Star Swirl the Bearded will eventually be regarded as the greatest of his age, but first he must find the Two Sisters and save the ponies of the Age of Discord!
Inspired by the myths of the past and the hopelessness of the Age of Discord, Star Swirl takes it upon himself to bring the princesses to help the downtrodden ponies.
If he can find them....
prologue- The Stories We Tell Ourselves to Make Sense of the World
Long ago, before anything like ponies walked the land, the world was lit only by two strange objects in the sky. These swirling potentialities circled endlessly as the spirits danced and played below.
Eons passed, and the masses began to harden and harden, until finally... they cracked! And the spirits witnessed a new, different kind of light, a celestial pair adorned with alicorn wings and horns. Their birth signified the coming of a new age.
But the Sisters (for what else could they be but sisters?) looked around and despaired the darkness their birth had created. The loss of light caused many of the spirits to quake in fear, and the sight of their suffering broke the Sisters' hearts.
Then the first Sister (for that is the nature of time, everything has an order- first to last) had an idea. Sacrificing immense portions of the long life she had been blessed with, she spun into existence a perfect sphere of light and heat and power. The gigantic ball of yellow took the place that had been occupied by what she had been before, lighting half the world and giving those living a way to measure the passing of their lives.
The second one created her own light source, as well. But though she desired to help the spirits, she did not want to upstage her now elder Sister. Thus she used less of her longevity and, instead of making her contribution perfectly spherical and gaseous, fashioned it into a smaller, scarred, and solid satellite to her Sister's Sun.
The spirits, now able to see, began to dance once again...
"And that is how the sun and the moon were created." He finished, a smile forming as he looked down at the two fillies sitting before him and noticed their reactions. The one who looked so much more like her mother than him was enraptured by the story, as she was by anything to do with the Two Sisters, while her friend was more interested in fiddling with the grass.
"Star Swirl!"
Though it was but newly-born, his smile died as he turned to see a crotchety, old-before-his-time stallion toward his makeshift lecture hall. Still, no need to be impolite... yet. "A good day to you,sir."
"What's so good about it?" The stallion blustered. "I take a trip to the market, and on my return I find you filling my daughter's head with your nonsense!"
"It's not nonsense, it's history!" The very notion offended Star Swirl.
The stallion jabbed a hoof at Star Swirl's chest. "It's garbage and my daughter will hear no more of it. You want to ruin your filly with these fantasies, go ahead. My little girl will not be led astray by Star Swirl the Crackpot!"
"It's Star Swirl the Bearded!" He was fine with ponies thinking he was crazy, but his title was something he was quite proud of. "And I'll thank you to remember that!"
"'Bearded'? Ha! You'd need another foot of growth to deserve that moniker." As he spoke, the stallion flicked Star Swirl's facial hair.
A very foolish thought struck Star Swirl then, the kind of mad idea which legends are built on. Before it could be thought through he blurted it out. "Well I'll just have to grow it out while I'm proving you wrong! I'll find the Sisters and bring them back here. Then you can compare our flag to the real thing."
"Just because we put the Sisters on our flag, that doesn't make them real. And just because your precious student got herself a position with Princess Platinum, that doesn't mean you're not an ignorant fool for thinking they do!"
With that the angry stallion turned and marched away, half-dragging his daughter along. Star Swirl let out a sigh and silently prayed to the Sisters. Maybe they'd hear him this time and give him the courage to follow through on his claim.
He felt a tug on his tail, so he turned to face his daughter. "It's not true, what he said. The Sisters are real. Aren't they?"
"Oh my dear daughter, who always seems to sparkle before my eyes, of course they're real. They're too pure to have been dreamt up by ponykind." Star Swirl gave the filly a little smile. "He's just jealous of Clover. They don't call him Lulamoon the Envious for no reason."
The night's dinner was a fine one, though the conversation was lacking. Star Swirl had noticed his wife's foul mood upon her entrance and thus said nothing, assuming he had done something to provoke her ire. He couldn't think of what, though.
"So I was in town today." She said, taking the initiative to break the silence. "Overheard Lulamoon saying some interesting things. Any truth to them?"
Oh, that's what it was. "If you heard him say I was leaving, then yes."
"Why?"
"To find the Sisters, of course."
"No, I mean why would you look for them?" She said as she shook her head. "It's one thing to to believe they exist, but to leave your family to seek them out? That's another thing entirely. Especially when they very clearly don't care about us ponies."
"They care. More than anything else could."
"Then how could they abandon us to the whims of Discord? How could they stay idle while half the world suffers?" Tears began to flow from her eyes. "Please, I'm trying to be supportive, but I just can't understand. Why would you leave?"
Star Swirl wrapped her in a hug. "Because somepony must. I do not know why they've yet to aid us. Perhaps they are simply unaware of our plight. Perhaps they lost more than their youth when they created the sun and moon." He smiled reassuringly. "I'll just have to ask when I meet them."
The sun rose sluggishly, but at its usual time, as Star Swirl set his back to the village and started walking.
Star Swirl had been walking for nearly half a day and was starting to feel it was about time for lunch. The only problem with this was that he couldn't easily find a spot to rest when the sun kept setting and rising every few seconds.
But the fact that Discord was the Spirit of Chaos soon worked in Star Swirl's favor as Discord quickly tired of the novelty and instead simply set the sun to lazily trace a figure-eight in the sky. Now the unicorn could see reliably, though it was somewhat disturbing that his shadow kept moving.
Focusing his eyes straight in front of him, and trying as hard as he could to ignore the flickering darkness at his hooves, Star Swirl spotted a pleasant-looking place up ahead, shaded by a tree. It would serve his needs quite nicely.
His meal was finished too soon for his liking, so Star Swirl just plopped down on his back. He wasn't in that much of a rush after all and besides, his feet still pained him a bit.
"Yes... it's a nice spot, isn't it? But be careful you don't close your eyes. You may not open them again."
Star Swirl jumped up and spun around in the direction the words had come from. On the other side of the tree sat what seemed to be a pony, though its back was to Star Swirl and an obtrusively large hat and a belled robe hid its features. Like most ponies, Star Swirl did not normally wear clothes. They reminded him of the nobility and, besides, they looked ridiculous. But Star Swirl could feel its power, and it made him cautious. "You say there is danger, sir. Is it from you?"
The figure turned slightly and Star Swirl caught sight of the fringes of a luxurious beard. It held up a small flower. "Not I, this. It possesses an unusual defense against any herbivores that may want to eat it. When creatures come near, it emits a mild soporific."
"That's incredible!" Star Swirl had never heard of this plant before. "But if I may ask, how is it you are unaffected?"
"Unfortunately for the flower, but fortunately for the predatory packs that usually cohabitate with it, immunities are swiftly developed. All it takes for a pony-sized creature is a few hours of sleep. I was able to survive a violent awakening. Most are not."
"Well I am quite lucky to have had you around, then." Star Swirl Bowed his head in thanks.
"Luck... Indeed, that's what it was."
Star Swirl could hear a bit of laughter in the other's voice, but ignored it for the moment. "And might I say, your beard is fairly magnificent. Perhaps it is you who should be called 'the Bearded' instead."
"You shouldn't be so quick to give our title away, me." The robed pony, for it was in fact a pony, turned around fully. His features were aged, but unmistakably familiar. It was impossible.
Unless...
Star Swirl stumbled back. "Discord!"
"Calm yourself, Younger One." The doppelganger chided. "I am no spirit."
"Than how is it you wear my face?" Star Swirl challenged the almost-identical pony.
"Simple. It's my face as well." He replied, sounding as Star Swirl himself did when he was lecturing. "I am you."
"An older version of myself... But how?"
The older Star Swirl smiled. "That also has a simple answer. Magic. I created a time travel spell."
"Time travel... is it truly possible?" The young one rubbed his beard thoughtfully. Then something occurred to him. "Wait, if you've come back in time, that means I succeed. I find the Sisters. Right?"
"I found the Sisters. You haven't done anything yet." The old one replied indignantly.
"They exist..."
The old one sighed. "Listen, me, and listen well. Just because I was able to complete my mission, that doesn't mean you will. No older version of me saved me from the flowers, I had to fight free myself. Your future can be, and already is, different from what I've experienced. You can still fail."
"But that doesn't make any sense." The young one shook his head in disbelief. "If I fail, then I wouldn't be able to go back in time. Or there'd be no point to."
"I don't understand it fully myself, though they tell me it's called a self-generating paradox. Obviously, the expectation would be that anything you do would affect me. But my history remains unchanged. Reason, it seems, must be held to the side when one is dealing with time travel."
"So where can I find them?" This was going to make the younger one's journey so much simpler, or so he hoped.
Alas, his hopes were swiftly dashed. "Why would I tell you that? Nopony helped me."
"Why would you risk traveling through time, if not to tell me?"
Energy began to crackle around the older one. "I don't have a lot of time left, young me. The spell can only sustain itself for so long. So here's a final piece of advice. Be careful who you trust from here on out. Oh, and start working on the time spell!"
The pegasi were -as a tribe- stubborn, arrogant, beligerant, violent, and rude.
All that, however, didn't take away from the majesty of their architecture.
The city literally soared over Star Swirl's head, its spires crafted forbodingly out of dark cumulonimbus clouds. All of the dwellings were tall and narrow, with the various stores following the same basic design. There were no walls, for such things would be pointless in a city where all save a few of the inhabitants flew everywhere, but the city was more than made secure by a massive barracks. Flights of armored ponies streamed in and out of the bastion, including two entire wings. Like the tribe itself, the city was always ready for battle.
Though the city was an awe-inspiring sight, with the barracks alone dwarfing his own village, Star Swirl knew that it was in fact one of the smaller pegasus towns. Unless you included the rare land-based colonies, which he knew very little about.
Few pegasi spoke of them.
"Oooh, what do we have here? A moon-tugger?"
Star Swirl turned in the direction the mare's voice had come from. The bustling of the city above had allowed the speaker and another pegasus, a stallion, to land quietly behind him. They were clad in the light armor favored by scouts and spies, and both leaned lazily on their spears. Star Swirl was sure they had both been trained to keep their points toward potential threats, but neither seemed concerned about any danger he may pose- or about proper conduct.
The blue stallion shifted so that he was partially facing the mare. "Breeze, that's so inappropriate. We're supposed to respect our unicorn brethren." He didn't seem too upset by her epithet, despite his objection.
"Look good sir, ma'am." Star Swirl had to think of something fast, as getting thrown into a dungeon for a few days by bored pegasi would put something of a damper on his mission. "I'm quite sure sentry duty can be less than exciting, but imagine all of the paperwork you'd have to do if you arrest me. At least out here you can stretch your wings."
The stallion laughed. "Looks like we've got ourselves a smart unicorn."
"That's an oxymoron, Dash."
"Well he was able to guess our job. Although, I can't help but wonder where he got the idea that we'd bother doing paperwork." Dash scratched his chin thoughtfully.
This wasn't going well. Star Swirl tried to think of something -anything!- that could get him out of this without a fight, but the academic in him was stuck on the idea of not doing paperwork. It was ludicrous! How could they ever hope to stay organized without it?
As one, both pegasi lowered their spear tips toward him and began to advance menacingly. Star Swirl started to desperately sort through the spells he knew, hoping that there was one that wouldn't bring an entire flying city's wrath down upon him.
Before the need for such a spell became a reality, a third pegasus swooped down, "Hey! Stop messing with that unicorn! Discord's been spotted in the southwest. We're moving out!"
After delivering the message the pegasus shot off again, with the mare called Breeze following close behind. Dash stayed a moment and grinned at Star Swirl. "We can't really just throw you in jail anymore. That was one of the compromises made in the Agreement. Even so, you handled youself pretty well. Most ponies we pull that on start begging or crying. You're alright."
"You're not seriously going to attack Discord?!"
"What other choice do we have?" Dash shrugged. "It'll work out."
Star Swirl wanted to try and persuade him, but before he could even open his mouth the stallion was in flight. Star Swirl watched until he saw the pegasus rejoin the others, then sighed and resumed his trek.
Or he would've, had the absence of the overwhelming presence of the floating city not allowed him to notice yet another pegasus, a mare.
This one was covered in rags. Her yellow mane was tangled and greasy, and her grey coat was dotted by bruises and small cuts. She was laying in a heap on the ground, watching the unicorn with her mismatched eyes, one of which was blue and the other green.
Quickly, Star Swirl jogged over and cast a first-aid spell. The wary mare flinched at his approach, but relaxed as she realized that he was helping her. When he was finished. he offered a hoof. "I'm sorry, but that's the only healing spell I know. Are you ok?"
"I'm fine, mister." She replied. She took his hoof and as she climbed to all fours he noticed that, grime aside, she was actually quite cute. Though it was a tomboyish kind of pretty, and thus inferior to his wife's. At least Star Swirl thought so. "I wouldn't hurt that bad."
"What happened? Did you fall from the city?"
"I was forced out. They said I wasn't allowed there anymore." There was sadness in her eyes, but no real trace of anger.
"That's unacceptable!" The mare seemed more or less harmless, so Star Swirl couldn't fathom what would've made the pegasi of the city exile her. "Do you have someplace else you could go?"
