Ascendance: The Starswirl Chronicles

Chapters

Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Introduction (Go ahead and skip this if you read the description)
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Prologue: Fall of the Solar Ponies

Chapter 1 Prologue: Fall of the Solar Ponies

Ignis, Magus Firus and leader of the tribe of Solar Ponies, was dying. While the rest of his kind was short-lived like a warm summer's day, his magical potency had extended his life far beyond it's natural limits. Now, he must choose a new apprentice to take under his instruction in order to pass on both his powers and his wisdom and preserve the balance of the four tribes.

Today was the day of the First Tournament of the Sun. On this day, hundreds of colts and mares from all the solar clans would face each other on the dueling field, testing their prowess in various magics such as healing and manipulating fire. There was no doubt that each one of them was within their own right an accomplished fire shaman. All solar ponies were. With the shortness of their lives came great power, as each stallion or mare possessed innate power over fire and took energy from the sun. It is perhaps why their lives could be described as a burning candle: always flaring bright, to peter out in the slightest wind.

However, nothing could explain the catastrophe that was to occur that day. It had started out as a normal summers morning in the prairie lands, the sun not yet beating down mercilessly on it's inhabitants. It was cloudless, and a rare cool breeze was blowing, slightly bending the tall wild grass surrounding a village of wooden huts. In otherwords, it was a perfectly beautiful day. Ignis was to have none of it, however. He sighed, wistfully glancing out the window of his room from time to time. As Magus Firus and tribe leader, he held a certain number of administrative duties that frustrated him to no end. One of these included organizing the events for the upcoming Tournament of the Sun, a daunting task that should have been handled by at least twenty ponies. Unfortunately, he had sent his trusted warrior chieftains to the dueling grounds in order to supervise the young flame shamans before the start of the tournament, meaning he had to complete the task alone. In hindsight, he should have forced them to stay behind in order to make the work go by quicker, but despite his exterior Ignis was a kind pony at heart. The fact that he had often bathed in the blood of his enemies in the past made no difference of that fact. He couldn't allow his advisors to miss one of the most exciting days of their lives, seeing as how their lives were short enough as it is. On average, a solar pony lived to the age of 23 before finally losing the ability to draw energy from the sun and dissipating into the air. Ignis had been an exception because, despite his age of 86, he forced his body to continue aborbing the sun's rays through sheer willpower. It was also possibly the fact that he held more power over fire than any other pony in his tribe, which could have sustained him well beyond his natural years.

Sighing, Ignis looked ruefully at the tasks he still needed to complete. Despite himself, he started to wonder the wisdom of his decision. "After all, I'm not getting any younger either wasting away in this room," he said, imagining his younger days as a war chieftain when he lead his stallions against raiding diamond dogs (or ghuuls, as they called themselves) and predatory griffins. Those days were long past him, however. Nowadays, he could hardly walk straight without the aid of a cane and the support of a virile young colt.

Suddenly, a searing sensation exploded at the back of Ignis' head. His legs buckling under the intensity of the pain, Ignis struggled to move towards the door when a flash of light appeared on the edge of the horizon where the dueling grounds were supposed to be, followed by the screams of hundreds of ponies as they suddenly and painfully died.

"No. No!" Forgetting his age and ignoring the protests of his weakened body, Ignis summoned a mini-cyclone of fire that speeded him towards the dueling grounds. What he saw there would haunt him forever, even beyond death.

The dueling grounds, once a magnificent expanse of pure white sand, were darkened as if blasted by a sudden intense moment of heat. Ash hung thickly in the air around him, causing him to choke and dry-retch at the thought of him breathing in the remains of his dead brethren. As he moved forward onto the grounds, bits of glass crunched and cut at his hooves, threatening to cut him to ribbons if he didn't move carefully. Ignis stared in horror. Out of the hundreds of tribesmen that had gathered here today, not a single one lived. They had all been destroyed, their lives extinguished as if flames before the mighty sandstorm.

A sense of despair grew from the pits of Ignis' stomach, threatening to swallow him whole before he forced himself to be calm at least for the moment. He continued walking through the grounds, grasping onto the stray hope that there might be a survivor of... what? What could have possibly wiped out a tribe as powerful as the solar ponies in the blink of an eye?

Hearing a rustling noise behind him, Ignis quickly turned only to find it was the same wind he had wished he was enjoying just hours before. Now, he found it a brutal reminder of what today was supposed to be. And with this realization, he came upon an even darker thought. "There is nopony left to carry on our legacy... I am the sole survivor of the tribe, and there are no apprentices that I can pass my knowledge to before I follow my brethren into the void."

Ignis, Firus Magus, sole survivor of "The Day of Ash", broke down weeping in the desolate prairies he once called home.

"Gone? What do you mean, gone!?" Avalanche bellowed out, slamming the table with a firm hoof. Despite his oncoming years, he still displayed the same vitality and strength of his younger days when he had been a simple farm pony. The others of the council merely kept silent, unable to fully comprehend the stark reality of what had just occurred.

"Exactly what I meant, Magus Terrus." Ignis spoke, barely breaking a whisper. "They're all gone. I used all the magic I dared to conjure flame spirits that flew off to every clan village in the prairie. They're gone, Avalanche." Tears came to his eyes as his emotions threatened to overtake him, but he forced them down with an iron resolve. Tears would not help his brethren. Tears would only stop him from finding the cause of this terrible fate, something that he could ill afford to do.

Lunestra shifted uncomfortably in her seat. "I am... sorry to hear your loss, Ignis. No doubt it is impossible for me to understand your pain, but at least let me try to appease it a little." Concentrating her magical energy, she summoned a burst of healing music that soothed Ignis' soul and caused him to calm down enough to think rationally.

"Thank you, Lunestra," Ignis said weakly, offering her a small smile.

"Forgive me for sounding forward, Ignis, but we have bigger problems to worry about at the moment!" Avalanche thundered forth once more, his voice a mixture of confusion, fear, and a need to protect his ponies. "We need to figure out who- or what- is responsible for this, this "Day of Ash" and put a stop to it before they harm the rest of our pony folk!"

"We will hardly resolve the issue by raising our voices needlessly, Magus Terrus." Sonus spoke in a quiet, lilting voice that spoke of hours of quiet meditation and guidance by her mother before her, Clover the Clever. "Please, calm yourself. We are among friends here. We are safe."

"Yes, 'we' are safe while my people are endangered by a threat we neither know of or see!" Avalanche roared. "How in all of Equestria can you possibly expect me to remain calm, 'Magus' Aquus" He spat. "We are a tribe of farm folk! My people know not the terrors of magic like the unicorns, pegasi, and solar ponies do! Our geomancers are spread far and few, each one a rare jewel to be protected and polished to perfection! And yet, in the face of some 'thing' that wiped out the most magically potent tribe in all of Equestria, you EXPECT ME TO BE CALM?" Finally giving vent to his frustration, Avalanche fumed.

"Yes, now please shut up and let us speak reasonably about this. Or perhaps you'd like to test your luck against the strongest watermolder the Unicorns have to offer?" Sonus' voice betrayed not a single emotion, but there was a fire in her eyes that spoke volumes about the magnitude of her anger.

"Please, friends, let us not fight! We must stand together in our hour of need!" Lunestra pleaded, her eyes begging each party to stand down.

"Stay out of this, Magus Ventus." Slowly moving out of his chair, Avalanche glared at Sonus from across the table. "You want to rumble, you old wench?"

Sonus smirked in an act of uncharacteristic arrogance. "Bring it, you sack of bones." Magic charged the air surrounding her as she delved deep into her power, slowly forming globules of water in the air around her the size of pearls. Avalanche snarled and brought out his pouch of rare gems that would aid him in his earth magic. Placing them in a circle on the floor, he conjured a wave of rock ready to crush whatever stood in it's way. Both ponies looked ready to murder each other until Ignis lashed out with a blanket of flame, vaporizing the globules and melting the rock to magma.

"ENOUGH!" Ignis bellowed at the top of his lungs, getting the attention of the opposing parties. "Can we stop squabbling like foals for one Faust-damned moment and actually use our heads for once!? The Council of Magi is no place for you to settle your petty disputes, so settle down!" Sternly staring down both Sonus and Avalanche, they hastily returned to their seats looking appropriately chastened. Satisfied that a crisis had been averted, Ignis allowed his weariness to show through to his face once more. "Now then, what we are going to do is continue holding the tournaments to decide the successors."

Three faces stared at him from all around the table, their faces slack-jawed from incomprehension. "But Ignis, what of the threat? What are we to do if it comes to each of our own homelands?" Lunestra seemed afraid. She did not wish for her pegasi to be caught in the crossfire of what could quite possibly a vendetta of the gods against ponykind.

"Regardless of the danger, it is imperative that you each acquire a new apprentice in which to pass on your powers to at once. Without their raw magical energy, we might not be enough to face the disaster," Artemis spoke softly, silently appealing to each of his comrades. "The solar ponies are finished, yes, but the Council of Magi must be continued if we are to continue building our country. Now go."

Realizing the logic of his statement, each clan leader nodded in turn and swiftly left the room, save for Lunestra. She approached Ignis carefully, as if he himself might burst into ash at any moment. "But what about you, Ignis? What will become of the Magus Firus?"

Ignis looked into her eyes, his own becoming deep wells of sorrow. "Magus Firus is finished. As am I and my people. Equestria must live on without us." Breaking away from her gaze, he slowly walked out of the room, a broken pony alone in a broken life.

The Day of Ash was soon recorded in the Equestrian Annals as one of the most catastrophic events to ever occur to ponykind. All the world watched as the prairies to the south choked on the ashes of the dead, becoming a desolate wasteland that modern ponies would refer to as "the Badlands". Ignis, feeling his days drawing ever so closer to and end and wracked with pain from his immense loss, took the only action available to him in order to preserve his legacy for future generations. He wrought his most powerful sun magic yet, encasing his entire body in a stasis of light that would preserve him for centuries to come, waiting for a successor to once again wield the fiery power of the solar ponies.

His hope would be unanswered for several centuries until a unicorn, blessed by the embodiment of the sun, would wake him from his slumber.

Chapter 2

Chapter 1

It has been a century since "The Day of Ash" completely wiped out the Solar Ponies. Magus Firus Ignis the Searing has now been entrapped in his tomb of light for the past hundred years, the rest of his fellow Magi dead of old age. Hardly any pony even remembered the existence of Solar Ponies, their records being carefully hidden by Ignis before his self-imposed exile. Even history had been altered to wipe the Solar Ponies from the minds of every preceding generation, and with time they came a thing of legend. Race divisions still existed between the remaining three pony tribes, however, as the Council of Magi tried time after time again to heal the old wounds between their races.

It was only after the successful coronation of Princesses Celestia and Luna that Equestria truly gathered under one flag, one diarchy. On the day of the ceremony, hundreds of tribesmen from the far reaches of the continent travelled long distances over unexplored territory to pledge their fealty in person. For the first time since their union, the pegasi, earth ponies, and unicorns entwined their fates to each others and to that of the princesses. However, old grudges are hard to forget, and a deep resentment still resided in most of the general populace that slowed the process of union even further. As such, the Princesses employed the Council of Magi as their advisers and keepers of the peace, elevating them to the highest position in the land where they answered to none but royalty. The Princesses were loathe to keep an old relic of the past in the workings of the new government, but they recognized the need for the advice advice the experienced hooves behind the council could offer to keep the peace of their newly founded reign, being as young as they were.

Their youth when making this decision ultimately proved to be their downfall for a half century of their reign. Being pure and naive in the ways of the world, they had written into law more powers for the advisers than necessary, power beyond their wildest dreams. When previously these ponies had worked for the sake of their tribesmen, they were now corrupted by the power and wealth that royal status had bequeathed unto them. Slowly but inevitably, the Magi created their own shadow agenda as to how the country would be run, confident in their own magical powers and their abilities to hold off the alicorn powers of the princesses should things come to a stand.

And so the first five centuries of Celestia's rule was tainted by corruption and chaos. The Council of the Magi created wars between Equestria and its neighboring countries to line their own pockets with war tithes and vassal offerings as the highly trained forces of the Equestrian military crushed any resistance underhoof. It was only a matter of time before Equestria's boundaries encompassed the whole of the continent and started Princess Celestia's rule as Empress of the Holy Equestrian Empire. Princess Luna became her right hoof and elite general and tactician of the armed forces, her specially trained Lunar Stallions raining death and blood from the skies across countless battlefields as Solar Infantry marched tirelessly over kilometers of land and mercilessly wrested power from the local regimes. All the while, the Council controlled Equestria from the shadows, even starting to gaze hungrily at lands across the sea in their maddening quest for power and wealth.

Celestia eventually turned from a loving ruler to a tyrant, darkened by the influence of her advisers. She changed her name to Corona and imposed a military rule on the general populace that was nearly as harsh as the one she placed over her vassal states. The tribes that had so willingly pledged fealty and devotion to her five centuries to her now bent their heads in servitude, providing more and more ponies to serve in the machine of death that was the Holy Equestrian Army.

Only Princess Luna remained aloof from the devious machinations of the Council. Each day, she watched as her sister fell deeper and deeper into an insatiable lust for power. Only Luna alone could see the puppeteering influences of the Council on her sister and the whole of Equestria, and it sickened it to the bowels of her stomach. No matter how much she despised being manipulated on such terms, however, she was forced to bide her time. Her strength alone was not enough to oppose the arcane mastery of the Council, nor was it enough to stand against the iron hoof of her sister that commanded her into battle. She merely kept a facade of loyalty and acceptance, waiting for the day to come when she could rescue her sister from the clutches of Council and remove them from the face of the earth.

Born in the small village of Rasaterra, which would eventually be replaced by the mighty city of Manehattan, Starswirl was an oddity. As the child of two proficient water molders, he was expected from an early age to show the same amount of magical potency that his ancestors had before him. His life was filled with impossible expectations and desperate hope, for ponies with magical talents were collected by the Equestrian government to be trained in the Institute of Warfare and become fearsome warrior-mages on the battlefield. The village that produced such a valuable asset would enjoy tax reductions for the following five years and a 10,000 bit reward. However, Starswirl displayed no such adeptness in controlling water as he should have and was promptly denounced as a failure of genetics, eventually being ignored by his peers and elders alike.

His parents, undeterred by the shame piled upon them by their fellow villagers, continued to teach him the basic principles of water manipulation in hopes that he would at least be able to use magic. These days, those born with the "Spark" that enabled for great feats of arcane arts were pitifully few. Geomancers from the earth ponies and wind mages from the pegasi slowly died out, leaving unicorns as the only tribe where all of it's members could use some form of magic. Even so, water molding became an ability just as rare as geomancing and wind magic. It wasn't an uncommon case, however, for a unicorn to be born with no magic at all. When this occurred, it signified a tragedy for that entire unicorn family's bloodline, for it meant that the gift of magic had abandoned their household for good.

Starswirl, much to the despair of his parents, seemed to follow this path until one fateful day when everything would change for him forever. He was ten years old at the time.

Starswirl scratched figures into the dirt outside of his family's stone dwelling. It was a low ceilinged structure that would induce claustrophobia for any other kind of pony, but common unicorn folk relished the feeling of security and closeness that it brought.

As he continued carving mindlessly into the earth, his parents held a hushed conversation within the hut while silently observing from a nearby window. "It's hopeless, Rose. We've waited for ten years now and not the slightest smidgeon of magic to be found," Starswirl's father, Gray Streaks, spoke sadly. His grief weighed down heavily on his features, his voice the slightest whisper. He had the look of a pony who had his life spit upon by the gods and thrown back to him like a useless ragdoll, the inability of his son to use magic a wound against his very being.

"We can't give up yet. He could still be a late bloomer!" Starswirl's mother, Rose Thorn, replied fiercely. Her eyes, unlike Gray Streaks', still held the light of hope that their son would not have to suffer such a terrible fate for a unicorn folk. Her body stood firm and unyielding as she displayed her unshakable resolve to her husband. Even if all the ponies around her insisted that her son was a hopeless case, she refused to simply give up on her own flesh and blood. Even as she said this, however, Gray Streaks shook his head. "I'm tired of waiting, Rose. Tired of waking up every day to have my hopes dashed against the rocks. Tired of having to see him," Streaks said, pointing a hoof towards his son, "have to play by himself every day without friends just because he can't use magic. I'm sick of it, Rose." Gathering up his courage, he said, "It's time we moved west. We can disguise ourselves amongst earth ponies and grow his hair long to hide his horn. He can be happy there, Rose," he pleaded, eyes growing soft with tears. He had lived in this village for whole life, as his ancestors had before them. They had been a proud line of water molders, with each succeeding generation more powerful than the last. He had met his own wife, Rose Thorns, here.

Yet he was ready to throw it all away, to sacrifice it for his own son's happiness. Tears ran down Rose Thorns cheeks as she finally accepted the fact that her son would never be normal, and she nudged her snout into her husband's grey-streaked black mane, venting the pain and immeasurably sadness that came with her acceptance. Staring up into her husband's eyes, she made one last request of him. "Let me just try for a week longer, just so I can know that I gave my all."

Gray Streaks nodded his consent. He too would like to have a week to say goodbye to his fellow tribesman before leaving into self-imposed exile for the rest of his natural life. Embracing his wife for what he didn't know would be the last time, Gray Streaks trotted down the path towards the village where his friends would be taking their evening siesta. Little did anypony in Rasaterra know that their peaceful, inane lives were soon to be cut short by a griffon raid.

It was around three in the afternoon. Celestia's sun had long passed it's zenith, and it's sweltering heat disappeared with it. Starswirl had moved away from his house to meditate quietly as was his habit, away from the pressures of his parents and society at large. He resented the fact that he was cast out from failing to meet expectations that he felt he was not obligated to live up to. "Stupid unicorns and their stupid magic." Starswirl bit his lip petulantly, allowing his eyes to sweep across the beautiful expanse before him. He was perched atop a high cliff overlooking the sea, shimmering in all it's glory. Foam gathered by the base of the cliff, where the sea spray drenched anypony who stepped too close. It was in this spray that Starswirl now stood, fervently praying to his ancestors to give him magic. "Please, just the smallest spark. Anything! I don't want to be alone anymore..." Tears coated his cheeks, the taste of bitter salt and dejection atop his lips. While Starswirl was usually a reserved youth who rarely showed emotion, alone as he was he let loose the pent up frustration and misery that he felt every day of his life since he discovered that he was not like the rest of the village foals.

"Get away from us, No Magic! You're going to infect us with your curse!"

"Haha, how does it feel to be a weirdo, No Magic?"

"Why don't you just kill yourself, you useless twig?"

"Go away! Get away from me!" Starswirl cried out through the tears, covering his head in his forelegs as if to ward off a rain of blows. "Why, Celestia, why!" He sobbed, lowering himself to the ground. "Why me..." Ignoring the cold splash of the sea as another wave crashed against the cliffside, he wallowed in his depression. Starswirl, born a friendly and intelligent colt, was forced to guard his emotions day after day, hardening him to be cold and reserved. He hated himself for failing the village, hated his family for giving up on him, and hated himself for being born. "I never should have been alive..."

Dark thoughts unfit for a colt swarmed to his mind. How easy would it be to just jump off this cliff, to end the suffering he had to go through. His parents could have a new colt that had magic, his village the battlemage that would bring them much needed wealth. He could find peace. Shaking, Starswirl rose up and stood at the edge of the cliff once more, shivering as he felt another splash of the sea drench him to the bone. As he moved to simply fall onto the jutting rocks below, he immediately recoiled from a pungent smell that reached his snout. Wheeling backwards towards the safety of land, Starswirl forced himself out of his depression and concentrated on his surroundings. Just as his father had taught him, he attuned himself to nature and became one with the environment around him.

Suddenly, he realized what was amiss. A strong wind was blowing from the direction of his village, carrying the smell of fire. Normally, this would not have been enough to alert the young Starswirl, who was familiar with the cooking fires that unicorn mares prepared for dinner. This time, however, the fire carried the smell of something new; Starswirl crinkled his nose at the pungent scent. It smelled of blood and tears, and of ash. Wracking his juvenile mind for what could possibly be wrong, he became frightened. His father had told him of tales of griffin raids when he was younger; a favorite strategy of theirs was to rain fire from the sky where earthbound ponies could not reach them, then pick them off one at a time before delivering one concerted effort to raze the village. He had shuddered at his father's description of griffins tearing ponies from limb to limb, feasting on their entrails and crying out with bloodlust. While previously he had just thought of them as a tale to scare him into go to bed, it seemed that griffins were very real.

Worse, they were attacking his village. Starswirl galloped as fast as he could towards his parent's house, eyes streaming tears of fear. He wanted his mommy to tell him that everything would be ok, that his father would take care of the bad griffins and everything would be alright.

When he got to his house, the place was in pieces. Scorch marks scarred the stones that used to be a stable structure, now collapsed around itself. Hearing soft groans from where the living room use to be, Starswirl found his mother and wailed.

"Mommy!" Rushing to her side, he tried shaking her awake but his infantile efforts proved to do little but cause her to grimace in pain. "Mommy, wake up!"

