Ascendance: The Starswirl Chronicles

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.

----/