//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2 - Sidus 
// Story: The Story of Star Swirl The Bearded 
// by Faindragon 
//------------------------------//

A single star twinkled above me, the silver drops on the black sky shone down, spread it light over me. I could feel the grass under my hooves, the scent of the forest around me was thick in my nostrils; brought to me by the chilly wind that howled around me. I looked around me, both curious and a little afraid, tried to figure out where I was. I stood at the top of a mountain, a green forest rippling out around me. A faint blue light illuminating the forest below me and the mountain I stood on; it was as light as the sun was in the day, but neither sun nor moon was to be seen in the sky. Only that single star was to be seen above.

I was not alone on the mountain, as I turned around did I see another pony, a mare that was not an earth pony, nor pegasus or unicorn. She had a white coat with silver stripes. Her mane shared the stripes; it hung down over her muzzle and covered half of it, hiding it behind a shadow. She had a staff over her crossed legs, the dark wood curved in ways that made me dizzy only by trying to follow the lines. The eye I could see was shut, moving behind a closed eyelid.

“Uhm… Hi?” I said cautiously, it was more a question than a greeting.  “I’m sorry to bother, but where am I and who are you?”

“This place is one of your creating.
But I welcome you Star, I have been waiting.” the mare in front of me spoke, smiling softly in my direction.

“Can you take that a little more slowly? I did not understand.” I stated, sitting down on my haunches, still looking around me.

“This place is created by the magic inside of your heart.
And a warning I’m here to impart.”

“A warning? About what? And how did my magic create this?”

“The magic inside you is of a nature wild.
It plays tricks against you, your mind it has beguiled.
The power inside you can challenge the stars.
And the tribes it will cause deep scars.
Be careful when you learn to control your powers.
Help you will find within the heavenly towers.
Learn to control yourself by the sixth master of the after.
Seek me out thereafter.”

“What do you mean? What are you saying?” I asked.

“The truth behind my words is at this point of time hidden.
But you must not forget these words, the results that will come of that is forbidden.”

I felt how panic clawed against my mind as she started to fade away, her body slowly starting to blend in with the surroundings.
“Who are you?” I said, my voice mirroring the panic in my mind.

The mare looked at me for the first time, opening the eyelid I could see and revealing the light golden eye thereunder, looking straight at me. A smile spread at her muzzle as she answered.
“I have gone under many names during my time around.
Seeing Eye is the one you will have to found.”

And with that did she fade out completely, leaving me behind on the top of the mountain. When the sun light finally reached me was I still sitting on the exact same spot; looking up at the single star above me.  


~*^*~


The sun’s light stirred me from my sleep, washed over me from the sky and warmed me as I allowed a yawn to escape my muzzle.

I heard my mother yell something from the kitchen, her voice heated with anger. I could not make out the words, but it sounded bad. Quickly did I rub the sleep out of my eyes, rose from my bed and crossed the room. I did not want to just run into the kitchen and interrupt them, but my curiosity had awakened, I wanted to know what they talked about. So instead did I nudge the door; opened it just enough for me to peak out and for the voices to be better heard.

“Have already decided that this is to be done.” I heard my grandfather say calmly. “And I think it is for the better. I can not help him, neither can you. In this way will he be able to learn to control his power and the tribes will be tied together.”

“I will not let you take my colt away from me!” my mother hissed at him. “I do not care if it is ordered by the astral leaders themselves, I do not care if all three of the gods stood in front of me and said those words, I will NOT let you take him away!”

“Listen to me Crystal Singer, listen to yourself! Was not the war hard enough? Did we not loose enough ponies as it were? We are weak! Our tribe is close to extinction, the only reason the tribe leaders have not ordered an attack against us to kill him is because they do not know how the other tribes will react, neither how the astral leaders will react. And you know very well that I may not speak about that!” his voice was still calm, but I could hear that it was soon to burst.

“So you are going to send them to them? Give them the chance to kill him in their own homes instead of here?” my mother seemed to be on the vague of tears.

I felt how something inside of me ached, I wanted to run there, comfort her, make her feel better. But I stayed at my eavesdropping spot, hopping to hear more.

“Yes. Yes I will. If they decide to kill him, which I find very unlikely since it would trigger the same reaction as if they killed him here, then it is only he instead of our entire tribe! I can not put a single foal, not even my grandson, in front of the entire tribe. He will travel with me to the market and the tribe assembly in a week; you are free to come with us if you must. And please daughter, do not make this harder than it already is. He will be fine and he will return to use in some years; and you can meet him every year at the market. I must start the preparations, the tribe must not show its weakness against the other tribes, this is our choice not theirs. I bid you farewell, for now. ”

I could hear hoofsteps coming closer, and I did not have the time to jump away from my eavesdropping place before my grandfather saw me. He looked at me; the fire in his eyes seemed to have burned out. He jerked his head towards the kitchen, and left the house, softly closing the door after him. I wanted to go after him, wanted to know what had happened, what they had talked about. I understood deep down, but I wanted to ignore that part of me.

