Of Magic and Power

Rarity had never seen something this majestic and beautiful before. The entire city was glittering and shining. She couldn‘t believe the gleam she saw, until Maximilian snapped her out of it.

“You shouldn‘t look too long into the lights. They are tourist-traps for the few who come here. They have certain enchantments on them, which makes them more appealing and desirable… Wait… Didn‘t I ban those a few decades ago?“ Maximilian said.

Rainbow was surprised, as she heard Maximilian says a few decades, and asked “What do you mean by a “few decades“?“

“Ahh, I haven‘t I told you my age yet?“ Maximilian asked, surprised.

“No, you haven‘t, which now actually makes me curious. How old are you?“ Twilight asked.

“I am 466 years old. Looking quite young, aren’t I?“ Maximilian said with a smile.

The girls‘ jaws dropped and Luna looked surprised, then says: “How is it, that you are so old and still look so young?“

"Ahh, magic stuff. Various age-spells and body enhancements. Most of the beings with a shorter lifespan use them.“ Maximilian replied.

Rarity was fascinated by the idea of prolong one's youth, so she asked "So, would you be willing to teach these spells?“

"Not really, but if you want to learn them, you could go to class together with Twilight. They get taught there in the final years. You really don‘t want me to teach you something like that. But we should get moving. We have to meet someone.“ Maximilian replied and went down one of the streets.

The ponies were fascinated by the variety of housing there were in the Guild as they passed by. They had all kinds of forms. Some were tall like they would reach into the sky. Some stuck to the ground like a rabbit hole. They even saw buildings like they had them in Equestria. They also saw a lot of shops. They were hairdressers, designers, bakeries, pubs, markets and some they had no idea what it sold. They continued walking until they reached a plaza, when Maximilian stretched out his arms to greet someone. Two girls walked towards him and gave him hugs. The older was a little smaller than Maximilian and had long, blond hair and green eyes. Unlike Maximilian she looked more grown up and serious. The younger reached Maximilian to the chest and short, blue hair and yellow eyes. She seemed to be very cheerful and energetic. They both wore matching robes, which showed off their body.

He then turned around to the group and said "This is my former student Risa Springwhite, the current Master mage of the Guild, and her student Elilean Moonhaze. And these are the ponies I told you about. The big one with horns and wings is the alicorn Luna, who is one of the co-rulers of Equestria and will act as a representative of their country. The others’ names are Twilight Sparkle, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, Rainbow Dash, and Fluttershy.“ He pointed each of them out, as he said their names.

Risa said "I welcome you to the Mage Guild. My student will give you all a tour of the main part of the city, though this isn‘t all of the Guild. It actually covers the entire planet. As  for you, Queen Luna“ she was interrupted by Luna "It‘s Princess Luna, actually“ "Pardon me, Princess Luna, you will come with Maximilian and me to discuss some political thing, as Maximilian has informed you.“

"Very well, let‘s get to it then.“ Luna replied "The sooner the meeting is over, the sooner we can all enjoy the wonders of this place.“

"Indeed, after the meeting, we shall meet at my place. Right, Elilean?“ Risa agreed.

Elilean nodded happily, then turned to the girls and said "I will show you all the great things in the Guild. Come on, let‘s go.“

After a while, they reached a building at which they stopped. Maximilian turned to Luna and said, "Luna, we are about to enter the inner sanctuary of the Guild. So if you have any weapons on you, please remove them now.“

"You‘re the one to talk, Max. If I remember correctly, wasn‘t it some Master Mage I served, who always broke that rule.“ said a guard, as he walked towards them. He had a heavy armour and a sword to his side. His face had a scar running over his left eye, which was still intact. He was grinning as he reached Maximilian and they grabbed each other’s arms at the elbows.

"Dunmar Winterhunter. Last time I saw you, you were made the head of the sanctuary guard. You sure have come a long way from being the head of my personal guard. We should go drink. The Drunken Mage, maybe?“ Maximilian replied.

"That sounds like a good idea. But, what is your business here?“ Dunmar asks.

"We are here to meet with the Council. There are political things to discuss.“ Risa explained.

As they entered the building, Luna was amazed by the beauty of the main building of the Mage Guild. There were many talented architects in Equestria, but this was simply stunning.

As they walked down the hallway, which had perfect symmetry, Risa said "The building has enchantments on it, so foreigners are trapped by it‘s beauty. It is used to make negotiations easier for us. So don‘t stare at it for too long.“

Luna replies surprised "Your people use a lot of enchantments to fool foreigners. Why is that?“

"One of the Master Mages in the past began to use a enchantment to form a treaty with an enemy nation. The idea then spiraled into what we have today. But this building has always had the enchantments on it. It was built that way, so it would be forever new.“ Maximilian explained.

