//------------------------------// // Epilogue: Dawn // Story: Darkest Hour // by Twilight is Magic //------------------------------// Sunlight was streaming into the great hall, painting it in shades of yellow and orange. Motes of dust danced in the rays of light, stirred by a stray gust of wind blowing in through the shattered windows. It smelled of damp grasses of the mountainside and earth just only beginning to dry. Star Swirl felt glad to simply lie there and breathe it in. The joy of being alive and free warmed him better than the morning sun ever could. All around the blanket he was lying on were other makeshift beds, filling much of the hall save for the part closest to the damaged windows and the entrance. Most were occupied by injured ponies, though none of them were in a life-threatening condition—cuts, bruises or, at most, easily healed fractures were all most of them were suffering from. Lily Petal, the healer mare who helped him the day before, was trotting among the resting ponies, looking at them with a tired but reassuring smile. On either side of the remains of the doorway, partially blocked against the wind with the propped-up remains of one of the former doors, were two large pegasus stallions, holding spears and wearing the distinctive armour of the Pegasus Empire. They were obviously trying to look nonchalant, with little success. Another pair of soldiers stood by the door further into the keep, and a few beds at the end of one row were occupied by yet more pegasi. An old winged pony with the distinctive look of a doctor about her was bandaging one of them, saying something impossible to hear at this distance. Star Swirl turned to look through the empty window frames at the sky outside. Where the impenetrable cloud cover had once been, there was now a soft blue. Only in the corner of the window there still remained a patch of cloud, but a team of three winged ponies were rapidly kicking their way through it, and in a few moments the part of the sky visible to him was perfectly clear. Looking back into the hall and along the rows of bedding, he sought out a particular pony farther down the hall. Meteor Shower lay there under a blanket, perfectly still save for the slow rising and falling of his chest. By his side there was another pony, draped with a pair of cloaks that stuck out unevenly—Comet Trail had flat out refused to leave her brother’s side or even remove her armour. Now both of them were sleeping, one healing with the help of many powerful spells and the other recovering from the long hours of standing watch over him. Star Swirl shifted his gaze along the row, toward its end. There was another figure there—Sunflower, looking smaller than ever, curled up on a rug twice her size. Thankfully, she too was merely asleep, resting after the trials she had been put through. He thought of the others, not present among the ponies in the hall. He still didn’t know where Lieutenant Moonlight or Keeper Nightshade were, and found himself hoping fervently that they were still alive. As for Sparkling Sky, Opal Beam, Thistlethorn and Iron Vein—the royal council was probably still going on. After Star Swirl’s earlier attempt to rush off and find his friends, the healer ponies left Lily Petal with strict orders to keep him put. While he could possibly avoid her, his re-mended hoof would not have liked that, and so he deferred to the healers’ authority over the wounded. He closed his eyes and lowered his head onto the bedding, a mix of gladness, worry and hope filling him. The tale told to him by the healers when he woke up, of what transpired after he finally passed out, returned to the front of his mind, joining together with the memories of everything he went through to form a complete picture. He closed his eyes and thought back to when the changeling queen’s fiery spell made him and Sparkling Sky sink into the floor of the Chamber. The next thing he remembered was rolling off the back of a drunk noblepony in the castle cellars; apparently, the magic deposited them just under its ceiling. Thinking that they were the minions the changeling spoke of, he made a feeble attempt at defense, but thankfully didn’t loose any spells at them. After the confusion was sorted out, the two guards present in the cellar suddenly tried to attack him, but the rest of the ponies stopped them only for them to transform into changelings. With their true forms revealed, the unicorns subdued them, startled though they were. Star Swirl and Sparkling Sky, who was on the brink of consciousness by that point, succeeded in convincing the ponies to leave the cellars and search the castle. Operating in some sort of maddened overdrive, Star Swirl even became their impromptu leader, first taking them to the throne room to find King Silver back to his normal self, waking up from the blackout spell and unable to remember anything. Then they ascended the stairs to the Chamber, finding the bodies of Opal Beam and his ponies beside their broken barricade, badly injured and barely showing signs of life; a healer who followed him immediately got to work trying to save them. After sending some for medical supplies, Star Swirl told the unicorns to split into groups, go to the Keepers’ posts and bring them together, and informed them of the part of the field force that stayed in the mines. He managed to last until the first freed Keeper made it to the great hall. It was as if somepony shut him down—he quickly brought the wizard up to speed and then fell over, the last of his strength leaving him. He awoke to sunlight and the sound of voices nearby. They turned out to belong to several healers, who were just in time to stop him from leaping up and rushing off. One of them even had to hold him down bodily. Once he calmed down, one of them agreed to explain to him what happened and where his friends were while the others continued to examine the wounded. After he passed out, the castle ponies quickly brought the remaining members of the Circle together. Luckily, they seemed to encounter no changelings whatsoever; it seemed that the beasts had fled. The king, having come to his senses and with advice from the liberated Keepers and captain Steel Hammer, assembled a party of the strongest and most capable unicorns to bring the wounded from the mine to the castle and sent it out as soon as it was ready. Just as they left the gates, they came upon Lieutenant