//------------------------------// // The Element of Sorcery, Part V - The Challenge of the Grand Macaw // Story: The Elements of Virtue // by Rakoon1 //------------------------------// In the past… Star Swirl and Clover, a few days after they left the library, appeared at the Froud Valley, located south to the Forbidden Jungle, where there was a fall called Hatchaway Falls, whose waters would form the Cragadelite Lake. They appeared on a big pillar-like rock formation with some trees on top, with it being close to a ridge that covered the southwest of the valley, with the tallest point having the shape of a pony head called Knight’s Peak. “Interesting location…” Clover commented, while looking around. “Reasonably remote, well hidden by the ridges… But I’m still uncertain about this plan of yours. This spell that you told me about…” “The spell is the key to well protect both me and my book” Star Swirl explained. “Because it’s made of both light and dark magic, no villain, not even the Lord of Chaos will be able to break it.” “Yeah, that’s the part that still gives me the willies” Clover replied. “It’s not like I use it on my everyday basis.” “We’ve been practicing in this last days” Star Swirl told. “You’re ready for this. If you weren’t, we wouldn’t be here.” Clover sighed and then said: “Fine… I’ll do it. Under protest, but I’ll do it. Let’s just end this quickly.” Clover positioned himself, but before he could start to do anything, Star Swirl, holding his book, told him: “Remember, this spell will not pass unnoticed. Make sure to…” “To runaway as soon as I can” Clover finished. “Yeah, I know that… I can’t believe you still treat me like a foal. You do know I am a full grown stallion that has a family of his own, right?” “To me, you’ll always be the little colt that I took under my wing” Star Swirl said, expressing a certain tender smile. “But I could not be any more proud of what you’ve become.” “Oh master…” Clover said, touched by Star Swirl’s words. “You… You never told me anything like that… But I guess since these will probably be your last moments for… I don’t know how much long… you should be very sappy.” Star Swirl released a certain chuckle and said: “Despite everything, I will miss those remarks of yours, little one… Okay, now, cast the spell.” Clover nodded and the closed his eyes, as he focused his magic. The energy gathered around his horn for a moment, but then he extended his front hooves, while taking deep breaths. It was then that his energy started to be divided, splitting into white and dark energies, with the former going to his right hoof and the latter going to his left hoof. That process was extremely painful and demanded most of his concentration… all of it, if he hadn’t trained before, and the chances of performing it perfectly were still very slim. Fortunately, everything was going according to plan. When Clover divided all the energy necessary, he casted the two polar energies to Star Swirl, with them starting to surround him. The old conjurer closed his eyes, while securing his book, preparing himself to be sealed. It was then that roots started to appear under Star Swirl, but the truth was those roots where his hooves, which were being transformed. The roots started to penetrate the ground, while his body turned into a trunk, involving the book inside, with branches coming from the trunk. It didn’t take long for a tall tree to stand where Star Swirl was. After completing the task, Clover found himself to be exhausted. However, he could not let that stop him. He knew what he should do and he needed to do quickly. Standing up, he turned to the tree that was once his teacher and said: “Goodbye… master.” With that, he teleported away. In the present… In the Spirit World, Crosswart was running through the Dark Side of the Spirit World, while carrying Star, Hepheus and Clover. The latter had just told the moment he casted the spell to Star Swirl. “After that moment, Pandora started to pursue me. She was very persistent. The only way I found to stop her was to…” “To seal her in Star Swirl’s library under Canterlot” Star said. “Yeah, I know about that. Merlin wrote it in his journal and I read it.” “Merlin…” Clover said, remembering the young colt. “Do you know what happened to him?” “No, I don’t” Star said. “But that was a millennium ago.” “A millennium?!” Clover asked. “Wow… To me it was like two or three… I guess that’s just one effect of being tormented