As I took the first step towards the door, my mind set to catch up with my grandfather and talk to him, did I hear the sound of my mother sobbing from the kitchen. That changed my mind directly, even thought I could hear my father whisper to her. She needed me, and I could always get answers from my grandfather at a later point in time.

I turned around and entered the kitchen instead. A warm fire was burning in the chimney; the low sound of the logs crackling in the heat was barely heard over my mother’s sobbing. She sat on her haunches at the low wooden table that stood in the center of the room, her head at the base of my father’s neck. He held him in his hooves, stroked her mane as her shoulders shook in rate with her quiet sobbing. My father looked at me, tears ran down his face as well, but he did not make a sound. He just looked at me, his eyes pleading me.

I slowly walked over to them, squeezed me in between them. I clambered my hooves around my mother, hugging her as tightly as I could. She looked down at me, hot tears rolling from her and landing on my head, and gave me a smile before she returned the hug. She kept crying, my father whispered to us both that everything would be alright; trying to comfort us with those words.


~*^*~


I did not cry together with my parents, I had wanted but been unable to. I had felt numbness inside of me, had been unable to anything else but sit there; listening to the sound of my mother sobbing. No tears was wetting my eyes, they were as dry as sand in the sun. My mother ran her hoof through my mane, comforting me when I did not need it. But she needed it; I felt how her sobs started to fade away, how she was slowly regaining her composure.

It took some time for my mother to calm down completely, every time she looked down and smiled at me did she have to fight back a sob again, but her smile could not hide the sadness in her eyes. My father nudged me, and I looked up at him; looking away from my mother’s sad eyes.

He was breathing deeply, the sadness that had been in my mother’s eyes were mirrored in his deep blue eyes. No tears were touching his eyes or his cheeks, but I had never seen such sadness in his eyes before.
“Star, you should not throw this day away. Go out and play, it’s a beautiful day and your mother and I have a lot to talk about.” he said, a deep sigh escaping his mouth. “Just be home for dinner, I will talk with you then.”

“But dad, I want to…” I started, but was interrupted by my mother who gently placed a hoof over my muzzle, silencing me.

“Star, be a good colt and do as your father told you. You do not need to worry, we will fix this.” She said, her voice pleading.

It hurt me that they did not trust me; hurt me that they did not want to talk with me there. I do believe that I knew about what was happening, but still they did not want to talk with me close. I did understand why they did not want to talk with me around, but still had something deep inside of me ached as I heard those words; that they just wanted me to leave. And worst of all?
“Okay mom.” I said, releasing my hold around my mother and standing up. I tried to sound cheerful, but I did not succeed in that. I slowly made my way to the door, and for the first time this day could I feel tears in my eyes, but I fought them down, this was not the times for them.

I did leave them to it, to talk without me being close, even though I wanted to hear what they said did I turn around and leave.


~*^*~


I carefully closed the door behind me and stepped out into the sunlight that was shining down on the small settlement. The settlement moved with life, ponies made their errands, often stopping to talk with their neighbors. Everypony was happily keeping on with their life. Well, everypony expect me; I walked on the road, my head hanging low. I ignored the ponies that greeted me, ignored their questions, ignoring their presence. I only walked there, thoughts whirling around in my head. I might have been young, but that did not mean that I did not understand. I understood that they talked about me back in our house; I understood that they wanted to talk without me being there. What I did not understand was why.

Why would I have to leave the tribe? Why could I not learn what I needed here? What was war, and what had we lost ponies to? I did not understand this, and I had no answers. But I knew one who had. My determination rose, and I decided where to turn my tail. The determination steered my hooves, and I began to walk the same way I walked every day, walked towards my grandfather’s house. If anypony had any answers for those questions would it be him.

The walk to my grandfather’s house was brief; his house was placed in front of the small hill where we often trained, only a short distance from where I lived. The sun had nearly reached its peak when I arrived there, and it made me wonder just how long I had slept and how long time it had taken for my mother to calm down. Rays from the sun illuminated the dark wood of my grandfather’s house, wood that was of a darker material than the light trees I had seen in the forest. My grandfather had told me that the wood had been a gift from the sea serpent tribe, when I asked for what had he only laughed and told me that it was a gift for him and his daughter.

I looked straight at the door, a door with metal fillings of a phoenix and a sea serpent that twisted around each other in an eternal dance, my mind was focused on what I was going to ask my grandfather, what I wanted to know. Focused as I was at the task at hoof, did I completely miss the two ponies that stood at the door; guarding it and the ones inside. I did, however, notice when one of them took a firm grip of my neck and turned me away from the door.

