//------------------------------// // Teachers and Students // Story: Since Before the Stars Swirled // by The Real Darkness //------------------------------// Pulsar Splash stood in silence at the top of the throne room platform, staring out at the waves of ponies. "Hail, Pulsar Splash, Prince of Magic!" "Hail, Pulsar Splash, Prince of Magic!" "Hail, Pulsar Splash, Prince of Magic!" Sunset began, followed with the Princesses, and then the ponies in attendance, trotting after him. He used his magic to nudge Sunset up to his side. "Behold, Prince Pulsar Splsah, Behold..." they began their chant. And it kept going until his reached the train station. The new alicorn levitated the train that waited for him up and began pulling stones from the earth, clearing them off all debris as they came from far below Canterlot. Pulsar was gathering them in great speed, assembling an imposibbly tall bridge, fusing the stones together to create a solid piece as he cantered across them. The bridge winded and the ponies kept following behind him, chanting along. Eventually he arrived at Foal Mountain, dispelling his illusion to show his home was right at a cliff, the bridge connected and a pathway formed along with a small ampitheater in front of his residence. The crowd of ponies behind him was silent as they stared in awe of the massive building that had gone completely under their radar for thousands of years. He turned behind him, "anypony is welcome to seek my counsel!" Stones were still being pulled from the ground and a large platform began to float with an enchantment of his, protals tied to crystals teleported from his residence's storages appeared, leading to each major city's largest parks. Attached to the same platform, a staircase dscended down to lead to the Everfree Forest, Rambling Rock Ridge, and to Ponyville. He even enchanted a portion of the bridge and staircase with wide steps to increase a pony's speed. "Anypony may seek my advice, my knowledge and expertise, or alert me of concerning magical issues. As I once was a magical advisor to King Bullion of the unicorn kingdom, I am now a magical advisor to all of Equestria and even beyond its borders," he smiled, "but my library is still off limits without my express permission." The ponies bowed and the alicorns approached. As Sunset began to bow she was forced upright and teleported back to his side once more, "you don't get to do that anymore, as far as I see it, you could even be my first pupil." Sunset smiled wide, a chance in a lifetime, to be taught from a pony who learned during the magic development period of the unicorn kingdom. "This is a lot to undertake, Pulsar Splash," Cadence spoke. "Are you sure you can handle it? I mean, not to say you aren't good at magic or anything, butwhenIwasanalicornnothingwasevereasyespeciallywithlearningtoflyandcontrolmylargermagicenergypoolsandIknowhowover-," Twilight was rambling before Pulsar held her lips shut. "Twilight, I mastered teleportation before I was in formal schooling," he smiled, "I can handle anything magical." "We meant your duties, Pulsar Splash," Luna corrected, "there will be many ponies seeking your counsel." "And you've just begun reintegrating to Equestria." "Youuuu're also not the most experienced with friendship," Twilight nervously laughed. He was one of the ponies of legend she read about and looked up to when she was in her studies of magic. "Everypony, thank you for your con-." "Pulsar Splash has done an incredible job of making friends and keeping an open mind in regards to talking with new ponies or people. I've seen it myself back in the mirror world," Sunset spoke up, "he's just a little more quiet and wields that as an authority rather than an outgoing voice." "I see..." Celestia breathed out deeply. The ponies stared at him, awaiting something while the alicorns spoke. "What...why are they still here?" Pulsar whispered. "They're awaiting your announcement of the festivities." "O-oh," Pulsar didn't show any viisble signs of embarassment except for what was in his voice. "We assumed you'd do something unorthodox so we didn't make any catering orders," Cadence spoke up, "you are from a time where none of us know the cultural standards." "Well, typically there's a ballroom dance floor. I have one in my residence, but also a banquet and magic duels...and sword duels but those might be antiquated," he smiled, lighting his horn. A side door of his home opened, other doors remained shut, locked, and magically warded while small braziers marked the path to the double doors built into the left side of the estate. His ballroom opened with instant decorations transmuted and teleported inside. His outside duel sphere door slid open, the magic absorbant glass shined in the evening sun, the sphere ready to accomdate those who would test their might along