Hearing a voice calling her from beyond the void, Rose Thorns opened her eyes. "Oh, Starswirl...I'm so sorry I can't protect you... Mommy's going to go soon to meet her family... I love you so much Starswirl..." Coughs wracked her body as she spit up blood, adding to the veritable amount that pooled beside her broken body lying under a large boulder. Starswirl shook his head violently. "No, mommy! You can't go! I need you!" Tears threatening to overtake his entire being, he opened his mouth to wail when his mother raised a hoof to his cheek. "Starswirl, I need you to be strong. Get as far away from here as you can and hide, alright? Promise me that you won't come out until you see ponies dressed in golden armor. Those are the Royal Guard, they'll help you..." Starswirl nodded his head, forcing back his tears as best as he could. "I love you, Starswirl, be a big boy for mommy and don't cry, 'kay?" At that, Rose smiled and breathed her last breath, her hoof falling lifelessly to the blooded ground beside her.

Starswirl stood hiccuping for a moment, trying his hardest not to break down and cry again. He promised his mommy that he would be safe, and crying wouldn't help him with his promise to mommy. Turning his head wildly and trying to see through the dry tall grass, he spotted smoke coming now where the village was supposed to be. He decided to run in the exact opposite direction, away from the scary griffins when a dark shadow flew over him and landed with a thud somewhere behind him. Quivering from a combination of fear and cold, he slowly turned to face one of the largest creatures he'd ever seen.

Adult griffins grew to be at least eight feet tall on two legs, their bodies supported by massive wings and piercing claws that can shear through the strongest iron armor. Their beaks were designed to tear through the flesh of their prey, sharp and hooked as an eagle's should be. They were death to ponies, in both shape and function. This one that confronted Starswirl, however, was enormous even by griffin standards. Rearing back it's head, it gave a mighty roar that nearly burst his eardrums and cause him to piddle. It was around 12 feet tall, it's claws covered with the gruesome remains of it's last victim. It's light blue eyes seemed to pierce through Starswirl's soul, being filled with bloodlust and blind battle rage. With a swipe of it's tail, it knocks Starswirl ten feet to the side. There is a noticeable crunch as his body contacts a broken boulder; his left shoulder was bent out of position, causing him to cry out pitifully in pain.

The griffin leaps forth to secure it's kill when a wall of ice materialized in front of it, causing it to ram into six feet of hardened snow. Screeching, it attempted to pull itself out of the wall as a familiar voice called out to Starswirl.

"Son! Get away from that thing!" Gray Streaks galloped to his son and pulled him in for a quick embrace before pushing him in the opposite direction of the griffin. There various cuts and wounds on his torso, and his left eye was half shut from bruising. However, there was a defiant glow in his eyes as he turned to face the intruder. "Hands off my son, you bastard, or you'll answer to me!"

Starswirl stood frozen on the spot out of fear and sheer relief. "Dad! I don't want to leave you! You're going to die!" If Starswirl hadn't been bawling before this point, he was now. His tears started to pool at his feet along without another liquid that smelled suspiciously of piddle. His father simply smiled at him and said ," I love you, Starswirl. Your mother and I both loved you very much. Always remember that." With that, he conjured a solid dome of ice that encircled both him and the griffin, making escape impossible for the either of them. As the griffin finally pulled itself free from the wall with a squawk, Gray Streaks charged the beast with his horn aglow with potent magic. The member of a proud race, the griffin met the challenge head on. Starswirl only watched in terror as the griffin plunged forth with it's beak, burying itself deep into his father's chest where his thoracic cavity was. Gray Streak smiled through the intense pain in victory, and allowed his horn to touch the griffin as he fell dead.

A sudden flash of light blinded Starswirl's eyes, and he shivered as the temperature drastically dropped for the slightest moment before everything faded at once. Where the griffin once stood was now a mighty ice-statue, frozen in time for all eternity. The dome of ice collapsed, allowing Starswirl to go to the body of his dead father. "Dad, dad!" Starswirl had no more tears to cry anymore, his voice croaking. With all the strength he could muster, he slowly dragged his father to where his mother had died and laid them together. In their culture, it was bad luck for a couple to be buried away from each other, and while Starswirl didn't have enough strength to dig one for them he at least had to place their bodies together.

Staring at the broken bodies of his dead parents, Starswirl became deathly silent. All the sadness in his body had now been released. There was only rage. Blind, murderous rage. Needing to lash out at something, he aimed his horn at a nearby rock and concentrated. The rock shattered in a burst of ice. All around him, water vapor condensed into tiny orbs of water that floated above his body. His vision turning red and his mind losing all sense of rationality, Starswirl ran towards the village as fast as his legs could carry him. So consumed was he in his need to destroy every single griffin that still stood that ne never noticed the trail of burning grass he left in his wake.

Captain Spark Plug , commander of the 5th Division of the Equestrian Air Force, whistled at the scene. His men had flown for an hour straight from the royal barracks near the Castle of the Ancient Pony Sisters when they heard reports of a griffin raid on their eastern seaboard. Luna sent a full division of fifty ponies armed with wing blades and solar-enriched steel armor to drive the invaders away and rescue any survivors, but by the time they had reached the village it had already burned to the ground.

What caused Spark Plug to whistle, however, was the sight of one unicorn colt laying in the middle of a ring of griffin corpses. Each corpse was completely frozen, as if suddenly blasted by an arctic wind. There were even the remains of shattered corpses where the bodies had been frozen beyond absolute zero, causing them to disintegrate upon falling to the ground. Sending the rest of his division to investigate the surrounding area, Spark Plug approached the lone colt. Upon closer observation, Spark found that the colt was alive but unconscious. Feeing the colt's head with a wing, Spark discovered that the little one was suffering from arcane feedback, something that happened when a mage expended more energy than he or she was supposed to and the sudden loss backlashed on the owner's body in the form of a fever. Spark slowly made the connection as he noted that this was the village of Rasaterra, one that housed unicorn tribesmen.

"Little blighter must have frozen them all to death himself, he did," Spark Plug said hesitantly, as if not fully believing it himself. "I'd better bring him back to Empress Corona for judgement. She'll want to see how we can use him for his raw magical energy alone." Scooping up the colt with his wing, Spark Plug called in the rest of his division and gave the orders to go home to rest after cordoning off the area that used to be Rasaterra. Plans for future development would be created by the throne at a later time, and it was not the duty for common footsoldiers such as they to complete. Spark Plug then flew swiftly towards the Royal Castle, a mix of confusion, curiosity, and fear ruling his thoughts as he considered the colt that rested fitfully on his back. "Who in the world are you, kid?"

Chapter 3

Chapter 2

Empress Corona was decidedly not in a good mood. After a disastrous morning meeting with the Council of Magi discussing the best course of action to take in their current war with Arcadios, a mountainous country existing on a continent mere five klicks south of their own, she walked into her throne room after tea time to discover that her scribe was not present.

"You there! Guard!" Corona barked at a nearby guard who visibly stiffened up as she pointed her royal hoof at him. "Fetch me my lazy excuse of a scribe at once! This is unacceptable!" Making a shooing gesture to the guard, who quickly scuttled away, Corona exhaled loudly before taking to her throne. Five minutes later, her scribe (poor thing) arrived.

"I-I'm sorry, Empress, I -" Dusty Scroll started out with a garbled apology that Corona quickly silenced with a raise of her regal horseshoe.

"Enough excuses, Dusty! This is the second time in a week that this has happened! I don't pay you to be late, so you'd best come be on time in the future. After all, scribes can always be replaced, and it would just be so unfortunate if you met your sudden and swift demise while being late to your job a third time." Staring at him long and hard to make sure he caught her meaning, she became slightly mollified. "Read out the first item of the agenda for today, Dusty."

"As you wish, Empress Corona." Unfurling a scroll from his saddle bags, Dusty Scroll magically conjured a pair of reading glasses from the Aether. "Ahem. Item number one on the list: Meeting with an ambassador of Arcadios to discuss their terms of complete surrender to us."

Corona purred. She loved the feeling of having a new country under the influence of her every beck and whim. "Excellent. Perhaps their king has finally seen sense and now knows it is much better to be a vassal state to Equestria than to be destroyed by it. What is the next item on the agenda, scribe?"

As Dusty Scroll continued reading items off the list, a small voice nagged at the back of Corona's head. This isn't right. Why am I killing so many ponies just to conquer another country? Why am I even conquering countries at all?. She shook her head to rid herself of these silly thoughts. As long as she could remember, it was her life's purpose to expand the borders of Equestria to all corners of the continent and even beyond. For some reason, however, this small voice inside of her head always tells her that it is not so, that she was not born to be a tyrant and mass murderer for the sake of power. Corona snapped herself back into reality after Dusty Scroll nervously cleared his voice.

"Ehm, Empress? That is all for today," he stuttered. Though he had been in the Empress' employ for the past decade, she exuded an aura of fear that nopony could ever get fully comfortable around. For an excitable pony like him, it was more than enough to make him have nightmares on a regular basis. These mostly centered around himself being launched to the moon or burned to ash on the spot, but there was always the rare case that he dreamed he was being tickled to death.

Corona nodded slowly, eyeing over her subject languidly. She mulled over the items she had heard in her half awareness when one in particular caught her attention. "Did you mention something about a new student for the Institute of Warfare?"

"Uhm, yes Empress. Item Seventy-three: Interrogate and potentially train new student for the Institute of Warfare from the village of Rasaterra, recently razed in a griffin raid."

She raised her eyebrows. From what she recalled, Rasaterra was a village on the eastern border of Equestria by the Sea of White. It was mainly populated by unicorns, although they hadn't produced a single foal of significant magical talent for at least twenty years if her memory served. However, all unicorns knew how to perform some type of magic, and it was hard to believe that the entire village was razed despite this fact. "I must say that I am intrigued. What brought this situation about?"

"Well, my Empress, the report says that Captain Spark Plug of the Equestrian Air Force 5th was sent to combat the invaders on orders from her imperial Majesty Grand General Luna, only to find the village completely destroyed save for the ashes of its remains. None of the villagers lived with the exception of one unicorn colt who was believed to have killed the majority of the invading force on his own." While Dusty Scroll was trained to withhold any emotions, he couldn't control his eyes from widening slightly. A unicorn colt fighting off an entire force of bloodthirsty, murderous griffins? One could only imagine the immense power that colt was blessed with.

Empress Corona also expressed her astonishment despite herself in the form of her eyebrows rising, although it could have easily been caused from skepticism. "A unicorn colt? Defeating how many griffins?"

"Erhm," mumbled Dusty, scanning the report for mortality numbers. "A total of twenty five griffins found dead in the main village area, with five or so corpses scattered around the surrounding forest."

"Could it not have been some sort of freak accident? Killing twenty five of those treacherous beasts is no easy task."

"The corpses were frozen solid , some of them disintegrating upon closer examination. Only an intense release of water magic could have caused this," Dusty replied. "There's also the fact to consider that the colt was found in the very middle of the village, surrounded by the bodies. All the evidence points towards him being the source of their deaths."

Impressive. To think that a backwater village like Rasaterra could still develop such a powerful watermolder. A pity there were no survivors. We'll just have to assess him at the Institute as quickly as possible and determine his eligibility for Magus Apprentice. After all, the current Magus Aquus is so old he could hardly sit upright in his plush chair, Corona mused to herself. "Guard, please retrieve Captain Spark Plug from his quarters and have him report to me in my study at once. Tell him to bring the new foal with him." Rising from her throne, she walked towards the throne room doors before throwing her shimmering mane back to address Dusty. "Dismissed, scribe. Be sure that you are not late at the Evening court later today, or there will be...consequences." At that, she exited the room, smirking at the collective sound of relief that escaped every scholar and adviser who had been on duty while she was there. Better to be feared than to be overthrown, she thought to herself.

Spark Plug was in trouble. Deep trouble. As soon as he had returned to the barracks, he had sent his report to the Empress straight away in hopes that she would request for him as soon as possible. He hadn't expected to be kept waiting for this long, and now the colt was awake and bawling his eyes out again. "Damnation, I wasn't trained to handle bucking foals!" He had tried everything from giving the colt books to showing him shiny weapons and armor, but nothing would placate the lad. He had almost convinced himself to grab the nearest wind mage and cause the colt to fall into a deep sleep when he finally recieved summons from her imperial Majesty. Sighing with relief, he used a wing to aim a quick chop at the back of the colt's neck where the nerve cluster would be. Thankfully, the crying stopped.

Scooping up the child once more, Spark Plug walked quickly through the corridor that connected the barracks with the royal castle. Nodding to a few comrades from the force during his passage, he soon entered the main structure of the castle and found himself making an arduous climb to the study of her Solar Majesty, Empress Corona. He breathed deeply before raising his hoof to the gigantic double doors, forcefully banging his hoof against the intricately carved mahogany wood.

"Enter," came the short reply of his sovereign. Spark Plug readily complied, closing the door softly behind him as he approached and knelt before his majesty as best as he could while holding the unconscious foal.

"Rise, Captain, and speak; your Empress commands this of thee." Sitting tall and regal in her chair, Corona stared down at him with a bemused gaze.

"Of course, my Empress. As I have written in my report, a marauding force of at least twenty five griffins is believed to have attacked the sea-side village of Rasaterra at around noontime. They proceeded to loot the village of it's valuables before burning it to the ground, viciously murdering the former villagers who attempted to drive them away. The casualty report places the number of civilians dead to be around thirty unicorns, the ones in one piece showing signs of magical overload. It is presumed that the villagers died either by being eviscerated or using more magic than their bodies possessed in the defense of their home and loved ones." Spark Plug paused here, carefully considering his next few words. The next couple sentences would determine the future of both himself and his charge, still thankfully unconscious and peaceful. "Casualties also include twenty five or so griffins, frozen and/or disintegrated. Cause of their deaths is believed to be this unicorn colt here," he said, gesturing a wing towards the foal ," who was found surrounded by the bodies of their dead. While I do not know the reason why he was not discovered at an earlier age when the royal Recruitors had last surveyed the land, it is most likely that this young one is the most powerful watermolder to have been born since the times of the legendary first Magus Aquus, Sonus the Persistent."

A silence broke out in the room, Spark Plug standing resolutely at attention while inwardly sweating rivers. Having to report to the Empress was terrifying enough when she was in the throne room, but being alone in the study with just the two of them had him being extra cautious to avoid displeasing her or risk being turned to ash on the spot (This had in fact happened to some poor chap in the past; he hadn't made her tea hot enough, so she made sure he felt supremely "hot" indeed). In fact, he was so concerned with pleasing his deity that he nearly jumped ten feet in the air when she spoke.

"I am quite aware of the incidents that occurred at Rasaterra earlier today, Captain. However, I am still doubtful of the conclusion of your report. A foal taking down a group of twenty five griffins seems almost impossible. It goes against all reasoning for a foal to have that much power, albeit the fact that this colt here is a unicorn. Please set him down before me, so that I may assess his magical energy for myself."

Abiding by his sovereign's wishes, Spark Plug gently set the colt down on the plush carpet before her Solar Majesty, then hastily took a step backward to avoid the burst of solar magic that was emitted from her horn moments afterwards.

Corona stepped forward, bring the tip of her pure white horn down to the tip of the colt's horn. Magic ran down the length of her horn into his as she probed his body for the amount of magic that this young foal possessed. The results she found were nothing short of outstanding. In fact, if the results of the scan were completely true, this colt would change everything from now on. "Leave us, Spark Plug."

The order had been so sudden and unexpected that Spark Plug broke out of his characteristic obedience mode and hesitated before Corona hissed at him. "Now, Captain!" Spark Plug saluted on instinct and removed himself from her presence as quickly as he could backpedal out of a room while being almost terrified out of his wits. Corona sighed. "Perhaps fear isn't always the best tool when trying to run an efficient government. Ponies always misunderstanding you or trying to leave so quickly that they fail to understand what I ask of them," she mused. Quickly reaching out with her horn to shut the doors to her study, she levitated the unconscious colt and brought him to her sofa to examine him closer without having to bend her neck. While she was an immortal goddess, she still had the body of a pony and getting neck cricks were the most annoying pain imaginable. Making sure she was sitting comfortable, she began chanting a long series of spells under her breath that would scan deeper into this colt's body and perhaps glean some memories of how he had slain the griffins.

Starswirl was panting, his body wracked with exhaustion. His father had been a peaceful unicorn who wanted to be situated away from village life, and had built his cottage half a klick away from the outskirts of Rasaterra. To Starswirl's tiny legs, it might as well have been fifty. Desperately gulping in more breath, he ignored the burning sensation of his legs as he continued forth on his mission of destruction and hatred. The only thing that penetrated his mind was the thought of getting revenge for the parents who had raised him, then died in front of his eyes. He felt tears welling up in his eyes before forcing the memories away. Now, he was focused on vengeance.

By the time Starswirl had reached the village, the raiding party was nearly finished looting the houses that still stood before setting fire to them. Still engulfed in the depths of his childlike rage, he slammed himself into the body of the nearest griffin. The griffin screeched, swatting him away. His horn had managed to pierce the muscle in it's shoulder, causing an extremely painful wound that would partially immobilize it. Starswirl flew from the force of the blow, landing with a thud at the center of the village. Staggering to his feet with the indomitable energy of youth, his horn lit ablaze as he shot the globules of water everywhere around him. In flight, they changed to shards of ice that pierced and tore through griffin skin, embedding themselves deep into griffin wings and chests before melting away into water once more.

Still, the spell had been weakened by the exertion caused from his long rush to the village, and he had not used nearly half the force required for the shards to have achieved fatal results. Instead, they seemed to only have enraged the party of griffins, now intent on murdering the one who would dare assault them with his petty water magic. They began to close in on him, like lions circling an injured gazelle before sweeping in for the kill.

Starswirl forced himself to reach deep into his body once more, drawing out his own life energy in replacement of his depleted magic reserves. Yelling out in tremendous pain, Starswirl collapsed as he felt years of his future tear themselves away from him into the spell he had channeled. His horn glowed in a rapidly expanding pinprick of light, causing the temperature within the light to freeze below -273 ºC. All of the griffins were frozen in an instant, with some of their bodies even disintegrating from the sudden loss of heat. As Starswirl drifted into the void of his subsconscious, he could just barely detect the presence of another pony out of the corner of his eye before succumbing to exhaustion and pain.

Starswirl awoke with a start, his eyes wild with fear. He didn't recognize the plush surroundings around him, nor the comfy cushions that buffered his backside. There was also the smell of something he had never smelled before; it was sweet, yet held a tang of freshness much like the presence of an oncoming storm. Slowly orienting himself to his surroundings, he remembered that his parents were dead and sniffled. Before he managed to cry, however, his mouth was forced shut by magic.

"If you dare shed tears on those Saddle Arabian cushions, young one, no amount of magic will save you from my wrath," Corona said ominously, approaching him from behind. He whirled his head, not knowing who the tall and scary figure was in front of him. He did, however, recognize the aura of authority and so bowed his little head as far as it could go into the sofa.

Not for the first time, Corona wished that she could control her aura at will. It seemed to cause kowtowing in every pony that ever met her for the first time, and even for every time afterwards. "Rise, young colt, and face your Empress. I am Corona, Bringer of Dawn, Goddess of the Sun, and Empress of the Holy Equestrian Empire."

Starswirl peered up meekly at his sovereign, slowly coming to a rise before her. While he felt slightly better at this point, it was mainly his fear of what Corona could do to him that kept him from releasing the tears threatening to pour down his cheeks once more. Instead, he stood as still as he could and stared at her face, his lips quivering as he did so.

Well, what a cute little colt we have here, Corona thought to herself, unconsciously licking her lips before shaking her head free of such thoughts. There was a time in the past where she had considered pursuing romantic interests no matter what their age was. Now, she had grown wise enough to realize that colts were not exactly the most suitable dating material for an immortal alicorn goddess that held the fate of an empire in her hooves, and decided to abstain from any sort of relations with the opposite sex until her goals of expanding the Holy Equestrian Empire were completed. Realizing that she been staring blankly at her subject for a couple minutes, she quickly forced a scowl to come across her face that caused Starswirl to wilt in his spot. He did, surprisingly, still keep eye contact with the Empress.

She nodded approvingly. "Excellent. It does a mage good to have a bit of clout in him. Most of the battlemages in my employ are prissies, although I can't have anypony to blame for that except myself," she said, eyeing the young colt up and down. "What is thy name, young one?"

"I-it's Starswirl, Empress lady."

"Simply 'Empress' will do. Now then, Starswirl. You have a very rare and powerful gift of magic. How long have you had these powers? I would like to know why the village of Rasaterra had not informed me of your birth earlier."

"I-I just got them today. The entire village thought I would never be able to use any magic, ever. Even my p-parents had given up on me, I think..." Tears came to his eyes. "I want my mummy..."

"Faust damn it." Corona could not have him scarred for the rest of his life for the deaths of his parents. Quickly reaching into her magic, she cast a spell of long-term amnesia on her troubled new asset. There would be time enough for him to learn of the truth after his education was completed. Now, however, he must train his talents for service to the Crown. She waited as a look of vacancy entered the colt's eyes before he snapped back to reality, looking confused. "Huh? Where am I? And who are you?"

"You are in my study, young Starswirl. My name is Corona, your Empress and Goddess."

