He said with a large smile on his face as he hugged them both. “I’m so glad you came to visit! Tea?” He pulled out a tea pot that was boiling with what smelled like peppermint leaves.

“Of course, Starswirl! We are so glad to see you too!” Celestia said gesturing with a wing to his whole cottage.

“Yes, quite delighted.” Luna graced with a grin. “How have your studies been going?” she asked as they made their way to a small table where he began to pour the tea.

“Quite swell I would say, but I am seemingly stuck on the elements of harmony and their ties to ritual magic. I know I planted the darn things, but they still perplex me!”

“Well, their nature is very unknown to many ponies, even Twilight. And with the tree destroyed after Sombra’s attack, it seems even harder to study them at all.” Celestia commented as she sipped on her tea. Luna thought about the elements, and how even if they were able to bring Star Strider back, the elements would not be around to protect them all. Twilight and her friends had shown that even without the physical elements, it lived on inside them. Though no one knew how they controlled it or IF they controlled it.

“Would there be a way to plant another tree perhaps? Or make new elements?” Luna questioned as Starswirl mixed more honey in his tea.

“Unfortunately, my dear Luna, the seeds the pillars and I planted took a lifetime to find much less nurture. Even if we could, I am not sure where to plant the new ones.” He leaned back in his chair and stroked his beard. “Plus, there is not much more I need from them, nor Equestria. Twilight Sparkle will have the spirits of the elements under control for her long-reigning stead, and with me living here at the edge of the Everfree forest, I can make sure it does not take over. I even have a few backup plans for when I pass.” Luna’s brow furrowed. Except we want them in case an all-consuming evil monster returns with your Master she thought in a huff. “Luna? What is troubling you?” She glanced up, noticing she had not so much as sipped her tea.

“Nothing, my old master, just thinking of different possibilities.” She paused and looked back into his eyes. “Starswirl, what can you tell us about the Lichen?” Celestia almost choked on her tea, coughing horrendously as she swallowed some down the wrong tube. Starswirl’s eyes widened a bit and he sat forward.

“Well, that is one I’ve not put thought to for a long time. I am happy to share, but I must inquire as to the reason of your interest?” Luna realized why Celestia had choked. I’ve backed myself into a corner. How do I explain why I ask? ‘oh, we were just wondering what happens if we bring your master back and it’s weaknesses!’ you fool!

“I believe Luna is interested more in the recounting of the tale than the actual fierceness of the beast” Celestia said after recovering from her ‘fit.’ Starswirl chuckled softly.

“Fair enough, I suppose it will do me good to recount the details of such a riveting tale.” There was a twinge of pain in his face as he started.

“Long ago, when Equestria was still a ‘manual labor’ job, ponies all around were discovering the first cutie marks. They used the special talents associated with them to found the very core practices we use today. One of these, was magic. Back in the day, magic was not exactly exclusive, but also not inclusive. There were but three earth ponies who could wield sorcery at their hooftips. One of them was my old master, Star Strider. He was a cunning wizard, and even more brilliant warrior. He hailed from a small village on the border of the Dragonlands. From the time he could walk, he was given a sword to protect his village from the fearsome looters. As he grew, he looked for new ways to protect his ponies. Safer ways. He travelled to the far mountains in the East where we know today as Canterlot. His traveling’s led him to a wellspring of water imbedded in the mountain. There he found a wise old sage who had mastered magic through internal balance. This sage was the only earth pony who used magic at the time. As Star Strider began his studies of self-mastery, he also began his studies of his innermost desires and thoughts. For an earth pony to cast spells, they must detach their cravings from their needs entirely and focus solely on the practicality of the spell. Where unicorns and alicorns use magic in their daily routines very casually, earth ponies would struggle to levitate a single item if it were not necessary for their life or if they had yet to master themselves.

“With his practice, Star Strider became more aware of his demons and battled harder to subdue them. He spoke with his master about his struggles and proposed an idea: to embody his wanton desires into a physical vessel that could then be destroyed. The sage master hesitated at this as there was never an account of somepony succeeding, nay even thinking of casting embodiment magic. After much debate, the sage master agreed. Now at this time, another earth pony by the name of Shyamalan from the western settlements had joined the two in magic studies. She could not wait to see the plan play its course.

