//------------------------------// // Chapter 5: A lesson on magic // Story: Gusty the Great book 2- The crusades // by Dianabel //------------------------------// There was almost no conversation between Starswirl and the soldiers during the trip to his place. Instead, there was a quiet tension between them. He noticed how hypervigilant they were of their surroundings. Lancer and Glory were preparing to draw their sword from time to time, and Buttons and Fizzy threw him threatening looks, the latter being less dissimulated about it. Buttons nudged her when she made a `I´m watching you´ gesture exaggeratedly. The only one who didn´t seem to be mistrusting was Gusty, though Starswirl could tell she was a bit nervous as well. “Your friends seem…. uncomfortable.” he whispered at her. Gusty pressed her lips. “Well… Bear in mind that we´ve just been attacked. And you appearing out of nowhere after spying us is suspicious to be honest.” “Then why did you decide to come with me?” Starswirl raised his eyebrow confused. “We don´t have much of a choice, do we?” Gusty looked up to point the rain. “So… How is the situation going for you?” Starswirl asked after a brief silence between them. “Is Grogar winning or…” he put his hoof on his chin. “Hmm… Majesty, was the name?” Gusty nodded. “As I was told when I entered the rebellion, it´s a pretty matched chess game. Majesty has conquered some towns, but Grogar puts up a huge fight that complicates eveything. From what I´ve heard, reconquering one city took her years. Now, she only has three cities left.” “I suppose one of them is Trottingham. Otherwise, you wouldn´t be around here. And the other one is Canterlot, now Tambelon´s capital.” “Correct.” “And which is the other one?” “Coltlogne.” “Oh ok.” “How do you know so much about Maragon if you had no relation to the rebellion?” “Elder knowledge.” Starswirl smiled nostalgically. Gusty blinked. “You don´t seem that old to me…” “No no!” he laughed. “I don´t mean it like that. I mean my elders´ knowledge.” “And how did your elders know?” “You are not the only ones doing things behind Grogar´s backs…” he winked an eye. “I see…” Gusty said intrigued. “I told you my name, but you haven´t told me yours. So what´s your name?” “Gusty.” “Gusty… Beautiful name.” he widened his eyes when he realized what he just said. “I mean! I like it.” And what is it like being in battle?” “What?” “You´re soldiers. You´ve been in battles.” “I actually haven´t been in one.” Starswirl widened his eyes in surprise. “I´m a very new addition, you know? And I´m not the only one. See those two mares?” she pointed at Fizzy and Buttons. “They joined at the same time I did.” “And how did you end up here?” “It´s a very very long story.” Gusty giggled nervously. Finally, between the trees, a cottage could be seen. “We´re here.” he informed to all the unicorns. “Wait!” Lancer stopped him before Starswirl could take another step. He nodded at Gusty. She conjured a wind to float herself and her friends to the cottage´s door. “Whoah!” Starswirl exclaimed surprised. “Didn´t know you had wind magic.” He held to Gusty to get his balance back. He blushed when she turned her head to him. “Are you ok?” she asked concerned. “Yeah, yeah!” he replied, trying to conceal his nerves. “It´s just I don´t want to fly away in the tornado.” “Yeah right…” Buttons raised her eyebrows playfully. “Don´t worry. This might be a tornado but it´s small enough not to shake us up.” she reassured him. “So, this is your own way of doing a self-levitation spell.” Starswirl stopped holding Gusty. “Yup!” Gusty closed her eyes in pride but opened them when she processed Starswirl´s message completely. “Wait, there´s a spell for that?” “You have no idea… But why levitating and not walking?” “Diamond dogs won´t be able to catch us that quickly if we are on air. Besides, they won´t know we´re there as they won´t feel our steps underground.” Glory explained. “That´s a wise idea. We shouldn´t discard the possibility that they might be under my garden.” “Open the door.” Lancer ordered Starswirl once they were in front of the door. As Starswirl carried on Lancer´s order, everypony took out their swords or ignited their horns, getting ready to fight. “Yyya!” everypony yelled once the door was completely open. However, to their surprise, there was no army waiting for them inside the cottage. Instead, there was just a table and chairs in front of a stove and a fireplace. Starswirl gasped when he noticed the cauldron in the fireplace. “Oh, I forgot I was making porridge!” he exclaimed. He was going to run but quickly remembered that he was being held by Gusty. “Could you put me down please?” he asked her politely. Slowly, Gusty landed herself and everypony. Seeing that Starswirl was too distracted checking the porridge, they saw a great chance to investigate the house. Lancer pointed to the left and made a gesture to Glory to come with him. Then, he pointed at Fizzy and Buttons to the right. Lastly, he pointed at Starswirl while looking at Gusty. Everypony nodded quietly. They walked away as quietly as