The blow connected far harder than he had anticipated. A hollow THUD rang out as the wood impacted upon the unicorn's skull, just to the side of the little horn protruding from her forehead. She cried out as much in surprise as in pain as she fell to the ground, her spell book dropping from the air beside her focus slipped and the spell keeping it levitated faded.
"You must pay closer attention, don't keep looking at the page. Let go of your uncertainty and trust in your own skill. You know these spells, you don't have to rely on that book." He looked down on the young filly from just beyond the brim of his oversized hat. "... And stop bleeding all over my floor, that's no way for a lady to behave."
The filly cringed, but looked back up to meet her master's gaze with firm, unyielding eyes. "But... but I just... Grrr!... Yes master..." Her horn lit up and, for a split second her entire head began to glow a pale violet color. A moment later the cut that the long wooden spear shaft had left was gone and she was back in a ready position, awaiting the next strike with an expression of extreme focus.
The old unicorn smiled as he readied the spear once more. Every time she fails she gets a bit more determined. With a spirit like that this one's bound to go on to accomplish things that will upstage the entire council. A look of pure satisfaction settled on his face for a moment as the pride he felt for her accomplishments thus far weighed within his mind. "That a girl. Now, get ready. Stay focused this time, don't flinch away. Just remember what you've been practicing; this is no different."
The old wizard's horn let up with a thin yellow aura. The spear shaft hovering beside him rose into the air, suspended by a similar light. It held its place for a moment, spun, and then in a blinding flash of gold and purple, vanished. The small dining hall echoed with the sound of electricity as the spell ignited, the noise bouncing off the walls, the ceiling, and the large tables which had been pushed aside to make room for their training session.
The little filly waited, her light green coat standing on end as she readied herself for the next step in their little dance. A frayed brown cloak covered her back, denoting her humble upbringing; it was the only thing she had brought with her to the castle, the last vestige of her old life. Its hood had been thrown back to provide her with a better field of vision, revealing a short cut mane of unbrushed dark blue hair. Her eyes, a similar shade of blue when open, were clenched shut as tight as they could go as she attempted to feel the energy flowing around her.
Her ears perked up a second later as her eyes flew open. Her pupils were gone now, replaced with blinding blue light. Just as they opened, the sound of electricity crackling burst forth from the corner of the room as the spear flew at her from behind. Her head tilted toward it with her horn aglow, sending the shaft glancing off a barrier of thin blue energy. It clattered to the ground, rotated, and disappeared once more in another blinding burst of sparks.
It came from directly above next, descending upon the filly with force enough to drive her into the cold marble floor. Her head lifted and another barrier appeared, ricocheting the spear toward the tapestry-coated wall to her left. As it impacted upon a expertly quilted depiction of a group of unicorns raising the sun and the moon, the spear once more burst into a shower of sparks, reappearing with the same momentum a few feet in front of her.
"Deflecting it won't end this, Clover. You know what spell you need, now use it!" The old sorcerer prepared to teleport the spear away once more, just in case his student chose to redirect the spear again.
The rough-hewn shaft of oak wood sped toward her just as she lowered her head. Her eyes still blazed with pale blue light, her horn lit with that same sky-tinted aura; she braced herself for the oncoming force of the spear. Her muscles tightened as her body tensed. She knew the spell, had practiced it countless times in the library, the courtyard, even on the battlements during her nightly walks. Yet now that the time had come to put it to use, her mind drew a blank.
She's forgotten... Either that or her nerves are getting to her. Stage fright, though on a far more dramatic level. This doesn't bode well for the rest of her training. If she can't even pull her mind together for something as simple as defending herself, she'll never reach a point where she'll be able to protect th- His thoughts shifted as the little filly let out a scream from the other end of the room.