Moonlight’s guardsponies lying defeated on the bridge, apparently alive but missing several of their number, including Moonlight herself; one pony went back to get those remaining in the castle to help bring them in, while the others went on to the mines. What awaited them there was definitely not what anypony was expecting. The entrance was guarded not by changelings, but by warriors of the Pegasus Empire. Confused, the unicorns thought them to be behind the attack, but before any foolhardy actions were taken, the commanding officer of the pegasi appeared—it was none other than the ruler of the Empire himself, Commander Stormfront. He explained the situation thusly: the pegasus army had come to investigate a powerful magical explosion and were attacked by monsters not far from the castle, which were subsequently chased into the mines. Inside, they discovered a great number of the beasts attacking a barrier and drove them off to find a cave full of injured unicorns beyond. In a gesture of good faith and charity, the commander left a platoon to guard them and led his troops in pursuit of the beasts. The pegasi eventually caught up with the changelings deep underground, where the mining tunnels emerged into a network of caverns. There, they discovered a disturbing sight—dozens or even hundreds of green cocoons, each with a pony stored within. The fleeing changelings proved to be of little challenge to the pegasus soldiers, and soon the cocoons were secured and their prisoners released. Among them were the missing unicorn guards, both those who disappeared on patrol and those taken from the battlefields, as well as Queen Amethyst herself. The pegasi also discovered a deep sinkhole leading right to the surface of a distant, unexplored patch of mountainside, likely used by changelings as an entrance. Commander Stormfront agreed to help the unicorns transport everypony to the castle in exchange for an immediate audience with the king. The pegasus soldiers fulfilled his command with speed, and not long after the unicorns and the sizable pegasus force were safely there. The ruler of the pegasi was brought to King Silver, who immediately called for a meeting of the royal council. The unicorn king personally summoned Sparkling Sky, who the healers had already managed to reawaken, and had him aid a rapid revival of Opal Beam and his two squadmates, then brought all of them into the council rooms. Soon, the first order was issued from within—to raise the sun. With the Chamber of the Cycle gone without a trace, the Keepers gathered once more and performed this task together, the way it was done decades ago. The long, moonless night finally ended. Next, the pegasus troops, which had taken position all over the castle under Stormfront’s orders, were commanded to begin clearing the sky. Since then, hours had passed without any significant developments. Little by little, the pegasi delegated to emergency weather duty removed the vast blanket of clouds. The castle’s medical stockpile had been all but depleted, spent on saving the lives of rescued ponies. It cost the healers a great lot of effort, but they managed to, at the very least, ensure everypony’s survival. Now everything had descended into a state of uneasy, expectant calm, waiting for whatever the leaders were trying to agree on at the council. The pegasi continued to stand guard, barely exchanging a word with the unicorns. The smell coming from the door to the kitchens indicated that the cooks had begun their much-needed work. A clatter of several sets of hooves made Star Swirl withdraw from his thoughts. Opening his eyes, he looked to the door, then to the way around the blocked throne room entrance—and saw three very familiar ponies heading towards him, guided by Lily Petal. “There you are, Star!” Opal Beam’s unmistakable voice called out, ignoring the mare scowling at him for being loud. “I was here all the time. Where have you three gone off to? The healer said you about came back from the dead to go to that royal council.” A grin was spreading across Star Swirl’s muzzle as he spoke, sitting up. “That’d be right. Those beasts sure tried their best.” Each of the three certainly looked the part, Star Swirl thought as they trotted closer. Three of Opal Beam’s legs and much of his barrel were wrapped in bandages, parts of them coloured a telltale rusty red; he walked with a limp, holding his front right hoof up. Iron Vein’s horn had two lengths of wood bound tightly to it where it had been snapped and subsequently reattached in a feat of experimental medical magic, and the parts of his body not covered with white cloth most closely resembled a single great bruise. Thistlethorn had fared the worst: the entirety of his head and neck and much of his front half were fixed rigid with splints and bandages, with only a small slit for the eyes, and he walked even slower than the other two as both of his forehooves were hidden in thick bundles of cloth. “With how many injured ponies we have, we just can’t fix you all as quick as we’d like to. We did our best,” Lily Petal said as Star Swirl looked at his friends. “We’ll get you fully back on your hooves once more medicine arrives.” “But how can you walk around so easily, after what those monsters did to you?” Even the memory of seeing the three the way they were found was chilling. “You’ll have to thank Sparkling Sky for that. He mixed us up some potion he called ‘phoenix tonic’. Now it feels like I didn’t take a single hit,” Opal Beam said in a lighthearted tone, and then continued less jovially: “It can’t quite help Thistlethorn, though, not with the way his throat is. It’ll take a while for it to heal even with the healers’ help, and until then he can’t talk.” The heavily bandaged swordspony nodded stiffly, stopping by the other two. “At least the lovely mare here says we’ll make a full recovery,” Iron Vein added. “Even I look like I won’t be any worse off, although our medical ponies never had to fix truly broken horns before. I hope it won’t happen again, to any of us—it’s not pleasant.” “I’ll just leave you colts here and keep watching over my charges. They’re the lightest wounds we have, but who knows if they need something?” Lily Petal said quickly, looking away, and trotted off. Seeing this, Opal Beam chuckled and gave Iron Vein a smirk. “So why did the king need you two so badly? Is the council over? And what happened to Moonlight?” Star