The High King

“Again,” Star Swirl’s stern voice said as he stood in front of Taerus, now a young colt just coming into his magic. “Try lifting it again.”

“But we’ve been doing this for hours, Master Star Swirl,” Taerus groaned. “Can’t we stop for the day?”

“No,” Star Swirl replied. “Not until you at least move the rock.”

Taerus looked down at the rock in question. It was a small thing, only as large as one of his small hooves. They’d been in the room since midmorning as Star Swirl had tutored his young charge in the most basic of a unicorn’s abilities: levitation. So far today, the same as every other day, Taerus had failed to move it. Sweat trickled down his forehead and matted his fur to his body, evidence from other failed tries. “But we’ve been trying for hours!” he whined again. “Why do I have to be stuck up here and Taikus gets to be down in the practice yard?”

“Because Taikus is old enough that he must start training to be your father’s successor one day,” Star Swirl said. “A lord must know their swordplay and their schooling in equal measure. Your brother’s time will come today. But for now, you need to focus on your training. So,” he finished, “try again.”

Taerus gave a snort, but acquiesced to the aged wizard’s direction. Lowering his horn, he closed his eyes and bared his teeth, focusing every ounce of thought he had on the stone. Just like always, his thoughts and feelings seemed to compress as they moved up his horn. Continuing to concentrate, Taerus felt the gentle warmth of his inner magic suddenly reveal itself fully to him. He strained and growled in effort as he fought to breach the magic’s current, the magic backing away as he fought to reach it.

“Don’t try and force it,” Star Swirl said. His voice came to Taerus as if from a distance, the notes of his bass voice echoing off of unseen surfaces. “Let the magic come to you. Go with its flow first, then direct the flow as you need. And be gentle. Magic is a potent force that brooks no foolishness from those that wish to use its power.”

Taerus backed off somewhat, trying not to put so much strain on the current. Mental orders turned into polite requests, gently beckoning the immaterial magicks towards his consciousness. It slowly moved towards him, eventually wrapping itself around the inside of his horn. Its touch was gentle, like a lover’s caress, as Taerus felt its power begin to flow through him. He then returned his focus on the rock, willing the magic out of the tip of his horn, attempting to guide it across the space between the rock and his horn. He felt it coalesce inside his horn, then start to ease out. Taerus smiled as he felt the magic move and, emboldened, shoved it towards the rock as hard as he could.

Star Swirl felt his hat go flying off of his head as the magic lashed out against the rough treatment, sending a large cloud of black smoke bursting into the air. Taerus disappeared amidst the cloud, ash flying in every direction and coating the stone walls of the room in a fine layer of black. Coughing, Star Swirl peered into the cloud as he looked for his student. “Taerus? Are you alright?”

No answer came back from the cloud. Shaking his head, Star Swirl lit his horn and cast an air-clearing spell. The ash and smoke coalesced into a ball and floated out the window before being blown away in the wind, leaving the room clear and ash free. Taerus had been blown backwards by the explosion, his rump and hind legs propped up against the wall as his chin rested against the floor. He had obviously been sent rolling. The colt groaned as he opened his eyes, the green irises showing up against his black-streaked cheeks. Star Swirl replaced his bell-strung hat back on his head before sighing in resignation at the colt’s lack of progress. “Alright,” he said. “I think that’s enough for today. We’ll take a bit of a break tomorrow; just book lessons, no magic.”

Taerus managed to get to his hooves and nodded dazedly, staggering out of the room as Star Swirl opened the door for him. Shutting the door behind the colt, Star Swirl walked over to the window of the room. The window overlooked Arcan Castle’s courtyard, a large, hundred-hoof wide space that was large enough for the castle’s entire garrison force to muster with room to spare for its levies. The castle’s large wall rose up above the courtyard and the other buildings in the place. Sentries dressed in the colors of Arcan patrolling the walls as they watched the grassy plains out in front of the castle. As he watched, he saw a cloud of dust moving towards the castle a short distance away, coming over a hill. A horn began to blow from the gatehouse and the castle’s drawbridge lowered, its portcullis rising and its gates opening as a company of ponies galloped through. They spread out into the courtyard, filling it with a sudden rush of activity. Star Swirl looked out among them, finally seeing the pony he wanted to see out in the center, beneath the company’s standard. His horn lit up and a bright flash lit the room as Star Swirl teleported outside.

Lord Rune’s horn sparked into life and lifted his helm from his head as he looked around the company of soldiers that had accompanied him. The unicorn lord had aged gracefully in the ten years since Star Swirl’s arrival at Arcan Castle, the black of his goatee being lightened by age to a salt-and-pepper gray. His armor rustled and clinked gently as he looked around the courtyard, noting the soldiers gathering around the castle’s smithy to have their arms and armor repaired. A loud crack of magic caused him to look to his left, where Star Swirl was walking towards him across the yard.

