The Gold Mountain: Part 1
Part 1
One thousand years ago, Star Swirl the Bearded, or just Star Swirl as he was known as back then, was born as quite the oddity; he was born as a unicorn to two earth ponies. No pony in their plain town of Ponyville had ever seen the likes of anything like this. No pony in Ponyville had ever even seen a unicorn for that matter, they had only ever heard of the magical ponies who kept to themselves in the royal city of Canterlot.
From the moment of his birth, Star Swirl was considered an abomination, and was shunned from all in Ponyville, with the exception of his family. All who set eyes upon Star Swirl were only able to focus on his horn, considering it evil, but only a few ponies ever saw his eyes, which, most curiously, changed colors from time to time. One day, Star Swirl awoke to green eyes, and the day awoke to find they had changed to a deep purple overnight. From a young age, he was fascinated by this feature, though he never pursued any answers for fear of further rejection.
Star Swirl's family was a simple group of ponies. Like many other families in Ponyville, they consisted of a stallion and a mare who loved each other more than life itself, and two children: a colt and a filly. Star Swirl's younger sister, Twilight, was his favorite pony in the whole world-
"Spike I never told you," Twilight interrupted, "this is where my name comes from. My parents were both great fans of Star Swirl's story, so they decided to name me Twilight after his sister."
-and he would do anything for the filly. She was the one who initially made Star Swirl become interested in magic, claiming that since he had the horn, he might as well use it. He practiced magic for hours with her help, writing his own spells due to the lack of magical books owned by the earth ponies. He grew even closer with Twilight as his skills improved, and he was able to cast teleportation spells in almost no time. Upon his first time completing this spell, Star Swirl had to cast a temporary silencing spell on Twilight, who was very excited to tell everypony she could about how great he was.
Star Swirl yawned, tired from a long night of practicing magic. His grey coat was covered in sweat from trying an aging spell on a recently found mouse that Twilight insisted was "much to old, and needed to be younger."
"Come on Star Swirl, I know you can do it! I'm sure you can do it this time." said his sister, her sweet, innocent voice washing over him. He knew all it took was a little encouragement from Twilight, and she could get him to do anything. Or at least try anything for that matter.
Star Swirl sighed and looked in the gleaming eyes of his sister, "Alright, I'll try one more time. I'm not making any promises though." He took a deep breath and thought through the magic in his mind. He felt the magic building up inside him, almost to the point of bursting. Channeling the energy to his horn, Star Swirl began mental repeating the complex spell. He could feel the magic starting to take effect, though only on a minuscule level.
Just as the magic was about the enter the next stage, a piercing howl struck the night, breaking Star Swirl's concentration. Star Swirl stopped the flow of magic, ending the spell and leaving the elderly mouse on the table. Just as he began to take a deep breath a scream ripped through the night that sent chills up his spine. He turned to see Twilight's face. Her look of hope had been replaced by one of concern. Star Swirl began speaking, organizing his thoughts, "Twilight...was that the howl of a timberwolf followed by the scream of a mare?" She slowly nodded. The two ponies stared at each other, realizing what had to be done.
Star Swirl jump from his spot next to his desk, opened the door to his room, and practically fell down the stairs. He burst through the front door out onto Ponyville's main street.
After running through the town for five minutes, Star Swirl and Twilight found the source of the commotion; a mare, the town's resident carrot farmer, had been cornered by a baby timberwolf. Star Swirl immediately took action, running at it making as much noise as he could in an attempt to draw it away from Mrs. Carrots.
Fortunately for Star Swirl, the timberwolf followed him, but unfortunately for Star Swirl, the timberwolf was now very angry. He ran for what felt like miles, bringing the timberwolf towards the forest, away from town. He stopped ten feet from the forest line, and turned to face his foe. It stood at least twice his height, and easily outweighed him by three to four times his own weight. Star Swirl tried not to focus on his disadvantages, only what spells he could use. A levitation spell would only make it more angry, and a fire spell would be too inhumane for his liking. As the beast approached him, he made his move.