She cried out just as the headless pike reached her, an anguished sound full of desperation and fear. Her head jerked up, the magic emanating from her horn leaving a trail of light blue energy in its wake as she reared up onto her hind legs. All at once the spear halted mid-flight, just inches from its collision with the the tiny mage. A translucent wall of what appeared to be solidified lightning held the long wooden pole in place. Blue and white, the multitude of thin strands of electricity began to spread, growing like some aqua-tinged crack in the very fabric of the world itself. They spread out through the air from their focal point in front of the spear's flattened point.
The old wizard looked on as the tiny barrier spread out, forming a bulwark in front of the filly that extended from wall to wall. The tables stacked up to either side of the room were slowly pushed aside as the growing storm of arcane energy brushed up against them. Finally, upon reaching the cold cobblestone walls of the cavernous dining hall, the limit of the little sorceress' power was reached. Unable to extend any further, the serpentine branches of lightning began to pulse violently. The filly clenched her teeth and, as the light drained out of her eyes, the spell reached its pinnacle.
With one final cry she released her grip on the spell and dropped back to all fours. As she did so, the wall of electricity began to collapse, falling not to the floor, but inward upon itself. The bolts suddenly sped up, being drawn together into the epicenter of the spell. Yet they did not seem to be satisfied with simply ceasing to exist, preferring instead to take something away from the world with them. The old sorcerer was well aware of that intention and quickly drew upon his own considerable power in preparation for what would happen next.
Haha... I guess I spoke too soon. All she needed was the proper incentive and it all fell into place.
The lightning channeled itself into the spear it had caught in its pulsating web of energy. The entire wall of arcane electricity slowly funneled into the simple wooden weapon, filling it with a bright blue light that grew ever more intense as more and more of the energy entered it. Cracks began to appear along its surface as the wood splintered under the stress of having to contain so much energy. When the last of the volts finally entered it, all of the eerie blue light had left the filly's eyes. She blinked several times, clearly confused by what she was seeing. "M-Master? I don't... I don't understand. Did I do something wrong? Why didn't it bre-"
The sheer force of the explosion drowned out the rest of the word, sucking sound from the entire room as the spear burst into a million tiny, magically-charged shards. The blast was focused into a single direction, sending the hail of electrical splinters rocketting directly away from the filly. She felt none of the force of it, nor would anyone standing in any part of the room other than that which fell directly ahead of her; right where her mentor was standing.
The hurricane of wood and arcane lightning impacted upon the shimmering gold energy of his spell, disintegrating harmlessly as they made contact with the master's defenses. Lightning crackled as the last of shards struck the magical redoubt, resulting in one final wave of sparks that spattered lifelessly to the floor. "Well well, that was not exactly what I was expecting. Where did that little display come from, Clover?"
The filly looked up at him as the old unicorn made his way over to her, her cheek flushing a deep pink color as realization swept over her. "I... I um... I forgot the spell, sir. I got scared, I didn't want the spear to hit me-"
"Nor should you. I'm not here to train masochists. I train only the most powerful of this kingdom's future leaders. And if there's one thing that you've proven here today, it's that you have more than enough power to be counted as such."
Her blush deepened, sending a deep red color streaking through her face just beneath her thin coat of mint-colored fur.
"Now then, where did you learn such a spell? I know I'm getting on in years, but I'm still fairly certain I didn't teach that one to you."
The filly's eyes darted to the door for a brief moment as something moved into the dining hall from the passage outside. Her master did not seem to notice, far too intent on learning the source of the spell she had managed to conjure up at the last possible moment. "Uh, well sir, I um... Well I sort of, um..." The words stuck in her throat. She had made the spell up on the spot, twisting it from scraps and fragments of other incantations she had learned throughout her training. Yet explaining such a thing to one of the greatest sorcerers to have ever lived was something that the little filly was thoroughly unprepared to attempt. "I uh... It... It was just something I picked up..."
"Picked up?" The old stallion was now just a foot or so away from her, peering down at her with eyes that seemed to be looking at her soul rather than her progressively reddening face. "Picked up from where, if I might be so bold as to ask?"
