The Rise Of The Shadow Walkers
Chapter Two: What Are Friends For?
Stardust stood there struggling with the choice presented to him, his research, or his friend. His eyes darted back and forth rapidly as he thought. He finally closed his eyes and hung his head with a sigh. He looked back up into Sunflare’s eyes. “Sunflare, I…..I…”
Sunflare raised a hoof to silence him. “Stardust, it’s ok, I can see you’re struggling with this. I shouldn’t be forcing you to give up on something you like so much.”
“Really?” Stardust asked.
“Of course, what kind of friend am I for forcing you to make such a choice?” Sunflare said with a smile.
Stardust smiled back. “Thanks Sunflare, that means a lot to me.”
Sunflare continued. “Which is why I’m going to help you with your research.”
“I’m glad you….wait, what?” Stardust said, looking shocked.
“I’m going to help you.” She said again with an innocent smile.
“But…..Sunflare, what if we get caught, we’d both get banished.” Stardust argued.
“Then we’ll both get banished. I’m not about to let you face that alone knucklehead.” Sunflare said.
“But Sunflare….” Stardust began before he was silenced again by Sunflare shoving a hoof on his mouth.
“AH, I am not about to abandon you. How long have I been your assistant?” She asked as she pulled her hoof away.
“Didn’t I just ask you the same question?”
“You did, and now I’m asking you to make sure you remember.” She said with a smirk.
Stardust gave a flat look. “You’ve been my assistant for fifteen years and we’ve known each other for twenty.” He answered dryly.
“Exactly, which means YOU should know I’m not about to let you face this alone. I’m helping you and that’s final.” Sunflare said with finality, leaving no room to argue.
Stardust smiled as he shook his head. “Thank you Sunflare, this means a lot to me.”
“What are friends for?” She asked.
“Excuse me.” Came a nasaly snooty voice from the side.
Stardust and Sunflare faced the source to see a slender unicorn stallion wearing a fancy green colored suit with a green coat, a dark green mane and tail, grey eyes, and a dark red book for a cutie mark. “Oh, council pony Snooty. Hello there.” Sunflare greeted.
“Your blocking the hall way you know?” Snooty pointed out.
“Terribly sorry sir.” Stardust said as he and Sunflare steeped to the side to let him by.
Snooty took a glance at Sunflare. “And where are you going with that?” He asked as he pointed a hoof at Sunflare’s forgotten bowl of soup.
Sunflare looked at the bowl still floating next to her. “Oh, this, I had forgotten I had this.” She said with a nervous smile.
Snooty raised an eyebrow. “Really? You do know food is to stay IN the mess hall, don’t you? You haven’t forgotten the rules too have you?” He asked.
“Of course not sir.” Sunflare said. “Terribly sorry, I just got lost in….a….discussion me and Stardust were having.
“If you intend to finish that, you had best take it back to the mess hall at once and eat it there. Good day Sunflare, Stardust.” Snooty said as he walked past them to the mess hall.
After passing, Sunflare gave a shiver. “Hoo, there is just something about him that gives me the creeps, he reminds me of a…a…”
“A snake in the grass?” Stardust offered with a smirk.
Stardust giggled. “Not what I was going for, but it works. Come on, let’s head back before we’re caught breaking any more rules.”
“Sure thing.” Stardust said as he and Sunflare started back. “You know, I was about to say I’d choose my research right?” Stardust suddenly pointed out.
Sunflare looked at him with a smile. “Oh really?” She said, not really believing him.
“Really, if you were making me have to give up on my research, I would have left you then and there and found myself a new assistant.”
“Good luck finding one to match MY good looks.” Sunflare stated as she flipped her mane.
Stardust raised a hoof to his forehead and overdramatically spoke. “Oh, where shall I ever find another beautiful assistant to help me keep up my rugged good looks?” He then just looked at her. The two shared a good laugh after that and returned to their original seat. “Sunflare?” Stardust said after sitting back down.
“Yes?”
“I….well….that is…..” He paused, only for a second. “Thank you, I feel really lucky to have a friend like you.”