Star Swirl cast a quick memory spell, causing the timberwolf to forget its location. The timberwolf was instantly struck with vertigo and stumbled aimlessly for a few seconds before Star Swirl made his next move. Star Swirl quickly composed a spell that would make the creature want to return to the woods, and cast it. The timberwolf's suddenly body became very flimsy. Star Swirl took a step forward, concerned that he had killed the creature. He quickly lost all concern when the timberwolf began to charge straight at him. Star Swirl braced for impact, but was surprised when no timberwolf collided with him. Instead the beast continued past him and bound into the forest, leaving the town forever.
Star Swirl had been so wrapped up in the events of what had just taken place, that he failed to notice the crowd that had come to watch. Star Swirl dropped his head, doing his best to cover his face and horn.
Twilight ran up to Star Swirl upon seeing his head drop, "What are you doing? They're here to witness your great act of heroism."
Star Swirl looked into his sister's eyes, "Really?" She nodded, reassuring him. He turned to face the crowd of ponies, who had hated him only an hour ago, and was met with a large roar of applause. Star Swirl winced at the sound, "Um...thank you everypony, it wasn't much really."
A pony in the crowd stood over the rest, "Three cheers for Ponyville's new hero, Star Swirl!" Three cheers came from the crowd, along with a number of "Go Star Swirl!"s and "Star Swirl is best pony!"s. Star Swirl couldn't help but blush at their admiration. He had never been subject to such praise, and was, frankly, embarrassed by it.
Star Swirl departed the scene of the battle, thanking everypony who gave him praises of courage and heroism as he left. Suddenly, there were many gasps of shock from the crowd. Star Swirl turned to see the present danger, expecting another timberwolf, but was met with no such trouble.
Twilight jumped onto the back of Mrs. Carrots, "Look everypony! Star Swirl is getting his cutie mark!" Star Swirl's eyes widened and he grew very anxious. He had been practicing magic so much, that he hadn't been paying much attention to his lack of a cutie mark. He silently prayed not to embarrassed in front of all of Ponyville as the town watched.
When the whole crowd gave a pleasing "Ooh," Star Swirl decided he should look at the mark carrying his destiny. It was what any unicorn would have dreamed of: the six pointed star that symbolized magic. Star Swirl had heard of the mythical star from a strange traveling pegasus that came to Ponyville a few weeks prior. It was supposed to symbolize a great magical power was held by the owner. Star Swirl couldn't have been more pleased.
Star Swirl eventually discovered that his cutie mark, like his eyes, were in a constant state of change. His cutie mark always appeared to be moving, but whenever a pony tried to look at it closer, it always stopped moving. Star Swirl attributed the motion to the mark's origin: magic. He believed that magic was coursing through his body at such a high rate, that it caused his cutie mark to appear in motion. Star Swirl eventually began to realize that his eyes were most likely caused by magic too, and began to look into the matter more.
A few months after his encounter with the timberwolf, Star Swirl departed Ponyville for Canterlot. He was determined to find a reason for his apparent conditions. While at the Royal Canterlot Library, Star Swirl discovered that his theory was correct, and that he was a very unique unicorn. His condition hadn't been seen for close to one thousand years, and it hadn't been seen one thousand years before that.
Star Swirl spent the following two weeks in Canterlot, deeply engrossed in every magic book he could find. He was surprised to find how little he learned from the books, finding the magic in them too complex. Not only that, but he had already created his own spells that took much less magic. At the beginning of his third week in the royal city, he decided to leave, finding the city boring.
Upon Star Swirl's return, he was welcomed by everypony in Ponyville, who had been treating him as a hero ever since his encounter with the timberwolf. He regularly helped anypony who requested his assistance, which made their trust of him and his magic grow strong. In no time, the earth ponies were open to any kind of magic the unicorn could come up with, and welcomed him to practice it any time he wanted.
Approximately one year upon his return events started to take a turn for the worse. It all started when a single pegasus walked into town. All the ponies in Ponyville gathered at their windows to watch the mare walk through their town, and into the inn. Ponies spread endless rumors about the stranger: she was there to steal all of their gold; she was there to sabotage their crops so the pegasi could come take their town. There was one rumor that was particularly outrageous, claiming that she was there to devour the souls of every earth pony she found.
The mysterious pegasus was soon followed by another two the next week, then two more the next week. Ponyville was in a silent panic over the arrival of mysterious ponies. Star Swirl knew better than to suspect anything of the pegasi, but even he began to suspect something as more arrived.
