Date: 1st of Second Harvest, Year 30 LRC
Location: Vanhoover Naval Academy, New Lunar Republic
Time: 18:00

A black-maned unicorn glanced up from his desk, the glasses resting upon his snout sliding down to reveal a pair of saffron-colored eyes as he spotted the mare waiting at the threshold of his classroom. The old stallion's stern face broke out into a bright smile as he motioned her to come in.

"Starchaser!" The elderly pony greeted, rising quickly from his desk. Unlike most of the Academy's instructors, Morning Comet was not actually a member of the military. Without the need to wear a uniform while teaching, the only accessory he sported was a small red-feathered cap.

"No professor." the mare responded, smiling sheepishly as she made her way into his office. "I've finished that already."

“Of course you have." the stallion chuckled. Turning back towards his desk, the unicorn waited for Starchaser to join him.

"Yes sir." the blue unicorn responded, taking the offered seat across from her professor. "Actually, I was hoping I could get some help. I came across some manuscripts last week, and I wanted to speak with you before the weekend, but..."

"Ah yes." the old stallion replied, giving a small sigh. "I heard about what happened with Golden Shield. I am truly sorry I was unable to make it to the service. Unfortunately, my presence was requested in the capital. I hope you are doing all right. As I recall, the captain was a friend of yours."

"I'm ok." Starchaser replied, smiling as brightly as she could manage. "It's still taking some getting used to. But I have friends who are keeping me company."

"Glad to hear it." the professor said as he returned the mare's smile. "One can never underestimate the healing power of good friends. But I apologize, it was not my intention to turn the conversation in such a sad direction. What is it I can help you with Starchaser? A question concerning these manuscripts you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes." The mare confirmed, her horn shimmering as several scrolls levitated out of the pack which hung at her side. "I came across a diagram during my... studies... that I couldn't understand. I was hoping I'd be able to find out more if I could discover who the architect of the diagram was, but I didn't recognize the signature."

"I see..." the old stallion muttered, pushing up his glasses as Starchaser unfurled the scroll between them. "So this diagram, was it a magic circle?"

As the scroll unrolled, an intricate pattern was displayed across its surface. Lines of varying thickness crossed through one another, forming hundreds of circles intersecting at various angles. No words could be seen at any point on the page, save for a single pair of intricately scrawled letters hidden in the bottom left corner.

"I think it's a circle of some sort." Starchaser answered, though it was clear she was uncertain. "But I couldn't be sure. There are no symbols or incantations of any kind. At least as far as I can tell. As for the architect, the signature looks like it's C.S. But I've never seen those initials before. I was hoping you might recognize them."

"Very curious..." Morning Comet muttered as he leaned in close. "I'm not surprised you couldn't decipher this. It is very advanced magic, Starchaser. The sort you generally don't see unless you have spent your entire life studying the arcane sciences. I am curious as to what led a student, no matter how talented, to come across something like this."

"As I mentioned professor…" Starchaser responded, fidgeting nervously as her instructor continued to study the scroll. "I came across a separate diagram which looked similar. I spent almost a week in the library trying to find another with the same signature. But I was never able to find a reference to who the architect might be."

"Well," the professor answered, chuckling as he lifted his gaze from the scroll. "At the very least I can save you some time on that front. You won't be able to find a reference to the initials C.S, as there is intense debate within the scientific community as to whom they should actually be attributed to."

"As I am sure you are well aware…" the professor explained as he returned to studying the scroll. "There are many conjurers and sorcerers who have been responsible for a wide range of arcane advancements. Star Swirl the Bearded is easily the most famous of these ponies. But there have been plenty of others, though they may be less well known outside of academic circles. Ruby Crest the healer, the alchemist Golden Lead; or from more recent history, magical prodigies such as Sunset Shimmer. However, the initials C.S have been a mystery."

"Oh, of course there are plenty." Morning Comet laughed. "Cloud Seeder the charming. The water druid Calmseas. But most of these were specialists; ponies who focused on primarily one form of magic. But this signature..." the professor explained, tapping the initials with his hoof. "Has appeared on a wide range of spells and magical diagrams. Many far outside the expertise of those famous magic users with the same initials. This has led to a fierce debate within the academic community as to whether C.S. belongs to an anonymous conjuror or... more likely... whether it is a pseudonym."

"Indeed." The professor replied, his horn glowing as a massive tome floated over to his desk. "The earliest spells attributed to this sorcerer can actually be found here."

As the book dropped to the desk with a dull thud, Starchaser found herself staring at a dark purple cover inscribed with golden lettering.

"The Advancing Arcane." Starchaser read as the stallion before her began to pour through its pages. "I know I’ve heard of that."

"I wouldn't be surprised. This was one of the last great compendiums of modern spells and incantations written before the Harrowing. It was put together by the mage Starlight Glimmer. She was a bit of a controversial character, to be sure; but an incredible magic user nonetheless. She gathered spells from all across Equestria, and collected those she deemed most influential into a single tome. Ah! Here we go!"

Opening the book so that Starchaser could see clearly, the old stallion revealed a page entitled simply 'Key of the Heavens.'

"This is the first record of a spell with a signature matching that of C.S. Though admittedly, it's not really a spell. Rather...

"It’s a star map!" Starchaser gasped, staring in awe at the page before her. "I think I… I’ve seen this before!"

"Very likely.” Morning Comet confirmed, flipping through page after page. “This, and the nine pages that follow, seek to detail the movements of stars which have been proven to be most effective in their influence on spells, and magic in general. It’s been built upon and refined by other ponies in the decades since. But this was the first attempt at such a map. And here is its author.”

Starchaser stared at where the elder unicorn was indicating. On the last of the ten pages, hidden in the far bottom-right corner of the page, was a signature written in flowing gold writing.

“Crepusculum Scintillula…” the mare muttered, unsure if she was even pronouncing it correctly.

“Not quite what one would call a common name.” the professor commented as he laughed at her butchering of the words. “Hence why it is accepted by most academics as a pseudonym.”

“There are plenty of theories. Some say it’s one of Star Swirl the Bearded’s many aliases. But I and most others dismiss that outright. Not only would his work have shown up far earlier than thirty years ago; but also, Starlight Glimmer was very careful to include only contemporary mages in her book. She would not have been so careless as to let something like that slip through.”

“There are many theories out there.” the professor considered, smiling knowingly as he leaned back from the table. “Personally, I am of the camp that believes the name itself informs us precisely who it is. Tell me Starchaser, how familiar are you with ancient Equestrian?”

“Not very.” the unicorn admitted as she wracked her brains for what few terms she did know. “I taught myself the very basics for older incantations, but I don’t know much beyond that.”

“Well then…” the black-maned stallion explained as he adjusted his glasses. “I guess a quick translation is in order than. Scintillula, is a simple enough word. It is used to describe a small flickering of light. A ‘little spark’, if you will. Now Crepusculum… is slightly more complex. It’s used to describe a very specific time of day. To be precise: the moment which separates the night from day, or vice versa.

“So, it means… sunrise and sunset.” Starchaser muttered, slowly piecing the two words together.

“Twilight and spark? Twilight… Spar… Twilight Sparkle!” Starchaser gasped suddenly, her eyes going wide as she stared at the open book.

“Precisely!” her instructor chuckled, clearly amused by her sudden realization. “The fourth princess of Equestria, and perhaps one of the greatest magical prodigies pony-kind has ever seen.”

“And what about this?” the unicorn pressed, tapping the scroll she had brought with her hoof. “If it was made by princess Twilight, is it some sort of magic circle?

