The DESTINY Exploration

Chapter 11: Starsword

Last week, my cutie mark had finally manifested itself, yet I was completely lost as to the nature of my talent. Was it being gifted at magic? But it wouldn’t make sense, considering a sword and a star doesn’t really scream out ‘magic’ to me. Was it fighting with a sword in combat? Or protecting the sun, or the Princess? All these random thoughts popped into my brain, with no way of sorting out the truth.

The entire week of training was a repetition of the stone exercises, using levitation and charging my power. Gradually, the amount of energy I could maintain for extended periods of time increased. The rotation of the boulders became faster and more complex, as Twilight had instructed me yesterday to move three sets of boulders in awkward orbits around me. At first, the stones would crash into each other, and I would become bruised by the rocks falling; with practice, my timing became precise, and not one stone was cracked during their orbits.

Today was the first rainfall I had seen since my arrival to Equestria. Twilight explained to me that her close friend, Rainbow Dash, was in charge of the local weather, making sure that rainfalls and cloudy days were timed properly. It was very strange to hear that local weather events were typically planned ahead of time and controlled.

I heard a loud crash downstairs as I woke up from my slumber. It was just before sunrise, so I trotted briskly downstairs to see what the early commotion was all about.

“Hey, are you all okay down here? I heard a crash down here.”

Spike looked up and with wide, fearful eyes, he explained the crash.

“We-well, Tom, I’m sorry for waking ya! I was just…just getting dinner ready!”

I planted my hoof squarely upon my face. “You know it is morning, right? Did you shirk your chores again?”

“Sorry, Tom. I’ve been kept up all night and morning. Twilight has been studying the notes she’s taken during your training. Because of that, I’ve had to help her do all her math nerd calculations. What a bore…”

Twilight taking notes about my training? Does she have some sort of performance index or something?

Then Twilight poked her head out of her laboratory. “Good morning, everypony! Tom, I have some excellent news about your progress.”

A gigantic roll of parchment trailed behind Twilight as she climbed out of the basement lab. It had chicken scratch of all her calculations and the data she collected on me for the past week. I saw multiple graphs drawn towards the bottom of the parchment, one of them having a comparison between ‘Peak Magical Energy’ and ‘Time Spent Charging’. The graph was moving in a gradually positive slope.

“According to that graph, Tom, you are consistently improving your raw abilities. I’m also really impressed that you picked up on some of the more complex levitation techniques that we’ve been practicing. I think it’s time.”

I gave her a look of mixed excitement and confusion. “Time for what, Twilight?”

“Time to enter you into the Equestrian Amateur Magicians Competition.”

A competition? To test my abilities? That sounds really fun!

Twilight continued. “Every year, in Equestrian towns with a high concentration of unicorns, a contest is held to measure the aptitude of local magicians. Usually, this is a useful way of determining candidates for the Guild, the Canterlot School for Gifted Unicorns, or even candidacy for a position with the Royal Guard. But for us, it will be a way to gauge how far you’ve come in the coming weeks.”

She pulled out a letter engraved with Celestia’s solar emblem. “This is an invitation for the Canterlot branch of the competition. Many unicorns in Ponyville get extended invitations to Canterlot if they either place well in the Ponyville branch or they are originally from the city. You received a special invitation from the Princess herself, something that’s never been given before to anypony.”

Wow…that means the other unicorns will be eyeing me the whole time. At least, I hope they don’t know. I can’t stand being put in the spotlight like that…

I inquired about the competition further. “What kinds of feats will I need to perform?”

Just as Twilight was about to answer, there was a knock on the door. Twilight opened the door to reveal Applejack and Big Macintosh, with Big Mac holding an umbrella for his younger sister.

“Howdy, y’all! What a miserable day we’re havin’ here, Twi! Hey Tom, where in the hay have ya-WHOA NELLY, a cutie mark! Since when?!”

I blushed a little, and lifted my head to respond. “The beginning of this week, actually! I’m really sorry I haven’t been by to visit, Twilight has been isolating me from society for a little while. I hardly ever get a chance to just roam around.”

Twilight objected, in part. “Hey, I don’t keep you locked in here all the time.”

I objected to her objection. “Well, Twilight, I appreciate your wisdom, but could I take a day to just get familiar with the town? I don’t want to be a stranger for too long.”

Twilight’s gaze softened. “It wouldn’t hurt to go out once in a while, you’re right. I know how crucial it is to hasten your training, but one day or two isn’t going to hurt. Just be sure you get some practice in those days, though.”

My face brightened at her permission. “Absolutely! I have to be strong for Jonah, I won’t neglect your teachings!”

I recounted my training the entire week to Applejack and Big Mac, telling about the time I received my cutie mark, how difficult some of Twilight’s exercises had been to master, and the surprisingly grand cuisine that Spike made every night for us after a long day of training.