She shook her head. "No, not anymore. What about you? Where are you going?"
"I... I'm not really sure."
"So you're just wandering with no destination in mind. Interesting..." Incredulity dripped from the look she gave him.
"No, no, I have a destination." Star Swirl awkwardly rubbed his neck. "I just don't really know where it is."
"Well maybe I can help." She bubbled. "I'm Downward Spiral, by the way."
They shook. "Star Swirl, and I'll only tell you if you promise not to laugh."
"I only laugh at funny things." She replied, crossing her heart gravely.
He cleared his throat. "I'm searching for the Sisters."
The edge of the path gave way under his hooves, and in an instant Star Swirl was pitched over the cliff. An instant later, his brain registered that fact and he started screaming.
It only took a few seconds for Downward Spiral, her ragged cloak bunched up in between her pinions, to swoop after and catch him by the forehooves. "Don't worry Swirly, I've got you,"she reassured.
"Please refrain from calling me 'Swirly'," Star Swirl groused. His heart was still pounding in his chest and his own weight was proving to be more than his limbs were comfortable supporting. "Are you absolutely certain we have to go over the mountains? I'd have been perfectly fine with walking around."
She giggled as they landed back on the path. "Oh come on, Starry. You're doing fine. Where's your sense of adventure?"
Star Swirl groaned as he again set his hooves to trudging along the narrow way behind his guide. Had he another choice, he'd have suggested politely that they go their separate ways after the first time she added letters to his name. But, regardless of the pegasus' annoying habits, he was stuck with her. He didn't think he could get off the mountain without her help.
And there was an even greater reason to put up with her eccentricities. Star Swirl, a pony who prided himself on his knowledge of the Sisters' legend, had been shocked to discover the raggedy mare knew where they were! Or at least, where they were rumored to be.
For Star Swirl, who had begun this quest with little more than stubborn hope, this was invaluable. Even if the rumors were false, he had a purpose and he would know where not to go in the future. Thus he kept putting one hoof down at a time, for what seemed to be ages.
Suddenly, Downward Spiral stopped. Her ears twitched and she flared her wings experimentally.
Star Swirl inched forward cautiously. "What is it? What's wrong?"
"A storm's on the way."
"Really? Doesn't look like it to me." The sky was mostly clear, at least as far as Star Swirl could see.
"I'm a pegasus, remember?" She smiled and patted a wing. "We're more in tune with this stuff than you unicorns are. Trust me, one's coming and it's going to be big. We need to find a place to wait it out."
"If you say so," Star Swirl replied. He had his doubts as to whether or not a storm could form as quickly as Downward Spiral's tone implied, but he was tired and the idea of resting for a while appealed to him.
Alas, it was some time before they could find a cave large enough to fit the both of them. In that time, the promised storm had set in. The icy mountain winds froze Star Swirl's beard and cut deep into his bones. Downward Spiral seemed to be faring slightly better, though she was rendered nearly blind by the flurries of snow. Star Swirl assumed it was her pegasus nature that protected her from the worst of the weather's effects.
Finally, Ms. Spiral spotted a somewhat darker shadow ahead of them and they scurried into the cave.
It was rather spacious and mercifully dry. Star Swirl's immediate concern was that it was already occupied, perhaps by a bear, but that worry was alleviated when Downward Spiral sniffed a few times and pronounced that they were indeed alone. All unicorns knew of the pegasus tribe's heightened senses, so Star Swirl conjured a crackling fire and they both sat close to it to warm themselves. Within moments they were fast asleep.
When Star Swirl awoke, he found himself thoroughly restrained. This didn't overly concern him, as he once had a foalhood friend who would do the same thing whenever Star Swirl slept over.
It was only when he tried to shrug Downward Spiral away that he realized that not only were his forelegs bound in front of him, but his rear legs were tied as well. This jolted him to his senses and he jerked his head around to take in his surroundings.
"Heh, heh. Looks like the horned one's awake."
Star Swirl looked in the direction the voice came from. There, not ten paces away, lounged a flock of griffins. Or was it technically a pride? Star Swirl could never remember.
"Horned in more ways than one. " The closest griffin, the same one who'd noticed Star Swirl's awakening, cackled at his crude joke. "In more ways than one."
"Ya a'reddy sed dat one, Godfrey," the largest one rumbled. Star Swirl would've pegged him as the leader, were it not for his poor speaking ability. Or the fact that the griffin next to him was studying the captive unicorn's reactions.
Godfrey the griffin crossed his forelegs and turned his beak up, pouting like a foal who hadn't gotten his way. "It was a funny joke, and deserved repeating. Deserved repeating."
"Now good sir," Star Swirl spoke up, addressing the so-far-silent observer, "surely this is some sort of mistake. If you would be so kind as to let us go..."
Star Swirl trailed off as he figured out the entire pride/flock was laughing at him, with the exception of the griffin he had been speaking to. Loudest was the giant. "Ya hear dat, Gory? He dinks yer a male! Ha!"
"I heard, Gilbert." The griffin, who Star Swirl was quickly realizing was not a Sir, smiled wryly.
"Madam Gory, I truly apologize." The unicorn was getting redder by the moment. "I've never met a griffin before, and-"
"It's an easy mistake to make. After all, aren't all ponies monogender?"
Gory waited for the laughter to die down before following up on her zinger. "My name is Goryanna, unicorn. Only my lovable idiot of a mate is allowed to call me Gory. But enough of that, let's get to the meat of the matter. You are Star Swirl the Bearded, correct?"
"I am," Star Swirl cautiously confirmed. He thought it strange that they knew of him so far away from his home.
"Then I am a very happy girl. The court of Princess Platinum will most likely pay handsomely for your return. Though I wouldn't be surprised if the other ponies start calling you Star Swirl the Stormtaken after this."
Star Swirl winced as his pride was demeaned once again, but for the moment his concern was more for the mare beside him. He had seen her silently regain consciousness, notice their predicament, and decide to fake continued sleep. "What of Downward Spiral? What will happen to her?"
"The mare pretending to be asleep next to you?" Goryanna grinned at his surprise. "We griffins aren't as deaf as you ponies are, Stormtaken. I heard her breathing change."
"Then what are you going to do with me?" Her ruse discovered, Downward looked up.
"I'm sure some pony somewhere will pay your ransom. If not... then I guess we won't have to hunt for a few days, will we?"
Her interest depleted, Goryanna signaled for a pair of griffins to carry the ponies into another section of the cave. This one was clearly furnished for holding prisoners, and included several manacle racks and hooks. Star Swirl was hung on one of the latter. From the sound of it, Downward was placed on another. He was facing the wrong way to see her, though.
Before they left, one of the griffins slipped a strange cloth over his horn. It was decorated in runes and patterns completely unknown to the unicorn. Star Swirl surmised it must have been written in the griffin tongue, which he didn't know. But he knew what it was designed to do. As soon as the fabric touched his horn he felt his magic disappear, captured and bottled within the sheathe.
Star Swirl waited for a few minutes after the griffin jailers left before starting to struggle against his bonds. With no access to his magic he was going to be forced to rely on techniques he had read about in a book, though his body was far from being in the condition recommended by the manual.
"Stop flopping around."
Star Swirl ignored Downward's hissed command. "This bag thing on my horn's blocking my magic, so I have to do this the hard way. We've got to get out of here or they're going to eat you."
"Exactly," Downward agreed. "So stop flopping. It's harder to untie your knots when you're moving around."
Confused, the hooked scholar stilled himself. In the seconds it took for Star Swirl to process what she'd said, the ropes holding him loosened and he dropped on his rump.
"What? But... how?" He gaped like a fish.
Downward Spiral just shrugged. "I have my ways."
Star Swirl was going to press the issue, but Downward pulled him up and they took off running. He was glad to leave that strange cloth behind, though he regretted not being able to study it further. It truly was fascinating.
More important at the moment, however, was the fact that Star Swirl had no idea which way the exit was. He said as much to the pony in front of him.
"Don't worry about it," she smiled. "I can feel a fresh breeze up ahead."
She looked forward again just in time for the both of them to see Gilbert step into the hallway, taking a bite of the haunch of meat he was holding as he did. His eyes widened as he noticed the two ponies galloping toward him.
That might not have been the best course of action for the giant griffin, as Star Swirl chose that moment to let out a blast of magical light from his horn. The ponies nimbly maneuvered around the now-blinded griffin, leaving him to screech in impotent rage behind them. His calls were soon joined by others. They all sounded angry.
By that time, Star Swirl and Downward Spiral had made it to the exit. They slid down the mild slope of the cliff, and then continued onto the adjoining plain. But then Star Swirl slowed to a stop.
"Come on! We've got to go, they'll catch us!" Downward tried to tug him onward.
"No," he wheezed. "There's no point. We won't be able to outrun them."
"You can't just give up!"
"Guess I can't hide it any more..." He muttered. They both heard another screech come from the mountain and Star Swirl smiled faintly at the worried pegasus. "Have I told you about my student? She was the only pony who ever asked crazy old Star Swirl to teach them. When she was summoned to serve the court of Princess Platinum, I was so proud."
"That's great, Starry, but we have to run." Griffins had begun to pour out of the mountain, banking in wide circles as they searched for their escaped prey.
"What I never told Clover, however, was that they first came to me with that offer. I refused."
Motes of pure magic swirled around the unicorn as he gathered his power. They were like stars in a constellation. No, not a constellation. As more and more spun around the mage, they seemed akin to a galaxy forming in the void. Star Swirl blazed with nebulous light.
The griffins were quick to spot it, and they dove towards the ponies. But the hunters weren't so quick to see that as the light spun around Star Swirl, so too did the dark clouds above him. Those stormy floodgates opened and poured forth a pillar of fire, wreathed and streaked with lightning for good measure. It swept across the space between the ponies and the griffins, leaving a wall of flame in its wake. The griffins back-flapped as quickly as they could. For further encouragement, Star Swirl sent a few bolts to singe them. They yelped and sped up their retreat.
Star Swirl dismissed his magic and dispelled the flames, then turned to his dumbstruck companion.
"My mere presence at court would've caused a civil war amongst the nobility."
Treks over great distances often turned boring, and it was for that reason that ponies had developed traveling songs and riddle-games. Unfortunately, Star Swirl was more studious than adventurous, and had never bothered to learn any of them. The only quests he'd cared for had been undertaken long ago by other ponies.
Which is why he was now trying and, irritatingly enough, failing to make conversation with his companion. "So are you originally from that city? The one we met under?"
"Cumulonium?"
"If that's what it's called," he confirmed. "Were you born there?"
"No," Downward replied.
Star Swirl pressed on. "Then where are you from?"
"Somewhere else." She didn't elaborate.
"Where?"
Downward shrugged. "You wouldn't know it."
"Maybe I do." Her reticence was frustrating Star Swirl, and it was beginning to become evident in his voice. "You might be surprised."
They came upon the edge of a forest. To Star Swirl's relief, Downward decided to skirt around the outside instead of plunging into it. The mountain was still fresh in his mind, and though the forest was most likely easier to traverse, he was fine with sticking to the open plain.
As she made her decision on which route to take, the pegasus didn't skip a beat in their conversation. "The only thing that's surprised me so far is how sheltered you really are. Didn't you ever play outside as a child? Run around and meet people?"
"Why would I do that? All I need to know, I can learn by reading."
"You couldn't even tell the difference between male and female griffins!"
"Well, we can't all be streetwise exiled urchins," he growled. "On that point, how did you get free?"
"Can't a girl know a few tricks?" She smirked.
Star Swirl opened his mouth to snap back at her, but before he could her eyes fluttered shut and she fell forward mid-step. In an instant he was kneeling at her side. "Downward?! Downward, what's wrong?!"
She was limp, and her breathing was ragged. Each intake was painfully shallow. Little droplets of sweat were forming on her forehead, prompting Star Swirl to press a hoof to it and confirm she was indeed running a fever.
She seemed to be dying, and Star Swirl didn't know what to do.
Star Swirl was just barely aware of the sound of approaching hoofbeats. He looked up and saw a light brown earth pony with dark, tousled hair. The other pony saw Downward cradled in the unicorn's forelegs and immediately asked, "What's wrong?"
"I- I don't know! She just fell over, I don't know what's wrong!"
"Yes, medical knowledge in this age is quite poor. Let me have a look." The earth pony sat next to the pair and waved a strange, buzzing wand over Downward.
"Are you a doctor?" Star Swirl thought an hourglass was an odd cutie mark for one.
"In a manner of speaking." The wand stopped buzzing and the pony looked at it. "Ah yes, that makes sense."
Star Swirl perked up. "You know what's wrong?! What is it?"
"It... might be too early to say." The earth pony produced a sharp needle attached to a vial of glowing liquid.
"What?!"
The pony gently pierced Downward with the needle and emptied the vial. "Look, you can ask her when she wakes up if you're curious. For now just let her rest. Oh, and make sure she stays warm."
Saying nothing else, the strange doctor got up and left. Star Swirl watched him, bewildered by his display, until he was no longer visible. Then the unicorn gently laid Downward down, rose, and began preparing a campfire.
"How are you doing?" A voice asked from behind Star Swirl. His voice, though slightly gruffer.