"Star...swirl?" He seemed to roll the name around on his tongue before deciding that it sounded right. "But what am I doing here, Empress?"

"You are here, young one, because I am going to have you enter the Institute of Warfare to learn about magic. You like magic, don't you Starswirl?"

Starswirl shook his head vigorously. Although he couldn't quite explain it, it was extremely important for him to learn magic. "Yes please!"

She smiled grimly, wondering how he would react in the future when the memories returned slowly as nightmares. "Excellent. You will be staying at a room here in the castle for the duration of your education."

"Really? But where's my family? Why can't I stay with them?" There was something nagging at the back of his head, the feeling that there was a memory that wasn't quite there.

"Young one, all initiates of the Institute stay at the castle, in the Royal Ward. Your family sent you here to do a great service by learning magic. Now, you must be tired. I'll have one of the guards show you the way. You will be retrieved at an hour after sun's rise to begin your classes and meet your fellow initiates, but the rest of the afternoon is yours." Corona gave him a seemingly warm smile that never quite reached her eyes. It always surprised her how easily her subjects believed her act of compassion. Perhaps it was because there was still a piece of her heart that was still the kind-hearted Celestia, unbeknownst even to the terrible dictator.

Starswirl smiled, content with the answers his sovereign had given him. Bouncing towards the door, he turned back towards his Empress. "Thanks, Empress!"

Corona allowed herself a small smirk as a guard came to take him to the West wing of the castle, where the Royal Ward would be. "Ah, the energy of youth. Now then..." turning back to her study with a darkened expression, she glared at the stacks of papers that currently littered her desk. Warfare always seemed to generate an endless stream of paperwork. Tempted to simply reduce the papers to ashes and be done with it, she sighed and prepared for an afternoon session of endless stamping and sealing.

Chapter 4

Chapter 3

Starswirl trotted along behind the guard leading him in silence. Meeting an empress was pretty special, or so he was trying to convince himself. In fact, the more he thought about it, the less he was sure of himself or anything for that matter. It's as if all of his past memories had been wiped clean. Scrunching his brow in concentration, Starswirl attempted to dig deeper into the cloud of white fluffiness that was his subconscious mind only to be rebuffed back into reality. He had no idea how he had used magic to mentally probe himself, but it felt weird as if a worm had tried burrowing into his head through his ear. Shaking himself to get rid of the unpleasant experience, Starswirl nearly bumped into the guard as he suddenly stopped in front of a grand set of double doors.

"Welcome to the Ward," announced the guard gruffly. "You'll be stayin' in room 203. Keep outta trouble, or I'll be makin' trouble for you." With a threatening glare that was meant to stay him, the guard walked away to resume his post guarding Empress Corona.

Turning back to face the ominous doors, Starswirl grabbed the handle in his mouth and turned. The doors wouldn't budge. He tried again. There was not even an inch of movement, and Starswirl was practically throwing all of his weight into it. "Well, these are some weird doors. What kind of doors don't open when you try to go in?" Stepping back to examine the barrier obstructing his way, Starswirl noticed a small hole next to the doorknob. "What's this?" Looking closer at the hole, it appeared that he could fit his horn inside of it. Seeing no better option to take, he shrugged and plunged his horn in as deep as he could.

The door still wouldn't move. "Seriously? I think the Empress might have bought some broken doors." Stepping away to pull himself out of the door, he was stopped suddenly by a force pulling on his head. His horn was stuck in the hole. "Oh, ponyfeathers..." Struggling against his bonds, Starswirl attempted to free himself by twisting his horn as far as his neck would allow on either side, but to no avail. At this point, Starswirl was just getting annoyed. "Grrrr, you stupid door!" He growled, the flare of anger causing him to instinctively reach into his magic and release it through his horn. Suddenly, the great doors moved open and Starswirl fell flat on his face onto a red carpeted floor. The doors shut silently after him. "Ouch," he muttered to himself, moving his hoof to his face in irritation. The friction caused by his face moving across the carpet caused minor rug burns. Looking back darkly at the door, he aimed a buck at it only to be shocked ten feet in the air. "Agh!" he yelped, landing bodily on his rump.

"You alright there, newbie?" Snickers emerged from behind Starswirl as he whirled his head to face the group of strangers moving towards him. They each held identical mocking smiles, staring at him with condescending gazes as if they were the best in the world. "That should teach you to kick at magic doors, although even an idiot could tell that it's magic if the door measures your power to let you in!" At this, the unicorn's companions guffawed obnoxiously. These ponies were the type of ponies that enjoyed belittling others in their weakest moments. "So, what's your name, shrimp?"

"It's Starswirl. Who are you?"

"Pfft, this scrub thinks he's entitled to know who I am? What a riot!" More jeering emerged from behind the speaking pony, causing Starswirl to unconsciously shrink back. "Listen pal, my name's Heatstrike; I'm a Class 2 third year here at the Institute, and I practically run the entire place. You better learn to offer your respect to me, or you'll be my enemy. And let's just say I don't have many enemies still here at this school." Flashing Starswirl a wicked grin, he bent down until their faces were inches apart. "I bet you think you're hot stuff huh? Get real. What sort of backwater town sent you here?"

"He must have been a farmer, only country bumpkins get grey coat colors!" An earth pony with a jet-black coat proffered forth, toadying to the leader of the gang.

"You know, Cinderblock, I think you're right. You ARE farmer; I can smell it." Holding his hoof up to his nose, Heatstrike feigned detecting a foul odor in the air. All of his cronies laughed while Starswirl wished he could just disappear into the background. While part of him wanted to just break down and cry, the other part of him was slowly getting angrier and angrier. Who did this punk think he was!?

"Can I leave now?" Starswirl's voice had dropped two octaves, resembling the husky growl of suppressed anger. This tone change went unnoticed by Heatstrike, however, who was busy playing the crowd.

"And what if I so no? What're you going to do about it, scrub?" Heatstrike stood over him threateningly, a good two heads taller than Starswirl was at his diminutive age. He went so far as to spit in Starswirl's coal black mane, eliciting more catcalls and jeers from his goons. "Listen, first year; I make the calls around here. You do what I want, and there ain't NOTHING you can do abo-OOF!" He found himself interrupted as an invisible force hit him in the chest, causing him to stagger backwards a couple inches. Overcoming the initial shock, he quickly became enraged. "Hey! What's the big ide-" He go no further as a stream of water blasted into his face, pushing him back into a nearby wall.

Starswirl glared at his aggressor. He hadn't even done anything to this guy, but he was getting picked on. Well, he wasn't going to let these guys just walk and spit all over him. Slowly shutting off the magic sustaining the stream, he stared at one very wet Heatstrike. "That's exactly what I'm going to do about it," he said, childish rage ruining any capacity he had for thought.

"Oh, you cocky little-!" Bellowing in fury, Heatstrike summoned a wall of water and sent it flying towards Starswirl. Starswirl merely looked at the wall, staring at it until it dissipated before his very eyes. Heatstrike gaped in shock before getting hit by a blast of snow that now covered his body up to his head. Summoning up more magic, Heatstrike forced all the snow to melt into water before sending a wave at Starswirl, followed by several smaller waves behind it. His companions simply stood to the side in anticipation.

"Cream the scrub, Heat!"

"Make mincemeat out of him!"

"Show him who the real water molder is around here!"

Starswirl managed to deform the wave as easily as he had the wall, but he instantly got swamped over by the waves that followed close behind.

"Gotya!" exclaimed Heatstrike in triumph. "You're going down, scrub." While Starswirl was still knocked off balance, Heatstrike froze all the water that surrounded him into ice. He summoned even more ice until it layered up to Starswirl's nose. "Now, time to give you your punishment." Materializing an ice hammer, Heatstrike prepared to give Starswirl the first blow before a hoof jabbed into the cave of his back. Crying out in pain, he immediately reflexed as he was hit soundly in the solar plexus, knocking him unconscious. Instantly, the ice encasement spell fell apart and Starswirl landed with a splat in the middle of a large puddle of water. The guard that had escorted Starswirl stood over him, his eyes glaring at both Starswirl and the other goons. "I thought I told you that if you made trouble, I'd make trouble for you."

Starswirl quailed under the interrogative gaze of the guard, scared. He didn't even know what caused him to use all those magic spells. A part of his brain just got so angry that it shut off the rest of his thinking and caused holes in his memory of what happened while he was angry. "I-I'm sorry sir."

"Sorry doesn't cut it!" the guard roared thunderously. "What in the blazes d'ya think yer doin', having a magic duel in the middle of the hallway!" Seizing Starswirl by the scruff of his neck with his teeth, the guard moved his gaze towards the group of cronies trying to scuttle away undetected. "You three are gonna get it later!" He yelled through gritted teeth, which somehow made it more frightening for the adolescent colts. Scrambling over each other to get away, they tripped and pushed and shoved until not a single one was left at the scene of the crime.

Muttering something about hooligans under his breath, the guard dragged Starswirl's sopping wet body across the floor until he stood in front of room 203 halfway down the hall from the main doors. Bucking a door open, the guard tossed Starswirl onto his bed like a wet kitten. "Get dry. And don't get in'ta fights with the other initiates!" Scowling, the guard slammed the door and caused Starswirl to jump a little at the magnitude of the sound.

Starswirl shivered, drenched to the bone from that ice attack he had faced earlier. Shaking himself in an attempt to get dry, he only managed to get the bed under him soaking wet. Not wanting to sleep in a cold bed, he immediately used a burst of magic to create a pulse of heat. It proved to be instantly effective, drying both him and the bed sheets in a second. Starswirl then set about to explore his room when he stopped, something tugging at his mind's edge. For some reason, he felt that something peculiar had just happened, even though all he did was summon up a bit of heat to dry himself. Something seemed to isolate the fact that he had summoned heat, but he just shrugged it off. Whatever it was that was bugging him could be handled later, he decided.

The room was simple and elegant, befitting for it's existence in the Royal Castle. The walls were painted a sky blue, with a muted grey carpet covering the floor. There were a set of windows that looked out over the surrounding forest, allowing the sun to shine through into the room. A single painting adorned the wall opposite of the bed, depicting the picture of the legendary Magus Aquus, Sonas the Persistent. She held a fierce look of determination, wielding her staff around her as she faced down an unknown opponent. Starswirl was enraptured. Here was a unicorn who was just like him, yet she seemed so regal and powerful without exuding a sense of arrogance. Rather, it was a quiet confidence in her own abilities that shone through the painting, quite impressive for something painted by hooves.

Turning away from the portrait, Starswirl turned his attention to the writing desk that occupied the adjacent wall right in front of the windows. The entire thing was constructed of a deep mahogany wood, polished to a shine by diligent castle servants. While the desk itself held no embellishments, it's stability and durability were testaments to the loving care of it's maker in creating it. Sitting down in front of it filled Starswirl with a sense of contentment and peace. A brief memory wriggled into his head of sunny days spent studying under the loving guidance of his mother, whose face remained a blank through the entire scene. Not even realizing himself that he was smiling, Starswirl opened a drawer and pulled out a quill and ink-pot, as well as a sheaf of parchment. Starting from the top left corner, he began to sketch something even he had no idea about. As a figure began to form from the random scratchings of ink, his efforts became more and more fervent until the tip of his quill snapped from the intensity of his writing. Staring dully at the broken tip, he then turned back to the paper.

A crude sketch of a beautiful unicorn mare rested before him. Adorning her flank was a cutie mark of a rose with a thorny stem, slightly covered by a long tail. Turning his gaze to her face, he was startled to realize that he had only drawn a mouth upturned in a smile. The rest of the face remained blank, as if he couldn't remember any other details about who he had been drawing. Scratching his head in confusion, he tried summoning up the final details of this mare but to no avail. As a matter of fact, he couldn't even remember why he had tried drawing her in the first place or why tears suddenly sprang from his eyes. "Maybe this is my mom. But then why can't I remember her if they just sent me here?"

With this and other questions left unanswered, Starswirl decided to take a nap. Dinner, he supposed, wouldn't be for at least another three hours, and he was reluctant to chance meeting Heatstrike again. One encounter with the bully had been enough for a year at least.

Dinner that night was extravagant for a pony like Starswirl. Even though he couldn't really remember anything from before he woke up in the Empress' study, he had a vague feeling that this food was more expensive and costly than all the food he had ever eaten in his life combined. Finely polished platters heaped high with fresh vegetables glazed with varying sauces gleamed in the soft firelight of the main dining hall, surrounded by bowls of broccoli stew and baked potatoes. Goblets upon goblets of non-alcoholic cider were available upon request in all sorts of flavors, from apples to grapes and even bananas. Starswirl wasn't sure what a banana was, but it sure tasted good in his bubbly drink. Looking around at his fellow initiates, he spotted the Class 2 tables down the hall and saw Heatstrike. He was glaring at him with the intensity of a bear bent on murder, his cronies all mad-dogging Starswirl as if he had done them some great injustice. It's not like he started it. All he had done was defend himself against the upperclassmen. They didn't seem to think of it that way.

Glad that they were a considerable distance away from him, Starswirl turned his head back to his food. While there were many colts and fillies in the hall eating around him, he was alone and isolated. There really was nothing else to do but to tuck in, and the food was hard to resist. He had been feasting on what must have been his third baked potato slathered in gravy and sour cream when he caught the curious glance of a filly sitting across from him. She was a petit little thing, probably the same age as he. She offered him a shy grin and he responded accordingly, his face mirroring her action awkwardly.

"Are you new here? I'm Silent Night."

"I'm Starswirl, I think."

"You think? Don't you know your own name, silly?" She giggled at that, causing him to smile some more. He like the amiable foal that sat across from him, plus he was nearly filled up to the brim from all the cider and potatoes.

"Well, I think I do. I don't really remember much from before I came here. It's weird. Empress Corona told me that I just got sent here from my parents, but I don't remember who they were or where I came from."

"Really? Maybe you should ask a doctor what's wrong." Childish concern filled her face.

"Nah, it'll be alright. So, what is this place anyways?" Starswirl asked curiously, his eyes staring at the purple-maned pegasus filly.

"This place is a magic school! I think it's called the 'Institute of Warfare'," she said, scrunching her face as if trying to remember before her attention span ran out and she moved on. "Anyways, we all came here to learn magic so we can help Empress Corona expand Equestria! My mommy said it's a great honor to be working for the good of the Empire, but I just think it's really cool! I never even knew pegasi could do magic until I started being able to control the wind and stuff."

Starswirl's eyes widened. "Really? I never saw a pegasus do that, I think."

She grinned. "Yeah! I mean, pegasi can control clouds and create the weather sort of, but apparently pegasi who can control the wind are reaaaaally rare! That's why my parents sent me to this school so I can learn more about it! How about you?"

"Well, I guess I can control the water... hey, who is Heatstrike by the way? He seems like a real big bully to me."

"He is!" Silent Night pouted. "Last week, he splashed me with water when I was drinking from a fountain! He's just a big meanie, but he's one of the strongest unicorns at the school, I think. That's why everyone is too scared to stand up to him."

"He didn't seem that special to me. He tried bullying me a couple hours ago but I shot water in his face." Starswirl grinned at remembering his accomplishment. The look of pure bewilderment and incredulity had been really funny after seeing him act all proud and stuff.

Her eyes widened. "That was you!? The ponies from Class 2 have been spreading rumors about how Heatstrike almost got beaten by a little colt. Wow!" She exclaimed, her eyes gleaming in admiration. "It must have been scary, huh?"

Starswirl shrugged. "I guess it kind of was. I don't know, I was just mad because I was getting picked on for no good reason. Everything kind of goes blank from there, but I do remember the guard dragging me to my room by the neck." He cringed, bring his hoof to where he felt the teeth still digging into his mane. "I don't know what was scarier though, him or the guard."

"Well, I'm happy someone can stand up to him! We should totally be friends!" Silent's enthusiasm was infectious, and Starswirl agreed readily. After all, his heart filled up with happiness from hearing the word 'friends', like he had never had one before.

"Sure!" Starswirl replied in kind, his face now permanently set in a wide grin. Maybe this place won't be so bad after all.

Just then, an older pony wearing a dark blue robe entered the hall, calling for the attention of everypony there. He cleared his throat before starting to speak. "Initiates! Remember that tomorrow is a half-day in commemoration of Empress Corona's coronation ceremony half a millenia ago! Classes will only last till noon-time, so be sure to report bright and early to your teachers. That is all!" With a poof of smoke, he disappeared as quickly as he came, the muted chatter now returning to the room as initiates discussed their plans for the holiday.

"Hey! Since you're new, do you want me to show you around the palace? I'll introduce you to some of my friends too," Silent Night said eagerly, her entire body quivering in anticipation of spending time with her new friend. After all, spending time with friends was the best feeling ever!

"Sure. I mean, if you really want to spend your time giving me a tour..." Starswirl said bashfully, as if noticing that his new friend was kind of cute.

"Then it's settled! Meet me in the main hall tomorrow! This is going to be so much fun!" Jumping out of her seat to race to her room and make plans, Silent Night quickly disappeared into the semi-darkness of the main hall as moonlight filtered in through the tall windows of the castle.

Starswirl smiled to himself. He would be glad to have a friend after making enemies with Heatstrike. Quickly depositing all of his used dishes at the cleaning area, he happily trotted to his room humming tunes he had no idea how he knew but assumed they were associated with happiness. This memory thing was really starting to annoy him, but he was too excited for the next day to let it worry him too much. In fact, as soon as he'd entered his room he simply jumped into bed and allowed himself to float off into dreamland, where he froliced in the water with bunnies and walruses and his new friend Silent Night.

Starswirl sat stock still, completely engrossed in Professor Sleet Wind's lecture on the basics of weather manipulation. While the skies and clouds were the domain of pegasi and their wind mages, unicorns held some sway over the creation of rains and storms with their inherent connection with water. Starswirlf found that he easily slipped into the class with a brief introduction from the professor, gaining only a roomful of curious glances before the lecture had started. Now, he was easily keeping along with foals that had been in this school since magic kindergarten and just entered Class 1 of the Institute. He even found himself ahead of some of his peers who struggled to understand the concept that clouds were just water waiting to be used and manipulated. How he had gained this formidable know-how, however, was completely lost to him; information appeared in his head whenever he needed it, but the source of where he got that information was clouded by the fog of forgetfulness, something that still annoyed him from time to time. Mostly, he just ignored it in his childish energy to learn more about his heritage and the magic he possessed.

Starswirl got so caught up in his own thoughts and the lecture that the noontime bell had rung before he knew it, half of the day already over and the rest of the day to spend as he pleased. Remembering that he had an evening planned out with Silent Night and the rest of her friends, he smiled. Life at the Institute seemed pretty good to him so far; Great food, great professors, and a great atmosphere all contributed to his love of the place. Even being bullied by Heatstrike the previous day did little to dampen his prospects, although remembering that he was now enemies with the powerful upperclassman made him pale a bit. He shivered, remembering the frigid ice that had entrapped him the previous day. "Maybe it would be better to just avoid him... I'm not big enough to take him directly all the time," he said to himself, facing the reality of the situation.

The fact was that although he had managed to fend off Heatstriker yesterday, Starswirl was still infantile in terms of magic skill when compared to him. There's also the fact that the bully was bigger and stronger than he was, although the "stronger" part was debatable from how Starswirl had deflected some of his attacks. Overall, he concluded that it was better off avoiding the white-coated unicorn as much as ponily possible.

Still deep in thought, Starswirl hadn't even realized that he had reached the main hall and bumped his snout into one of the marble pillars that supported the arched ceiling. "Ouch," he said, moving backwards to rub the tip of his muzzle with his hoof. "I've got to learn to look where I'm going," he sighed.

"Hey, Starswirl Over here!" Silent Night cheerily called out to him from the other side of the hall. She was accompanied by an indigo coated earth pony and a tan coated pegasus, whose colors clashed with her own deep purple coat. "Come meet my friends!"

At that, Starswirl felt his heart swell again before trotting over to meet Silent Night and her friends. It was time to begin the first day of the rest of his life.

Introduction (Go ahead and skip this if you read the description)

Chapter 4

While the tour of the castle had certainly been impressive, Starswirl had most enjoyed viewing the festivities. The 500th anniversary of the crowning of Empress Corona was truly a sight to behold. The entire palace was decorated in the colors of her imperial majesty, banners of shimmering gold proudly displaying the sigil of the Sun. In the surrounding town, organized chaos reigned as citizens flooded the streets to enjoy the celebrations that were taking place. Ale flowed like water andt he delicious smell of spiced flat bread mingled with the scent of hot cinnamon rolls and a hundred other foods all at once. There was jousting, shows of magical feats, and an opportunity to join her majesty's Holy Equestrian Army as a soldier, although not many desired the glory of the battlefield. In this time of peace, the citizens were content with their lots in life. What with the continuous years of prosperity and security, there were hardly any ponies who knew that they were at war. It was a happy, carefree time for subjects of the empire not part of Equestria's vassal states.

Starswirl had spent the rest of the day with Silent Night and her friends Stormy Skies and Winter Frost, a pegasus filly and a unicorn colt. Together, they had roamed as far into the castle as any initiate dared before drifting out into the palace grounds and into the streets of the town. Starswirl became fast friends with the group, balancing out the amiable foals with his serious yet pleasant demeanor. He even befriended an earth pony colt named Titanus, who had been sitting behind the group of friends in the jousting tournament. They had become associated with one another when Winter Frost accidentally threw his drink up in excitement and it landed in Titanus' face. Titanus seemed to take it in good stride, however, and even laughed at the situation with the young friends.

