//------------------------------//
// CHAPTER XXIII: The Horn of Power 
// Story: Special Illumination 
// by ponichaeism 
//------------------------------//

	As Starswirl and Jack Apple beat hooves against the ground and hurtled through the undergrowth, another ear-splitting scream carried through the misty forest and guided their way. The wizard racked his brains thinking of a spell he could use to help them, until finally he hit upon an idea, sent his magic power surging up and into his horn, and conjured up a miniature wind whirl and sent it ahead of them to disperse the mist obscuring their vision.
"Help!" Clover cried, her shrill voice echoing through the trees just ahead.
Together, the two stallions burst out of the tree line and skidded to a halt. They had emerged into a clearing around a misshapen rock outcropping. On its jagged top, Clover huddled in fear, her legs desperately clutching at the stone for purchase. Below the filly, a trio of timberwolves circled the clearing and snapped their salivating jaws, their yellow glowing eyes afixed on her.
"I'll draw them off," Jack said.
"No," Starswirl declared, moving in front of him, "you're not drawing anything off. Circle around them and get Clover to safety."
He opened the connection between his spark and his horn again, and sent magic surging through him. His connection to the Harmony and ability to channel its pure strength may have been fading, but his spellwork and his unicorn powers were still as potent as ever. Timberwolves were creatures of magic, fallen logs and twigs given life by osmosis from the sheer magical density of the forest. He knew from experience a quick blast would not be enough to blow one apart and release its magic, so he willed the building energy to congregate around his horn and charged up his power.
"Hey!" he hollered.
The three timberwolves slowly turned their yellow eyes to face the fresh meat that walked so willingly within reach of their claws. Growling heavily, they padded lightly through the wild grass of the clearing and stalked closer to Starswirl and Jack. Even at twenty feet, the stench wafting from their jaws  made Starswirl's eyes water. 
One opened its jaws wide and roared, making the branches shake and their loose leaves fall.
Starswirl gritted his teeth and dug his hooves into the dirt, fighting against himself to keep his mounting magical power restrained around his horn. Its luminance increased and spilled down into his eyes as the energy hummed louder, sending vibrations throughout Starswirl's body.
The lead timberwolf lunged for him while the other two broke apart and attempted to circle around him. 
Starswirl jerked his head to the side and gave the wolf on the left the full force of his charged magic blast. Its brittle body blew apart and rained twigs and logs all over the clearing; its magic life force dissipated and was reabsorbed by the forest. The other two wolves halted in their tracks and stared at the spot where their pack mate had been standing, then back to the wizard who had such power to utterly destroy a timberwolf contained in his horn. Unfortunately, the spell had winded Starswirl with how much power he had put into it, and now he was left briefly defenseless while he summoned up the will and the energy to cast it again.
Luckily, the lead timberwolf dug its heels into the ground; its unsettlingly bright eyes not once leaving Starswirl. The wizard used it to his advantage by circling right, giving Jack Apple an opening to sneak closer to the outcropping.
"Very wise," he called to the lead timberwolf.
The eyes of the right-hand wolf started to veer in Jack's direction.
Starswirl made a sudden movement to draw its attention. The two remaining timberwolves recoiled and tensed their haunches, readying themselves to leap forward.
As the energy gathered in a bright aura around his horn again, Starswirl felt confident he had enough power to cast the spell, but now a new problem presented itself: how to finish off one, yet not get pounced on by the other. His eyes flicked to the outcropping, where Jack Apple stood at the base and gestured for Clover to descend. The wizard lowered his brow, as if he were going to charge.
The timberwolves did likewise.
Out of the corner of his eye, Starswirl watched Clover climb down. The little filly reached out with her back leg, groped around for a spot on the outcropping's side to rest it on, and found a small jut. 
Terrible mistake.
As soon as she put her weight on it, the jut worked itself loose and sent Clover crashing to the ground.
The timberwolves twisted their heads towards the thump.
Starswirl let loose with his charged energy blast. It struck the head wolf, which exploded into a pile of sticks. The last timberwolf lunged at the wizard, its jaws opened wide. Starswirl blasted it with an energy bolt, which slowed it down slightly, then took to hoof and ran towards Jack Apple, who was slinging the injured Clover onto his back.
"It's high time we high-tailed it!" the wizard shouted.
From the way Jack took flight alongside Starswirl, he couldn't agree more. 