He turned to face the older, wizened version of himself. Star Swirl was again taken aback by his future self's beard, its silver hairs glinting in the moonlight. How far into the future did that lay?
He supposed it was a worry borne of his coming middle-age. He didn't possess a single grey strand yet.
Star Swirl smiled wistfully. "I set myself on this journey, but I can't help but feel I'm a ship being buffeted by the winds. Very little thus far has been determined by me."
"I can relate, Young Me, I can relate. So tell me, how's that time spell going?"
"Another wind blowing," Star Swirl griped. "I've come to understand the problem, but I've yet to grasp the solution. If I can..."
Star Swirl trailed off when he realized his older self was staring at Downward. "Is there something wrong?"
"Oh, no. No." Old Star Swirl forced himself to look away, though his gaze would dart back every now and then.
"I'm a bad liar," Star Swirl accused himself.
"It's... It's complicated, Young Me."
"Is there a reason you chose to help me?" Star Swirl demanded as his future self sat down. "Does it have something to do with her?"
"Yes and no, respectively. Come sit by me." He patted the ground beside him.
"I'll stand, thanks."
"Suit yourself," Old Star Swirl said. Then he tore his left foreleg off. "I saved you, Young Me, because nopony deserves a prosthetic as ill-fitting as this one."
Star Swirl slowly approached. "Your leg... How is this possible?"
"I told you I'd fought my way free," Old Star Swirl reminded him, shrugging. "I just didn't get away whole. Dragged myself to Cumulonium, got patched up, and spent the rest of my quest on a peg. Once things calmed down, I designed this fake leg for myself. I call it a prosthetic. Pioneered the field."
"All while figuring out a time spell."
He laughed. "Don't get down on yourself, Young Me. I said our timelines were different, didn't I? By this point I hadn't even figured out the problem yet, let alone started on the solution. I was too busy with... other things."
Old Star Swirl stood abruptly. "Young Me, you have been given the chance to make it through this quest with your body and honor intact. Do not squander it."
Then he was gone.
Star Swirl got no sleep that night. His mind was too busy mulling over his various problems, not the least of which was his future self's strange behavior. So he just sat tending the fire.
Star Swirl was out of other options. Downward probably wouldn't survive the trip around the forest's edge, even if the unicorn carried her in his magic. She was still too weak.
So the only course left would be to cut across to the other side.
"That... might work," Downward conceded. She laid listlessly on the ground as she considered Star Swirl's suggestion. "It's an... old forest... shouldn't have too much... undergrowth."
"So it'll be easier than the mountain was," he finished for her. The less she spoke, the better. Especially since her breathing was far too shallow for his liking.
"It... could still... be dangerous," she gasped.
"At the moment, we don't have a choice. If there's a chance the Sisters can heal you we have to take it."
Downward gave a little grin and slowly stood up. "Feeling... a little better...can walk."
"Absolutely not," Star Swirl said sternly, his tone similar to the one he used when disciplining his daughter. "You are still too weak, so I shall be carrying you."
"Can walk." Downward stubbornly, and slowly, plunged into the forest.
Reluctantly Star Swirl followed, all the while keeping an eye on his...
Friend?
That struck Star Swirl as odd. He'd had friends as a young foal, of course, but as he aged he'd come to view such relationships as... extraneous. He had his studies, he had his student, and he had his family. What need did he have for friends?
So why was he thinking of this mare, whom he was only putting up with because of her knowledge of the Sisters' location, as his friend?
His rumination was interrupted when he heard a beautiful song coming from somewhere ahead. It was enchanting, the sound. Lilting and melodic, with a powerful resonance. He had to know who it was that was singing. He broke into a jog.
"Starry... wait!"
He ignored Downward, this was too important. Discovery awaited and any discovery, no matter how small, was worth more than friendship... right?
Any doubts he might have held melted away as he drew nearer, and he soon came to a natural hot spring. Soaking in the spring was the source of the incredible song. Star Swirl had never seen the likes of these three creatures before, had never read of anything resembling them. They were almost ponies, but possessed fins and scales in addition to equine traits. One was purple, one was a light blue, and the third seemed to be a shade of yellow. Their harmonizing stopped as they noticed their audience.
The yellow one smirked. "What do we have here?"
"Um, it's a pony. Duh."
"No- I was-" The yellow one growled in frustration and glared at the blue one.
"Fair Ladies," Star Swirl began, confident that he was not making a mistake like last time. Those were definitely feminine voices. "You know me for a pony, but I fear I've never heard of anything like you. Please tell me, what do you call yourselves? And what do you sing for?"
"That's how we control-"
"Sonata, hush!" The purple one jabbed an elbow into her blue companion's side, then started to vocalize. After a moment the jab-ee joined in.
"We are the Sirens, pony." The yellow one leaned forward with a cat-like grin. Her words, though they were spoken, seemed almost lyrical. She started to sway in time with the others. "We fled to this forest to elude the chaotic one, but since then or meals have been few and far between..."
Star Swirl found he couldn't turn away, and at the same time realized he didn't care. He wanted to stay with them, his lovely Sirens, for as long as they would have him. He trotted closer, close enough for the yellow one to stroke his mane. Oh, he loved it when she did that.
"Would you feed us, pony? Would you let us-"
She was cut off by an apple bouncing off the side of her head. Snarling, she was about to turn in the direction it had come from before she realized what it had accomplished. Star Swirl was, quite literally, shaking of the Sirens' influence. All three shrieked and were flying away before he could prepare a spell. They knew better than to tangle with a unicorn in their weakened state.
"Thank you for that." Star Swirl turned to face his rescuer, extending a hoof. "My name's Star Swirl. Some call me The Bearded."
His rescuer, an earth pony mare with a reddish-brown coat and a sandy mane, took the offered hoof. "Might be I've heard of ya, Sta Swirl. Name's Root. What were those things?"
He frowned. "They called themselves Sirens... They're going to be trouble later, I can feel it."
"Starry!" Downward pushed past a bush, limping slightly as she looked for him.
Star Swirl rushed to her side and, with Root's help, carried her to the edge of the spring. As they set the pegasus down he said, "Downward, this is Root. Root, this is Downward Spiral."
"Nice... to meet... you."
"Glad to meet ya too, Downward, though yer not exactly looking fit to travel- if ya'll will pardon my honesty."
"That's why we're cutting through the forest," Star Swirl said, and he pointed in the direction they were going. "There's supposed to be a place where she can get treated on the other side."
Root nodded. "Could be that's true, I've never been that way myself. But ya should probably rest for a spell."
"We can't risk her condition deteriorating."
Suddenly, the sun dove out of sight and was replaced by the moon- which bounced up and down in the sky like a foal.
Root simply shrugged and accepted their new reality. "Looks like Discord's made yer choice for ya. Trying to get through the forest in the dark'd be foolish."
Despite his disappointment, Star Swirl had to concede. He had never considered himself an outdoors-oriented pony, even before this little adventure had taught him just how little he really knew of the world beyond his study. So, again with Root's help, he built an acceptable fire by the spring and arranged his and Downward's sleeping mats.
Once the work was done, Star Swirl settled down to apply himself to the problem of moving a pony bodily through time. Or, rather, that was the plan.
But few plans survive contact with earth pony mares.
Root, with a running lead-up, bellyflopped into the hot spring, nearly splashing the musing magus. Smiling, she surfaced and said, "Come on in, ya two. Water's more than fine."
"Are you insane?!" Star Swirl sputtered. "What if the spring was sulfuric?"
"Well... it's not, so come on. Probably'd do Downward some good to take a soak, anyhow."
Before Star Swirl could rebut, the pegasus limped over and lowered herself in. Star Swirl sighed and gave up. There were far worse thing he could think of.
As he submerged himself, a separate thought struck Star Swirl. Imagine if the snobbish nobility could see him now. Though Root and Downward lacked the graceful edge that aristocratic mares were expected to cultivate, few would call them ugly. Oh the scandal that would grip the royal court if they saw him, a married stallion, in a bath with two pretty mares. Never mind the fact he had no intention of doing anything untoward, it was still scandalous.
His grin fell away. He missed his wife. The prettiness of his bathmates only served to remind him of how truly beautiful she was to him. He wished he could be with her, wished he could hug his daughter again.
And he hoped the Sisters were worth his inability to do so.
Another splash of water pulled him out of his head. Downward stuck her tongue out, then said, "Stop... worrying so much."
"You're right, I shouldn't be wasting such a fine bath." He turned to Root. "So, you know why we're hiking out in the middle of nowhere. What brings you to these woods?"
"My family's a buncha bakers, have been for generations, but I've never been all that keen on it. So I figured I'd try farming. Bought a few hoof-fulls of apple seeds and headed out."
"That was quite adventurous of you," Downward said as she leaned forward.
Root shrugged. "I guess. But if I can't find a place where Discord won't see me growin', well... might as well farm rocks for all the good being adventurous will do me."
Morning came when it did, and with it their parting from Root.
The trek since then had been fairly quiet. Downward was walking better, Star Swirl had noticed, but what of her speech? There was only one way to find out. "What do you know of this Wellspring we're supposedly heading to?"
"The Wellspring is an outpouring of pure spiritual energy," she answered immediately, and with confidence. "It existed long before the Sister's Descent, and rumor has it that they're waiting for something there. That's why they haven't left in ages."
Star Swirl was stunned. In truth, he had expected her to ask what the Wellspring was when he mentioned it. She was leading him to the Sisters, true, but even amongst those who studied the legends the Wellspring was little more than whispered conjecture. It was years of research before he first found mention of it.
"How do you know all of this?! Even I didn't know that last part."
She smiled at him as they broke the treeline. "Well, maybe you aren't quite as special as you thought."
"Of course I'm special!" Star Swirl protested, quite foalishly.
"You couldn't even tell the difference between male and female griffins."
"That was one time! I am the most powerful mage of this era."
"One time out of one is still one hundred percent," Downward quipped. Then she turned serious and pointed ahead. "Look, we're almost there."
When Star Swirl did as she said and looked, he saw an awe-inspiring gate looming before them. Bricks and columns of marble, hewn smoother than any masonry technique he knew of could manage, comprised the majority of the massive portcullis, with the remainder being intricate designs traced in inlaid silver. The academic recognized some of the symbols depicted, ancient representations of nature and the forces of life, and surmised the rest were more of the same. Only far, far older.
Behind the gate stretched a tunnel, though Star Swirl could not see what it stretched to. "What... What is this?"
"This is the entrance to the Wellspring, a structure so old it doesn't need a name. It simply is." Downward frowned, seemingly searching her memory, "Though I have heard some call it 'y cyfnod pontio'."
"Incredible... A pony could spend their life studying just the gate. Wait- the Wellspring is supposedly saturated in spiritual energy, correct? I very much doubt it will be easy for ponies to enter if that's the case. Will you need me to carry you?"
Downward hesitated briefly as they stood before the cavernous entrance, then said, "That might be best..."
Star Swirl carefully swaddled the pegasus in his magic and lifted her up. Then, with a final fortifying exhalation, he passed through the archway.
The effect was instantaneous. The sudden infusion of the life force of the world set his heart to racing, and forced his breathing to become short, shallow gasps. It felt as though the full power of a thunderstorm was coursing through his body. Star Swirl's flesh tingled. Raw magic came leaking from his right side, causing the aura surrounding Downward to thicken. For a moment he worried that he would crush her, but he found he now had finer control over his magic than ever before. His left hind leg went numb.
Star Swirl the archmage once thought he knew what power was, but it was a foal's understanding. This...
"Star Swirl! Don't stop now, we're almost there!" Downward urged.
Her words overthrew the part of Star Swirl that wanted nothing more than to fade into the simple truth of life. He started forward again, thoughts of his family and his mission bracing his every step. He was going to find the Sisters. He was going to save everypony from Discord. This tunnel would never stop him.
Suddenly, the crushing pressure lifted. Star Swirl collapsed onto a patch of grass, and as he laid there huffing a set of night-blue hooves strode into view. Star Swirl looked up.
There they were, the objects of his veneration rendered in the flesh. Celestia. Luna. The Sisters. It was them.
"See?" Luna asked as Celestia gracefully strode over to stand next to her, proximity making the height disparity even more prominent than Star Swirl had imagined from the tales. "A real pony! How long has it been since we've been visited by one? Truly, this is a most fortuitous day."
Celestia smiled. "It certainly has been awhile, Little Sister. Though the pony is not the only pleasant surprise here."
Star Swirl had expected many things of the moment when he was finally before the Two Sisters. He, and his fellow scholars, had worked tirelessly to glean any hint of their personalities from the legends, and much conjecture had been offered on that point. From cold, imperious idols to fun-loving, mischievous foal-gods, the entire gamut was debated and discussed.
The reality was... unexpected. The Sisters simply seemed like taller ponies. The alicorn combination of wings and horn was obvious, as was their power- to Star Swirl it felt like a thick blanket thrown over the entire area. But, despite those oddities, Celestia and Luna themselves were very approachable. It was baffling.
Also baffling was their apparent inability to count. There were two pony visitors, not one. He rose, though standing did little to lessen their intimidating presence, and opened his mouth to point that-
"Light Mothers, you remember me..."