Now traveling in the group of five, Starswirl and his friends had stayed out in the streets until nightfall to witness the ceremonial raising of the moon by her majesty Princess Luna, supreme commander of the Holy Equestrian Army. The crowd gasped collectively at her beauty, regal and majestic as she gently nudged the eternal moon into the darkening sky. While his friends had mainly been impressed by how pretty it looked, Starswirl was amazed by the display of magic that was being shown to them. The energy required to manipulate the moon from however far it was away from here must be massive, something only a goddess could accomplish. Starswirl would never forget that night, even as he grew older and more advanced in the magical arts.

"Next!" Professor Iron Blood commanded another hapless student up to the front. Today was the most dreaded day of everyponies Class 2 third year: exams. Each professor would be ruthless in giving their students these tests, for they decided where they would be placed when graduating into Class 3 of the Institute of War. While some would be held back for tutelage amongst masters of the art, it was extremely common for one to be sent into the field of battle, serving as a weapon of war for her Imperial Majesty, Empress Corona of the Equestrian Empire. The deciding line between those who passed and those who didn't was thin, so thin that the difference between a passing mage and a failing one was nigh upon indistinguishable.

If there was one mage in the entire Class 2 water molders who wasn't in the slightest worried, it was Starswirl. He had spent the last two weeks practicing his weakest area: summoning water elementals. He was solid in the field of water manipulation and even minor weather creation, which his professors astutely observed when he had accidentally caused the entire classroom to freeze over during his storm-making exam. Now, sitting comfortably and waiting for his turn to be called, he felt a hoof casually poke at his shoulder. He turned to face his friend Winter Frost, whom he had met all those years ago during the 500th celebration of Empress Corona's reign.

"You feeling nervous yet?" While Winter had tried to play it cool, Starswirl observed the sweat that was slowly beginning to form at the base of his neck and decided to be tact with his response.

"A lot more than I look," he replied thoughtfully, sure that if he had revealed the ease he was currently feeling it would only cause his friend to worry excessively more than he already was.

Winter's face let up a bit, his eyes now showing the slightest relief. "Glad I'm not the only one. This test pretty much decides our futures, you know. How do you think Silent and Stormy are doing in their wind mage exams?"

"Considering how last week they completely 'blew' us away during weather practice, I'm sure they'll be fine. Besides, all pegasi are inherently born with the ability to control the weather. It's just a matter of which ones are better at it than others"

"I guess you're right, Star." Winter sighed, the look of stressed worry reappearing on his face. His body was tense, shoulders hunched and head kneeled towards his desk. Starswirl couldn't blame him. He was right; this test was one of the defining moment's of a young mage's life, and yet Starswirl seemed to draw his confidence from an inexhaustible supply. While he pretended on the outside that he was concerned, he simply couldn't bring himself to even think of the notion of him failing.

"Next!" Professor Iron Blood sent a water molder mare sprawling, her water elemental now in ruins around her feet. She returned to her seat in front of Starswirl, her eyes clearly holding back the dam of tears that was sure to erupt by the end of the class period. Starswirl stood up and briskly walked to the front of the room, where he faced his burly professor with a quiet sense of confidence just short of arrogance.

Iron Blood was not a typical water molder. Originally a general of the arcane warfare division of the Equestrian 10th, he was forced to retire when a Griffon had snapped his horn in two during the Great Uprising in year 348 of Empress Corona's reign. In that war, the Griffins had teamed up with beings known as the ghuuls and rebelled against the crown, causing Empress Corona to halt her plans of expansion to deal with the new threat. It was a short, bloody conflict, with the Holy Equestrian Army losing an entire division of 10,000 troops while the rebel forces had been slaughtered from a force of 50,000 strong to a mere 200.

Even with only half his horn left, Iron Blood was a unicorn endowed with an impressive amount of magical power, although the only art he managed to retain any skill in was his childhood talent of animating water into elementals that could be used for peacetime and war alike. He gained a reputation amongst the third years of Class two for forcing those who didn't behave to mock spar against his elementals in 100 consecutive duels after hours, though none dared to even assign a nickname to him lest he hear about it.

This same former general eyed Starswirl up and down before nodding approvingly. While the previous mages had been quavering at the knees and unable to tear their eyes from the floor, Starswirl readily met the gaze of his professor and stood his ground without any sign of fear. Such traits were indicators of a mage with great potential, although Iron Blood did not comment on it. It did an initiate no good to develop a head of hot air after being complimented by a professor, something that is as rare as diamonds around these parts.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Give me your best shot, and pray that it's better than the other works I've seen." Iron Blood waited, expecting Starswirl to fail regardless of how he thought of his other traits. In fact, he had designed his exam purposely for the initiates to fail. Of course they wouldn't be able to create and maintain a water elemental clone; they had hardly begun discussing the binding runes that held magic to water, much less discuss something as complex as clone magic. Iron Blood preferred rather to test the resolve and confidence of his initiates, things that Starswirl had passed with flying colors.

Starswirl closed his eyes in concentration, muttering ancient words that nopony knew the exact meaning to anymore. With a grunt, his horn blazed alight with a violent cobalt aura, the temperature of the room dropping as he condensed floating watervapor into enough water to create his clone. Suddenly, an explosion of light shot from his horn, blinding everypony for the merest second before everything returned to normal.

It took all of Iron Blood's resolve not to gape at the sight. Starswirl had not only managed to create a clone of himself with water, but it appeared to be perfectly functional. He watched as Starswirl hoofbumped his clone, giving himself a supreme smirk of accomplishment.

"Better than expected," Iron Blood said gruffly, his eyes shooting daggers at Starswirl as he continued to revel in his success. "You're almost mediocre. Get back to your seat!"

Starswirl wilted. While he wasn't expecting praise for his spell (who would expect praise from Prof. Iron Blood?), he had at least hoped for some sense of recognition. With his head bowed low, he slowly walked up the aisle as Iron Blood called up his next victim. Unbeknownst to Starswirl, Iron Blood scrutinized him from the corner of his eye for the rest of the testing period, his mind wild with the implications that came with Starswirl's talents.

"You scared the living daylights out of me in class, Star!" Winter Frost exclaimed. It was a lunch period now and they had decided to go together to the dining hall and hope to meet up with Silent Night and Stormy Skies. Titanus had a habit of training after class with his head professor, Boulder Slam, and so was never present during the lunch hour. "You actually managed to summon up a clone of yourself!"

Starswirl sighed, dejectedly collecting his tray of potato stew coupled with a loaf of crisp, golden bread. "Yeah, but the professor didn't seem to like it too much. If I didn't know better, I'd think he was expecting me to fail."

"What teacher would want to purposely have his students fail? Relax, Star. He was probably trying to hide his surprise at how well you pulled off that spell. You must be the most talented unicorn in our entire Class!"

"Yeah, well. I just hope that I don't get sent out to battle. There are nasty rumors going around the Institute about the current status of war against the Sky Tribes of Pegasopolis. Who knew that a clan of Pegasi who broke off from our own Equestrian tribes thousands of years ago would establish themselves on the other half of the world? The Empress is starting to get frustrated that her land troops do no good in these mini sky skirmishes, and her researchers still haven't perfected the cloud walking spell. As much as I hate to say it, the Holy Equestrian Army might meet it's match if only it's air divisions can participate."

Winter punched his shoulder. "Relax! The Empress isn't going to force-draft all of us. Besides, you hold the highest grades in Class 2. If anything, she's going to hold you back and give you special training under the Magi."

"I'm not even sure how powerful the Magi are at this point. Everypony keeps talking about how skilled in magic they are supposed to be, but our current Magi are elderly ponies. Heck, even the current Magus Aquus is at least seventy years old!"

"So? I'll bet they have tons of experience a- HEY! OVER HERE!" Winter stopped mid-phrase, waving his hoof wildly to signal to the approaching duo of pegasi. Silent Night and Stormy Skies trotted over, mouths holding trays of delicious hay stir fry.

"Hey boys. Did I miss anything?" Silent said through gritted teeth. As a unicorn, Starswirl never had to hold anything in his mouth and was amazed at the dexterity with which pegasi wielded theirs.

"Not much. Me and Star were just talking about the exams and the war. Scary stuff, I'm telling you. It's a bad time to be sent out as a battle mage, although us unicorns can't really do much until the research mages finish that cloud walking spell." Winter Frost offered his friends a wide grin. "Starswirl here completely blew the professor away, I swear!"

"Winter!" Starswirl exclaimed, his eyes shooting wide open. "That's not how it-"

"Pshaw, you definitely blew him away! Listen Silent, this stallion here managed to create an actual clone of himself out of water. You should have seen it! I actually felt moisture forming on my own coat as he pulled in the vapors from around him to create it!"

Silent Night looked admiringly at her friend. "Wow, Star! That's amazing! How do you even do that?"

Starswirl looked at his hooves and shuffled awkwardly, a slight blush tinging his grey coat. "It was nothing, I mean it's not as if it impressed the prof' or anything. I just want to get some food in my belly; making water elementals uses too much energy for my liking."

"Whatever you say, champ," Winter butted in, giving him another punch to the shoulder. "Hey, there's a spot over there, we shou-"

"Starswirl of Class 2, year 3! Your presence is requested in the royal study! Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Corona, demands that you accept the summons at once!" A voice blared over the magical PA system, sending the message out via bone shattering sound waves that pounded themselves into the floor. Starswirl jumped up in shock before starting to grow nervous. Why would the Empress want to see him!? He did nothing wrong!

"Now, Mr. Swirl!"

Galvanized into action by the commanding voice, Starswirl dropped his tray of stew as it clattered against the marble-tiled floor and galloped as fast as he could towards the corridor connecting the Institute and the castle. His friends watched worriedly, whispering as his hoof-clops echoed into the distance.

"Do you think he's alright?" Silent voiced her concern, heart filled with affectionate concern for one of her oldest - and closest - friends. The others shook their heads. Whatever Starswirl had done to warrant a personal summons by the Solar Empress, they weren't sure they would see him again.

"Starswirl, are you aware of the reason why I sent for you?" Empress Corona languidly plucked a grape from a nearby gold platter before allowing her eyes to wander to the young charge in front of her. He had a look of calm resolve, although her mind's eye could see the way his mind quavered under her lazy gaze. She smiled inwardly, wondering if he remembered their first meeting all those years ago. She certainly did, and he had grown to become more handsome in his adolescent years.

"No, my Empress; I can't say that I am." Bowing his head respectfully, Starswirl didn't dare allow emotion to break onto his face. Silently casting a spell so that the blood in his legs would prevent his knees from shaking, he straightened up as much as he dared and moved his eyes only as high as her Majesty's chest-plate. One did not simply make eye contact with Empress Corona.

"Come, my charge; sit with me." Motioning to a couch adjacent to her, Corona tracked him through the corner of her eye as she sipped a long draught of wine, making note of the stars that adorned his flank. An interesting cutie mark, to be sure, for the stars only blessed those destined for greatness. "Are you comfortable?"

"Yes, my Empress. You are kind to consider me."

"Good. Listen, my young charge; are you familiar with the Council of Magi?"

Starswirl automatically stiffened at the mention of the esteemed council, thoughts running wild in the back of his mind as he recalled his earlier conversation with Winter Frost. Please don't tell me that-

"Your professors in all of your classes have recommended you to be the next apprentice to the current Magus Aquus - Darkslick Blizzard," she said, taking his silence as acknowledgement of his familiarity. "I've heard especially well of you from Professor Iron Blood, who just conducted his examination today - it appears you were the only one in your entire Class to produce a water double?"

"The only one? Surely that ca-"

"Silence!" Corona suddenly barked at Starswirl, her eyes barely concealing her rage. "You do not talk back to me, do you understand!?"

Starswirl, shocked into silence, hastily bowed his head in an attempt to appease his sovereign. "I'm sorry."

Her anger subsided as quickly as it had appeared. "Good. Now, as is customary, each potential candidate has the choice to accept or refuse the rites of challenge. Be forewarned - if you should fail the rites and another candidate be chosen over you, you will be immediately conscripted to the front lines with no chance of return. We cannot allow the secret magics involved in the rites be revealed to the rest of the Institute, is that clear?" She watched with satisfaction as he nodded his head, still bowed before her. "Then rise, young one. The rites shall start tomorrow at dawn - be sure not to disappoint. I have great expectations of you."

Slowly obeying his Empress, Starswirl rose to his hooves and bowed once more before exiting the room, carefully closing the doors behind him. "He really is a rugged thing, isn't he?" Corona mused to herself, calculating how long it would take to conquer the rest of the world before she could allow herself to claim Starswirl as part of the royal harem.

Starswirl wandered through the halls, dazed by what he had just heard. Iron Blood, acknowledging him? Her Imperial Majesty having high expectations of him? He shook his head as his mind attempted to wrap itself around the implications these presented, with one question burning foremost in his mind. "Why did I accept?" he whispered to himself. Starswirl despised the Council for their power-grubbing ways. Corrupt and weak in mind, the Magi were the shadow rulers of the Equestrian Empire, controlling Empress Corona from the background and continuing the engine of war to expand their own agendas. So why did he decide to join them? "I'm the biggest idiot ever." In all of his seventeen years of living, Starswirl had never expected that he would be offered the chance of apprenticeship to the empire's most powerful watermolder; now, the eventuality was staring him straight in the face. After all, it was either pass the exams or be forced into semi-exile as he gets sent to the front lines and inevitably his demise.

Lost in thought, Starswirl didn't notice as he crashed into a nearby marble pillar, furiously shaking himself out of a daze before giving the rock a smoldering gaze. While Starswirl was usually as adroit in body as he was in mind, he had been lacking sleep the past couple nights due to terrible visions of a village on fire and strange unicorns being torn to shreds by griffins. While he wasn't sure why he was dreaming such things, he would always awake covered in cold sweat in the middle of the night and unable to sleep once more. Combined with the stress of exams and his recent, shocking assignment from the Empress, he was unable to concentrate on what was in front of him. Shuffling to the left of the pillar, Starswirl staggered towards his room, unaware of the magic he leaked in his sudden exhaustion that caused waves of intense heat to travel down the hall and burn a nearby pot of flowers to a crisp. His mind only desired one thing at this point - to sleep.

Chapter 5

Grand General Luna was in the Room of War with her most trusted advisers, planning the next assault on the tribes of Pegasopolis. The rogue tribe of pegasi was proving to show stiffer resistance than she had originally credited them with, and it was now doubtful whether not Equestria's many air divisions would suffice against their lithe warriors trained to maneuver the skies from birth.

General Hot Cakes currently held the floor, his hoof moving a wooden token representing the Equestrian Air Force Fifth across a map of the theater of war. "As you can see, your Highness, if we move the 5th Division of the Air force to their sky village of Sky Haven, they'll be forced to move the majority of their troops to defend while the Airforce 7th's arcane warfare division sweeps into their capitol city and make it rain cloud-marble from the sky."

"I protest! General Hot Cakes, I'll be damned if I let my arcane warfare division go in there without any supporting troops!" Commander Wind Slice of the Airforce 7th slammed his hoof on the table, causing many a wooden token to topple over. "They'll get torn apart! I don't care how powerful they are, the rogue pegasi tribes have stronger! I've got to have my entire division if we want to have a remote chance of pulling this off."

"Stand down, Commander," said the general, scowling at the upstart for his impudence. "I must have the rest of your division for this assault; only an overwhelming force of our troops will cause those damned rogues to pool their defenses into Sky Haven. If we leave out a single division and they feel that it's a ruse, the entire operation fails!"

"The entire operation will fail if they decide that it's pointless to defend as well!" Wind Slice argued back, refusing to back down. "I will not stand by idly and watch as my men fly to their deaths!"

More voices raised around the table as each general or commander voiced their own opinions on the matter. Tension was high in the war room; Empress Corona had already expressed her displeasure to General Luna at the amount of time this campaign was taking thus far, and Luna in turn had allowed her annoyance be vented upon her generals. None of them wished to feel the wrath of either goddess they served, and so grew increasingly agitated as each day passed without a viable strategy coming forth.

Luna sighed to herself, raising a hoof to stop the argument from escalating into physical conflict. The generals instantly quieted, each pony returning to their seat and waited in fear for her rebukes. Satisifed that she had her attention, Luna turned to the unicorn on her right. "Professor Hardwing, how goes development on the cloud walking spell?" While her voice remained outwardly pleasant, Luna's voice was laced with anger at the incompetence of the research department. For years, she had been requesting the group of fools to work on a viable solution for having non-pegasi traverse the skies and they had shirked in their duties, creating a multitude of other spells they felt necessary for the welfare of the empire. Look at where that got them!

Well aware of his failures, the scholarly pony shook his head in shame. "Progess is yet to be seen, your Highness; I've had my best unicorns and pegasi working together to solve the issue for the past five months with no success. It appears impossible for earth ponies and unicorns, whose bones are solid and blood unsaturated with wind magic, to traverse the clouds. We have turned towards other alternatives, but those will not come into fruition for at least another y-"

Luna violently slapped her hoof across his face, causing the professor to fly out of his seat and hit a nearby wall with a crunch. "A year!? Professor Hardwing, are you mad? What do you propose we do during this 'year' of yours? Equestria is in the middle of a vicious sky war, and the best solutions you can come up with are a year away!?" Angrily, she advanced on the hapless researcher as he backed up even further into the wall, sweat pouring profusely down his bruising cheek.

"I-I'm sorry, your highness! I've been doing the best I can! Please, forgive me!" Whimpering, Prof. Hardwing attempted to bow in front of the angry goddess before being bodily lifted into the air by her alicorn magic.

"The time for forgiveness is over. You have failed us, Professor Hardwing," Luna said coldly, allowing her gaze to penetrate into the depths of his psyche. Applying pressure to his wings, Luna watched slowly as the fragile structures bent further and further until the wings broke with a snap, fragments of bone poking through the skin. Hardwing screamed, his vision turning red with pain while his limbs kicked out in protest.

Deadening herself to his pain, Luna continued to break the wings into smaller and smaller segments, her expression of distaste growing darker with each snap followed by an even louder scream. By the time the guards dragged away the broken, weeping professor, his wings were bent and broken in a hundred unimaginable angles and bleeding copious amounts of blood. Returning to her place at the head of the table, Luna almost retched. She hated having to resort to such tactics of torture, but her patience was being severely tested now a days, with the good will of her younger years being in short supply. Ignoring the expressions of horror and fear on the rest of her generals, Luna once again turned her attention to the current problem.

The main gist of the problem was that the rogue pegasi made up in skill what they lacked in numbers. Born in the harsh environment of the sky, they battled evenly and even above the divisions of pegasi Luna threw at them, defying her thrusts and counter-attacking in a display of complete mastery over a sense of airborn tactics that even Luna struggled with following. While she grudgingly respected the high commander behind the enemy forces, it remained a fact that this same commander was preventing her from following out her sister's will and thus caused her to grind her teeth in anger whenever reports of one failed skirmish after another slowly trickled in from the front. Her pegasi divisions were simply being outmatched man to man, and even the superiority of sheer numbers seemed to be useless in the raw might of the rogue army.

If the Airforce were to be accompanied by the Holy Equestrian Army, then the war could be over in a matter of months. It's no secret that Equestria trained it's ground troops to be the elite of the elite, where even it's weakest soldier could take down five troops for every enemies' one. The only problem was that as all battles took place in the sky, the army would hardly serve to be more than heavily armored decoys at the mercy of a superior airforce that could safely rain death from the sky.

No, the war must be won with only her pegasi soldiers, lead by the fearless Lunar Stallions, a corp of hand-picked units by Luna herself that donned special armor made of moon-blessed steel. This armor transformed them from normal pegasi to things of legends, their wings becoming bat-like in appearance and their mouths growing fangs. It also augmented their physical and mental capabilities, making them true machines of death when unleashed on the battlefield. However, there were not enough of them to go around. She had begun this campaign with three fully armed squadrons of one hundred stallions; now, she fought with one hobbling on it's last legs. The war has been harsh to everypony, and Luna could only pray that it could end soon.

In fact, she realized, she wanted it all to end. The endless wars and bloodshed bore heavily on her soul, staining her mentality with foul impurities and guilt from the destruction she ordered her soldiers to cause. "It seems that even a goddess feels the weight of the souls she damns..."Luna whispered, a solitary tear running down her cheek before she realised that the Room of War was completely silent.

"This council is over for now - We desire a recess. We shall reconvene after lunch, or perhaps we shant. Should it be the case that we do not re-appear before you gentlemen, we trust that you are all skillful enough to plan the next offensive without us. Now, begone with you." Rising quickly from her seat, Luna stalked out of the room and sought the privacy of her chambers to vent out her vulnerability in peace.

Staggering as if in a drunken stupor, Starswirl lurched down the hall leading towards his room. His vision was starting to blur as all the exhaustion that had piled up over the past couple days crashed down upon his head, hammering away at his mind like a hammer on an anvil. Somewhere in his subconscious, a voice was telling him to get back ready for his evening classes, but an overpowering need for sleep crushed any rationality he might have possessed earlier.