with magic absorbant suits in the front of it inside a sealed crate, meant to protect the wearer but glow brightly when they were struck. A sword arena on the opposite side stood, grass overgrown until Pulsar teleported the literal plants out of the soil, an arrangement of longswords sat on a rack attached to the wood posts and fence. "That's quite a lot of magic at once," Twilight commented. "Princess, you haven't seen anything he's capable of yet," Sunset boasted for him. The ponies that followed their march here were all levitated into the air and actual invitations were sent with instructions to all major cities in Equestria and even to places in the Everfree Forest and faraway lands, portals temporarily opened. Tables appeared along the sides of the bridge at the stone raillings, fresh food, drinks, desserts were everywhere along them and the specialied fruit trees of Pulsar's design flowered, bloomed, blossomed, and brought forth their fruit in his personal orchard at the rear of his land, signs pointing to it. The ponies were slowly levitated back down in place. "What in Equestria..." Twilight jaws was completely open. "We did tell you he was our tutor, correct Twilight?" Luna spoke up with a grin, "we'd love if you were to continue your teaching with us." "Luna! We can't!" Celestia protested. "Well, I would," Luna affirmed herself. "We can discuss lessons for advanced mages. For now," he flapped his wings hard and flew to the sky, "citizens of Equestria!" His voice boomed and ponies were coming through portals to join the outdoor banquet and celebration, "and residents of lands afar!" Non-pony friend sof Pulsar's were coming through, ancient beings, a grizzled minotaur appeared, two reformed changelings followed, "today we come together in the celebration of what magic has brought all of us!" They cheered loudly before everypony began moving about towards the things they were interested in. A dragon a little larger than Celestia's size appeared from a portal after his announcement and even a Windigo flew from the Crystal Empire. "You keep...interesting friends, Pulsar Splash," Cadence noted. "Friendship comes in many shapes and forms," He looked to Twilight. "Friend, it has been a while," the dragon approached the alicorns, grey and blue scales covering his bipedal body, he hugged the new alicorn. "Rupture," he hugged him back, "how are those modifications working?" The dragon looked with his spiked head to the sky and breathed a grey flame out to the skies, reaching an impossibly tall height. His wings spread, the left looking remarkably shiny. "Wonderfully, they've grown with me and the more I try to use what nature gave me, the better they work with me," he smiled, "the dragons were willing to welcome me into their fold again, but I decided to do the Pulsar thing and remain solitary." Pulsar nodded, "apologies for disappearing, you know due to my immortality I hid away to prevent being witch hunted." "I know all too well," the dragon named Rupture nodded back, "I'd rather be meeting passerbys and explorers than stuck with those simple minded brutes who can't accept anything that doesn't meet their savage criteria." "Spoken like a dragon of real honor," Rupture puffed his chest and smiled. "I'll mingle today, however. Is it okay if I visit your home now?" "Anytime, Rupture." The dragon flew off, heading to the bridge and looking over the banquet tables. "You were friends with a dragon?" Sunset pipped up. Cadence had slipped away to find Shining Armor, Flurry Heart could be heard getting restless a little ways from their circle of talking. "Am, still am friends with that dragon. I took a couple years of my adolescene to travel the lands beyond Equestria and met some interesting characters. Rupture was a dragon bullied by others and cast out because one of his wings was horribly damaged in an accident and was born without the ability to breathe fire. I promised to help him if he allowed me to investigate was what going on and his biology." "So that's how you wrote the book on dragons that you did," Twilight squeaked. "Yes. Now Rupture is living as a normal dragon and can hunt like one as well." Pulsar slowly trotted to the front of his home, Sunset and Twilight following him, Celestia and Luna nodded to him while they left of their own accordances. A minotaur was next to approach him, very grizzled, scarred, and battleworn. "You don't seem...Onyx Bond?" It smiled, "close, Prince Pulsar Splash. I am his eleventh time great granddaughter. My name is Onyx Wall." "I see, I hope he lived a great and glorious life." "This was a wish he passed from chieftain to chieftain of our nomadic tribe," the giant minotaur, an axe and warhammer on her back bent to a knee and bowed to him. "The Sand Striders still exist because of you. You showed the entire clan that