“Yeah, friend.” Sunflare said as she looked to the side.
Stardust looked at her with concern. “Is something wrong?”
Sunflare looked back at Stardust and smiled. “No, I’m fine.”
“If you’re sure. Then after lunch, I’ll take you to where I….” Stardust stopped. He looked around quickly to make sure no pony was within earshot. Once he was sure no pony was close enough to hear, he leaned across the table and whispered. “Where I do my magic research.”
“Sounds like fun.” Sunflare whispered back.
Later on, after they had finished their lunch, the two made their way out the front doors of the castle and down the steps into the town wearing brown cloaks with their hoods up. Around the castle were stone houses with wooden stands set up. Ponies were selling fruits, vegetables, and other things while other ponies went about their day buying things or just walking through the town. The Sky was covered with grey clouds today as Sunflare and Stardust made their way through town with Stardust leading the way.
They walked for a while, almost to the edge of town before Stardust approached a house. It was an unassuming stone structure with a wooden door and two windows in the front. “Here we are.” Stardust said as he used his magic to open the door and walked in. The two put their hoods down as they entered.
“You have a home outside the castle?” Sunflare asked, seeming surprised by this fact.
The room they entered into from the front door had a stone fireplace on the right with a black kettle hanging over it. Near the center of the room was a wooden table with a few scrolls and books strewn about and a single candle at the center. On the left was a set of stairs leading to the second floor. Along the wall of the staircase was a book shelf with books sloppily placed on it. “It’s kind of a mess.” Sunflare observed.
Stardust walked up to the table and began organizing the papers. “Well it’s not like I have company over here often. Besides, I don’t live here, I use this place for conducting my experiments when I can get away from the castle. It’s too risky to do them in the castle where some pony could walk in on me and catch me, so I got a place here. I use this house for my research and conduct my experiments.”
“Clever.” Sunflare stated. “So what now?”
Stardust faced her. “Come here, I’ll show you a sample of the fruits of my work.” Sunflare walked closer to Stardust and joined him at the table. “Watch this.” He said as he eyed the candle on the table. Stardust lit up his horn and, just like that, the candle lit up.
“By the gods.” Sunflare expressed. “How did you do that?” She asked as her eyes were glued to the candle.
“Magic of course.” He said proudly with a hoof to his chest, his head raised and his eyes closed.
“But….how?” She asked again. She raised a hoof and moved it to the flame, thinking she could poke it like it was solid. “OW!” She quickly pulled her hoof back from the flame. It just wavered a bit from her touch and continued to burn. “It’s hot.”
Stardust rolled his eyes with a smirk. “This is just a sample of what I discovered magic can do. Now watch this.” He then turned to the fireplace and did the same thing. With a poof, a fire started burning within the fireplace and provided warmth for the cold room.
Sunflare stared at the fire in awe. “That’s….that’s amazing. You discovered this with your research?”
“I did, and so much more. Think of how much easier our lives could be with this kind of knowledge. We could heal wounds more easily, we could light fires easier or provide light where it is needed. We could do so much with it.” Stardust said as he got more and more excited at the thought.
Sunflare suddenly sounded unsure. “I…I don’t know Stardust. Magic to control fire? That seems kind of dangerous, doesn’t it?”
“Only if you don’t know what you’re doing or how the spell works, believe me, I learned that the hard way.” Stardust said as he looked to the side.
Sunflare raised an eyebrow. “Wait….is that why you were wearing a cloak all day every day for two weeks that one time?”
Stardust gave a flat look. “I don’t want to talk about it.” He stated flatly.
“I don’t know Stardust, this all seems so much now.” Sunfalre said as she looked to the side.
Stardust took her by the shoulders and was nearly nose to nose with her as he looked her in the eyes. “Please Sunflare, you said you wanted to help, and it feels so good to finally let somepony in on this. Please don’t back out now, I need you.”
Those words sent a blush to Sunflare’s cheeks. “You….need me?” She asked.
