Element Gang: Element Squad, Book 1: Tale of Two Rivals

by Power of Six

Chapter 1: Gold Star and Silver Blade

Hello, my name is Dusk Noir. To other ponies, I’m also known as El Dragon. Yes, El Dragon. The hero of heroes, leader of the Element Squad, and local fire elemental of Canterlot. For a few years, me and my friends had protected the city from the Dark Gang, an evil group of elementals bent on taking over Equestria and our greatest nemesis. To give long story short of the origin, I used to work alone due to my father being killed by Dargon, leader of the Dark Gang, when I was just a little colt that led me to leave anypony out of my work and out of danger. A few years after that, I soon met up with my team, but rejected the idea of leading them, but after the Dark Gang attacked the city and with my teammates’ help, I decided to become the new leader of my new team: the Element Squad. It had been a few years since then and the four of us have become young stallions and about to have a new change in our lives. But, before we get on with our story, I’ll tell you the tale of two other ponies I came to know as two of my best friends.

It started a few years ago, back when I was just a little foal. It was raining on Canterlot and an old building there had just collapsed. Nopony was sure if this was either done by a natural crumbling or caused by somepony. Even though the storm had rain pouring, there was no clash of lightning, just the simple roar of thunder. The reason this was such a big deal was that it all happened so suddenly. The building had only been constructed 5 years before then and only stood for half the time before it came down. If it was done by somepony, it would be one confusing mystery for nopony lived in there. There weren’t any casualties or so everypony thought. When Princess Celestia came around, she found within the rubble a crying little foal wrapped in a blue blanket lying in a wicker basket. From what was heard from those who were around, Celestia was surprised to find this child all by himself. Then, without hesitation, she took the foal and went on asking everypony around in order to find the foal’s parents.

In another part of the city, the unicorn father of the local church was doing his evening check for the night when he heard some crying outside. When he went out there, he found a crying little foal wrapped in a red blanket lying in a wicker basket. Next to the basket was a medium sized parcel tied with thin strands of rope.

“Another one for us.” The priest said, disappointed that ponies had abandoned their child.

You see, this was normal for the church to have a child left at the doorstep. The church had a history of children who were orphaned or abandoned and left in the care of the ponies of the church. With this, the priest then took the child in to get him warm. He lit a fire within the fireplace and then began to cradle the foal to calm him down. When he got the foal out of the basket, it was revealed that he was a Pegasus foal with yellow eyes, a sapphire coat, and a teal mane and tail.

“Aw, shh. There’s a good boy.” The priest said calmly to the foal, after calming the baby down and placing him back in the basket which he placed on a bed inside the church. “There you go.” He then looked down on the child and smiled as he slept. “So sweet and well behaved. Hm.” He looked to the parcel he placed on the bed and decided to see what was inside.

What he found shocked him as it was a double back-holster with a cross on the buckle and two, silver-bladed, Ōdachi curve swords. When he looked back at the child, he just chuckled and smiled.

“Well, it seems whoever your parents were made sure you were able to protect yourself.” The priest said to the foal. “Better let you have them once you’re old enough.” He then looked to the blanket and saw something sewed onto it, something he didn’t notice before he brought the child inside. “Hm. ‘Silver Blade.’” He then stood proudly as he spoke again. “Well, you had a tough beginning, but your worries are over. As of today, little Silver Blade, this will be your home.”

Back with Celestia, after failing to find the foal’s parents, she decided to take him back to the castle to make sure he was okay. She had help from her old friend Dragonis Maximus, who brought a fire keep to help keep the foal warm. When she got the foal out of the basket to cradle him, she found he was an earth pony foal with green eyes, a pearl white coat, and a snow white mane and tail. Though the one complexing thing was that he had claws instead of front hooves. It was complexing for a foal to have this, but she shrugged it off and continued to try to calm the crying baby.

“Shh. Don’t cry. It’s okay, little one. Don’t cry.” Celestia said to foal as she cradled him in her wings, speaking like she was his mother.

The foal stopped crying and looked up at Celestia. The princess smiled at him and the baby returned it. She then placed the foal back into the basket and put him under the blanket.

“There. I almost thought he would never calm down.” Celestia said as Dragonis came over to her.

“You’re lucky you found him. He probably wouldn’t have survived out in the cold.” Dragonis said to her. “Though aren’t you a bit concerned that he has claws even though he’s an earth pony?”

“Well, it seems unnerving to see this, but I think it makes him more special.” Celestia said as she looked at the child, who rustled around in the basket with a smile. “I mean, look at him. He’s so cute and spirited.”

Dragonis then looked for a moment before smiling and saying “I guess you do have a point.” He then walked over to take a closer look at the colt. “So, let’s see what we can find about this spirited little fellow—oh!” Dragonis was then kicked in the muzzle by the foal, knocking him to the floor.

Celestia was a little shocked by this as she stared at her friend on the floor.

“Ow! I think he’s a little too spirited.” Dragonis said as he covered his snout with his claw, causing Celestia to giggle a bit.

Celestia then looked to the blanket and found some writing on it.

“‘Gold Star’, huh?” Celestia said as she looked at the child with a smile, knowing it was the baby’s name. “I might not know of where you come from, but from now on, my castle will be your home and I will take care of you, little Gold Star.”

She then leaned forward and nuzzled the foal, the baby giggling joyfully as she did.

And that’s how the story went. Silver Blade was raised by the church and Gold Star was taken in by Princess Celestia to live within the castle as her son. It was about like a few years when I met both of them and became friends with them. With how they grew up, I’ll leave that story for another time. For now, let’s get on with what was happening now, right to our present time.

It was morning and me and Leon were walking through the streets of Canterlot, him trying to talk me into finally talking to Twilight for once.