“In a way.” Her instructor responded, his horn glowing slightly to withdraw a paper and quill from his desk. “Judging by the look of it, I’d guess this is the layout for a Sweep.

“Sweep?” Starchaser repeated, staring curiously as the professor’s quill began to dance across the piece of parchment he had retrieved. “I don’t believe you have mentioned that in class before.”

“Nor should I have.” Morning Comet countered. “As I said, this is very advanced magic. You should have gone through at least three years of in-depth study in arcane theory before the term even cropped up. But I’ll try my best to describe it in… not simple… but understandable terms.

“If I were to break down the levels of magic based on complexity, and to an extent strength, I would do so into four categories. Though, I urge you to keep in mind that magic is not so easily categorized. There are indeed spells which can transcend these crude designations, but this is the only way I can think of to break down such an advanced form of sorcery.”

“I understand professor.” the young mare before him confirmed, watching intently as the quill began to fill in the first quadrant.

“Very well then…” her instructor assented before continuing. “At the lowest level of these four tiers is raw magic. This is what you find when a unicorn uses their horn to channel unrefined energy into the world around them. It is non-specific, and as such can be used to achieve a wide range of results. Levitation is the most commonly observed effect; but it can take the form of teleportation, pyrokinesis, and many more aside.”

As the professor spoke, the quill continued to expand upon the basic diagrams within the first region of parchment. Small squiggles began to take the form of a unicorn, pegasus, and even an earth pony. Outlines were shaded in around the figures, labeled with symbols Starchaser recognized from her advanced arcane theory class.

Lambda for amplitude… the young unicorn recited to herself, remaining silent as her professor expanded upon his work. Xi for elemental affinity. Mu for… the focal constant? Was that it?

“… Raw magic will often remain localized to its caster you see. And while there are some exceptions, it can usually only affect a few items or individuals at a time. This form of sorcery, perhaps more so than any other, is tied closely to the character of the pony who seeks to employ it. Ergo, a spell which one unicorn casts easily might be almost impossible for another. A result of their innate affinity and life experiences. It is even sometimes argued that pegesi, and perhaps even earth ponies, can employ raw magic to an extent. Furthermore…”

By this time, the first quadrant had been completely filled with images of ponies, all surrounded by outlines of exotic symbols from arcane theory. However, the old stallion before her trailed off as he ran out of space; raising his gaze to Starchaser as he gave her a sheepish grin.

“Apologies, my dear.” he sighed as the quill immediately jumped to the next square. “I fear my habit of lecturing students got the best of me. “I’ll try to be more concise from now on.”

Before the mare could even respond, Morning Comet began again; his words coming faster as the quill sped across the page. Its ink trailed in long swooping letters to form elegant sentences of varying legibility.

“At the second tier of magic we find incantations. If I am speaking more generally, it is the use of words to focus raw magic. Spells which utilize this method are generally, though not always, more powerful than their silent counterparts. They may even allow a pony to conduct feats well beyond that of basic unicorn magic.”

“Or enable them to utilize raw magic outside of their normal affinity?” Starchaser inquired, earning a bright smile from the magical instructor.

“Precisely! It's always good to know that at least some students listen to my lectures. Now, the third form of spell casting we must briefly review are magic circles. Utilizing a physical shape, raw magical energy may be further refined and amplified to a level well beyond that of even the strongest unicorns. These circles, however, require a great deal of knowledge encompassing the nature and interactions of varying forms of raw magical energy. Beyond that, the effects of such a spell are restricted by the shape of the circle itself. In many ways, spells cast with magic circles are both exponentially more powerful than those composed of raw magic; and simultaneously far more constrained in their effects. As you may be aware, magical items can often be grouped into this class of the arcane. For while they are not strictly circles, their structure is always designed to focus magic in a very specific way.”

“I see…” Starchaser muttered, trying to hide her excitement even as she prompted her professor to continue. “And the sweep?”

“Well…” the stallion explained, the tone of his voice startling the mare as it suddenly lost much of its warmth. “These are the last, and easily the most complex form of magic. For someone who has not even finished my Advanced Arcane Theory course, the best way for you to view them would be as vast arrays for focusing magic. Unlike magic circles, which are limited in size and shape; Sweeps can be expanded indefinitely. Or at least they can in theory. This not only makes them incredibly dangerous, but also nearly impossible to control effectively. Therefore, this is a form of magic that is constrained to the realm of the theoretical.”

“No pony has ever formed a sweep before?” the blue mare asked, shocked at the concept of any form of magic not being attempted at least once.

“A few.” Morning Comet amended with a shake of his head. “Perhaps even some could have been considered successful. But the vast majority of attempts have failed to achieve a functioning sweep. More importantly, several researchers, peers of mine included, have even lost their lives attempting such a thing. With that said…

Like a candle extinguished by a sudden gust of wind, the last traces of warmth present on the black stallion’s face vanished without a trace. His yellow eyes grew cold, and narrowed dangerously as he studied Starchaser’s face.

The blue-eyed mare felt her stomach seize up as she met her professor’s gaze. Morning Comet had always been so kind when speaking with students. She had lost count of how many times she had come to him for help in the past, and not once had she ever felt the slightest bit of unease. But now? It was as if she were standing head-on against an approaching storm cloud. One which was currently threatening to strike her down if she even attempted to turn away.

“I… of course not… I mean…” Starchaser stammered, shrinking back in her seat as the dark-haired unicorn continued to glare.

“I wasn’t planning on doing anything with it.” she finally managed, her voice rising in pitch as Morning Comet raised a questioning eyebrow. “I was just… I just wanted to know who had made it. I’m sorry for asking.”

The storm vanished as quickly as it had come, and a sudden look of realization overcame Morning Comet who quickly sat up straighter in his chair. The angry gaze was immediately replaced by one of apologetic concern as he buried his head in his hooves with an exhausted sigh.

“Forgive me Starchaser.” he muttered, his words muffled slightly. “Once again I forgot myself.

Raising his face to hers once more, the professor’s saffron-colored eyes regained their usual warmth.

“I didn’t mean to frighten you. Nor should you ever feel the need to apologize for asking me a question. I merely wanted to press upon you the dangers of working with magic such as this.”

For her part, Starchaser allowed herself to slowly sit forward once again. The mare’s stomach remained clenched, and even now she could feel her heart pounding slightly faster than she was used to. But as the old stallion continued to speak, at the very least she could tell that he had meant well.

“You are one of the best students I’ve had the privilege of teaching, Starchaser. The fact that you have been promoted to brigade commander is evidence enough that your intelligence is not lost on commandant Gabriel. So please believe me when I say, I know you are smart enough to avoid undertaking any dangerous risks. I have simply met my fair share of ponies who all too easily allow their intelligence to transition to arrogance. I do regret scaring you like that. But I would feel far worse if I said nothing, only to discover later that you had hurt yourself or others while attempting something you have not been trained to work with.

“I… I understand professor.” The blue mare responded, working to carefully hide the unease which still grasped at her stomach. “I do appreciate your warning.”

“Well, I’m glad for that at least.” Morning Comet chuckled, allowing his smile to return as a pot of tea and two cups sailed over to land between the ponies.

For several minutes, the pair sat in awkward silence, sipping occasionally from the cups set before them. After what felt like far too long, it was professor Comet who finally broke the silence.

“Extracurriculars aside, I am happy you stopped by, Starchaser. I have been meaning to speak with you. I had a conversation with master sergeant Flak last week which I found very interesting.”

“Oh…” Starchaser responded, her stomach shifting uneasily yet again. There was only one reason her professor would mention such a meeting, and already the young pony could feel her cheeks begin to flush in embarrassment.