The group reached the meeting room and they enter. The council was already inside and has taken place. They still were the same elders, since Maximilian last entered this room, just before his banishment. For the elves there was Arminas Anwamanë, the dwarven were represented by Tesur Firestaff, the fairies by Moth Cornfly and the orcs by Prinai Gokar. Maximilian hoped at least one of them had finally passed away, giving a chance for new blood in the Council. The Council didn‘t change it‘s members, unless one of them dies or the people voted them out for treason. Maximilian tried it multiple times to vote them out, but a Council member gets voted by the people into the Council as well, which means they were chosen by the people to be the Council. Unlike the Master Mage, who is trained and taught by the former Master Mage, to become the leader of the Guild. The system was good and it worked for many years, but Maximilian and the Council just didn‘t agree with each other.

The Council of Elders‘ job was to think for the best of the Guild, while the job for the Master Mage was to protect the Guild. Basically it was the same goal, but both tried to achieve it with different methods. Maximilian wanted to expand the Guild, form trade routes and treaties with other nations and races, making the Guild more visible. The Council on the other hand wanted to contain the Guild, make it self sustaining, so in case of a crisis the Guild would be ok.

The meeting was about to begin. Maximilian and Luna sat next to each other facing the Council, while Risa took the head of the table. Arminas sat at the other end and the rest of his colleagues on the left and right of him.

Arminas said "Hello, Princess Luna. I am Arminas Anwamanë, the head of the Council of Elders, and these are my fellow Council members, Tesur Firestaff, Moth Cornfly and Prinai Gokar.“ As he pointed each of them out. "To my knowledge, your world was discovered by Maximilian, the FORMER master mage, during his reign. Am I correct?“

"Yes, you are. We, my sister and I, summoned him to protect our country from a demon, which tried to invade it. But I don‘t see how this is important for what I am here for.“ Luna replied confused.

Tesur said "Then why didn‘t your former leader inform us, that he found a land with magical beings?“

Maximilian now answered "Because it is a peaceful land. We would have brought war to them and they were too weak to fight it. And by the way, I have found many things during my reign you don‘t know about.“

Risa now interrupted the two parties to say "This is all beside the point. We have gathered here to discuss a treaty with Equestria, not to talk about what my mentor told you elders and what he didn‘t. I am sure, he did the right thing at the time.“ She then took a good look at the member of the Council and Maximilian, turning towards Luna and continued "Equestria has magically talented inhabitants. The Guild is offering magical education for those who chose to accept it. There will be military support for Equestria, when needed. Also  the Guild interested to trade goods with your citizens.“

Luna replied "There already is an institute for teach higher magic, though it seems it isn‘t as advanced as yours. So we would accept it, but only as an extension for those who want to deepen their knowledge. Though I don‘t see how the Guild would benefit of trade with our citizens?“

Prinai responded to the question "Fear not, we are not interested in farming goods. Our farmers are doing quite well. We are more interested in luxury and higher goods.“

"This sounds too good to be true. There has to be a catch in this. What are your terms?“ Luna replied suspiciously.

"In case of a crisis, military support and refuge in your lands.“ Maximilian says bluntly.

 The room fell silent for a moment, until Luna said in her royal canterlot voice "This is outrageous. We shall not accept this terms. We will not let any harm come to Equestria.“

Risa replied, trying to calm Luna down "From what I have heard, Equestria is a rather dangerous place, where demons popping up every now and then. So the terms are quite beneficial for you. Also there are hardly any crises in the Magic Guild.“

Suddenly Arminas, Moth Cornfly and Maximilian start laughing.

"She said, HARDLY any crises.“ Maximilian said, while trying to catch his breath.

"That is so adorable. She thinks that the Guild is a safe place. It just shows, how young she still is.“ Moth Cornfly replied, between her giggles.

"Moth, do you remember the demon invasion 600 years ago? That was nothing compared to what happened, since Mafan and Wolf became Master Mages. Those two tore the Guild apart.“ Arminas said..

"Woah, it‘s true that I have a hang for experimental spells, but my mentor didn‘t do anything to harm the Guild. Well, except when he and I were training…… Oh, I see what you getting at. Yeah, you‘re right. We did tear the Guild apart once.“ Maximilian agrees.

"Could you please stop making this a laughing matter? You‘re making this even harder.“ Risa screamed at them.

"I have to agree with Risa. You all are making my decision even easier.“ Luna said.

Tesur and Prinai both stayed quiet, because they had done their share of damage to the Guild a long time ago, so Tesur said to Luna "Princess, please consider, that most of the problems those three have mentioned, are all Guild internal occurrences. They are most times resolved in a matter of days. The last big crisis was the third great war of magic, which happened over 100 years ago. Even then we didn’t call on our allies, since we did not need them. Since then the Guild was a peaceful place. You would do good accepting our proposal. Most other nations, which did accepted, prospered into great civilizations.”

Luna became quiet for a moment to think about what the dwarf said. She thought about the pros and the cons of this deal. A big pro was that Equestria’s knowledge of magic would improve greatly. But a contra is the military support. Though the dwarf and Risa did claim, that the Guild almost never faces any crises, unless it was caused by them. Luna couldn’t process this much information at once. She needed time to think and she needed to talk with Celestia about it.