Within the next two months, more than one hundred pegasi moved into Ponyville, causing the town to descend into a frenzy. So many ponies had moved to Ponyville, that the inn had to be expanded to accommodate them. Star Swirl knew there was a reasonable explanation for the mass exodus, but he couldn't find the answer; every pegasus in the inn refused to answer his questions. Eventually Star Swirl went against his better intentions, and payed a visit to Ponyville's tavern to find more information.
Spike broke in, "Wait, wait, wait. Ponyville used to gave a tavern?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes. It had one back before Star Swirl the Bearded fought for prohibition."
Star Swirl walked into the tavern tediously. He had only been there once before, and the dimly lit bar gave him a great feeling of unease, so he did his best to avoid the building whenever possible. He pulled the good of his cloak up over his horn, as to hide himself from the usual pony that would walk in. He picked out a seat in the corner and sat down, waiting for the information he desired.
An hour later, a pegasus tentatively walked into the tavern. She did her best to skirt the edges of the room, until she accidentally backed into the town's corn farmer, Mr. Cob, who immediately took offense in her mistake. The earth pony set down his apple cider, "Why hello there Miss Lets-Bring-Everypony-From-The-Mountain-City-Of-Trottingham-To-Ponyville. What are you doing in our bar." She began to stammer out a few words, but he cut her off. "What was that?" he said, trying to invoke the crowd, "You're going to steal all of our money?"
She began to back away from Mr. Cob, "N-n-no, we're here to-"
Mr. Cob slammed his hoof down onto a table, "We know why you're here!" He was shouting at her now. "You're here to destroy our town and all of its inhabitants!" The ponies behind him started to murmur about the young pegasus, planning what they would do to her. Mr. Cob turned to the ponies, "Come on everypony, let's show her why she never should have come to Ponyville." The mob of ponies advanced on to helpless pegasus, cringed in fear.
Star Swirl reached for the magic inside him and cast a lightning spell, which struck just outside the tavern door. The echo of thunder rang through the tavern, silencing everypony, even the ones not involved in the mob. Star Swirl stood up and put his hood down, revealing himself to the mob. There was a gasp from the group of ponies as they caught a glimpse of Star Swirl. "Ponyville," he said, "is this what we've been reduced to? Attacking innocent pegasi in tavern? This is disgraceful." He shook his head, "Now get out of here before I change my mind about sparring you." As much as he hated doing it, Star Swirl did toss threats around from time to time, just to add some encouragement to certain ponies.
The crowd dispersed, leaving Star Swirl and the young pegasus alone. She stretched her wings, "Gee, thanks Star Swirl. I would've..."gone missing" if they had gotten to me. I really owe you one."
Star Swirl shook his head, "No, you don't owe me anything; I was just doing what was right." There was a pause before he continued, "Let me walk you to the inn, that way no pony can hurt you." She thanked him and they exited the bar.
The two ponies walked through town as the sun began to set. The pegasus was very interested in Ponyville, which the earth ponies had intentionally omitted in their town introduction. She asked Star Swirl about everything: history, current events, weather. By the time they had arrived at the inn, Star Swirl felt like he had described the complete history of the village.
They stopped at the door and the pegasus turned to Star Swirl, "Thank you for walking me back Star Swirl, it was very kind of you."
"You're welcome Miss...umm...I'm sorry I never got your name."
She smiled, "It's Rain. Rain Chaser." She started to enter the building, but hesitated. "Star Swirl, would you like to hear the reason why we're here? The real reason we're here?"
A pang of guilt ran through Star Swirl. He felt like she was pressured into giving him information because of him saving her, but he knew he would never get another chance to know the information. "Yes I would." She motioned for him to enter the inn, and he followed.
Upon entering the inn, Star Swirl instantly felt the tension in the air; he felt the hatred of every single pegasus watching him. He followed Rain Chaser through the lobby and down the winding hallway that lead to the rooms. Star Swirl knew that the conditions of the inn had declined recently, but he discovered that they were, in fact, deplorable. The paint covering the walls had begun to chip, the floor creaked with every step he took, and many of the rooms had no doors on them. Sympathy for the pegasi ran through Star Swirl. He wanted to help them, but he didn't know anyway he could without being an outcast again.