“Dusk, come on!” Leon said as we walked. “You got your chance! Just talk to her already and get it over with.”

“I’ve told you a bunch of times, Leon.” I said to him. “I’m not ready yet.”

“Dusk, all you’ve been doing for the past few years since you met her and met me and the guys is sitting around at a lonely table with your face buried in a book.” He said to me. “She’s not gonna be around forever. Get on with it already!”

“Leon, the answer is still no.” I said to him. “I’m just not ready to talk to her yet. I want her to be my friend and I need to be ready to talk to her for that. I just need time to get my courage to finally talk to her. You know how I am when speaking to somepony new.”

“Yeah, but still…” Leon said before he was interrupted by a loud shout.

“Moon Dancer!” the voice said as it echoed through the city and we turned in the direction of where it came from.

“What was that?” Leon asked.

“Sounds like Gold Star’s at it again.” I said, recognizing that voice anywhere. “Come on. Let’s go make sure he doesn’t get himself hurt.”

With that, we both then went off as fast as we could to where the shouting was coming from.

When we got there, we found Gold Star in front of a building talking to Moon Dancer and holding a flower in his right claw. Okay, Gold Star is a young stallion who’s about 3 inches shorter than me and he wears a navy blue jacket and a dark blue head band with a red star stitched on to it. Now, to explain what was happening, Moon Dancer is a classmate of mine from Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns that Gold Star had a crush on since he met her when we were kids. I’m guessing what he was saying made Moon Dancer feel a bit touched and embarrassed, at least that’s what it looked like on her face. From a certain stand point, Moon Dancer kinda looked like Twilight, but with a cream coat, glasses, and an inverted colored mane. Leon once made a joke out of it saying that this is what me and Twilight would be like if I was love sick for her.

“One day, I’ll be the Mystic King and I’ll make you the happiest mare in Equestria.” Gold Star said to Moon Dancer, before he held the flower right in front of him. “That’s why I’m asking…will you please marry me?”

“I’m sorry, Gold Star. I just can’t.” Moon Dancer said with an apologetic smile. “I appreciate you asking, but I’m gonna have to decline it.”

Gold Star then groaned as he reared his head back in shock.

“That’s a ‘no’?” Gold Star asked, getting up in her face and surprising Moon Dancer.

“Yes, it is.” Moon Dancer said with an uneasy smile. “I can’t marry you.”

Gold Star groaned again as he backed away in shock and dropped the flower.

“I’m not giving up yet!” Gold Star said as he surprisingly recovered from it, his head lowered as he faced Moon Dancer.

“You should, really.” Moon Dancer said. “Please, Gold Star.”

“Not giving up!” Gold Star said as he banged his head on the ground.

“I really am sorry.” Moon Dancer said as she became more and more worried, magic emanating from her horn.

By the looks of it, she was close to reaching her breaking point as Gold Star kept up trying to get her agreeing consent.

“Please, Moon Dancer, just let me ask one more time!” Gold Star said as Moon Dancer’s horn was now flaring up with magic.

“Uh-oh.” I said as I knew Moon Dancer was about to blow.

“Take cover!” Leon said as we then went off to find cover from the magic burst.

“No!” Moon Dancer said as she pointed her horn at Gold Star.

The burst was so strong that it caused an explosion that could be seen from the air. When the smoke cleared, me and Leon came out of hiding as we then saw Gold Star had got singed from the magic burst. He even coughed up some smoke before he collapsed on the ground. Yeah, this was kind of a thing between those two. With Gold constantly proposing to Moon Dancer even when she turned him down caused a lot of emotional stress on the girl and…well, you know how we unicorns are when it comes to such things.

“Ah!” Moon Dancer gasped in shock as she realized what she had done. “I’m sorry, Gold Star! I don’t know what I was thinking! My magic just slipped out!”

“Slipped out is an understatement.” Leon said as she looked and saw us.

“What’s going on here?” a voice said and we looked to see that Shield and Dog came around and saw the scene. “Oh, for crying out loud! Is that Gold Star?”

“Yep.” I said as me and Leon went over to him and Dog. “He proposed again.”

“Thought I recognized that voice.” Dog said in his western accent before speaking to Moon Dancer. “Whoo-doggy! Ya did a real number on him this time, Moon Dancer.”

“But…I didn’t…mean to.” Moon Dancer said, blushing sheepishly in embarrassment.

“We’re not done here!” Gold Star shouted as he recovered again and jumped towards Moon Dancer, frightening the poor girl.

When he was only about three feet away from her, I felt a gust of wind and saw an air blast slam Gold Star into the ground.

“Whoa! Where’d that come from?” Dog asked as we were all surprised.

“Uh, guys?” Leon said as he pointed to the left.

We all looked and saw we were in front of the local church. It wasn’t much of a church as much as a house with a cross on top. It was actually pretty rundown. By the look of it, I say it hadn’t gotten any renovations in moons.

“Oh, boy.” I said as I turned to the front of me with a look of depression as I knew who was around. “Hello, Silver Blade.”

“Greetings, Dusk.” Silver Blade casually said as he then walked in from behind me and the guys with that same emotionless expression on his face that he had for the past few years.

Yeah, that was Silver Blade, the local young resident of the church. He’s been under the care of the priest even since he arrived there as just a foal. He’s got a lean figure and was pretty tall for a young stallion or any stallion for that matter. He’s about to Celestia’s shoulder to be honest. When he was old enough, the priest gave him some swords that he said were with him when the priest found him, both sheathed on that back-holster of his. He discovered he had Wind Magic when he was just a colt. I heard Gold Star yell as he got back up and watched as he ran up to Silver Blade.

“Why are you sticking your nose in this, Silver Blade?” Gold Star angrily said.