“How many?” the wizard asked.

Rune’s lips curled up in a dimpled smile and his horn lit up again, taking a pair of antlers from his waist and holding them up. “One deer and around fifteen Forestborn.”

“A good day, then,” Star Swirl replied, the wizard giving a smile of his own as he approached. “Any good loot?”

“One of the ponies-at-arms managed to get a hold of the deer’s bladebow. I think it’ll take him a while to learn how to use it, but it’s a good weapon for now. A few others got a hold of the Forestborns’ weapons, though I took one of the blades to hand over to the smith to see if he can make blades like that.” He sighed. “A good day, for the most part.”

“And how many lost?” Star Swirl asked, his smile dropping from his face.

“Ten,” Rune replied, his own smile falling from his face as he looked down at the ground and sighed. “That deer was the cause of most of ‘em, we caught the Forestborn off guard while they were looting the farm. Those deer are monsters with those bladebows…I eventually had to take him on myself.” He gestured to his armor with a hoof. It was covered in cuts and gouges, a number of the links in the chainmail beneath it severed by an extremely sharp weapon. “It was close, but a blade in the throat doesn’t do anypony good, even the deer.” He shook his head, watching a wagon come through the gate. Ten shrouded bodies lay inside it, blood staining the sheets in various places. “How did they even get this far south?” he asked to nopony in particular. “The Great Forest must be three hundred leagues away from here…”

“Was the group larger than what you killed?” Star Swirl asked. “A small group can move through the countryside unnoticed, especially when led by a deer with some modicum of magical skill.”

“True,” Rune conceded, giving a nod. “But they’re getting bolder…There’s no telling where they’ll strike next…had I the time and finances I would have walls built around every village…”

“It isn’t your fault, my lord,” Star Swirl replied.

“I know.” Rune said. He sighed again, looking up at the gate as the portcullis ground shut and the drawbridge rose up in front of it with a clanking of chains. “I just wish that I could march on the Great Forest myself.”

“Understandable,” Star Swirl said, nodding.

“Father!” a voice called across the yard, its tones cracking with the onset of puberty as the sound of galloping hooves reached the ears of both. Rune’s weathered face cracked in a grin and he spun as a colt charged into him. Rune’s muscular body withstood the impact with ease, the colt bouncing off of his solid frame and rolling backwards before landing on his back, his gangly legs in the air as he laughed and sat up.

“Ah, here’s my boy!” Rune growled playfully as he reached out and ruffled the colt’s mane with his hoof. The colt laughed, hugging his father as he threw his gangly legs around his neck. This was Taikus, Lord Rune’s biological son. Graced with the sandy white mane and golden fur of his mother and the deep blue eyes of his father, Taikus was in the midst of puberty. His body was skinny from rapid growth, his legs long and lanky and his body thin as a weed. A wooden sword was belted around his waist, a practice weapon from Arcan Castle’s training yard. His flanks bore a sword and shield, the product of his first day of arms training.

“How’s the training going?” Rune asked him.

“Great,” Taikus said as he nodded, his long mane falling into his eyes. “Pommel says that he’s going to put me on real steel soon.”

“In that case,” Rune replied, his cheerful tone dropping and being replaced with utmost seriousness, “Be extra careful. Real steel is nothing to fool around with, understand?”

Taikus nodded again, the honesty of a son obeying his father bright in his eyes. Rune stood up, nudging his son’s cheek. “Go on now, Pommel’s probably wondering where you’ve run off to.” As Taikus ran off, Rune turned to Star Swirl again. “How’s Taerus been doing?”

“He had a bit of an accident today,” Star Swirl said. “He’s not hurt, but he did nearly manage a levitation spell. He still needs to learn to be gentle with the magic, but all in all he’s made relatively good progress.”

“And what of his conventional schooling?” Rune asked. “How is he doing in that regard?”

“Very well, actually,” Star Swirl replied. “He’s progressing far quicker than even my previous student.”

“Good,” Rune said with a reassured tone. “I’m glad.” He looked around the yard again, noting his soldiers going off about their own business, some heading out the now-reopened gate back towards the village that the castle watched over, others heading back to the barracks to get some much needed rest. He waved his hoof at the wizard. “You’re dismissed, Star Swirl.”

“My lord,” Star Swirl replied, bowing before turning around and trotting back to the castle.

***

“Ow! Hey, careful!”

“Relax, squirt, it’s not my fault that you got covered in ash.”