"I, I, I just... picked up from... uh... from... picked up from-"
"Master Star Swirl!" The voice came from just behind the old wizard, sending such a shock through him that Clover was almost certain he was about to jump out of his skin. He maintained his composure, though just barely. She had watched as the black-and-white haired stallion had quietly made his way into the dining hall and over to where they were standing, carefully staying just out of her master's peripherals. The thin aura that was just fading from his horn and hooves suggested that he may have cast some form of silencing charm on himself to mask his approach.
She was relieved to have the tension of the moment broken and the spotlight off her for the moment, but more over she was excited for what the appearance of this cloaked and hooded stallion meant. "Master Ardent! You're back! Does this mean they're here? Did you bring them with you? Or are they on they're way, at least?" Her excitement was almost palpable; the troubled thoughts that had plagued her mind just moments before vanished the second that she realized what the young sorcerer's presence meant.
Star Swirl turned to face his other student, taking just a moment to roll his eyes at Clover's reaction. "Ardent... You're late. We had expected you back here two weeks ago. What happened? I had to reassure your sister that I hadn't sent you off on some sort of suicide mission just to get her to stop pestering me about it. She's thoroughly convinced that your dead on the side of a mountain somewhere."
"...Good to see you as well, master. You as well, Clover." He nodded to the little sorceress bouncing up and down beside the bearded spell-weaver. "As for the delay, there was just a little altercation that I had to deal with along the way. It took me about a day to clear it all up, but because of it I didn't arrive at the mountain until after our appointment. I had to wait for an extra week before the good Lord could make time to meet with me."
"I see... An altercation you say. What sort of altercation was this one? The sort involving fallen rocks, blocked tunnels, or broken trails?"
"The sort that has feathers, fur, talons, claws, and no sense of self-preservation. Its getting a little predictable; I run across a group just about every time I enter those mountains, and every single one seems intent on starting trouble. I swear its like they WANT me to kiii..." He suddenly remembered the young filly hanging upon their every word and thought better of explaining how he had done away with the latest brood of airborne predators. "...kiii-ut around their entire mountain range. So... uh... yeah, my apologies that it took so much longer than expected, but its done. The ambassadors are waiting in your lounge as we speak."
"I see. Well then I suppose thats all that matters. We'll speak more of these... altercations of yours after the feast. Speaking of which: Clover, would you be a dear and go inform the chefs that the feast will be held tonight? I'd send Ardent but something tells me he has a slightly more pressing matter to deal with right now." He gave his older student a side glance that seemed to fully convey his feelings on the matter better than any words could.
Ardent gulped nervously as he suddenly remembered what the old unicorn had said about his sister. "I uh... I should go. She'll be in the medical ward still, right?"
Star Swirl nodded.
"Good... Something tells me I'm going to be grateful for that once I'm done explaining this to her..." He retreated back out of the dining hall to make his way down to the hospital wing and the imminent beating that awaited him there.
"But... But Master, can't I come meet the dragons with you? I was reeeeeeeeeealy looking forward to finally seeing one." Clover's eyes seemed ready to leap from her face as she emphasized her disappointment.
"Now now, I'm not saying you can't come meet them. You just have to head down and talk to the chefs first. If you can figure out some way to do that and then make it up to my tower before they depart for their rooms, you're more than welcome to introduce yourself. So if I were you, I'd take this as an opportunity to practice that new spell you were supposed to be studying. Teleportation is an essential skill for any young sorceress to master... Now get to it! I don't plan on keeping these ambassadors waiting any longer than they already have!"
With that, the pair went their separate ways. Clover dashed from the room in the blink of an eye, desperate to get her errand over and done with as quickly as possible. Star Swirl, however, proceeded up to his tower at a much more leisurely pace. Damn dragons. Just because they don't have to worry about aging they think time doesn't apply to them. A day or two I could understand, but to keep a messenger of mine waiting for an entire week without audience is just insulting.
