//------------------------------// // Banished Legends // Story: Since Before the Stars Swirled // by The Real Darkness //------------------------------// He appeared at the top of the Canterlot High School building, students heading inside. He went to the side that held the parking lot and fell, using magic to absorb his shock when he landed, nobody around to witness his act. "So it was here," and he began using a search spell with Equestrian magic set as what he was searching for. The firs tobject identified was himself and his rune, but tiny rocks began to get identified in the parking lot. As they were, he began amassing them together. Sunset's mind had showed him where the memory stone was for a brief second, or rather where it was destroyed when he searched for a path from the school to Applejack's farm. And so her scooped all of it up and teleported it back to his study for reassembly. A hand fell on his shoulder, "Pulsar Splash, what are you doing?" Luna's voice spoke authoritatively behind him. He refused to turn around to further prove his wasn't one to submit to her display of power wielding, "Good morning, Vice Principal Luna. I'm just...cleaning up messes that were sent here from Equestria in the past." "Is that so? Then why are you in the parking lot?" "I was getting the remains of the memory stone back to my study. Perhaps you never saw that." "It would seem so," she walked around him with a smile, "I must say, being challenged is a refreshing experience." "Being challenged seems to be the tendencies here. Perhaps it is because there is no horn touting my prowess before my mouth opens," Pulsar smiled back. "Seems like you came out with your secrets to some people. Well done, that's a courage most do not show. Carry on, Pulsar Splash, you have free reign here as long as you are non disruptive," she walked back into the school. Straight and to the point, how he enjoyed most conversations, but with Sunset that seemed to be different, he enjoyed her presence. Speaking of, she was likely here, all of them were likely here. Pulsar began to walk away from the school before a familiar face approached him. "And you're Pulsar Splash that Celestia has been going on and on about," a soft voice spoke up. "That'd be me. You are Prin...Cadenza Mi Amore," he bowed lightly. "No need for all that formality and you're not a student so you do not need to call me Principal or Dean of anything like that. Just Cadence," she smiled, "and definitely not princess," and a laugh. "I can see you're wearing some king of official uniform..." "I'm the head of Crystal Prep Academy, walk with me please," Pulsar nodded and began walking with her, "it's been a rival school of Canterlot High for a long while, but now we're at least on good terms as rivals." "Rival schools, that's a foreign idea." "Your world must be far different from ours, but at least you have Sunset Shimmer to help guide you through here. I was told you were here to learn about friendship and getting along with others. You don't seem like you'd struggle with that." "I used to be the most adverse to the idea of talking with others, but I guess Sunset had something to do with that," Pulsar made the assumption they were heading far from the school as Cadenza waited on a bus for a few short minutes before it arrived and she paid for the both of them. "I hope you don't mind, we're going on a journey here, I'd like your expert opinion on something." "What is it?" "A surprise, you'll find out when we get there. It is at Crystal Prep Academy." "Luna told me you contacted my Equestrian part," she giggled, "it's hard to imagine there is someone out there who looks strikingly like me, sounds like me, acts like me, has my name...but she's a pony." "Ah...yes, Princess Cadenza. She's a kind ruler, not unlike you. I've never interacted with her except for...two days ago I believe." "She said you had a seance with her or something?" "Ancient magic practice. Most ponies use direct mind to mind telepathy if they are capable as it is more private. Trying to make magic go across worlds can be more extensive so I chose to ahve a physical focus and channel it better with the spell's incantation circle. So...I had a long distance conversation with her, not unlike how your phones work," Pulsar explained. "I see, where technology has filled our world, magic replaces that for you." "In a lot of ways, yes." "So, what was so important?" Pulsar coughed away a stutter, "well, that was a...personal matter. Cadence is an advisor and expert of a interrelationships and her council is often sought after." "That's a lot of syllables just to say she's a love doctor," Cadence laughed. "I...well," Pulsar's court skills were very unpolished. "I see I embarassed you, no worries. We're here," Cadence stood as the bus came to a stop and Pulsar Splash along with her. The two promptly stepped of the bus. And they stood in front of Crystal Prep Academy. "This is the surprise? I don't know...I might as well just join Sunset and the others at Applejack's farm." "You must reeeeally like the girl," Cadence took his arm and began pulling him inside, "it's obvious just from looking at you. Maybe you'd be a good match and ask her out," the school was empty despite it's expensive interior and countless amenities and all the cars in the parking lot, "oh, but then there is the Equestrian thing so maybe it might not be a good idea," and he was led down a hall and then another hall, "she's from Equestria though so she could easily just come back with you and visit here or stay here and go visit you," Cadence was planting seeds and she knew it, "I mean...I think you two would work as a nice couple," the head of the school lead him into a dimmed storage room, "my advice is to definitely confess to her." "Oh, look where we are! Here's your surprise!" She hit a switch with a smirk, Pulsar looking around and attempting to take in new stimuli as the auditorium came into view with hundreds of students in it. This is where they all were. "Good morning, students of Crystal Prep. I know our arrival took us a long time," he pulled him onto the stage, "but it took me a while to find him. As I said before, there was a visiting Equestrian here and this is him," Cadence cleared her throat, "Pulsar Splash is a very accomplished mage in Equestria, give him a warm welcome!" The students began clapping. Cadence whispered to him as she passed by, "just discuss magic, that's what they're dying to know about." Pulsar cleared his throat, "As Cadence said, I am Pulsar Splash," the students began to quiet their applause, "I, um, hail from Equestria, but from a time so ancient and foreign to most modern Equestrians," he pulled the rune