by your own nightmares in that fog. Well, at least I’m out… only to be helping saving the world.” “Now that I know where Star Swirl and his book are, I just need to get to Froud Valley” Star said. “Of course for that, I need to get out of the Spirit World, what I can’t because of this stupid venom. Crosswart, are you sure this plan of yours will work?” “Certainly” he replied, while running. “But, like I said, it won’t be pleasant. In all the Spirit World, there’s only one spirit that possess the power to free anyone bound to this realm.” “Oh no…” Hepheus said, realizing who Crosswart was talking about. “Don’t tell me it’s him…” “Yep” Crosswart replied. “The Grand Macaw…” Noticing the annoyed looks on both Hepheus and Crosswart, Star calculated this spirit they were talking about was not very good news. “Who is the Grand Macaw?” Star asked. “He’s the spirit that rules the Dark Side of the Spirit World” Hepheus replied. “He makes sure the dark spirits stay in line. The Grand Macaw is invulnerable to any of their magic, what gives him the authority over them. Not only that, but he also has the power to free those who are bound to the Spirit World, at least by dark means.” “That’s perfect” Star replied. “We just need to find him and convince him to…” But both Hepheus and Crosswart laughed before what Star just said. “What?” Star asked. “In my experience, that laugh can only mean it won’t be that easy” Clover commented. “Let’s just say the Grand Macaw is not exactly the easiest spirit to reason with” Hepheus said. “You’ll see what I mean.” As the quartet continued to advance towards to where the Grand Macaw was, they didn’t notice they were being followed by Scorpio, who was flying behind, out of their sight. He smiled, satisfied at the thought that they were taking him to his ticket back to the Pony World, exactly like the Lord of Chaos had told him to do. He just had to make sure the Grand Macaw didn’t free Star and the others. After advancing for a while Crosswart arrived to a very large and tall dark tree that he started to climb easily. After reaching a certain height and landing on a branch, he said: “We’re here.” The three ponies got down Crosswart, who rose up, said: “Welcome to the nest of the Grand Macaw.” He pointed then to what appeared to be a big pendant-nest-like house, hanging from a higher branch. However, something seemed a little bit off, as loud music could be heard coming from it, with the nest vibrating with it, with spotlights moving around. “Wait, is this the house of the ruler of the Dark Side of the Spirit World or it’s a party?” Star asked. “Unfortunately, it’s both” Crosswart replied. A firework came from inside the nest and burst. “What was that?” Star asked. “It’s for the better you don’t know” Crosswart replied. At that moment, someone passed by them, flying, and they saw who it was. “It’s Scorpio!” Star exclaimed. “He must be here for the Grand Macaw” Hepheus said. “Hurry!” They all hurried to the nest. Fortunately, they were able to get there at the same as Scorpio, but barely. They all entered in the nest, noticing that everything in it was designed to be like a club. The main room looked like a dance floor, where many spirits, both light and dark, were dancing around. Standing on a platform made of branches was the Grand Macaw. He was a big macaw-like spirit with green feathers covering his body with darker wing feathers with blue tips. His head possessed a big crown of feathers, while he was also adorned with a collar of golden feathers with sapphires, a pendant made of gold and a belt with a golden buckle. He was just making the ones in the party cheering for him, while saying: “When I say Grand, you say Macaw! Grand…” “Macaw!” the spirits replied, loudly. “Grand…” “Macaw!” “Marvelous!” he said, clapping his wings, turning then to a certain spirit that was out of the platform, right on the higher level and that had a pony body that seemed to be made of green stone, having hooves and adorns on the neck, head and ears of a darker shade. “Much better crowd today, Vuli. Their call-and-response is on point.” “Anything for you GM” Vuli said. “After all, I am a big fan.” It was then that his head spun around, turning then yellow, as he expressed an immense joy. “A very, very big fan!” They then heard a sound, with Vuli’s head spinning again to return to his former color and they saw Scorpio and Star approaching, trying to compete who would be on the