The climb seemed longer every time the old stallion made it. The winding staircase stretched up and up from the back of the castle, ascending the length of the tower where he had chosen to make his home. On any other day a simple teleportation spell would have gotten him from the dining hall to the pinnacle of his turret in a matter of seconds, but today was special. Today, he felt like spitting the young ambassadors for their lord's arrogance.
His hooves clacked against the aging grey cobbles of the stairs, the sound echoing up through the hollow round spire. The cracked stones had been used by over two dozen different grandmasters before him, yet none had managed to attain feats even half as great as he in their lifetimes. I'll be remembered, there's no doubt about that. But there's so much more I could be accomplishing. If I only had more time...
His life had already been a long one, though not yet outside the bounds of what a typical healthy unicorn could be expected to survive. Dragons might be true immortals, but the unicorn race was about as close as most mortal creatures could hope to get to that goal. Centuries could pass before they would even begin to feel the first real pains of aging. Their numbers were not be as vast as the pegasi's, and certainly no where near the population that earth ponies had managed to accumulate; their short lifespans pushed them toward procreation on an almost unnatural scale. Yet so long as the unicorns had their longevity, they could at the very least hope to outlast their lesser cousins on both sides.
Not that it will ever come to that, of course. Age might be our greatest tool, but knowledge is still our best weapon against extinction. The issue had weighed heavily upon his mind for years, yet it was only over the last few months that it had truly jumped to the forefront if his attention. Perhaps it was the latest influx of earth pony peasants, so many useless mouths that would need both food and shelter before the next winter came. Perhaps it had been the recent development with the dragons that had caused his nightmares to turn to premonition; dark visions of the end of their mighty kingdom, the fall of magic, and the extinction of the unicorns as a whole.
More likely, it was the fact he was now feeling the opening strains and aches of old age. Presented with the possibility that his own end might be upon him before to long, his thoughts had turned to ensuring the survival of his entire race. If he could succeed in preventing the inevitable, not only would he be remembered as a hero, but he could pass from this world satisfied; knowing that he had truly been able to make a difference.
And it was that justification that had brought him to the situation he now faced. Its all for the greater good... He reached the landing halfway up the tower which housed his private library. Opening the door, he found a pair of young dragons conversing with each other. Between them sat a large box constructed from freshly-cut oaken planks. Sap was sluggishly seeping out from the holes the nails had been hammered into to hold it together; a sticky puddle beginning to form upon the beautiful red carpet beneath it. ...All for the greater good...
He stepped inside the lounge below the library's first floor, slowly shutting the door behind him with a very deliberate, calm pace. The pair of ambassadors turned at once as the hinges creaked loudly. "Ah, at last. We were beginning to wonder if you'd had some joule on those stairs. We were just about to send someone to carry you."
The pair were of a similar height with one another, at least twice as tall as Star Swirl himself. Both had a pair of horns jutting from the back of their heads, adding a few more inches to their height. Both were slender in frame and wiry in muscle, bright orange scales covered their bodies in a mosaic of complex patterns, broken up intermittently by the occasional grey-white bone spike. Their eyes were their only noticeable difference that set them apart from one another; one gazing through a pair dark green orbs set deep in his skull, while the other stared forth with two globes of pale blue ice.
They spoke in polite-enough tones, yet the subtle hiss of the western mountain broods; likely chosen for this task specifically for their ability to communicate in the unicorn's language so fluently. The old wizard had to exert a near physical effort to keep his contempt for the pair of them in check. Give a snake a pair of wings and he instantly thinks himself a dragon... These two may be from the Old Lord's brood, but neither one will ever be a match for the kind of power that ancient bastard possesses.
He stepped forward, a welcoming smile painfully chiseled on his face. "I'm not so old yet that I can't climb my own stair case. Getting there, to be sure, but not quite yet. Thank you for your concern though..." He tilted his head, gesturing subtly for their names. Damned if I'll introduce myself before these two do.
"Scorch"
"Igneous"
...How original..."It's a pleasure to meet you both... Now would I be correct in assuming that we have quite a bit to discuss?"