The one who held me was a light green mare, who chuckled lightly as she looked down at me; a hint of amusement in her light green eyes.
"Sorry kid, the advisor has a visit from the leader, we have been told not to let anypony inside." she smiled sadly at me. "And that involves the advisor’s student and grandson as well."

"I have to talk to my grandpa Grass. Please let me inside, it's urgent!"

She released my neck and instead stomped her hoof to the ground, her eyes turned harder for a second and her smile slipped a little.
"Listen Star, I will not let you interrupt them; I have already had enough trouble since the last time you said it was urgent. Whatever you say, you being able to lift a small rock for more than one second is NOT urgent. I have been told not to let them be disturbed for or by anything, and I will stay by those orders. Now leave before I personally smack some sense in you so hard that you can not lie down for a week."

I heard a snort from behind me, I did not have to turn around to know that the one behind me was Rock, a brown earth pony who lacked all that other ponies would call intelligence. Grass jerked her eyes away from me, but not before I had seen that her eyes had turned to stone and her smile had disappeared completely; the snorting laughter behind me stopped abruptly.

Grass held her gaze at Rock for a few seconds before she looked back at me, a light, friendly smile on her muzzle.
"I'm sorry Star, but I will not allow you in there. But tell you what; as soon as they are finished will I let the advisor know that you wished to speak to him. Now go and play, a young colt like you should not waste your time standing around like this and look as gloom as you do now. You know how long of a time it might take them." her voice had returned to her normal friendly tone as well.

I slowly nodded, I knew that I would not be able to talk her into letting me in, not after last time.
"You promise?"

"I promise. Now, off and play with you." she said with a smile.

I slowly walked away; I could hear how Grass yelled at Rock behind me.
“You idiot, what did you think that poor kid…”

But even their voices disappeared as I slowly trotted away, my head hanging low. I was certainly not in the mood to go and play, but I knew a place where I could be alone and where my grandfather would most certainly look after me when he could not find me in the settlement, a place he had shown me years ago. A sacred place, not far from the settlement but far enough away that I was sure I would not be interrupted or found by anypony who did not look after me.


~*^*~


I lied on the stone floor, the giant crystalized window in front of me. Two gracious beings, beings with the wings of a pegasus and the horn of a unicorn, were circling around each other in the middle of the glass. One of the winged unicorns was as blue, nearly black, as the winter night sky, the other was as pale white as the sun when you looked directly at it a warm summer day. The beings were well known to me, the light one was fair Celestia, goddess of the sun and day, summer and life. The dark one was beautiful Luna, goddess of the moon and the night, winter and death. They were the harmony, the ones who controlled our daily life; the ones who controlled our life cycle. But a harmony could not exist without its counterbalance, not even the harmony of goddesses. And their counterpart was represented by the god that was inside their circle.

The god was a fierce being, its pony shaped head had the horn of a goat and the antler of a deer, a single tooth gleamed in the light. The body shape resembled that of a snake, a leathery wing of a bat and the feathery wing of a pegasus adorned its back. The being had four limbs, each of a different creature; the front legs were a paw from a lion and a talon from an eagle, the back legs were those of a goat and a lizard. The creature ended with a snake tail. Discord, god of chaos and destruction, god of spring and autumn; the being that balanced up the harmony of the goddesses with its chaos, helped us to see the harmony around us.

They were not alone on the window; they were the center part of it, but six other beings encircled them. The blue sea serpent, the brown wolf, the majestic manticore, the proud griffon, the fierce dragon and the eternal phoenix; each of them were represented here. They were said to each by creations of the gods, two beings created by each god. The sea serpent and the wolf had been the creations of the moon goddess Luna, the manticores and griffons had been created by Discord, the dragon and phoenix created in the fires of the sun that was Celestia.

Each of the beings had a tribe that worshipped them, six tribes for six beings. The three races; earth pony, pegasi and unicorn was each represented in each tribe. My grandfather had told me that the tribes did not agree about much, and that was why we had the market; to make sure that no tribe overstepped and hurt the others.

The same market which I would now have to go to, for reasons that I did not understand; on orders by my grandfather and mentor, the tribe’s adviser. I sighed; I did not know what I should think. My grandfather had said that it was for the best for the tribe, but that did not mean I would have to like it.

I could hear the loud screech behind me as the gigantic wooden doors opened behind me, a wind that was cold for being a summer wind gently stroke against me, stirring up the shallow layer of dust that covered the stone floor around me. I ignored it, I knew who it was, there was only one pony who was allowed in here; and that pony was not me. The only pony allowed in here was my grandfather, the advisor of our tribe leader and the voice of the phoenix to us. It was here the bigger rituals of the year was practiced, mainly the week long ritual of the solstice where we praised the goddesses for the sun and the warmth, but during the rest of the year was this place forbidden for the ponies in the settlement. And it was an area avoided for respect of the spirits that was said to dwell here, spirits of the dead and the phoenix himself. My grandfather had brought me with him here once, showed me this place. I had been as perplexed by the beauty of this window then as I was now.