“I will consider accepting the treaty. But first I need to discuss this with my sister Celestia.” Luna told the council and the two master mages.

“We understand your request. You will be handed the papers containing more detailed information on the treaty and you can discuss the matter with your sister. That would mean the end of this meeting. I will hope you enjoy the rest of the day and see some of the sights the Guild has to offer.” Arminas said, standing up together with the rest of the council, heading towards the exit.

Risa, Luna and Maximilian were left in the room, as Maximilian leaned back in his chair and said “Glad that is over.”

As they left the sanctuary, they noticed that the sun was setting.

“I bet you, that Elilean gave the girls the long tour and still isn’t at the main plaza.” Risa now told Maximilian.

“There is no way, that they haven’t reached the plaza yet. We were in there for hours. Even with the long tour, they should be at your place.” Maximilian disagreed.

“May I ask, how long is this long tour of the Guild?” Luna now asked.

“Roughly, three to four hours, deepening on the interest of the group, taking the tour.” Maximilian replied.

“I say Risa is right, if I know my sister’s student correct.” Luna said.

“You people are on. What’s the bet?” Maximilian now answered.

“We going to get a coffee at the expensive cafe on the plaza and the loser pays. Is that fair?” Risa suggests and Maximilian nods to agree.

Elilean took the girls around the Guild’s famous sightseeing place. They were now headed to the main plaza to get something to eat, as they noticed the two humans and the alicorns already sitting in a cafe and drinking coffee.

“Look, I told you they come here last.” Risa said to Maximilian.

“Fine, I lost the bet. I’ll pay.” Maximilian sighed in response. Luna just sat there and chucked.

“You two have a rather close relationship.” Luna says.

“Well, we did spend nearly 30 years together during her training to become a Master Mage and then the third great war happened and I got exiled.” Maximilian explains.

“But it isn’t normal for a master and student to develop a friendship like we have. Maximilian for an example hated his master” Risa told Luna, while Maximilian muttered “Fucking bastard”.

The group of six ponies and a human now reached the trio and joined them.

As they sat down, Risa asked “Did you enjoy the tour?”

Twilight was just about to speak up, as Rarity interrupted her and said “It was simply marvelous. Such beauty and perfection. The entire city was simply magnificent in the way it all fit together.”

“Yeah, it was cool and stuff, but nothing impressive. Is there something with lots of speed and action?” Rainbow then asked.

“Well, in a few days, the new school year starts and I’m teaching battle magic, so once we reach the practical stage of things, it going to be awesome. Also I am going to proof the final years in practical combat magic. Somebody else want to come along?” Maximilian suggests.

“UHH, are we going to more awesome light action, like when Twilight shot you with those awesome light arrows? Then I wanna come too.” Pinkie Pie said eagerly.

“I would love to, so I could make a picture of how powerful the Guild is. But I have to get back to Equestria and discuss the treaty with my sister.” Luna replied.

“I would never go to such barbarian lessons. That is not a place for ladies.” Rarity huffed.

“Elilean is going to take white magic lesson this year, so you join her and learn something.” Risa said.

“Uhm, I don’t want to interrupt, but is there a zoo or a animal shelter somewhere? Because I would like to see some foreign creature.” Fluttershy quietly said.

“Ah would be interested in that too. So I would come along.” Applejack added.

“We can go to all of that, since the school year starts in three days. So we have enough time to show you all the animal shelter, if you want to call it that, and you could also go shopping and have fun, though I won’t join you for the shopping part. I need to prepare my school lesson. But I think, we should bring your princess back to Equestria first.” Maximilian said.

They all nodded in agreement and headed for the portal area. Maximilian paid for the food and drinks they had at the cafe and then followed them. After arriving at the portal area, the six girls said goodbye to Luna, while Risa and Maximilian gave a formal handshake, then proceed to open the portal for her. Luna passed through it, saying once more goodbye, then vanished from their sights.

Risa now turned to the girls and said “Today was a long day. I am guessing, you are all tired?”

They all nodded and then followed Elilean, who was instructed to show them the place, where they will be staying. Maximilian headed, unlike the rest, for the Drunken Mage, where he met Dunmar for a drink.

The girls settled in their apartment, Maximilian arranged for them, which was big enough for 4 more ponies. They divided the rooms and then got to bed. Twilight and Rarity were staying together and discussed, which subjects they wanted to take, since Risa gave them a paper with all the subjects and a short description. Applejack and Fluttershy shared a room, talking about what kind of new and strange creatures, they would see tomorrow. Pinkie and Rainbow were sleeping in one room, thinking about what they read in the paper, Twilight was given, saying that in theory, any being could learn magic. They decided, that they would ask Maximilian the next day about more details.

Soon they all slowly fell asleep, wondering what their time in the Mage Guild will bring. Everyone slept well, expect the two Master Mages, who had an uneasy feeling.