“That’s simple, really.” Silver Blade said, his next words stunning Gold in shock as he walked by the earth pony. “Because you’re noisy, you’re short, you lack both composure and tolerance, and there’s not really anything about you that appeals to women.”

That last comment was a real sucker-punch to Gold Star as he growled before yelling at the Pegasus.

“Hey!” Gold Star said to Silver Blade. “Years of knowing each other and that’s how you talk to me? You big, lady-killing jerk!”

“Are you alright there, Moon Dancer?” Silver Blade said to the mare.

“I’m alright, Silver Blade.” Moon Dancer said.

“Do you think you can just ignore me? Grrrr!” Gold Star growled.

“Gold Star, Moon Dancer is still a young mare, which means she can’t marry yet.” Silver Blade said. “Neither can a young stallion like you, in fact.”

“Think you’re so smart.” Gold Star said. “Well, I’ll show you. Yeah, I will.” Gold Star then took fighting stance as he looked straight at Silver Blade. “You and me! Right here, right now!”

Me and the guys were exasperated that he suggested this as we knew it would not end well.

“Not today.” Silver Blade simply said.

“And why the heck not, huh?” Gold Star asked.

“It would be a waste of time.” Silver said.

“What’d you say to me?” Gold asked.

“Give it a rest, Gold.” I said to my friend. “There’s no way you can beat him.”

“Take this!” He then gave a look of determination as he got ready to try magic again. “Insta…Blast!”

Like every last one of his tries, not a single bit of magic was brought out in that attack.

“Oh, what? Come on!” Gold said, frustrated he didn’t do a magic attack again. “Still nothing? Why?”

“Gold, you would stop please? You haven’t been able to use magic even when you were a colt.” I said to him. “For Pete’s sake, you don’t even have a cutie mark.”

“Well, Silver doesn’t have a cutie mark either and look at him.” Gold said to me. “Just watch. If he can do it, so can I!”

“I’m not so sure about that, Gold.” I said as I used my magic to lift up a pebble. “Equestria is a world filled with magic. It doesn’t matter if you have it or not or even how much you have, it’s how you use it. Though it’s not uncommon for somepony to not be able to use magic at all. I mean, pegasi and Earth ponies don’t have magic and you don’t see them complaining. Besides you got other skills, right?”

“Yeah. You’re right.” Gold said to me with a smile. “I still got my secret moves!”

“Huh?” Leon said in confusion, even I was surprised by this.

“You got secret moves?” Shield asked as he looked at Gold.

“I bet you can’t do crunches this fast!” Gold said as he did crunches like crazy.

“No. No, we can’t go that fast.” I said, surprised by how fast he was going.

“Yikes! This guy’s crazy.” Leon said, just as surprised as I was.

“Yeah, Gold! Feel the burn!” Shield said, cheering on Gold.

I felt a blow of wind and looked to see that Silver Blade created a cyclone ball with some clothes swirling inside it.

“Oh, thanks for helping with the laundry, Silver Blade.” Somepony said. “You’ve been such great help, thank you.”

I turned to see it was the nun of the church, Sister Water Lily. I guess she must’ve came out to look for Silver so he could help her dry this week’s load. Moon Dancer was definitely impressed by that.

“It was nothing, Sister.” Silver said, without even turning around.

I wasn’t sure if he meant it or not. It was always hard in times like that.

When I heard gasping, I looked to see that Gold was shocked by this and, when Silver was done drying the clothes, then ran off to the side of the church. I went over and saw a stump with a small log of wood lying vertically on it and a pile of wood right next to it.

“All right.” he said as he then grabbed an axe lying on the side of the church, went over to the stump, and got ready to chop the log. “Leave the wood chopping to me! I’ve got this covered!”

But, before Gold could chop it, a slash of wind beat him to it. The slash came from Silver who managed to get over here.

“Aw, jeez, Silver Blade.” I said to the Pegasus. “You know you’re not really helping in this situation, right?”

I then watched as Gold Star came walking over growling and with an angry look on his face, but he was slammed away halfway by an opening door. I looked to see it was the priest of the church that did that.

“Silver Blade is the hope of this church!” the priest said, tears of joy in his eyes.

When he heard groaning and looked to see that he hit Gold with the door by accident, he was downright horrified.

“Oh, Prince Gold Star!” the priest said as he helped Gold to his hooves and claws. “I am deeply sorry! I didn’t see you there.”

“Oh, it’s alright, Father.” Gold said to him. “I’m fine.”

“You better be if you want to be in the Royal Guard.” Shield said.

“Yeah, the entrance exam’s tomorrow.” I said to Gold. “Plus, I heard that many ponies have gotten their cutie marks in those exams, even Clover mages.”

“Yeah. And just you wait.” Gold said with determination. “Once I get mine, I’ll be able to use magic for sure!”

Okay, pause. I bet you’re wondering what I meant by Clover mage, right? Well, this is the name that is used for ponies who get Clover cutie marks. Clover cutie marks are very special cutie marks which allow anypony to use magic, whether they are a unicorn, Pegasus, or even an earth pony. The reason they’re called that is because, along with the mark that symbolizes the talent the pony haves, there’s a rare clover mark either inside or next to the mark to represent the magic they have. Sometimes the clover itself is the symbol of the talent, the pony having it being talented with the magic it gives. Ponies who get Clover cutie marks develop different types of magic like the four elements, light magic, even dark magic. With every Clover mage, the magic is always different and these marks are very rare. Only about 20% of the pony populace gets them. Now back with the story,

“But aren’t Clover cutie marks rare?” Leon said, making a point there that most ponies don’t get Clover cutie marks.

“Yeah, but if anypony deserved a Clover cutie mark, it would be Gold Star.” I said. “He’ll be able to get that cutie mark the instant he passes. Right, Gold?”