Swirl asked. “I don’t think it was Silver who needed us. The pegasus commander wanted a proper report, and we’re the ones who saw the most. No idea why he didn’t ask for you, maybe he just distrusts mages. Either way, Sparkling Sky’s brew brought us back up in no time, and he told the pegasus what happened in the Chamber. Did you really cast a huge time spell, Star?” “I probably did, but that’s not important right now. What about Moonlight?” “The lieutenant and Nightshade are over in the actual hospital, where they put the worst cases. That’s where we’d been brought as well,” Iron Vein explained. “The changelings got them even worse than us, if you can imagine that, and then took them away to that cave. Don’t worry, though—it took the healers three hours and a lot of the rarer kind of supplies, but they’ll make it. Give it a week, and they’ll be back with us.” Star Swirl felt a small wave of relief wash over him. Despite the odds, everypony did survive after all. Only now, with his friends before him, did he truly realize that, and it brought the smile back onto his face. Opal Beam nodded, smiling as well. “As for the council, Silver and Stormfront sent us out of the rooms just before we headed here. They had us stay there ever since we got woken up, and got the captain in, too; apparently, the commander would rather ask the opinion of a fellow soldier and wanted all three of us to stay, even though Thistlethorn couldn’t contribute much. It’s definitely Stormfront who’s steering the talk there. I swear, Silver looked about to start shooting magic when we left.” “Did Stormfront say anything else about why they came in the first place? Why didn’t the pegasi come sooner?” “Looks like we have our monsters to blame for that, too,” Iron Vein responded. “He said that the Empire received a unicorn courier with a letter from King Silver. It said that the Unicorn Kingdom was breaking all ties with the other pony tribes and declared every agreement void, including the weather schedules. Then, another courier brought them a very similar letter from the earth ponies’ chancellor. And somehow, the featherbrains chose not to doubt whether they were real or not. They just stopped doing their duties and assembled their army, and Stormfront didn’t even stop and consider the possibility of a ruse.” Thistlethorn showed his reaction with an annoyed ‘hmph’ and sat down, letting his hooves relax. “So they stayed in their closest holdings all this time to, as Stormfront put it, ‘protect the Empire’s interests’, which mostly means preparing for war. Then, last night, they saw that giant explosion happen and decided it had begun. They flew right into our lands, but thankfully ran into changelings before they could do anything stupid, and the commander has enough brains to tell a monstrous flying insect-pony from a unicorn.” “Just how big or bright was it, then, if the pegasi saw it from that far away?” Star Swirl asked, feeling all the more incredulous for being the one responsible. “Stormfront compared it to a sunrise,” Iron Vein said in a subtly impressed voice. “None in the castle or anywhere nearby saw it, or at least none that we can ask. Everypony was either inside the cellars or the mines, under the changeling spell or knocked unconscious. The commander also said they heard it, as far away as they were, and there isn’t a single intact window left in the entire castle... Did a time spell cause all that?” “I thought they were all locked away by the Keepers? ‘Too dangerous to use freely’ and all that? How did you learn one?” Opal Beam chimed in with questions of his own. “Sparkling Sky gave me a scroll that had it and said to cast it. Didn’t he say anything about that at the council? We have the Chamber to thank for it, anyway—the gemstone array made the spell this powerful. I’m not sure what it actually did, though...” Star Swirl said thoughtfully. With the mad rush after the battle and the worried expectation that came after his reawakening, he hadn’t had time to ponder this. Opal Beam looked at him with a puzzled expression. “Wait. The Chamber could do more than help change day to night and back? I didn’t know—” There was the sound of a door hitting the wall from the left-side balcony, followed by incoherent shouting. In a moment, four ponies came into view by the railing and headed towards the stairs down. Captain Steel Hammer in his distinctive armor and cape walked ahead. Behind him, a steel-grey pegasus wearing the distinctive helm of office of the Commander of the Pegasus Empire followed with firm steps. The two others were Sparkling Sky, hatless and half-hidden in a large robe, and King Silver himself, the owner of the indignant voice, glowering as he followed the pegasus closely. The monarch’s tirade became clearer as they came into the hall, and the words rang out loudly as the group reached the top of the stairs and began to descend: “—will not stand for this! This is simply unacceptable! An insult to the honor of the Unicorn Kingdom!” “You have said this several times already, Silver. Once again: the council is over, and you have accepted the agreement,” Commander Stormfront replied in a calm, unusually well-articulated voice, without even turning his head to the furious unicorn at his back. It was a little hoarse, betraying his age. “I admire your perseverance and skill in negotiation, but my terms take all of your concerns into account.” “Your terms are a mockery, commander! What do you need our share of the harvest for? You get more than enough as it is! Surrendering our weapons? That ridiculous supervision!? This is an outrage!” Silver fumed, trying to overtake the pegasus commander and look him in the eye. “Yet you have already agreed to them. I’m afraid that you have no choice. There is no need to discuss them further,” was the pegasus’ calm reply. The group was now making its way down the hall, towards the broken entrance. “Why do you not occupy our lands, then, if we have no choice!?” the king shouted in anger. “I’ve considered this, but right now it would be more trouble than it’s worth. An alteration in the agreement between the three tribes remains a better option,” he said as the unicorn king glared at him from the side. “This is politics, Silver. Your father knew this game very well. If not for his guile and persistence, my Empire and your Kingdom would be in very different positions now.” Suddenly, he stopped dead in his