The magus snapped his mouth shut and turned to his companion in confusion. Downward Spiral had prostrated herself in reverence.
"Of course we remember you," Celestia replied, and when Star Swirl whirled back towards her he found the alicorn's smile had widened in the way one's would when seeing a long-absent friend. "You who were like another sister to us, the first creature born after our incarnation. How could we forget?"
Luna cleared her throat. "Tia, I am sure there will be time enough to reacquaint ourselves later. But before that, we should see what the pony wants. He must have traveled far to reach this place, after all, and one would not make that... journey lightly."
"You make a fine point, Luna. What can we do for you, Good Sir Pony?"
"I, uh, I- I mean 'we'- need your..."
"Your help?" Celestia prompted, her smile changing again. She seemed to have an arsenal of those grins, always held at the ready.
Star Swirl wrestled his thoughts into a facade of order. He was surprised, for sure, but he'd been surprised before. This quest was too important to let his shock trip him up now. The truth about Downward could wait. "Exactly, Lady Celestia. I've come to beg for aid from you and your Sister. My land- no, my entire race- suffers under the reign of the tyrant Discord. Free us, please. You are the only ones who can help."
"We have heard of the mischief Discord has been causing. Many other spirits have fled here for protection." Celestia's smile was gone, replaced by a frown utterly out of place on the Goddess' face, and Star Swirl's heart rose. It was not a long ascent. "However, this is not a problem that we may address at this time. There has been a... prediction, if you will. A prophecy. We must stay here, at least for the time being."
"You are wrong, Sister," Luna muttered, just loud enough for all to hear.
Celestia turned to the smaller alicorn, her sternness plain to see. "Luna, you know as well as I what the oracle-"
"Indeed I do. So I have waited, my patience fraying, while each new batch of refugees brought yet another tale of atrocity. Every syllable is an arrow driving into my heart, until it gets so bad I want to pluck out my own feathers that they might fashion more ammunition. The oracle was imprecise, and the prophesy may only be a distant dream. Discord is real. His torments are happening now. No creature should have to bear the whims of that wretch."
All were silent, a suffocating quiet setting in. Celestia's gaze swiveled from her Sister to Star Swirl, and even to a recently-risen Downward Spiral. Seconds passed like this, the elegant alicorn wrought with indecision.
"Please," Star Swirl begged again when the tension grew too thick to stomach.
At his solicitation Celestia sighed, uncertainty rapidly melting away and morphing into resolve. "Very well, Dear Sister, you've made your case- albeit in a somewhat melodramatic fashion." She nodded to Star Swirl, becoming even more beautiful in the mage's eyes for her assent. "We will help you."
The sun hung low in the sky, apparently moving independently of Discord's will when it came to the Wellspring. Having spent so much of his life becoming accustomed to the orb dipping and reversing course without warning, Star Swirl was a little disoriented when it began to inexorably sink. The day seemed to pass faster than it did when he was a foal. Perhaps it was the nature of the Wellspring that the day was shorter, or perhaps- and more likely- it was the fact he had been so engaged in observing the spirits as they played. A rarity before the Reign, and even more scarcely seen now, spirits had always fascinated Star Swirl. They still did- especially the one that held his fellow ponies hostage. This place was filled to the brim with them and, once the scholar proved he wasn't a threat, the spirits were more than happy to answer his questions and let him watch their games.
Though truth be told, Star Swirl was postponing a certain conversation more than anything.
"You've been avoiding me all day."
"That is because I don't know what to say." Star Swirl didn't deign to turn and face the... well, she wasn't a pegasus. The Sisters had intimated that she had been around almost as long as they had, so there was little to no chance his traveling companion was in fact a pony. "It seems I don't know a lot of things, as this excursion has repeatedly demonstrated. Did you even tell me your real name?"
"No."
The mage shot a glare her way, though he said nothing. The one he knew as Downward Spiral at least had the decency to let her shame show. "I... I didn't lie about everything. I showed you the way to the Sisters, didn't I?"
"You did, though I suspect it was more for your own sake than anything else," Star Swirl accused.
At first, yes. But then I started to like traveling with you. I swear on the Light Mothers!" she insisted.
"Indeed..."
His companion sighed. Swallowing hard, she said, "Alright, I suppose now is as good a time as any to tell the truth. You deserve it... My name is Journey, Spirit of Adventure."
"A spirit, eh? I should have guessed as much. So that's how you got loose from those bindings. You just thought your way out of them," Star Swirl grumbled.
"I said I had my ways, right?" Journey smiled, though the smile fell from her face when she saw that Star Swirl wasn't sharing it. "I'm not like Discord, Starry. I swear I'm not."
"You're off to a great start in proving that postulation."
"Do you know how spirits are born?" Journey asked.
"Through the actions of others," was Star Swirl's reply. "Or so the stories would have it. I haven't played the midwife to one, so I couldn't say for sure."
Journey nodded. "That's right, for the most part. More specifically, it's the feelings behind the action that determines what kind of spirit is brought into being. I was born right after the Sisters' Descent. The entire world was smothered in darkness. The Sisters themselves had been the only source of light and, with both of them now on the ground, that meant no one could see anything. All of the spirits just stood still, afraid they'd hurt themselves if they tried to move around. Then one of them gathered his courage and took a step. From that spirit's bravery in setting out on a path whose end he didn't know, I was created- the Spirit of Adventure." Her eyes turned glossy then as she remembered. "A moment later, the Sisters created the sun and the moon."
"That's why you call them Light Mothers, then?"
"They were the most beautiful things I'd ever seen," Journey affirmed, nodding again- this time with a zealous vigor. "Granted they were the only things I'd seen up 'till then, but even to this day I've never seen anything that could match the sight. I was still formless at the time, so I decided to emulate their shape." She rubbed her bare forehead. "Never could get the horn right, though."
"This is all fascinating, and as a scholar I appreciate your first-hoof account, but what is your point? How does that excuse lying to me this whole?!" Star Swirl demanded.
"I was desperate! I didn't lie when I said Cumulonium no longer wanted me around. Decades of living with the pegasi there, befriending them, and teaching what I could, and they just throw me out. They're going to war with Discord, so they can't have another spirit hanging around! As if I'd ever help him! Do you know why I was so weak before? Because my bastard of a brother has been terrorizing you ponies so much that even the armies trying to fight him are only acting out of fear. While Discord grows stronger through disharmony, I live on adventurousness- but there's so little of that left now." Journey took hold of his hoof. "That's why I was so excited when you came along, Starry. When I met you, I was so drained I couldn't even resist as the pegasi cast me out. But your courage, and Root's. gave me enough strength to make it here."
"It is good that you did. Without the testimony of noble Star Swirl here, I doubt very much that my Sister would have been persuaded to leave the Wellspring," the voice of Luna declared.
Star Swirl looked around, but no sign of the blue alicorn presented itself. "Lady Luna?"
"I am not with you in body. Rather, I am casting my words through the Dream Realm itself that they may reach your ears."
"Through the Realm of Dreams?" Star Swirl gaped. "I've never even considered that to be possible. Truly, you are a great spellcaster."
"I am indeed strong, but that is not all there is to it. All creatures have their own talents, Star Swirl. You could say that dreams are mine."
Star Swirl cocked his head. "What does that mea-"
"I have called to you for a reason," Luna interrupted, "and I must be brief. There are still things my Sister and I must make ready. We shall leave in the morning, to put an end to Discord's monstrous reign."
"You can't do that!" Journey blurted.
After a moment of surprised silence, the voice of Luna returned. "You do not wish us to unseat him from his throne of tears and torment?"
"No, I do!" Journey clarified. "But you must not attack him directly. You have no idea how powerful he is now."
"I have no doubt the chaos he has inspired and provoked has made Discord mighty, but my Sister and I are mightier still. All shall be fine." Luna's voice was supremely confident.
Journey exasperatedly stomped her hoof. "Light Mother, I-"
"My Sister requires my aid. We leave in the morning."
As the sun's light slowly penetrated the Wellspring, Star Swirl arrived at the gate clearing. The Sisters were already there, as was Journey and a gaggle of curious spirits.
With some trepidation, Journey trotted over to him. Reaching into thin air, she pulled out a fine blue cape and hoofed it over to Star Swirl. He took it with his magic. "The way things are right now, I won't live very long if I leave the Wellspring. So I made this for you, Starry. As an apology and so you don't forget me while you're off being a hero."
"Before I met you, I didn't think I needed friends. They were an annoyance and an unnecessary distraction..." Star Swirl examined the cape thoughtfully. It was adorned with a nightscape pattern and, as far as he could tell with his limited knowledge of the art of the dress maker, it seemed to be well-made. "I'm glad you made this for me, Journey. I'll wear it always, to remind me that I was right."
Throwing the cape over his shoulders, Star Swirl marched over to the waiting Sisters. He said nothing when Journey shouted, "I'm sorry, Starry! I swear I am!"
"It is time, Star Swirl," Celestia announced. "We shall be teleporting directly to Discord's current location. Are you ready?"
"I am. Finding this place was the hard part, and that's done. All that remains is to finish this," he replied.
Then they left the Wellspring, and all the spirits in it, behind.
The world bled into view as the teleportation spell released the three of them back into reality, though the town around them made Star Swirl question if they hadn't landed in some strange fever dream. What was once an average hamlet, presumably, was now transformed into a garish jumble of half-forgotten whims. Every third building floated free of the ground and gravity, with some tilted at angles. Those that still touched their foundations had their quirks as well, as none of the cobbled paths actually led to a door- either they were just misaligned, or they curved around the house, or they continued too far up and over the building. Some had all three. Worse still, all of the houses were painted bright orange.
The architecture wasn't the only absurdity on display. At the far side of the village a rainstorm sucked a torrent of droplets from the ground. A fluffle of bunnies hopped past them casually, despite their flippers. Nearby mountains gracefully performed a ballet.
It was all too much. Star Swirl gasped, “What is this?”
Celestia placed a comforting hoof on his shoulder. “It is Discord's handiwork.”
“His madness.”
“Now that's not very kind, Luna,” the closest house scolded, a trace of simple meanness in its voice. Curiously, the door that formed its mouth opened in the middle and not along its frame. “And after we've been out of touch for so long...”
“It's really quite cruel,” the road hissed.
Celestia was unimpressed. “Cease your tricks, Discord, and show yourself.”
“Oh, but that is what I'm doing,” was the reply, seemingly from all around them. “You said it yourself- this is my handiwork, my chaos. Me.”
“That is sophistry, and you know it. Now it is time for these games to end. For this land's sake, order must be restored.”
Rivulets of ooze streamed off of the nearby buildings, collecting in a puddle in front of them before sculpting itself into the infamous draconequus. What mirth had been present was gone. “You want me to give up all of this? To wither from the lack of chaos?!”
“Like what you've done to Down- to Journey?!” Star Swirl accused.
Discord's gaze fell on the mage, a strange glint in his mismatched eyes. “So you know my dear sister, do you? She was someone I was always quite fond of, what with how similar we are.”
“She's not at all like you.”
“So protective! What, is she your friend or something?” Discord rotated his body a full revolution, while his eyes stayed precisely in place.
“I- well...”
“Ooh, hesitation!” A snap of Discord's talons, and Star Swirl found himself sitting at small table. Another snap conjured a chair for Discord himself, which he took. “Tell me all about it. Did she lie to you, mislead you, convince you to do something for her?”
Before Star Swirl could say anything a blue energy slammed into Discord, pinning him to the dirt. Horn ablaze, Luna cried, “Now, Sister!”
Golden spikes materialized above the downed spirit and were then driven through his limbs, tail, and body. Luna's magic, which had been holding Discord down through the barrage, crept up along the rods and fashioned itself into connective chains that anchored the rods to the ground. Celestia stepped forward, her jaw clenched in concentration and her illuminated horn pointed to a spot above where Discord was secured. When Star Swirl looked, he saw a pyramidal matrix being woven out of light and its absence. The intricacy needed for a spell like what Celestia was casting... It was on a level Star Swirl had never witnessed before.
The spell resolved itself in a final sunburst that washed the entire area in white. Star Swirl blinked furiously, trying to speed his vision's return. When he could see once more Discord was fully eclipsed by the pyramid. The Sisters slumped from exhaustion.
“Really you two, that was quite rude.”
Discord stepped into the space between the mage and the two alicorns. Luna gaped, “That- That's...”
“Impossible,” Celestia finished.
“I was in the middle of a very nice conversation. It seems you manners have deteriorated during your little sabbatical,” the spirit tutted. Then a smirk replaced the consternation. “As has your appearance. Why my dear Luna, your hair's looking so drab these days.”
“What are you babbling about, you-” She caught a glimpse of her mane and abruptly halted her nascent tirade. It hung limp, not flowing as it had previously, and the stars no longer shone through.
Discord chuckled at her shocked expression. He opened his talons, revealing a mass of tiny twinkling globes. “Looking for these?”
“Fiend! Return to me my-”
“Yes, yes, it's done.” He closed his claw again and Luna's mane lit up once more. “Some alicorns just can't take a joke, huh? Not that it matters at all, I hardly need to steal your... accessories to beat you. Your stay at that little garden retreat gave me all the time I need to spread some real chaos. I'm stronger now than any other spirit, stronger than any spirit's ever been. And you? You're afterthoughts.”