“Right.” Gold said as he looked out into the distance, no doubt facing the statue of the first Mystic King which resided on top of the giant demon skull that laid against the mountain outside of Canterlot. “My cutie mark. I’ll have it soon. Finally. Finally. That’s right! I’m gonna get the most awesome Clover cutie mark ever! I'll join up with the Royal Guard and, once I make a name for myself, I’ll follow in your footsteps and become the Mystic King!”

“And what exactly would you do once you become the Mystic King?” Leon asked him.

“I’ll come back and rebuild this crumbling dump of a church!” Gold answered.

I heard the priest growl, looked to see him turn, point at Gold, and yell “‘Crumbling dump?’ That’s taking it too far!”

“Well, he’s tellin’ the truth.” Dog said to priest. “This place could use a little fixin’ up.”

“And I have no doubt you will become the Mystic King, Gold.” I said.

“Yeah! Right, Silver?” Gold said as we all looked to Silver, who wasn’t even looking at him.

When Gold put his claw up for a claw to hoof bump, Silver only looked at him before he turned and walked away without saying a word.

“I’ll show all of you.” Gold said after he put his claw down and before he then ran off. “I swear! Just watch and you’ll see, darn you!”

“Gold Star, wait!” Moon Dancer said to Gold as he kept on running.

“Let him go.” I said to her. “He just needs to blow off some steam.”

I then went off to find Silver and did so as I saw him in the church, standing in front of the podium.

“Hey, Silver.” I said to him without him turning around. “You think you could try maybe to get along a little better with Gold? I mean, like you did before back when you were colts. As I recall, when I met you, you two were always together. Almost like brothers.”

From what I got from Sister Water Lily, when he was young, Silver Blade was always such a crybaby. But then, one day, he came back to the church with Gold Star, who was badly injured. Ever since then, nopony has seen him cry once.

“What’s the point?” Silver said to me. “There’s no getting along with that one.”

“That’s not what it looked like before you stopped smiling.” I said as I turned to leave. “He might be Princess Celestia’s son, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t still a friend.”

Actually Sister Water Lily said that both Silver and Gold were different after that day. That’s when Gold would be going back to the castle covered in mud every day. With this, I then decided to figure out where Gold would go to and what he was doing. I managed to find him that night in the demon skull, but that wasn’t the only thing that surprised me. There, I found him doing arm-ups and hid so he didn’t see me. I didn’t want to interrupt him. That’s why he was covered in mud every day and why he was able to do crunches so fast, he’s been going out training and building muscle. I was amazed by his determination to keep going till he finished.

“994…995…996…997…998…999…” Gold said as he did a thousand arm-ups on his left arm with his legs pointing straight to the sky, sweat dripping from his brow.

He then did a flip and got back on his claws and hooves. He then took out a canteen and began jugging down a dark green liquid from it. I had no doubt it was mogro leaf juice, a special liquid made for enhancing a Clover mage’s magic power. He then went back to training. I guess he got use to the taste of that juice. From what I heard, it’s completely bitter. Thanks to my super-hearing, I was able to hear what he was saying under his breath.

“I will be the Mystic King.” Gold said. “And nothing’s going to stop me.”

“And I have no doubt nothing will.” A gentle voice said.

Me and Gold both looked to see Princess Celestia standing next to him with a smile on her face.

“Mom!” Gold said as he jumped in shock of his mother being there. “What are you doing here?”

“Just trying to find you.” Celestia said to him. “Now I see where you have been getting the mud from all these years.”

“Yeah, sorry.” Gold said to her with embarrassment. “I didn’t want to tell you because I thought you probably wouldn’t let me do it again.”

“Why would you even think that?”

“Well, because you’re the ruler of Equestria and you wouldn’t like me getting into all this fighting and stuff.”

Celestia chuckled and said “I would suspect you would believe I wouldn’t allow you into conflict being my only son and the fate that had been put upon your aunt. You are the greatest gift I could ever receive and I would not like to lose you. But I know you want to help others as a member of the Royal Guard, which is something I cannot deter you from. Keeping you out of harm’s way would be my duty as princess. But my duty as your mother is to make sure you’re happy and always following your dreams.”

Gold Star was touched by this and smiled at his mother.

“Thanks, Mom.” Gold Star said as he hugged Celestia.

“You’re welcome, my little Gold Star.” Celestia said as she returned the hug.

Okay, really, that was just so sweet there. That moment really tugged on my heart strings.

“Just make sure you’re back at the castle before the moon is at its peak.” Celestia said.

“Don’t worry, Mom. I’ll be done and back home before you know it.” Gold said and Celestia took off back to the castle.

After she left, Gold then said “Alright! Now my first step to becoming the Mystic King is getting my body trained up!”

I then watched as Gold then began training like crazy. When he was done, he released a roar that could be heard from Canterlot.

Once a year in March, on the 7^th day of spring, all young stallions and mares from across Equestria gather for the Royal Guard Entrance Exam, a test to find the next generation of great soldiers to the Guard. Today was now the day that Gold and Silver could be able to test themselves to see if they were Royal Guard material.

“Awesome!” I said as I looked around the stadium we were in. “Look at all the different cutie marks! I wonder what kind I’ll get.”

Once I got my cutie mark, I was gonna be able to use magic too. And I would catch up to Silver Blade.