honor, trust, glory, and more comes in various forms, sizes, and applications. You prevented our famine from so long ago by showing us that littleborns can even slay the mightiest of sandworms and bring glory and prosperity to the tribe," she spoke. "We knew you went into hiding and respected your decision, my progenitor wished to declare this to you to keep his honor but died before he could do so," she stood, "and...you are also the reason why the Onyx family is still in charge of the Sand Strider tribe." Pulsar bowed his head, "a great minotaur of honor and wisdom. I'm certain you will continue to honor his legacy." "Thank you, Prince Pulsar. I will depart from here, we have a hunt planned today when I received your invitation." She walked away to a group of minotaurs who stood next to the portal that brought them there, forty or fifty of them stood, weapons drawn. She stood and turned to face him, drawing her own weapons. The minotaurs began a low short holler, raising their weapons in front of them and began clashing them slowly while their hollers became repetitive. The minotaurs sped up their whoops and iron clashing until it was a defeaning sound and ahd the attention of every single pony and creature present. Everypony showed some form of fear in their eyes. The clashing abruptly stopped and a loud shout was uttered. "The Sand Strider tribe recognizes!" Onyx Wall threw an axe from her back at the alicorn, "in 58 days we honor the ceremony! Join us in the badlands!" All of them shouted and the minotaurs began to go back through the portal and to their home. Onyx Wall stayed, the double bladed axe landed in front of the alicorn, deep in the dirt, "that is your axe! You are the only who is worthy enough to use it!" She walked through the portal and they disappeared, whisper went about the crowd. Pulsar Splash lifted the axe from the dirt with his own hoof, the massive blade feeling weighty in his hands. "Are. You. Kidding me?!" Twilight screeched. "I know you're wanting a moment to talk with me and be my friend, Twilight," Pulsar acknowledged her, "but these are some old..old friends I neglected when I hid away," he smiled. "So...you're an honorary member of an ancient nomadic minotaur tribe...the friend of an outcast dragon," Sunset was listing creatures almost every other pony didn't talk with, "even I'm questioning who the hell you are." Shining Armor approached the three, "still waiting to get on Prince Pulsar's good side, Twily?" "I-uh." "Princess, don't make me jealous," Sunset leaned into Pulsar who wrapped a wing around her. Pulsar was still looking over the axe. "It's really rare for a research oriented uni-alicorn to take an interest in weapons, where did you learn?" "I'm self-taught, every self-respecting unicorn could use a sword to some degree, but the axe I swept up from that tribe that just left is ancient, they kept it in good condition and the runes engraved on it is still there," he flipped it over in his hoof, "and my name and the day..." "But...how did you learn?" "I kind of...didn't it. I stole their axe and confronted the sandwurm myself, slaying it after three hours of trying to not be eaten and bleeding it out. It's how the dried skeleton of it ended up above the sands in the badlands." "So...you're a savage, too?" Twilight's embarassment left and her curiosity returned. "I guess I am? I was trying to prove a point to them and they still believe in it." "Pulsar, I'm concerned of something," Shining Armor pointed to the two reformed changelings who kept near each other. They held the crystal heart. "Oh!" Pulsar teleported the two of them over to the group, "Shining Armor, I'm pleased to introduce you to Dala and Thalamus." They smiled nervously and held the heart out for Pulsar to take, which he had, "In very old days, I visited the Crystal Empire and studied the Crystal Heart so extensively I was able to make a duplicate," he smiled, "these two changelings-." "I! We!" Thalamus spoke, "it's..." "Sorry, Thalamus has still be intimidated by ponies even after reformation," Dala spoke for him, "we met Pulsar Splash who was the first pony who didn't imprison us." "And those two were the first to make it past my enchantments." "Changelings breached your illusions?" Twilight questioned. "I hadn't made it to also encompass them at that time." "Pulsar Splash," Dala addressed him informally, "modified the duplicate Crystal Heart so it became a storage device for love and we were then able to sneak around towns at night and sustain ourselves by letting the ehart soak up the love." "Th-then and then we'd drink from it," Thalamus managed out. "They were the first changelings open to living with ponies in harmony but felt they couldn't fight their nature so I offered them a different way when we discussed how changelings used to be," Pulsar filled in. "I-I...I