“Of course I do. Now that I think about it, this would be so much easier if you helped me with this. Please Sunflare.”
“Oh, you’re research, right.” She said a little sadly. Stardust didn’t pick up on this and stayed silent, waiting for Sunflare’s answer. She looked him in the eyes. “All right Stardust, I said I would help, and I’ll stand by that. I promise.” She gave a smile.
Stardust grinned from ear to ear. “YES, thank you thank you thank you!” Stardust took Sunflare in a tight hug.
Sunflare blushed a little at the contact with a smile.
Stardust released and looked her in the eyes. “Sunflare, you are amazing.” He then turned back around and went back to the table.
“Sunflare, you idiot, why is this so hard?” Sunflare asked herself internally. “So Stardust, what else have you found out with magic?”
Stardust was going over his scrolls as he began. “Oh, I have found so much already, we can do so much with magic, not just levitate things and other trivial tasks. I managed to come up with a spell that allows one to move from one spot to another almost instantaneously.”
“You what? A spell that can move ponies from one place to another instantly?” She asked surprised.
“Yes, I have been going through my research extensively to make sure how it can be done properly and such. If it isn’t done right, it can be dangerous for the user, but it would be useful in case of an emergency. Watch, I’m going to demonstrate by moving myself from this spot to the other side of the table.”
“Are you sure it’s safe Stardust?” Sunflare asked.
“Don’t worry, I’ve tested it on objects before and moved them around just fine. I know what I’m doing. Now watch.” Stardust closed his eyes and focused his inner magic. His horn lit up with his aura and, in a flash, he vanished from where he was, and in another flash, appeared right where he wanted. “HA HA! IT WORKED, it actually worked, I did it!” He cheered as he smiled.
Sunflare was surprised and confused. “That is amazing Stardust, but why do you seem so surprised it worked? Didn’t you say you tested it before?”
“On objects, yes, but that was the first time I tried it myself. AND IT WORKED! Now do you see how useful magic can be if we learn all we can from it?”
“I do Stardust, but how are we going to get this information out if the council forbids such things. If you try to present this, they’ll banish you for sure for going behind their backs and conducting such experiments.” Sunflare said with more concern.
Stardust’s mood dropped. “I know that Sunflare, I need to think of someway to convince the council this is a good thing. I need more time to come up with something. In the meantime, I need to keep working with this, I’m on the verge of a major discovery involving magic.”
“Really, like what?” Sunflare asked with genuine interest.
“I’m not sure yet, but I think there may be another kind of magic out there, a kind we don’t even know about yet.”
“A new kind of magic? Really? Like what?”
“I don’t know, I need to work on my findings more before I make any conclusions. I was planning on conducting an experiment later tonight to try and allow me access to this new kind of magic.”
“Look Stardust, this is great and all, but I need to get back to the castle. I do have other duties to attend to after all.” Sunflare said. “Good luck with your experiment.” She put her hood up and started heading for the door.
“Sunflare, wait.” Stardust called to her.
Sunflare stopped in her tracks. She turned to face Stardust. “Yes?”
“Don’t you want to be here for when I conduct my experiment tonight?” He asked.
“I think that might not be a good idea, I’ll be missed if I come tonight. That could raise suspicion and others would come looking for me. That could end up leading them to your place here and find all your research.” Sunflare pointed out.
“Oh, right, good thinking. All right then, I’ll be sure to let you know how it goes tomorrow when we see each other.” Stardust then gave a smile. “Thank you again for everything, I really appreciate this.”
Sunflare gave one back. “Sure, no problem Stardust, I’ll see you later back at the castle.” She then used her magic to open the door and headed out.
“Now, let’s continue where I left off.” Stardust said as he gathered his notes.
Sunflare had just exited her room in the castle after depositing her cloak. She started down the hall to where Stardust’s lab in the castle was to tend to her duties when she came across Auburn. “Ah, Sunflare, good to see you.” He said with a smile.
Sunflare kept a straight muzzle as she greeted back. “Hello Auburn, sir. How are you?”