Rain Chaser lead Star Swirl through a door at the end of the hall. Compared to the rooms he had seen earlier, this room was a palace: two beds, a door, a window, and a functioning bathroom. She walked through the door, "Welcome to my humble abode. Please, make yourself at home." She said as the two entered. Star Swirl sat on the end of a bed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. "So..." She began. She was visibly deep in thought, "Where do I begin?"
"How about your home? Why exactly did the pegasi leave Trottingham? That was widely know as being a city built from gold. Why would you all just pick up and leave like that?"
Rain closed her eyes and sighed, She sat down on the bed too. "Oh Star Swirl, understand that this is very hard to talk about, even among other pegasi..." She took a deep breath, "It all started with our great king, Thunder Cloud. He became very greedy as he aged, hoarding every piece of gold he could find. While it's true that our great city flourished with wealth, our people also became saturated with avarice.
"As the gold began to pile up, so did the threats of dragon attacks. We began receiving threats four years ago, from the dragon king himself, Akor. Of course, despite many ponies pleas for action, our city brushed off the threat, arrogant with power and wealth. So much gold was piled up that the other pegasi didn't even see the smoke until it was too late. Akor had already burned half of our city before the royal guard even took notice. The pegasi you see today are the ones who ran from Trottingham as soon as it was attacked. All the other ponies, the ones who stayed to fight Akor, were reduced to ash in a matter of seconds, including my father." A tear rolled down her cheek. Star Swirl placed his foreleg around her, doing his best to console her.
"So the rest of us," she continued, "were left with nothing. All of our homes had been destroyed, all of our belongings were ash; we were a broken city. We searched all over Equestria for refuge, but found no city or town that would take us. Ponyville has been the first town to take us in, whether it's been graciously accepted or not." She stopped speaking, turning to Star Swirl to see his reaction. He was trying his best to withhold his emotions, but they showed through. A tear rolled down his cheek as he sympathized for the pegasi.
"What about the ponies in Cloudsdale?" he said. It was the only other pegasus city he could think of, and all the stories he had heard of it depicted it was being very hospitable.
Rain Chaser shook her head, "They rejected us. They were afraid we would attract dragons to their city too." she said bitterly. Star Swirl took the hint from the tone of her voice and ended the conversation. He pulled her closer, doing his best to make her feel better. She reached around and held Star Swirl, "Thank you Star Swirl. The pain isn't as bad when there's somepony to lean on."
The two ponies sat holding each other so long that Star Swirl lost track of time. The sun had been set for a while, and it was very dark outside. By the time Star Swirl left, more than three hours had passed, and the moon was high in the sky. Star Swirl had always been very cautious of the night. He wasn't sure why, but the night always made him feel like he was being watched, like somepony, or something was watching.
Star Swirl pushed the dark thoughts out of his head as he walked through the door to his home. The candlelight enveloped the room in an eerie scene of flickering shadows. Star Swirl rushed up the stairs to his room, desperate to escape the dark scene. He burst through the door to his room and illuminated the space with magic. A sudden feeling of being rushed washed over him as he began throwing his belongings into a bag. He forced as much as he could, using magic to make the bag larger on the inside to maximize his available space. He walked over to desk a scribbled a quick note, which was moved to his bed upon completion.
Star Swirl ran down the stairs, so quickly that he almost fell down them. He opened the front door and took off at a full sprint through the streets of Ponyville.
"Come on Lion Heart, I need you to come with me." Star Swirl pleaded, standing in front of his best friend. They had been friends ever since Star Swirl saved Mrs. Carrots from the timberwolf. Lion Heart had been the first pony to congratulate Star Swirl for his victory, and the two had taken to bonding ever since.
"Hmm...I don't Star Swirl. You're asking me to just pick up and leave Ponyville, that's pretty big. And besides, you won't even tell me where we're going."
Star Swirl sighed, "That's because I can't tell you until we're gone. It's confidential."
Lion's eyes were deep in thought as he began to speak very slowly. "I...I'll go." He took a long pause before continuing again, somewhat faster than before, "I'll meet you at the northern edge of town in a half hour."
Star Swirl let a grin touch his face, "You won't regret this, I promise."
Star Swirl paced as he waited for his best friend. Sunlight began to peek over the hill as the sun began to rise. Star Swirl had been waiting an hour for Lion Heart, which was expected, since he was late for everything. The dew on the trees glistened with morning sunlight as the sun began to come over the hill. Just as Star Swirl was about to abandon the thought of being joined by his friend, he heard footsteps. He looked up to see the face of Lion Heart, and smiled, "I knew you would come," he said, "and I knew you would be late."