from his labcoat pocket and began casting remote illumination spells around the auditorium while he flickered the lights off and centered one on him. "I'm immortal and was alive before Equestria united to become Equestria," the magical expert spoke, "I was a magical advisor to a unicorn king and tutored our rulers, the twin sisters. Equestria does not yet know I am still alive, but I am the foremost scholar of magic. From theory, knowledge, practice to application, ability, and spell creation." Pulsar began changing his illumination to turn them into firework shows without any of the materials, different colors lighting over the students faces, "these fireworks are novice spells, most unicorns are capable of casting them by adulthood. Just the simple lights and levitation, a foal is capable of." The mage, stroking his own ego scanned over the crowd before he began focusing on a couple of male students and lifted them from their seats, "however, spells can quickly become harder depending on the scale of the spell you are casting," he spiraled them around the open air for a bit before sitting them back down in their seats. "Magic in Equestria is crucial to our every day life. It creates our days, our rulers move the sun and moon. Our pegasi create, distribute, and control the weather, our earth ponies grow our food and plants with very little effort. All are done by magic," Pulsar felt some kind of magical disturbance in the crowd. "Magic, at least the kind I use, is unicorn magic, the most raw. It can take a long time before a unicorn can reliably draw upon their energy for it locked within themself. It can take a bit longer before they are able to properly manipulate and direct it. Our horns are foci for it." Pulsar Splash teleported himself above the students, sitting from the rafters of the auditorium, "teleportation is a spell most unicorns can't cast, it requires a lot of dedication to magical studies. Considering your school and the name...all of you are probably more interested in what magic is." He fell from the rafters, casting a much more advanced spell and giving himself temporary wings to flap, "that's the hardest question for magic that exists." "It's like asking what makes something have a soul or a consciousness, the answer is never easy. Some ponies beleive magic is an energy inherited from a foal's parents, but being able to train it has caused some dsitrust in that theory. Other's beleive it is a manifestation of the soul's power, which is more feasible, but Equestria has not proven that it is related to the soul..." Pulsar moved through the air slowly. "Other ponies believe magic is like blood and exists within all of us, but the ways magic can manifest and the places put that theory into question as well." "What do you believe, Pulsar Splash?" Cadence asked from the stage. "I believe...that magic comes from a connection to a special place. A place where only our alicorns have visited but just once, where time does not exist," Pulsar Splash spoke, "I don't know what connection it is that binds our magic to it, but my research into it is still ongoing." Pulsar felt the disturbance again from somewhere in the crowd below him. It was an ancient kind of magic, one that starswirl decribed. He remembered so because he captured some of their magic for experimentation. "I see there is...maybe was magic here," he whispered to himself. He knew exactly what was here, but the traces of it were very very faint. "Cadence, I'd like to open the floor to any questions they might have. Of course, anyone who'd rather not participate further in this discussion is free to leave," Pulsar Splash lef tthe air and landed on the stage, wings disappearing. It felt almost natural to him to make wings or fly with them. "Students, raise your hands if you do have questions for our guest today." And many hands did go up in the auditorium, Cadence began pointing and somehow calling out their names. "Is it possible to visit Equestria?" "It is, but I will not say how. A lot of beauracracy would be involved in that. Especially if one of you were to visit our world." Hands went up again and Cadence pointed to another. "We heard there are two Twilight Sparkle's one from here and one from Equestria. Is that true for everyone?" "For the most part, yes. It would take extensive testing to prove this." And the question marathon carried for another two hours, the time displaying at 1pm before Cadence had finally allowed Pulsar to leave. "So...did you enjoy speaking with them?" Cadence asked while they were heading to the entrance of the school. "I did. It was refreshing to be among curious minds." "Off to go see...Sunset?" She smirked at him. "I...it's not like that." "Oh, I think it is." "Cadence, you have some Equestrians attending your school, or they might ahve just been in the crowd of students, I'm unsure." "Oh? That's odd, I didn't think we had any." "Well, the sirens that Starswirled banished are here, I could very faintly feel their magic. If you need to know more about them, I would suggest talking with Sunset Shimmer, my knowledge of them is a little outdated and something definitely happened to their magic while they were here." "Mmm, well, if it's of no concern to you then it shouldn't be of any concern to me." Pulsar stepped his foot outside the door and felt a magic he learned to detect without failure. Dark Magic He had no idea where it came from but the moment he detected it, it hid itself from him. He raised his rune and untied the vial of magic liquid from inside his hair. "Pulsar, what is that?" "Can't explain right now," he uncorked it and gently raised it just as high and put a small tap of liquid onto the rune before corking and conceling the vial back in his hair. With the rune held high, he focused and a blinding white light enveloped everything near him before spreading more. "Come on, Dingy Coat. It's been a while since I've used this spell," Pulsar muttered and let more magic flow from the rune into the tiny amount of liquid, "there we go." "Pulsar, that's bright!" "Quiet!" He commanded. The light spread further and further until Pulsar knew the entire world here was covered with it, buildings, nature, everything disappeared and everything became white. Pulsar saw exactly what he needed to, a blackened mist rising from near the Canterlot High School. He knew this kind of dark magic specifically, the kind that made the Crystal Empire vanish. The white light ended and the liquid left on the run was shot to the exact spot the dark magic was found. "I need to go, there is an emergency," he teleported away, leaving Cadence alone at the front of Crystal Prep. "Have..a...good evening?" Cadence rubbed her eyes.