possible. Meanwhile, Gusty sat down in one of the kitchen´s chairs, fidgeting her hooves as she looked around. The cottage was like everpony else´s home. Old, a bit dusty and without much light. But what Gusty felt different in this cottage was the silence. Gusty had always lived with somepony. Firstly, her family. Then, she lived with her master, her husband and shortly with her daughters. Lastly, she and her daughters shared a home with Ms Prickly. As a result, she was used to having some noise in her house, especially since she gave birth to Celestia and Luna. As annoying as it could be at times, it also relieved her having somepony around. The silence in Starswirl´s cottage overwhelmed her. She wondered how he could deal with much of it. “Oh it´s not burnt thank goodness.” Starswirl sighed in relief. “Hey, do you want tea?” he asked everypony. Starswirl´s voice made Gusty come back to reality. “Huh? Oh yeah, please.” she replied. “I usually have it with milk. Any special requirements in your tea?” “Nope. Well actually, could you add salt and butter to mine?” “I´m afraid I don´t have them…” “That´s ok. I like tea both ways.” “Salty tea, that´s a curious request…” “That´s how we had it back home.” “Oh ok. Where are you from?” “The Himarelayas. I was born there but with my family moved to Tambelon´s capital due to famine.” “Wow, that´s pretty far away. And when did you come here?” “When I was a filly.” As they talked, Gusty checked on Lancer and Glory. The two of them shook their heads, saying that they didn´t find anything. Gusty invited them to come with her hoof, but Lancer shook his head and pointed at his eyes and then at Gusty, telling her that they´ll check one more time. Then, Gusty turned to Buttons and Fizzy. Buttons shrugged. She implored Gusty to keep talking to Starswirl. “What about you? Have you always been living here?” Gusty asked Starswirl. “No. I was born Trottingham, and I lived my whole childhood there. But for safety reasons I moved to this cottage in the forest some years ago.” “Safety reasons?” “Like I said before, you´re not the only one who does things behind the emperor´s back.” Gusty raised her eyebrow curiously. Those words indicated that he was not going to give them to Grogar, as he himself might have been part of another rebellion. She couldn´t help but wonder how many rebellions there were that she hadn´t heard of. As she and Starswirl were talking, Buttons and Fizzy kept searching in Starswirl´s bedroom. Seeing that their search was being fruitless, Buttons sighed. “Maybe we are being a bit paranoid.” she told Fizzy. “We haven´t found anything on this guy.” “You suggest that we stop now?” she asked Buttons. “Unless you want to keep searching…” Fizzy looked up while she thought on what to answer. “Nah, I´m good.” However, just when they were about to join Gusty and Starswirl, Fizzy realized that she didn´t look under the rug. After making sure that Starswirl wasn´t looking, she slowly moved the rug away with her hoof. She gasped softly when she saw a hatch. “Tch! Tch! Buttons!” she called her friend. Buttons turned around. “Look!” Fizzy whispered as she pointed at the hatch. Buttons gasped. She walked to the hatch. “Do you think they could be down there?” she asked Fizzy. “There´s one way to find out….” Fizzy picked the hatch´s ring to open the door but Buttons stopped her. “Wait. Let me handle this. I don´t want you to cause any mess.” “Well that´s a great way to show that you trust your best friend.” Fizzy crossed her forelegs. Buttons rolled her eyes. She picked the ring and pushed as hard as she could, as it was stuck. Suddenly, she managed to open the hatch´s door in a blow, making a noise loud enough for everypony to hear. Buttons covered her mouth. “Way to avoid messing things up.” “Shut up Fizzy.” Everypony turned their heads around. Gusty and Glory had terrified faces, whereas Starswirl was confused. Lancer threw them a death glare. Fizzy and Buttons laughed nervously. “It was her.” Fizzy pointed at Buttons. “You traitor!” Starswirl sighed. “I see you discovered the hatch… I wanted to give you food and tea first but seeing you mistrust me that much I guess I´ll have to rearrange things…” he said somewhat upset. “Come.” Everypony followed Starswirl to the hatch´s door. “Be careful with the stairs.” he said before going downstairs. “Ignite your horns everypony. Last one closes the door.” After doing as told, they started going downstairs one by one, Fizzy being last. Like Buttons, she struggled to move the door, closing it in a blow. “Gah!” she yelped after the blow. She looked ahead to see if anypony heard her yelp, but they didn´t seem to have heard. Either that, or they didn´t mind. Then, she tried to get away from the door as possible. After some stairs, they finally felt flat ground. They couldn´t tell where they were exactly, as there was not a single light in the room. Once he made sure every guest had arrived, Starswirl lit a chandelier, finally giving vision to the mysterious room they just entered. Everypony was left open-mouthed. Underneath of what seem