"Quite a bit and more I'd say..." The drake's tone was filling with more and more contempt with each word. Star Swirl was still a bit uncertain as to what their visit was all about, but he had a growing suspicion as to its nature. The young dragons' attitudes was doing little to set his fears to rest.
"Well then we'd best get started. I'd like to be done with this little meeting before my apprentice shows up... She's been greatly looking forward to seeing a real live dragon and I assured her that you'd be perfectly happy to meet her."
The ambassadors shifted uneasily, but made no effort to refuse. "If you insist. I must agree, we should get this over with. Now." The pair gripped the top portion of the crate and began to disassemble the lid. Star Swirl walked over to them cautiously, making note of his surroundings carefully as he went. The wards are up, everything seems to be in place, and these two have likely not spoken a word of this to anyone they've met here yet. Too good to talk to such lowly creatures as us, I'm sure. Their contempt works in my favor this time, at least.
The boards making up the top of the crate came loose with a loud creak. "We would like to ask you to identify this... creature for us, if you would be so kind." They placed the bent planks upon the floor and tilted the crate until whatever was held within began to tumble toward the opening. "Lord Cinderrake has deemed that it is of no species he has ever seen in his considerable time in this land. He requests to be informed as its origins and, if you can surmise it, what it was doing roaming about upon his mountain side."
The corpse rolled out onto the oak boards. Lifeless and absent of blood, the body seemed to have been entirely untouched by decomposition. Nonetheless, the sight of it was disturbing enough even without the presence of decay. About the size of a young colt, the creature seemed to be a diminutive amalgamation of abandoned limbs. Its body seemed to be that of a pony, slim but not without muscle. Its hind legs had hooves, but not those that the equine races possessed. These appeared to be the cloven, stomping tools of the minotaurs. Its front legs seemed dragonic in nature, with blue scales and serrated ivory claws. Its head was unidentifiable, the skull crushed by what he could only assume must have been some sort of heavy stone based on the severity of the impact marks. Yet protruding from the pulverized mass of blood-less gore was a single, broken horn.
The sight filled him with disgust. He knew the creature well enough, had raised it in secrecy for more than a year before its untimely escape only a few months prior to this little meeting. How could it have covered that much distance so quickly? And why?! Why did it have to be the dragons who found it? If Ardent's damned gryphons had come across it first they'd of made short work of the poor beast and done away with its remains quickly and cleanly. The world would have been none the wiser. But this... This is getting too messy already.
He had hoped the ambassadors would have left it at a simple request. He could have worked with that, could have ignored the way they were looking at him, the smug way they spoke. He could have forgiven them for the way they acted so superior to him, if they had only kept their forked tongues to themselves. Of course, things are rarely that simple.
"You should know that it suffered quite badly in its final moments... Does it look familiar to you, Star Swirl? I'd imagine it would. Our old Lord didn't have the heart to say it, but we all know this... thing was your doing. Might as well just admit it so we can get to the real question." The green-eyed drake stepped forward as his partner continued where he'd left off.
"You remember a few years back, I'd wager. When one of our noble families came to visit your vulnerable little city? They were dear friends of The Lord Cinderrake; cousins of his by some accounts. A male the was, and his mate." The blue-eyed dragon made the next move, walking to the old sorcerer's left as the first ambassador spoke again.
"And, of course, their children had accompanied them. These pony cities of yours are fabled for being such welcoming, peaceful places; a far-cry from the hardships of the western mountain ranges. Three children there were, if I'm not mistaken. What were their names again, brother?"
Scorch was just inches from Star Swirl as he passed the conversation back to Igneous. "Oh who can remember after all this time? Their colors stand out in my memory though. The eldest was red, like her father." Another step toward the old unicorn. "The middle one was... purple, was it? Yes, yes, of course, just a few shades lighter than his mother." He was past Star Swirl now, between him and the door. "And the youngest, little more than a hatchling when they made the journey..." He turned, gazing at the old stallion with unfathomable hatred in his icy blue eyes. "Was blue."