“I was mentioning how your last paper was an exceptional piece of work, and that I could see you going far if you continued to apply yourself as you have. Needless to say, I was somewhat shocked when the master sergeant had a very different picture of your abilities.”

The blue-eyed mare glanced up from her tea, and saw that Morning Comet was studying her over the rim of his own glass.

“He agreed with me that you are a hard worker, but in his opinion, the results do not seem to reflect the effort you appear to be putting in. I take it then, that you have been struggling in his class. Is that correct?”

“I…” Starchaser began, but stopped as she lowered her gaze dejectedly. “Yes sir. At least, I’m having more trouble than I likely should.”

“If I’m not mistaken, you are working on artillery training this semester?”

“And what is it you are struggling in? Forming the spell? Or hitting your target?”

The stallion’s words were light, and filled with the warmth Starchaser had come to be familiar with. But there was something else hidden within the tone of his voice. Something which she had never heard from her instructor before.

“I know you are working very hard Starchaser.” the professor continued after taking another sip of tea. “I see it every day in my class. And I want you to know that you should not take this as a reflection of your abilities. The fact of the matter is that, for some ponies, application is far harder than theory when it comes to magic. Military spells can prove to be especially difficult. After all, they require a level of… aggression… that not every pony possesses.”

What is that tone? Starchaser wondered anxiously, her thoughts spinning as she tried to put a term to the sadness reflected in her teacher’s voice. Is it concern? Pity?

“I’ve… thought about it.” the mare answered, her words soft as most of her thought processes continued to decipher the meaning hidden in her professor’s tone. “But I’ve never looked at it as a serious career choice.”

“I see…” the stallion across from her commented, his gaze dropping to the surface of his tea. “I hope you know that just because you have come to this academy, you are not required to serve on the battlefield. Not every pony can, or even should face the hell that is war. And with a mind like yours, I’m sure you could serve your nation in any number of ways.”

Though she could tell that her professor’s words were meant to be encouraging, Starchaser could not help but feel as if she had been slapped across the face. Was he trying to say that she couldn’t succeed as a soldier? That she shouldn’t even bother trying?

“It’s not just about helping our nation.” Starchaser spoke up, working to keep her voice from wavering as her professor looked to her once again. “I want to serve. I have to!”

“And of course, it is your choice…” Her professor responded with a small chuckle. However, his smile faded somewhat as he glanced at the scroll unrolled across his desk.

Disappointment! Starchaser thought suddenly, her throat tightening as she was finally able to identify the feelings behind her professor’s voice.

With a loud rasping of wood against wood, Starchaser stood suddenly to her hooves; the chair on which she had been sitting skidding away from the desk as her horn began to glow. Turning quickly so that Morning Comet could not see her face, the young mare allowed the parchment she had brought to roll itself tight before returning to its pouch as she briskly made her way towards the door.

“Thank you for your time professor.” the pony expressed, turning just enough to allow a cyan-colored lock of her mane to shield her eyes from view. “And for the tea. I hope you have a wonderful evening.”

“Starchaser…” the black-maned unicorn responded, his voice concerned as he too rose to his hooves. “It seems I must apologize once again, for letting my own biases take hold. It will be a hard road, but I know if it’s what you want, I have no doubt that you will become a fine soldier.”

Clearly Morning Comet only wanted to help, and it was easy enough to discern that any deception in his words was only intended to encourage and comfort. But for Starchaser, that did not make the sting any less palpable.

Turning back to face her professor, Starchaser gave a bright smile. Her eyes were dry as she studied her instructor’s concerned face, and her voice was light as she nodded once again to show her thanks.

“I appreciate your support professor Comet. I’ll be sure to get my paper to you first thing tomorrow morning.”

“Starchaser…” the stallion responded uncertainly, his saffron-colored eyes darting to the pouch which held the recently returned scroll.

“Please don’t worry. I appreciate your concern for my safety, and I have no intention of ignoring your warning. As I mentioned before, I was only interested in finding out who the architect was.”

With that, the young mare turned once again and quickly made her way to the door.

As soon as the door had shut behind her, Starchaser allowed the smile on her face to vanish. It was soon replaced with a determined scowl as she marched down the hall away from Morning Comet’s office; her eyes fixed on the path before her. She didn’t like misleading her professor, especially after all he had done for her in the past. But the old stallion’s words still clung to her, like a thorn slowly pressing itself ever deeper into her thoughts.

Empty words to be sure, but she would accept them for what her instructor had intended them to be.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

As quietly as she could manage, Starchaser landed on the ground outside her barracks; her horn shimmering gently in the moonlit night as the window closed tight behind her.

It was almost midnight, and the academy grounds were silent as the unicorn made her way carefully between the barracks. While she had made this trek countless times over the past few years, this time the mare found herself jumping at every shadow. Perhaps it was professor Comet’s warning to her. Or maybe it was Pitfall’s cryptic hints from the day before. Regardless, the mare could not shake the feeling that somepony was watching her from within the darkness nearby.

"Damnit Pitfall!" Starchaser swore quietly, tripping over her hooves at the sound of a startled bird. "You had to get me second guessing myself, didn't you? I feel like Black Night is going to jump out at any moment!"

"You know commander," a cold voice suddenly hissed behind her. "There is probably a very good reason for that."

Within an instant, every muscle in the terrified unicorn's body seized. Even her heart momentarily ceased its beating, constricting painfully in her chest as she turned slowly to face the voice. Several paces away, his eyes glinting dangerously in the moonlight, stood the dark form of the academy's brigade captain.

"You know…" the black stallion continued, his leathery wings shifting excitedly as he approached. "Talking to yourself can be a bad habit, commander. There's no telling what pony might be listening in."

"Oh, please commander…" the officer sneered, his lips curling into a sinister grin as he came to rest directly in front of Starchaser. "Give me your excuse. I'd love to hear what you can come up with."

It was strange that the glint of moonlight off the captain's fangs, a terrifying sight to be sure, was the one detail that allowed the illusion to fall apart. Whether Black Night got some sort of sick enjoyment out of intimidating other cadets, Starchaser could not begin to guess. But not once in her nearly four years at the academy, had the mare ever seen the bat-winged pegasus smile. Not ever!

Instantly the unicorn felt her fear vanish, only to be replaced by an almost irrepressible sense of rage.

"I swear to Celestia..." the blue mare hissed, her body trembling with anger as the other pony's grin widened. "If you EVER do that again; I will knock that beetle horn of yours clean off!"

"Well what have we here?" the stallion chuckled, his voice gradually shifting to a far more feminine tone. "Our dear Starchaser is getting aggressive? Not to mention the fact that you’re being a little personal with that beetle comment.”

A flash of green light briefly illuminated the surrounding shadows; and a moment later, the black stallion had been replaced by the smiling form of Ocellus. The changeling was once again in her green pegasus form, still chuckling as Starchaser resumed her trek towards the beach with an angry huff.

"Oh, come on Chase." the Pegasus finally sighed after several minutes of angry silence. "I'm sorry, all right? When I hear you talking to yourself like that, I just can’t help myself."

"Well, I really wish you would." Starchaser growled, her head slumped down as the two ponies passed the last set of buildings marking the edge of the academy grounds. "I'm already nervous enough every time we do this. I don't need a heart attack to complicate matters."

"Give yourself some credit." the other mare sighed, nudging the unicorn apologetically. "You are far cooler under pressure then you give yourself credit for. I, for one, was legitimately curious about what excuse you were going to come up with."

Starchaser snorted, not willing to give up on her anger so easily. However, she did allow herself a momentary glance towards her companion, noting that at least Ocellus had the manners to attempt an apologetic look.

