//------------------------------// // Chapter One: Banished // Story: Observations and Motivations // by Tolerance //------------------------------// My name is Twilight Sparkle. I am the protégé of Princess Celestia. I am also the embodiment of the Element of Magic, one of the Elements of harmony that protects Equestria from harm. Currently, in my possession, is Starswirl the Bearded's personal journal, a document long thought to be lost to the ravages of time. After reading through it multiple times, I've decided that it should be translated into Modern Equestrian so that recent generations can know of the ordeals of an older time. A time before the three pony species were united under common ideals. A time before the Sun and Moon were controlled by Alicorn royalty. A time before the Elements of Harmony had even been discovered. This journal contains insights into many facets of the late Pre-classical and early Classical Pony Eras. I present to you, to the best of my abilities, The Chronicles of Starswirl. 1st Entry: Writing isn't usually something I do, but after everything that's happened recently I have decided to give it a chance. This journal idea belongs to none other than my friend Platinum Pendant, although I just call her Penny for short. Anyway, today marks the first day on which I set out on my journey. But I guess that if this is to be an account of my life some sort of an explanation is in order. I am, or was, rather, a member of the Star Clan. My family heads the group of unicorns in charge of raising and lowering the celestial bodies at all times of day. It has been this way from the dawn of history. I was able to use the family spell from an early age, and I was one of the youngest ever to master the basics of magic use. A savant was what they called me, and my Mark of Calling (Note: This is commonly known today as a Cutie Mark or Stud Stamp today, depending on gender.) was that of seven stars imposed upon a spiral galaxy's disc. I was destined to not only master the Clan Magic, but unbeknownst to my family, the magic of others as well. It is a shame that this is frowned upon in society today. Being forced out of my life of luxury amid the ruling unicorn clans was brought about by by own innate curiosity. My family had hired a couple of unicorn to repair some masonry in the family home. I was secretly observing the magic that the repair-ponies were using, when one of them had accidentally knocked over a favored heirloom. The trinket was thoroughly destroyed, but instead of reporting the accident to his employers, the unicorn simply enveloped the pieces within his magic and soon the heirloom was as good as new. I made my move. I approached the unicorn and let him know that I had witnessed his 'crime'. An action for those far beyond his station, he knew just what sort of punishment he was in for. Instead of turning him in, I bargained my silence for instruction on how to do the very spells he had just used. He agreed with little hesitation. This was not the first time that I had resorted to such measures to sate my appetite for learning new forms of magic. I had already coerced the family chefs and gardeners into giving me their specialties as well. This was, however, the first time that I had been caught using magic outside Clan Magic. For my attempts at correcting something small and insignificant I would be cast out of my home and stripped of all ability to gain rank within the Unicorn Court. All is not lost however, I still hold on to the support of my dear friend Penny, who claims to be able to someday rectify my situation and social standing. That someday being the small chance that she is able to claim the Platinum Crown. Which is possible, she being the thirteenth in line for the throne. I am not counting on those stars just yet. I have, however, decided to obtain the spells of every clan and make them available to everypony. Maybe then, the rest of unicorn society will see the error of their ways. Either way, for the time being, I am not allowed to return home. 2nd Entry: I grudgingly have accepted additional help from Penny. Through her family connections I have been referred to a pegasi freelance group. They were looking for a combat magician for one of their outposts, but seeing as the Shield and Spear Clans are used almost solely to protect unicorn interests, the Squall Squadron gets me. Now it's only a matter of time before they realize just how lucky they are for having me instead of a specialist. I just need to find a way to convince them that I can be useful in combat. 3rd Entry: I wasn't turned away outright, but they seem to really want a unicorn in their group. My first orders are to report to Fort Gale near Prance for some additional training before they send me off to where they think I'll be useful. I'll be headed there along with some other recruits, mostly pegasi. We leave in the morning, so I should probably get some rest before tomorrow. On a side note, I've decided to send a correspondence to Penny, to thank her for the help she's provided me in my time of need, and to let her know where I'm headed. This little adventure was partly her idea in the first place, but the more I think about it, The more hopeful I become. I reason that the farther I get away from the central ruling authorities, the more likely I can find, or convince, other unicorns to part with formal doctrine and teach me some of their magic. 4th Entry: The Pegasi recruits spent most of the day complaining about being on the ground for so long. As if I were to blame for the trek over land. We also happen to be escorting some supplies to the fort. Said supplies also contain our rations for the trip. I'm unsure whether they would complain less, or more, if they could put two-and-two together and realize that, without the supply wagon, we would be forced to eat only what we could scavenge for the remainder of the trip. 5th Entry: I've at least been able to make a friend out of the pegasus named Frigid Flurry. After a recent string of complaints about the speed of our travels, I made known my thoughts regarding the additional supplies. This brought me some scrutiny from Frigid, who claimed that any pegasi could lift the cart and that I was the reason they couldn't just fly straight to our destination. I bet his raincoat that he would be unable to lift the cart alone, using only pegasus magic. Luckily for me, I had run through the supplies and found that there were many heavy trade tools in addition to what could be considered normal supplies. The additional weight would be no problem for a team, but a single pegasus wouldn't stand a chance at lifting that many anvils. As soon as he switched places with our lead pony, an earth pony named Stout Haul, I thought that the bits were in the bag. I was surprised to find that Frigid was actually able to get a wheel off of the ground before he collapsed in a heap, defeated. The other pegasi