//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 // Story: The Tale of Horologium // by H0rologium //------------------------------// I had ended up signing the scroll, and I packed up the few things I had, put on my overcoat, and headed off with Star Shine to magic school. Looking back, I hadn't really even processed the fact that Star Shine was taking me to magic school. Not until we got onto a train heading to Canterlot. Then I had a complete panic attack. I don't remember most of the train trip, but once we got off the train, I remember the excitement I had felt. I, a simple, mark-less unicorn, was going into magic school! As it turns out, Star Shine was my teacher. He privately tutored me, since most of the ponies going into magic school were little fillies or colts. I had a modest little apartment to live in, and life seemed to be turning around for me. I'll spare you all the little details of my life during magic school, but let me tell you this, if you are a lucky little foal who is accepted to the school, its something that changes you. For good or for worse is up to you. Man, I'm getting off-topic again. I'll just fast-forward to my graduation. This is the part where Star Shine's lie was revealed. He met me in the hall outside of the room where I had received my certificate for completing the courses. He had a sly smile on his face. "Hey, ready to start your next semester?" This of course caught me completely off-guard. "I don't know what you are talking about." Star Shine pulled out his scroll, the scroll that I had signed all that time ago. "It says right here, you also agree to two semesters of "judging" in entrance exams, upon completion of your courses." I wasn't too mad, because I didn't know the path that this would set me down, but I had no choice. I remember the anxiety as I followed Star Shine to get ready to be an examiner. Thankfully, I only had to be in that spot for a couple of weeks. Silver Quill paused her reading as she noticed that Dareasus had stopped, they were standing in a small clearing. Straight ahead, a run-down, overgrown shack stood, gaping holes in it's sides from decay and termites. Dareasus slowly pushed open the door, then jumped back as the door fell to the ground, rotten off it's hinges. "Come on, Silver Quill, lets rest here for a while." She followed Dareasus inside the shack, the cold feeling of dampness and mold settling over her. Finding a relatively dry spot in a sunbeam on the floor, Silver Quill settled down and forgot all about the shack and it's striking familiarity as she continued to read the book. Lets just say that my job as an entrance examiner was dull. Imagine trying to slice a loaf of bread with a blade of grass, that's how dull it was. Even now, after experiences a lot worse, I get very uneasy thinking about that time. What made it worth while were the foals. Most of them were Canterlot raised, their rich parents paying their way in. Then, every now and then, one of the teachers would disguise themselves with magic and go out, looking for that prodigal filly or colt, like Star Shine did to find me. Star Shine taught me this disguise trick, in case I was sent to find somepony. I never did, but I imagined what it would be like. And then, my dreams were completed and shattered at the same time. Celestia regularly visited the school of magic, getting reports on how the education was going, talking to the students, stuff like that. Occasionally taking a random colt or filly with her for 'advanced education'. I always had this worried feeling in my gut whenever I saw her, and back then I had believed that there must have been something troublesome involving the foals. I remember the day. The day that made and broke me. I was going in to an entrance exam with a couple of other judges. We were going to be testing a small unicorn from Ponyville. I remember also that I hadn't gotten a lot of sleep last night. I was supposed to be testing some little unicorn whose name is kind of familiar. It was Tempest Twinkle, no that wasn't it. It had sounded pretty, and I had stopped learning their names after the first dozen or so. Whatever, She was from Ponyville, we hadn't gotten a lot of fillies from there in a while, I tiredly thought as I sat in my apartment. One of the other teachers burst through the door. I wish I could remember her name. But she seemed very anxious, that I do remember. "The Princess has summoned you" the mare gasped out. "What about my student I'm supposed to be testing soon." "Don't worry, I'll do that for you. Go meet Celestia, shes in the atrium." I had a very bad feeling that was growing in my stomach, but I went anyways. It was most likely anxiety, I was about to meet a princess! And then, there she was, studying one of the roses. Celestia turned towards me as I walked into the atrium. "Good morning, Horologium." "Good morning, um, your highness." She motioned with her head, and her royal guards left the atrium through a back door. "Horologium," Celestia asked me as she took a couple of steps forward, "I need to ask you a question. Are you being a loyal subject? Star Shine tells me that you have unwavering loyalty towards the school, but are you loyal to me and to Equestria?" That's when I knew something was terribly wrong, I felt like there was a giant void in my stomach, sucking in anything in it's path. "Why yes, your majesty. I would die if it meant to keep Equestria safe." Celestia nodded, and hit me with a golden beam of her magic. I still don't know why but I just stood there and took it, didn't even flinch. Perhaps I was just ready to get away and didn't care how.