"So, what are we up to tonight?" the green pegasus asked, obviously trying to turn the other mare's thoughts away from her prank. "Were you finally able to open the next chapter?"

As the two mares reached the beach, they broke into a light gallop. Now without the risk of drawing attention to themselves, the ponies were finally able to raise their voices as they passed north along the sandy coast.

"No, not yet." the blue-eyed unicorn responded, shaking her head as a gentle ocean breeze ruffled her mane. "That's what I'm hoping tonight will help with."

"It's been almost a month." Ocellus groaned, glancing at her friend. "Why would your dad force you to go through all this, just to read a damn book."

"Believe me Cell..." Starchaser replied as she stared sadly up at the moon shining overhead. "... I wish I could have asked him."

After several minutes of galloping, the pair of ponies reached a stretch of beach which spread alongside the Greensea forest that separated the Vanhoover naval academy from its neighboring city. With a confidence born of countless repetition, the mares left the sandy shore and entered the woods, moving quickly even through the shadows cast by the expanse of forest. The canopy was thick, composed almost entirely of evergreens whose age likely predated even the oldest of Equestria's cities. Once they were out of sight of the beach, Starchaser allowed her horn to glow just bright enough to light their path.

"So..." Ocellus continued as she leapt over the trunk of a fallen pine. "Are you any closer than last time at least?"

"I think so." her companion confirmed, choosing to duck beneath the remnants of the tree. "I spoke to professor Comet, and he gave me a few leads at least. I don’t think it’s much of a guess to say that the next chapter requires a magic circle to open; and judging from the diagram, I'm positive it's supposed to be a celestial lock of some sort."

"Color me shocked." the green pegasus snorted, causing Starchaser to jump in surprise as she patted the unicorn's cutie mark teasingly.

"Anyways," Ocellus muttered. "Am I safe in assuming tonight is going to be mostly focusing on the lock?"

"Ugh." the pegasus groaned, stomping the ground in annoyance. "That means I'm just gonna be sitting here all night, doesn’t it?"

As they spoke, the two ponies emerged from the densely packed trees into a small clearing. Through its center ran a stream, flowing swiftly past the stump of a once great cedar tree. Around the stump, the glade’s grass had been trampled into a ring of dirt; a testament to the number of times the two ponies had visited this particular clearing.

"Although..." Ocellus went on, watching as Starchaser quickly made her way towards the cedar’s remains. "... if you're gonna be busy, a little company might be nice. You think you could get your little friend to come out?"

Turning around, the unicorn couldn't help but smile as Ocellus sat back on her haunches before clasping her front hooves together in a pleading gesture.

"Please." the pegasus begged, blinking her eyelashes innocently in the unicorn’s direction.

"Really Cell?" she countered, her tone incredulous. "After that prank you pulled?"

For several second Starchaser simply stared at the other pony, her eyes narrowed. Finally, with a defeated sigh, she turned back towards the stump.

"Fine." the young mare sighed. A moment later her horn began to glow; filling the glade with a pale blue light.

With the sound of rustling cloth, a pack hanging at Starchaser’s side began to tremble; it’s flap swinging open as a massive tome extracted itself from within. The book was wrapped in a dark blue cover, its spine inlayed with spiraling golden lines. As the tome came to rest on the stump before her, Starchaser found herself staring at the image of her own cutie mark spread across its surface. A string of golden stars passed over a series of cyan colored lines, a field of smaller stars visible behind them. On the edge of the tome, holding tight to lock the pages together, was set a golden clasp with a small keyhole.

The book was a gift, the second of two pieces passed down from father to daughter. The first, she had received almost twelve years prior; the night when the empire had taken everything else from her.

The unicorn hated thinking back to that time. The time when she had been a helpless filly; forced to simply watch as her family, her entire world, was consumed by the flames of war.

That was then. The pony thought solemnly, failing to convince even herself that the world had changed… that she had changed.

With a sad shake of her head, the unicorn pushed the memories of that hellish night away. She knew they would return again when she slept. They always did. But there was no reason to dwell on them now. Instead, she turned her focused outward to the scene before her, the horn atop her head continuing to glow as a small silver key rose out of her bag before inserting itself into the book's clasp.

At first glance, the key was a simple thing. Its shaft contained no decoration whatsoever, while it’s bow was set in the shape of a plain crescent moon. However, as it passed into the lock, the two mares watched as the metal shimmered brightly; a pair of silver wings spreading outward from the crescent handle.

"Seize the night." Starchaser whispered, and a moment later, the key turned itself with a small click.

As the metal rod withdrew from the lock, the tome's golden clasp snapped open. Gently, the key and its chain floated to set itself around the unicorn's neck. As it did, the mare quickly began to flip through the pages of the manuscript.

Once she had found the proper page, Starchaser spent several minutes studying it to make sure she had the spell properly organized in her head.

"Come on Chase!" Ocellus groaned, coming forward to stand at her friend's side. "How many times have you looked at that spell? You must know it by now."

"Give me a minute!" the unicorn snapped as her gaze sped across the page. "It's not as if I can practice these spells whenever I want."

"If you spent half-as much time practicing your artillery spells as you do reading this book, our team would be at the top of the class."

"I do practice!" Starchaser countered defensively, the scene from professor Comet’s office earlier that evening flashing unwanted to the front of her mind. At her side, the green pegasus gave her a questioning glance.

"You might be the most inefficient soldier I know." Ocellus sighed, patting Starchaser pityingly with her hoof. "All the magic out there, and you had to fall in love with the one type that is useless for 50-percent of the time."

"Just shut up!" the blue mare snapped, blushing at her companion’s relentless teasing.

Closing her eyes, the young mare tried her best to ignore Ocellus’s continued jabs.

It was not that she didn't want to use other types of magic. Or even that she couldn't. Theory was theory after all; and if there was one thing Starchaser could take pride in, it was the amount of time and effort she had put into learning all she could about the magical arts. That devotion had allowed her to score exceptionally well on the academy's rigorous entrance exam, and it was the same reason she had been able to build a rapport with most of the academy’s magical instructors. But it was paradoxical, in a way. No matter how much work she put in, the returns always seemed to come further and further apart.

Theory might be theory; but theory and practice were entirely different beasts. It was not until she had been granted admission to the Vanhoover Naval Academy that Starchaser had truly come to appreciate the difference between the two; the divergence from understanding the principles behind a spell, and actually putting it to use.

Yet even that was not what had caused Ocellus’ words to dig far deeper than the changeling had likely intended. No. For Starchaser, it was envy which sought even now to undermine her. The ugliest of all emotions, and her constant companion over the past few years.

Ever since she was a filly, growing up alongside other orphans of the war, Starchaser had always been able to look up to the great mages of history as idols. Star Swirl the Bearded, princess Twilight Sparkle, Sunset Shimmer: every story she heard made it seem like all forms of magic were theirs to use as they saw fit. Perhaps it was naïveté that had allowed Starchaser to think she might one day be the same. That she too would be able to use her magic to repay princess Luna for the life she had been given.

But no matter how hard she tried, Starchaser had been forced to realize that such a day would never come to pass. Whether it was artillery practice, or even basic field medicine; the unicorn struggled to perform the most fundamental of military spells to any level which could be considered proficient.

Forced to watch day by day as her classmates succeeded where she could not; it had not taken long for the unicorn’s respect of her ‘idols’ to shift ever closer to jealousy. Even now, while she could still look back to those giants of arcane history and the genius they represented, Starchaser could not help but feel a twinge of envy.