“And the power of harmony and chaos worked together, designed the world after their bidding. They created the earth ponies, the unicorns and the pegasi. They created the dragons and the griffons, the phoenix and the sea serpents, the wolves and the manticores. Land rose from the oceans; great rivers sprang forth, dividing the lands with water. Big mountains rose up to the skies, high enough to pierce the heavens. Trees and flowers bloomed, and more creatures sprang forth; inhabited the new world. And balance was and has been since then.”

Crystal Fire slowly walked towards me; the sound of his soft hoovesteps against the stone floor, echoing together with his soft voice as he spoke. I could feel his eyes on me, but I did not care about it; my eyes where still on the windows. The sound of his hooves against the floor stopped.

“Star, I know that you have a lot of questions, and I will try to answer them all; both as your mentor and your grandfather, but also as the advisor of the phoenix tribe. I do not want this anymore than you, but I do this for you, you will thank me one day.” he said, his voice softer than I had heard it ever before, a hint of sadness within it.

I could feel how my own sadness grew, and for the first time did it all come through; the tears started to roll down my cheeks. And still did I not turn around.
“For me? Do you do this for me? You made my mother cry, how can it be for me?” I said, sadness and anger thick in my voice.

“Yes, I do this for you. YOU will do something that no other pony ever have done, you are not going to have one master but six of them, each of them sharing their knowledge of the world around us, each of them training you. You can tie bands with the tribes on a completely new level; you can unite us in a way that we have not been united for years!”

“But why me? I never asked for this, I just want to live here, live as my mother and be a part of our tribe!” I said, sobbing. I could hear how he walked towards me, and could soon feel me being embraced by him. I started to cry against his chest.

“Why is not something I am allowed to speak about, but I do believe that you have the right to know. You never asked for this, still it is what you are born to do. We do not decide our entire life. Let me tell you a story, a story about something stronger than the gods.”

I sobbed a couple of more times, trying to wipe the tears out of my eyes.
“I… I would like that.” I said, my voice still thick after my crying, but I had control over it now.

“We will have to wait some before I tell it to you, that is a story that needs a different… environment. Anyway, we only need to wait until the sun has set. No, do not worry, I have talked with your mother and father and told them that I will take care of you tonight; they agreed on that I could tell you so that they did not need. They wanted to, but I do not think they understand everything.”

“Then I will ask a question. What will happen?” I asked, freeing myself from the hug and laying down, eyes on my grandfather.

“That depends on you. You are to join me to the market and meet the leaders and advisors of the other tribes. You will go be apprentice to each tribe, both their advisors and their leaders; you are to learn from them their knowledge, learn who you are and be able to control yourself and the magic around you, as well as understand their tribes. The first tribe you will go with are the Sea Serpent tribe, under their advisor Sea Walker and their leader Ocean Tamer. He will help you with your blockade, help you remove it. Then it’s up for you to learn from them, allow them to teach you. You will get intensive training, they have one year to learn you as much as they are able to, and each of them will do their hardest to make you learn; give you the knowledge you will need. You are destined for something great, Star, something bigger. The winds of change are blowing, and the six tribes are in the middle of it. The spirits have spoken with us, and you are the one who will make us come out alive on the other side.”

“Why am I the one to ride out it? How? And why do you fear that the other leaders want to attack us?”

He sighed.
“Listen Star, and listen closely; I’m going to tell you things I should not tell anyone, it is forbidden for me to speak about it. But you have right to know, I will make an exception for you. We do not know why or how, only that you are the one. The astral leaders know, they have told us. They fear you, not what you are but what you might become. They are afraid that you will take control when you have made us come out on the other side of the storm, afraid that you will make the phoenix tribe the leaders. They fear the future, and fear is a strong power that might destroy ponies. The astral leaders have tried to interfere, and that is why you are to be learned from each tribe. Each tribe will mark you; each tribe will have a place in your heart. You will hopefully make your decisions with all the tribes in your mind, not only the phoenix tribes; that is what they hope. But they still fear you.”

“So you mean that they…”

“Yes, Star. They might try to kill you. But listen closely, you have nothing to fear around the advisors or the leaders, they have accepted this solution. But there are others you will have to avoid; the advisors and leaders are not the only ones who know about you. Others might try to hurt you, others might be after you. We have known from your birth what you were destined for, we have prepared for years now for the day when you would be ready to learn. You can feel your magic to such an extend that we are able to work with it from there. You are aware of your blockade, and awareness is the first step to be able to do something against it.”

“Who wants to hurt me? And why?”