see," Shining managed out. "I understand why you were concerned." "Thank you, Prince Pulsar," he nodded to Shining Armor before the pony cantered off. "We want to return it to you as we have no use for it...you might be able to find a better purpose for it," Thalamus spoke confidently. Pulsar teleported the axe he still held and the duplicate Heart into his residence's warded storage, "thank you, please feel free to enjoy yourselves," the changelings bowed and left the three of them. "So...can you teach me how you taught Celestia and Luna?" Twilight broached the topic. "Maybe later, I have a student I'm teaching already," he squeezed Sunset with his wing, "you know you can talk with anypony here." "I know. You also know I do what I want and what I like to." "That's why I likely fell for you...so headstrong, proud, and you don't stray at all from who you are," Sunset smiled at his words and left him in front his estate. "Independent beauty," he muttered under his breath, sprawling his wings and stretching them before folding them away. There were a large group of ponies gathered in front of him in a circle and he began to hear music come from his ballroom, from the ancient magical records in there no doubt. Ponies were definitely beginning to relax. He peered across them, "do any of you have questions for me? Do you seek counsel?" A pegasi pipped up, "is it true you're immortal?" "Yes, I've lived for an incredibly long time." "How did you become immortal?" "With a spell I created. No, nopony is permitted to view this spell," he sternly answered. "Were you truly Princess Celestia's and Princess Luna's teacher?" "Yes! By the night, he was!" Luna shouted, annoyed at hearing that question. "When I disappeared from Equestria's eye, I was not done yet teaching them, thus Starswirl took over, teaching them from their adolscence and on." "That may be for the best as I was not...morally balanced on the subject of magic as I am today." A lot of them ooed and awed at his words. "What was the unicorn kingdom like?!" A young voice picked up. "Oh, a question not about me. We were a pompous crowd, thought we were the best, magic and horns were a huge center of our world, but so was honor and approval of royalty. We became a very polarized political climate, it was difficult for researchers to be left alone to research when we needed the approval of the court for most things we did." The ponies were dwindling in number around him, before long he fetched a glass of wine himself from the banquet tables he transmuted. By himself in the crowds, he left them, walking the massive bridge he made, wondering how he should continue living his life. Obviously researching, but his declared his role, yet it still somehow felt hollow. He trotted further down the bridge, hearing the chatter get quieter and quieter. A familiar cold came over him and he looked up. A windigo. "Thauma, that you?" It flew next to him and stared into his eyes, "must be. No other windigo would fly alone all the way here let alone address me in my eyes." The windigo, saved by the new Prince, breathed behind him, forming a thick wall of ice, separating the alicorn from the other ponies noise even further. "Thanks. Are you here to celebrate?" It shook its head, "I...felt your...sorrow." "Practicing your Ponish? You're very good at speaking now." "Why is Pulsar sad?" Windigos innately felt emotions within themself, that's how they were. "I'm not sad, just feeling a little hollow. I've spent my life researching and now I have zero direction." "Feeling lost?" "That'd be a good word." "Look around, you have a great purpose. You lead others, you clear miscon-understanding of magic and magical creatures," Thauma was very straightforward, "I hear tales on the wind. The slaying of Sombra, your alicornhood, your new magic prowess." "I'm still immortal." "And this land is as well. Along with me, you serve the land first, and you do that by serving the ponies." He nodded, "and after they are gone?" "Magic. Is. Forever. Wherever you are, it is also and that's a great responsibility to ensure magic remain in check." "Yes, but I still do not have a personal goal." "Do you understand everything of magic?" "N-." "Do you know why magic exists and where it comes from?" "Do you know why it takes shape in different forms?" "What about the other world, the one where your winter mate came from? Do you understand magic there?" "You have a point, Thauma. In order for creatures to prosper from magic, we must still work to understand it and some things only I can do." "It is only a matter of time before you find a pressing matter to occupy you." "Thanks, you should let me introduce you to the other ponies." "I will introduce myself when the time is right," they removed the wall of ice by passing through it and began a quick flight back to the north.