to be a normal cottage was a small library and study. There were tall bookshelves full of books, piles of books on the floor as well as boxes of rolls. There was a table full of chemistry materials such as flasks, beakers, test tubes, inter alia. There were also posters hanging from the wall featuring sketches or notes. In the middle, near the chemistry material, there was a cauldron. “What is this place?” Glory asked amazed. “My small study.” Starswirl replied with pride. They paced around as they investigated. “This is amazing.” Gusty said in admiration. Starswirl smiled and looked away shyly when he heard Gusty. “All these books you see are books of magic. They include spells, history of magic, potion-making, and many more.” he continued explaining. Gusty picked one of the books and glanced through its pages. She was not the best reader in the world, but she could understand the content thanks to the usage of pictures. “What about this?” Fizzy pointed at the chemistry materials. “This is chemistry material. I usually make potions there. Hooves off.” he said upset while hitting gently Fizzy´s hoof, who was trying to touch the material. “Potions? But why would we need potions if we can already do magic?” Buttons asked Starswirl. “Well, the potions I mainly study are medicinal. You never know when you might need them.” “Back when I was a nurse, sometimes I used potions to lower fever or pain.” Glory added. “Do you know what kind of potion Katrina has?” Gusty asked Starswirl. “One to grant power.” “Black magic, that´s for sure.” Lancer commented. “Black magic?” Fizzy asked curiously. “There are many types of magic. Black magic is the one used to harm or control others. Or one that grants too much power.” “Grogar must be a black magic expert then.” Gusty assumed. “Wow, that´s a genius assumption.” Lancer said sarcastically. “Hey, unlike you and Glory, we knew absolutely nothing of magic.” Gusty replied back in self-defence. “We´re still discovering the amazing world of magic, I beg your pardon.” Lancer clicked his tongue. “Touché.” “Grogar is basically the master of black magic.” Starswirl explained. “Of course there was black magic before him, but nopony had ever studied it as closely and as much as Grogar did. Nor they became as powerful.” “And what other types of magic are there?” Lancer asked curiously. “It´s not as simple as white and black magic. Every unicorn can do the same spells but at the same time we have a unique talent that others don´t have. It depends on our cutie marks. But I´d categorize Gusty´s magic as elemental magic, the type of magic derived of nature´s elements such as water, earth, fire and in her case, wind.” Fizzy gasped excited. “Does that mean I have elemental magic too?!” “She can control water.” Gusty explained to Starswirl. The unicorn nodded. “That´s so cool!” “And what´s yours?” Glory asked him. “I… still haven´t figured it out. I guess some of us find out sooner and others later in life. Though I´d love to know.” “Me too…” Glory muttered under her breath. “What about prophecy magic? Does that exist?” Gusty asked. “You mean divination?” “Yes, but also casting a prophecy.” “Well, in order to cast a prophecy, you need to look into the future first, which is all what divination is about.” “So if somepony with divination magic says something will happen, does that truly mean it will happen?” “Not necessarily. I usually compare soothsayers to doctors. If you have an unhealthy habit the doctor will tell you that you´ll get sick if you keep on with that habit. The soothsayer is similar in that aspect. They will tell you you´ll get fortune or misfortune should you go down a path.” “I see…” “And what are these notes?” Buttons pointed at them. Starswirl chuckled nervously. “I like experimenting. So sometimes I combine spells to create new ones.” “You can do that?!” Lancer asked shocked. “Of course! How else do you think our ancestors learned to do magic? I bet sometimes some of you experiment unconsciously.” “Does playing with water and wind count?” Fizzy asked curiously. “To me that sounds like testing your magic.” “HA! In your face Lancer. Who´s the expert in magic now, huh? Gusty and I were ahead of all of you all along.” She put her foreleg around Gusty. Lancer rolled his eyes. “How did Majesty not tell us about this?” Glory thought aloud. “Even royals have limited knowledge of magic, especially after having been under Grogar´s reign. In order to obtain a wide knowledge about magic you need a very detailed study. And royals don´t have the time for that. That´s why I wanted you to come. To explain everything I knew so it could aid in your quest. Or at least I hope it does.” “It does Starswirl.” Gusty smiled tenderly at him. “Thank you so much.” Starswirl blushed. “Um… You´re welcome.” “I can´t help but wonder though, where did you get all this stuff? And how do you know so much about-” Suddenly, they heard knocks on the door. “Were you expecting somepony?” Fizzy asked scared. Starswirl shook his head. Again, the door was knocked, this time stronger than before. “We know somepony