He sighed again, his voice made him seem tired as he continued speaking.
“For as long as the tribes have existed have it been those who want us to remove each other, those who want to make sure that we do not befriend each other. Anypony you encounter might be one of them, we have not been able to pinpoint them down; but we do know that they exist. And we can not go around and believe that they do not know about you, we must not take that chance.”

“Who are they?”

“We do not know who they are, nor who leads them or how they get their information. What we do know, however, is that they have been behind a lot of what have happen between the tribes. Most importantly is that they was behind the misunderstanding that nearly lead to the extinction of the Phoenix tribe.”

“The what?”

“That, my student, is a subject for another time.” he said and smiled at me, before he turned his eyes to the window.

“If that is what you wanted.” I said, following my grandfather’s gaze.

The sun had started to set, the red color shone through the window; colored the ground around me with a deep red color as well.

“Do you see it Star?”

“See what?”

“Look closely” my grandfather instructed me.

I did as I was told, focused even more on details of the window.
“No, not like that.” He said with a chuckle. “Do not focus on the details, focus on the entire picture. There is a time to focus on the details, but if it does not give any result, then you have to stop it and try to see the entire picture as it is.”

I focused less on the details, tried to look at the entire picture at once. And then I saw it. The red light from the setting sun was reflected on something inside of the glass, creating small red lines which connected into a star. The creatures and the gods were all trapped inside of the star.


“I see it I see it. It is a star, trapping the gods and their creations!” I said, my voice contained a hint of eagerness in it.

“What you see is Sidus, a being stronger than any other. She is said to be the balance of the world, the creator and beholder of the gods. As the goddesses Luna and Celestia are the part of her creations that represent harmony and Discord is the part who represents the chaos is Sidus the being who represent the utter balance. Very few know about Sidus, it’s a secret that is well guarded, it’s a legend long since forgotten. A legend I will tell you, so listen very closely; and keep it to your heart. You never know when the star might listen for a direct wish.”

I curled up behind him, listening as his voice took me to another time, another world; another life.


~*^*~


“You are not getting away with this!” the red earth pony snarled, speaking with the beings within the shadows.

“Oh, is that so?” a cold, rasping voice answered from the darkness around the earth pony. “I do believe that I already have. You see, this is long since over, I have won and you have lost. And as the rules state am I free to take your life.” Laughter was heard from the shadows, before it turned to a cough attack.

The red earth pony snarled.
“You are hurt; will you really survive until the moon is full? I know of your powers; in full moon is your body restored no matter what damage it has on it. As long as you are alive that is.”

“Oh I will survive. You however, will not.” the rasping voice nearly whispered now. “Goodbye.”

The earth pony could not do anything but listen as the steps from the beings in the shadows grew fainter and fainter, to ending up disappearing completely. He sighed and started to try tearing through the ropes that held him firmly, but to no avail; the ropes held like steel around his body. He looked around himself in the temple room, but he could not see much with the limited light that the lone torch gave him. What he could see were the big snakes that started to crawl towards him, ready for their meal, tasting the air around them with their forked tongues.

He relaxed, his head resting against the cold stone which he was tied up upon. A lone star shone upon him, and he did the only thing he could think about.

He prayed. He prayed to be released from the ties, he prayed to be saved from the bindings. And Sidus heeded his calls for help; the great star removed the ties that tied up the red earth pony.

But instead of ties were there now snakes, hissing and tasting the air. The earth pony could only look in horror as the snakes started to eat on his flesh, slowly killing him with fangs they should not have.

Sidus had heeded the call; he had released him from the ties and released him from the bindings, but in a way that did not change the balance of things. The earth pony’s time had come, but the star does always heed a call for help.


~*^*~


“But Sidus will only help in a way that does not challenge the balance of how things should be. So be careful what you pray for.”

“That was a great story, but why is that a secret?” I asked.

My grandfather smiled at me.
“It is a secret that is based on the solo fact that Sidus will only heed the calls of them that knows the consequences; she will only head the call of the ones who know that their prayers will be answered by her.”

“Then why did you tell me? Will not the thing that is for balance always happen anyway?”

“While her power is the greatest out there are there still some powers that can alter small parts of it. And if you are trapped in one of those powers, then she might be able to help you. I told you this story, because one day it might save your life and in that way save the tribes.”

“What powers is that?”

“Dark powers, powers which should not be spoken about.” he said, his face taking a grim expression. He slowly rose to his legs, and I followed his example. “There is one more thing I want to show you, Star; a place only known by the advisor of the Phoenix tribe.”

I looked around the temple; it was dark, only the moon was spreading its pale light through the window, dimly lighting up parts of the temple.
“Are you really supposed to show that place to me?”

“I am not, if you follow the rules.” he said, his horn enveloped by a dim light. “But I’m going to show it to you anyway, he have asked me to guide you there, and I will heed that.” 