We all waited in anticipation for the exam to begin. Me, the guys, the priest, and Sister Water Lily were up in the stands to watch Silver and Gold do the exam. It was really nerve racking. This would be the ultimate test for Gold. I just hope he made it okay. With my super-hearing, I was able to hear some of the examinees down there talking about this. Two of them were actually talking rudely about Gold and Silver, insulting them, Gold the most. That’s what I hated the most, ponies who think they were better than anypony else, like a certain white coated cousin of Gold’s I met. I know Celestia wouldn’t like anypony talking trash about her son. Though I couldn’t focus on those insults. This was Gold Star’s moment and I couldn’t ruin it by yelling at those guys. He’s always dreamed of getting his cutie mark, his own Clover cutie mark to be exact. I have heard that many ponies actually hoped they would get a Clover cutie mark. For many ponies, it’s a life changer. Because the magic power they have isn’t just for unicorns, it’s become part of Equestrian lifestyle. Some like to brag about how cool it looks or how detailed it is. For others, it can be their way to finally leaving home and seeing the world or to keep on a family legacy or business. Another thing that’s unique about them is that power of the magic always keeps growing. Before it appears, ponies can be able to use basic magic formations like Silver’s cyclone sphere. Once they get the cutie mark, the doors of new opportunities are opened as they discover spells they never knew they had and develop even more along the way. Though the amount of power a pony always carries can vary from being weak, having a short amount of spells to achieve, complexity with the spells, having tons of spells, or having a few spells with more to come. But, with everypony who gets them, they have dreams they want to achieve in the world. Gold is one of them and quite a unique dreamer. His dream is to become the Mystic King so he can be able to make our world a place where everypony can be happy, whether they were rich, poor, a royal, a noble, a commoner, or an orphan. That’s why I always had faith in him. In a way, he was like me as I want to make a world where everypony can be happy, no matter where they came from. I then diverted my attention to the stadium box as a royal guard appeared. There was no doubt the captain of the Royal Guard. It’s customary that the captain would welcome the examinees of the yearly exam. I wasn’t able to get a close look at him, but I could see he was a white unicorn with a blue mane and blue hooves.

Oh, man! This was awesome! I finally got to see a real Royal Guard captain! Even though I could see any member of the Royal Guard at the castle, the captain was the only pony I never saw around.

“Young examinees of Equestria, welcome to the Royal Guard Entrance Exam!” the captain said to us. “On this day, you are given a chance to prove yourselves worthy of become a member of the Canterlot Royal Guard, to protect Equestria with integrity, hope, and love. For those who don’t know me, I am the captain of the Royal Guard and, as custom by the laws of Princess Celestia and the first Mystic King, I will be in charge of this year’s exam. Now, never once has anypony of Equestria distinguished him or herself, by becoming a Royal Guard, much less a Clover mage or even the Mystic King. I hope for each of you to accomplish great things. To those who will be a part of the Royal Guard, that one among you would have what it takes to become the greatest soldier in history. And to those who seek the path of a Clover mage, I hope one among you haves what it takes to become the strongest mage in Equestria. Seriously, I mean it!”

That actually shocked all of us as we just kept quiet and let him keep talking. I didn’t actually think that the captain of the guard would actually say that.

He cleared his throat and then said “And now, before we begin, all of you will be divided into three groups. By the rules of the first Mystic King, the members of each group will be paired with one another in combat, a test to identify and determine a pony’s own integrity, hope, and heart in battle. Those who managed to defeat their opponents will pass the exam and be accepted into the Royal Guard. You can fight either hoof-to-hoof or with the use of magic. To those who have wings are not allowed to use flying to attack their opponents. Each of you will be given a colored vest to determine your group. On each vest, there is a number. There are two vests each that have the exact same number. The two who have them will be each other’s opponents. Now, without further adu, accept your vest.”

After he said that, the vest began flying toward us, no doubt being handled by the unicorns of the Guard. The vest had three colors: blue, yellow, and pink. I watched as I finally got my vest and it magically got on me. It was yellow with the number five on it. I looked and saw that Silver had a blue one on. After everypony got their vests, we then huddled up into our groups and we each paired up with the member that had the same number we did. I was so pumped. With all my training, I was gonna get in the Royal Guard for sure.

I watched as every pair in each group got ready to fight, waiting for the captain to give the word.

“Now that all our groups and fights have been made, let the entrance exam…begin!” the captain said and all the examinees began to fight.

With this, I watched as the battlefield was filled with hoof-flying and magic-powered attacks. It took about 3 hours, but in the end, about almost half of the examinees were left. From all around, I heard some of the examinees talking about getting their cutie marks as they appeared after the fight, some actually being Clovers. With the Clovers, one had a cool look, one had great detail in its symbolism, one had a not so glamorous symbol, and one was actually pretty confusing to describe. All of them unique. Everypony down there was getting their cutie mark. With that, there were only two fights, one from the yellow group and from the blue group: Gold Star’s and Silver Blade’s. This was it. These were the final fights before the exam was over. Everypony around looked at the two fights. I saw that both Gold Star and Silver Blade were facing Clover mages: Gold’s opponent was a unicorn stallion with a flame cutie mark and Silver’s was an earth pony stallion with a leaf cutie mark. I was actually pretty nervous. This would be the first time Gold would be facing off against a Clover mage. I just hoped he would be okay.

This was it. It was finally time to show everypony that I belong in the Royal Guard and that I can become the Mystic King.

“Hey.” The unicorn said to me with a smug. “I heard about you. They say you can’t be able to use magic at all.”

“Yeah, so what?” I said to him.

He chuckled before saying “Well, it just means ponies have to take extra good care of you. I mean, you’re one of a kind. The only pony in Equestria who can’t use magic and without a cutie mark. I won’t use my magic to make it easier for you.”

“Just because I can’t use magic doesn’t mean I still can’t beat you!” I said to him.

“Whatever. This will all be over soon.” He said as he then taunted me. “So, shall we get going?”

With this, I then charged at him with everything I got. I think I surprised him by getting so close to him. Looked like that on his face.

“What the…?!” he said as I then punched him.