tracks not far away from Star Swirl, who stood up as the leaders of two pony tribes approached, and turned to face the monarch. “Out of my respect for the late king, I won’t press this matter further, but you will have to learn quickly if you want to retain your kingdom,” he said in a level, matter-of-fact tone. “I will never be so lenient again. You would do well to remember this.” King Silver’s face contorted in a mix of emotions. “I... How dare you bring my father into this, commander! To patronize me! I am the ruler of the Unicorn Kingdom and I will not be treated like this!” He looked about to strike the pegasus, but instead turned sharply and marched back the way they came. The entire hall remained silent, watching the scene unfold. The pegasus commander stood still, following Silver with his gaze until he was out of sight, then looked at Steel Hammer. The guard captain nodded wordlessly towards Star Swirl and the others, maintaining an impassive expression. Stormfront turned in their direction and took a few steps closer until he was right next to Opal Beam. Up close, Star Swirl could see the face of the old stallion: it looked chiseled out of grey rock, creased with age and partially shadowed by his gleaming helm of office. His eyes were almost in contrast to his features, clear and bright like flawless gems. “So you are the apprentice responsible for resolving this... situation,” he said quietly, even thoughtfully, giving Star Swirl an inquisitive stare. “I don’t trust magic, but I have to thank you for doing what you did.” He paused, looking between all four of them. “You would have done well in the Empire, were you born pegasi. Perhaps the unicorns have not yet lost the fire of the past after all.” Not knowing how to react, Star Swirl just looked back at the pegasus commander. He met his gaze for a moment, nodded ever so slightly, then spoke again, glancing to Opal Beam: “Sergeant Opal Beam, was it? My troops will begin hunting down the remaining changelings immediately. I understand that your squad faced more of them than any other; do you have any advice to spare?” There was a silence that lasted a few moments as Opal Beam and the old pegasus stared at each other. Then, slowly, he answered: “They may try to turn into copies of who they’re fighting, but you can break the disguise. They’re lighter than any pony, and their wings are fragile. One on one, a trained pony will defeat a changeling, and a balanced team can survive against several times as many of them.” The commander nodded again. “The Empire thanks you. Those things are our common enemy.” He then looked to the entrance, causing the two pegasi sentries on either side of it to snap to attention. “Now, where is—ah, there.” As if on cue, something small barreled in through the unblocked half of the doorway. It stormed past the pegasi and directly towards Stormfront. As it got closer, Star Swirl made it out to be a very young pegasus mare, unarmored save for a helmet far too big for her, held in place by a string. She was carrying two weapons, an axe and a sword-like blade, dangling from her mouth from sturdy cloth straps and clanging together as she galloped. She began to slow down far too late and skidded along the damaged carpet covering the floor, nevertheless managing to slide to a halt right in front of the commander. The filly’s helmet continued to move on its own accord and fell down onto her face, forcing her to raise it back with a hoof, immediately moved to salute. “Pfiwate Tempeft, fir, dewiwewinf youw weaponf, fir!” she tried to report through the straps in her mouth. Star Swirl couldn’t hold back a smile, but Stormfront’s face remained serious and impassive. “Well done, private. Put them down.” “Fir, yef, fir!” The well-worn yet unmistakably mastercraft blades were lowered onto the carpet. The young private stood to attention, radiating almost tangible pride and happiness as she looked at Stormfront. “Anything else, commander, sir?” Her voice was squeaky, fitting her overall appearance. “That would be all, private. You’re dismissed.” There was a nigh-imperceptible sign of warmth in his professional tone. “Sir, yes, sir!” Private Tempest exclaimed, then whirled around and trotted back out of the hall at a perfect marching pace, looking as diligent as anypony could ever be. “The eagerness of youth,” Stormfront said in a voice no louder than a whisper, a near-invisible, distant smile on his lips. “I remember when I was like this. It is a crime not to help such ponies become who they’re meant to be.” He lowered his head and picked up the weapons one after another. On his forehooves there were metal bracers with built-in slots perfectly matching one of them; Stormfront expertly attached the blade to his left hoof and the axe to his right, locked them in and secured them further with the straps. He flared his unusually large wings, lifted himself off the floor in one beat and hovered in place. “Captain, Keeper,” he addressed Steel Hammer and Sparkling Sky, who remained silent. “The Empire honors its promises. I expect the Kingdom to do the same.” He then beat his wings again, sending a gust of wind through the hall, and soared up and out into the courtyard through one of the destroyed windows. His voice came back a few moments later with an order Star Swirl didn’t make out, and the pegasus warriors by the door hurried outside. The unicorns exchanged glances as silence fell once again. Lily Petal walked among the wounded ponies, reassuring them after the scene that awakened those who were asleep. Hushed conversation began to fill the hall, everypony discussing what they’d just seen and heard with their neighbors. “I have ‘t go and find His Majesty,” Steel Hammer said, sounding crestfallen. “We’ll have t’ see to the arrangements about turning the armory over, and... discuss the matter of rank.” Saying nothing more, the captain turned about and trotted off to where the king went. “So the pegasi’s terms...” Opal Beam began to ask, looking at Sparkling Sky. “Yes. Accepted, all of them,” he answered, sounding none too pleased. “It was clear from the start that we can’t argue much. Stormfront knows exactly what to do with an opportunity like this. This is why he’s still commander, after all these years. He’s no mere brute. He is the best strategist and diplomat the Empire has seen in centuries.” “They have us where they want us, and we can’t do anything about