Slowly yet surely, his hooves clopped one after the other down the hallway, the sound barely creating an echo as he haggardly moved towards his ultimate goal. So focused was he in his mission that he completely ignored the fact that an upset goddess was quickly making her way towards him, absorbed in her own troubling thoughts.

They would have, in fact, walked past each other without a second thought had not a cruel twist of fate suddenly twined their fates together. The first thing Luna noticed about her surroundings as something shook her from her increasingly glum mood was that an incredibly warm -scalding, in fact- body had bumped against her before falling to the floor. The second thing was the smell of burning hairs as her coat started to singe at the edges from the intensity of the heat being generated.

"In my name, what in Equestria is going on!?" Exclaiming, she bent her head down to examine who had fallen against her. The unicorn stallion was of grey coat, medium build, and a charcoal grey mane that seemed to grow whiter by the second. A six pointed star with crossed quills was emblazoned on his flank, showing him to be an initiate of the Institute of War. He was breathing feverishly, muttering under his breath about Magus Aquus, final exams, and...mother?

Luna placed a hoof on his shoulder to rouse him before recoiling backwards, yelping in pain as her hoof burnt by his body. "Agh!" Summoning a cool glow of healing magic, she soothed the burnt hoof before gingerly planting it back on the marble tiling and staring unbelievingly at the unconscious stallion. "No mage should be able to generate this much heat and still live. This young one either possess a body of steel or..." Pausing to magically scan his body, she gasped. "Or a reservoir of solar magic." Luna's eye's widened at this discovery. In all of Equestria's recorded history, only Empress Corona (formerly Princess Celestia) could house such potent energy and live. To have a mere mortal with the same abilities could either have staggering implications for the war with Pegasopolis or spell out certain death. Carefully grabbing the still-burning mage with her lunar aura, Luna instantly teleported to her sister's chambers to discuss this new development.

It was merely ten minutes since Corona had dismissed Starswirl from her chambers before he appeared again in the grasp of her beloved sister Luna. Immediately, she stepped backward from the sheer force of the heat that now freely rolled over her and out a nearby window, nearly burning her papers on the way out. "Sister? What is the meaning of this?"

"Look here, 'tia!" In her confusion, Luna had accidentally used Corona's old affectation before she was Empress of Equestria, but Corona ignored this minor transgression for the sake of learning what was going on. "Explain this to me now!"

Her horn lighting up with her lunar magic, Luna performed another full body scan that Corona would be able to see.

"I know not what I look at, dear sister." Corona held a blank expression of confusion. While she was indeed regent of the sun and more knowledgeable than many a pony in her kingdom, it was her sister who was patron of mathematics, medicine, and all other fields relevant to the advancement of Equestria's technology. Thus, she could not read the medical chart that was splayed out before her.

"This young one is brimming with solar magic. This is what's causing his body to overheat and the magic to spill out - although I'm guessing he could normally contain it under his own water magic. It appears that a major event of stress occurred to him which caused his mental barriers to finally break down and allow the magic to leak, although what actually caused this to occur was probably a combination of sleep exhaustion, exam stress, and the candidacy for Magus Apprentice."

"You gathered this all from a medical chart?"

"Actually, my dear sister, he was muttering about mother, the Maguus, and exams in his stupor."

"Oh," Corona said, her mouth forming a small frown of admonishment aimed towards herself. Her sister took no note of it, however, and instead decided to question her sister on the thing that was hanging over both of their heads.

"Sister, when didst you bless him with thy magic?" Luna's eyes were now stern towards her elder sister, laden with memories of an older time where blessings from the goddesses were freely given - with dire consequences for the general populace. Blessings had, in fact, been forbidden by an edict Corona herself passed in the four hundredth year of her reign, on the basis that the ponies who received them often ended up dying from magical overload.

Corona looked away, unable to continue receiving her sister's gaze. "It was when he had just been brought to me as a foal; his village was razed and the memories were scarring his well being. I cast an amnesia spell on his mind, mixed with the smallest vestiges of solar magic so that good luck would find its way easily towards him while he slowly regained his memories over the years. I did not expect the vestiges to bloom as they have." Her voice filled with remorse, Corona could only close her eyes in shame as she continued bearing the brunt of her sister's stare. Normally iron-willed and exuding an aura of fear, the Corona that stood before the regent of the Moon looked helpless and naked, fully accepting the consequences of her foolish actions.

Luna dropped her gaze, her attention returning to the stallion at her hooves. His breathing was growing slower as the magic poisoned his system, encroaching his natural resistances and seeking to destroy him from within. Sweat continued to pour down his face as the heat radiating off his prone form intensified to almost unbearable levels. "Sister, you have to remove the spell or he'll die."

"No. Should I remove it so suddenly, it will easily shatter his mind and render him unable to manipulate the arcane magics flowing within him." Corona's voice hardened into that of a dictator looking out for the interests of her empire. "Don't deny it, Luna; you've seen how much magic courses through his veins. If he suddenly learns that his parents have been dead for years, it will cause him to go mad. No," Corona said, looking towards her broken charge. "He must weather out the storm or die from it. If I can't harness his magical power for the good of Equestria, nopony can."

"You, you monster!" Luna's words jumped from her mouth before she could restrain herself. "Thou wouldst watch thy charge die before thee? We shall not allow it!"

"You shall not ALLOW it?" Corona's voice grew threateningly low, growling at the one she considered sister and slowly advancing towards her. "Remember who is an Empress and who is a mere General, Luna."

"Remember who also bears the same blood as thee, dear sister!" Luna stood defiant, puffing her chest out as if to rebuff her sister's advance.

The two stood glaring at each other, neither one standing down from the other. The minutes swam by. Drips slowly dropped from a nearby waterclock, marking five minutes till one in the afternoon. All the while, the heat in the room grew to unlivable temperatures and started to warp the stone with which it was built. Finally, Luna turned her head with a scoff. "We no longer know you, sister. If you shall not help thy charge, than he is your charge no longer. I will take him under my wing." Scooping up the now-burning mage and ignoring the smell of singed coat hairs, she magically transported herself to her own quarters

in order to be at the place where her powers were strongest before attempting to heal Starswirl.

Corona stood alone, for the first time questioning the wisdom of her decision. "Duty to Equestria, and Duty to My Little Ponies," she whispered to herself, quietly reciting the oath she had taken on her coronation day half a millennium ago.

Starswirl slowly awoke, feeling the gently sensation of weightlessness caressing his entire body. As he opened his eyes, a soft blue light filtered in from around him, causing his mind to immediately feel at ease.

"It appears that thou art fine, young one." Luna's relieved face appeared from the edge of his vision. "We hath wrought our most potent moon magics to prevent you from dying. We are glad that our efforts were not in vain."

"W-where am I?" Still drowsy, Starswirl stumbled over his words as he tried to make sense of what was going on. The last thing he remembered was being told that he was a candidate for apprenticeship to Magus Aquus and stumbling out of Empress Corona's study before everything went black.

"Rest, young one. All shall be answered in due time," Luna cooed, applying another layer of sleep magic over the tired young stallion and watching as he drifted into his subconscious once more.

The second time Starswirl awoke, it was pitch dark. He held the vague memory of seeing Princess Luna's face in another life, but could not remember where he was for the life of him. Struggling to sit up right, he lit up his horn with a small fire spell he had developed himself without ever realizing the significance of it and gazed at his surroundings.

He was in a largely circular room, the walls covered with astronomical charts and designs of inventions he had never seen before. Countless mathematical equations were scrawled across these designs, each one creating an aura of mystery and intellect for the young stallion. Looking at the decor, he realized that everything was themed after the nighttime sky - the drapes, the covers, even the carpeted flooring depicted the mark of the Moon Princess, Luna.

"Have thou slept well, young one?" Luna suddenly emerged, dressed in all the finery of her status. Starswirl gasped in surprise, the flame on his horn instantly extinguishing itself. She bore her royal chest plate, standing regally as she peered at her still disoriented subject. "We hope it has. It is our bed that thou hadst lain thy head against, you know."

Starswirl blushed deeply. While he did have many friends of the opposite sex, he had never actually been close enough to visit their rooms much less sleep on their beds. He attempted to wriggle under the covers to hide his embarrassment before realizing that it would only worsen his situation. After coming to this realization, he meekly stepped out of the bed and bowed low. "I thank you, Grand General Luna, for your kindness - I am still not surely aware of how I came to arrive under your care, but I am grateful."

"We will not require you to stand on ceremony for us - please, raise thy head and look us in the eye." Mirth bubbled underneath her voice as Starswirl slowly made eye contact with his deity. "You may call us Princess. Princess Luna."

"Yes, princess." As he finally gazed at her full beauty, Starswirl was unable to control his first impulse. "By Faust, you're beauti-" Starswirl suddenly shoved his hoof in his mouth before he could speak further. Captivated by Luna's enigmatic blue eyes and shimmering mane, his mind had made the classic Freudian slip.

"Ah, do you find us attractive?" Luna slowly approached him, flicking her tail and giving him a sultry bat of the eye. "We do not blame thee. There are many who would have loved to have had the same sleep as you had." Lowering her tone to that of a lover, she whispered sensuously. "Would you like to bed with us?"

"Ah...erhm..." Starswirl's mind suddenly shut down, his eyes following her as she approached. A solitary bead of sweat threatened to break loose and fall across his forehead, and he slowly raised his hoof to wipe it off.

Giggling at his agitation, the goddess could no longer keep her composure. "We jest, young one! We wouldn't dare to ruin thy virginity before it was ripe for the picking!" Tears of laughter came rolling down her cheeks as she released her mirth without restraints.

Allowing himself a sigh of relief, Starswirl smiled good naturedly. "I wasn't aware that goddesses could have a sense of humor, no offense to you or your sister."

"Feh. It is our sister, Corona, who has lost her sense of humor. Leading a nation through endless wars can harden a pony's soul - even a goddess." With the last fits of laughter leaving her, Luna assumed a more somber temperament.

"But, you-"

"Just as we lead the army in its wars, we do not forget that we are also a pony. It has always been easier for us to remain in touch with ourselves, being the patron of the Night."

Starswirl nodded, slowly starting to see the differences between his two sovereigns. While Empress Corona was cold and stern most of the time and suffered extreme swings of mood, Princess Luna seemed amiable and easier to relate with. Perhaps it was because she acted more like a normal pony than the goddess she really was. In any case, Starswirl found he rather preferred this deity over the other. Suddenly, a thought came to him. "How long have I slept?"

"It is twilight's end - our sister has just nudged the Immortal Sun down over the horizon and we hath raised our Eternal Moon." Luna glanced at a nearby time-piece. "You should return to thy quarters. It is to my understanding that you must start the rites of challenge at dawn. It is best to get thy rest. Ah, before you go," Luna said, stopping Starswirl before he exited the chambers. "A blessing from me - do not worry, it will not hurt as much as the other one."

"What other on-" Starswirl gasped, the energies of the moon suddenly coming upon him. His mind felt completely reinvigorated, the exhaustion pushed away completely from his haggard frame and his energy filling up to the brim. Then the sensations came. Pure joy assaulted his very being, causing his laughter to ring forth like pealing bells. When the feelings stopped, he was filled with a sense of contentment and peace, as if all of his worries had melted away in his good feelings.

Looking up at his deity, Starswirl's eyes gleamed with thanks. "How can I repay your patronage, my Princess?"

"None is required, young one. Now, be off; I'm sure you will make an excellent Magus Aquus when you pass." Luna smiled to herself as Starswirl galloped down the hall at full speed in an effort to sleep as soon as possible. "He might be the most powerful unicorn in the castle - neigh, in all of Canterlot." Turning her face to the ever-vigilant moon, she pondered the wisdom of blessing him with her own lunar magic when Corona's sun magic still ran within him, but simple shook her head of these thoughts as she returned to her chambers. Time enough to think of the consequences later; she was curious to see what a unicorn mage of his caliber could do with the combined power of two alicorn blessings along with his already immense resevoir of magical energy.

Chapter 6

Empress Corona silently brooded in her room, long after the sky had turned from it's brilliant orange dusk to a shadowy, muted purple as twilight eased into it's bosom. The moon shone brightly, casting it's soft rays upon her balcony as she mulled over a glass of wine.

"What has happened to me... I risk the life of mine own charge to make him an engine of war? For what reason do I desire so much power? I've even succeeded in turning mine own sister against me..." Corona stared sadly into her blood-red wine, her reflection warped by the undulating liquid as she gently swirled it with her magic, disturbed by her own behavior earlier that afternoon.

Corona started at the soft hoof steps that she heard as Luna smoothly touched down onto the hard stone behind her. Turning to face her only friend, Corona was not surprised to see a look of disapproval etched upon her younger sister's brow. "Pray, dear sister, tell me of his condition."

Luna scoffed, turning her head to observe the wide expanse of the forest surrounding the castle. Crickets mildly chirped into the midnight air as time stretched between the two goddesses. It was well over five minutes before Luna deigned to reply.

"He is well, although no thanks to thy efforts. We channeled as much moon energy as we dared into his mortal frame, and still there remains the blessing of the Sun within his veins. However, he lives; that is all that matters."

Corona sighed in relief, taking in a large gulp of air as she realized that she had been holding her breath. "That is good to hear. He is one of my favorite initiates."

"Favorite indeed, if thou wert willing to see him die for the sake of your war," Luna said bitterly, her voice never rising past a husky tone of anger. "We had but no choice except to bless him with our own magic. He is now destined to walk a path of greatness, balancing the energy of the sun and moon lest it destroy him from within." Suddenly turning to face her sister, Luna stalked forth. "What is wrong with thy mind, sister? Pray, do tell. You are not the princess who took the throne all those years ago. You are not the Celestia we know. Why must we continue to rain death upon innocents? Does your greed for power know no bounds?"

Corona's expression hardened. "I thought I told you never to call me by that name. All that I do is for the sake of Equestria and it's prosperity. You, of all ponies, should know this to be true!"

"How long have you stayed in yon castle, our sister? We have walked amongst the common folk many times, and not a single time did we hear cries for more blood to be spilled, more land to be conquered. The empire already contains over a hundred vassal states, each one becoming more rebellious as the years pass by. Please, dear sister. Let us end these endless years of war, before we are devoured by our own machinations." Luna pleaded softly, her eyes filled with guilt from carrying the weight of a million dead souls in her heart. A single tear broke free, slowly tracking it's way down her cheek before falling to the floor with a plip.

"I thought you were better than this, Luna. Such weakness is not befitting of a royal blood." Corona furrowed her brow in anger, her face warped with choler. "Away with you. If I ever hear such notions of ending Equestria's expansion again, I'll have you exiled for treason against the crown."

Luna recoiled violently, as if hit by a physical blow. "Celestia, I-"

"And for Faust's sake, do not call me Celestia! I am Empress Corona, Regent of the Sun, Ruler of the Holy Equestrian Empire, the Bringer of Dawn and the Solar Goddess! Leave me now, lest you wish to burn to ash." Corona stared down at her sister, daring her to continue.

Bowing her head down in defeat and anguish, Luna flew off the balcony into her comforting night. Casting a sad glance at the one she called sister now turned a monster, she silently cursed the Council of Magi who had made her sister become like so. Her mind was bleak, darker than her darkest night, and her woe threatened to overtake her before she realized that a glimmer still existed in the form of Starswirl, who was due to begin the Rites of Challenge. With renewed hope, Luna quickly returned to her chambers and waited for the coming dawn.

Starswirl awoke, blearily rubbing at his eyes as he quickly sat up in his bed. The warm softness of his covers threatened to draw him in again, and it was with intense willpower that he managed to struggle out of its grasp. Gingerly touching a hoof to the floor, he shivered and instantly recoiled from the contact. It was frigidly cold that morning, the Immortal Sun shining less brilliantly in the clear blue sky. Frost had formed both outside and in on Starswirl's window, and he started to shiver violently as his body began to feel the cold.

As he had done many times in the past without consciously thinking it, Starswirl summoned a burst of heat that instantly warmed the room to agreeable temperatures. Sighing with satisfaction, he then wriggled out of bed and nonchalantly performed his morning rituals. He was halfway through brushing his tousled mane before he suddenly realized what he was supposed to do today.

"In all things that are holy, please let me not be la-" Starswirl choked on his words, his eyes bulging as he stared at his magically refilling waterclock. The marks indicated he had approximately five minutes before being late to the rites of challenge and being disqualified by default, as it had not fully turned to dawn yet. Cursing to himself, Starswirl made do with a half-brushed, charcoal gray mane as he quickly slipped into the woolen white robes of a Class 2 initiate. With the insignia of the Sun proudly on his back, he ran out of his room and tore down the hallway towards Empress Corona's study, where he was to receive further instruction on the rites.

Unbeknownst to him, Starswirl was being silently observed by a Lunar Stallion, who had taken to the clouds outside his window on orders from his mistress. His task now completed, he quickly flew off towards her chambers, ready to giver her his report.

Silent Night trotted towards the main hall, gently humming to herself as she moved forward. While she was outwardly happy and carefree, she secretly worried about her long-time friend who had simply disappeared after his summons yesterday. He hadn't even shown up for his evening class exams, a fact that deeply disturbed Silent when she found out from Winter Frost.

Without noticing it herself, she sighed, finally dropping the smile she had maintained since walking out of her room. While smiling was the thing she least wanted to do, it would worry her classmates and friends if the friendliest pegasus in class suddenly wasn't as happy as she usually was. For a brief moment, she allowed her emotions to come to surface along with one question that had been nagging her for quite a while. "Why am I worrying so much? It's not like I like him or anything..."

While she tried to convince her mind of this, her heart said otherwise. "Ok, maybe I do like him a little... but as a friend. I mean, a pegasus and a unicorn? Who's heard of that happening? Come on, Silent, stop thinking of silly things and just get to breakfast."

Silent had become so engrossed in her inner monologue that she almost didn't notice a grey-coated pony speeding down the hall past her, the wind rustling her mane before he sharpy skidded around a corner and continued barreling towards the general direction of the castle. She paused, wondering why the blurred shape looked so familiar before she remembered what it reminded her of. "Starswirl!"

Now galloping herself, Silent quickly rounded the corner to see Starswirl almost half way between the castle and the Institute. "Starswirl, wait up!" As no response was forthcoming, Silent allowed herself a rare curse in olden Equestrian. At this rate, he would simply disappear again and subject her to another day of worrying. Quickly casting a glance behind her to make sure there were no professors in the area, she gave two powerful flaps of the wing before taking off into the air in pursuit.

While Starswirl was fast, there was no way he could beat the speeds a pegasi windmage could achieve. There was also the fact that Silent had augmented her wings with a small rune that caused each wing-beat to generate twice the amount of speed for half the effort. It was far from perfect, as the rune decayed quickly over time after each activation, but it often-times gave her the final burst of speed she needed to reach whatever pony she was chasing.

Just as Starswirl powered up his magic to pass through the doors leading to the castle, he felt a strong surge of wind creep up from behind him, nearly knocking him off his hooves. He stumbled into a nearby wall, quickly picking himself up to see Silent Night panting heavily in front of him.

"You -pant- doofus. Where are you -pant- going so -pant- fast?" Silent breathed in short bursts, her lungs desperately grasping at whatever oxygen it could intake. Her body shook slightly from the physical exertion she had placed herself under simply to talk to him.

Starswirl just stared, his face the very model of confusion. "Why did you fly so fast? You could have just used wind magic to carry your words over to me, you know."

Silent slapped a hoof to her face. She had completely forgotten about that spell and realized that it would have been a lot faster to just send him a message than chase him almost the entire length down the hall. "Right. That one spell. I forgot about it," she said ruefully, feeling very much like an idiot.

Starswirl laughed. "Your expression right now is priceless, Silent. But why did you try so hard to catch up to me?"

"Oh, no reason, It's not like you caused me to worry about your sorry plot over the past twelve hours or so wondering what happened to you. I mean, you totally showed up to your evening exams and did not cause me and Winter to worry, right?" Silent shot him her best withering gaze before her features softened into that of concern. "Seriously, Star. What's up?"

"You were worried?" Starswirl raised his eyes in surprise. While he and Silent were very close, he didn't think that she'd be worried over a small absence like that. "My meeting with the empress just took longer than expected, so she excused me from my evening exams."

"Won't that reflect badly on your graduation status when you complete year three in the next Class?"

"I think graduation is the least of my problems at the moment, considering I have to get to the ri-" Starswirl suddenly shut up, remembering that he was about a minute away from being blown sky high from the wrath of an angry goddess.

"Ri-?" Silent was curious. She hadn't seen Starswirl this stressed over anything in the longest time. In fact, the most stress she saw out of him now a days was which cloak color to wear on their jaunts out on the town with their group of friends.

"Rites of challenge. Please don't ask," Starswirl said hurriedly, quickly lifting a hoof before Silent could say anything. He estimated that he now had about half a minute to reach the Empress' chamber. "I'll explain to you later, I promise, but right now I've got to get to Empress Corona's study before she decides that I would make a nice ornament for her wall." Gathering up as much magical power as he dared at the tip of his horn, he flashed Silent a strained grin before activating his teleportation spell, instantly whisking him away into the Empress' study.