I began giving him more, a bunch of them hitting him while he dodged only some of them. Guy was actually pretty slow. He couldn’t land a single hit on me.

I then watched as both fights began. With Gold Star, he actually surprised his opponent by using the speed he built up over the years. That unicorn was basically freaked out as he dodged some of those attacks and was just frustrated when he couldn’t land a single hit on him in their hoof-to-hoof fight or claw-to-hoof fight in Gold’s case. Me and the guys were basically cheering him on and were impressed by how fast he was. With Silver Blade, his opponent was actually using some kind of “wind of nature”, or whatever it was called, magic and Silver deflected them with his own wind magic. Sister Water Lily was cheering him on. At one point, both Clover mages finally reach their limit and went in with furious attacks. The unicorn then decided to use his magic and tried to blast Gold with a stream of fire and the earth pony unleashed a roaring torrent of leaf-filled winds right at Silver. But those weren't going down that easy. With Gold Star, I saw him easily dodge that blast and then went in, grabbed his opponent by the foreleg, and got ready to do a judo throw. With Silver Blade, for the first time in my life, I saw him draw his swords for battle. After he did and the attack began closing in on him, the blades glowed green and he then prepared to do a crossing double slash with them. Both Silver and Gold finished off their opponents at the same time with Gold tossing his opponent to the ground and Silver unleashing a power blast of air at his, knocking the earth pony to the ground. A few seconds after the fights were done, a bright green flash appeared, shine upon everypony there. It lasted for about 5 minutes before it faded away. After it did, we all looked to see where it originated from and were shocked to discover what was behind it.

After beating that guy, I kept my eyes closed until I waited for somepony to say it. I wanted to make sure everypony was looking at me when I saw it on my flank.

“Hey, look at that cutie mark!” somepony said, sounded like a stallion.

I then opened my eyes and smiled to hear it. But, my hopes of that shattered when I looked and saw nothing but my same old blank flank.

“I don’t believe it!” another stallion said as I looked around.

“Is that what I think it is?” another one said.

That’s when I finally found out that they weren’t looking at me, they were looking at Silver and on his flank was…a cutie mark! I was just as shocked as them from seeing that.

I was absolutely shocked to see this. Right there, on Silver Blade’s flank was a cutie mark with twin silver swords crossed into an X behind a shield. And on the shield in gold was…a four-leaf Clover.

“No way.” I said, still shocked by this. “Is that…a four-leaf Clover cutie mark?”

“A four-leaf?” Dog said, just as shocked as me. “Like the one in the legend?”

“R-r-really?” Leon said, equally as shocked.

“The cutie mark that belong to the first Mystic King?” the priest said.

“If the stories about it are true, those who possess it are not only imbued with tremendous power, but also good luck.” Sister Water Lily said.

“And it’s his?” Shield asked in shock. “The guy from the church?”

“But there hasn’t been a four-leaf in 50 moons!” Dog said.

He was right. It was rare for anypony to get a four-leaf Clover. After the first Mystic King, the estimations say that only 3 ponies receive a four-leaf and Silver Blade became the first to appear in 50 moons.

After he took a look at the mark on his flank, he then turned around to face our direction and said “I will become the Mystic King.”

That shocked us all that he actually proclaimed that. I didn’t believe him and Gold and the guys weren’t sure to believe him, but everypony else did so as they all cheered out “Amazing!”

“He’s the brightest star in the whole kingdom of Canterlot!” the priest said with tears of joy in his eyes.

“I wouldn’t be considering him that yet.” I said to speak from my experience as the priest, Sister Water Lily, and the guys looked at me. “This is only if he can survive out there. It’s a cruel world, even for a Clover mage. Until he can prove otherwise than just luck, I say he’s a far cry from being a Mystic King.”

As everypony who took the exam were talking about Silver, I walked up to him and said “Silver Blade… Just wait. I’m hot on your hooves. I’ll catch up to you! I am your rival!”

Everypony was quiet for a moment before they all started laughing as they didn’t believe me. They all thought I was crazy. The only ones I saw who weren’t laughing were the priest, Sister Water Lily, Dusk and the guys, Moon Dancer, and surprisingly the captain, who just looked at me. When I looked back at Silver, he just walked past me and just said “No.”

I was able to hear what Silver said to Gold. That simply no sounded like he meant that Gold was no rival of his and that he should give up. I couldn’t believe what he just said.

“Well, everypony, time to go.” The priest said. “We got a lot of preparations to make for the big banquet.”

“I would hold off on the banquet if I were you, Father.” I said to the priest. “There’s nothing special about this day to celebrate. It’s nothing but just disappointment.”

With that, I then ran off to go find Silver and try to talk to him.

After that exam, I just went off into the forest nearby and hung on a tree branch on my left leg. I was so depressed. Sure, I made it into the Royal Guard, but I didn’t get a cutie mark.

“I was so sure, all this time, all I needed was a Clover cutie mark and I’d finally be able to use magic. And now, to not even get a cutie mark…” I said as I was about to give it up.

But then I remembered about that day when I decided that I would be Silver’s rival and knew that I couldn’t give up. Not now.

I then flipped myself over, stood on the branch, and yelled out “No, I won’t give up that easily!” I laughed a bit as I then said “You’re not winning this round, fate. Don’t underestimate me. It doesn’t matter if takes one, or two, or ten, or a hundred moons! I don’t care! I’ll work until I get my cutie mark! I will become the Mystic King! I’ll prove anypony can be great! Even somepony who was abandoned at birth! Take that! Ha, ha! And just you wait, Silver Blade!”

With me and Silver, we were walking home, talking about what he said to Gold Star back at the Royal Guard entrance exam.

“Don’t you think you were a little harsh with him?” I asked Silver, reminding him he told Gold to give up. “Don’t you believe he can get his cutie mark like the rest of us?”