it.” Iron Vein sighed, tapping his hoof irritably on the floor, then added with a faint chuckle: “I never thought I’d be grateful to pegasi, but at least I can still hate them for it.” “What terms are these?” asked Star Swirl, looking between the others. “You never explained them. Something about our share of food? Supervision?” Sparkling Sky nodded, sitting down on the carpet as he started to explain. “They offer what we need: the aid of the pegasus warriors in getting rid of any remaining changelings, the reinstatement of all agreements between us and the necessary changes to the weather schedule to compensate for all the rain. In return, Stormfront wants three things. First, a portion of what we get from the earth pony harvest for three years, which they can then trade for other goods.” “It was five at the start, so at least something’s been changed for the better,” Opal Beam commented. Sparkling Sky ignored the interruption, continuing: “Then, he wants us to give our guardsponies’ equipment to the Empire, which we could not dissuade him from. And finally, he forbids us to produce any magically molded gemstones, unless we notify the pegasi beforehoof, and demands that we present him with a list of all jewelers capable of crafting them, so that the Empire can control us.” The Keeper paused, as if to take a breath. “They can prohibit the creation of gemstones if they suspect it to be a threat to the pegasi.” Star Swirl blinked at the last condition, staring at Sparkling Sky in surprise, and the Keeper nodded. “It is not so surprising. He already was Commander of the Empire when the Chamber was completed. It’s hard to keep a project so lengthy secret, especially when it is going on in plain sight in the royal castle itself.” He paused again, glancing aside. No pegasi were anywhere in earshot, and most of the makeshift beds around them were unoccupied. After a few moments, he resumed his explanation: “It was clear to everypony that the pegasi knew our original intention and how we were going to accomplish it, and perhaps, so did the earth ponies. None of this mattered once it became clear we had failed, but now that it turns out not to be completely true... Stormfront would be insane not to take measures.” “Original intention?” Opal Beam asked. “The Chamber of the Cycle allows—well, allowed a unicorn to raise the sun or the moon by themselves. What was it supposed to do, then?” “See? Even we unicorns have all but forgotten,” Sparkling Sky remarked with a slight smirk. “The Chamber’s intention was to empower any unicorn spell using the phenomenon of magically molded gemstones. It would have been a great tool for any task, including war. Unfortunately, while it did magnify the energies that make up the spell, it also distorted them and fractured that spell, which made it all but useless.” He took another pause, then resumed, slowly: “The only thing it did successfully was what gave it its name. We only discovered that we could use it to raise the sun by accident. It was a small comfort, but at least the principle was proven to be sound. We didn’t dare to take it apart again, afraid to upset the many enchantments that made it work and lose it completely, and the Kingdom did not grant us the resources to build another potential costly failure. And now we cannot recreate it because of the pegasi's terms.” “So, the spell I cast—it actually worked?” Star Swirl asked, curiosity rising inside him. “All the evidence points to that, yes. The temporal displacement spell did exactly what it is meant to do, but on a gigantic scale: The Chamber of the Cycle has simply disappeared without leaving anything behind.” “Why did the spell work while others did not, then?” “That is the question every builder of the Chamber asked themselves when it was finished and nothing seemed to go through. However, I believe you helped me discover the answer. It is in your treatise, about the magically molded gemstones.” He paused, as did Star Swirl’s thoughts. “Wait, so I was right?” “Yes, your theory is most likely correct. The gemstones’ own properties could interfere with the energies directed through them, and with how many there were, a functioning result is nothing short of a miracle. We never tested time magic within the Chamber, because a faulty overcharged time spell can be far more devastating than a mere fireball. “The changeling’s transportation spell seems to have gone through as well, although imperfectly, seeing as we turned up in the cellars with none of the changelings it promised. I’m glad it did, or we would not be here now.” “So... you didn’t know it was going to work? And what do you mean by ‘would not be here now?’” Sparkling Sky was silent for a few moments, looking at Star Swirl with a shade of guilt in his eyes, then answered: “The amount of energy required to power that spell is quite large, even if we don’t take the Chamber into account. If it were to be directed at the Chamber system’s central sphere, it would have been reflected into the circuit itself, at every single point. The gemstones weren’t designed for being struck with directionless magic, but to channel energy through. The array wouldn’t maintain integrity after a blow this strong.” “Would that involve explosions, by any chance?” Opal Beam asked, sounding fascinated. “That’s what I was counting on,” Sparkling Sky said. “At the very least, I expected gemstones to explode into shards. At most, a release of energy large enough to destroy the Chamber.” A stunned silence followed his words. Four pairs of eyes stared at the Keeper. Star Swirl felt his mouth fall agape. “Wait a moment. Are you saying that you told me to cast a spell that was most likely going to kill me, you and everything else and maybe destroy the Chamber itself?” he said slowly, turning the thought over and over in his mind. “It would have also eliminated a lot of changelings, as well as their queen. You were there, Star Swirl, and so you know we were not going to make it. I hoped that destroying the queen would remove the spells it was maintaining and free the Circle as well as leave the changelings leaderless, which could tip the balance in our favor. It was better than surrendering to whatever it wanted to do to us. The Chamber is nothing compared to the survival of the unicorn race.” Sparkling Sky spoke slowly, with deliberation. “I’m sorry for not telling you the full truth, but we had to act immediately. Everything