Lion Heart grinned back, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I showed up, don't heckle me." The two laughed and set off down the path as the sun finally came over the hills. "Hey Star Swirl," he said, "you never told me where we're going."
Star Swirl looked at his best friend, "Well..." he started, "long story short, we're going to save Ponyville." Lionheart stared blankly at him. "We are going," he continued, "to travel to the western mountains and reclaim the city of Trottingham from the dragon-lord Akor, and return it to the pegasi."
The Gold Mountain: Part 2
Part 2
"Wait", Spike said as Twilight turned the page to Part 2, "How come I've never heard of the mountain city of Trottingham? I know we have a city named Trottingham south of Canterlot, but not one in the mountains."
"All in due time Spike," she replied, "all in due time."
So Star Swirl and Lion Heart traveled north from Ponyville in search of the great pegasus city of Trottingham, throwing caution to the wind as they traveled westward towards the mountains. The two intended to go westward from Ponyville, skirting the plains just north of their hometown. Star Swirl's goal was to avoid the forest as all costs, due to the high density of dangerous creatures, specifically timberwolves. Even though he was fully capable of defeating the monsters, Star Swirl wanted to conserve his energy for the fight with Akor.
"Hey Star Swirl," said Lionheart, "do you know where we're going? Exactly where we are going? I know you wanted to avoid the forest, but here we are."
"Well..." He took a look around the forest they had been walking in for a few hours, "of course I know where we are going. But, just in case," he used magic to retrieve a map, "I brought map to chart our progress." He stopped and held the map aloft with his magic, inspecting the options that lay before him.
Lionheart joined Star Swirl in his investigation of the map. "So Star Swirl, where are we then?"
It took the unicorn a few moments before he held up his hoof, indicating their location. "We are right here. Looks like we're in the heart of White Tale Woods, but that shouldn't delay us too much. We just need to travel north through this mountain pass here." He pointed at the spot on the map labeled Mountain Pass. "Then we keep going westward until we find Trottingham. Easy."
Star Swirl could see the look of horror on Lionheart's face as he stared at the map. "You mean we're in this area marked 'Timberwolf Territory: DO NOT ENTER'."
Whatever sense of confidence Star Swirl had suddenly vanished. The last thing he wanted was to fight an entire forest full of timberwolves, especially with the prospect of fight a dragon in the near future. "Umm..." He didn't want to say yes, but he eventually gave in. "It would appear so."
As if on cue, a pack of timberwolves jumped from the underbrush and surrounded them. Star Swirl drew on the magic within him, prepared to retaliate at the slightest movement. The timberwolves slowly closed in on them without attacking, which surprised Star Swirl. Of all the books he had read, Star Swirl had never heard of the race of half-wolves-half-trees being merciful.
Without warning, a timberwolf began to push Star Swirl from behind. He jumped away from the creature, ready to defend himself, but found that the beast was not attacking. Star Swirl let magic in him die down and slowly began to speak: "Lionheart, I think they want us to go with them. I've never seen them be passive before, and one just tried to push me towards the woods."
"So you're saying that we should go with this group of timberwolves into the dark, scary forest? No offense Star Swirl, but are you crazy?" The earth pony began to back away from the timberwolves.
"I'm not seeing many options other than that. Do you have any ideas?"
"Well...we could go with the timberwolves."
The wolves lead the ponies through the woods for hours. The sun was at its peak when they arrived at their destination. Star Swirl had seen many interesting things during his studies in Canterlot, but none of them compared to what stood before him. The trees grew less dense as they approached the crude city constructed by the timberwolves. Hundreds of small mud shacks littered the clearing as Star Swirl and Lionheart were lead to the center of the city. They passed whole families of timberwolves; baby wolves ran and played as mother wolves kept a protective eye on them, father wolves dragged dead critters into huts. The whole scene took Star Swirl by surprise. He didn't expect such a crude race to form a city, let alone a simple hut.