Scorch grasped Star Swirl's shoulder and the old wizard allowed himself to be brought face to face with the seething lizard. "And do you recall what happened while they were in your fine little city? What tragedy cut their lovely visit short?" His breath was a vile concoction of sulfur and rotten meat as it puffed forth into Star Swirl's nostrils. "By some unfortunate and inexplicable twist of fate, their youngest mysteriously went missing. Without a trace. In this very castle. Under your rule."
Mage-Hunters... No wonder they seem so confident. Well then wards are going to do little for me now. Looks like its time to fall back on plan B. "Speak your meaning, serpents, I don't have time for games. Unlike your with kind, time is a precious thing for me. Are you here to accuse me of something or just prattle on about ancient history?"
The rage manifested in a near physical form just behind the Scorch's eyes; his broth wore a similar expression just outside of Star Swirl's peripheral range. "You know damn well what we're here to do, oh great bearded one... Confess and we'll make it easy on you: we'll cut you down nice and quickly right here instead of dragging you back to the mountain so the whole brood can get a piece of you." He brandished his formidable, dagger-like claws in front of Star Swirl's face.
"I see... Well then, in that case, I suppose I have little choice. Of course I did it. I kidnapped the youngest of the Bursttooth brood, he was easily the one who was of the least use to the world."
Igneous bared his teeth as he turned to face the door, unwilling to look at the monster as he told his tale.
"I took him in the dead of night, quiet as could be."
A shadow moved just beyond the door, barely a flicker of light, yet enough that the blue-eyed drake took notice.
"I brought him down to the dungeons while the rest of the castle still slept and held him there for days while the search commenced upstairs."
He moved toward the entrance slowly, quietly.
"It wasn't until after the rest of the family had departed that I finally got around to working on him."
The shadow had withdrawn, yet whatever was out there remained.
"I knew I needed the brain, yet the arms seemed too well-developed to waste. I even considered using the tail before I thought better of it."
There was a soft whispering coming from just beyond the heavy old timber door, too quiet for him to make out the words.
"You should know that it suffered quite badly in its final moments."
"ENOUGH!!!" The green-eyed dragon lunged at the old wizard, unable to listen any longer. He didn't notice his brother returning to his side, didn't notice the way the light was shifting in the room, didn't notice the way several of the shadows had begun to bend toward the door. All he could think about was taking shutting up the old murderer who had so viciously insulted his family.
Star Swirl attempted to fend him off with a wave of arcane energy, but the spell simply broke around him. The drake's scales rippled with color as the magic washed harmlessly across them. "Not this time! You're not going to cheat fate today!" His claws closed around the wizard's neck, drowning out a final attempt to speak before it could even begin.
The world began to spin as he struggled to breath, fully conscious of the fact that he had brought this on himself by not considering this turn of events ahead of time. Well, this will certainly be quite the scene for Clover to walk in on... Wonder how she'll react. Such a smart girl. I'm sure she'll f- His thoughts blurred as oxygen suddenly rushed into his lungs once more. The next thing he knew he was on the ground, panting and wheezing as the two dragons struggled with one another a few feet away.
Tears ran down the sides of the blue-eyed drake's face as he fought his brother into submission. His movements were jerky and unnatural, but filled with a strength that Scorch was unable to contend with. A moment later, Igneous had him pinned; thoroughly incapacitated and at the mercy of the same dark energy that was working its will on his brother's body. "No! NO! What is this?! Get off of me! Let go! LET GO OF ME!!!"
The wards set around the room absorbed the screams of protest, deafening the outside world to the struggle going on within the little library. Well at least those ones were worth keeping up... "I trust you heard what was said here, did you not?"
The door opened slowly as a bruised and haggard-looking Ardent struggled to walk inside. His horn was alight with black fire, anchoring the elongated outlines of the two young drakes. Their shadows were cast across the floor leading up to the door, right to where the cloaked stallion stood. They wrapped about his front legs, climbing up his shoulder neck. They crisscrossed his face directly over his mussel and his eyes before connecting to the flames that coated his horn.