Why had they been so special? What divine power had deemed them worthy to do so much more than she could ever hope? She had grown to hate them for their innate abilities. Hated them for a privilege they likely did not realize was theirs. But more than anything else…

With a shuddering breath Starchaser forced such thoughts away; driving her jealousy back to the dark recesses where such petty emotions belonged.

I don’t have to feel like that anymore. The unicorn recited silently to herself as she studied the book lying open before her. Not so long as I have this!

It had been almost three years ago that she had found the tome. A final gift from her father, hidden beneath the burnt-out ruins of their family home. Even now the mare was not entirely sure how she had been able to discover it. The sole piece of color buried within dark piles of grey rotting wood and fossilized ash. How had it come to be there? How had it survived when all else burned around it? Such questions remained unanswered. But it had been the hope she needed. The key to an entirely new way of looking at the world.

Her introduction to the one form of magic that, after so many years, seemed to come naturally to her.

With a final nod Starchaser allowed the book to close, turning her gaze skyward as she motioned for Ocellus to take several steps back.

Staring up from the clearing into the heavens above, it took the unicorn barely a moment to find the patch of sky she needed. Amongst the flickering field of countless stars, two in particular drew her undivided attention. Slowly the unicorn's horn began to glow, pulsating gently in time with the light of the larger star. As it did, the second star began to blink in response, its peak and dim soon coinciding with its companion.

The night sky had always been her source of comfort. Even after the fires of war had driven her to the orphanage, Starchaser still saw the lights above as friends. Though they changed with the seasons, eventually each spark would always return. In a chaotic world of violence and destruction, they were constant sentinels overhead.

Perhaps then, it was no surprise at all that theirs was the only magic that felt in any way natural.

Though she could not see the stars, the unicorn could feel her own magic ebb and flow with the pulsating bodies overhead.

"… Sentinel of the northern sky. With Luna's light, and the blessing of Procyon, I bid thee, descend to us this night! Come forward, Canis Minor!"

Opening her eyes, Starchaser watched as the pair of stars overhead flared, their light overtaking even the brightest of their surrounding neighbors. A moment later, they vanished from sight; and as they did, the blue unicorn grimaced at the uncomfortable sensation of her magic being forcefully withdrawn.

Next to the mare, a ball of pale blue light slowly faded into existence; growing brighter with each passing second. After several moments, the sphere began to expand, slowly changing shape and form. Four twisting spirals of starlight emerged towards the ground, wrapping about themselves to form tubes which gradually morphed into two pairs of legs and claws. The body of light had now taken on the form of a hairy animal, though slightly transparent. A tail soon emerged, followed quickly by a head which elongated into a fanged snout. As the final details solidified, the being opened its eyes with a dangerous growl.

The creature that now stood before the two ponies might have been called a dog; though it's form appeared far too feral. The beast’s body was semi-transparent, with countless twinkling lights dancing across its ‘fur’. It seemed as if a part of the night’s sky had fallen to earth. Beautiful in a way, and yet, eerily intimidating.

Perhaps it was the fact that the beast stood just as tall as the ponies. Maybe it was the teeth which glinted menacingly from within the creature's gaping maw. Or, more likely, it was the pair of burning light’s which flared dangerously from within the wolf-like face.

As soon as the being had completed its formation, its gaze slowly passed between the two mares, coming to rest on Ocellus. An echoing growl emerged from somewhere within the spectral creature, it's heckles rising dangerously as it slowly stalked towards the pegasus. With a small sigh, Starchaser turned her back on her companion, returning her full attention to the spell-book.

As soon as the words were out of the unicorn's mouth, the beast leapt at Ocellus with a loud howl. There was a dull thud as it slammed into the shocked pegasus, drawing a startled gasp from the green mare as she tumbled to the ground.

"No! Stop!" Ocellus shrieked, flailing frantically from beneath the mass of glowing fur.

"Oh, don't be a little filly." Starchaser chuckled, smiling mischievously as the pony behind her struggled against the relentless assault of slobbering licks.

"Get... off!" Ocellus grunted, finally managing to shove the beast off her. The shimmering hound backed away slowly, its tail wagging excitedly as it gave a playful bark which echoed through the clearing.

"You were the one who wanted to play with her. I just... how did you put it? Couldn't help myself."

Even without looking, Starchaser could feel Ocellus' glare biting into the back of her head.

Serves you right. The unicorn thought as the ghostly canine barked impatiently. I'll take whatever payback I can get.

"Alright Minor," Ocellus snorted, a green light filling the clearing as the changeling quickly took on her true form. "If you pull any more of that shit, I won’t be held accountable for what I do to you? Got it?"

The dog gave an excited howl, and a moment later Starchaser could hear the frantic buzzing of her companion’s wings as she fled the beast’s newest assault.

Working to block out the sound of Minor's happy barking, and Ocellus's not-so-happy swears; Starchaser flipped through the pages of the Librum dé Astra once more.

It was strange, in a way. Ever since she had first uncovered the tome, not a single day had gone by when the unicorn had not opened it at least once. Yet the book remained as much of a mystery as the day she had first uncovered it.

Why had her father created such a thing? That was the question to which the young mare most often found herself returning. Most of the inscriptions held within the manuscript were clearly from her father; his scrawling writing all too familiar from the countless letters he had sent her as a filly. However, more than a few sections had been written by somepony else. Some were pages which appeared to have been taken directly from other books; while others looked as if they had been written specifically for the Librum itself.

Stopping at the end of the ninth chapter, Starchaser stared at the initials inked into the page.

"Is it really her?" the unicorn muttered, withdrawing the scroll she had brought to Morning Comet that evening. Setting the diagram next to the open book, the mare allowed her gaze to jump quickly from scroll to page.

The writing is identical at least. She noted with a silent nod. But why would my father have something written by her?

The next page of the book was completely blank, and on instinct, Starchaser attempted to turn it. However, the moment she endeavored to do so, the page glowed a bright purple color; a magic seal spreading across its face. Try as she might, the unicorn could not so much as budge the paper. It was as if the sealed page, and every proceeding section of the book, had been glued together.

With an exasperated sigh the unicorn removed her hoof from the page, and almost immediately both light and seal vanished from sight.

It had been the same with every chapter thus far. A single blank page separating each preceding section of the tome from those which followed. Each time, one spell was required to unlock the corresponding seal, thus granting access to whatever chapters lay beyond. However, the spell in question was never the same.

As far as Starchaser had been able to piece together, each chapter focused on a distinct form of astral magic; possessing some common pattern which connected all the spells housed within. The magic needed to unlock each seal, meanwhile, was based upon all the spells which had preceded it. The first chapter of the book had focused almost exclusively on mapping the stars of the Equestrian sky, with most of its corresponding spells centered upon navigation and time-keeping. It had taken Starchaser almost half a summer to discover that the seal keeping her from the next chapters required not only a combination of three different spells, but also the special placement of the book at a specific time and place.

Each chapter had followed a similar pattern: a series of explanations, diagrams, and spells focused on a particular aspect of astral magic; followed by a seal requiring the application of what had been learned. Some had been relatively simple, allowing Starchaser to move on after barely a week. Others, like that which had given rise to Ocellus' new playmate, had taken almost three months of trial and error to unlock. As it stood, the unicorn had spent three years of non-stop work attempting to uncover the secrets of her father's gift. And after all that time, she had yet to unlock even the tenth chapter. Over the past month she had toiled to uncover the key for this latest seal, spending hours a day pouring over books and scrolls from the academy's library. All of it had been for naught.