All the torches on the walls sprang to life, their warm red light spreading around the temple. It was not a big temple; the temple was only a single, circular room. Nearly no ornaments existed in the room; the cold stone floor was as bare as the walls. On a podium in the middle of the room stood a grand statue of a phoenix, the tribe protector as it was known as. The golden statue reflected the light that was blessed upon it from the torches, twisted it so that it seemed to be burning. The phoenix statue and the crystal glass were the only decors in the otherwise austere room.

My grandfather smiled at me.
“What I’m about to show you is knowledge you must never give away, you must never tell anyone about it. It might endanger our entire society should this information be heard by the wrong ears. Do you understand Star?”

I could only nod as I looked up on him. His voice had sounded pleading, as if he would show me anyway but hoped that I would promise to never speak about it. I realized that a nod would not be enough.
“I promise, Grandpa, I will not speak about what I’m about to see.”

He smiled at me, relief clear in his eyes.
“Then follow me, and stay close. Danger lurks in the shadows where we are about to go.”

He slowly walked towards the podium and I followed him close behind. When he reached the podium did he start to talk, his voice had grew cold as ice; I could feel a shiver run through my spine as I heard him speak.
“Eternal Fire, open your vault. Let me, the one who speaks in your name, inside. Allow the one who are your voice to your people to enter your realm, to meet you face to face. Allow me inside of your vault.”

A loud shrieking was heard, a shriek of stone that drifted against stone. I covered my ears at the painful sound, but my grandfather just looked ahead; his eyes locked at the podium. And before my eyes did the entire podium rise, standing up on four pillars. A staircase went down in the dark.
“As I said, stay close.” my grandfather said, taking the first step down the stairs.

I followed close behind, a little nervous about the whole thing.

My grandfather’s horn glowed dimly, lighting up our surroundings. The stair case was of the same dark woods as my grandfather’s house, polished until it gleamed, reflecting the dim light. A very thin layer of dust covered the steps, but instead of the dust gray color was it nearly white. The stone walls were as white as snow and reflected the light around us, making our body cast shadows in every direction. I could hear the shrieking again, and felt a low thud in my body as the podium closed up behind us, trapping us in the spiral that was the stairs.
“How far is it?”

“We are soon there.”

“What is it you wanted to show me?”

“That you will see.”

We walked down for what seemed like hours, but it could not have gone more than five minutes until we reached the floor. The room we were in was circular, around the size of the podium above us. In the focus of the room stood a well; filled to the brim with a red liquor. Flames seemed to dance around it, flickering around it but not spreading any light. The only light was that of my grandfather’s horn as it was reflected in the well; casting red light around it.

“What is that?” I asked, nearly hypnotized by the movement of the flames.

“This is a gateway, a way for anyone to contact the great phoenix.”

“Why did you show me this?”

“He wants to meet you, to talk to you.”

I looked at my grandfather.
“But I talked with him yesterday.”

“You did?” my grandfather said, surprise clear in his face.

“Yea, when I was at the waterfall with my friends.”

My grandfather only looked at me.
“He requested that you should see him once it was decided that it was time for you to leave, so I believe it is best to allow you to him anyway.”

“How do I get to him then? And why?”

“Why does only he know, he do not share everything with me. You drink the water, it will bring you to him.”

I nodded and trotted to the well, leaning down to take a deep sip of the red water therein. I noticed that my grandfather did not go with me.
“Aren’t you going with me?”

“No, this is a travel you will have to do alone. I will wait for you here. Now go, do not let the Eternal Fire wait.”

I took a deep sip of the water, and the world around me disappeared.


~*^*~


My body was burning; fire soared through my veins, fire that was pumped out by my heart. The pain overwhelmed me. And just like that was it gone, replaced by the steady beat of my heart. I slowly opened my eyes.

I was at a mountain plateau; snow drifted around me but did not cool me down. Heavy white clouds covered the blue sky, but it was light enough for me to see. The plateau ended abruptly, the cliff plunging down to the darkness beyond. The cold air around me smelled crisply of new fallen snow.

“Come here…. Star….” a weak voice whispered in my ear. I jumped at the sudden sound, looking around me. It was then I spotted the cave opening.

“Yes… I’m in the cave… come here… Star…”

I slowly walked towards the cave, looking into the darkness. I could not see anything inside of it.
“Step… inside… the light… will come...”

I did as I was told, and as I stepped inside did the light arrive with me, illuminating the room. It was an oval room, a big throne on the far side of it. The entire room was decorated with gold and red ornaments, books and scrolls adorned the big shelves around the room. But what really caught my eye was the being that was lying in front of me.

It was the Eternal Fire, the big phoenix, who laid there on the ground in front of me. But his inner glow was gone; no light emerged from his body. His wings was wrapped around his body, his eyes were unseeing. A crack ran along his beak. His feathers had lost their colors, they were dust grey instead of the glowing red and gold they had been.