“Spike makes a mean cheddar broccoli soup! Second only to his clam chowder, it is to die for!”

Twilight nodded in agreement. “Spike has been an excellent cook ever since we had the chef at Trotting Garden, Fishbone, give him lesson on food prep and some basic soups.”

Spike appeared from the kitchen, beaming. "Aw, guys, stop it! It's nothing!"

Applejack looked thrilled to hear about Spike’s home cooking. “Boy, I may need tuh swing on by one o’ these days fer one of yer soups, Spike!”

Big Mac sounded his agreement. “Eeyup. Someday, I reckon.”

Applejack started wondering about the whereabouts of my friend. "Tom, Twilight, have ya heard anythin' from the Princess about Jonah, or yer space ship thingy?

Twilight shook her head. We had not heard a peep from the castle ever since we left for Ponyville.

The pair of Apples left the library, and the rain slowed to a very tiny drizzle. Saturdays are typically busy and vibrant in the town, from what I know observing the town out the window. But for the first time, Twilight is allowing me to explore the town during the rainstorm, where it isn’t bustling with ponies.

She waved goodbye as I wore my poncho out into the chilly squall outside the oak. One place I really wanted to try was a grab-and-go called Pony Joe’s. Twilight informed me that he opened up a location in Ponyville shortly before I crash landed in Equestria. His successful enterprise in Canterlot afforded him an opportunity to expand his sphere into neighboring towns.

I walked up to the doors of Pony Joe’s, and read the sign in the window. It said “Delicious stuffed donuts here! Try a sample of our famous Razz Jelly Supreme!” That sounded delicious, and so I walked into the donut shop, taking in the smell of freshly rounded dough.

A stallion dress in a folded diner hat, bowtie, and apron approached from the other side of the counter, and greeted me.

“Welcome to Pony Joe’s, my friend! Want to try a sample, sir?”

I nodded firmly, and took the Razz Jelly Supreme sample. My eyes bugged out, and the raspberry jelly held all my senses captive.

I’ve never had a jelly donut this amazing before!

“I’ll take three of these, please! This is incredible!”

The stallion at the counter flashed a wide grin. “Just for you, sir, I’ll take 2 bits, and let you have the third donut for free!” He took my bits, and stuck them in the change drawer. “By the way, the name’s Joe, it’s a pleasure to hear such high praise in my shop!”

I stood back, startled to figure out this was the owner. “Pony Joe?! But don’t you have a store in Canterlot? Why are you here?”

“Sometimes, I like to work a few shifts at this store to make sure things are doing okay around here. By your expression, it seems these Ponyville folk are doing a bang-up job keeping this location tasty and fresh!”

“That they are! These are baked to perfection, Joe! Thanks!”

I started to exit, and Joe issued a farewell as I walked out of the store. The rain had subsided for the time being, so I took advantage of the pause and made my way to a park bench nearby. Ponies began to gradually walk outside and start their weekend activity. Enjoying my delicious donuts, I observed the ponies passing me by in the town.

A pair of ponies passed by and sat on the bench next to mine: one was a turquoise mare with a lyre as her cutie mark, and her friend was a cream white mare with candies on her flank. Both were giggling, enjoying each other’s company, and the white mare glanced in my direction. Taken aback by the sudden stare, I gave them a wave.

“Good morning! How are you both doing?”

The turquoise mare gave me a puzzled expression. “Hi. Are you from here, stranger? The name’s Lyra. This is my friend, Bon Bon.” She nudged Bon Bon sitting next to her.

“No, I’m a new resident. My name is Tom. I’m living over at the library for a short time while I’m here in Ponyville.”

Bon Bon pierced me with a look of ridicule. “Oh, with that weird librarian, Twilight?”

Lyra promptly corrected her friend. “Oh, that unicorn isn’t just a weird librarian. Did you know she battled the Mare in the Moon with her friends? That’s pretty awesome, Bon Bon.”

Bon Bon rolled her eyes. “Whatever, hon. She’s still a freaky bookworm to me. Why are you living there anyway, Tom?”

Watching how much I reveal about my reasons for being here, I revealed that I only recently got my cutie mark and Twilight was training me on how to use magic. Both of the mares gasped, surprised that I took on a cutie mark so late in my ‘life’. I shrugged off the surprise, knowing I would be collecting similar reactions from other ponies.

Lyra and Bon Bon said their goodbyes as I removed myself from my bench, making my way towards the town hall. Outside of the building was an older mare, donning a pair of loose-fitting glasses, and a scroll with a ribbon on her flank. She was directing a couple workers to where a leak had been discovered on the rooftop of the town hall.

As I made my approach, she took notice, and trotted up to me.