was at stake. I gave you a suicidal order, and although I hope that you understand my reasons, I will also understand if you don’t forgive me for it,” he finished, looking at Star Swirl with a heavy, meaningful expression. Star Swirl looked back at his mentor, two conflicting sides emerging in his mind. The more cautious one was aghast at this callous disregard for his own life. Sparkling Sky played him, had him do something that was going to kill him! The other, adventurous and daring, believed that his mentor did the right thing, something which Star Swirl himself would have done in his place. The situation was hopeless, and the choice was between surrendering to mind-controlling monsters and committing one last act of defiance that could cripple them. The end result would not have been very different. He thought back to when he chose to try and become Sparkling Sky’s apprentice and the reasons for this decision. Star Swirl wanted to make magic useful, bring it to bear and make it count. Among the Keepers, this was exactly what Sparkling Sky was known for: he used his talent for directing magic not only to become the undisputed champion in contests of prowess between wizards, but to further the unicorns’ understanding of it and develop useful new spells. He was not afraid to take risks and occasionally blow things up. In short, he was something of a role model to Star Swirl’s younger self. And here he was, having done exactly that—used a marvel of unicorn magic in a daring, last-ditch move to cripple a terrible enemy that had the entire kingdom on its knees, to give his tribe a fighting chance even though it was going to cost him his life. It was Sparkling Sky who came up with this, but now that the initial shock had worn off, Star Swirl understood that in the circumstances, this truly was something he would have done willingly. “I understand you, Sparkling Sky,” he finally said, “I agree that it was the right thing to do, though I don’t completely forgive you.” His mentor nodded, a look of relief on his face. “I’m glad you do. Now we have to consider what the spell actually did. Say, Star Swirl, did you have a specific time or some other destination in mind when you cast the spell?” Star Swirl shook his head. “I was mostly focusing on casting it before those green flames swallowed us up.” “This may complicate the matters. I believe the spell you cast was reflected to affect the entire Chamber array, as would have been the case with unstable energy, but instead of overloading, it successfully applied its effects. As a result, it has been displaced in time. Taken from here and moved elsewhere.” “But where? Or rather, to when?” Opal Beam chimed in, still looking impressed by Sparkling Sky’s ploy. “That is the problem. Without a desired destination, and with the way it took effect, it must have been random. We could have sent it into the past or the future, and considering that the spell was greatly amplified, it can be quite far either way.” “So you could have sent it into a time before time or left our descendants a nasty present,” Iron Vein said, curiously unfazed by the question of time manipulation. “Precisely. But at least we managed to prevent the changelings from winning in the present. Maybe they will find nopony to feed on in the past, or be outmatched in the future. We can only hope.” “We can do something,” Iron Vein spoke again, thoughtfully. “If it went to the future, then we should leave some kind of warning. Write what we know of them down and pass it on. That way, the future ponies will not be caught unawares.” “Are you sure you aren’t secretly a wizard, Iron Vein?” Sparkling Sky smirked. “Even I’m less certain when it comes to time magic.” “It’s just like planning for tomorrow. Except longer,” the giant guardspony shrugged. “So if you’re correct, we don’t know exactly when they will reappear, right?” Sparkling Sky nodded. “Right. Then we’ll just have to keep the possibility in mind. But until then, there’re still changelings left here.” “That’s for the pegasi to take care of. Look at yourself. My potion is the only thing that keeps you three going now, and the same is true for me. It has been a very long day.” “We won’t be able to fight well enough, anyway. The feathered idiots are going to take our arms and armor. They don’t even need them. They just want to humiliate us!” Opal Beam grumbled. “And if Steel Hammer is going to go through with what he wants, we won’t have a captain either,” Iron Vein added. “What?” Star Swirl asked, surprised for yet another time. “He’s taking everything that’s happened hard. He thinks that it was his fault that the changelings got into the castle, that he and the others were subjugated.” Opal Beam shook his head. “You know what Steel Hammer can be like. He believes he’s no longer fit to lead the guard. The way the king is now, he won’t think twice before accepting his resignation.” “But who will be captain if he does?” “Moonlight. Steel Hammer said so right at the council. When she’ll get well enough to work again, she will choose who’ll fill her old rank and position.” A momentary silence settled in, broken by Sparkling Sky. “While we are on the subject... Star Swirl, I have something else to say.” “Yes?” He looked to his mentor, a part of his mind thinking it knew what it was going to be. Sparkling Sky paused as everypony looked at him again, then spoke in a solemn tone: “You have shown yourself to be among the most capable ponies the Unicorn tribe has to offer. You fought with the field force, then returned to the castle, fought again and faced an enemy that even I could not stop. You have proven yourself able to summon enough power to fight on par with myself, with my lifetime of training behind me.” He stood back up and drew himself up to his full height. “Star Swirl, I have nothing more to teach you. Your apprenticeship is complete. From this moment forth, you are a full wizard.” Star Swirl wasn’t sure that after so many shocks and surprises he would be able to contain himself. A strong urge to leap up and start hopping around his mentor while chanting “Yes, yes, yes!” very nearly overcame him, and it took much of his willpower to restrain himself. Instead, he inclined his head respectfully towards his now former mentor. “Thank you, Sparkling Sky. You’ve been a good teacher.” “And you a good student, Star Swirl.” Opal Beam grinned, reaching out a hoof to bump Star