Solstice

by Scorpius

Before the Feast

And when Starswirl the Great cast down the demon to the pit, and restored order to the land, the Devourer looked on and laughed. He appeared before Starswirl, taking the guise[a] of a frail and ancient centaur; but Starswirl was not fooled by this guise, for he could feel the pull on his magic. Noticing this, the Devourer said: “O little pony, whose magic[b] is greater even than the demon of chaos—bow before me and beg that you may be saved.”

But Starswirl neither begged nor cowered in fear, and returned to the Thaumata to report what he had seen.
―Devotio 13:5-7

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The hall looked different this year.

Not that the hall hadn’t looked different every year—Maria had spotted that fact in one of her history books early enough to avoid the surprise in her second year—but that didn’t make it any less noteworthy. Maria’s favourite moment of the new school year was spotting the changes that had been made, from the little detailings on the wall depicting parasprites instead of the breezies that had adorned them since she joined, to the complete redesign of the staff table into a crescent that reached out and around the heads of the student tables.

She’d also read about how the changes had been made, which was by far more fascinating than what the changes themselves were. When Canterlot Arcana was first built, shortly after the demon’s defeat, Starswirl had gathered up all the dregs of chaos that were left in the world and tied them into the architecture, thus maintaining the order that he had created… at least, that was what the scriptures said, more or less. Historians tended to disagree on some of the finer points, but the gist of it was there.

Out of the corner of her eye, Maria caught sight of a flickering, ice-blue hornglow raising a gong into the air above the staff table. She quickly closed her eyes—she was supposed to be meditating, like the students around her.

The gong sounded out not long after, and the gentle patter of the students rising to their hooves and turning to face the staff table echoed drowned out its last few echoes. Maria remained seated, and chanced a glance across the hall at Tim. He offered her a wry smile, before glancing up at the students standing either side of him and rolling his eyes just enough for her to see, but not so much that he would draw attention to himself. They were, after all, meant to be unnoticed.

That must be a little more difficult when your mane is such a bright green. Poor Tim. Maria reached her own hornglow up to check her headband. It felt in place, but in public it was always worth double-checking that her appearance was in order.

Someone at the staff table nodded—Maria had never actually seen it happen, but had read about the tradition enough times to know what was going on—and the patter returned, students across the hall sitting down. Headmistress Fenglade was standing, now, adorned in the traditional robes of the post that had been worn (or, at least, something like them had been worn—not even the best magical tailors could keep a garment like that together indefinitely) since the time that Clover Whitetail had taken the position: a cape the shade of the night, twinkling with stars and a fluttering with a lightness that suggested the cloth was more hornglow than silk, and an amethyst-studded, silver tiara that shone brightly in the Headmistress’ enchanted, fiery mane.

“My students,” she began, her voice rough but warm, “it is a pleasure to welcome you back once more to the Canterlot Arcana. It has been, for many of us, a difficult Summer, and a great many of you have felt the effects of the famine in the South. I myself have had to go without dessert on many occasions.” There was a hearty chuckle from the older members of the student body at this, and muffled whispers as the newest students had the Headmistress’ love affair with apple pies explained to them. Maria wasn’t laughing, though—and she was pleased to see that, across the room, Tim’s smile was forced. Even the Headmistress’ face had grown serious, now.

“But this famine is causing serious harm. I can see it in your faces: there are those among you who have had to bear more than your fair share of this load. It is, perhaps, wrong of me to make light of such a disaster.

“To address any fears that you might have, I want to make it very clear that the Arcana is well-stocked, and that you shall not be found wanting for food this year.” A cheer, at that, and even Maria found herself smiling in relief. “Our weathermages are working very closely with the ponies of the South, and together they will find a solution to this crisis before things get out of hand.

“Before we eat, however, I should like to address another fear.” The whispers started up again at that, a quiet hiss of voice that filled the room. This was unexpected—Headmistress Fenglade usually kept things brief. “There are those who would like you to think that our neighbours to the north are responsible for our woes; and there are those who would like you to think that this famine is an act of treason against us by the ponies. I cannot stress enough how wrong, how foolish it would be for us to pin the blame for a natural disaster upon others.

“There are those who would want to bring war to this great country, who wear the form of concerned and frightened citizens. I pray that you might see through their guise, my students, and see them for the scaremongers they truly are. In the wisdom of Starswirl, be guided; in the will of magic, be strong.”

Now there were no whispers, but a sea of silent faces that bore more expressions than Maria could count. There were those who were relieved at the Headmistress’ words, but some—many, Maria saw, members of House Everfree—whose faces were twisted in barely-concealed anger. It lasted but a moment; as her words drew to a close, Headmistress Fenglade raised her horn, grasping the gong in her ruby hornglow, and with three loud beats summoned the serving-ponies to bring out the feast.

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[a] in some translations, wearing the form.
[b] venēficium: though sometimes translated as poison, venēficium was also used to refer to the creation of magical potions. Scholars agree that this refers to Starswirl’s magic, due to Tirek’s unique ability to imbibe hornglow as one might drink a potion.