soon took turns giving the new challenge a go, while Frigid admitted his loss and offered up his cloak. Impressed, in no small part, by his civility as well as his bullheadedness, I refused his offering. I said something about how I didn't have anything to offer up if he had won in any case. He then said something along the lines of considering it a gift and giving it to me anyway. I don't think he suspects that I cheated at all, but I'll never tell him. Stout thanked me for the quick break before shooing the rest of the recruits off and resuming his job of pulling the supplies. Of the things I've learned today, I know now that a pegasus can hardly ignore a challenge. They also don't seem to be bothered at by any form of cold weather at all. Makes me wonder why a pony named Frigid Flurry even had a coat at all. 6th Entry: As we came up to a crossroads today, we heard a cry for help coming from the adjacent forest. Frigid and I left the others and rushed into the forest to see if we could help. The canopy quickly grew thick overhead, forcing my friend to follow the path along beside me. Despite this, we soon arrived at the source of the commotion. A lone merchant stood next to his cart staring at a point farther along the path. Frigid Pulled me to a stop, some distance from the cart. Apparently he had seen the cause of the merchant's distress before I did, and quickly pointed it out to me. The merchant was being turned to stone, by what could only have been a cockatrice. Frigid said that it was too late to save the poor soul, and refused to approach the scene. I foolishly decided to march on without so much as a plan. Seeing my continued push to help, Frigid warned me to at least remember to not look at the creature's eyes directly, lest I suffer the same fate as the merchant. This gave me an idea. I figured that If the beasts power came from its eyes, I might be able to disrupt that source of power. As I charged around the side of the cart I charged up the most powerful magic flash that I could muster. The moment I sighted the creature I knew that I was going to be in danger as well, but if my timing was right my spell would go off regardless, and blind the creature. The flash of light was enough to charge the atmosphere and lightly singe everything unlucky enough to be in direct contact with the light. Luckily, the cockatrice's beady red eyes were among the casualties. Unluckily, so was I. The spell had worked, however, as I heard the creature crashing into what seemed to be every branch in the underbrush as it attempted to make its escape. The beast's concentration thoroughly disrupted, and its magic disabled along with it, the merchant started to recover from his ordeal. Noticing that the situation had turned for the better, Frigid approached from his position as well. It wasn't long before the merchant fully regained his motor function and the stone spell left him. We assured him that he was in safe hooves and that the cockatrice had been scared away. He proceeded to tell us his name as well as his need for taking such a dangerous route with no escort in the first place. His name is Tunewise, and his products were to be sold to nobles around the Capital. He said that he usually had things shipped when orders came in, but that he made an exception this time due to the fact that no orders had recently been made. His family just needed the bits from the sales so that they might make it comfortably through the winter. We warned him to be more careful while travelling and that if he didn't require more assistance, we were going to go reunite with our group. He stopped us before we could leave and said that he would like to give me something in exchange for saving his life. I tried to refuse but he insisted. Unrolling a blanket on the back of the wagon, Tunewise revealed his wares. True to his name, his wares included several hoofcrafted instruments, mostly of ornate design, but all of them fit for purchase from the upper classes that inhabited the capital. I asked him how he could struggle to make ends meet when he was selling such a fine product and he responded by saying that the items were so well crafted that a customer would rarely be in need of a replacement. This sometimes caused sales to be few and far in-between. In order appease his his honor, but not wanting to burden myself, I selected a round golden bell as payment for my deeds. As we began to depart, he wished us luck, something that the Merchant probably needed more so than I. We caught back up with our group in short order, only to find that they had set up camp in our absence. Frigid spent the rest of the night retelling an exaggerated version of my 'heroic deeds' to the rest of the pegasi. I learned from Stout that cockatrice was considered a treat among griffons, and that, had we killed it, we could have sold its body for a princely sum. Their price affixed by what I can assume is the danger associated with the hunt of such a dangerous animal. A task I would be glad to leave to the griffons, if only so they wouldn't attempt to eat me instead! Weary from the day's events I gaze at the golden reward now hanging around my neck. This needs to be my reminder of what it is that I am out here for. My desire to make spells knowable to all isn't done through some insane lust for power, or as a way to get back at those looking to enforce my sentence. No. The spells I'm going to learn should be used to help those who are unable to help themselves. Oh, before I forget. I got this recipe from Stout called Cockatrice Cobbler. I'm not sure If it's even a real recipe, but It could someday prove useful to collect something other than spells, so I'm Including it here: ---------------- ---------------- Twilight set down her quill with a sigh. She had debated on whether or not it was necessary to add some of the seemingly random articles tucked away within the journal, thinking that they might make readers wander off topic. Ultimately, she decided that Starswirl's collection of assorted pages went a long ways into explaining his personality. And besides, maybe somepony else could make something useful out of the assortment pieces of parchment. ---------------- 7th Entry: The rest of the trip has been relatively safe. Frigid says that I'll be able to see Fort Gale before too long. I've come to find that the cloak that was given to me by my friend has already been ruined thanks to the spell I'd used to scare away the cockatrice. Not all was lost, but I imagine that I'll eventually be looking for a new one the first chance I get. I'm not sure why I never considered packing for cooler weather before I left. I'll have to remember to consider things that are outside my control in the future. --------@-------- Spells Learned: Telekinesis Celestial Body Control (Banned from use) Quick Repair Misc Cooking Spells Misc Gardening Spells Solar Flare (Great for fighting cockatrice)(Use with caution!)