//------------------------------//
// The Gold Mountain: Part 1 
// Story: The Adventures of Star Swirl the Bearded 
// by slade8283 
//------------------------------//


Part 1


One thousand years ago, Star Swirl the Bearded, or just Star Swirl as he was known as back then, was born as quite the oddity; he was born as a unicorn to two earth ponies. No pony in their plain town of Ponyville had ever seen the likes of anything like this. No pony in Ponyville had ever even seen a unicorn for that matter, they had only ever heard of the magical ponies who kept to themselves in the royal city of Canterlot. 
From the moment of his birth, Star Swirl was considered an abomination, and was shunned from all in Ponyville, with the exception of his family. All who set eyes upon Star Swirl were only able to focus on his horn, considering it evil, but only a few ponies ever saw his eyes, which, most curiously, changed colors from time to time. One day, Star Swirl awoke to green eyes, and the day awoke to find they had changed to a deep purple overnight. From a young age, he was fascinated by this feature, though he never pursued any answers for fear of further rejection.
Star Swirl's family was a simple group of ponies. Like many other families in Ponyville, they consisted of a stallion and a mare who loved each other more than life itself, and two children: a colt and a filly. Star Swirl's younger sister, Twilight, was his favorite pony in the whole world-

"Spike I never told you," Twilight interrupted, "this is where my name comes from. My parents were both great fans of Star Swirl's story, so they decided to name me Twilight after his sister."

-and he would do anything for the filly. She was the one who initially made Star Swirl become interested in magic, claiming that since he had the horn, he might as well use it. He practiced magic for hours with her help, writing his own spells due to the lack of magical books owned by the earth ponies. He grew even closer with Twilight as his skills improved, and he was able to cast teleportation spells in almost no time. Upon his first time completing this spell, Star Swirl had to cast a temporary silencing spell on Twilight, who was very excited to tell everypony she could about how great he was.



Star Swirl yawned, tired from a long night of practicing magic. His grey coat was covered in sweat from trying an aging spell on a recently found mouse that Twilight insisted was "much to old, and needed to be younger." 
"Come on Star Swirl, I know you can do it! I'm sure you can do it this time." said his sister, her sweet, innocent voice washing over him. He knew all it took was a little encouragement from Twilight, and she could get him to do anything. Or at least try anything for that matter.
Star Swirl sighed and looked in the gleaming eyes of his sister, "Alright, I'll try one more time. I'm not making any promises though." He took a deep breath and thought through the magic in his mind. He felt the magic building up inside him, almost to the point of bursting. Channeling the energy to his horn, Star Swirl began mental repeating the complex spell. He could feel the magic starting to take effect, though only on a minuscule level.
Just as the magic was about the enter the next stage, a piercing howl struck the night, breaking Star Swirl's concentration. Star Swirl stopped the flow of magic, ending the spell and leaving the elderly mouse on the table. Just as he began to take a deep breath a scream ripped through the night that sent chills up his spine. He turned to see Twilight's face. Her look of hope had been replaced by one of concern. Star Swirl began speaking, organizing his thoughts, "Twilight...was that the howl of a timberwolf followed by the scream of a mare?" She slowly nodded. The two ponies stared at each other, realizing what had to be done. 
Star Swirl jump from his spot next to his desk, opened the door to his room, and practically fell down the stairs. He burst through the front door out onto Ponyville's main street.