Swirl on the shoulder, wincing as he did so. “Shouldn’t have done that,” he muttered, then smiled again. “Congratulations, Star!” Iron Vein stomped on the floor in approval, echoing his sergeant’s smile and saying “You earned it, Star. You fought as bravely as a guard should.” Thistlethorn, for his mute part, reacted with a nod. Star Swirl acknowledged the congratulations with a smile and looked back at Sparkling Sky. “There is also something I need to ask of you, Star Swirl,” he said slowly, as if cautious to say a wrong word. “Of course. What is it?” Star Swirl replied, still full of joy at his new title. “I hate to admit it, but I... am going to need your help. I cannot demand it of you now, but you are the pony I could trust the most.” “Help? What with?” There was another momentary silence; Sparkling Sky sighed and pulled at the front of his heavy robes with his hoof. “I am not as young and sprightly as I once was. Yesterday’s events have taken a lot out of me. The amount of erratic magic the changeling queen struck me with is a lot for my age.” The robe slid open, revealing a large white bandage covering Sparkling Sky’s chest. Above and below it, his coat and skin were blackened as if by fire, and some of his fur was missing. Star Swirl recalled the description of himself the healers gave him when he first woke up—his horn appeared to be similarly charred, but after several medical spells it turned back to normal. The reason for his frequent pauses and slow speech was suddenly clear. “You know very well that healers are not all-powerful. There are things they cannot reverse or restore. It’s clear to me that I won’t be able to do everything I still need to.” The mix of emotions within Star Swirl turned even more chaotic: the shock of sudden change, the joy for his and his friends’ survival, the frustration with the pegasi and now the worry for Sparkling Sky all whirled in his heart like a storm. As before, the rational part of his mind took over. “How bad is the damage, then? Does it prevent you from fulfilling your duties as a Keeper?” “I cannot say right now. I’m still under the effects of the phoenix tonic, and it makes me feel better than I should. Soon it will wear off, and I will need time to recover. Days, at least.” He paused, giving Star Swirl a gloomy, resigned look. “I have lived a long and eventful life. It won’t last much longer.” “I’m sure you’ll get better, Sparkling Sky,” said Opal Beam with a reassuring smile. “You’re the best Keeper we have. You survived worse things than this.” “Too many times,” he replied glumly. Star Swirl looked at his former mentor again. With his sagging shoulders, disheveled mane and beard and sunken eyes, he seemed more like an ordinary old pony weighed down by the seasons than ever before. “I will help you, Sparkling Sky,” he said with a small smile. “It’s the least I could do after everything you did for me.” “Even after I told you to do something that was going to kill you?” In the inner struggle of emotions within Star Swirl, the adventurous spark finally triumphed over all the others. He replied simply: “It didn’t.” Sparkling Sky shook his head and raised it a bit higher, a smirk appearing on his muzzle. “The Circle can live without me for a few days. What I need you for are other tasks. I have research I need to finish. Even some debts I need to repay. Are you sure you are up to such a task?” “Well... What duties do I have, as a full wizard?” Star Swirl replied thoughtfully. “The tradition of wizardry is as ancient as the unicorn race itself...” the old Keeper responded in a slow, meaningful voice, fitting for retelling a legend. After a moment, he continued normally, the tiny smirk reappearing on his muzzle: “But nowadays, your only real task is to serve the kingdom, fulfill the royal orders and strive for perfection.” “Then what you need my help with is what I’m supposed to be doing. And as for royal orders... what if King Silver orders me to help you with your tasks?” Sparkling Sky nodded, the smirk growing. “Perhaps. He does listen to his advisors. I will tell you more when our winged friends no longer have the opportunity to listen in.” “Oh, Star Swirl,” Iron Vein suddenly spoke up, also seeming strangely cheerful. “There’s one thing I’m curious about but can’t figure out. When we got ambushed in the kitchens, you ran off with half the changeling swarm on your tail, and when we got to you, there were only three. How did you take out so many?” “Ah. The Amniomorphic spell,” he replied simply, at which Sparkling Sky turned his head to look at him again. “Your project? You used it against the changelings? How did it affect them?” the Keeper asked, a researcher’s curiosity appearing in his heavy expression. “It worked perfectly. The only was the resulting black color. Somehow, when I got their leader, they became so scared that they all ran away.” “The resulting black color... of what?” Opal Beam inquired. “A sheep.” “So you turned a changeling into a sheep?” he asked again, flatly. “It turned out to be a good idea.” Opal Beam smiled, and then chuckled. Iron Vein picked it up, and hearing his clear, loud laughter, Star Swirl himself couldn’t help but join in as the spontaneous happiness took hold of him. The joy of having made it through such an ordeal, of being there with his friends, washed over him, dulled the worries and made the future seem a little bit brighter. Soon, even Sparkling Sky’s hoarse yet hearty laugh echoed in the hall. “At least you didn’t give them more wings that they already had,” Opal Beam managed to say in between bouts of laughter, only succeeding in provoking more as the ponies recalled the incident with flying frogs. As the unicorns continued to draw the attention of everypony in the hall with their mirth, a large mouse emerged from under the kitchen doors and scurried closer to them, unnoticed. It snuck behind Star Swirl and ran up to him, then got onto its hind legs and planted a firm kick on one of his rear hooves, then proceeded to flee as fast as it came. Still laughing, the five unicorns watched its retreat, and then four of them looked at the victim of this sneak attack for clarification. Star Swirl, who barely felt it, simply said: “It probably was my assistant getting even.” “Assistant? You have to tell us about this one,” Iron Vein said, still unable to stifle his guffaws. “When I can breathe again,” he replied, which, in this spontaneous