The two ponies were lead to a large clearing surrounded by packed stands full of howling timberwolves, and an empty stage. Lionheart shook with fear, despite putting on his "brave face". Star Swirl stood confidently, awaiting what he knew was to come. He began to mentally prepare himself for what was to come. He flashed back to his time in Canterlot, remembering the only useful lesson he had learned from the snooty royalty. He began to recollect his lessons on how to address those above him, those who had taken him prisoner, or those who demanded respect. At the time of the lecture, Star Swirl had felt as if the lessons were tedious and unnecessary, but suddenly he found himself thanking his old teachers.
A group of timberwolves began to howl, which reminded Star Swirl of a very eerie trumpet fanfare. One wolf walked out onto the previously empty stage, and proceeded to make strange barking sounds. Star Swirl began to grow nervous: wouldn't be able to convince the "royalty" if they didn't speak the common pony language.
A very regal looking male timberwolf came onto the stage with a group of wolves that Star Swirl assumed was his guard. The royal wolf began to speak to the timberwolves in the stands, which was met with an immediate reaction of howls and pounding on the wooden stands.
The timberwolf on the stage then turned his attention to Lionheart and Star Swirl. "So it would appear that we have had some ponies from Ponyville stray into our territory. State your names and intentions." Straight to business, just what Star Swirl had hoped for.
"Your highness," Star Swirl began, "this is my friend, Lionheart, and I am Star Swirl. We are her by-"
"Did you say Star Swirl?" The king interrupted. He sat forward in his chair, expressing interest in the conversation for the first time. "As in the Star Swirl who defeated one of my best wolves?"
"If that wolf was attacking Ponyville, then yes: that Star Swirl." He did his best to express confidence in his voice. Social interactions had never been his strong suit, but he had always been good at pretending that it was.
"Interesting...interesting." The king sat back in his chair again. "Well Star Swirl, you've attracted my attention, which means you've spared your life for a few minutes. My name is King Hrarwgrawth. I understand that it can be a bit hard to pronounce to ponies, so you may simply call me king, your highness, or your majesty. What are your intentions in our territory?"
Star Swirl's heart quickened. He had passed the hardest part: getting the kings attention, but he knew that the new phase was still very touchy, and saying the wrong word or phrase could still result in death. "Well in all honesty your highness, we did not intend to venture into your territory, we were only passing through to the mountains."
By the king's demeanor, Star Swirl knew he had finally secured a safe position in the king's court. "Why exactly do a common earth pony and a strong wizard like yourself have an interest in those mountains? Most ponies who desire to view majestic mountains opt to go far north to The Crystal Mountains." It was obvious the king interested, but his tone was still demeaning, like he was trying to belittle them with every word.
Star Swirl took a step towards the king, but was cut of by his snarling royal guard. "We're on a quest to a mountain city. Perhaps you've heard of Trottingham?" Even at their extended distance, Star Swirl could see the king's eyes widen. "So you have...interesting...interesting." he said, mocking the king's tone. "We are on a quest to Trottingham to defeat the dragon Akor and reclaim the city for the scattered pegasi."
The king laughed at Star Swirl's explanation. "You truly think you can defeat the dragon lord Akor? Not even this entire city of wolves could defeat him."
"So you've seen him in combat?"
"Seen him in combat? Ha!" The king stood and began to descend from the stage. "He once burned half of our forest to the ground when we rejected his request for an alliance. He wanted us to help him capture the mountain city, promising half of the city to our packs. Naturally, we declined: timberwolves have no need of a mountainous habitat, we are perfectly happy here in our forest. Upon our rejection, Akor proceeded to burn half of our forest. We were helpless; hundreds of wolves were killed and thousands were displaced, which ultimately lead to the creation of our great capitol where you now stand."
Star Swirl felt a panic set in again as the king began to circle him and Lionheart. "So maybe it wasn't all unfortunate, you did construct a very elegant city from his destruction."
What Star Swirl assumed was a smile appeared on the kings face. "Yes we did, didn't we." He returned to his throne and sat down. "As all the old creatures say: the enemy of my enemy is my friend, which means you are now a friend Star Swirl."
A sense of victory coursed through Star Swirl as he pressed the conversation. "So does that mean you will help us overthrow the king?"
The smile disappeared from the kings face. "I'm sorry, but no. You see Star Swirl, just as before, we have no interest in the matter. Also, we have lost to many wolves to the dragon lord; we cannot risk anymore." Star Swirl's heart sunk at the king's response. He had been hoping for at least some kind of help from the timberwolf king, something that would be able to help in the slightest way. "Although," The king said, holding up a single twig of a finger, "I know someone who can. You must travel northwest until you reach the mountain range. There you will find a mountain that has a certain...glow. That mountain houses the Oracle. She is the only one who can help you on your journey."
