The Lunar Knight's Willow Leaf

by Moonlit Novel

Post Common Era Chapter Twenty/War of Stars Chapter Sixteen: Apprentices

Author's Notes:

Thanks to Deadinlight for beta-reading and helping me edit

Post Common Era Chapter Twenty/War of Stars Chapter Sixteen: Apprentices

“Ah, Shadow Eyes, I was looking for you, the Princesses and I would like a word with you” said Masao as he picked up the mare he had bumped into, knocking her to the ground. He had been looking for for the past month, something about her worried him…

- - -

“How could he say that! I did this for him!” snarled Willow Leaf in their room she was ‘confined to quarters’ until Masao could figure out how to undo what she did to herself, Masao had told her he couldn’t even look at her after she had asked that stupid question. Of course it mattered! A life was a life! Princess Luna glanced at her as she grabbed a couple scrolls she had kept in stasis.

“You know I understand where he is coming from, I didn’t want to corrupt him just so I could have a friend for all eternity, and look how that turned out? Him and I are now married” said Luna stopping at the door, “Don’t worry, he’ll come around, I obviously did”

- - -

“I remember a Shadow Eyes coming through my school years ago” said Celestia as she commented on the currently dark blue mare in front of them who shifted uncomfortably, she could feel their gazes on her, even if she couldn’t see them.

“I-I d-did g-go to y-your sch-school Princess”

“Finally a grain of truth from the mare” said Masao and the three princesses glared at him. “What? You know I have never been one to beat around the bush, except that for that one time” said Masao with a wink towards Luna who scowled at him, a blush growing on her cheeks.

“W-what d-do y-you m-mean?” this time the stutter was real, her eyes wide, even if she couldn’t see anything this type of reaction was actually instinct.

“Oh come on, I am the head of the Equestrian Strategic Information Service, did you really think you could hide the fact you are an unlicensed dark mage in our own palace? I mean I will give you props this is the first time we were actually able to corner you, but we knew for a while that there was a pony using dark magic illegally in Canterlot Castle” Shadow eyes narrowed her unseeing eyes at the quartet of magic users.

“And you think that you have me captured then?” Masao chuckled before snapping his fingers not unlike Discord, using the dark magic he controlled to unravel her disguise, her mane and tail changed back to its natural bright pink and her fur returned to its light blue coloring.

“I am the most learned dark mage in the world, not even those in the underworld can compare, and we are offering a deal, take it or leave it. It’s been several years since I had an apprentice, you show promise, lasting this long without getting caught, and getting as powerful as you are, I dare say in pure power I would have a hard time matching you, but I have what you lack, experience, four millennia worth of experience”

“And if I refuse?”

“Simple, you have your magic sealed and you are tried for illegal dark magic use”

“Not leaving me much of a choice are you?” snarked Shadow Eyes and Masao chuckled darkly as he shook his head.

“Truth is, Shadow Eyes, you are a danger, one I would rather temper into a fine instrument that uses her power to serve ponies, rather then a blunt club that uses her power to take and destroy all that comes across her path”

“You won’t be alone in your apprenticeship, Golden Daisy and Dream Seer will be glad to have a mare their own age to talk to, and Sunrise Lily would appreciate the challenge” said Celestia and Shadow Eyes gritted her teeth, she remembered those names, the best of the best, Golden Daisy was Twilight’s apprentice, her yellow fur was bright as all get out, and her red and orange mane and tail annoyed her, even more was the cutie mark she had, a yin-yang symbol.

Sunrise Lily was Celestia’s new apprentice, was green with white and silver mane and tail, her cutie mark was sun, not like Celestia’s but the same basic outline of Sunset Shimmer’s minus the inner line work.

Dream Seer was a deep purple mare with two toned blue mane and tail, and her cutie mark was that of a half closed eye.

Those three ponies had gotten the honor of being picked by the princesses to be apprentices, and she was passed over, that was part of the reason she struck out on her own.

“I take it you are still sore that I didn’t pick an apprentice that year or the next few” said Masao calmly and Shadow Eyes glared at him her unseeing eyes seeming to zero in on him thanks to her magic field she knew where he was. She broke.

“I waited! I did everything! I was the top of my class! I was the best of the best! And All you cared about was finding some mare! I wanted to learn from the best! My teachers all told me I was a shoe in for apprenticeship!” cried Shadow Eyes tears welling up in her eyes as her sunglasses fell from her face, “I got better than any dark mage in your corps, all to have a chance to be trained by you! And not only did you pass me by then, now you act like you are doing me a favor! You and I both know you can’t beat me!”

“Wrong, you are undisciplined, true you have more raw talent than any of my dark mages, but you don’t have the experience, nor the will to beat me, for all the mischief you have caused you have never killed anyone. Myself on the other hand, I am human, we are violent creatures by default, and while I am not dangerous to the populous of Equis, if I feel threatened, or if I feel my loved ones are threatened, I end that threat permanently. I am no Celestia, nor am I Luna or Twilight” said Masao as his eyes brimmed with power kept under the surface Luna spoke up interjecting.

“What he is trying to say is that unlike us, he knew he is a tough man to please, he had mentioned you when he visited the school, if you didn’t know the only mare he had taken as an apprentice was Twilight Sparkle, and she ended her apprenticeship after she learned how much of a task master he could be, he doesn’t like to tolerate slipups, he knows the happen—”

“—but he also knows what happens when a mare gets corrupted, he’s had to, in his words ‘put down’ a few of his own promising dark mages because they crossed lines for no other reason than to cause pain” said Twilight as she looked down remembering how one of her own Twilight mages had to be taken out because she started killing ponies for no reason other than ‘it was fun’ Twilight shuddered.

Author's Note:

Well intrduction chapter for several new members of the cast, members that will play a part in the War of Stars arc