front. “Well, well, well” the Grand Macaw said. “I know I am the best, but, please, my greatest spiritual being needs some space from his spirit fans.” “We’re not, spirits” Scorpio said, while Clover, Hepheus and Crosswart arrived. “We’re just trapped here.” “Are you sure you’re not a spirit?” Vuli asked, while looking Scorpio closely. “I mean, you do look like one… a very ugly spirit.” Clover contained his laugh, Scorpio just hissed at Vuli. But that seemed to be a mistake, as Vuli’s face spun again, turning orange, and he shouted angrily: “Hey, don’t ever do that again, if you want to keep that tong!” That really scared Scorpio who didn’t dare to talk back at Vuli, whose head rotated again, until becoming green again, and he said, cheerfully: “And that would be a very good thing to watch.” “That guy is even more temperamental than Heartbeat” Star whispered to Crosswart. “That’s Vuli” he replied. “A very dangerous dark spirit. His face changes color according to his moods… which change a lot.” The Grand Macaw released a laugh after witnessing that and said: “I just love this guy… It’s so funny seeing his head spin like that…” Taking advantage of Scorpio being intimidated by Vuli, Star addressed to the Grand Macaw: “Greetings, Your Grandness… I'm Prince Star Knight. I was told you could send me and my friends back to the Pony World.” “Sure, I could send you back, but why would you want to go?” the Grand Macaw asked. “This is the hottest spot in the universe.” He turned to the spirits that were on his party and asked: “Am I right, party spirits?” They all started to cheer loudly. But then the Grand Macaw just lowed his wings to them, causing them to stop cheering. Raising one wing caused them to start cheering again, while lowing it all the way down made them quiet again. He did that a few more times, seeming to be enjoying that and then said to Vuli, turning to him: “Wow, they are really on their game, Vuli. Gold star for you.” “Ha-cha!” Vuli said to him as a response. “It is impressive” Star said. “But we really need to get back to save my world from a great threat. The Lord of Order is counting on us.” “As to I… to get back” Scorpio replied. “To help conquering his world on the Lord of Chaos’ behalf.” “Oh, drama between Order and Chaos…” the Grand Macaw said, clearly gaining an even greater interest. “I can work with this.” He thought for a few seconds and then said: “Uh, I got it. This is going to be fun. You're going to dig it.” And so he took flight and declared to all the spirits present in his nest: “Listen up, party spirits! These swashbucklers desperately want to return to the real world for some strange reason. But I am only going send some of them back.” That declaration really made Star, Hepheus, Clover, Crosswart and Scorpio worried. The Grand Macaw landed beside Star and Scorpio and continued: “And here's the best part. They're going to face each other in a round of Ultimate Buckball to see who gets to go. That seemed to have hyped the spirits, who cheered again. “What?!” Star asked. “This isn't a game.” “And I cannot stand buckball” Scorpio said. “Or any other game, for that matter.” “Even better” the Grand Macaw replied, not caring for their opinion. “Now, you can choose your team from any part of the Spirit World, Light or Dark. You, spirit guide. Do me a favor, will you? Escort the prince to gather his team. And, Vuli, you can take the conqueror assistant to round up his.” “You got your first teammate right here” Vuli said, promptly to Scorpio. “A chance to finally get out of the Spirit World and go to the Pony World? I can’t wait… And I’m not the only one.” “I’m not liking what he is saying” Hepheus said to Star. “Me neither” he replied, turning to Crosswart. “Come, Crosswart, we need to sort our team up.” They all got out of the Grand Macaw’s nest and said: “Okay, we need to decide which roles each one of us is going to take.” “Yeah, about that…” Crosswart said. “Buckball here has different rules than the Pony World.” “How different?” “Remember that variation you and the Sea Raiders used to play?” Crosswart asked. “Oh, I loved that game!” Clover exclaimed. “Well, instead of a basket, we have woops positioned on the sides of the field” Crosswart explained. “We can’t also use magic, wings or grab the ball for any means. Oh, and we’ll need a team of five.” “Okay, I may be still a little aloof because of the fog, but I believe we’re four” Clover said. “We’ll need