Star Swirl's head was spinning. He had so many questions to ask, but all he could manage was: "Thank you your highness." Star Swirl cursed himself as he and Lionheart began to depart from the king's court.
"Oh and Star Swirl," the king said, stopping them from departing, "my wolves here do not speak your language, and they would expect me, naturally, to execute you. So as soon as you leave our city's borders, my wolves will give pursuit, though only until you exit our territory. Best of luck."
Star Swirl replied with a smile and a quick nod. He turned from the king and began to exit the city. "Are you ready Lionheart?"
"Yes. Just one quick question: since when could timberwolves speak our language?"
"Yeah Twilight," Spike said, "I didn't think timberwolves could actually speak."
"Well actually Spike, they can't anymore." Twilight said with an encyclopedic tone. "Only the wolf royalty, kings, queens, et cetera, The last timberwolf royalty died out died hundreds of years ago."
"You know everything don't you?" Spike said sarcastically.
"Spike, it's the next line in the book, although I did know about the last kings dying out. So yes: I know everything."
"Oh."
"Most can't," Star Swirl replied, "only their royal has the ability to speak our language." Lionheart made no response to the comment as the city began to fade behind them.
They walked for a short time in a sense of paranoia, waiting for the timberwolves to give chase. After fifteen minutes, a howl came from behind them. Star Swirl and Lionheart took a quick glance at each other before taking off at a full gallop through the woods. Star Swirl used his magic to clear branches from their path as they tore through the forest at break-neck speed, just barely keeping out of the hungry timberwolves grasp.
With only a half-mile left, Star Swirl could tell the timberwolves were right on their tales; he could hear the pounding of their large wooden paws on the forest floor. Only a quarter of a mile left. He could practically feel their breath on his back. One thousand feet....eight-hundred....six-hundred....Star Swirl reached for his magic again, thinking through the words he wanted. Four-hundred....two hundred....Star Swirl cast his spell, propelling himself and Lionheart the remaining two-hundred feet into the underbrush.
Lionheart and Star Swirl lay in the underbrush, waiting for the timberwolves to turn back. A panic set in as Star Swirl began to calculate the distance he had propelled them. Did he send them far enough? He couldn't be sure. Star Swirl let out a sigh of relief as he heard the timberwolves start to move away from the bush.
"So," he said to Lionheart, still breathing heavily, "you ready to get going?"
Star Swirl and Lionheart traveled through the forest for hours. They found a path after leaving the site of their chase and followed it for miles, only deviating when Star Swirl's guidance spell took them from the path. The stallions did not encounter any problems for the rest of the night, but Lionheart was still skittish from the timberwolf fight.
The sun was just going under the horizon when Lionheart finally stopped walking. "How about we stop here for the night? We've had a pretty big day and I really just want to sleep." He had been visibly exhausted for about an hour, but kept walking, despite Star Swirl's warnings.
Star Swirl responded with a nod, promptly falling to the ground. He had been about to collapse for hours, but had concealed it very well. Star Swirl let out a groan of satisfaction as he lay on the forest floor. A pony, even one as exceptional as Star Swirl, can only travel for a certain amount of time before he collapses.
The two stallion lay in silence for a long period of time, enjoying the simple pleasure of resting. The forest was so serene all of a sudden. Star Swirl had trouble believing that only a few hours ago he and Lionheart had been chased for miles by a pack of timberwolves. The lavish trees and chirping bird around him gave no sign of what the forest really had to offer, which put Star Swirl on edge slightly. He didn't like the thought of being ambushed at any second.
Star Swirl finally broke the silence between him and Lionheart. "So are we taking watches tonight? We already know that timberwolves call these woods home, and there very well could be even more dangerous creature out there."
A nod came from the earth pony that lay nearby. "That sounds good. Maybe we should get a fire going too, it should keep the lesser creatures away from us."
After lighting a fire and putting some minor alarm spells around their campsite, Star Swirl sat down and made himself a dinner from the surrounding forest. Luckily he knew a few good cooking spells so the surrounding foliage didn't taste as bland as it appeared.