Taerus groaned in mild discomfort as a rough brush held in Taikus’s magical grip raked up and down his back. The colt sat in a washtub; bubbles thick all around him as his elder adopted brother sat on a nearby stool and washed him. The ash from earlier in the day had managed to stick into Taerus’s fur, forcing Taikus to scrub his brother vigorously as he did his best to get the stuff out.

“That’s easy for you to say,” Taerus muttered as his head was jerked back and forth by Taikus’s hooves as they worked soap into his messy brown mane. “At least you can use magic.”

“Well, I’m older than you,” Taikus replied, filling a nearby bucket with water from the tub and dumping it over his brother’s head, plastering his mane and fur to his body. “Don’t give up, Taerus. You’ll get it eventually.”

“But you’re getting to do all the fun stuff!” Taerus said, looking up at his brother as well as he could with his mane concealing his eyes. “You get to use swords and go around Arcan with Papa and all of the other stuff?”

“Because I’m older,” Taikus repeated.

Taerus snorted. “Only by five years.”

“The fact is still there, Taerus. You’re not strong enough to run around with Father and the soldiers yet, and you can’t lift a sword because you can’t levitate either. It’s not your fault that you can’t do anything, Taerus. It’s just that you’re not old enough. Just wait, give yourself time. You’ll start it eventually.” He lit his horn again and lifted his little brother out of the tub. “Come on now, time to dry off.” Lighting his horn again he pointed it at Taerus, a rush of warm air and heat sending his coat rippling as the air collided with his body. Within a few minutes, Taerus was warm and dry, his fur mildly fluffed out from the rapid change from cold to heat.

Taikus flung one gangly leg around Taerus’s shoulder, smiling at him. “Your time will come, little brother. Be patient.”

Taerus nodded as the two walked out of the washroom and into their bedroom. It was a nice, open area of the castle, a number of windows looking out over the grassy plains of Arcan with the sea far in the distance. The room was stone like every part of the castle, though a large, thick blue rug covered up the majority of the floor. The walls were bare for the most part aside from the windows, though there were a number of toys either strewn about the place or put up on various pieces of furniture. Two large beds took up a good deal of the room’s space. Silken sheets and soft blankets were neatly made on top of them, a multitude of pillows resting against the headboard of each one. A candle sat on the nightstand between the beds, providing most of the present illumination in the room. Taerus and Taikus each got into their own beds, the sheets softly rustling as the two moved their bodies underneath them.

“Goodnight, Taerus,” Taikus said before snuffing out the candle, the sheets on his bed rustling

again as he rolled over. Taerus rolled over onto his back, folding his front legs over his belly as he looked up at the room’s high, vaulted ceiling. Slender silver slivers of moonlight streamed in through the windows, sending stripes across the blue of the carpet. Taerus took a deep breath and let it out slowly, his chest rising and falling with the action before he turned over and tried to sleep.

It didn’t work. Flashbacks of the lesson with Star Swirl and the conversation with Taikus kept playing through Taerus’s mind. He imagined going until his dying day never being able to even lift a pebble, growing up as an invalid and being bedridden for the rest of his life, his legs eventually atrophying from lack of use with his horn nothing but a useless stump, Taikus becoming Lord of Arcan and ruling the people while he stayed in bed, unable to do anything but watch as Taikus won glory and honor in war while he was forced to stay behind.

No, the colt thought, shaking his head as he sat up. That’s stupid. Taikus would never do that, and neither would Papa.

But the thought remained. Taerus eventually harrumphed in frustration and threw the sheets off of himself with a hoof, hopping out of bed and walking across the room, to the doors. Turning his head over to Taikus’s bed to make sure his brother remained asleep, Taerus reached up and opened the door with his teeth, carefully sidling through the crack between the doorjamb and the door itself before closing it behind him. Taking time to let out a sigh of relief, Taerus turned around and looked down the hallway. It was empty and silent, as everypony in the castle was undoubtedly asleep.

Nodding, Taerus began to trot down the hallway. Though illuminated with a number of torches the hallway was still dark, and Taerus had to be careful that he didn’t bump into anything. Stone statues carved into the shapes of knights lined the sides of the hall, and cast eerie shadows on the floor in the dark lighting.