“Welcome… Star…” he said, coughing between the words. “I’m sorry you had to see me like this.”

“What happened to you?” I asked before I could stop myself. I realized my mistake and tried to soothe over it directly. “If you do not mind me asking.”

He laughed weakly, a laugh that ended in a cough attack.
“War happened… I’m weak, Star… As our entire tribe is. Everyone… but you… you are strong… Star.” he said, a sad smile on his beak.

“What is war?”

The phoenix seemed to try to laugh again, but it only resulted in a new coughing attack.
“War… is a horrible thing. War is hate… war is to destroy the balance… war is to kill the ones you love. The tribes… they had hated each other… under so long time.” He stopped to cough once again. “And the hatred… it grew. Ponies started to kill each other for tribal things... that is the madness that is war. To kill each other… for no reason. Our… tribe, the tribe of the phoenix… we were hated… by most… we were few… we were easy to attack… but the dragons saved us from extinction. But a fatal… blow was dealt against me.” he said, his voice not much more than a whisper, his eyes filled with sadness.

“What happened to you? How could ponies do that to each other?”

“Hatred… shows the worst in each one of us. My power… comes with the ones that believes in me… the inhabitants of the phoenix tribe. We have always been few… but my strength does not need pure number… my strength needs the fire that burns inside of them that… believes. But the… ponies of our tribe… do not believe as they used to. They are… afraid. Afraid of what we lost in the war… afraid of what might happen again… afraid that I will not be able to protect them… that I will fail them again.”

“What did you fail us with?”

“I failed… with protecting the one who lead you. Not even… my powers could save him… Not even… the power of the Eternal Fire… could heal his death. We were plunged deeper and… deeper… into the war… our tribe got closer and closer to extinction… the only reason we survived was that… the sea serpent withdrew their forces… and that the dragons arrived.” He seemed ashamed.

“The dragons?”

“The dragon riders… of the dragon tribe… fearsome warriors… created by the fire of the dragon itself… the strongest… there is…”

“I have never heard of them.”

“Have you heard… about the war?”

“No?”

The phoenix coughed weakly again.
“Then there is your answer. You do not… have unlimited knowledge Star… Not yet… at least.”

“What will happen to you?”

“I will… die… I will be… turned to ash… until that day comes… when the phoenix tribe… believes in me again…”

“But you can not die! You are the Eternal Fire!”

“Even eternality… have its limit… but as the phoenix… will I be reborn… when my ashes are lit… again. But… this is not… why you are here… Star.”

“Why am I here then? Why did you want to meet me?”

“I wanted to… meet you… so that I could… teach you.”

“Teach me about what?”

“About harmony… and discord…”

He seemed to relax a little, his coughing not as rough this time as it had been the other times.
“Harmony and discord… the two counterweights of the world… the two things that create balance in this world. One can not live… without the other. And still… do they try to… remove each other… When Sudis… created the gods… did she also create twelve items… the six Elements of Harmony… and the six Elements of Discord.”

At this point did I just sit and listen, I did not even ask him any questions as he took a brief pause to catch his breath again. His chest moved less than it should as he panted for more air. And yet he kept talking.

“The… Elements… were given to the gods… when they created… us… did they split the elements up… one of Harmony… and one of… Discord… to each creature created. Each tribe had… one of… each. They are items… of great… power… that has… been lost in time… The balance… has been contested… since then… the ponies… can not… live in balance… with each… other.”

“Lost? What do you mean lost?” I said, confused about the fact that something like that could be lost.

“They were used… a long time ago… by… twelve… strong ponies. They used it… in a way that Sidus… did not… like. They were used… not against each other… but against… balance itself… And it was… close to succeeding… The balance… was nearly destroyed…”

“What happened?”

“The… astral leaders… happened… Back then… could we interfere directly with the world around us… we saw what was about to happen… and stopped it before… it was too late…But the controllers of the elements… they were furious… they locked us… in.” he said, a pained smile on his beak.

“How could they do that?”

“The… elements… combined… outshines even the stars in power… But no… rules apply… onto a power that… great. Not even… Sidus… could destroy her own creations…”

“But how can that power be greater than Sidus? A magical item can not be stronger than its creator!” I said, recalling some of the basic magic rules.

“But the… elements… was not created… at the same time… She… rested between each… element. The elements… combined… have nearly… six times… the power of its creator… if you combine… discord and harmony… then you have the utter… power of balance… a power… twelve times as powerful… as the creator of balance.”

“That… that is insane! How could she create something like that? And why?”

“Insanity… is in the eye of the beholder… No one… knows why she created them…”

“Why did you tell me all of this? What does it have to do with me? The elements were lost in time right?”

“Each… combination of element… harmony… and discord… have one… fail safe… They can not… be controlled to their full power… without a star… born… that controls it…”

“But if they have that fail safe, how could they then be used against balance?”