is here! This is the Trottingham Guard so if you don´t want any trouble you´d better open the door RIGHT NOW!” Gaueko yelled. Everypony gasped panicked. “What do we do now?” Buttons asked. “Stay here.” Starswirl ordered them. “I´ll deal with them.” “But what if they attack?” Gusty asked worried. “Will you be able to defend yourself?” “It doesn´t happen what happens to me. Right now, you and your friends are what matter. You are our kind´s only hope.” Gusty was going to replicate but Glory held her shoulder and shook her head. Gusty caught the message and sighed defeated. “Ok. Be careful.” “Didn´t you hear me?! OPEN THE DOOR!” Gaueko yelled once again. “Turn off the lights and don´t do any noise.” Starswirl instructed them before closing the hatch´s door. Once it was closed, Gusty lit her horn to go upstairs. She stopped once she was close enough to the door. The other unicorns followed her. Once they were near her, she unlit her horn. “I´m going to count to three. If you don´t open the door in that time, I´ll tear the door down! ONE! TWO!” Before he could reach three, Starswirl opened the door already. “Finally!” Gaueko exclaimed. He sighed. “Long live Crunch!” he smiled fakely. “Allow me to introduce myself, I´m Gaueko, this is Gwyllgi and this little guy here is Cavall. We are the three captains of the Trottingham Guard. May we come in?” Starswirl nodded. “Thank you so much. Long live Crunch.” Gaueko said as he entered. “Long live Crunch.” Starswirl said in response. “Long live Crunch.” Gwyllgi repeated. “Long live Crunch.” Starswirl replied. “Long live Crunch!” Cavall exclaimed excitedly. “Long live Crunch.” Starswirl said, tired of having to repeat that sentence. Once the three dogs were inside, Starswirl closed the door. “So… What brings you here captains?” he asked as they inspected his house. “Nothing, you know, just a routine inspection.” Gaueko replied. Starswirl bit his lip. “May I ask why?” “I am afraid we can´t tell you that. All I can say is that there are five fugitives in the run. You know, bandits.” “I see…” “And we want to make sure that they aren´t hiding inside anypony´s house. Hope you don´t mind, although if you are not hiding something from us then there´s nothing to worry about, right?” “Right.” Gaueko noticed the porridge and tea. “Ah, dinnertime I suppose.” “Yeah…” “Could I have a cup of tea?” “Sure…” As he prepared the tea for Gaueko, Starswirl observed Gwyllgi and Cavall, hoping that they would not find the hatch. “Careful or it will spill.” Gaueko´s voice redirected his attention to the tea. “Here you have your tea, mr Gaueko.” “Why, thank you. You can sit in front of me.” Starswirl did as told. He fidgeted his hooves. “Do you like your tea, sir?” “Exquisite. You seem somewhat nervous, mr…” “Herbs. Mr Herbs.” Starswirl lied. “May I ask why?” “Well… I just want to satisfy you with my tea.” He felt his heart stop when he noticed Gwyllgi near the rug. The unicorns were as well, their heart pounding faster each time they heard the diamond dogs´ steps. Cavall looked under the bed and saw nothing. He and Gwyllgi nodded. “We haven´t found anything sir.” Cavall said “Good. I think it´s time that we leave.” Gaueko said as he got up. Starswirl exhaled air from his nose in relief. However, it wouldn´t last long, as Gwyllgi noticed the rug. “What a beautiful rug you have there, mr Herbs!” she said said with a smirk. Starswirl widened his eyes. “Definitely.” he laughed nervously. “Can we see it more closely?” Cavall asked cunning. “Of course…” Gusty gasped softly. She was going to use her magic but Buttons stopped her and suggested using hooves instead. Together, they held the door´s ring. Gwyllgi and Cavall dragged the rug away picked up the rug, making the hatch´s door visible. “Well, mr Herbs. It seems like you have some secret door!” Gaueko exclaimed. “I wonder what´s down there. A hideout? Let´s find out.” Starswirk bit his hoof nervous as Cavall picked the ring to open the door. However, it was going to be more difficult than he thought. He pushed as hard as he could, but still he wasn´t able to open the door, as the ponies were pushing the door towards themselves. Gwyllgi scoffed. “What´s taking you so long?” she asked upset. “I can´t.” he grunted. “I think it´s stuck.” “Give me that!” she pushed Cavall aside. Gwyllgi tried to open the door but was uncapable as well. “What the-” “Are you two seriously that weak?!” Gaueko asked impatiently. “Well, you try it!” Gwyllgi clapped back. “Fine!” Gaueko gave up in the first try. “Ok, we´re gonna have to do this the hard way.” He hit the hatch until it broke in half. Before he could do anything, Gusty threw him against the wall with a gust of wind. “Let´s go!” Gusty exclaimed to everypony. Gwyllgi and Cavall gasped. “There she is!” Gwyllgi pointed at Gusty “Get her!” Cavall exclaimed. “Oh you are in so much trouble…” Gaueko said maliciously before howling. Glory stopped running after she heard Gaueko howling. “Oh no.” she mumbled. “What?” Gusty asked. She understood Glory´s terror when she saw dozens of dogs popping from the ground. “Uh oh…”