"Ow," Clover moaned as she tried to walk on her twisted ankle. "Oooh, ow, ow!"
When they started to catch glimpses of the village thought the trees, Starswirl walked over to her and asked, "Several nights ago, what, precisely, did you promise me you would never do?"
"Uh....follow you into the forest without permission?"
"So then, why did you follow me into the forest just now?"
As she limped over a root sticking up out of the ground, she eyed him and warily asked, "Is this one of your jokes, Starswirl?"
"No," he snapped. "It is most certainly not. I don't want your father to become angry with me for setting a bad example and influencing your reckless behavior."
"Then why did you tell me to come into the forest, then?!"
"What are you talking about? I did no such thing."
"Yes, you did," she insisted.
Starswirl touched her through the universal connection and, to his shock, felt she was telling him the truth, or as best as he could sense it. But then how....?
Perhaps....could this stallion be an enchanter? Could he take the forms of others and even conjure illusions?
Starswirl slammed a hoof into his face. 
How could I have been such a fool?! It wasn't my deeper mind conjuring Mareco, it was the stallion! He's trying to break my connection to the Harmony by tempting me with relics from the past. And he must have lured Clover out here to do the same to her, to torture her with illusions.
But that would mean....
Did he rip my memories of Mareco Polo out of my mind when I dived into his? Or can he do that at will?
If he can, then none of us are safe. I must tell Carmine. He's in too much danger.
"Clover," he whispered sidelong, glancing at Jack Apple, who walked some twenty paces ahead and led their way out. "I didn't tell you to follow me. It may have been the unicorn I'm searching for. It is imperative that you do not entirely trust the evidence of your senses, no matter how convincing they may be, do you understand?"
"No," she whispered.
"What don't you understand?"
"What 'imperative' means."
Starswirl sighed. "It means very important."
"Oh. Alright, I won't say a word. But how am I supposed to know if it's you, or the evil stallion?"
"Ah, yes, well....I'm still working on that...." Starswirl admitted, although the fact that he was not losing control of his mind lent a lightness to his voice. "Wait. Clover, if you thought I called you out there, then why did you run away from me?"
"I couldn't see a thing, Starswirl, and I just kept hearing this gruff pony shouting out 'Come back here!'"
"That was me."
"Oh, it was? Sorry, I couldn't tell." They emerged from the trees near the mill, and she called out, "Papa!"
Carmine opened the front door and leaned out, his face breaking out in a relieved, yet restrained smile. Starswirl noticed he was oddly calm considering the circumstances. As Clover trotted up to him, limping heavily, the wizard easily kept pace. He glanced back at Jack Apple, who was ambling up to the mill slowly to catch his breath. Starswirl gestured for him to pick up the pace in a friendly manner, to assuage any of the earth pony's guilt, then approached the doorway.
"Carmine," he said in a low, hurried voice. "Let me explain. You may be in terrible danger--"
A familiar drawling voice came from just past the door. "Only one I reckon is in danger here is you, Mister Unicorn." 
The door swung open fully, revealing Orrin Tin, and behind him four brawny stallions.
Is this....a posse? he thought.
"I'm sorry," Carmine said, avoiding his eyes, "I don't have a choice."
"Choice about what?" Starswirl asked, his brow creased in confusion.
"Now wait just a minute," Jack Apple said, trotting up to the mill's doorway. "Somepony want a'tell me what this, exactly, is going on around here?"
"What's going on, you gullible fool," Orrin Tin said, "is us putting this unicorn in chains."
Starswirl cocked his head. "On what charge?"
Rum Runner pushed his way between the four brawny stallions and leveled a hoof at Starswirl. "That's him," he said, his wide eyes somehow even wider than they had been the last night. "I saw him doing his....magic in the town hall. Then he pointed his horn at me and hexed me something powerful."
With a gleeful grin, Orrin Tin asked, "Any more questions?"
"Just one," Starswirl said, licking his lips. "I suppose, in an endearingly rustic little village like this, that a lawyer would be out of the question?"
Tin chuckled. "You ain't as dumb as you keep pretending."
"I see. And the judge for my case would be....?"
Tin's grin deepened. "You'll be arguing your 'case' in front of the good folk of this here town, and then we'll decide what to do with you."
Well, thought Starswirl, this is certainly an unexpected development.