“We are… born… with a free mind… Sidus… might have us caged… but even a caged animal… might chose in which end… of the cage to sleep. A star… born… is something… that can move… more freely than… the rest of us… They are not… immortal… but their powers… are the powers of Sidus himself…” he said, his voice had lost a little more of its power.

“And I’m one of these star born?” I said, lending forward some to be able to hear the answer.

“We… believe so… Your power… is greater than any other power we have seen… since we became imprisoned…”

“But what am I to do?”

“That… is something I can not… answer… That answer will you… have to find yourself… It is a… lot information to give you… but it is… necessary…”

“I-I understand.” I said, trying to process this information. “What is the difference between me and others then? How will this change my life?”

“Will you are… able to move more… freely than the rest of us… will Sidus demand your full… attention when… she wants something… Normally… will she nudge us… in the direction she want us… but she will… try to force you… where she wants you…”

“But you said that others have gone against her will!”

“The willpower… have been strong in them… She… could not break them… But if you… look past all this… then you are as normal as all the others… You have your own dreams… your own desires… your own goals…” he said, a violent cough attack following his words.

“And where can I find the elements?”

The phoenix laughed lightly, for once not triggering a cough attack.
“You… can not… If you are… destined to use the elements… then they will come to you… Others… have been star born… and have lived as simple… advisors or helpers… in their tribes…”

“Then why did you tell me about the elements?”

“The chance… is still there… A chance of you… being found by them… the winds of change… is blowing… not even the gods… not even Sidus… knows what change… But your time here… Star… is over… you have to… go back…”

“When will I meet you again?”

“When… the time is right…”

The world did once again disappear around me.


~*^*~


I took a step back as the well with its red liquid and dancing flames reappeared in front of me. My veins did not burn this time at least.

“You are back.” My grandfather said behind me.

“How long was I out?” I asked, noticing the small pearls of sweat that adorned his forehead.

“About three hours. The time in there goes differently from the time here. How was he?”

“Weak. How did he get so grandpa? Does nopony believe in him?”

“Some of us do, but it is not enough. Let us go upstairs, I will tell you on the way.”

I followed him as we walked up the stairs.
“It has not always been like this.” he started, sadness in his voice. “After the… incident with the other tribes did some of the tribe members loose the trust in our astral spirit. It was a slow change; he grew weaker over a long time. At some occasions, like the birthing of a new foal, did the believing return to the hearts of most, and he grew strong again. But that did not happen often, and he was soon blamed again for something. It was easy to blame him for the years of bad crops that have been; years that have put us in a tough situation with the other tribes.”

“But I saw him just yesterday, he was strong then! He glowed of power, his feathers was red and golden! That change that occurred can not have happened in a single day.”

“I can not answer how you were able to see him like that yesterday; that is a mystery for me. I have visited him every week since the time I became the advisor, and he have only grown weaker for each passing week. I’m afraid that soon will I only see ashes when I get there.”

“How comes that he turns to ash if he loses those who believes in him? What happens to the others?” I asked, wanting to know more of our story.

“He is a projection of the phoenix, he have adapted to that body and have inherited all the abilities that the phoenix have. While the others live on the sheer number of believers, and thus can not die before all of the believers are gone, does he live on the fire of the believers.”

“So if everypony stops to believe in him…”

“Will he turn to ash and wait for that fire to return.” my grandfather finished the sentence for me as we emerged from stairs under the podium. It had once against raised, but this time had I not heard any sound as it did, neither did I hear when it closed behind me. I tried to suppress a yawn, but I was bound to fail. My grandfather smiled at me.

“I do believe that the hour is way over your bed time, my young colt. I will walk you home, and you are free for the rest of the week. Use the time well, say goodbye to your friends and pack. We will travel together with the others to the market.”

“What others?”

“The ones who are going there on the mission to buy and sell from and to the other tribes, the ones who make sure we can survive another year. They sell our overflows, the small things we do not need but others might, and at the same time do they buy the things we need.”

“And during that time will you and Flame Raiser talk with the other advisors and leaders.”

“Yes, and you will be with us. You will come with us and meet your future masters, the ones who shall train you to work around your blockade and to do what you must in the future.”

“But what if I can not do it?”

“Do not fear, Star. I believe in you, and Flame Raiser and the rest of the leaders and advisors believe in you. And most importantly, the astral leaders believe in you.”


~*^*~

Author’s Note

I might not write so much as I would want these upcoming weeks; I have a lot of other things to do, mainly in school. I wish that I could update with at least one chapter / week, but unfortunately do I have to put some things in front of this story. But I have some good news, this “episode” or “part” of Star Swirls life have grown from being planned to 5 chapters to being planned to 7 or 8.

Thank you for reading, and I’m really sorry for the grammatical errors that exist within the contest.
Comments and critic are appreciated!