“Of course I do.” Silver answered, no expression on his face like always. “I know he won’t give up and I wanted to make sure he doesn’t. There’s no pony else who deserves a cutie mark more than Gold Star. He is Princess Celestia’s son after all.”

“True that.” I said, smiling that Silver was just trying to keep Gold’s spirits up.

We then stopped when we saw two stallions, a unicorn with some flame cutie mark and an earth pony with a leaf cutie mark, coming toward us. It was two ponies from the Royal Guard entrance exam. I could tell because the unicorn had one of the Clover cutie marks.

“Wait, that guy was the son of the great Princess Celestia and he didn’t get a cutie mark by now?” the unicorn said to his friend. “Ha! That’s the saddest thing I ever heard! The Princess must be so embarrassed to have a blank flank colt as her son!”

“Hey, you can’t talk about Gold Star like that!” I yelled at those two, angry at them for insulting my friend. “And what are you two even doing here? The entrance exam is over!”

“Move aside, Little Colt Blue.” The unicorn said, motioning me to move away and looking at Silver. “We’re not here for you.” He then spoke to Silver. “Listen here, Mr. Swordspony, we were supposed to be the stars of the show, but then you, a nopony, came in and ruined that! And you got that four-leaf Clover cutie mark?! I’ll make you pay!” Then his horn turned bright flame orange as he gave a look of total rage. “I’m gonna burn you ‘til that cutie mark is nothing but ash!”

He then pointed his horn at us and shot a wave of fire at us. I was about to put a shield up, but Silver was faster than me and managed to put up a defense instantly. He simple raised and twirled his hoof and created a torrent of wind that surged around him and me, protecting us from the attack. When he removed the shield, the flames were gone and we looked to see those instigators looking in shock at Silver’s skills. I was impressed as well, though I shouldn’t have expected anything less from a four-leaf.

“He dispelled my flames without even using his blades!” the unicorn said, no doubt only thought Silver could only use the magic he had with his swords like he did in the exam.

He turned to his friend to try to get him to attack us, even though the earth pony was reluctant to do so. Before anything else could be done though, just then, some iron chains with metal spikes beginning them came out of nowhere and trapped the two, both of them screaming so loud all of Canterlot probably heard them.

Back with me, I heard some screaming and went off to see what was going on.

With me and Silver, we watched as a stallion in a black cloak, who I had no doubt created the chains, began to walk toward us.

“We can’t let somepony like that getting all burned up, now can we?” The stallion said as he walked past the two examinees who he chained up to the walls we all stood between and stood in front of me and Silver. “Don’t bother trying to escape. To move is a foolish waste of your time. My Magic Binding Iron Chains formation spell blocks its captives’ moment and magic.”

When we got a better look, we saw he was a unicorn with a brown coat, silver eyes, short, black, shaggy hair, a black, shaggy tail, and a lean build. I was able to recognize him.

“What do you want? Who are you?” Silver asked the stallion.

“I guess somepony like you wouldn’t know, but until 3 years ago, I was a member of the Royal Guard of Canterlot.” The stallion said.

“I know who you are.” I said to him with a serious stare. “You’re Starscream the Chain Magic Unicorn, the ex-captain of the Royal Guard, famous for his magic chains that could render his opponents helpless.” I said, temporarily surprising the stallion before he regained that cocky grin.

“Well, aren’t you the clever one?” Starscream said as he then created more chains and caught me and Silver. “Yes, that’s who I was before they kicked me out of their luscious ranks. Now I’m just an old thief and a legitimate businesspony.” He then turned his attention to Silver. “Only a unique pony gets a four-leaf Clover and I know a nice market where ponies would pay handsomely for somepony like you.” He then looked to me. “And don’t think you’re fooling anypony. The magic power you have will probably fetch a high price.”

With this, I was now scared of what Starscream wanted to do with us. I heard rumors that there was an illegal market where ponies with cutie marks, even ones at mine and Silver’s age, are sold to rich ponies as illegal slaves for their talents. At that moment, I was praying for somepony to save us.

Back with me, I managed to find out where the screaming was coming from and saw some creepy guy had Dusk and Silver trapped in chains. I listened as I watched the guy talk to Silver.

“Even though you got a four-leaf Clover, you’re still a young chick who has yet to learn to fly. How sad that your story will end before it even begins!” the guy said, smugly.

I looked to see Silver giving that guy a hard glare while Dusk just looked scared. Seeing that guy do this to my friend and my rival made me mad. I had to help them. I couldn’t let this happen. I then back away a bit and then ran and shouted “Hold it!” I jumped off the ledge and tried to land on the ground, but slammed into a wall and crashed onto the ground. I got back up and looked at the guy as he, Dusk, and Silver looked at me for some reason confused.

“What do you think you’re doing?!” I yelled at him. “Those are my friends! Leave them alone!”

“Oh, you’re that colt, the sad little proclaimed son of Celestia who didn’t get a cutie mark.” The guy said with a chuckle.

“Heard of me, huh?” I said. “Yeah, I’m the Princess’ son. And those two worked hard to get their cutie marks ʹcause a cutie mark is precious to anypony who gets them. So let them go, you jerk!”

The guy only laughed at me and said “The world’s full of people who do cruel things and they’re often overlooked. But it looks like you’ll die before you can see that world.”

“Gold Star, run!” Silver told me, but I ignored him.

“Like I’m gonna run away from a disgrace like him!” I shouted as I charged at the creepy guy.

“A weak colt like you is no match for me.” The guys said as he launched chains at me and I dodged them, but the chains wrapped around me.

“I’m not done yet!” I shouted as I tried to get closer and punch him. “I’ll get you!”

“No, young colt. You’re finished.” The guy said as he got ready to attack.