Taerus very carefully made his way out of the castle, heading into the yard of the castle’s inner wall and from there out into the rest of the castle’s outbuildings, between the inner and outer walls of the place. Here, Arcan Castle’s main assembly yard, as well as its smithy, granaries, well, kennels, and other buildings were kept. There was also a small garden, which was where Taerus was currently headed. The garden was protected by a wrought-iron fence, in a mostly successful effort to keep larger pests from getting inside. Built as a favor to Lord Rune’s late wife Blossom, the garden was still one of the most meticulously kept places within the castle. Grass and flowers provided a soft carpet underneath Taerus’s feet as he entered through the fence’s gate, the roots of the large tree that took up a significant portion of the space poking up to his left as he walked over to it. Sitting down on his haunches with his back against the tree, Taerus looked around him for a pebble or stick, something that he could use to at least practice his levitation on. Spotting a small twig that was lying on top of one of the roots next to him Taerus took it in his hooves and put it down in front of him.

“Don’t force it…” he said to himself as he began to focus on the twig. “Let the magic come to you…and guide it.” Closing his eyes and focusing harder on the twig, he reached deep within himself, feeling the current of magic running through his body. Taking a deep breath and releasing it, he opened himself up to the feeling. Energy came to him and the familiar, gentle warmth of the magic began to flow through him, spreading through his body and focusing up at his horn. Gently pushing it through his horn up to the tip, Taerus remained as calm as he could as the magic began to coalesce at the tip of his horn.

Aaaaaand…stick, he thought. Opening one eye, he saw a faint green aura begin to materialize around the stick. Giving a laugh of exhilaration, he closed his eyes again and concentrated harder on the stick. Up…he thought. Uuuuuup…uuuuuuup…The light on his horn began to glow brighter and brighter, the ball at the top becoming larger. Taerus’s face scrunched up more as he tried to force the magic out without causing it to explode again. Finally, he remembered what Star Swirl had said.

Please?

The ball of magic at the end of his horn suddenly disappeared. The aura around the twig intensified and brightened, the twig suddenly rising into the air and stopping at eye-level with Taerus. The colt started laughing and pumped a hoof into the air, giving a loud cheer.

Loud barking suddenly began to fill the air. Taerus froze, the light on his horn winking out and causing the twig to drop to the ground as the clip-clop of hooves and the barking and growling of dogs got closer. Finally, a gruff voice reached Taerus’s ears. He recognized it as the voice of Muzzle, Arcan Castle’s kennel-master.

“Hm…gate’s open… Go find ‘em, boys.”

The pattering of two sets of paws sounded on the ground as Taerus saw two dogs enter the garden, their silhouettes outlined in the moonlight. Their noses were down on the ground, their heads slowly turning down in his direction before they looked up. Finally they charged at him, barking loudly. Giving a cry of fright Taerus leapt to his hooves and tried to run, only to be tackled again almost immediately. The dogs bore him back against the tree and he closed his eyes, waiting for razor-sharp teeth to sink into his neck…

Only for something huge and wet to slurp his cheek, dragging fur and the skin beneath it along its path. Giggling a bit at the ticklish feeling it produced, Taerus turned his head towards the dogs. “What the-mmmph!” He was cut off as a second massive dog tongue licked him from chin to forehead, covering his entire face. As the dog’s tongue left his forehead he started laughing, the two dogs taking that as incentive to continue the assault, the two tongues licking furiously at his cheeks as he waved his hooves frantically, trying to playfully shove them away as the two dogs whined happily.

“What in the…Oi! Grey Wind! Summer! Off with ya!” Muzzle’s voice barked as his magic took hold of the two dogs’ collars and pulled them off of the colt. A light soon blossomed against the tree, letting Muzzle’s stern, craggy face get a better look at Taerus as the colt dragged his hooves along his cheeks to try and wipe off some of the dog slobber coating them, the odd giggle managing to make its way out of his mouth. “Wha…Taerus? What are you doing out of the castle so late at night?”

“Um…” Taerus began awkwardly, suddenly remembering where he was. “I was practicing.”

“Practicing.” Muzzle repeated.

“Um…yeah. My…my magic, y’see. I was trying to levitate a stick, and uh, hehe…I did it!” Taerus said, picking up the stick with his horn again and holding it in front of the kennel-master.

Muzzle’s face softened a bit at the explanation, the unicorn stallion shaking his head and chuckling. “Well, can’t argue with a unicorn and their magic…though I suppose I should’ve known it was you when the dogs reacted the way they did when they found you. Love you more than anypony else in this castle, I reckon, even me.”

Taerus chuckled as the haze born from fear of a mauling finally faded; this wasn’t the first time he’d been tackled and licked silly by some of Arcan Castle’s dogs. Muzzle beckoned him up, Grey Wind and Summer coming up behind him as Taerus stood. “Come on, then. Best get you back inside before your lord father knows you’re missing.”

Taerus nodded, too filled with elation at finally coming into his magic to worry about what anypony might say should his midnight jaunt be discovered.