"They... They said they intended to cut... cut you down here and now. Assassins, just like... Just like you said they would be." His breathing strained as he made the dragons stand back up. Both brothers had tears running down their faces now as their eyes twisted in their sockets; both common signs of a conscious mind trapped within a body that it no longer had control over.
He made the wipe away the tears as they stood back up, their wings spreading and folding uncontrollably as they walked back to the crate to put it back together. "I didn't... I didn't hear anything else of... of any... consequence." Ardent's legs began to shake as more and more of his energy went into maintaining the spell.
Relief washed over the old wizard's mind as he began to lend his steward a portion of his own power. "Indeed, and I won't soon forget that. You did a fine job. I must admit, I can't remember the last time I felt that helpless. It's not a situation I ever want to relive. We'll have to look into what it is about these two that lets their scales deflect magic so easily... But there will be plenty of time for that later. For now though, lets just make this scene a little less suspicious."
The old unicorn's horn it up for a moment as the crate containing the abomination faded from the room in a flash of golden light. The next few spells he cast hid Ardent's flames, rearranged the shadows so they looked normal once more, and froze the drakes' eyes in place. No less than a minute later a loud electrical sizzle echoed up the staircase. A few moments after the sound died away a smoking, exhausted looking Clover came rushing up to the door.
She knocked once and was greeted by Star Swirl himself. As he welcomed her in he introduced the pair of ambassadors to her. Her eyes widened with excitement as the pair spread their wings, bowed to her, and said how pleased they were to meet the grandmaster's most promising new apprentice. The next fifteen minutes were everything Clover had hoped for and more. She was so ecstatic that she barely even noticed how jerky and stiff the dragons' movements were.
"I'm just so sorry we can't stay longer." The blue-eyed dragon seemed to be addressing her just as much as he was Star Swirl. "I'm afraid we'll be departing in just a matter of hours. It was a pleasure to meet both of you."
Star Swirl spoke for the both of them when he assured the ambassadors that they were welcome back any time the wished. "My steward will gladly show you to a fine guest chamber we prepared for you both so you can get a quick bit of rest in before you go. Give my regards to Old Lord when you get back."
They followed Ardent out and down the stairs as Star Swirl turned his attention to Clover. The little unicorn smiled up at him, her slightly singed mane still trailing a few thin tendrils of smoke. "So would it be safe to assume that they were to your liking?"
Her expression was answer enough. The grin she wore had not shrunk in the least since the drakes had departed. "They were even more amazing than I thought they'd be. When are they going to visit again?"
"Oh, it will probably be quite some time before we're graced by their presence once more, I'm afraid. You were one of the lucky few who actually got to speak with them this time around." His eyes fell to her mane once more. "I take it the teleportation spell still needs some work?"
Embarrassment passed across her face, turning her excited grin to one of sheepishness. "I um... It got me from the kitchen to the main hall, but then down to the courtyard instead of up here. I tried adjusting it and ended up only getting about half way up the stairs. So I just ran the rest of the way." She finally seemed to notice the tiny lines of smoke slithering up off the frayed and blackened ends of her hair. "And I may have used a little too much power on the one that brought me up the stairs..."
The old mage could not help but laugh. After all that had transpired over just the last half-hour, the little sorceress' training suddenly seemed like the most inconsequential thing in the world. "We'll no matter, my dear. You'll master it soon enough. Now then, what do you say you show me how you stopped that spear downstairs again? I'd very much like a chance to study your technique a bit more."
The rest of the night passed by without consequence. The dungeons were silent but for the rattling of a few locks and chains. The kitchens rang with the clatter of pots and pans. The halls burned bright as the torches were relit. And the grandmaster's tower blazed with a vibrant storm of blue and green and yellow as spells were cast and examined within its stony confines.
By midnight that evening, the entire castle was still. Everyone had turned in for the night, unconcerned with the troubles of the world. Stillness filled the air.