After running through the town for five minutes, Star Swirl and Twilight found the source of the commotion; a mare, the town's resident carrot farmer, had been cornered by a baby timberwolf. Star Swirl immediately took action, running at it making as much noise as he could in an attempt to draw it away from Mrs. Carrots. 
Fortunately for Star Swirl, the timberwolf followed him, but unfortunately for Star Swirl, the timberwolf was now very angry. He ran for what felt like miles, bringing the timberwolf towards the forest, away from town. He stopped ten feet from the forest line, and turned to face his foe. It stood at least twice his height, and easily outweighed him by three to four times his own weight. Star Swirl tried not to focus on his disadvantages, only what spells he could use. A levitation spell would only make it more angry, and a fire spell would be too inhumane for his liking. As the beast approached him, he made his move.
Star Swirl cast a quick memory spell, causing the timberwolf to forget its location. The timberwolf was instantly struck with vertigo and stumbled aimlessly for a few seconds before Star Swirl made his next move. Star Swirl quickly composed a spell that would make the creature want to return to the woods, and cast it. The timberwolf's suddenly body became very flimsy. Star Swirl took a step forward, concerned that he had killed the creature. He quickly lost all concern when the timberwolf began to charge straight at him. Star Swirl braced for impact, but was surprised when no timberwolf collided with him. Instead the beast continued past him and bound into the forest, leaving the town forever.
Star Swirl had been so wrapped up in the events of what had just taken place, that he failed to notice the crowd that had come to watch. Star Swirl dropped his head, doing his best to cover his face and horn. 
Twilight ran up to Star Swirl upon seeing his head drop, "What are you doing? They're here to witness your great act of heroism." 
Star Swirl looked into his sister's eyes, "Really?" She nodded, reassuring him. He turned to face the crowd of ponies, who had hated him only an hour ago, and was met with a large roar of applause. Star Swirl winced at the sound, "Um...thank you everypony, it wasn't much really."
A pony in the crowd stood over the rest, "Three cheers for Ponyville's new hero, Star Swirl!" Three cheers came from the crowd, along with a number of "Go Star Swirl!"s and "Star Swirl is best pony!"s. Star Swirl couldn't help but blush at their admiration. He had never been subject to such praise, and was, frankly, embarrassed by it. 
Star Swirl departed the scene of the battle, thanking everypony who gave him praises of courage and heroism as he left. Suddenly, there were many gasps of shock from the crowd. Star Swirl turned to see the present danger, expecting another timberwolf, but was met with no such trouble.
Twilight jumped onto the back of Mrs. Carrots, "Look everypony! Star Swirl is getting his cutie mark!" Star Swirl's eyes widened and he grew very anxious. He had been practicing magic so much, that he hadn't been paying much attention to his lack of a cutie mark. He silently prayed not to embarrassed in front of all of Ponyville as the town watched.
When the whole crowd gave a pleasing "Ooh," Star Swirl decided he should look at the mark carrying his destiny. It was what any unicorn would have dreamed of: the six pointed star that symbolized magic. Star Swirl had heard of the mythical star from a strange traveling pegasus that came to Ponyville a few weeks prior. It was supposed to symbolize a great magical power was held by the owner. Star Swirl couldn't have been more pleased.



Star Swirl eventually discovered that his cutie mark, like his eyes, were in a constant state of change. His cutie mark always appeared to be moving, but whenever a pony tried to look at it closer, it always stopped moving. Star Swirl attributed the motion to the mark's origin: magic. He believed that magic was coursing through his body at such a high rate, that it caused his cutie mark to appear in motion. Star Swirl eventually began to realize that his eyes were most likely caused by magic too, and began to look into the matter more.
A few months after his encounter with the timberwolf, Star Swirl departed Ponyville for Canterlot. He was determined to find a reason for his apparent conditions. While at the Royal Canterlot Library, Star Swirl discovered that his theory was correct, and that he was a very unique unicorn. His condition hadn't been seen for close to one thousand years, and it hadn't been seen one thousand years before that. 
Star Swirl spent the following two weeks in Canterlot, deeply engrossed in every magic book he could find. He was surprised to find how little he learned from the books, finding the magic in them too complex. Not only that, but he had already created his own spells that took much less magic. At the beginning of his third week in the royal city, he decided to leave, finding the city boring.
Upon Star Swirl's return, he was welcomed by everypony in Ponyville, who had been treating him as a hero ever since his encounter with the timberwolf. He regularly helped anypony who requested his assistance, which made their trust of him and his magic grow strong. In no time, the earth ponies were open to any kind of magic the unicorn could come up with, and welcomed him to practice it any time he wanted.
Approximately one year upon his return events started to take a turn for the worse. It all started when a single pegasus walked into town. All the ponies in Ponyville gathered at their windows to watch the mare walk through their town, and into the inn. Ponies spread endless rumors about the stranger: she was there to steal all of their gold; she was there to sabotage their crops so the pegasi could come take their town. There was one rumor that was particularly outrageous, claiming that she was there to devour the souls of every earth pony she found.
The mysterious pegasus was soon followed by another two the next week, then two more the next week. Ponyville was in a silent panic over the arrival of mysterious ponies. Star Swirl knew better than to suspect anything of the pegasi, but even he began to suspect something as more arrived. 
Within the next two months, more than one hundred pegasi moved into Ponyville, causing the town to descend into a frenzy. So many ponies had moved to Ponyville, that the inn had to be expanded to accommodate them. Star Swirl knew there was a reasonable explanation for the mass exodus, but he couldn't find the answer; every pegasus in the inn refused to answer his questions. Eventually Star Swirl went against his better intentions, and payed a visit to Ponyville's tavern to find more information.