The spirit clapped his incongruous appendages and a jeweled birdcage sprung into being around the Two Sisters, which, try as they might, they could not escape from. Each successive attempt wrought a wider grin on the face of the leering draconequus.
Once they had collapsed from thorough exhaustion, Discord wagged his tail. A gilded throne popped up behind him, which he mounted with a mocking solemnity. “Now this is a role that suits you, wouldn't you agree? Ornaments for this new capitol of mine... Oh, but it wouldn't do for the decorations to be anything less than impeccable. Songbirds should sing.”
Spectral scourges coalesced above the alicorns and began their work, each lash wringing an agonized yelp. All the while, Discord watched in fascination. He seemed like a foal uprooting flowers and reveling in the sense of total control the outburst gave him.
This intense focus meant that Star Swirl was firmly beyond the spirit's attention. He, and he alone, could help the Two escape this monstrous predicament. But how? Anything he did would be the last chance the three of them had.
He quietly studied the structure trapping his saviors, and was impressed despite himself. Gaudy rainbow gems aside, it was well-made. Its locking mechanism was of the kind that would take more time and know-how than he currently had to pick. Centuries of resentment or no, it wouldn't be long before the chaos spirit remembered the interesting unicorn.
Which left a magical solution as the only option. This was a subject that the archmage was quite hoofy at.
The bars of the prison were layered with runes and eldritch symbols, most of which were from languages no longer spoken by the pony tribes. Academia, however, made a sport of conversing in dead tongues, so it wasn't much of a chore for Star Swirl to isolate the key part of the teleportation ward. Reaching out with his magic, and desperately trying to keep his aura as dim as possible as he did, the unicorn discretely defaced the working.
His task complete, Star Swirl let out an anxious sigh and prepared his next move. When he was ready, he shouted, “Discord!”
“Huh?” was the confused reply. Discord turned toward the source of the distracting voice.
Just as the spirit was looking his way, Star Swirl detonated the orb of light magic he had positioned in between the two of them. Discord reeled from his sudden blindness, cursing. Star Swirl swiftly teleported to the Sisters' side and immediately blinked all three of them away from that horrible place.
An instant later, the three of them landed in a heap far away. Star Swirl climbed to his hooves and offered a steadying shoulder to Luna. Celestia seemed too pride-sore to lean on him. Instead, she simply muttered an ashamed, “Thank you.”
“Ahem,” an amused voice said from behind the group. Then Star Swirl saw the spears.
The procession wound its way up the mountain trail with all the solemnity normally reserved for the act of escorting one's gods- which they were.
“The Sisters,” Dash whispered breathlessly, for the seventh time. “You crazy moon-tugger, you did it. You found them. The Sisters!”
Dash's attitude, reflected and amplified by the other soldier-scouts marching alongside them, bothered Star Swirl. They all seemed to think the alicorns' arrival would spell the end of the terror. Star Swirl knew better. Marring lash marks were proof of that.
Oddly, none of them had noticed those marks, and Dash especially appeared to be oblivious. Excitedly, he demanded, “Where were they? How'd you find them?!”
“That's... That's complicated,” Star Swirl replied wearily.
“Well, excuse me for being thrilled! It's not every day I'm in the presence of the Sisters.”
“It's not that, Mr. Dash. The three of us are just tired,” the mage assured, with a thin smile. “What of you? Last we spoke, you were off to battle Discord. You clearly survived.”
Dash growled irritably. “Yeah, 'cause it didn't happen. Bucking ephors called for a delay at the last minute. Said we needed to wait for reinforcements. Well, by the time those reinforcements caught up with us Discord had moved on.”
“That's good, right? This way nopony died unnecessarily.”
The sentry's eyes flashed. “This is necessary, moon-tugger. You know it.”
“True...”
“But hey!” Dash redirected, his good cheer returning. “None of that matters now. We have the Sisters with us, our victory is close.”
Star Swirl chose to stay quiet, and they trudged on like that for several minutes. There was little point in dampening the squad's spirits. For the time being, at least. Disappointment could wait until after their wounds had been attended to.
“You know, I don't think I got your name last time,” Dash broached.
“It's Star Swirl, Mr. Dash. Some ponies call me the Bearded. For obvious reasons.”
Dash stuck his hoof out, and when Star Swirl took it he said, “You can call me Piercing, Star Swirl. Pretty sure you've done enough to earn that.”
“If you insist. So, Piercing, where are you leading us to?”
“See for yourself. We're about to round the last bend,” he urged with a knowing grin.
Star Swirl took the pegasus up on his challenge, trotting a little faster to get out ahead of the group. He followed the turn, not sure what he expected.
It certainly wasn't to find himself eye-level with somepony's window.
The equally-surprised stallion huffed indignantly when he saw the mage on the ledge across from him and closed his curtains, while Star Swirl rapidly absorbed more of the scene. Cumulonium's grand spires, though they weren't quite as high above him as before, still towered over the unicorn. None of the city's grandeur was lost upon a closer inspection.
But more immediately interesting was the town Cumulonium was moored to. It, too, had no walls. Unlike the high cloud buildings of the floating city, this village's were short, two-storied affairs made of more conventional materials. Despite this, they still evoked a sense of airy lightness.
“What do you think?” Dash asked when he caught up.
“Is this..?”
“Yep,” he confirmed. “It's one of our ground colonies. You'll want to be careful, though. Some of these pegasi can get a little weird.”
“If they're so strange, why do you associate with them?” Star Swirl demanded, perhaps more accusatorily than he meant to. He was still rather stressed.
If Dash picked up on it, he gave no indication. “Colonies like these trade with the other tribes more often, so we'll buy stuff we need off of them.”
“Frankly, I don't get how they can stand it,” one of the other pegasi put in. “You moon-tuggers are bad enough, let alone the-”
Dash swatted him on the back of the head. “Don't call him that!”
“You do!” the other pegasus protested, gingerly massaging a newly-formed lump.
“I have privileges. Fly on ahead and tell them we're coming. The ephors will want to meet us.”
Despite a dirty look, the pegasus did as he was ordered, and when the group arrived at the colony's gate there was an appropriately-large crowd gathered. Earth ponies, unicorns, and, of course, pegasi were massed before them. The lot of them gawked in awe- except for five graying pegasi stallions. Star Swirl wasn't quite sure what they were thinking. Their stony faces gave no hint.
Clearly these were the aforementioned ephors, as the copious amounts of regalia attested. Though if their odd demeanor bothered Celestia, she didn't let it show. Instead, she smiled amiably and said, “Greetings to you, good Sirs. It is an honor to finally meet the leaders of this age, or at least some of them.”
“Surely the honor of ours, holy Celestia,” the middle ephor said, stiffly. Star Swirl could sympathize with what the other pony was experiencing. He had probably expected the goddess to start issuing commands. “If... If I may be so bold, why is it you have come here? Why now?”
“That's not so bold at all, my little pony. In fact, it's quite sensible and I commend you for having the wherewithal to ask. Simply put, myself, Luna, and noble Star Swirl there need a place to rest for awhile. Our journey has been... harder than we expected.”
The ephor visibly relaxed. “Oh. Well, if that's all you-”
“Out of my way!”
A murmuring kicked up in the crowd as a tall, but not as tall as the alicorns, mare shoved past the throng. Had Star Swirl not remembered where he was, he might have called the newcomer dainty. That, and a glance at the scar across her forehead, as well as a second glance at her lithe and not-at-all-actually-dainty body, served to convince him otherwise. Or perhaps it was her armor and plumed helmet.
The mare bowed deeply when she arrived before the Sisters. “Hail, Beloved Sisters! Cumulonium is at your service.”
“We are most grateful for-”
“You blind fools!” The mare rounded on the ephors, seemingly unaware of having interrupted Celestia. “Have you completely missed the fact that they are injured?! Send word to the hospital, tell them to prepare for our arrival!”
“You do not order us to do anything, Fior di Battaglia,” growled the ephor's spokes-stallion.
Fior glowered at the rebuke, but relented all the same. “I apologize, I was overzealous. I will escort them there myself. Exploratores- Ad signa!”
At once, Piercing Dash and the pegasi with him fell in behind their leader, and, upon invitation, the Sisters flanked Fior on either side. Another shouted command set the whole troop moving. A few moments later the ephors shuffled off. Spectacle gone, the crowd started dispersing as well.
This left Star Swirl, quite forgotten, standing alone in the middle of the road.
Though not entirely alone, as it turned out. A fellow unicorn lingered. Her mane was styled in the latest courtly fashion- which meant it was a ridiculously ornate affair, replete with loops and braids, that evoked all of the worst aspects of a peacock- and she was wearing a finely-made saddlebag. A word, perhaps her name, was embroidered on it.
All in all she was rather plain, in Star Swirl's opinion. Additionally, she was staring.
“May I help you?” Star Swirl ventured.
“You were with them,” she mumbled, her eyes widening. “The Sisters. You found them...”
Star Swirl hesitated, but ultimately decided to nod. “I did.”
The mare must have realized his discomfort, because she recoiled slightly, bringing a hoof up and gasping. She shook her head and composed herself. “Goodness, that was more than a little rude of me. I beg your pardon, it has been a slightly... shocking day thus far.” She curtsied. “My name is Glamour, humble importer and purveyor of unicorn culture.”
“It's nice to meet you, Miss Glamour. I am-”
“Star Swirl the Bearded, of course,” Glamour interrupted with a smirk. “Sorry. It's just that I make a point of at least knowing the faces of those whom the Court takes an interest in and, well, you have a very iconic look.”
Star Swirl wasn't sure how he felt about being recognized through his association with the royals, but before he could protest Glamour began to inspect his apparel. “I'd heard you weren't one for dressing up,” she said while magically examining his hemline. “It's wonderful to see you've changed your mind on that point! Might I ask for the name of your tailor? They do excellent work.”
“I'd prefer if you didn't.” He tugged free of her aura.
“Oh. Alright, then. It's a sore point, clearly, so I won't force the issue,” Glamour said, crestfallen. Then she recovered. “Say, my store is nearby, and I was about to take my lunch. Would you let me treat you to a meal? It's the least I can do, especially for a hero like you.”
His stomach growled its assent, partly from how much magic he'd used and partly because it had been close to a day since he'd eaten. He had no choice but to acquiesce. Gracefully excited, Glamour led him to her emporium.
It was immaculate and meticulously arranged, and the building itself had an attached apartment. Star Swirl didn't go in that part, as it would have been inappropriate, but Glamour did and soon returned bearing a delicious-looking noodle dish. From the speed with which she retrieved it Star Swirl could tell it was something she had left over, but it smelled good either way. They ate in the storefront, and in silence.
Despite the lack of conversation, Glamour regarded Star Swirl thoughtfully throughout the meal. When she finished she stood up, walked over to a rack of hats, selected one, and returned with it suspended in her magic. She passed it to him. “I believe this would match your cape marvelously, Star Swirl, so I'd like you to have it. Free of charge.”
“I can't accept this, Miss Glamour.”
“Why not? It's customary to reward heroes.”
“But I haven't done anything heroic, really. I've barely done anything at all,” he protested.
“Can I let you in on a little secret? The reason I keep track of the goings-on of the Court, aside from my professional interest, is because I wish to one day become a noblemare myself.” Glamour levitated the hat to Star Swirl's head and gently prodded him over to a set of mirrors. “I know what you're thinking, and yes, it's a hard thing to accomplish. But it has been done before.”
Taking a moment to nod approvingly, Glamour continued, “My hard work won't amount to anything if Discord isn't stopped. He'll destroy everything in the name of chaos, nobility included. That's where you come in. You took it upon yourself to find our salvation and deliver it to us. You found the Sisters, and now we have a chance to defeat him.”
The hat did in fact match his cape. They both bore a starry pattern, and were essentially the same colors. If he didn't know better, Star Swirl could've believed the two items had been made by... her.
Newly capped, and with directions on the speediest route to the hospital, Star Swirl wound through the alleys of the trading colony, sure that the added weight on his head would be the most bothersome thing he'd encounter on his way.
“Hello, me.”
“Seems I was wrong,” he muttered, turning to face his future self- or was he? Star Swirl wasn't quite sure anymore.
The elder one cocked his head in confusion. “Wrong about what?”
“Whether I could trust you or not,” Star Swirl spat. “Are you even actually me?”
“That's a difficult question to answer... Biologically? Yes, but we've lived lives so different we could hardly be called the same pony.”
“Why didn't you tell me about her? Why warn me about some things and not others?” the young one demanded.
The older mage took a deep, steeling breath and let it out, then sat down against a wall. “I'm not as young as I once was, and these old legs get tired doing the work of four. Would you sit with me a while?” Reluctantly, the younger one did as asked. “I see you've got the outfit now-”
“Answers, old stallion.”
“Very well,” the older one capitulated. “I didn't tell you because the two of you liked each other. You were friends.”
“That doesn't make any sense! You were just going to let me feel what you felt when you found out?”
Old Star Swirl shook his head. “I never found out, per se. I never knew the Journey you knew and, while we were inseparable, we were never friends.”
“Go on,” the younger one prodded.