another player” Hepheus said. “But who are we going to ask to join us?” “Don’t worry about that” Crosswart replied. “I have someone in mind. Grab my paw.” Star, Hepheus and Clover placed their hooves on his paw and then Crosswart closed his eues, while focusing. The marks on his arms started to glow and then they teleported, appearing in midair. But what fascinated them was what before them: a giant tree with leaves of many colors. As they started to float towards it, Star asked: “Where are we, Crosswart?” “This is my home, the Tree of Guidance” he replied. “It’s where all the spirit guides reside.” “All of them, hein…” Hepheus said, a little uncomfortable. Star noticed that, realizing Hepheus should be thinking about his own spirit guide that could be there. Arriving to a certain branch, they all landed there and Crosswart said: “Okay, our fifth teammate is a friend of mine… In fact, she is more like family. But she’s very fast and agile, exactly what we need. Come.” As they started to walk around, Star couldn’t help but looking around. He was left amazed by seeing the many types of spirit guides. Many, like Crosswart, seemed to have hybrid forms of different animals, but others looked so much like other magical creatures, except they had vibrant colors and patterns. Their houses seemed to have a similar style as the Grand Macaw’s, but smaller and more humble. After walking for a while, Crosswart stopped and told, while pointing: “And there she is.” He was referring to a female jackalope with the height of a pony (counting with the antlers) and a blue fur with a white belly and backs of the paws and a golden face with white eyelids. Part of her legs and arms had shades of orange and she possessed as well white marks that looked like whiskers on her cheeks and another looking a leafed vine going from her forehead and to the back of her head. Her antlers were striped with two shades of orange, while her eyes were grayish red. At that moment, she was dancing and she was doing it quite well. “Jackie!” Crosswart called, as he approached her. Noticing him, she said: “Crosswart, there you are. I went to your house to see if you want to practice some moves with me, but you were not there.” “Yeah, sorry about that” he replied. “Duty called, you know?” He pointed then to Star. “Wait, is that Star?” she asked, surprised. “Here, in the Spirit World?” “He came to save a friend from the Fog of the Lost” Crosswart explained. “Yeah, I’m that friend” Clover said. “The name is Clover.” “And that’s…” Crosswart started, referring to Hepheus. “Yeah, I know who he is” Jackie said, not very pleased. “The General of Chaos…” “Well, I’m not much of a General, right know” Hepheus replied. “You can call me Hepheus.” “Jackie, it’s okay” Crosswart told her. “You do know he’s not a threat anymore.” “I know…” she said. “But that doesn’t mean I have to forget what he did…” After a short silence, she turned to Star and said, approaching him: “So… You were able to beat the Fog of the Lost? That’s so awesome! I’m not that surprise having in count who is your mother.” Noticing some confusing on Star, Crosswart clarified: “Jackie is your mother’s spirit guide.” “And your uncle’s… and cousins’ as well” Jackie said. “But Twilight Sparkle has always been my greatest pride because of everything she accomplished. Despite your cousin Gleaming Shield is not that very far, after what she did just now.” “So you must know about…” “Yeah, I know” Jackie said, sadly. “And, unfortunately, there’s nothing I can do. That’s why I was dancing. It always help me to clear my head.” “Then I have good news for you” Star said. “You can help her right now. I need your help win a buckball match to earn my way back home.” “A buckball match?” Jackie asked, confused. “For the Grand Macaw” Crosswart elucidated. “Oh, yeah…” she said, rolling her eyes. “That sounds like him…” “So, can we count with you?” Star asked. “Ah, yeah!” Jackie exclaimed. “I’m glad you came to me! That’s the best way for me to help Twilight, save the world… and also to get out of this boredom. I just hope this all thing doesn’t blow up on our faces.” “What do you mean?” Hepheus asked. “Well, it’s just that the Grand Macaw has this thing of not always saying what he means or meaning what he says” Crosswart replied. “Interesting…” Hepheus commented, thoughtfully. “But we don’t any other choice” Star said. “We need to take a leap of faith. Okay, let’s go win a buckball game.”