Spike broke in, "Wait, wait, wait. Ponyville used to gave a tavern?"
Twilight nodded, "Yes. It had one back before Star Swirl the Bearded fought for prohibition."



Star Swirl walked into the tavern tediously. He had only been there once before, and the dimly lit bar gave him a great feeling of unease, so he did his best to avoid the building whenever possible. He pulled the good of his cloak up over his horn, as to hide himself from the usual pony that would walk in. He picked out a seat in the corner and sat down, waiting for the information he desired.
An hour later, a pegasus tentatively walked into the tavern. She did her best to skirt the edges of the room, until she accidentally backed into the town's corn farmer, Mr. Cob, who immediately took offense in her mistake. The earth pony set down his apple cider, "Why hello there Miss Lets-Bring-Everypony-From-The-Mountain-City-Of-Trottingham-To-Ponyville. What are you doing in our bar." She began to stammer out a few words, but he cut her off. "What was that?" he said, trying to invoke the crowd, "You're going to steal all of our money?"
She began to back away from Mr. Cob, "N-n-no, we're here to-"
Mr. Cob slammed his hoof down onto a table, "We know why you're here!" He was shouting at her now. "You're here to destroy our town and all of its inhabitants!" The ponies behind him started to murmur about the young pegasus, planning what they would do to her. Mr. Cob turned to the ponies, "Come on everypony, let's show her why she never should have come to Ponyville." The mob of ponies advanced on to helpless pegasus, cringed in fear.
Star Swirl reached for the magic inside him and cast a lightning spell, which struck just outside the tavern door. The echo of thunder rang through the tavern, silencing everypony, even the ones not involved in the mob. Star Swirl stood up and put his hood down, revealing himself to the mob. There was a gasp from the group of ponies as they caught a glimpse of Star Swirl. "Ponyville," he said, "is this what we've been reduced to? Attacking innocent pegasi in tavern? This is disgraceful." He shook his head, "Now get out of here before I change my mind about sparring you." As much as he hated doing it, Star Swirl did toss threats around from time to time, just to add some encouragement to certain ponies.
The crowd dispersed, leaving Star Swirl and the young pegasus alone. She stretched her wings, "Gee, thanks Star Swirl. I would've..."gone missing" if they had gotten to me. I really owe you one."
Star Swirl shook his head, "No, you don't owe me anything; I was just doing what was right." There was a pause before he continued, "Let me walk you to the inn, that way no pony can hurt you." She thanked him and they exited the bar.

The two ponies walked through town as the sun began to set. The pegasus was very interested in Ponyville, which the earth ponies had intentionally omitted in their town introduction. She asked Star Swirl about everything: history, current events, weather. By the time they had arrived at the inn, Star Swirl felt like he had described the complete history of the village. 
They stopped at the door and the pegasus turned to Star Swirl, "Thank you for walking me back Star Swirl, it was very kind of you."
"You're welcome Miss...umm...I'm sorry I never got your name."
She smiled, "It's Rain. Rain Chaser." She started to enter the building, but hesitated. "Star Swirl, would you like to hear the reason why we're here? The real reason we're here?"
A pang of guilt ran through Star Swirl. He felt like she was pressured into giving him information because of him saving her, but he knew he would never get another chance to know the information. "Yes I would." She motioned for him to enter the inn, and he followed.
Upon entering the inn, Star Swirl instantly felt the tension in the air; he felt the hatred of every single pegasus watching him. He followed Rain Chaser through the lobby and down the winding hallway that lead to the rooms. Star Swirl knew that the conditions of the inn had declined recently, but he discovered that they were, in fact, deplorable. The paint covering the walls had begun to chip, the floor creaked with every step he took, and many of the rooms had no doors on them. Sympathy for the pegasi ran through Star Swirl. He wanted to help them, but he didn't know anyway he could without being an outcast again.
Rain Chaser lead Star Swirl through a door at the end of the hall. Compared to the rooms he had seen earlier, this room was a palace: two beds, a door, a window, and a functioning bathroom. She walked through the door, "Welcome to my humble abode. Please, make yourself at home." She said as the two entered. Star Swirl sat on the end of a bed, sending a cloud of dust into the air. "So..." She began. She was visibly deep in thought, "Where do I begin?"
"How about your home? Why exactly did the pegasi leave Trottingham? That was widely know as being a city built from gold. Why would you all just pick up and leave like that?"
Rain closed her eyes and sighed, She sat down on the bed too. "Oh Star Swirl, understand that this is very hard to talk about, even among other pegasi..." She took a deep breath, "It all started with our great king, Thunder Cloud. He became very greedy as he aged, hoarding every piece of gold he could find. While it's true that our great city flourished with wealth, our people also became saturated with avarice. 
"As the gold began to pile up, so did the threats of dragon attacks. We began receiving threats four years ago, from the dragon king himself, Akor. Of course, despite many ponies pleas for action, our city brushed off the threat, arrogant with power and wealth. So much gold was piled up that the other pegasi didn't even see the smoke until it was too late. Akor had already burned half of our city before the royal guard even took notice. The pegasi you see today are the ones who ran from Trottingham as soon as it was attacked. All the other ponies, the ones who stayed to fight Akor, were reduced to ash in a matter of seconds, including my father." A tear rolled down her cheek. Star Swirl placed his foreleg around her, doing his best to console her. 
"So the rest of us," she continued, "were left with nothing. All of our homes had been destroyed, all of our belongings were ash; we were a broken city. We searched all over Equestria for refuge, but found no city or town that would take us. Ponyville has been the first town to take us in, whether it's been graciously accepted or not." She stopped speaking, turning to Star Swirl to see his reaction. He was trying his best to withhold his emotions, but they showed through. A tear rolled down his cheek as he sympathized for the pegasi.
"What about the ponies in Cloudsdale?" he said. It was the only other pegasus city he could think of, and all the stories he had heard of it depicted it was being very hospitable.
Rain Chaser shook her head, "They rejected us. They were afraid we would attract dragons to their city too." she said bitterly. Star Swirl took the hint from the tone of her voice and ended the conversation. He pulled her closer, doing his best to make her feel better. She reached around and held Star Swirl, "Thank you Star Swirl. The pain isn't as bad when there's somepony to lean on."

