//------------------------------// // 4.3 The Start of Something New, Redux // Story: Unforgiven Memories // by Hidden Brony //------------------------------// Disclaimer: I do not own Hasbro, My Little Pony or any characters, places, or events in the extended cannon, although it would be awesome if I did. In His Memory Chapter Three: The Start of Something New, Redux “Fetch me some mandrake root,” my master instructed me. “It should be with the rest of the components.” “I fail to see how this applies to teaching me War Magic,” I observed, like I did every time. His reply was the same as ever. “I am the master, and you the apprentice,” he said. “The day that you understand why you have done as I am having you do is the day that you can move on.” I grumbled to myself but did as he told me. Two floors down in his massive windowless tower was his storeroom. As I opened unlabeled drawer after unlabeled drawer looking for mandrake root, I reflected upon the trial days ago. ”It is the ruling of this court that—” the judge began, being cut off by the door slamming open. “What is the meaning of this?” ”Excuse me, pardon me,” a stallion said. I turned to look at him. He was a pale blue, with an orange mane and light red eyes. He continued apologising as he pushed his way through the small crowd of nobles that had formed in the courtroom. It wasn’t every day that the daughter of a national hero is on trial for lighting someone on fire, after all. This was the event of the decade. “Pardon, I’m sorry, I need to get through here.” “Who are you,” the judge asked, “and what are you doing?” “Name’s Sure Strike,” he said. “I’m here for the girl.” ”I should think not!” one of the three royal guards standing next to me—one to each side, one behind—scoffed. “There are proper legal channels for this kind of thing.” ”You think that I wouldn’t use the proper legal channels and just try to waltz in here and take her? No, that would be silly. I used them,” Sure Strike said happily. His horn lit up pale red as he pulled a small badge and a small sheaf of paper out of his saddlebag. “Captain Shining Armor’s orders,” he said. “Due to a threat in national security, Star is the newest recruit of the Warmage Division, effective immediately.” He put the papers and badge on the desk in front of the judge. “I am to take her to the tower and begin her training as soon as possible. I’m afraid having her locked up will be a bit of an issue.” When I found the root, I was very careful to not break off any pieces of the root as I picked it up with my mouth. It wouldn’t do to accidentally break it before it got to my master or ingest anything mandrake. The root itself acts as a hallucinogenic and hypnotic, which means that it makes you see and hear things then pass out. Plus it can cause diarrhea, which is not something I want to deal with ever, let alone now, when I’m so close to being able to pursue Starswirl. It was another two floors up to my master’s room where he was preparing. . . something. I’m not quite sure what. The room was fairly large, for a room in a tower. It was twenty foot square, made of stone, and had bookshelves everywhere. There were two doorways, the one I had come in through and the one leading to the other half of the floor: Warnage Sure Strike’s room. The stallion himself was standing by a table filled with over a dozen things he had me bring him over the past few days. Honeycombs sat next to petrified roots, and those both sat next to pickled cocatraice eyes. Those tasted nasty, let me tell you. He smiled when I walked into the room. “Ah, Star. You were faster this time,” he said. “I take it you’re getting the hang of that room, then?” I placed the root on the table next to him. “It would be much easier if I was able to use my magic,” I said, tapping the ring of blue metal around my horn. If I used my magic at all, it would turn red, same as if I tried to take it off. “I don’t understand how not using it makes me so much better at using it. It seems contradictory.” “You are an independently minded filly, aren’t you?” he asked. “You question everything and aren’t afraid to say your opinions.” “Because being meek and shy caused me to lose my father,” I said, sitting down in front of him. “Give me my next task, so we can move on to something important.” “You still haven’t learned,” he sighed. “How many times do we have to do this, Star? Time is of the essence, but—” “No buts,” I interrupted. “Every day we wait is another day that Starswirl has to hide and escape. The faster I learn how to use War Magic, the better.” “No matter how good you are,” he said, “you will never become a Warmage if you don’t have patience. That’s what I have been trying to get you to see!” He shook his head. “Your next task is to stay up on the roof all night. No books, no company, and no magic.” He stared in my eyes. “I want you to sit in the middle for the entire night. Don’t sleep, don’t stargaze, just sit. Think. We’ll talk at dawn.” I scoffed. “This is useless. What is the point of this?” “Star!” he exclaimed. “I am normally a patient man, but time is of the essence. We don’t have time to argue. Go up to the roof and meditate for the night.” I sat for a second. “Yes master,” I spat. As I was walking out, I heard him mumble. “If she could just learn.” He sighed. “What would you do, Moonlight?” The night was a beautiful one. The moon was full and there was nary a cloud for miles. The weather ponies did a good job, I was forced to admit. Remembering Master Strike’s instructions, I turned my eyes away from the stars. My hooves clacked against the stone of the roof as I walked to the middle. I wasn’t directly in the center, but there was only so much I could do without magically measuring the distances, and I couldn’t use magic. Deciding to humor Master Strike, I started thinking. I opened my mind and just let thoughts spill