“I first met my Journey in Cumulonium. I was drugged and delirious, and she visited me in my hospital bed.” He swallowed hard. “I was never able to face my wife again after that. A short time later, the authorities found out she was in the city, against their wishes, and we were forced to leave. I stole a peg on the way out.”
“You went with her? After she...?”
He smiled forlornly. “I wasn't thinking. I didn't think much back then, just spent months enjoying her solace and drinking the shame away. Until we finally stumbled upon the Wellspring.”
The younger Star Swirl was speechless- quite literally so. No words would answer his summons. How could the act of sleeping in a certain spot possibly have affected his future so?
And Journey... Was the same being he'd met truly capable of doing such things, in the midst of a downward spiral? Would she have preyed on him in the same way? Didn't she?
A mad cackle pierced his rumination. Confused, he looked to his elder self. Old Star Swirl's gaze wasn't on him. It was skyward. He followed it.
The smug face of Discord leered down at the town, and terrified screams abounded as more and more of the townsponies noticed the visage above them. After a few moments, the spirit called, “Sisteeers!”
“Never thought I'd hear that voice again...” Old Star Swirl whispered. There was an anxiety in his voice, a reverence.
“I'm so glad you decided to visit me earlier,” Discord sneered. But it was such a short reunion, don't you think? We should do it again sometime. Tell you what, I won't move from this cozy little capitol I've made. Come by whenever you feel like.”
The image winked out, and there was a general clamor in its wake. The younger Star Swirl rose to his hooves. “I've got to go. The Sisters-”
“I know,” Star Swirl interrupted, remaining where he was. “Good luck to you, Me. We won't cross paths again. There's just one more thing. I... don't hate Journey for what she did, not anymore. We're all capable of terrible things when we're trying to survive.”
A throng of ponies crowded the hospital's entrance, requiring a full compliment of nurses and orderlies- and soldiers- to keep them out. Most were simple well-wishers who wanted to meet their deities, but there was a growing, and increasingly frantic, number who were driven by Discord's pronouncement. Had the soldiers not been present, the staff would've been overwhelmed already.
Rather than join the pressing mass, Star Swirl stood off to the side. There was little chance he'd be able to actually get in, so he contented himself with just watching. He almost missed as a yellow nurse leaned over to the captain and pointed his way.
In moments he was flanked by two bulky stallions. They didn't say anything, but it was clear that Star Swirl was to come with them.
Getting through ceased to be a problem.
Up close, the mare was just as meek as she seemed from afar. It almost looked painful for her to ask, “You're him, r-right? The unicorn who brought the Sisters?”
“I am,” he confirmed. “My name is Star Swirl.”
“They told me to bring you to the Sisters' room. I-If you would...”
She led the mage through the uniform halls of the hospital and up several flights of stairs. Each floor held more and more soldiers who, though they recognized and nodded greetings to the nurse, glared at Star Swirl. To distract himself from this reception, he asked his escort her name.
“It- It's Sweet Care,” she squeaked.
“Very nice to meet you, Sweet Care.” The nurse just looked down at her hooves, so he kept talking. “Have you had a chance to examine the Sisters yet? Are they going to be okay?”
Sweet Care's disposition noticeably brightened now that they were on the topic of medicine. “Oh, they're going to be just fine. All we could find were some lacerations, and most of those were fairly shallow.”
“That's great news.”
“Yeah...” Sweet Care frowned as a thought occurred. “I don't think that's all the pain they're feeling, though. It's almost like they're hurting on the inside.”
“Their egos took something of a hit,” he said as they stopped at a door, her frown mirrored on his face.
“Can they...?”
Before Star Swirl could at least try to allay her concerns an out burst came from inside the room. “This is our best chance! We have to attack.”
“The general must be in there with them,” Sweet Care whispered.
“No use standing out here then, is there?”
“Until now, we've always been a wingbeat behind Discord,” Fiore urged as the newcomers entered. “If he's just going to stay put, then we must go to him.”
Luna was quick to dismiss the idea. “We left the Wellspring to safeguard the ponies of this land. How could we allow you to risk yourselves so?”
“But with you here-”
“The point has become moot, I'm afraid,” Celestia interrupted. “Now that our traveling companion has arrived we shall be leaving.”
“We are?” Star Swirl asked.
“How could you leave us, now of all times?!”
Celestia almost seemed to be pleading and decreeing at the same time as she said, “My Sister and I shall return, and soon. Until then, make no moves against Discord. There is a weapon that will guarantee the Spirit's fate. We go to find it.”
Once again Star Swirl stepped out of the Sisters' portal, a much smoother experience than his own rough teleportation. This time, however, the world he reentered wasn't a gaudy nightmare of city planning. Rather, the unicorn found himself looking around at a lush forest.
“I hope these woods treat me better than the last ones,” he muttered as Luna and Celestia came through behind him.
“They should,” the night goddess reassured, stopping to lay a hoof on his shoulder. “This forest is fairly new, and it hasn't had time yet to grow wild.”
Celestia marched past, not so much as glancing at Star Swirl. “That said, it is still best if we make haste. Our destination is a good distance away and we can not fly or use magic to speed the journey along. Let's go.”
“I know I can't physically fly, but why can't we just teleport to where we're going?” Star Swirl asked Luna as they watched Celestia stomp into the undergrowth.
“There are rules, young one. There are rules.”
They walked for the rest of the afternoon, Celestia's foul mood persisting throughout, and when they stopped to camp Star Swirl was completely unsure as to where they were. Even putting aside the three teleportations in a third as many days- all three of them blind on his part- the forest itself seemed to be scheming to be as devoid of distinguishing features as possible. He could only resign himself to trust that the Sisters knew which way to go.
In that state he kindled the fire, and in that state he tended it as the night set in. Celestia was quick to nod off, while her Sister appeared to grow only more alert. It was strange for the scholar to see their natures demonstrated so clearly.
It was also strange to catch that as he studied the Night, she gazed back at him.
“What did it feel like for you?”
Her words took him aback momentarily, they were so sudden. “What do you mean?”
“Passing through y cyfnod pontio,” Luna clarified. “That was an unprecedented act. No pony, indeed no mortal creature at all, has so much as attempted it. Truthfully, my Sister and I thought it impossible. So tell me, Star Swirl the Bearded, what was it like?”
“It was... odd. I felt more alive than I ever have before, yet at the same time I felt drained. It hurt, but it didn't. Truth be told, I'm at a loss. All my knowledge, all my words, and I still can't explain it properly.”
Luna snorted. “I should think not.”
“What do you mean by that?” Star Swirl demanded.
“Calm yourself, noble Star Swirl. It was not a slight against you,” the alicorn soothed. “I simply meant that your kind physically can not comprehend what you underwent.”
Star Swirl said nothing, so she continued, “The Wellspring was here before my Sister and I descended, as was y cyfnod pontio, but it is not actually part of this world. It exists separately, absorbing and leaking raw life-stuff. So in order to reach that place, you must experience the entirety of life itself. Happiness, wrath, loss, power, defeat, pain, learning, confusion. Everything. Including death.”
“Death?”
“Oh, yes. As birth is a part of every life, so too is death- but your senses are not able to penetrate those thresholds. So, while your soul knows what it went through, your worldly body will never be able to truly feel it.”
“I miss it, I think,” Star Swirl confessed, looking down at his hooves as a twinge shot through them. “I feel... a little empty.”
Luna nodded grimly. “As you shall for the rest of your days,”
“Will it have been worth it, in the end?” he asked.
“Yes,” Luna vowed. “This I promised, Star Swirl. Your efforts will not be in vain. There will be a land where ponies can live according to their wishes, free from Discord's sadism.” She pursed her lips in thought. “In expectation of that future, might I ask a favor of you?”
“What is it?”
Luna seemed hesitant. “It concerns Journey. She was, and still remains, a dear friend to my Sister and I. So please, forgive her.”
“After what she did?!” Star Swirl demanded.
“I realize she deceived you, and I understand that it hurts. But you, too, must understand that she had a good reason. Names aside- the friendship you two forged was real, and in times like these you need friends.”
Star Swirl thought on her words, and on the escapades he'd gone through with the Spirit of such things. After a long while, he spoke again.
“I'm busy.”
When dawn broke the three resumed their trek, and after some time they came to the edge of a ravine. The Sisters told Star Swirl to remain where he stood, while they went on without him. An hour or so they returned, laden with saddlebags the mage didn't remember them having before.
Standing once again in the trading colony's market square, Star Swirl couldn't help but feel like a foal that had been shuffled off into a side room while the adults tended to more important affairs. What those affairs were, the mage could hardly guess- save that they concerned Discord and the simple-seeming satchel the Sisters refused to comment on.
So he waited, as he had been told to when the Sisters left him there, trying to pass the time with a bit of shopping. It wasn't turning out to be very, though. The clothes he already wore were more than ostentatious enough for his tastes, and there were only so many local delicacies his stomach could... well, stomach.
As he turned down yet another offered accessory, Star Swirl heard a familiar high-pitched cackle. “So, we meet again. Meet again.”
The unicorn pivoted around to see a certain three griffins. Snarling, he lit up his horn, calling the magic forth to smash the would-be abductors.
“Ah ah ah,” Goryanna tutted, her beak curling up in a smirk. “You don't want to start a diplomatic incident, do you?”
“What do you mean?! What incident?!” Star Swirl demanded.
“It's simple, Stormtaken. Godfrey, Gilbert, and I are the duly appointed emissaries of the griffins- by which I mean I decided I wanted to come visit.”
She held up a scroll bearing a very important-looking seal, one that Star Swirl didn't immediately recognize. Regardless, it seemed legitimate. “You three represent the griffins?”
“A sizable portion of them, at least,” Goryanna affirmed.
“And why would they griffins need to send envoys?” the mage probed. “Why now?”
“I'm very interested to find that out myself. The invitation was quite unexpected.”
Star Swirl wasn't entirely convinced of the bandit's sincerity, but- if she was in fact here by invitation- it wouldn't do to cause her injury. Even if she might deserve it.
Picking up on the unicorn's hesitation, Goryanna grinned again and said, “Now that that's settled, would you mind putting your horn out? The ponies are starting to stare.”
Reluctantly, and upon seeing that the pegasi around them were in fact watching the brilliant spectacle, Star Swirl dimmed his horn. A mild worry cropped up that the griffin would count this as a victory and, perhaps, the start of a trend.
Before he could quash the notion, a squad of armored pegasi landed nearby. They saluted the griffins. “Ma'am, Sirs,” a pink mare greeted. “We have been sent to escort you to the council chamber. If you would follow us?”
“Of course. Lead the way.” Goryanna sarcastically waved goodbye to Star Swirl.
The mare looked where Goryanna was waving and snapped out another salute when she recognized the unicorn. “Master Star Swirl! Excellent, we can take two horns with one... umm... Anyway, you have been invited as well.”
“That's good to hear,” was the sour reply.
She soldiered on despite his jab. “Unfortunately, we weren't expecting to come across you just yet, so you will have to wait here until a carriage arrives. The council is being held in the city.”
“Alternatively, he could come with me.” A white unicorn elegantly sashayed out of the crowd and flashed a disarming smile at the pegasi, which had the desired effect on all of them. Every one. “Such a sharply dressed stallion is always welcome to be my escort, and besides we've both been invited to the same party.”
“A pleasure meeting you again. Glamour.”
“And you, Star Swirl. So, is this arrangement acceptable?”
The pegasus mare swallowed hard and nodded. “That should... yeah. I mean- That will be fine.”
With another quick salute the pegasi lifted off, followed forthwith by the... dignitaries.
Star Swirl suppressed the groan that was elicited by the mere thought, a battle that was only narrowly won, instead gesturing for Glamour to lead the way. This she did, and as they walked the mage could certainly appreciate what had left those soldiers dumbstruck. Glamour wasn't as awe-inspiringly beautiful as his beloved- nor as poised or gracious- be she still possessed these traits in spades. Were he married...
Could he still say that, though? Was he really as committed as he'd believed? Noble goals only meant so much when weighed against his actions. The devoted husband and father hadn't spoken to his family in... a month? Two? Keeping track of the days while on the road had proved to be impossible.
Not to mention what his other self had done...
That was it. While they waited at Glamour's shop for the carriage to take them to Cumulonium, Star Swirl made a purchase. Amongst the various trappings of unicorn court life on the display was a smaller, simpler item, one that would be little more than a crystal ornament for most ponies. But for those with unicorn magic it was a sending stone.
He didn't use it, though. Some things weren't for an audience. Besides, there would be time enough after the council.
For such an insular tribe, the pegasi had shown a remarkable amount of foresight when they designed their council chambers.
The room- in fact, the whole building- was constructed of a strange cloud type, one that was able to support the weight of non-pegasi. A proper scholar could dedicate an entire research paper to the stuff, with one or two addendums on how it blended with the aesthetic of the rest of the city. More's the pity it was unlikely that the pegasi would allow any more unicorns to visit.
All of the delegates sat in an amphitheater with two rows allowing access to the seating, but that was not where the guards led Star Swirl and Glamour. Instead, they climbed a set of stairs to a relatively small balcony.
“Well, Ah'll be!”