The two ponies sat holding each other so long that Star Swirl lost track of time. The sun had been set for a while, and it was very dark outside. By the time Star Swirl left, more than three hours had passed, and the moon was high in the sky. Star Swirl had always been very cautious of the night. He wasn't sure why, but the night always made him feel like he was being watched, like somepony, or something was watching. 
Star Swirl pushed the dark thoughts out of his head as he walked through the door to his home. The candlelight enveloped the room in an eerie scene of flickering shadows. Star Swirl rushed up the stairs to his room, desperate to escape the dark scene. He burst through the door to his room and illuminated the space with magic. A sudden feeling of being rushed washed over him as he began throwing his belongings into a bag. He forced as much as he could, using magic to make the bag larger on the inside to maximize his available space. He walked over to desk a scribbled a quick note, which was moved to his bed upon completion. 
Star Swirl ran down the stairs, so quickly that he almost fell down them. He opened the front door and took off at a full sprint through the streets of Ponyville.

"Come on Lion Heart, I need you to come with me." Star Swirl pleaded, standing in front of his best friend. They had been friends ever since Star Swirl saved Mrs. Carrots from the timberwolf. Lion Heart had been the first pony to congratulate Star Swirl for his victory, and the two had taken to bonding ever since.  
"Hmm...I don't Star Swirl. You're asking me to just pick up and leave Ponyville, that's pretty big. And besides, you won't even tell me where we're going." 
Star Swirl sighed, "That's because I can't tell you until we're gone. It's confidential."
Lion's eyes were deep in thought as he began to speak very slowly. "I...I'll go." He took a long pause before continuing again, somewhat faster than before, "I'll meet you at the northern edge of town in a half hour." 
Star Swirl let a grin touch his face, "You won't regret this, I promise." 

Star Swirl paced as he waited for his best friend. Sunlight began to peek over the hill as the sun began to rise. Star Swirl had been waiting an hour for Lion Heart, which was expected, since he was late for everything. The dew on the trees glistened with morning sunlight as the sun began to come over the hill. Just as Star Swirl was about to abandon the thought of being joined by his friend, he heard footsteps. He looked up to see the face of Lion Heart, and smiled, "I knew you would come," he said, "and I knew you would be late."
Lion Heart grinned back, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. I showed up, don't heckle me." The two laughed and set off down the path as the sun finally came over the hills. "Hey Star Swirl," he said, "you never told me where we're going."
Star Swirl looked at his best friend, "Well..." he started, "long story short, we're going to save Ponyville." Lionheart stared blankly at him. "We are going," he continued, "to travel to the western mountains and reclaim the city of Trottingham from the dragon-lord Akor, and return it to the pegasi."