Silent just stood there, her mouth agape as she tried to understand what she just heard. Starswirl, taking the rites? Does that mean...? Dazed, she started to wander back towards the main hall. "Is he going to become a Magus? What's going to happen to us then?" With this disturbing revelation in mind, Silent suddenly urged herself into a gallop. She had to tell the others about this.

When Starswirl phased back into existence, the last thing he expected to see was his Empress indulging herself in a prodigious amount of cake. He stood there in shock, his eyebrows nearly flying off his face as she continued to devour the delicious confections. Deciding that it would be less awkward to simply teleport to her front door and knock rather than address her, Starswirl prepared another teleportation spell and was about to warp when a burst of solar magic wrapped around him, locking him down in magical chains.

"Don't think about escaping, young one. As a goddess, I can feel a magical presence as soon as it enters my range," she commented casually, levitating another forkful of chocolate double-fudge delight to her waiting mouth. Chewing slowly, she relished the smoothness of the fudge as it melted on her tongue, almost moaning in delight at the sensation. "Ah, cake is a goddess' delight, truly." Daintily setting down her plate, she stood from her red cushioned couch and approached the entrapped Starswirl, who was struggling against his bonds of light. "At least you were on time. I was on the verge of defaulting you from the rites."

Wriggling awkwardly against his bonds, Starswirl chose not to answer and instead adopted a docile demeanor. He was not sure why his Empress was bothering with this banter, but he certainly did not want to feel her wrath. As confident as he was in his own abilities, he was fairly sure that a duel with the Regent of the Sun would leave him in ashes.

Uncharacteristically, the Empress puffed her lips, a pouting expression in her eyes. "Really, you're no fun at all. Although," she added, seductively winking at her charge, "you are a very comely unicorn."

Starswirl paled significantly. His goddess found him...attractive? Surely this could not spell out good things for the future.

Noticing the expression on his face, Corona smirked. "I merely jest. Now then, let us be on our way." With a sudden burst of magic, Starswirl felt his surroundings melt away as the teleportation spell took effect. He now found himself in a tall hall, carved out of various gems and crystals. The banner of the Magus Aquus, emblazoned in shimmering colors of cobalt and silver, quietly hung from the center of a shrine.

"Ahh, the young initiate has arrived." Magus Darkslick approached Starswirl, his eyes filled with a cold, calculating gaze. While Starswirl had heard stories about the mysterious council of Magi, he had never actually seen a member of the corrupt group until now.

Darkslick Blizzard was dressed in the fineries of court, sporting a violent cobalt blue cloak embroidered with silver threading. His frame was filled and showed signs of one too many feasts attended as his rotund belly. However, while the Magus had let his body fall to waste, the same did not apply to his mind. Of the three Magi, he was probably the one who schemed the most to get his hooves on as much power as he could possibly gather before passing on into the void.

The Magus stood there, sizing up who would potentially be his new apprentice. He caught a glimmer of disgust in the eyes of this young stallion, something that Starswirl had been unable to suppress despite himself. "Ohoh. This one has a grudge. Perhaps against me...? No. It must be against the Council and what we represent," he thought to himself. "I would be lying if I didn't feel the same when I was first apprenticed. I will just have to have him see the truth, just as my mentor before me did."

"Well, this initiate simply reeks of magical energy. When DID you discover such a gem, Corona?"

Corona shot Darkslick a withering glance. "Address your empress properly, Magus. Do not pretend to be so familiar with me as to be on a first-name basis."

"But of course, my Empress," Darkslick said smoothly, grandly bowing his head low in a show of mock deference. Corona deigned to ignore this and instead turned to Starswirl. "This is where you will begin - in the gem stone caves of Canterlot Mountain. Keep your wits about you, or they may slip through your hooves faster than quicksand." With that, the goddess simply ported out of the cave, leaving Starswirl alone with the despicable water molder.

"Now then, my dear student; shall we begin?" The cold smirk etched on Darkslick's face told Starswirl that he was not going to enjoy this.

"A-and then he just 'ported just like that!" Silent Night wailed, breaking down in front of her friends. A gloomy silence had enveloped the group when they heard that Starswirl was in line to become a Magus apprentice.

"Wait, does that mean we'll never see 'im again?" Titanus' voice was deep and syrupy, lower than the normal stallion. Then again, he was larger than the normal stallion. With a barrel chest and a steel resolve, Titanus was turning out to be one of the more potent geomancers the Institute had trained in the last century. This was disregarding the fact that he was also participating in voluntary training with the Lunar Stallion Corps, causing his body to become muscled and toned unlike the rest of his spindly and rare brethren. While geomancers usually gained their bulk later on in their lifetime through their connection to the earth, Titanus enjoyed doing it the old fashioned way.

"Guys, calm down. We should be happy for him!" Winter Frost spoke enthusiastically, his eyes alight with excitement. "Don't you see? When Starswirl passes the Rites, he'll be on the fast track to Magus Aquus. We'll personally be friends with a Magus!"

" 'When?' Don't you mean 'if' ?" Stormy Skies sounded doubtful and cast a skeptical glance over to Winter. "Passing the Rites isn't an easy thing to do. I've heard stories from past initiates before they were forced to the frontlines. It's a test of mental acuity, physical endurance, and skill, all of which are tested to their limits. I wouldn't be so quick to peg this as an automatic pass; it can just as easily turn out that Starswirl's going to be sent off to war by the end of the week."

"Pft, you have no idea how strong Starswirl is, Stormy!" Winter declared, undeterred by his friend's apprehension. "Just watch, I bet you he's just breezing through those exams right now!"

"Faster, faster! Didn't they teach you anything in the Institute?" Magus Aquus Darkslick sneered at the exertions of his apprentice-to-be. He had forgotten how fun it was to have an apprentice when his last one mysteriously drowned in the castle moat, and now he was enjoying himself to the fullest.

Starswirl, unable to properly articulate himself, merely grunted as he struggled to balance yet another levitating sphere of water with his magic. Any notion of confidence he had before was now completely deflated as it became increasingly difficult to comply with his teacher's orders. Currently, he was levitating his one hundred and eighth sphere and felt as if his horn was going to wrench itself from his skull due to the magical pressure building up in its tip.

"Is the little apprentice tired already? I thought you were better than this, seeing as Corona herself recommended you," said Darkslick mockingly as he lazily sipped from a crystal goblet filled with clover cinnamon win. "Hurry up and make another! This lake isn't going to empty itself, you know."

Currently, the duo was standing in front of a shallow underground lake, deep within the cavern. Light of all spectrums flooded the area as it refracted off the various crystals present, giving it an ethereal after glow. It was truly a sight to behold, if Starswirl hadn't been occupied with other pressing matters; namely, the level of water still present in the lake. Despite his best efforts, the lake refused to empty out in the slightest and instead forced him to manipulate more and more water until the air above him was completely filled with floating orbs of water, each one threatening to burst apart should he lose his concentration.

Starswirl would have groaned in frustration if he had the strength to. How much more water could there possibly be in this lake? Braving himself, he started to form yet another orb of water before he caught something from the corner of his eye.

Darkslick was muttering an incantation under his breath, staring intently at the water in the lake. The surface seemed to shimmer slightly before settling once more, Darkslick having the most supreme of arrogance smirks on his face. Now suspicious, Starswirl inched himself forward step by step, burdened by the weight of the orbs he was carrying, until his hoof stood at the edge of the lake.

Darkslick's smirk quickly disappeared. Oh, damn. Look's like this one is brighter than the rest of them. He watched as his charge placed a hoof in the water and muttered a spell of his own. A look of indignation was etched across Starswirl's face as the water in the lake and in the air around him instantly vanished in a burst of light.

"What in Equestria is going on here, Magus Aquus?" Starswirl spoke as calmly as he could, his breath ragged from the magical exertion he had placed on his body.

A slow clap emerged from the rotund figure. "Bravo, bravo I say! You are the first candidate in the past two weeks to have seen through that particular trick. Funny thing, really, how strong illusions can be. Even now, your mind believes it to have been levitating orbs of real water and is simulating the drain on your magic reserves." Darkslick raised his eyebrows as if reappraising the shorter figure before him. "Congratulations; you've passed the first Rite." Darkslick smiled mockingly at his charge. "Perhaps you're only half as dense as the others. Now, come along. There are other challenges you must complete before you can breath easily. The show has just begun." With a flick of his horn, the couch beneath him began to levitate and move down the corridor, carrying the oversized Magus with it.

Suppressing a desire to strangle the old mage, Starswirl slowly trotted behind the couch as it made it's way through the cavern. He didn't want to get lost down there, after all. Taking one last look at the crystal cavern, Starswirl plunged into the darker depths of the cave in an effort to keep the quickly escaping couch in vision.

Chapter 7

"Milady, it appears that the young wizard is continuing through the rites. He has just passed the first challenge, albeit with some difficulty." Lunar Stallion Dusk Shine bowed before his lady, giving her his latest report on Starswirl's progress. Although he did not mention it aloud, he was curious as to why the lunar regent would bother monitoring a single unicorn with one of her finest stealth troops.

"Thank you, Dusk Shine. Return to your post and report to us within the next two hours." Grand General Luna nodded briefly to her soldier before returning to the stack of supply requests that currently assaulted her. The Equestrian Air Force was running low on everything, from wing-swords to helmets and even shoes, and it was up to her to see that each division was properly resupplied lest it turn into a logistical nightmare.

"As you say, milady." With a sweep of his wings, Dusk quickly ascended into the morning sky and made for the Canterlot Mountain Gem Caves, where Starswirl was currently taking the Rites of Challenge. He had been making this journey between the caves and the castle at constant intervals, showing no signs of fatigue or mental weariness as he followed his orders to the letter. "Really, a perfect soldier," Luna mused to herself as she pored over yet another supply request, this time for a new supply train of food to the Air Force 5th. "Really now, the amount of food these soldiers have been consuming is almost ridiculous. We are almost inclined to decline this request if we knew not the difficulties this war presented for our troops."

Sighing, she dripped another dollop of hot wax onto the parchment scroll before pressing her seal into it, making sure the imprint was clear enough to be recognized. She remembered one time where she had carelessly placed her seal without bothering to press hard enough, and the quartermasters of the army ended up milling around in chaos before one of them finally decided to personally ask for her approval. Never again would she let that happen.

Time stretched on. Luna signed one document after another, completing each with her royal seal. The room was completely silent save the scratching of her quill on parchment as she rewrote orders, authorized offensives, and sent out missives detailing the particulars of her next attack.

Suddenly, her stomach growled. Luna's fur blushed pink at the sound, realizing that she had forgotten to eat breakfast. Glad that no one had heard the unseemly noise, she casually teleported herself into the kitchen expecting to see a meal waiting for consumption.

What she didn't expect was to see the chefs all in disarray. "Quick, get me another dozen eggs!"

"I'm running out of milk and cream over here!"

"Where's our shipment of fruit? I'm all out of strawberries!"

"Dear Faust, please tell me this wasn't our last supply of chocolate!"

Servants bustled back and forth, hurrying with various food items to each different chef. Luna arched her eyebrows. What could cause such chaos for the royal chefs?

"Castle servant, pray, tell us why you rush along so urgently." Luna used a hoof to hold back another servant as he was scuttling by.

"Eep!" The servant jumped, scared from the sudden unexpected contact. When he realized who had spoken to him, he bowed his head until it touched the floor. "Your highness! I did not realize you were here!"

Luna simply stared at the servant, who quietly sweat where he stood until he realized he had been asked a question. "Oh, right! Her Imperial Majesty, Empress Corona, has the entire staff working overtime for her cakes! She's been consuming them at a prodigious rate for the past two hours, and I fear that we may run out of supplies!"

Luna sighed, casting her eyes towards the heavens as she secretly cursed her sister's name. "Tell all the chefs that we hereby rescind any order that my sister may have given them in regards to cakes. Also, make sure that no more of the castle staff bring the confections to her room from this point onward."

"B-but your Majesty-"

"Any objections you were about to raise have been duly noted. Now then, we require a large brunch to regain our energy. Faust knows how many documents we hath been forced to sign since the morn has risen. "

"But of course, your highness!" At that, the servant quickly moved away to do her bidding, leaving her alone once more in the large castle kitchen.

"Honestly, our sister. Cakes? Hast thou gone mad?" Luna muttered darkly under her voice. She could not remember the last time her sister had decided to indulge herself so completely, but it could not bode well if she was choosing to do so now.

Luna waited in the adjoining dining room, not wishing to view the preparations of her meal. Her mind slowly drifted off towards the war, which haunted her at every opportunity. Unlike before, however, she held the small flame of hope brightly in her thoughts. If Starswirl became apprentice to Magus Aquus, there could be changes. She sensed something different about this initiate in comparison to the past Magi, his heart pure and undefiled while containing a fiery soul of good. "It will be difficult for the Magi to corrupt THIS one, at least if we have our way." Luna smiled to herself, remembering how the young one had flustered under her attention the previous night. Perhaps she should claim him for herself; after all, it has been at least a decade before she had time to bed with a worthy stallion. (While her occasional "adventures" with her Lunar Stallions relieved her of any sexual tensions, she had yet to find a stallion with whom she could share her heart with.)

Suddenly, the fragrant aroma of mushroom soup entered her nostrils, snapping her out of her reverie. A servant had appeared before her, placing the meal in front of her with a bow. Luna inhaled deeply, allowing the scent of sauteed mushrooms and clover mixed with generous amounts of onions and pepper play across her senses. "Once again, the kitchen has impressed us," said Luna with a smile to the servant. "Give the chefs our regards."

"Of course, your majesty." With a bow, the servant quickly exited the room, allowing her to dig in without any form of restraint. Hungrily, Luna devoured the soup without a second though, her stomach unable to hold out any longer. The warm, rich liquid poured down her throat in a cascade of deliciousness as she continued to guzzle down the stew in a most unprincesslike manner. Finally satisfied, she allowed the bowl to fall to the table with a clack.

"Ahhhh, the benefits of a full stomach do us well," she mused, patting her belly in content. While it had not completely filled her up, it gave her enough sustenance to last until the royal luncheon was prepared. Before this, however, she had resolved to check up on her sister.

Casting a teleportation spell, Luna soon found herself in Corona's room. The floor was littered with various dishes and bits of cake, leaving almost no clean area in sight. Corona herself was sitting on her bed, staring intently into a mirror orb.

"Sister! What is this meaning of all this," said Luna, shocked that Corona would indulge herself so fully in such trying times.

"Ah, my dearest of friends. Luna, please sit and eat cake with me. Although, it has been quite a while since the last one has been sent up, so I'm afraid there are none left at the moment. I'll have the chefs flogged for their incompetence."

Luna shook her head, staring at her sister in utter disbelief. "We ordered the chefs to stop making cakes. Thy splurge has emptied the castle pantry of cake making items, and we shudder to see the report from the royal treasury on what this will do to the castle's expenses.

"Ah, pooh, Luna. You are no fun at all," said Corona, her lips forming a small pout as she turned her attention back to the crystal orb in front of her. "At the very least, please sit with me. I am currently watching the progress of my young charge going through the rites and I must say he looks absolutely delicious." Corona had the most lascivious of looks on her face as she said this, her eyes momentarily filled with a lust so deep it would fill oceans.

A violent blush tinged Luna's cheeks. "Sister! How dare thee look after thy charge in such a fashion!?"

"Oh, shush, Luna. I know of your romps with the members of your Lunar Stallions - do not deny that it is your cries I hear littering the night," Corona replied, her lips turned upwards in a smirk. At this, Luna's dark blue fur blushed even deeper, turning it nearly as dark as the night she brings forth. "Now, what have you come to ask me about?"

Furiously shaking herself in an attempt to expel her embarrassment of being heard during her nighttime activities, "We were merely concerned for your wellbeing - 'Tis not normally the case for you to indulge in thy passion so suddenly and deeply. We have known thou to have more self-restraint."

Corona said nothing, simply returning her attention to watching Starswirl on her crystal orb. "Ah, look how he struggles. Yet he perserveres and succeeds in whatever tasks Magus Aquus throws at him. Truly a fine specimen of unicorn."

"Sister..." Luna said impatiently, her tone indicating that she would not budge from the issue.

"Oh, very well. Today is the anniversary of his death, if you recall..." At this, Corona's voice was slightly tinged with grief, her demeanor not as high and mighty as before.

"Oh." Luna cursed under her breath, rebuking herself for forgetting what had happened on this day, 250 years ago. On this day all those years ago, Corona's first lover had died in a surprise griffin attack on the eastern outskirts of Equestria. It was during a time of war with Griffonstan, and his loss had turned Corona into a merciless goddess of wrath as she chose to personally lead the troops onwards, wielding the powers of the sun until most of the opposing army lay dead in the ashes of their burnt comrades. While time had mellowed out the pain of loss, Corona still commemorated the date he died by eating prodigious amounts of cake, something that Luna should have remembered. "Sister, I-"

Corona waved a hoof. "It's fine, Luna. No harm done, although after 250 years one would think my heart would finally be in for repair."

As Luna turned to quietly leave her sister alone, a thought suddenly came to her. "Thou hath been watching Starswirl as well?"

At this, Corona arched her brow questioningly. "What do you mean, 'as well', my dear sister?"

Suddenly aware that she had let her little secret loose, Luna was at a loss. "We...er..."

"You're too adorable, my dear sister. You could have said something if you wished to have him for yourself," Corona said teasingly, suddenly becoming the older sister she had failed to be for the past century or so.

"Sister! How could you even suggest such a thing?" While Luna drew herself up as if to appear that her pride was injured, her facial expression said otherwise. "W-we shall take our leave now. Fare thee well!" In a puff of smoke, Luna immediately teleported back to her chambers, although she could have sworn she saw the hints of a knowing smile appearing on her sister's face before she phased out of existence.

Corona simply stared into the empty space, her smile slowly dropping into a contemplative frown. She had meant it as a jest, but if her sister truly desired the same stallion as she... Corona scowled. She was not willing to give up this one to her sister, and SHE was the older one anyway. It should be unwritten law that the eldest gets her first pick. Satisified by her reasoning, Corona returned her attentions to the orb, where Starswirl was currently performing his second Rite of Challenge.

"Do you know what the Council of Magi do for a living, lad?" Darkslick asked casually, throwing his voice back to reach the young apprentice trailing behind him. They had been traveling in the tunnel for the past thirty minutes in near darkness, and Starswirl was starting to bruise from the amount of times he had bumped his head into a wall.

"You advise Empress Corona on ruling the empire, as well as representing each pony tribe in national issues such as civil rights and other legislatures. There is also the fact that you have been deemed the strongest mage of your generation, which is why you were chosen by the previous Magi to replace you," Starswirl replied, hating every word he had to speak to the vile stallion in front of him.

"No need to be polite - I've seen the look in your eyes when you first saw me. Don't think I'm so naive as to not recognize pure contempt when it is presented towards me."

Starswirl growled. "With all due respect, Magus, I do not wish to engage in this small talk."

"Please. If you respected me, we wouldn't be having this conversation in the first place. Now, tell me - what do you think of me?" Darkslick stopped his spell, allowing the couch to lightly touch upon the floor before he turned his immeasurable girth to face his hateful apprentice.

"Wisdom and common sense dictate that what I think of you is not related to my magical skill, sir." Starswirl stood resolute, his face revealing the emotion of a rock wall. "I wish to continue my Rites so I may end them with all haste, if I may."

Darkslick merely sighed before levitating his couch once more. "You're not fun at all, for being so young. I was only try to brighten up our existences in this dank cavern."

"Pardon me, Magus, but your character couldn't brighten up a charcoal mine."

"Bah, have it your way then. It'll do me no good to waste me time arguing." As Darkslick spoke these words, a pinprick of light became visible in the distance. It grew brighter and brighter as the pair moved closer, flooding the tunnel in an emerald light as they slowly entered a second large chamber.

Starswirl's eyes grew wider. The room was completely composed of pure emeralds, ones whose beauty had no comparison to the paltry jewels he had seen on the surface. Each one shone a vibrant shade of emerald green, casting mystical rays that danced along the cavern walls.

At the center of this emerald cavern lay a rough, unhewn emerald with many impurities that was nearly ten feet tall. Upon closer study, Starswirl even managed to find specks of dirt from where it had originally been harvested.

Darkslick set his couch down with a clack, then slowly staggered to his feet to approach the imperfect stone. "The first rite was, so you may know, a test of awareness - a Magus must always be aware of his surroundings in order to differentiate the truth from lies. Being a water molder that you are, you are more attuned to the nature around you; natural life is filled with water, after all. However, being a Magus requires a heightened awareness that will allow you to be constantly observant in all conditions - deserts, rock caves, and other places where water is not easily accessible." Darkslick paused, allowing his hoof to lazily move across the surface of the gem. "This will be a test of your control over water."

Starswirl stared at the rock in confusion. He turned his gaze to Darkslick, his expression in askance of an explanation.

Darkslick raised an eyebrow. "You haven't figured it out already? You must use your magic to shape this rock into an image of your choice; the only requirement is that there are no rough edges and it must be life size, so choose something relatively small."