A loud snore came from Lionheart as he turned on his side, facing away from Star Swirl. Star Swirl was glad his best friend was accompanying him. Having another pony around made him feel secure, even if said pony only coward when faced with danger. I don't care if he's weak, thought Star Swirl, staring at the back of Lionheart, I know he's going to play a key role in defeating Akor.
Star Swirl's thoughts drifted as moon continued to rise. His mind kept wandering, thinking about Trottingham, Ponyville, Akor, Lionheart, the timberwolves, but mostly the mare who informed him of the plight the pegasi faced. Even when he tried to force his mind else where, it kept returning to Rain Chaser. Star Swirl couldn't rap his head around the pegasus. Why did she tell me about the city and nopony else? She could have simply gone to Canterlot and told the king. I'm sure he would've helped them. But no, Rain chose me. Star Swirl let out a sigh, finally realizing the weight of his situation. She chose me to save the pegasi. I shouldn't be complaining. I should be thinking about how to defeat Akor. So Star Swirl's thoughts finally broke away from Rain Chaser and returned to his normal thoughts.
Lionheart awoke a short time later, finally giving Star Swirl some much needed sleep. His dreams were just like his thoughts: vague and scattered. Even in his dreams Star Swirl saw faint images of Rain Chaser. The dream shifted location so fast that Star Swirl began to lose track of everywhere he went, though he distinctly remembered a mountain, Canterlot on fire, and a dark, lonely cave. The burning image of Canterlot disturbed him greatly, but he had so little time to think about it as the dream shifted again.
The last image Star Swirl could make out in his strange cluster of dreams was of him and Rain Chaser standing before the king of Equestria. Star Swirl wasn't able to make out the words the king was saying, though they seemed vitally important, everypony in the room was trained on him. Rain Chaser turned and faced Star Swirl, who did the same towards her. Without any control of the dream-world, Star Swirl leaned in and kissed Rain Chaser. The whole room erupted in applause.
Star Swirl's eyes shot open. Did I just... he thought, ...no it's impossible. The thought burned in Star Swirl's mind as he stood, stretching as he did every morning. He tried to force his mind off of the strange dreams he had, but to no avail. Star Swirl rarely had dreams, but when he did they were typically symbolic. The thought of the last image, what appeared to be a marriage of him and Rain Chaser, worried Star Swirl more than anything. He had never intended on getting married, or even having a special somepony. How could something like have happened?
"Hey, Star Swirl, you're up," Lionheart said from his spot next to the once-campfire. A sullen look was on his face as he stared at the remnants of the fire, pushing coals around in little circles with a stick.
"You feeling okay Lionheart? You look kind of down." Star Swirl had rarely seen his friend in a depressed state. The only time he could recall was when a cold, heartless, mare had broken his heart.
Lionheart sighed, still looking into the dying embers. "Not really." Star Swirl sat down next to him, demanding more information with a simple look. "Are you sure we can do this? I mean, we were barely able to escape the timberwolves, and we have to fight a dragon. A dragon, Star Swirl. Have you ever even seen a dragon before?"
Star Swirl was surprised by the question. "Well...no. Although I have read about them. They-"
"Yeah," he interrupted, "read about them. I don't doubt your intelligence, no pony does, but this doesn't seem like something we can do from book knowledge."
The two sat in silence as Star Swirl thought. It was true: he hadn't ever actually seen a dragon. He had read extensively on the subject, mostly about their magical abilities, but he was beginning to doubt even that.
Star Swirl rose from his spot. "I know what we can do Lionheart," he said as he slowly began to tear down their campsite, "we can go to the Oracle. No harm in that right? Maybe she could give us some information on exactly how to beat Akor." He turned and faced Lionheart, who had a skeptical look on his face. "What do you say, one more stop?"
"One more stop?"
"Yes."
"And if I don't like it we can go home?"
"Eeyup."
Lionheart gave another sigh. "Alright Star Swirl, you win. Let's go see the Oracle."
Star Swirl smiled and began to walk out of the already torn down camp. "You won't regret it, I promise."
"I think I'm already starting to." Lionheart replied as he began to walk after him.
Author's Note
This is the first chapter where you will want a map. You can find one here.
I, personally, am happy with this chapter. I know talking timberwolves is a bit far-fetched, but it plays well into the story.