A sudden bark quickly shook the young unicorn from her musings, and she turned to see Ocellus patting Minor atop her furry head. Despite herself, Starchaser smiled at the sight of the changeling showing such a sign of affection. For a pony who was so guarded most of the time, it was refreshing to see her acting relaxed.

Ocellus… Starchaser’s sole co-conspirator in her nightly outings for the last two years.

Admittedly the first time the changeling had joined her had not been at the unicorn’s request. Rather, according to Ocellus at least, she had spotted Starchaser sneaking away from the barracks they had shared together as second-class cadets, and had followed out of curiosity. The unicorn had been furious at first; and more than a little terrified that her classmate might inform others about her flagrant disregard of academy regulations. But Ocellus never told a soul. In fact, it had been that very night the green mare had revealed her… true form… to Starchaser. While she would eventually go on to reveal her changeling heritage to the rest of their little group, Starchaser never forgot that Ocellus had been willing to divulge such a personal secret. And while she had been nervous at first of having anypony else join her on her nightly excursions, Starchaser had to admit that it was nice to have at least one friend to confide in.

It was strange to think how the nightly training sessions had shaped their friendship over the last two years. While Pitfall was her oldest friend by far, in many ways, Ocellus had slowly become her closest.

I suppose that’s the way it goes with shared secrets. The unicorn mused as she turned her attention back to the spell book. They either destroy you both, or make you the best of friends.

As Ocellus continued to play with Minor, Starchaser forced herself to return to the task before her. In only a little over a week, she was scheduled to begin her month-long training deployment in the south. She was not deluded enough to think that nighttime excursions such as this would be remotely possible while on duty. Therefore, if she was going to open the next chapter, it would have to be soon.

Though, it’s not as if knowing I’m pressed for time will make it any easier.

Putting aside the scroll she had brought, Starchaser turned her attention to the diagram sitting opposite to the sealed page. It was clearly the design for a magic circle. That much had been easy enough to figure out. The problem was, the circle itself was incomplete. Obviously, the seal would only release once she had discovered what the missing components of the circle were, but all her attempts thus far had proven less than sufficient.

The diagram in question consisted of three concentric circles. The image of a sun and a crescent moon were set within the body of the smallest circle, reflected across from one another to designate the upper and lower half of the design. Between the outer and middle circle lay twelve smaller rings, eight of which housed various symbols while four sat empty. Inscribed within the diagram’s center were flowing letters resembling those of the signature professor Comet had shown her that afternoon.

'When the twelve ascend their thrones, so shall thy wish be lifted. A contract signed with light and soul, shall mark thy spirit gifted. '

The incantation was the only one inscribed into the diagram; written entirely in ancient Equestrian. The first task Starchaser had conducted was translating the words themselves. While not necessarily a difficult undertaking, ancient dialects had never been the unicorn’s strong suit.

“The twelve…” Starchaser muttered, tapping the eight symbols housed on the diagram’s edge. In the far-right position sat a small circle with a long flowing tail: the symbol for the lion’s constellation, Leo. Across from it lay a curved line in the shape of a ram’s horns: the symbol of the constellation of Aries. One by one, the unicorn tapped the six remaining figures.

“Capricorn, Cancer, Gemini, Scorpio, Aquarius, and Pisces.” she muttered, turning her gaze to the four empty spaces. “That leaves Libra, Sagittarius, Taurus, and Virgo.”

The problem, as it had been from the start, was not what symbols were missing from the diagram. Four empty spaces; four missing constellations; the puzzle essentially solved itself. No. Something else was missing. There should only have been 24 permutations for how the missing constellations could have been ordered, and Starchaser had tried them all.

The unicorn gave a shrill gasp as she leapt at the sound of Ocellus’ voice in her ear. The changeling had somehow snuck up next to her without making even the slightest sound. A few paces away, the glowing form of Minor stood silently staring at the two ponies, her head cocked uncertainly to one side.

“So that bad huh? I thought you said that professor of yours gave you some clues.”

“He did.” The unicorn responded as her glowing horn caused the book her professor had introduced earlier that evening to rise out of her bag. “That doesn’t mean I know what to do with them.”

The changeling shot her friend a nasty glare, and despite herself, Starchaser smiled inwardly as she opened the compendium and placed it next to the Librum.

“One attempt was enough, thank you very much.” the carapace-covered pony snorted angrily. “The rebound from that little mishap almost snapped my horn clean off. I had a headache for weeks after that shit!”

“In that case, while your assistance would be appreciated, I think I’ll just have to do this myself.”

As Ocellus continued to watch from behind her, Starchaser opened Starlight Glimmer’s compendium to the page her professor used to introduce the mysterious initials. Soon enough she found the ten pages representing the star map. It was a beautiful piece of arcane literature. Though the ‘first of its kind’ as Morning Comet had put it, Starchaser was certain that she had never seen another comparable in the minute details represented.

One after the other, the young unicorn glanced quickly between the two tomes. After her meeting with her arcane professor, Starchaser had been relatively certain that the author of the Librum’s seal and the compendium’s star map were in fact one and the same. Now, the more she compared the designs, the more certain she became. While she was far from an expert in the ways of mages, professor Comet had long ago told her to pay careful attention when studying the architecture of spells.

‘Every mage has their own style.’ Her instructor had insisted during their very first class together. ‘This can be seen not only in the spells they use, but how they record them. Always be on the lookout for such consistencies. It will make inconsistencies all the more noticeable.’

“Inconsistencies…” Starchaser muttered, causing Ocellus’ ears to perk up. “Disruptions in the pattern…”

“Well, feel free talking to me if it will help.” the changeling replied, walking forward to read over her friend’s shoulder. “You might kick my ass when it comes to arcane theory, but a second set of eyes can’t hurt. What are you looking for?”

“Well…” Starchaser responded, shifting both the Librum and compendium so that her friend could better see. “I’m comparing the seal to these star maps. You see, I’m fairly certain they were written by the same pony?”

“You’re shitting me.” Ocellus said, turning to look disbelievingly at her companion. When the blue unicorn simply shook her head, the black-shelled changeling gave a low whistle as she glanced back at the seal.

For several minutes the pair of ponies stood quietly next to one another, a tense silence falling over the clearing as they compared pages between the two tomes. Several times Starchaser took the chance to glance quickly at her friend, a small smile breaking through her frustration as she watched the changeling pretend to study the lines delineating the edge of the seal. It was painfully obvious that her friend didn’t have the slightest idea as to what to look for. But it was to her credit that at least she was trying.

“Here…” the blue-eyed unicorn chuckled, nudging Ocellus as she pointed at the line the changeling had been feigning to investigate. “You see how the thickness of this line shifts? As it moves counterclockwise, its width decreases until it reaches ten o’ clock.”

Shifting her hoof from one book to the next, Starchaser traced a large blue ring broken by a single red circle.”

“Now look at this one…” she continued, directing Ocellus’ gaze to the segment in question. “The ring marking Rufus’ path across the western sky. The width varies at the same position, ten o’ clock exactly.”

“It means that there is a high likelihood they were drawn by the same pony.”

“It doesn’t.” Starchaser admitted, the smile quickly falling from her face. “I was hoping once I knew who drew the seal, it would give me a hint as to what the secret for unlocking it could be.”

“So a couple lines look similar.” Ocellus sighed, giving an uninterested yawn as Minor stuck a glowing fur-covered head in between the two ponies. “There’s no way that’s enough to say they were made by the same pony.”

“It’s not just a couple.” Starchaser insisted, placing one forehoof over the Librum’s seal while her other sought out comparable segments in the star map. “You can see the smaller circles have a similar pattern. And here, look at how this sextile symbol is identical between the two. Beyond that, the symbol for Scorpio is… wait.”