uncontrollable mirth, only resulted in another bout of laughter. Sparkling Sky blinked a few times, tearing up from laughing too much; his grim expression finally melted away. “Star Swirl,” he said in a slightly too serious tone. “I see you have decided to grow a beard as magnificent as my own.” “Yeah, Star, you need to do something about it. Because if you keep it, I’ll only have one title for you,” Opal Beam said, chuckling in between sentences. “What’d it be, then?” Star Swirl asked, copying Sparkling Sky’s mock seriousness as he lifted a hoof to rub the stubble that almost seemed to be a lot longer than it was the day before. “Star Swirl the Bearded, of course!” his friend exclaimed. The five ponies burst into joyful laughter once again, and laughed on and on, heedless of a cross Lily Petal approaching them and her repeated calls for quiet. As costly as the victory was, the changelings had lost, the unicorns had won, and battered and weakened as they were, they all lived to tell the tale. The consequences would be dealt with later. Here and now, for a brilliant, short-lived moment, this joyful realization swept their troubles away. The morning sun had risen higher in the sky, and its rays were now flooding the hall with bright, cheerful light, as if underscoring the scene. Sunlit and mirthful—this is how Star Swirl forever remembered that day, the day of the Unicorn tribe’s victory over the changelings, his first day as a full rank wizard, and the successful end of his first true adventure. ~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~~~***~ The changeling flew farther and farther into the mountains, across deep crags and ravines and among tall cloud-crowned peaks, until its wings could no longer carry it. Then it ran, on and on along precarious ledges and through clutches of trees lost between the alpine slopes. It was on the brink of exhaustion, but could not allow itself to stop. Maddened by primal fear, it forged on until its terrible claws finally withdrew themselves from its mind. It stopped when the sun was already high in the sky, finding itself on the edge of a deep gorge, at the bottom of which there was a small, rapid mountain river. Far down its length, the changeling could make out a patch of green—a distant lush valley. It mustered its strength and took to the air again, buzzing along the lip of the gorge. It was alone and far from its kind, and the pangs of hunger began to make themselves felt. It remembered the Queen and the plans she had presented to the swarm: the conquest of the pony tribes, the harvesting of love, the domination of the world. Focusing on the valley ahead, it focused on the latter, trying to remember what the Queen had said. The three pony races were not the only ones in the world, she taught them. There were griffons, and dragons, and things that lived underground and underwater. Many of them were capable of love. Its mind, not used to much complex thought, nevertheless realized that their scheme had failed and that the ponies had won. It found itself unable to turn around and go back into the land of the pony tribes, in particular the unicorns and their terrible magic; fear stung it once again as it remembered the horrifying sight of its commander being turned into something against its will, robbed of its ability to change. It doubted if it had the strength left to make such a trip again. No, it had to press on and cross the mountains before hunger claimed it. There had to be someone capable of love living in that valley. In truth, this was its only hope. A bank of low-hanging dark grey clouds was clinging to one of the mountains near the gorge. As it flew by, several vaporous detached itself from the slope and drifted quickly towards the changeling, which paid them no heed, having nothing to fear from clouds. It rounded a sheer cliff-face jutting into the air high above the gorge—and suddenly found itself in another patch of cloud, hovering in its way. Unthinkingly, it plunged right through, seeking to reach the valley as soon as possible. A biting chill washed over it, strong enough to burn like fire. It hissed in surprise and tried to force its way through the cloud faster, but its wings began to give out again. It turned to fly upwards to escape, moving along the rising cliffside, but the cloud seemed to continue far higher than it did before. Still the strange, unnatural burning cold grew, sapping the strength from its wings, slowing it down with every moment. The changeling resisted, forcing itself higher and higher, and with a final beat of its wings emerged onto the snow-swept top of the cliff. It landed awkwardly, stumbling and trying to remain standing. The clouds, however, did not go away, and neither did the cold. It was as if it had flown into another world, one of deathly cold fog swirling in a blizzard. In the air above, it spotted indistinct shapes moving through the mist, marked by points of piercing blue light that shone straight through it. As it watched, shuddering in the frosty air, one of them drew closer and descended. An outline of a pony head formed itself in the mist, followed by ethereal hooves that touched down on the rock. The chill suddenly grew even stronger, causing the changeling to hiss in pain. Its eyes felt as if they were on fire; it tried to gasp for air, but the frigid air blasted its insides hard enough to make it drop to the ground. For a few brief moments it continued to twitch in agony and then became perfectly still. The shape in the air, resembling the front half of a pony with a half-formed trail of fog replacing its rear, lowered its head closer to the changeling and snorted. Frost formed on its limbs and quickly spread across its body, and in a matter of minutes, the changeling was encased in a tomb of ice. The apparition raised its head towards others like it, running in circles on the snow-choked air all around the clifftop. It placed a hoof onto the frozen changeling, its eyes glowing with cold, merciless sharpness, and let out a terrible, blood-curdling roar. It echoed through the vortex created by its kin, picked up by many others, and soon the mountains ringed with their call, piercing and fearful like the deepest winter. The creature floated into the air and began to move in the direction the changeling came from. The vortex followed suit, as did the greater bank of clouds on the mountain above. The way had been found.