Starswirl nodded, slowly beginning to understand his task. As a water molder, he would have to be able to finely control his magic lest his water eroded away too much of the stone and marred the image. A truly nerve wracking exam, as the slightest interruption in magic could ruin the whole stone and most likely cause him to fail. Taking a slow, deep breath, Starswirl stepped closer to the stone until his horn made contact with the unpolished gem.

Suddenly, the cavern erupted in a display of cobalt blue light. Starswirl's horn emanated magical energy as he slowly carved runes of old Equuish into the stone that he remembered from his lessons in Class 2 second year. While it had been an elective, learning how to use runes in his magic allowed him to amplify his prowess over magical energy by tenfold. The particular rune he had decided to use first was simple: Split.

With a thunderous rumble, the large emerald boulder broke neatly in half, each piece falling to the floor with a resounding crack.

If Darkslick had been shocked by this seemingly suicidal action, he did not show it. Relaxing on his red felt couch, he continued to observe without a word or comment as Starswirl began to carve more runes on the floor surrounding the two halves.

Satisfied that he had all the runes necessary, Starswirl chanted the necessary spell. Suddenly, the halves fell into a concave bowl that immediately formed in the floor with a resounding crunch. Water began to condense around the stones at a faster and faster rate until the entire bowl was submerged, creating a mini-lake. Casually, Starswirl strode out onto the water, already having enchanted himself with a water-walking spell.

Darkslick's eyes grew wider as he began to see what Starswirl intended to do. The water slowly began to glow of emerald light, revealing the crushed emerald powder that floated within it. His charge had not simply magic'd the material that had formerly occupied the space of the lake, after all; he has used runes to crush the emerald floor into finely grained particles.

And now he intended to grow a new emerald with the old.

Deep into his chanting now, Starswirl's eyes began to glow, matching the color of his magical aura. He gently nudged the stone halves out of the crystal-saturated water until they hovered an inch above it's surface. Starswirl smiled. As he expected, a small gem layer had begun to form on the outer rock-surface of the emerald - it was only a matter of polishing the rest off now.

Touching his hoof now to the stone, Starswirl began to swirl water from the lake beneath him around the stones, slowly moving them closer and closer together until they were mere inches apart. He gathered more and more water around the stone, causing it to move faster and faster around it until he suddenly stopped and allowed the water to splash all around him.

In front of him now stood a a likeness of a unicorn mare standing with a unicorn stallion. While the stallion had little to no details to speak of except for a streaked mane, Starswirl nearly gasped at the sight of his second sculpture. Her flank displayed a cutie mark of a rose with thorns, her mane forever blowing from an invisible breeze. She held a look of sad happiness, her eyes masterfully portraying the emotion to the extent that Starswirl almost thought she was real. He was about to reach out a hoof to touch his masterpiece before Darkslick had suddenly slapped him on the back.

"Well done! I certainly was not expecting you to grow more emerald to work with, but well done indeed! I'm sure Empress Corona will be very pleased with these additions to her treasure collection; the emerald looks to be of a most high caliber." Smiling wickedly, Darkslick looked down at his apprentice with new eyes. "Perhaps we should keep you as a sculpture artist, should you fail the rites." This plain stallion sculpture will stay with me, however; no sense in giving Corona something so plain when I could sell it for millions elsewhere.

Starswirl was about to reply before a wave of nausea rolled over him. Using so much magic at once affected his body negatively, and he now knew that it wouldn't be long before the migraines took the place of the stomach pains. However, there was one question that prevailed through the agony his body subjected him to: Who was that mare? Was it...mother?

Rolling this thought in his head along with the continuing conundrum of why he could not remember his parents quickened his descent into pain as his brains were suddenly assaulted by migraines. Starswirl was now struggling to remain conscious, the darkness at the edges of his eyes threatening to cloud his vision.

Darkslick momentarily glanced away from his visions of making more money to stare at his disabled student. He considered leaving him like that, but mysteriously losing Empress Corona's recommended would not reflect kindly on his records. With a drawn out sigh, he sent a small burst of healing magic towards the ailing stallion and watch disapprovingly as Starswirl immediately got back up and started to shake his head to clear his mind.

"Don't make me do that again. You'll be instantly disqualified if I have to revive you a second time. This was an exception because of your commendable work with the sculptures." Returning to his couch, Darkslick once again levitated his furniture and floated towards the other end of the cavern where yet another tunnel awaited them. "Time is ticking, apprentice. The statues will have to be picked up later. Now, come." With that, Starswirl watched as the darkness engulfed the Magus once more before he quickly galloped after him.

"Why did I agree to this..." Starswirl, starting to feel heavily exhausted from the exertions he had put forth in the past couple hours or so, began to wonder the wisdom of his decision before the darkness swallowed him up as well.

Chapter 8

Several centuries earlier...

The four Magi stood together in the center of a large cavern. Crystals of various sizes and purities were scattered throughout the walls, waiting to reveal their true beauty. For now, however, the cave was a place of gloom and sadness as the four friends stood staring at each other.

Ignis the Searing, the last Solar Pony and Magus Firus, looked sadly at his companions. "Avalanche, Sonus, Lunestra; I cannot begin to describe the pain I have been subjected to. My tribe is now gone; my bloodline, eliminated. There is no longer a place for sun magic in this world, not in our generation." His head fell to the floor, his usually amiable demeanor long broken from his grief.

"Ignis..." Lunestra started before he raised his hoof.

"There is no consolation for me left; now I must fulfill my final duty as Magus Firus." Turning to face Avalanche, he asked, "Did you gather up all the scrolls from the Hall of Records?"

"I did, Ignis. I don't like it, but I did." Digging into his saddlepack, Avalanche scowled as he brought out a large container of marble stone. The entire history of the Solar Ponies was contained within that box, in both written and magical means. These documents and Ignis would be the only proof that they ever existed.

With a flare of light, Ignis surrounded the box in flames. Avalanche yelped from the sudden burst, dropping the box onto the gemstone floor with a mighty crack. "Ignis, what in the blazes are you doing!?"

Sonus, her eyes growing suddenly alarmed, condensed water from the surrounding air in an attempt to suffocate the flames only to have it evaporate once more. Ignis' spell only grew brighter and more intense as heat began to radiate from the box. "Ignis! Stop this at once! That is at least a thousand year's of ponykind's history in there!" She started towards him only to be rebuffed by a wall of pure heat through which she could find no passage. "Ignis!"

"It must be done." His jaw set, Ignis finished channeling his sun magic. The box was no more, replaced by a pure sphere of obsidian within which fire danced inside. Picking up the sphere with his hoof, he almost reverently gave it to Lunestra. "Lunestra, I want you to listen closely. Do not speak to anypony of what happened in this cave, and give no indication as to what this sphere really represents. I want you to keep this in the most secure area you know and never show it to anyone again."

Lunestra nodded slowly, unsure of how to respond. Why Ignis would require that she kept the orb for safe-keeping was beyond her, although she suspected it was largely because he knew she could think of only one such place where the sphere could be kept in such seclusion: the cloud fortress at Cumulus, her tribes main settlement.

Seeing her agreement, Ignis sighed in relief. "I will rest easily now, knowing that it is under your care, Lunestra. For that, I thank you." Turning his back onto his comrades, Ignis began to walk towards the deepest end of the cave. A crudely carved pedestal of ruby ore rested there, and he struggled to place himself upon it.

His companions watched on, their faces becoming increasingly confused. Ignis turned slowly to face his friends once more and gave them a tight smile. "Good bye, my friends. By the time I wake, you will probably be no more. Let us both hope for the success of ponykind from here onwards, and pray that the fate that befell my people will never occur to yours." Lighting his horn with sun magic once more, pre-carved runes suddenly flared up on the floor surrounding the pedestal. The Magi watched in terror as bonds of pure light formed around their friend, encasing more and more of his body until Ignis' entire being had been swallowed by the light.

By the time the magic stopped, Ignis' body was encased in a strange gemstone that shone with the light of the sun. It pulsed with life, the light it made scattering across the rest of the cavern.

The Magi were deathly silent. Tears sprung to Lunestra's eyes as she realized what had just happened. "I-is he...?"

"No," said Avalanche, solemnly examining the stone. "This rock shines with a light I have not seen in any other. He has preserved himself."

"But...why? Why prolong his grief into the future generations?" Lunestra's voice quivered, on the verge of being overwhelmed by her sadness. Of all the Magi, she had been closest to Ignis. The two of them had shared many an evening enjoying one another's company, even as they grew into old age. Now, her evenings would never be the same again.

"Perhaps...he hopes that there is still a chance to continue his legacy." Sonus' face was expressionless with nothing but her eyes to betray her feelings. "He's asked that you keep the history of his people safe, and then he preserves himself in light to extend his life indefinitely? I feel that he hopes that there will come a future where another pony blessed by the sun will arrive to whom he can pass on his history."

"But, what if that pony never comes?" Lunestra could no longer hold back her tears as they flowed freely down her cheeks. Moving closer to where Ignis stood preserved, she placed a hoof against his unfeeling cheek. "Will he stay like this forever?"

"At the very least, he will be at peace," Avalanche said. His normally overbearing tone was softened, and his stature seemed not quite as tall. "Come, Lunestra; we must respect his last wishes if we are to honor his memory."

"No...no..." Lunestra refused to budge, planting herself firmly in front of the frozen pony. "I won't let it end, not like this."

"Lunestra, do not let your emotions break your promises for you." Sonus placed a reassuring hoof on her shoulder. "We must do as he asked."

"At least, give me a moment to grieve."

Glancing back towards Avalanche, who nodded slightly, she sighed. "Alright, Lunestra. We will await outside the cavern system for you to return to us."

Lunestra did not even notice as her fellow magi departed, her eyes gazing sadly into Ignis' eyes. "Why, Ignis... I never managed to tell you, after all these years... I love you..." Planting a kiss on the cold stone cheek, Lunestra rested her head against the statue. It would be a good while longer before she decided to leave.

As Starswirl ventured deeper into the cave, he failed to notice the sun magic from his goddess pulsing stronger and stronger within his veins. He was too focused on trying to stay alive.

The third rite had started without warning. Suddenly, Starswirl had been flung against the wall by his mentor, chained with bonds of ice. Struggling blindly against his bonds, Starswirl yelped in panic as a sharp edge of the ice sliced easily through his coat to reach the vulnerable skin underneath. "Magus Aquus, what is the meaning of this!?"

"Why, my dear apprentice," Darkslick said, an evil glint appearing in his eyes. "This is the third rite; the physical strength of your body and will to survive directly correlates with how much magical power you will be able to access under dire circumstances. A Magus must be able to access his full potential and more at all possible times, thus this exam. Your objective is to reach the next cavern in one peace. I will be waiting there to give you the final exam, unless you are no longer breathing." With a sinister laugh, Darkslick glided his couch down the tunnel, giving off occasional flashes of magic to re-activate any traps that lay within the walls.

Starswirl was at a loss. "I didn't know I could die from these rites. Damn it all." Reaching into his magical reserves, he easily changed the ice holding him back to water, releasing him from his bonds. Rubbing at the are where the bonds had touched his skin, he shivered. The temperature in the cavern suddenly became twenty degrees colder, causing his breath to become visible. "Curse that old man," he said, shivering as he shook himself to ward off the cold.

Squinting down the tunnel, Starswirl saw nothing out of the usual. Then again, since "pitch dark" was the usual he would not have noticed anything different in the first place. Cautiously placing one hoof out before him, he suddenly recoiled as he felt a rush of wind cut through his mane followed by the sound of a projectile impacting the nearby wall. Upon closer examination, he found the source to be an iron-tipped dart that could do quite a bit of damage if it hit. Starswirl scanned the walls, trying to feel for the magical imprint that the Magus might have left behind to no avail. The crafty old pony had cleverly disguised his trail so that Starswirl could rely only on his instincts and his awareness to get out alive. "Oh, for the love of..." Muttering darkly to himself, Starswirl plunged forth once more as the darkness consumed his entire being.

Hours pass. Darkslick lazily consumes yet another glass of wine, yet still he remains completely sober. "It is a shame that once you become a Magi, you are no longer able to become intoxicated. I could really use a break from this dreary existence." Reaching for his bottle before realizing it was empty, he scowled. "Mayhap the lad actually perished. How will I explain this to Corona... Ah well, if he could not pass a test like this he could not have survived being a Magus Apprentice in the first place." With a sigh, he cast his glass away, listening to the satisfying shatter of glass as it fractured against the cavern wall.

Hoofsteps appeared in the distance, slowly coupled by ragged breathing and a muted light. Starswirl emerged from the tunnel exit completely covered in scratches and bruises, with shallow cuts that still bled fresh blood. He hobbled over to the Magus, his eyes somehow managing to look hateful even in his spent state.

"Ah, so you're alive after all. I was beginning to think you simply died."

"You -pant- bastard." Starswirl collapsed, unable to compose himself for a retort. He had survived spike traps, poison darts, a section of axes moving in pendulum with one another, and a rolling boulder that was reminiscent of a trap he'd read about in "Texas Frank and the Lost City of Sapphire."

"Oh, pooh. You should have realized that the rites were not easy." Moving over to the prone figure, Darkslick stopped just short of a legs length from his pupil. "Now then, we've tested mental acuity, magical prowess, and physical strength. The final test will be relatively simple compared to the others." Darkslick gestured to the far edge of the wall, where the outline of a door was carved. "Open the door."

Starswirl, his mind fogged by exhaustion, simply nodded. He no longer cared about the Rites of Challenge, nor about his personal hate for the Magi or his wellbeing. He just wanted to rest his aching limbs and regain some of the energy he had lost trying to save his own neck.

"As long as you can get through those doors and out of the cavern alive, you will pass. I shall be waiting at the cavern exit to verify that you are still amongst the living. You have twenty four hours starting - now." With a poof, the Magus phased from existence, leaving Starswirl alone with barely enough energy to stand.

With a groan, Starswirl shook himself to revive the feeling in his limbs, furiously blinking to clear his blurred vision. He started slowly towards the door, dragging one hoof after the other mindlessly as one thought slowly emerged from the mire of his pain: I want to get out of here.

Finally reaching the door, Starswirl gave it a light shove with his shoulder. It refused to budge. "Well, there goes the obvious approach." Starswirl's eyelids felt as heavy as lead, threatening to drop at any moment now. "M-maybe if I rest a bit, I'll be fine... I have twenty-four hours, after allzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz-" Starswirl's body fell against the door with a whump, slowly sliding to the floor.

Ignis slowly regained consciousness, blearily attempting to rub the sleep from his eyes before he realized that he could not move or speak. Momentarily engulfed by panic, his mind ran wild as he tried to remember where he was until he felt the familiar presence of his sun magic surrounding him like a warm cocoon.

Ah, he thought to himself. I’ve awoken from my sleep at last.

Concentrating on what small kernels of magic he had left, he attempted to burn himself through his bonds of light only to discover that he could not.

Bother. Sleeping for... however long as I have can do this to a pony. With sadness, Ignis reflected on the actions he had undertook before his sleep. He had always regretted not revealing to Lunestra his true feelings for her, as it was the iron-clad rule of the Council that a Magi could not afford to be confused by feelings of romance. However, that had not stopped them from sharing affectionate moments with one another, and it came crashing down upon him in a wave of grief. She’s dead now, and there’s nothing I can do about it. Tears would have wet his cheeks if he had not been encased in the sun stone as he had, and Ignis had to make do with simply sulking for a couple of minutes before his nature got the better of him. You are not awake to grieve for what you have lost, Ignis. Remember that you are here to preserve what is left of your culture for future ponykind. Inaudibly sighing to himself, Ignis allowed his mind to wander before asking himself what had woken him from his coma. There was no solar-blessed pony to speak of in front of hi- Wait! Ignis willed his magical awareness to extend out of his rock prison to meet with a spark in the darkness that held the magic of sun and moon in it’s grasp.

How can this be? Nopony should have the ability to house such violently opposing magics at the same time... His curiosity piqued, Ignis attempted to speak with the spark only to remember that his physical mouth could not move. His frustration only grew as his mental prods failed to create any response, the spark seemingly choosing to ignore him. Oh, for the love of the sun... Ignis realized too late that the body in which the spark resided was unconscious. Coming across this realisation, he sourly retreated his presence back into his physical body and waited for the boy to regain his consciousness.

And so he waited.

----/

Chapter 9

Pain. Glorious, earsplitting pain. Starswirl groaned as he awoke with one of the biggest migraines of the century. "By Corona's mane..." he moaned, struggling to pick himself up from the cold floor. The aftereffects of using so much magic in the past couple of hours was hitting him with the force of a freight train, and he felt as if every muscle in his body was burning at the same time.

Groggily, Starswirl tried to remember the final rite of challenge that that scumlord Darkslick had assigned to him. "A...door?" He made out the faint outline of the mysterious portal carved into the wall in front of him, reasoning that he must have attempted the rite before passing out. "Well, let's get to opening this thing." Forcing magic to materialize from the depths of his being, Starswirl filled the carving with his magic. Even as he pumped more energy into it, however, it fizzled out as quickly as it materialized. He finally came to terms with the fact that opening the door through pure magical force was futile, and let vent a sigh as his exertions placed more strain on both his body and mind.

Slowly shutting off the flow of his magic, Starswirl felt his breath grow ragged once more, filling the cavern with his echoing gasps. "By Luna's backside, what a waste," Starswirl said, becoming increasingly aware of the time that was quickly trickling through his hoove. He cursed under his breath. Although Starswirl had no way of telling the time within the caverns, he gave himself a reasonable estimate of about five hours before he failed as was either pronounced dead or immediately sent to the front lines should he even come out alive. The urgency of the situation was quickly impressing it's importance into his foggy mind, and he shook himself in an attempt to ward off some of the exhaustion.

Try as he might, however, Starswirl could not convince his brain to concentrate. It insisted on wandering amongst foggy halls of memory, where time and time again he encountered a mare and stallion that haunted his subconscious. Who are you? Starswirl would always plead, tortured by the sensation that he knew who these two were but the knowledge was just out of reach. Are you my parents? Somepony from a past I can't remember? The stone silent figures would never respond, instead fading away into the mists before he could follow.

A faint pulsing at the back of Starswirl's mind became increasingly apparent, jarring his concentration further. "What in Equestria is wrong with me?" he muttered, gritting his teeth against the uncomfortable feeling. The pulsing grew warmer as he stood, trying to ignore it like he would a fly in summer's heat.

Young one... Whispers laden with power entered his ears, and Starswirl became startled. "Who's there? Show yourself!"

Open the door...face your true destiny...

"I don't know how! Get out of my head!" Starswirl shoved his hooves over his ears, trying to block out the sound.

Embrace the blessing of moon and sun...become at peace with the path presented before you... only then will you start to tread towards greatness...

"And if I should refuse? Why must I be forced to join the Council that I despise? Their corruption knows no bounds, and I already sicken at the thought of being apprenticed to that bastard Darkslick."

You are chosen... Your light will purge the darkness from both the Council and this realm... You will bring about the greatest peace this world has ever experienced... But you must first ford through the darkness...

Starswirl became conflicted. His head told him that if he entered the darkness of the Council it would consume him, but his heart held a sense of duty to both his deities and his nation. If what the voice was saying was true, this could be his chance to bring about the great sweeping changes his heart so desired for the lives of his countrymen and himself. "Wait, why am I even listening to you! I have no idea who - or what- you are!"

Take a leap of faith, young one...

"You take me for a fool to listen when you could just as easily be some foul demon." Starswirl said, setting his jaw squarely in conviction.

Search your feelings... do what your blood calls you to do... With that, the pulsing slowly faded away as the whispers of power slowly retreated beyond the wall.

Sighing, Starswirl finally caved in. His mind was too frazzled to think of another way out of the cavern, and passing the exam was slowly taking second priority to getting out in once piece. "And one mind..." he said darkly to himself, taking a traditional water molder meditation stance allowing his mind to fade away from consciousness.

Starswirl journeyed deep into the depths of his subconscious, a mysterious maze of twists and turns that seemingly had no end. Although his rationale screamed against it, he pushed further and further onwards until he was irreversibly lost with no idea what he was looking for. "Follow what my blood tells me, eh?" Starswirl pondered on the meaning of these words. What could that voice have possibly meant? Did it mean him ill or good? There would be time enough to answer these questions, he decided, after he figured out how to get through that door.

Eventually, Starswirl found himself at the center of the maze. He found himself looking at his very first memory of waking up in Corona's study that one day six years ago. Beyond that memory, however, the maze lay foggy and unapproachable as if he were held back by an invisible force. It was here he found the two figures, once again, standing just beyond the fog's edge.

"Please, tell me who you are!" he yelled out to them, garnering no response from the prone ponies. Instead, they simply stood there, two shadows lost in the mire of his forgotten memories. Suddenly, Starswirl noticed something he had not noticed before. The insignia of Corona, which was proudly emblazoned on his now tattered cloak, shone brightly on the ground leading towards the fog. It blazed an ethereal light, giving off a muted glow by which Starswirl could see.

"Why would her Majesty's mark be in my memories?" Starswirl became confused. Why did he have no memories past waking up in Corona's study, and why is her mark where that memory is? Suddenly, his brow furrowed as he made the connection. The goddess must have fouled his memories, blocking him off from a section of the past that she did not want him to see. What exactly she had prevented him from remembering, he could not say - he felt that it had to do with his parents, however. "I've been deceived all my life," he growled, pointing his newfound aggression towards the fog. "I WILL find out my own past - even if it kills me!"