The unicorn fell silent, her pulse quickening as she pulled the star chart closer.

“That isn’t right…” she muttered, her eyes darting quickly from one book to the next. “The tail is all wrong.”

“Chase…” Ocellus sighed, putting a hoof to her face in exasperation. “… you’re doing that ‘talking to yourself’ thing again.”

“Sorry.” The unicorn responded, though her voice indicated that she had ceased paying any attention to the changeling. “I think I’ve found… something.”

Ocellus gave an annoyed snort, but thankfully remained silent as Starchaser continued to pour over the tomes. One after another the unicorn compared the symbols of the twelve major zodiac constellations, her heart beat accelerating with each new discovery.

It was not just Scorpio that had differed between the books. Aquarius, Gemini, Pisces! Each symbol had fundamental differences between their representation in the Librum dé Astra and The Advancing Arcane. Whether the seal itself had been constructed by Twilight Sparkle or not, Starchaser couldn’t even begin to guess. But she had no doubt that the constellations had been placed by somepony else entirely.

Inconsistencies indeed. Starchaser thought to herself, her lips beginning to curl into a small smile. That was some good advice professor.

“Chase…” Ocellus asked uncertainly as Starchaser flipped between several pages of the compendium. “You’ve got that look in your eye.”

“What look?” the unicorn asked dismissively as she settled onto the page she needed.

“The ‘I’m about to do something potentially very dangerous and stupid’ look. With maybe a bit of a ‘you probably want to take cover’ look thrown in for good measure. Am I wrong?”

Starchaser turned to stare at her friend as the cover of The Advancing Arcane slammed shut with a dull thud.

“Cell…” the unicorn responded, her smile slowly fading from view. “You probably want to take cover.”

“Fuck me!” The changeling swore, taking to the sky as she gave a shrill whistle to get minor to follow. “Get your ass over here mutt! And you Chase! I hope you know that if you kill yourself, I’m denying any and all involvement! No way am I gonna take the blame if you blow your stupid ass up.”

Tuning out her friend’s continued swears, as well as Minor’s excited barks, Starchaser turned her full attention to the sealing page. Up to this point, proceeding from one chapter to the next had either involved adding something to the seal in question, or generating a spell completely from scratch. If her suspicions were correct, this time she would have to alter a significant portion of the seal itself.

Going by the style of the zodiac symbols, they had been placed separately from the majority of the seal; likely, by an entirely separate pony. Importantly, they had NOT been placed in the proper orientation to allow the seal to open. On the one hoof, that explained why no matter what permutation she used for the four empty spots, the seal had not been lifted. Unfortunately, that also meant that with twelve uncertainties’ instead of just four, the number of possible permutations expanded explosively. Far beyond the point where she could hope to try each one individually.

Beyond the simple numbers involved, Starchaser could not help but think back to the single attempt Ocellus had made to physically break the seal for an earlier chapter. Their logic at the time had been that changeling magic, generally accepted to be more adaptable than that of unicorns, might be able to bypass the seal in a way that Starchaser could not hope to on her own. That theory, however, was quickly demonstrated to be without merit; and the rebound from that ill-considered tampering had been truly devastating. Though they laughed about it now, looking back, there was a very good chance that Ocellus could have died had she not canceled her attempt when she did.

‘Ponies who all too easily allow their intelligence to transition to arrogance.’ Starchaser pondered, remembering her professor’s warning even as her horn began to glow, filling the glade with a gentle cerulean light. First with his introduction of The Advancing Arcane, then with his encouragement to look for inconsistencies between and within spells; the old stallion’s words had twice resulted in her taking a step closer to unlocking the seal.

With one final steadying breath, Starchaser allowed her power to slowly enter the magic circle, and almost immediately the purple seal on the page across from it flared to life, graceful lines quickly covering the entirety of the formerly empty parchment. Carefully, the unicorn probed the shape of the arcane diagram, sensing her magic as it cycled from one area of the figure to the next. Even without effort, the blue pony could feel the strength of the magic trapped within the circle growing, amplifying with every second as it leeched more energy from her.

The longer I wait, the more power I’ll have to deal with if something goes wrong. Better work fast!

Turning her attention to the zodiac symbols, Starchaser first willed the four missing constellations to appear. At this point the order did not matter, so she allowed her magic to carve the pictures as she had during her last attempt. A light blue circle with curved horns, the sign for Taurus, quickly inscribed itself in the first empty ring. It was soon followed by the arrow of Sagittarius, the scale of Libra, and finally the curved lettering of Virgo. The moment all twelve rings were filled, the magic circle flared briefly and Starchaser was forced to wince at the sensation of magic energy feeding back in her direction. Though the circle quickly went back to normal, the unicorn could feel magic energy churning beneath the surface as it was continually amplified.

Here it goes. The blue-coated mare thought, focusing on the symbols of Capricorn and Aries. Their placement had always puzzled her until now. They didn’t match up with any astrologic orientation she could think of. However, knowing they had been misplaced on purpose, it suddenly made much more sense. In fact, the star map from The Advancing Arcane had essentially told her what order the Zodiac signs SHOULD have been placed in.

Pushing that disquieting thought aside, Starchaser returned her attention to the symbols representing the goat and ram constellations. Unlike the four she had created, these were original pieces of the circle. Even now she could feel the magic swirling within the construct tugging at the symbols. It felt as though she were pushing a raft up stream, continually fighting a constant flow of roaring water. Starchaser fixated her intent on switching the pair of signs, and immediately she could feel the energy resist. Finally, though with far more effort than she had expected, the unicorn watched as the ram’s horns of Aries shifted into the swirling shape of Capricorn, and vice versa.

The entirety of the Librum dé Astra flared suddenly; a rush of air spreading out across the clearing, causing Starchaser’s two-toned mane to rustle about her head. Almost immediately the magic within the circle bucked, it’s flow momentarily disrupted as it was forced to adjust to a new container. The backlash for such a shift was not kind, and Starchaser let out a pained yelp as just a small fraction of the energy reversed its direction back into her.

A searing pain spread quickly down her horn, traveling like a bolt of lightning along branching nerves to reach every region of her body. The young mare convulsed, gasping for breath before she could even think about regaining her composure. The magic circle before her had gained a faint white hue, contrasting slightly with the blue glow of the symbols she had inscribed. However, unlike before, this time the glow refused to cease.

“That’s, really bad…” Starchaser panted, blinking to clear her watering eyes.

Starchaser turned slightly to see Ocellus land on the grass a few paces away. For once, the changeling’s gaze seemed to hold genuine concern.

“Where’s minor?” the unicorn asked, glancing around as she realized for the first time that she no longer heard sounds from the summoned dog.

“Went back home by the looks of it.” the other mare responded dismissively, her eyes going wide as she stared at the glowing magic circle. “Vanished as soon as you yelped. I’m guessing she didn’t think you had much energy to spare at the moment. Speaking of which, is that circle…”

“It may be a little… unstable.” Starchaser admitted, grimacing once again. However, this time she was not sure whether it was from the pain or Ocellus’ cursing.

“Well shit!” Ocellus snapped, glaring at Starchaser with a mixture of fury and fear. “So how bad is it?”

“Bad.” The blue mare responded simply as she stared unblinking at the harsh light beginning to overtake the circle. “Very bad!”

“What in Celestia’s name is going on?" Ocellus shouted, stamping her hooves angrily on ground as she too studied the pulsating diagram. "A magic circle is about to fail? Is this a fucking joke? How the fuck is this happening with a damn book?”