“I’m doing fine thank you, I was wondering if you’d like to join me for dinner tonight?” Auburn asked.
“Sorry, but I have things I need to tend to tonight for Stardust, he needs me to check the stars tonight to make sure they are in order.” Sunflare stated. “Please excuse me.” She started to walk to get by Auburn.
Auburn quickly stepped in front of Sunflare to block her path. “Oh come now, I’m sure that silly pony can take care of it himself. Just forget that and join me for dinner.” Auburn persisted.
“Can’t he take a hint?” Sunflare asked herself. “Sorry, but I really need to do this, there is a lot of work to be done.”
Auburn frowned. “Do you have any idea how lucky a mare would be to be sought after by me?” He asked. “You should rethink your position.”
Sunflare kept her look straight. “I don’t need to rethink it, my mind is made up.”
Auburn glared at her. “It’s that fool Stardust isn’t it? You like him as more than just a friend.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” She stated confidently.
Auburn spread out his wings to make himself seem more threatening. “Don’t give me that, I’ve seen the way you look at him from time to time with those beautiful eyes of yours.”
“Oh gods, I think I’m going to be sick.” She thought to herself. “Council Pony Auburn, while I appreciate the compliment and all, I’m just not looking for a relationship.”
Auburn lowered his head closer to Sunflare. “I warn you Sunflare, I can make things difficult for you and your friend. Don’t cross me.” Auburn brought his head back up and walked off, leaving Sunflare alone.
Sunflare glared at Auburn as he walked off. “That son of a mule. Why can’t he just take a hint that I don’t like him?” Sunflare then continued on her way. “Why can’t I just tell Stardust how I feel?” She scowled at another thought. “Why does he have to be so thick headed? GUH, he can be so frustrating sometimes.” Her look then softened. “*Sigh* I don’t know, maybe I’m just thinking about this too much. Maybe I can think about this easier once I’ve had some rest.” Sunflare decided to forget that thought for now and focus on her duties.
The sun had set and night had fallen. The only light in the house Stardust had was from the single candle on the table and the lit fireplace. Stardust had just moved the table from the center of the room to just in front of the book case. He drew chalk lines on the floor in a circle with strange symbols and lines in it. “All right, by my calculations, this should give me results and help me come closer to discovering this new magic I may have found. Here goes nothing.” Stardust placed himself at the center of the circle, closed his eyes, spread out his wings, and lit up his horn. The circle and symbols began to glow an eerie purple and black. Stardust looked as if he were struggling as he clenched his eyes and teeth. He grunted the whole time as the black and purple rose from the edges of the circle.
Stardust’s body was almost no longer visible to one who would be standing outside the circle. The fire in the fireplace seemed to grow and roar while the flame on the candle seemed to grow more intense and started melting the wax faster. The air began to pick up and blow loose parchments about. “Al….most…there…” Stardust grunted out. The black and purple closed in and formed a dome around Stardust. It swirled violently and surged with dark power. A few seconds later, there was an explosion of magic that rocked the house.
Stardust slowly awoke from a daze after being out for gods know how long. He groaned as he opened his eyes. “Ooohh, my head, what hit me?” He asked. “Ugh, did it work?” He asked himself as he slowly rose. He stumbled a bit at first, but regained his balance and stood straight up. He placed a hoof on his head and rubbed it, hoping to relieve himself of the headache he had. “By the gods, what happened? WAIT! Did it work?” he asked himself. He looked himself over. “Strange, I don’t feel any different. Oh, don’t tell me it didn’t work. All that hard work and years of study wasted. Just great.”
Stardust used his magic to clean up the room by levitating all the papers up and back on the table. He then snuffed out the candle and put out the fire in the fire place. “Guess I need to do more research. I’d better get back to the castle and get to bed before I’m missed.” Stardust gathered his cloak and put it on. He exited the house and began his walk back to the castle in the night. There was a full moon out tonight with just a few clouds in the sky. What he failed to notice as he made his way through the empty streets to the castle was his shadow seemed to ripple a little in the moon light of the night.