“Star Strider practiced his spell over and over, embodying little things first, like his hunger or his sadness. As he became more accustomed and better at dispelling or reabsorbing the vessels if they could not be destroyed, he gathered his two friends to cast the final spell. To all their astonishment, it worked! They were able to help Star Strider create a literal creature that was all his foolish desires or irresponsible wants. What they did not know was that this creature had the same mind and aptitude to seek these desires with none of the self-restraint or control to suppress them. The creature moved quickly after its spawning and consumed poor Shyamalan.”

Luna held up a hoof. “What do you mean consumed? As though it physically ate her as some food?” Starswirl turned to her.

“If you would let me continue” he said narrowing his eyes. Luna looked away and rubbed her leg with the other.

“My apologies. Please, continue.”

“Yes, it consumed her. Its whole form enveloped Shyamalan. The two ponies believed her dead, that is until it moved away. She stood there with a blue color among her eyes and her cutie mark replaced by a weaning moon. She reached out trembling for the others, but they could not help her. The sage began casting repulsing spells immediately but was too close to the creature to be of any use. He suffered the same fate. Star Strider was the only one left and began to run, attempting to teleport away. The creature chased after him, but he was able to escape before it consumed him too.

“Star Strider spent the next five years studying ways to contain the beast. He finally found a stasis spell that was able to stop the creature, though only after it had consumed much of the residence of central Equestria. With the creature held in stasis, many ponies began to regain former elements of their magic, but never to their fullest potential. Many of the ponies that had encountered it long ago never recovered, both of Strider’s friends included. They were in a permanently weakened state as thought they had aged a thousand years in mere seconds. Star Strider named the creature ‘the Lichen’ as the moss plant that is a lichen tends to stick to any surface in dark caves and feeds of the air and accomplishments others provide around it.

“After containing the beast and returning what aid he could to the ponies, Star Strider decided to open a school of magical understanding for all ponies, in hopes of training the next wizard generation as well as furthering his own studies. Sadly, with the loss of the sage, Strider could not teach earth ponies or pegasi to wield magic. He turned his attention to the unicorn wizards. By applying the skills as taught in his studies, he found that the unicorns were able to magnify their power tenfold due to their natural proficiency with magic. That is where I was put into school and grew. And I don’t mean to toot my own horn, but I was one of his star pupils!”

Starswirl poured another cup of tea for himself as he smiled. Luna cut in as he poured, “yes, but what of the Lichen? And your master? Surely that is not the end? They cannot be found anywhere so they must be away!” Starswirl raised a brow at her.

“My, someone is eager to hear the riveting ending, are you not?” Luna blushed and Celestia put a hoof upon her sister’s.

“My sister, like me, can sometimes get very caught up in a good story. I think we are both just a bit eager to know where your master went” she said as she cast a side glance at Luna. The look was filled with the silent warning of Don’t spoil it just yet. Starswirl laughed again.

“Yes, I suppose a good story is hard to put down, especially when the storyteller is as good as I!” He looked at Luna with a confused look for a moment thought; “Luna, before I proceed, surely you must have seen this in my nightmare last night and thus the reason you let it play out, yes?” Luna gulped and looked at the ground. Oh no, I had almost forgotten that I didn’t even save the dream scape! Celestia looked over to her younger sister with a shunning look on her face as though she already knew why the dreams had been so vivid last night.

“I… uh I just was a little… preoccupied.” She stuttered over her words, hoping he would leave it there. He seemed to drop it as he stroked his beard.

“All in good favor. Even princesses have stress sometimes.” Luna and Celestia let a look of relief cross their faces, though Luna know she would be getting a lecture the whole flight home.

“Now, returning to the tale, Star Strider taught for years at his school, drawing unicorns in from across the lands. He was even visited by the Kiren! The creatures had such a tenacity for nature magic that they sought to further their healing abilities under his tutorship. In his downtime, he and I would search for the spell to return his masters to their former selves… and the spell for immortality.”

Luna and Celestia both went wide-eyed at the same time, Celestia choking on her tea yet again. “I-i-i I’m sorry, but did you say the spell for immortality?” asked the princess of night as she leaned across the table.

“Quite so” Answered Starswirl, “you did not think that immortality just came from nothing!” Luna shuffled a little in her seat as she pondered the question.

“No, I suppose not, but surely alicorns existed before us?” Starswirl was already putting a hoof up to halt her questions.

“Then tell me Luna, who were they? Where is the recorded history? You see? No one was immortal until the gift of alicorn wings were given to you.” He said pointing a hoof at her chest. Luna was shocked. She cannot believe the thought had never crossed her mind before. She was not the historian that her sister was or some other ponies, but she knew enough.