“Sorry, but the Town Hall is closed for renovations, you’ll have to come by another day…”

I motioned with my hoof that I didn’t come for official business. “Oh, not at all, I just came over to introduce myself. I’m Tom, and I just moved into Ponyville a week ago.”

Surprised at my remark, she began to smile. “Well, that’s thoughtful of you! I’m Mayor Mare, the mayor of Ponyville. Sorry that I can’t talk for too long, I have to make sure the renovation goes smoothly today. I forgot to check with the weather ponies and see when the rainfall was scheduled, and a leak happened in my office.”

“Oh, well I’ll let you get back to your oversight of the renovation. Thanks for chatting with me!”

As I walked away, the mayor called out to me. “Oh, Tom! I noticed your cutie mark. I’ve never seen anything like it. What is your special talent?”

I stared at my cutie mark for a few seconds, and looked up at Mayor Mare.

“To be honest, I still don’t know what my special talent is, Mayor. I haven’t discovered it, yet it appeared. It is very strange.”

The Mayor raised her eyebrows, just as bewildered as I was about the nature of my cutie mark. She didn’t ask anything more, and we parted ways, giving each other a friendly smile. I pondered my cutie mark for quite a while, thinking about what my talent might be.

This is silly! From what I know about these ponies, whenever a pony discovers an ability or area they are proficient in, their cutie marks will surface, and their special talent is revealed to them. But mine appeared during that vision with Starswirl, and I still can’t figure out what the darn star and sword means! I have to figure this out, it might be important. For Jonah’s sake.

The mayor took an interested in my pensive expression.

"If you are considering your cutie mark, maybe you could see the town's librarian! Twilight might know something about figuring out what special talent your cutie mark signifies!"

My mind focused in an instant on that idea. That was brilliant of her to suggest that! Twilight might know!

"Hey, thank you, Mayor! I'll go see her right away!"

The Mayor shuffled her hooves. "Well, you are welcome! I hope you find what you are looking for, Tom."

Acting on my desire to discover what my cutie mark means, I made my way back to the library. When I entered, Twilight jerked her head around, surprised at my return.

“Back so soon? It’s early in the afternoon!”

I shook my head, distraught still from not knowing what the mark meant. “Twilight, what kinds of literature do you own regarding cutie marks?”

She squeed with delight, and zipped to the book shelf, levitating multiple books and scanning each title. She handed me a book entitled “Cutie Mark Symbology”.

“This helped me decipher the talents of Equestria’s famous personalities. It contains images and sketches of various cutie marks collected over the centuries. I think this stallion might interest you…”

She used her magic to turn straight to the ‘S’ tab, and stopped at Starswirl the Bearded’s profile. His cutie mark contained a purple swirl with a few gray stars scattered around the vortex. The stars bore the same shape as the golden star on my mark!

“Twilight, this is the very same star that Starswirl has, but what about the sword? Are there any ponies with a sword on their marks?”

Twilight thought for a moment, then gazed up at me. “Well, a great thing about this book is it discusses the meanings of objects that may appear on cutie marks. If we flip to ‘Sword’…there!”

She began to read the entry aloud:

“The sword, depending on the type, can demonstrate various qualities of a pony. For example, the great sword is typically a two-hoofed weapon, requiring the fullness of a pony’s strength to deal blows to his opponent. It can be said that the great sword is symbolic of somepony who gives their all for their cause, but sacrifices his defenses, or his well-being, to realize a goal.”

Twilight affirmed the excerpt. “Your sword is as described by the image in this book, a great sword.”

I thought aloud about the full nature of my cutie mark. “Based on what we know, it appears this mark doesn’t denote anything specific at all. So I have Starswirl’s star, symbolic of the ideals and dreams I inherited from his meteor; I also have a great sword, which as you said, is symbolic of sacrificing safety to put my full strength into achieving a goal. What does this mean?”

Twilight offered a possible explanation. “Maybe this cutie mark is saying that, for the sake of realizing Starswirl’s ambitions, you must give your all to make the unity of our countries come true!”

Twilight, this is both a blessing, and a curse. I’m blessed to be given such power, but at what cost? What defenses will be taken from me to realize Starswirl’s dream?

Then Twilight approached me with another thought. “Tom, that name doesn’t seem to suit you the way you are now. Ponies are usually given names that resonate well with their discovered talents. Applejack works at the apple orchard with her family, Rarity creates exotic dresses and collects rare gemstones, Rainbow Dash is a quick flier, and her mane and tail look just like a rainbow. They all have cutie marks that reflect their names.”

I took a look at my cutie mark, and understood my inheritance. The new name I would take on could not have been clearer to me. Twilight smiled up at me, understanding I had just considered a name.

“Twilight, I carry the hopes and ambition of my progenitor, Starswirl. I will battle to make his dream become a reality. From now on, you may call me Starsword."