Star Swirl was swept into a crushing country hug, leaving him barely able to choke out, “It's good to see you, Root.”
“You, too. Long way from the hot spring, ain't it?” the earth pony asked with a wink.
“It certainly is.”
“Where's Downward? Ah hope she was able to get better.”
“She's fine, it's just...” Star Swirl grimaced.
“Not somethin' you wanna talk about right now, huh? That's okay. Oh!” Root pointed to the two pegasi standing behind her. “Where are mah manners? This here's Sweet Care, and the stallion beside her's mah chaperone while Ah'm in the city, Piercing Dash.”
Star Swirl stroked his beard. “Strangely enough, I've met them before. This is-”
“Glamour,” the merchant introduced. “It's an honor to make your acquaintance. You simply must tell me this hot spring story.”
“Not to seem rude, but why are all of you here?” Star Swirl huffed.
“They told me I was supposed to represent the hospital,” Sweet Care murmured. “I guess since I helped during the Sister's stay, though I'm sure there has to be somepony more qualified...”
“Likewise for me, except for the merchants in town,” put in Glamour.
“I'm here to keep the earth pony from falling off,” Dash said, “ and to keep her out of anyplace off-limits.”
Root shrugged. “An' Ah'm not rightly sure what got me here.”
“Yes, well, that would be me.”
All of them turned to see a brown earth pony, sporting an hourglass cutie mark, leaning against the doorframe. It didn't take long for Star Swirl to recognize him. “You! You're that doctor from before!”
“Indeed I am,” the strange doctor confirmed. “I also rigged Miss Sweet Care and Miss Glamour's selections. I had a bit of pull when it came to who exactly received invites to this little pow-wow. Or I will, but that's neither here nor there.”
Dash flitted over to Star Swirl and asked, “You know this weirdo?”
“Not as well as I know you,” the mage quipped. Then he refocused on the physician. “Why would you manipulate these things?”
The pony trotted past the five and looked down over the balcony. “It seemed appropriate that all of you be here.”
“How come?” Root asked.
Instead of answering, the enigmatic stallion shushed them and pointed to the ponies below. “It looks like they're about to start.”
Star Swirl- the others as well- leaned against the rail to see. Down in the pit, Fior di Battaglia stood at a lectern, wearing all the trappings of her station. Behind her towered something covered.
“Councilors, the situation is grave. Thus far, we pegasi of Cumulonium have hunted Discord all across the land- and always we were but a wingbeat behind. We thought ourselves ready to end his reign of terror. We thought ourselves capable. It is only now, when he's fixed himself in one spot, that I have realized our folly.”
Two stallions (clad in the same manner as Dash) pulled off the cloth obscuring what was revealed to be a giant board. Detailed sketches were pinned to it, each depicting a different flavor of insanity. Dark, twisted caricatures of equines graced some, others bore hedge mazes or spiked trees. There were red-black stains on more than one sheet.
“We have not been idle while the Sisters were away,” Fior continued. “Even before they left, we dispatched our swiftest scouts to investigate the area Discord has claimed. This is their hard-earned information.”
“I was there,” Dash said softly, eyeing those blots. “It... wasn't pretty.”
Before Star Swirl could ask him to elaborate, Fior pointed at a few sketches. “As you can see, the land around that wretch's capitol has been transformed. Whatever trees once were are now blighted, and what's more three or so giant mazes have sprung up. They don't seem to truly be defensive, though, as they do not connect. They're just there.”
“'Just there'? Does he think this is some sort of game?” one of the assembled pegasi blustered.
“Most likely, though Discord is certainly playing to win. See these... things in the shape of ponies? According to the reconnaissance force, they are constructed of glass- or something similar to it- and there is an army of them, armed and armored from head to hoof. Not just ponies, either. Many other creatures are represented. Including griffins.”
The two males accompanying her shifted in agitation, but Goryanna remained still. Then attentions shifted to the other side of the auditorium when the grey ephor from before stood and said, “If this threat is as dire as you claim, then now is the time to send for Commander Hurricane. No slight to you, but we need a true leader in the face of all this.”
“Unfortunately, that is impossible,” Fior informed him, her tone making it quite clear that she did indeed regard his words as a slight. Many an equine soul thought themselves lucky they were not that stallion at that moment. “The Commander has been driven from the north and is now searching for a new place to settle, according to the messages we've received. No help is coming from that legion.” She turned away from him and to the griffins. “Which is why we've asked you here. Relations between us have been... strained for some time, but this is a problem that affects every nation and organization. We need your help, Goryanna. We need your numbers.”
The bandit queen leaned forward intently. “I'm no fool. I'm well aware of the threat that Discord poses- to everyone. But we're thieves, not soldiers. Give me a reason I shouldn't just go back to my mountains and hope he doesn't notice me.”
“We understand your concerns, Goryanna of the griffins,” Celestia intoned as she and her Sister walked through the doors. Many gasps were heard while they made their way down the aisle, and all of the pegasi bowed. Even the griffins seemed awed at the sight of the alicorns.
“It's the Sisters!” Root blanched. “Ah- Ah can't believe it!”
“Yeah, it's still hard to believe,” Dash agreed.
The Sisters reached the front of the room, and the eyes of all were just taking note of the saddlebag hanging off of Luna- that same plain bag from the forest. “We would never ask you to gamble your lives like this without a plan,” the smaller alicorn pledged.
“These,” Celestia announced, using her magic to open the bag and draw out six gems with a flourish, “are the Elements of Harmony. With these, we will finally defeat Discord and end this.”
“That is good news, surely, but what about the army? How will you reach him?” the ephor asked.
Luna frowned. “For lack of a better option, with a distraction.”
“Our forces shall assault Discord's capitol from one side,” Fior explained, “drawing his defenses away.”
“This will allow Luna and I to sneak past and unleash the Element's power on him.”
A muttering broke out amongst the assembly, so Fior stepped forward. “True, this is a risk. But we will not be alone. Star Swirl the Bearded, the pony who found the Sisters and a stallion of no small fame, will be fighting with us.”
Goryanna leaned back, a knowing smile splitting her beak. “Well that's it, then,” she said. “I have more than enough experience with that pony to convince me of his worth in a fight. I'm in.”
“So.” The mysterious earth pony turned toward the rest of the ponies on the balcony as the discussion below turned to logistics and timing. “You've heard about the danger. You know what's at stake. What will you do?”
Sweet Care was the first to speak up. “I want to help.”
“You?!” Piercing Dash exclaimed. “You're a nurse! What are you going to do?”
“I can't fight, but I can take care of the wounded. There's more than one way to help.”
“Ah'm with ya, Sweet Care. This fight is all of ours.”
Dash shrugged. “You can do what you want, I guess. As for me, I've been chasing this battle for a while. Of course I'll be there.”
“That bag seemed drab, perhaps the Sisters would like something a little more fetching? We should go offer our services,” Glamour suggested.
The three mares left excitedly, with Dash sighing and following after his charge. This left Star Swirl alone that doctor. “You brought them all here. You knew they'd want to help.”
“I had a suspicion.”
“How? How did you know about this council, and about Journey? Who are you?”
The stranger let out a rueful chuckle. “That, well... that's a whole jar of wriggling little worms, isn't it? Suffice it to say, I'm just a spectator.” He held up a hoof before Star Swirl could protest his declared neutrality. “No. I'm only here to watch. This isn't my problem to solve, it's yours.”
“But-”
“Star Swirl!” Luna called from below. “Could you come down here? We have some things we must discuss with you.”
“You should go,” the doctor-pony told him. “The next three days are going to be very busy for you.”
Star Swirl did as he prodded, reluctantly, an ache running through his chest.
It was, when one got down to it, very much a calculated risk.
Star Swirl stood straining, pouring energy into a portal- one that stretched wide enough to allow twenty soldiers to march through, shoulder to shoulder. But even with the discipline the army possessed- a discipline, it should be noted, that wasn't shared by a certain bunch- it took some time to herd the whole of it through at quick march. The were 2,000 of them, after all.
Which is where the risk came in. The mage was weary by the time Goryanna and her griffins strolled past. Star Swirl didn't return her jaunty wave. Instead he leaned even more on Glamour, who was supporting him as he focused on keeping the portal open. Root and Sweet Care were already through, and Dash had been near the front.
Finally, after ensuring the portal didn't close on his allies, Star Swirl limped through.
The clamor that met his ears as he emerged was terrible. Metallic clanging, shattering, shouted commands, screams, and beneath it all a wet pattering. Star Swirl reeled, then caught himself. He couldn't let it unnerve him. He wasn't allowed to. Instead, he walked over and touched the beacon that had served as the portal's anchor- returning the magic he'd imbued it with three days ago. Thus restored, Star Swirl turned his attention to the battle.
The facsimiles seethed out of the village, more and more throwing themselves at the waiting army. This presented an interesting wrinkle. The pegasi and griffins had taken to the air, as was their way, but not all of the creatures could fly- and they needed every body save Discord's out of the town. Therefor a detachment of pegasi, lead by Fior di Battaglia, was forced to stay grounded.
So that was where Star Swirl's help was needed most.
Deciding to forego lightning and fire- they were too dangerous given the circumstances and most likely ineffective, respectively- the mage lit up his horn. A cloud of his aura caught a section of the swarm above and slammed them down in the middle of the opposing ground army. Before those still intact could recover, pure telekinetic power smashed the impact site.
But the gap was only momentary, and was soon closed by the ranks behind.
“Star Swirl!”
The unicorn spun towards Root's voice. She and Sweet Care had collected a number of injured, but in doing so they'd also attracted the ire of some of the glassy creatures. Root was doing what she could to repel them, bucking fiercely and even destroying a few, but it wouldn't be long before they were overrun.
Star Swirl could fix that. He muttered a few words in an old tongue and stomped a hoof. Instantly, walls of rocks shot up around the ponies. A bit more magic and they slid outward to give the injured some more rooms. One side rose up and over to make a dome.
Fior was quick to notice the new advantage. Shouting commands, she maneuvered her troops so that they were fighting with the structure at their backs.
“Glamour, you should get in the dome,” Star Swirl said. “You'll be safer there, and you can help Sweet Care.”
She nodded. “Alright, I will. But be careful, Darling.”
“I'll be fine,” he told her.
Almost immediately after she left, Dash swooped down. His armor had a few nicks, and he himself had a cut or two, be he was otherwise okay. “If you had any sense, you'd be in there with them.”
“I wouldn't have a clear view of the battle if I did that, Piercing. If I am to be useful, I need to be able to tell where I should direct my spells.”
Dash frowned at the mage's reasoning. “Then get to a hill somewhere. This isn't the greatest spot, and it's only going to get even more chaotic.”
“I'll be fine,” Star Swirl insisted.
The pegasus opened his mouth to rebut, but before he could he was forced to duck to avoid a talon-swipe from a passing crystalline griffin. Dash took off after it. Spear and Claws flashed as their bearers dove at each other.
Not that Star Swirl had the luxury of watching the duel. Several of the creatures on the horde's fringe took notice of the lone unicorn and started towards him. Star Swirl edged closer to the dome and the soldiers, firing off beams of magic at the ones that got too close- which only served to alert more to replace each creature he destroyed.
Thus, it wasn't too long before a particularly large, canine-looking monster broke through and pounced at the mage. Star Swirl stumbled sideways, only barely reacting quickly enough to avoid being tackled to the ground. The beast's follow-up swipe was just as narrowly dodged.
As Star Swirl frantically backed away from his pursuer, a red-covered lump thudded down next to him. Its hoof caught his cheek and sent him sprawling, and for a moment all he could see were miniature stars. The din of battle was replaced by an insistent ringing.
That ringing subsided quickly, though, and when it had faded low enough Star Swirl could hear a menacing growl.
The dog-thing was coming for him- Star Swirl didn't have to look to realize that. He tried to rise, but his sense of balance had yet to return and he fell again. So he crawled. As fast as he could.
But the path forward wasn't clear either, not by any means. A pair of constructs- these ones in the shape of his own tribe, though they used no magic- stomped Star Swirl's way. The mage clenched his teeth, his head throbbing in protest, and gathered his power again. Two ragged beams lanced forth.
Then a crystal paw wrapped around a hind leg. Star Swirl yelped and tried to twist away, kicking desperately, but every time he managed to get loose of the thing's grasp it would drag him back. Before long, its claws found purchase and there was no more escaping. Star Swirl gathered his aura to blast the brute away, but as soon as he lit his horn the monster grabbed it and bashed his head into the dirt. The ringing came back.
With a victorious snarl, the glass creature leaned in to bite. The ringing got louder. And louder.
Then the ringing deepened slightly in pitch, becoming more akin to a buzz, and the thing pulled back. It looked down at its paws, whining, a confused expression on its muzzle. Several cracks formed up and down its body. The buzzing changed one last time, and the dog-thing shattered explosively.
“Are you alright?” A hoof appeared in Star Swirl's field of view.
The mage took the offered help and was pulled to his hooves, blinking to refocus his eyes. “What was that, a spell? Why did it...?”
“Acoustic resonance,” Star Swirl's rescuer explained, and it was then that he realized who had saved him. The strange doctor held up the device he'd used on Downward. “If you apply the right frequency, anything will come apart. Makes for a neat party trick.”