out. Many memories started to surface in an instant. ”You’re a fag? Ew! Get away from me, fag!” “I will not make fun of you, I promise. You can tell me.” “There’s the queer. I was beginning to think you had finally run off. Unfortunately, you decided to come back. Go to your bunk, no supper for you. “Why am I doing this? Why am I doing this? You call a filly who was able to open a portal to the Void useless, and you ask me why. You call her a freak because of how she was born, and you ask me why? Now I’m taking Star with me, and you aren’t stopping me, do you understand? If I’m ever back here, I will not hesitate to end you, should you have not ended your current practice. Find another vocation, Tender Hoof. You will find the denizens of the Void to be less than merciful. You won’t get off with a sore hoof next time.” "You don't need an excuse to come and hang out, Star. We're friends, aren't we?" "Stay here, I'm getting Premier out of that city, no matter what." "There is one of you that I wish to speak with. When I was on trial in the Empire for false charges, a stallion teleported in and saved not just my life, but the lives of Rainbow Dash and my daughter. I wish to see you again, to shake your hoof and get to know you. To make sure you know that I owe you for saving those I care about most. Thank you.” "Ah was sure this would get us our cutie marks, girls." "So Star, as you get older, your body changes—" "I already know this." "Thank gods." "Do–do you have tonight's homework?" “I would rather die a thousand deaths than let you get hurt.” The dawn greeted me, not judging me for the twinkling tears running down my face. He would have gladly died to keep me from getting hurt, but what if him dying is what hurt me? What then, Dad? "You're ready," Master Strike said from behind me. "Let's head to the field." —*~*~*— The smell of smoke and earth hung in my nostrils as I stood in the center of a desolated landscape. A muted red aura held trees high in the air, their roots dangling like fingers trying to grasp the charred grass and dirt that spread across the ground. The trees creaked in the air and clumps of dirt thumped onto the ground as they freed themselves from their perches in the roots. Fire danced gleefully across the branches of one of the trees, consuming the wooden giant from the top down. “Maybe we should take this a little slower,” I said hesitantly as I stared at my crimson-clad master. He had put on his War Mage robe on the way out. Well, “robe” isn’t the right word for what he was wearing. The closest description I can think of is a simple red shawl with magical sigils stitched into it with gold thread, all held in place with a replica of his cutie mark—a fire sigil. He glanced up at the trees. “Hmm,” he hummed in thought. “Maybe they’re a little much for a first timer.” The ground shook in sync with a loud crash as he just let them go, letting them fall into a tangled pile on the ground. I barely dove out of the way of a chunk of ice as it flew at me from the side. I rolled clumsily to my feet, exclaiming, “What the hell?” My maneuver earned me only a clod of dirt to the face. “We’re starting with the five basic elements,” he said, ignoring the best death glare I’ve ever given a living being. “And before you say anything, forget whatever you learned, no matter where you learned it. We don’t let even the very basics of Modern War Magic make it out to the general public." Another chunk of dirt was thrown my way. I jumped to the side, avoiding it narrowly enough to still get hit with a spray of grit. "Lesson one: everything is magic." The dirt curved around, smacking into the back of my head. "Everything. Dirt, fire, light, ponies. It's all held together with magic. Manipulate it. "Lesson two: sigils hold you back," he said as a flash of my magic cleaned me off. His own flash conjured a ball of fire. "Learn to work with raw magic, and the world will be in your reach." My eyes widened as it was launched my direction. I vanished, appearing on the other side of him, only to be met with another clod to the face. "Lesson three:" his lecture continued, nonchalant, "predict the enemy's moves, and bend them to your advantage." I levitated four clods of my own, throwing them at him from different directions. The charred dirt around him shot up into a dome, not only blocking my attacks but absorbing them, making his defense stronger. "Lesson four: versatility," he said from within the dome, still fully audible. "Don't be afraid to make your defense an offence." My eyes were forced open again as his dirt armor exploded outward. I teleported with a flash, appearing next to him and avoiding his impromptu attack. With a cry of frustration, I launched myself at him bodily. He didn't fight back magically like I thought he would, instead he matched me blow for blow, blocking my strikes, but not dealing his own in return. After a few seconds of this, he—infuriatingly enough without breaking stride—continued talking, "Lesson five: unpredictability. If the enemy can anticipate your next move and you can't return the favor, you lose." I was launched backwards as he exploded into scattering dirt. The real him used a small shield to keep clean as he let his his invisibility fade. "Lesson si—" he started, but I didn't let him finish. With a growl of anger, I threw raw magic at him to make him go away, not caring enough to shape it into a sigil first. A ball of what looked like pure light sunk into his chest as it sent him flying. I grinned as I collapsed, exhausted from the magic use and battle. I was left with nothing but a vague sense of tired satisfaction and the taste of dirt from the stubborn grits still in my mouth. An indeterminate amount of time later, I felt a hoof on my shoulder. Energy flowed into my body, and I felt my heavy eyelids rise. I turned my head to see my Master smiling, his