I felt it coming, but I couldn’t dodge it. I couldn’t escape from it.

“Dance of the Pitless Viper!” the guy said as the chains lased out and attacked me, sending me into the wall.

It was one serious attack. Now I got to see what the power of somepony from outside Canterlot was like. And I knew, even as much as I trained my body, I didn’t stand a chance.

“Gold Star!” Dusk said, worried.

“You see, little colt? It’s no use.” The guy said as he walked up to me, put his front hooves above me against the wall, and stamped his back hoof on my shoulder, pinning me there. “Thanks for playing though.”

“It’s not over.” I said with whatever strength I had left. “I’m not done. I will be the…Mystic King.”

“The Mystic King? You’re joking.” the guy said as he looked down on me condescendingly. “The thing is these chains can measure the magic power of anypony they come in contact with and you have none, not a single drop.” I gasped in shock from hearing that. I…didn’t have any magic…at all? “You were probably born that way. If you were trying to get a Clover, then it’s no wonder you didn’t get a cutie mark. To think, to be the only pony to possess not the slightest bit of magic in a world full of magic? Why, that makes you a rare and precious bird indeed!” as he laughed, he began stomping on my shoulder.

I was stunned by it, but I soon realized that he was starting to make sense. If that was true, then…no matter how hard I push myself, I'd never be able use magic.

“And you’re the son of the great Princess Celestia, raiser of the sun and moon? Really, you know, I can’t think of anything more pitiful. She no doubt knew of this and took pity on you to never tell you this.” The guy said. “Forget becoming the Mystic King, you’ll be lucky to just even get a job. I bet your friends, the four-leaf genius and the scholar pony are having a good laugh at your expense right now.”

I looked over to see Dusk looking at me worriedly while Silver just simply stared at me. I know Dusk wouldn’t be laughing at me, but maybe he was right about Silver. Dusk got his before either of us and Silver’s so great he got a four-leaf Clover. And then there’s me.

“To be the Mystic King, you have to be the strongest Clover mage in Equestria. To be a Clover mage, you need a Clover cutie mark. And to have a Clover cutie mark, you need to have magic. This world has no use for somepony like you, a poor, magic-less fool. You might as well give it all up right now. You were born a loser, you worthless runt!” the guy said.

Yeah. He’s right. I thought to myself, closing my eyes in acceptance. No matter how hard I try, I guess there are some things that just aren’t possible. So I might as well…

“Hey!” I opened my eyes a bit when I heard Silver’s voice. “Who are you calling a loser?” Silver then spoke to me. “Gold Star, it’s true that you aren’t going to become the Mystic King. Not ever.”

“Hear that?” The guy said to me. “Even your little friend knows that it’s impossible.”

“That’s because I’m going to be the Mystic King!” Silver said.

“What?” The guy said as he looked to Silver.

“You’re wrong, Starscream. Very wrong.” Silver said to the guy, who I guess was Starscream. “Gold Star’s no loser, he’s my rival!”

I gasped as I was shocked by this, but realized he was right and I couldn’t give up now. And I can’t let him down.

“Seriously?” Starscream said in disbelief. “This is the one you would claim to be your rival? The only pony in Equestria without any magic?”

With this, I lifted my arm and grabbed Starscream’s back leg and gripped it in my claw.

“You…” I growled before I raised my voice. “Get off of me!”

I let go as he backed away from me in shock.

“Sorry, you had to see me in such a weak moment, Silver.” I said as I got back up to my hooves and claws. “Just…give me a sec.” I then raised my head up with a face that screamed “I’m not giving up!” “That’s all. Then I’ll destroy this guy!”

Then, all of sudden, a golden glow appeared and everypony looked behind me. I turned and looked to the right where everypony was looking and saw a golden light right on my flank, growing and forming something. When it was done, I saw the light had formed a gold version of the North Star right there. But it wasn’t finished. Suddenly, I saw a red light appear at the center of the star and grew till it made a shape as big as the center. When both those light disappeared, I saw that what I thought was just a star was actually a gold star with a black clover with five leaves in it. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. It looked like…a Clover cutie mark on my flank.

“Is this…my cutie mark?” I asked, still couldn’t believe it.

“I knew it.” Silver said. I took one quick look at him to see that he was smiling before looking back at my flank. “Like you wouldn’t get one, Gold Star. There’s no way.”

I was absolutely shocked to see that Gold Star’s mark was a gold star with…a five-leaf Clover. In all my life, I never thought I would see a five-lead. I then watched as Gold Star then looked forward with wide eyes and lifted his right arm to the sky with his claw bent back. Then a surge of red energy came in from his shoulder and spiraled around his arm and went into his claw. It was then shot from his palm into the air, where it stopped and floated about a yard above Gold. We all then watched as the energy transformed into a long, large, black broadsword.

“Is that…your magic?” Starscream said after the chains he had floating around disappeared and as the sword fell and impaled the ground in front of Gold Star on his right, the sword looking ancient and begin almost as long as Gold Star, short of head. “But I checked and you didn’t have any magic power. How could you have a Clover cutie mark?”

That’s what I was wondering too. I wasn’t sure if Silver wondered as well, but I knew Starscream was in trouble. I remembered what my father told me about the Clover cutie marks.

The leaves of the clover are said to each contain one thing. In the first three dwell integrity, hope, and love.

Starscream gasped in fear as he backed away. I then looked to Silver’s cutie mark and remembered what was said about the four-leaf.

The fourth leaf is given over to good luck.

I then looked to Gold Star’s cutie mark as he then grabs a hold of the blade, remembering what was said about the five-leaf, the rarest of all Clover cutie marks.

And in the fifth…there lives the devil.

I then watched as Gold stared at Starscream with a blank, soulless stare.