Charging up his horn with new energy, Starswirl rammed himself into the fog that felt like a wall of bricks. His water magic, being as strong as ever, did little to remove the barrier. He started to blast haphazardly at the wall with his power, sending wave after pounding wave towards it to little avail. Eventually, his rage overtook him and he finally did what he never realised he could do - summoning a mighty blast of solar magic, he watched as the fog slowly began to crack and crumble, the magic slowly dematerializing it into nothingness.

Out of nowhere, the memories hit him like a ton of bricks. Garbled, scattered thoughts plagued his mind as he attempted to control the flow of information with little success. He felt sadness, failure, and an increasingly growing sense of rage as he remembered how he had grown as a child.

Suddenly, he remembered it all. The griffin raid, how his parents had died trying to protect him, the bodies of dead villagers littering the ground around him. Images of bodies cut in twain flashed side by side with the last images he saw of his parents - their tear-streaked, smiling faces that would haunt him forever.

"Make it stop!" Starswirled cried out, his hooves covering his head as the rush of emotions overwhelmed his senses. He was crying, laughing, and seething in rage all at the same time while a feeling of guilt continued to rise from the pits of his stomach and began to overtake his other senses. "Mother...Father..." he wept uncontrollably, tears coming out in fat globules across his face and splashing against the ground.

"Young one, why dost thou cry?" A soft, feminine voice echoed towards his ears as a figure emerged from behind him. "Dost the loss of thy parents hurt you so?"

Starswirl looked up, eyes red with tears, to face General Luna, guardian of the Night. "W-why are you here?"

"We are goddess of maths, sciences, and the moon; goddess of the night and of everything that occurs in it. It is within our power to delve into one's subconscious in order to help them with their fears." She slowly folded her legs beneath her and descended to the floor, resting on her belly as she stared into his distraught eyes.

"I d-don't need help...not from y-you." Starswirl hiccuped, unable to control his emotions. "I was b-betrayed by your sister- forced to never remember these memories until now..."

"Starswirl-" Luna extended a hoof to pat his back, only to have it slapped away.

"Don't pretend to be so familiar with me!" Starswirl's voice dropped two octaves, rage starting to seep into his very being. "Get away from me. Now." Growling, he stared at his goddess with a black hatred that caused her to flinch.

Her expression a mixture of sorrow and regret, Luna shivered slightly but stood her ground underneath his accusing gaze. "We art sorry for what thou hast experienced," she whispered.

Starswirl found that the anger drained out of him as quickly as it came, leaving only a hollow cavity where his heart should have been. "I-I..." It was clear that he had not expected the goddess to apologize to him; after all, she was not the one responsible for the pain he was experiencing.

It was her sister who was to blame. Starswirl found strength to rise, focusing all of his energies towards hating the one who had deceived him with honeyed lies in his youth and went so far as to destroy his past - to what end? To have him break down in the midst of one of the most important trials of his life? Growling, he gritted his teeth. No. He would get out of this cave, and he would give Corona a good hoof to the face despite her status as a goddess and empress.

Luna watched after him somberly as he lurched into the section of his mind that had once been hidden from him; his gaze was kept resolutely forward, never swaying from the two figures he had sought to meet all his life only to find that he knew them more personally than he could currently care for. He stopped just short of the apparitions, sweat dotting his brow as he wiped his hooves over his tear-stained cheeks. "Mother? Father?"

"Oh, Starswirl...look how you've grown." The mare spoke first, her voice lilting delicately. "You're almost as tall as your father."

"Taller, I'd say." The stallion said, a grim smile decorating his face. "Hello, son. We've been waiting for you." Glancing behind Starswirl, the stallion's eyes widened as he recognized the prone figure that lay on the floor, watching with a sort of detached interest even while her eyes reflected the turmoil within her. "Your Highness; It is a pleasure to meet face to face with the Regent of the Night." He curtly bowed in the Rasa-terran fashion, his neck aligned straightly with his back before he allowed himself to rise. He gave a slim smile. "In a manner of speaking, of course."

"Likewise, mage Gray Streaks. May good fortune fall upon you and your wife Rose Thorn." Luna seemed to have mastered her feelings, her voice betraying none of the emotions she had displayed a few minutes earlier. She rose slowly, turning her head towards the other end of the maze. "It appears that you are to guide him from here; we shall take our leave." At that, Luna simply faded away, leaving the slightest after-image before that too dissipated into the darkness.

Starswirl slowly turned to the pair before him, his face slightly paled as if seeing a ghost. Which, technically, he was. "Wh- how are you here?"

The mare gave a small, warm chuckle. "We're not actually here, Star. We're magical constructs, created from your memories to guide you in times of need."

"Indeed, son." Starswirl turned to see his father's eyes blazing with pride. "To think that you became talented enough to enter the Institute of Warfare... I'm happy for you, Star."

Starswirl allowed a small grin to fleetingly play across his lips. "Thanks Dad."

Standing next to his wife once more, the construct of Gray Streaks motioned with a hoof. "Shall we?" Without waiting for a response, he began to quickly walk down the hallway, forcing Starswirl to catch up after a moment's confusion.

"Dad, I'm still confused...why are you here? I'm supposed to be looking towards my blood to see how to go forward, so why...?"

Gray Streaks cast a long sideways glance towards his son before returning his attention to an object in the distance that grew increasingly brighter as they approached. "As constructs, we have no will other than the one you impose upon us. For some reason, your mind replicated us as we were when we were alive and had us remain in the mists of your memories until you were ready to move forward. I'm guessing there was still a section of your subconscious that remembered who we were and created us as you remembered. There might be some discrepancies depending on your memories of us and who we really are, but there's nothing to be done about that. Also w-"

Rose Thorn cleared her voice, giving her husband a humorous stare as a smile tugged at her upper lip. Gray Streaks coughed embarrassedly. "Ah, yes...We can go into the technicalities of constructs later. For now, let's get you out of here alive." He stopped before the object, now clearly visible to Starswirl's eyes.

It was a magnificent obelisk, created of a substance Starswirl had never seen before. Light pulsed slowly underneath it's surface of crimson red streaked with cobalt blue, imitating the beat of his heart. Carved into the rock was a multitude of intricate carvings done in a language that Starswirl was unfamiliar with, yet felt an attachment to. The top of the obelisk had been decorated with a capstone of pure sapphire, whose light shone brilliantly as a beacon in the darkness and had guided him and the constructs of his parents to it. "What...is this?"

"This, Star, is why we were here - to guide you to the 'Spark'." Rose Thorn replied. Starswirl's eyes widened. He remembered all that he learned about the Spark - it existed in each pony who was destined to use magic. It was quite literally the base of their power, for if one were to ever lose the Spark they would never conjure magical energy again. To come face to face with his own was nothing short of shocking for the young initiate.

Reaching a hoof out to touch the obelisk, Starswirl was surprised to see that a magical barrier separated him from the actual stone. It felt uncomfortably hot, yet frigidly cold at the same time. Images of sun and moon flashed before his eyes until he broke contact. He stared at his father questioningly, hoping for answers.

"Normally, your Spark should not be able to be found in the first place," explained Gray Streaks, his brow furrowing slightly as if trying to remember what he could on the subject. "In the cases that it was found, however; those stories end up tragic in some shape or form as the ponies who found them became able to shape their own destinies. Play god, as it were. In your case," Gray Streaks said, now glaring at the obelisk as if it were some vile object, "not only has your Spark been changed for you, but it has been locked from any future change and made so that you are able to find it at anytime you wish."

"Wait, if my Spark has been changed...and is no longer able to change... then that means-" Starswirl gulped, the implication hitting him hard.

"Your destiny has been set for you, son. You've been forced into a path originally not your own, whatever this path may be."

It must have been the goddesses and their damned blessings. They've decided to take my destiny into their hands? Not if I can help it. Starswirl thought to himself, rage slowly bubbling to the surface one more.

"What was the point of all this then!? What's the point of looking into my own blood to make my choice, if I no longer have any other!?"

Gray Streaks gave him a sad smile. "There are many different paths to reach one's destiny. You still have your free will. The pony you will become, however...that can no longer change. Everything that happens to you will inevitably lead you to this destiny, no matter what choices you make - but the choices themselves are still your own."

Gently patting his back, Gray Streaks returned to his wife before facing his son once more. "We must leave you here; being in the presence of the Spark poisons us, as divine magic is not meant to mix with normal magic such as ours." At that, the two constructs disappeared into the maze once more, swallowed up by the darkness.

Starswirl stared after them, a dull ache reappearing in his heart after they left. "Come on, Star...they're not real. They'll never be real again..." Shuddering, he returned his focus to the Spark.

"Do blessings by the goddesses always cause this sort of thing?" He moved in close to the obelisk, peering into it's clear depths. Images moved in the pulsing light of places that Starswirl had yet to see and spells that he had yet to learn. Suddenly, his mind fixed on one image that recurred over and over again - Equestria, torn apart by a war the Council had created.

He knew what he had to do.

Starswirl gasped, violently coming out of his meditative state. He immediately began shivering as his body registered the lack of external heat.It must be night time outside, he thought to himself. Teeth chattering, he stood to his hooves and stared confidently at the door, feeling within him until he could reach the Spark he had discovered. "Open." Starswirl's voice became laced with power, power that was both his own and that of the goddesses who had blessed and subsequently cursed him.

With a groan the door shuddered open, revealing yet another dark passage. Warm winds rushed past him from this passage, warming his body to the core.

"Here we go again..." Starswirl took one look back into the cavern as if expecting to see his parents before plunging himself into the passage beyond the door.

Chapter 10

Ignis had felt Starswirl's presence before he heard it - an impressive feat in caverns such as these that were liable to carry every noise that occurred within it's walls for a range of a couple hundred feet.He had been patiently working to reverse the stasis spell he had entombed himself in when a flare of mixed magic had jostled his senses.

"The boy has some stout," Ignis mused, his concentration momentarily broken. He had fully expected the boy to give up for be lost in the depths of his mind forever; or worse, flat out refuse. After all, Ignis had prodded his mind himself and found that it was full of airy fluff which he promptly assumed was the product of laziness and ineptitude.

Returning his concentration on unraveling the spell layered around him, he felt Starswirl's aura become an increasingly annoying buzz at the back of his head that signaled his approach. "At this rate, I'll never be free of this stasis..."

When Starswirl appeared, it was as if a bright light had come into being. His magical presence permeated the room around him as he entered, approaching the frozen body of the old Magus Firus. "Strange place for a statue," he commented dryly to himself as his eyes scanned the rest of his surroundings.

Contrary to the rest of the caves, this room was made of pure granite. It's dark, imposing presence sent involuntary shivers down Starswirl's spine as he realized he did not know how far down he was from the surface. "It'll be alright..." he muttered, as if trying to convince himself of this fact. "It's not as if this place will collapse on me...hopefully."

Returning his attention to the statue, Starswirl noticed something odd. There appeared to be a faint glow that emanated from beneath the surface of the rock, a glow that felt like...

"Sun magic? Why is there sun magic entrapped in this statue?" Sending own his own magical aura, Starswirl suddenly realized that the entire room was filled with the stuff, swirling around lazily as it exited the statue. "What is this sorcery?"

Ah, so you've arrived, young one. The voice that had questioned him earlier appeared once more. Starswirl took a step back in surprise before standing his ground, realizing that the voice held as much as a threat to him now as it did before.

"Arrived at what, exactly?" Starswirl was quite ready to challenge the voice. He was tired of being pulled along on a string and mysteriously finding things out on his own. He wanted answers, and he wanted them now.

Never mind that, will you please approach the statue? My bones do ache after staying in place for such a long time.

Starswirl cautiously approached the statue, giving it a tentative prod. "What's so important about this statue anyways?"

What's important about it, my young mage, is that it contains me. Now, keep holding your hoof there.

A warm feeling entered through Starswirl's hoof, quickly spreading to the rest of his body. He began to smile, feeling indescribable amounts of happiness and joy all at once. The feeling continued to build up, bringing Starswirl higher and higher up the emotional scale until he reached a state many monks would refer to as "oen," the state of complete peace. This feeling withdrew itself as quickly as it arrived, causing Starswirl to suddenly feel empty until cracks started to emerge on the statue.

With a burst, the statue shattered into stray rays of light, temporarily blinding Starswirl as he shielded his eyes with his hoof. When the light faded, Starswirl saw a wizened pony in it's place that held the same semblance as the statue. "Ahhhh, that's much better!" The stallion said, stretching out it's hooves and neck casually. His mane was insubstantial, waving with an eternal wind that did not exist. It glowed in the colors of the fiery yellow sun coupled with the deep red of a campfire, complimenting his light yellow coat that was covered in small battle scars.

"Ahhh, that's much better!" Ignis stretched out his legs, releasing several satisfying cracks as his bones settled into place. "Being stuck in light for a long period of time can do miserable things for my arthritis."

Overcoming his initial shock, Starswirl could only stare as swirls of dust fell off of the pony in front of him. "Who ARE you?"

"Oh, where are my manners!? My names is Ignis, lad. Magus Firus and all that, but you wouldn't know if Lunestra did what I asked her to do... say, what year is this?"

"Magus Firus? I don't believe you. There have only been three Magi on the council for as long as I could remember and then some. In fact, even on the original council there was only Avalanche, Sonus, and Lunestra." Starswirl was incredulous. A strange pony claiming to be a mysterious Magus Firus that nopony has ever heard of? Preposterous. "The year happens to be 500 A.C. (After Coronation)."

Ignis whistled in amazement. "I've been asleep 500 years, eh? That's quite a long while for a pony like myself to be out. Anyways, I say there is such a thing as Magus Firus. After all, you're looking at him." At this, Ignis conjured a globe of flame and began juggling it around with his magic, causing it's light to dance across the room. "See?"

Starswirl couldn't believe his eyes. "B-but only Corona should be able to do sun magic! How by Luna's moon are you able to do it too!?"

The magus only gave a shrug as he allowed the flame to dissipate, allowing the room to enter relative darkness. "I'm not sure why you're so surprised. After all, you can do it too, can't you? Haven't you noticed that you could heat things up when you wanted to? How about feeling more vigorous out in the sunlight than in the shade? Summoning random flames out of nowhere?"

The words seemed to make a disturbing amount of sense when Starswirl thought about it. In fact, there were many recent instances where he could remember using heat to make his tea boil faster. "Even so... why aren't there anything in the annals about you? And what ARE you?"

"There's nothing in the Annals about me because I had them removed before freezing myself in stasis. What I happen to be - or used to be, at any rate - is tribe leader of the now extinct solar ponies. They all died out a little over half a century ago, and I'm the only one left," said Ignis, his voice now tinged with sadness. One look at his eyes was enough to reveal mountains of pain and misery before they were replaced by his usual joviality. "Anyhow, how did you end up in these caverns? Ponies generally don't roam down here, though it's good for me that you did; any longer and my bones might have started decaying where they were."

"I'm down here for my Rites of Challenge to become the next Magus Aquus...or so the story goes," Starswirl sighed as he spoke, his eyes a mixture of being downcast and angered. "I can't forgive the council for that they've done, nor can I forgive Corona for what she does. It seems easier to work from the inside from the out."

"What causes you to bear such ill will towards the Council? Surely they work for the peace and prosperity of the nation?" Ignis asked, his eyes now alight with curiosity.

"Pfeh! Of course they work for prosperity - they work to line their own pockets with it! Any pony who'd stop and think about it knows that it's the Council behind the endless wars that we're having. We have our troops being sent up against an enemy that's an ocean away! Enemies that our citizens are likely never to see! Meanwhile, hundreds of vassal states send their tributes to Equestria from which the Magi take their own large sum to continue their lifestyle of want and greed."

"W-what? It's not supposed to be like this!" Ignis sputtered out, unable to contain his confusion. "The Council is supposed to represent the pony tribes and maintain peace and harmony, not spread death and misery!"

"Really?" Starswirl arched up his eyebrows in superstition. The image of a selfless council seemed impossible to come by.

"Really! Here, let me show you." Laying his hooves across Starswirl's temple, Ignis began to chant a long line of ancient Equuish. A line of memories began to trickle into Starswirl's mind, showing him the times of the early pony tribes and how they had fought until the establishment of the Magi had brought them together as a nation.

"How can this be?" Starswirl breathed in in amazement. His mind now filled with the wonders of the Magus' memories, he started to wonder how things could have changed so thoroughly in the past five hundred years.

"Never mind that, lad," Ignis said irritatingly, rubbing his head with his hoof. The memory spell worked both ways, so as Starswirl indulged himself in the ancient pony's memories he himself had partaken in some of Starswirl's. Needless to say, he was not pleased. "Let's get out of here, shall we? There will be plenty of time to ask questions later. You must be bone tired."

Starswirl only nodded, now suddenly made aware of the burden of his exhaustion. Together, the two gently exited the cavern, leaving behind only the whispers of magic that would eventually seep into the granite and convert it into a mysterious crystal substance.

It was twilight by the time the duo emerged from the caverns. Starswirl was decidedly worse for wear, as the passage back to the surface had been a violently steep climb that involved dodging falling boulders and jumping from section to section a broken path. Ignis, on the other hand, looked right as rain and nothing like a stallion who had just emerged from a 500 year slumber.

Darkslick had his back turned to the cavern entrance, gazing out towards the darkening horizon. "That was worrying, my young mage; I was beginning to think you wouldn't make it. What a shame that would have been, don't you agree?"

"At least I passed, Magus. I'm out. Also, explain who this is and why he was in my test?" Starswirl was too tired to manage a retort, having to instead make do with as much indignation as he could muster.

"Whom do you speak of, boy?" Darkslick's voice was sincerely curious as he turned to see Ignis standing at the exit of the caverns. "Wh-"

"By Faust, you're fat. And you're supposed to be a Magus with that amount of magical power?" Ignis' voice became surprisingly critical as he eyed up the stallion in front of him. "Oh, how our standards have fallen."

"What did you say? I'll blast you into the next realm, you insolent fool." A glint of anger flashed in Darkslick's eyes, although his voice remained calm and composed.

"My insolence? For a weak Magus, your words are presumptuous."

At this, Darkslick reached deep into the wells of his magical power and reached out into the air around him. The temperature dropped drastically as water started to form and slowly freeze into ice. Soon, the entire plateau they were standing on was covered with snow and icy rock. "You gaze upon my power and still dare to call me weak?" he grunted through his teeth, sweating under the exertions of his spell.

"Child's play." With the wave of a hoof, Ignis' surroundings grew hotter as a circle of flame grew into existence around him. The ring slowly expanding, enveloping the area and growing hotter all the while until the ice began to sublimate into water vapor. When all the ice had disappeared, he dropped the spell with a yawn. "I didn't even use a quarter of my magical power for that spell."

If Darkslick was displeased, the only indication of it was the twitch that moved across his face faster than the eye could catch. "Very...interesting. I'm sure Empress Corona will want to learn all about this new individual, Starswirl." Without so much of a glance towards the young mage, Darkslick returned to his couch. "Let us return to the castle, shall we? I'll need you to get ready for your new lessons starting tomorrow as Magus apprentice." He spit out these words distastefully, as if they were a bad wine he regretted drinking.

Starswirl merely glanced over to the Magus Firus, who smiled mischievously. I wish all Magi were like this, he thought as they were enveloped by Darkslick's teleportation spell and winked out of existence.

Prologue: Fall of the Solar Ponies

Introduction (Go ahead and skip this if you read the description)

Magus. The title coveted by earth ponies, pegasi, unicorns, and solar ponies alike. Long before the Princesses came to rule Equestria, there was a tumultuous period of transition as each of the four tribes tried to reconcile with each other and form a strong pony nation.

To achieve this, they created the Council of Magi. A gathering of the four strongest pony mages in all the land, one from each tribe. From the earth ponies, a Geomancer named Avanlanche the Unstoppable. The pegasi, a lithe wind mage called Lunestra the Silent. The unicorns, a water molder known as Sonus the Persistent. From the solar ponies, a flame shaman known as Ignis the Searing. Each pony respected each other for the mastery of their individual arts, and so peace was achieved amongst the four tribes.

This continued for a half-century before one by one, the Magi grew weaker and closer to death. In order to continue the Council and thus keep the nation bound together, they adopted a system of holding tournaments within each of the four tribes to determine the successor for each Magi: the Magus Apprentice. Being determined as the strongest mage of their generation, each Magus would train his or her apprentice in all the ways of their magic and thus heightened their prowess until they were ready to take over in the Council of Magi.

However, something went wrong. During the first Tournament of the Sun, the entire solar pony tribe had been destroyed, without a trace of what had caused such a fate. With no apprentices left to teach his skills to, Ignis the Searing resorted to one desperate measure: he froze himself in a body of light, to remain in stasis until one suitable to learn his art would re-appear in the world and take over as the Magus Firus.

Centuries would pass before his hope would be rewarded.

They called him Starswirl. The Father of all Magic. Greatest Conjurer of the Pre-Classical Era. And the last Magus of the pony tribes.