mane slightly singed. "Glad you did that when you did," he said. "I had run out of lessons after the second one, and had been winging it." I groaned in response as I tried to stand up on shaky legs. His eyes flicked to my flank for a second, and I shot him a glare. I was still thirteen, damnit. "Congratulations, your training as a War Mage has come to an end. Recomend us to all your friends." "Wait, what?!" I exclaimed. "Well, if you send more ponies our way," he started with a smirk. "What do you mean I'm done?!" I shouted, interrupting in the space he left for that exact reason. "You hardly taught me anything, and you're already shipping me off as a washout?!" He stared at me for a second before chuckling. "You misunderstand me," he said. "Your training isn't just over, it's complete." "Didn't you say something about five elements?" I asked. "What happened to that?" "Frankly, that was to confuse and annoy you," he admitted. "Same with the lessons and the duel." "So you're telling me that everything we just did was to annoy me?" "The logical mind can't let go of the sigils it's spent its life learning," he explained. "It spends energy that could be used elsewhere finding some way to have what you want it to do make sense, and gives it up as impossible if it can't. I just made you mad enough that you forgot you were supposed to be using them.” He cracked his neck one way, then the other, sighing as he relaxed. “Without sigils, magic does what you want it to do, not what you tell it to do.” “So fetching your reagents?” “Annoying.” “The lecture on patience?” “Annoying.” “Your hypocrisy on patience?” “I’ve never been the most patient, but it was also to annoy you.” “I hate you.” “I know.” —*~*~*— It was much later in the day when we next spoke. It was less that I was annoyed with him—that was true, but not the main reason—it was more that we didn’t have anything to say to each other. I spent most of that time learning to apply my new magic. Taking his first two lessons to heart was the easiest way to go about this. I was still breaking my mind of the habit of using sigils, but now that I knew that I didn’t need them, it wasn’t impossible to do. Manipulating raw magic was definitely a different experience from using sigils. I it was both easier and harder. It’s hard to explain, exactly. Maybe an example would be a better idea. Take the fire we were sitting by. It was in a fireplace in Master’s study, casting the bookshelves and chairs around the room in a dull glow. I stared at the fire, slowly letting some magic flow into it. Magic with no intention grabs the first job, per se, that it runs into. Because of that, most of the magic I sent at the fire was grabbed by the air between me and it. The small amount that made it was absorbed into the flames, the momentary addition of energy causing it to flare. The next burst was sent with the intention of having that happen again. The purposed magic passed through the air unmolested, so when it hit the fire it flared much more than I expected, shooting halfway up the chimney, if what I saw from my vantage point was correct. Master Strike—Sure Strike, he wasn’t my teacher anymore—glanced up from his book at me for a moment before returning to his story. I ignored him, deciding to see if I could shape the fire itself. I melded the fire into many shapes. I first made a dragon, because why not? It’s fire. After a phoenix and a hellhound, I started to do non-standard creatures. Butterflies flapped around amung sparks, and a dolphin playfully launched itself out of a sea of fire. "If you light the tower on fire, I'll make you wear a dress," Strike said, not looking up from his book. "That's not so—" "It'll be pink and frilly," he continued his threat, cutting me off, "and you'll be so adorable we'll have to parade you around Canterlot so as many people as possible can see you in it." I cocked an eyebrow. "What if I want a new dress?" He smirked. "Fine. Then I'll buy you the dress anyway and burn it in front of you, before dressing you up in a garish lime green and neon purple pantsuit and parade you around in that, instead." "So don't burn down the tower," I said. "Got it." After a pause, I asked, "What do I do now? Where do I go?" "I figured that you would want to head after Starswirl as soon as possible," he said, putting a ribbon in his book and closing it. He placed it on the stand next to the chair he was lounging on. "I do," I said. "However, I doubt that Luna would look upon a thirteen year old scouring the countryside for the most dangerous mortal in living memory—counting hers—with favor." He was silent for a moment. "I didn't want to tell you this until the morning, but I've spent the last few nights cutting through red tape." I blinked. "And?" He teleported a scroll in front of me. "Read it." I shot him a look before unrolling the scroll. My eyes drifted across the page, taking in each line of the formal language. One of my eyebrows slowly rose until I got to the end, when its twin joined it. "Application for extension of guardianship?" I exclaimed. "I take it I'm not being too forward?" he asked. "I had some friends do some digging around in Ponyville, and Rainbow is still in no condition to be taking care of herself, let alone a filly." He smirked. "Plus, you're a War Mage now, you have responsibilities." I kicked the ground. "Now I'm never finding Starswirl." "I'm loathe to admit it, but Starswirl was impossible to find from the moment he teleported away from Manehattan," Strike said. "So instead of looking for him and wasting resources, we're creating a response team to investigate claims of Starswirl sightings." "Who's on this team?" I asked. "As of now? The two of us," he replied. "We'll probably grab another one or two War Mages, maybe a pegasus. Barring that, we'll be on our own. Are you up for it, Mage Star?" I grinned. "Of course."