“Anyway, we had spent years studying. Him even more than I. I would pack my bags for the night, and he would resume his studying late into the night. One day, I came back to class after it ended, and he appeared not to have left his desk the whole night. He was enthralled with his studies. Nothing could deter his focus from saving his masters. Sadly, the time came when it did not matter if he saved them or not, they were too old by pony standards to live a life. This was always on his mind and his driving force for finding immortality. He may have been the first and only pony to seek immortality for non-selfish purposes. With his masters passing away, he grieved for a long while, but then shifted his focus to educating the future generations. What he did not realize was that his stone spell would not hold forever.” Celestia and Luna looked at each other with a look of understanding and slight embarrassment, as clearly the memory of Discord’s escape dawned on them both.

“Yes, we may have an idea of that” Celestia said with a small laugh in the back of her throat.

“Mmm, yes I had heard of Twilight’s defeat and subsequent rehabilitation of the master of Chaos. Truly remarkable by the way. I thought it never to be accomplished.

“As the years went on, the Lichen was able to muster strength enough to break its prison, which was still in the long-forgotten forest of Ponyville. The spirit of the Everfree forest comes from the Lichen and its lust to consume and control all. By the time we had found out about its escape, most of Ponyville had been consumed and some neighboring towns. We rushed with the most powerful unicorn students he had in his classes to battle it. During the fight, we were separated, and I faced the creature alone. No spell I could muster did a scratch against the beast. Star Strider knew what had to be done, but I…” Starswirl gazed longingly into the sky as small tears graced the corners of his eyes. He lowered his head and sighed. “I could not handle it. With one great magical spell, he created a summoning vortex that banished both him and the creature to the eternal plains of limbo. At least that is what he said it would do. When I was sent to limbo with the pony of shadows, part of me hoped to see him and reunite again. But the plains are vast, and it was as though I blinked my eyes before I was summoned back by Twilight. Part of me thinks he just told me he went there so I wouldn’t worry about him or try to bring him back.” The table was silent as all three of the ponies stared at their cups with wandering thoughts.

“So… you think he’s really gone then?” Luna said after what seemed like hours of silence. Celestia glanced up at her but had no reprimand or care for spoiling their surprise. At this point, not even she knew if what they were trying to achieve was possible. Starswirl sighed and looked up at the two of them.

“Not entirely, the last words I heard him say sounded as though there was a solution to his return, but I cannot decipher them. What I have left is his journal and mismanaged notes. It is how I discovered the ability for you to gain your wings and immortality.” Celestia looked at her old master with kind eyes as she put a hoof on his shoulder.

“Starswirl, we could never ask you to give up the only memory you have of your master, but we were wondering… may we read his journal and notes? I believe Equestria has much to gain from the knowledge inside. Plus, Twilight would kill for new ancient material to study.” Starswirl chuckled softly.

“I’m sure she would.” He looked at the two of them, with a seeming dawning moment in his eyes. “Yes, I think it will be good for you two to read it. Give me just a moment!” He jumped from his seat very suddenly and ran inside the house. Luna looked to Celestia and said, “I did not think he would part so easily with his only memory.” Celestia looked down to her younger sister and shrugged.

“Maybe he is excited someone else wants to preserve his master’s memory.” Starswirl returned moments later with an incredibly old and well-worn green book with a golden seal on it. The years had not been kind to its condition, but Starswirl had cared for it to the best of his ability, making it still a viable book.

“Now, I will say, most of it is written in old Ponish, some in a modern dialect. If you have trouble making anything out, let me know. Or just reach out to Twilight as I am sure she would love the opportunity to demonstrate her proficiency in the language.” He went over to the front of his cottage where the royal chariot waited for the sisters, despite them insisting on flying themselves both ways. “Up! Up! You have not a moment to lose studying those materials! The time for chatting is over! Read now and chat later once you understand his writings!” The sisters scrambled up from their seats, caught off guard by his sudden outburst of wanting them to go. They trotted to the chariot as he walked them there.

“But Starswirl—”

“No! Nothing more! I have very important business I forgot about, and you have very important reading to get to! I will see you another day my students!” With that final remark he slapped the lead stallion’s flank. The guard let out a whinny and reared and took to the skies. The sisters leaned out of the chariot and waved as they raced away.

“That ending was… odd” Celestia said, examining the book they had between them.

“Yes… quite.” Luna said. But something tells me he has not given up hope yet and knows something about us not even I know. As the chariot raced towards Canterlot, Luna began turning the pages of the weathered book and reading the ancient texts.