The changeling’s anger and confusion were both understandable. At the moment, even Starchaser was finding it hard to comprehend exactly how the current situation had arisen.

There should be no reason that a diagram such as this could gather such a tremendous amount of energy so quickly. Out of the eight previous chapters, none had come remotely close to the amplifying power this magic circle seemed to possess. Even now, as Starchaser turned her attention to the next pair of symbols she needed to swap, she could feel her control slipping.

It was more than simply fighting against the flow of a river. The churning magic within the circle had become a chaotic storm of energy. Worse still, it was continuing to leech ever more magic from her. Not only were the symbols becoming harder to switch, but it seemed as if she was being forced to work with less energy to complete the next swap.

If this is all part of the test to get to the next chapter, then whatever pony made this circle is one fucked-up teacher.

Of course… there’s always the possibility that I’m the one who fucked it up.

“Look Chase, you need to shut this thing down now!” Ocellus demanded, stepping closer to her struggling friend. “Stop this before you get us both killed.”

“I can’t.” Starchaser responded, gritting her teeth as a second wave of pain shook her body. “I changed the circle, which means any safeties that might have been built in won’t necessarily work anymore. If I stop now, the circle could experience a critical failure.”

“No Cell, I'm the only one who needs to be here. You need to get out! Now! If I screw this up, I don’t want you getting caught up in this.”

“Look Chase,” The changeling responded uncertainly, glancing over her shoulder towards the edge of the glade. “I can fly back to school and get some help...”

“Not in time to make a difference.” Starchaser countered as she closed her eyes, focusing all of her energy on the next two symbols. Slowly the circular shape with a flowing tail representing the lion, Leo, began to glow as she prepared to switch its spot with her Taurus symbol.

“You’re not linked to this thing Cell, and I’m sure even you can feel it. This circle isn’t going to hold together longer than a few minutes.”

“Fuck you!” The changeling snapped, causing the unicorn to open her eyes in shock. “No, I mean it! Fuck you if you really think I’m gonna leave. Leave and what? Let you stay trapped here with what’s basically a bomb?”

“True, it’s a bomb YOU made! So, you know, fuck you for that as well Chase. But the damn point’s the same! No way in Celestia’s name am I going to leave you. So, shut the fuck up and finish whatever it is you started. We’ve got artillery practice tomorrow, and I’ll be damned if you make me show up to that shit without a partner!”

“Alright then.” Starchaser gasped, feeling a tear quite unrelated to the pain she was experiencing fall down her cheek. “Thank you, Cell.”

Turning back to the magic circle, the unicorn focused once again on the pair of Leo and Taurus, allowing her magic to bind the two locations together. It was the only swap left she needed to make. Theoretically, once it was done the circle would be complete.

Of course, it’s not as if theory has been helping me out in any of my other practical applications of magic lately.

Ocellus’ shout proved to be the push she needed. With a pained grunt, Starchaser allowed her magic to press against the two symbols. Slowly the pair of signs shifted, each morphing gradually into the other as, all the while, the storm of magic continued to churn just beneath the surface.

The result was almost immediate. As soon as the zodiac signs had swapped positions, the raging sea of energy seemed to settle. The harsh white light of the circle shifted to a gentle cerulean blue, one which quickly gained in intensity before spreading onto the page which held the purple seal. Like a flood racing over a burning field, the blue light passed over the locked page, washing away all traces of the seal as it went. With one final flash of light, both pages went dark; and the clearing was once again returned to silence.

With a final shudder, Starchaser collapsed to the ground, all energy gone. With not even the strength to raise her head, she was forced to lie there, gasping for air as Ocellus quickly dropped to her knees beside her.

“Star!” the changeling yelled, anxiously nudging her friend’s side. “Star!”

“I’m ok, Cell.” The unicorn responded, giving a long shuddering gasp as she glanced over at her friend.

“Good!” the other mare snapped striking her friend’s head lightly with her hoof. “Because if we’re being honest, I probably would have killed you had you done something as moronic as blowing yourself up.

“Well fuck you Chase! You and that demon book of yours. I mean, come on! What kind of father tries to kill his own daughter with a damn book?”

“That’s not what happened!” Starchaser argued defensively, but she was forced to stop almost immediately as her head was suddenly wracked with pain.

“Well prove it then.” Ocellus grunted, her angry glare moving from Starchaser to the open tome which now lay silently atop the cedar trunk. “Because I can’t say I have a very high opinion of your dad at this point Chase.”

“Forget it.” Starchaser insisted, turning her head to face the stump. “This wasn’t because of him.”

Or was it? The unicorn wondered silently, the thought forcing its way unbidden even as she attempted to rise to her hooves.

“No idea.” Ocellus replied, staring uncertainly down at her companion. “More importantly, should you even be standing right now? I’ve never seen a magic circle come that close to failing before. You could really have gotten hurt here, Chase. You could have died!”

She’s right! The unicorn thought suddenly, recognizing for perhaps the very first time that night just how close they… no… how close SHE had come to making an irreversible mistake.

More importantly… her thoughts continued as her stomach dropped painfully. What would you have done had you hurt your friend?

She didn’t give a second thought to staying with you! And you? You put both your lives at risk without EVEN thinking!

“I screwed up tonight.” The unicorn muttered, her cheeks flushing as she stared at the grass beneath her hooves. “And I am so… so sorry Ocellus.”

Please, don’t look at me. The mare pleaded silently, unable to even meet the changeling’s gaze.

The unicorn glanced slowly up, only to find Ocellus’ nose barely a centimeter from her own. From this distance, even in the dim glow of the moon, the unicorn could see her reflection staring back from within the glistening surface of the changeling’s insect-like eyes.

I look terrible. She realized, recognizing even as the thought arose that it was a useless one. But it was only now that the blue mare realized just how disheveled her mane had become, whipped inelegantly about her head by the wind created from the turbulent energies of the magic circle. Beyond simply her hair, the pony could see that her eyes were bloodshot; and unless she was very much mistaken, a dark burn was obvious at the base of her horn, likely a result of the initial rebound when she had switched the first pair of signs. On the whole, it was a picture devoid of anything that could even remotely be viewed as appealing.

Why in Celestia’s name is THAT the first place my mind goes? I just nearly killed us both!

The unicorn jumped slightly, realizing suddenly that Ocellus had been trying to talk to her this entire time. The changeling was staring unblinking into her eyes, her gaze a mixture of concern and, deservedly, annoyance.

Like a wind blowing away the fog of exhaustion which sought to cloud her thoughts, the mere mention of the Librum pushed everything else from mind. Climbing uncertainly to her hooves, Starchaser would have fallen flat on her face had Ocellus not caught her with a surprisingly strong forelimb.

As the two ponies approached the cedar stump, the unicorn could see for the first time that the book was not entirely dormant. The magic circle had disappeared entirely, leaving the book facing them with what appeared to be two completely empty pages. However, a dull blue glow continued to emanate from the parchment; barely bright enough to overcome the light cast by the moon overhead, but noticeable none-the-less.

“None.” Starchaser admitted, reaching out with a trembling hoof. “I’ve never seen this before.”

The moment her hoof made contact with the tome, the paper pulsed once, golden letters scrawling elegantly across both pages; flowing as if written by some invisible quill.

Thy pact hath been set forth hereto.
Accord thus marked forever more.
To thou who seeks the heavens true;
a darkened path thy soul hath swore.
With Celestia’s might.
With Luna’s light.
With cadence set to love sublime.
One final door thou seek this night;
a door to open at my time.

Crepusculum Scintillula

The Story of a Moonlit Soldier

by Shadowmane Nox

Chapter 4: Words and Warnings