“You... you said you wouldn't get involved,” Star Swirl gaped.
“I lied,” the doctor said simply. “It's something I do. Now, if you would be so kind as to make a shield around us? It won't be long before the constructs get over their comrade's... unusual demise.”
Sure enough, the creatures roused themselves almost as soon as the words were out of the doctor's mouth. Star Swirl quickly did as suggested.
“Excellent! Now we can talk. I'm sure you have a few questions for me.”
Star Swirl's head pounded from the strain of holding the shield together- almost in time with the creatures' attempts to get in- but he ignored it. “Just one: Why did you lie? Why did you help me?”
“I'm not sure if that could really be considered one question...”
“Just answer, please,” the mage said.
The doctor's expression sobered, his wry smile disappearing. “History is being made here. History is always being made, and remade, and changed, and improved, and worsened. Time is constantly in flux. Except, and this is important, except when it comes to Fixed Points. Moments in time that always happen- that must always happen.”
“So you're saying this battle is one of these fixed points?” Star Swirl looked around. “That it always is like this, and can't change?”
“Not exactly. You see, this battle isn't the fixed point. What's happening- or is about to happen- in that village is. This fight can go either way, but you still will have completed your objective. Even you, whether I interfered or not, your legacy is secure. You found the Sisters, and they would've found you in the aftermath. Mauled and half-dead, but still breathing. The others, as well.”
“Then you still haven't answered my question.”
The doctor pointed back towards the skirmish line. “Look.”
Star Swirl squinted in the indicated direction. The pegasi proved to be holding their own, despite the unfamiliarity they surely felt fighting with their hooves on the ground. Enemy upon enemy were destroyed as they approached, and those that managed to get close found their strikes expertly deflected before they too were broken. At the center of it all was Fior, her armor gleaming and still unmarred, her spear thrusting wickedly.
Yet as Star Swirl watched the ranks in front of her parted suddenly and an immense glass minotaur barreled forward. Fior was only a moment too late to react. One of the bull's horns caught her full in the side, just below the plate of her armor. With a furious scream, Fior drove her spear through the minotaur's skull- holding tight to the construct as it thrashed in pain. The struggle lasted but a second, then the minotaur and the mare dropped.
Those pegasi nearby shouted fiercely and leapt to their leader's defense, whirling their spears to fend off the hordes, while still more soldiers dragged her back from the front.
But Star Swirl could see it was clearly too late. Fior was limp, and gore dripped down her coat. The rest of the force could see it as well. Spear points wavered, and several ponies shifted nervously.
“This is the rout.” The doctor was grim. “Fior was a brilliant commander, and her soldiers loved her as much as her own foals did. Without her, they lose their spirit and are slaughtered.” As he said this, a stallion let his spear linger just a bit too long and it was ripped from his hooves. The pegasus beside him pulled him away, but ended up getting kicked in the neck by a construct for his concern. He slumped to the dirt. The doctor turned to face Star Swirl. “What will you do? Will you wait here in this bubble?”
The line began to falter. Star Swirl's jaw set.
“Fantastic! Now, I do believe you'll be needing this.” The doctor held up Star Swirl's crumpled hat. In all the confusion, Star Swirl must've dropped it.
The unicorn wiped away some blood from his cheek, accepted the hat, dusted it off a bit, and placed it on his head.
Then he sent a pulse of magic from his horn into the shield. The bubble darkened for a split second before exploding outward, the shockwave blasting over the entire battlefield. Only two creatures, and the dome, stayed standing.
Star Swirl broke into a gallop, and as he ran his hoofsteps left blue fire in his wake. Pure force coned in front of him- force that none of the fallen glass monsters could withstand. All down the battle line he ran, clearing a space and creating a barrier at the same time. Then he doubled back.
“Stand fast, Soldiers of Cumulonium!” he bellowed, his back to the magical flame. “Stand fast, saviors of ponykind!”
The pegasi looked at each other uncertainly. They knew the unicorn that towered in front of them, of course, but he held no rank in the army. Star Swirl took a deep breath. “We have suffered for too long- you all know what those words mean. You all know what Discord has done to us. You all know that Discord is the antithesis of what it means to be civilized! To be just! To be kind! Remember the pain he's caused!” Star Swirl pointed at the distorted village. “Remember why we fight!”
Hooves gripped their spear shafts a little tighter, as Star Swirl continued. “I am a scholar. A bookworm. I'm tired, my magic is nearly spent, and my own blood is dyeing my beard- yet I still fight!” The mage levitated a nearby weapon over his head. “Who shall fight with me?!”
A cheer went up among the soldiers, with the loudest voice coming from a certain pegasus in the sky above. Star Swirl turned toward the monsters and slammed the butt of his spear into the ground. His horn flared. The fire blinked a brighter shade of azure and was siphoned into the mage's spear, before jumping to all the others.
The glass creatures, free from obstruction and apparently unimpressed by the now aflame weapons pointing at them, charged at the pegasi again.
“For the Sisters!”
The wave of crystalline constructs crashed into the line. Star Swirl swung wildly, breaking two of them fairly easily. A third knocked his spear away, but was destroyed before it could follow through by a panicked beam. The mage called the spear back, its flame noticeably diminished, and plunged again into the fight. For a while the line stayed strong, each pegasus displaying valor worthy of a dozen songs. The sound of breaking glass echoed for several minutes.
Courage could only do so much, however, for no matter how bravely the pegasi fought, they were still gravely outnumbered. A pink-coated mare went down under a pile of the things, her spear barely visible through the kicking hooves. On the other end of the line a grounded soldier, distracted by the constructs in front of him, failed to notice a diving glass griffin until it was too late and the thing's talons slashed his throat open. It flew away again, two of Goryanna's griffins in pursuit. Still, the ponies fought on- each fallen comrade only adding to the fury of their blows. All the while Star Swirl ran back and forth, swinging his spear and firing blasts as needed.
Until he collapsed, his strength finally gone. The flame on the spears winked out. Deprived of their weapons' enchantments, the line began to crumble again.
“No... I can still...” Star Swirl tried to light his horn. But the magic wouldn't come. The mage tried again, and again, as the creatures approached. He was still trying when their shadows fell over him.
Suddenly, the field was bathed in a blinding light. Pony and construct recoiled from the nova, until it morphed into a rainbow that arched over the village. Then it was gone.
As soon as the display was over, the glass creatures stiffened and tipped over- some even broke as they hit the ground. A hush settled on the plain.
Three times now Sweet Care had said that, and from the look on the mare's face it would be said again before Star Swirl's examination was finished. The mage did his best to sound reasonable when he said, “Yes, I'm fine. Now please stop fussing over me. There are others who need your help more than I do.”
“Nonsense,” she insisted, more firmly than Star Swirl had seen her before. “You were hurt so badly you had to be carried.”
“I simply exhausted all of my magic and needed to rest for a while. Look, I'm standing now.”
“Maybe we should listen to him,” Root put in from the other side of the tent. “If any of us'd know 'bout magical things, it'd be him.”
“No.” Sweet Care's tone would broke no further argument.
Star Swirl sighed in resignation. “Fine. Just make it quick, if you would.”
As the nurse went back to work, Piercing Dash lifted the flap of the tent. “By the Sisters, you were incredible, Star Swirl! When we get back to Cumulonium, I'll buy you a round.” He paused as a thought formed. “Or maybe some tea...”
“I'm not sure that's the best idea.” All Star Swirl wanted was to go home- without the burden of any excess relationships.
“Oh, okay. Well, if you ever change your mind just stop by.”
“On a separate note,” the mage redirected, “what of that strange doctor? Has he been accounted for?”
Root looked confused. “Was he here? Ah was under the impression he was stayin' clear of this fight.”
Star Swirl pulled away from Sweet Care and trotted out of the tent before she could object. Dash hovered along behind him, like a concerned parent after a child. The unicorn wished he would just go away.
“Star Swirl the Bearded.”
The voice was raspy and strained, and it seemed to be coming from some distance away. But when Star Swirl turned to see who was addressing him he found that the pony in question was not more than a couple meters. Dash floated up beside the mage. “Do you know this guy?”
“No, not that I can recall.” Star Swirl could certainly say he'd never met a pony like the one before him. It wasn't his coloring- a light gray- or his stature- for he was entirely average in size for an earth pony. Nor was it the walking stick clasped in his hoof, though the pony didn't seem to need the thing. It was the fact that looking at his cutie mark made Star Swirl's vision blur slightly. His eyes were hardly different, and only barely equine. The mage steeled himself and asked, “How might I help you, good sir?”
“You are required.”
There was no bang or poof, no flash of light or uttered words of power. No portal appeared before them. The gray pony simply turned his head towards the village and the two of them- sans pegasus- were there. So smooth was the transition, that it was as if they were always standing in that little town. Indeed, they might well have been.
They weren't the only ones present, of course. The Sisters were deep in conversation a few paces away- about what, Star Swirl couldn't hear. That talk ended as Luna noticed their new neighbors. “Star Swirl! You made it!”
Celestia didn't share her Sister's cheer. She'd seen that Star Swirl was not alone. “You... You're not real. You can't be.”
“There are more things in this world than are in your garden, little sun goddess,” the not-pony rebuked. “And more still in this universe.”
“'Tia, he stands clearly in front of you. He is real. Or do you doubt your own eyes?”
Star Swirl cleared his throat, perhaps a bit louder than would've been warrant. “If I may ask, why can't he be real? What is he?”
“A Concept,” Celestia whispered breathlessly.
“A Concept?” the mage parroted. “As in, an idea? What do you mean by that? Is he some sort of spirit?”
Luna shook her head. “Not in the least. Spirits may thrive off of certain emotions or actions, and they may even exert some control over them, but they are not those things.”
“And Concepts are?”
“Yes.” Luna nodded solemnly, and when she saw that the unicorn was less than convinced she continued, “Don't be fooled by his body, Star Swirl. It is nothing more than a shell. He is a fundamental force-”
The Concept tapped his staff to the ground. “Lessons can wait. It is time.”
“It's happening now?” Celestia demanded.
“Momentarily.”
“Then you are correct,” Luna agreed. “Forgive us, Star Swirl, but my Sister and I are needed back at the Wellspring.”
“He will not be left behind.”
Celestia blinked in surprise. “You are bringing him with us? The oracle never said anything about-”
“No creature is the master of Destiny, save for my brother himself,” the Concept interrupted, his demeanor turning curt and cold. “The hoofsteps of Star Swirl the Bearded have brought him to this place in this moment. Who are you to deny him?”
Celestia flinched back from the being's chastisement, and Luna- who'd never seen her Sister so cowed- hastily stepped forward. “We mean no disrespect, lord. It's just something of a surprise, that's all. Fate has seen the mage thus far, so of course he will come with.”
“You are very polite, Mare of Dreams, and quite astute with your guesses.” The Concept smiled slightly.
Then the environment shifted again, bringing all four of them to the center of the Wellspring. Transporting one unicorn so seamlessly a short distance had impressed Star Swirl enough already, but including two creatures as magically and metaphysically influential as the Sisters with no additional effort was something else entirely. If Luna was to be believed, the Wellspring was separate from the rest of the world- another layer of being that was only loosely connected to reality. There was no reference scale for the amount of power needed to perform such a feat as had just been accomplished.
“Starry?” In a flash Star Swirl was tackled in an especially spirited hug. “I've missed you so much, Starry. I'm so glad you're okay!”
“Please let me go, Journey.”
The pegasus-shaped spirit disentangled and sheepishly back away. “Oh- sorry about that. It's just- I- You're still wearing my...”
“And it's still reminding me,” Star Swirl grumbled as he climbed to his hooves. “We are not friends, Journey.”
Before Journey could reply, several beings appeared around them. Each of them arrived singularly, with little fanfare, and indeed their entrance would've been missed if not for the fact that the mage was studiously avoiding eye contact. Like the first Concept, these new ones were nominally pony in form, with little things that gave away their otherworldly aspects. A certain charcoal Concept was particularly mesmerizing, and Star Swirl found himself being drawn into the thing's presence, unable look away. His head began pounding.
“Restrain yourselves,” the raspy Concept commanded. “One of the mortals is bleeding.”
The effect stopped. Star Swirl blinked and rubbed his eyes. There was blood on his hoof when he done. The gray Concept's head whipped around to the far side of the clearing. “It begins.”
As one, the Concepts turned in that same direction. A ripple of air spread out from a point roughly head height, followed a second later by a singularity spinning into view. The sphere darkened and expanded, wider and wider, until it erupted into a nova of light and force that staggered Star Swirl. He held a hoof in front of his eyes to shield himself from the brilliance, only returning his gaze when the display finally dimmed. In the previously empty space, there knelt-
“An alicorn?!” Journey gasped.
It certainly seemed as such. The wings and the horn were there, and it was about as tall as Celestia. Its coat was white like the older Sister, but its mane and tail glowed a light pink. Its eyes were two mismatched dark shades that were hard to see in the light it was emitting.
The gray concept stepped forward. “Behold, mortals. Behold, immortals. A new spirit is born.”
The alicorn stood, unfurling its wings, and spoke in a voice both familiar and unrecognizable to Star Swirl.