//------------------------------// // Chapter Five: Tribulatios And Trials // Story: Rise Of The Shadow Walkers // by Robobrony //------------------------------// Chapter 5: Tribulations And Trials The next few days, Stardust and Sunflare went about their lives as if nothing was wrong so as not to draw suspicion. At one point, Stardust released a series of enchanted gemstones that would give off heat whenever they came in contact with water so everypony could have a warm bath. Needless to say, such a thing became rather popular given the current season. Because of his condition though, Stardust had to keep his cloak on to hide his changed wings. However, within those few days, the crack in Stardust’s horn had grown a bit more and became noticeable. He was able to hide the crack with his mane so no pony could see it. Stardust had spent the night in Sunflare’s room and was looking himself over in the mirror with his eyes turned upwards towards his horn. He held a hoof to it and looked worried. “I just don’t get it, first my wings, now my horn. What sort of change is going to happen to it?” Sunflare walked up to Stardust and nuzzled him in an attempt to comfort him. “I don’t know Stardust, but no matter what, I won’t leave you. We’ve been through too much already for me to just abandon you.” Stardust nuzzled back with a faint smile. “Thanks Sunflare, I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Sunflare pulled back and gave a smile. “Good thing you don’t have to find out, because you’re stuck with me.” Stardust gave a smirk, then raised a foreleg to his forehead and spoke dramatically. “Oh what cruel fate hath befallen me, to be stuck with such a mare as thow. Truly the gods must hate me to curse me so.” Sunflare burst out laughing. “Ha ha ha! Very funny Stardust. HA ha ha ha.” Stardust started to laugh himself. “Heh hah, I thought so.” He stopped though and turned back to the mirror. His smile faded as he looked back to the crack in his horn. Sunfalre noticed Stardust looking himself over in the mirror and walked over to him. She placed a hoof on his back as she spoke. “Hey, come on now, don’t worry. I’m sure we can figure this out, we just have to put our heads together.” “I’m more worried of what will happen if the council finds out about this. They’ll banish me for sure. They’ll see this magic I found as evil or something. Yet I’m in full control of myself and the magic I found, the only thing is these changes happening to me.” “Stardust…I…” Sunflare was interrupted by a knocking on her door. “Uh oh.” Stardust wasted no time and hid himself in Sunflare’s bathroom. Once she made sure Stardust was out of sight, she went for the door and opened it with her magic. “Yes? Oh, good morning Council pony Auburn.” Sunflare greeted sourly upon seeing the stuck up stallion. Auburn wore a smile as he greeted Sunflare. “Good morning Sunflare, I was wondering if you’d like to join me for breakfast this morning before you have to work.” Sunflare rolled her eyes at the request. “Sorry Auburn, but I have other plans. I’m afraid I’ll have to take a raincheck.” “Oh come now Sunflare, don’t be like that. I’m sure you can find time to just relax and share a meal with me.” Auburn persisted. Sunflare smiled as she got a devious idea to show Auburn just what exactly she thought of him. “Tell you what Auburn, close your eyes and I’ll give you something nice to make up for it. And be sure to pucker those lips of yours.” Auburn gave a sly smile. “Oh ho ho, you sly mare you. Have it your way then.” He did as instructed. As he puckered his lips, Sunflare couldn’t help but make a disgusted look. “Egh. Okay, get ready, her it comes.” She stepped back and slammed her door in Auburn’s face, letting his lips kiss her door instead of her. Auburn stumbled back and shook his head. He furrowed his brow as he took a step closer to her door. Sunflare trotted back into her room with a smug grin. Stardust walked back into the room nervously. “Was that really such a good idea?” “Hey, he asked for it.” Sunflare stated. Suddenly, her door flung open and Auburn trotted in looking mad. “Sunflare, you….” He stopped midsentence when he saw Stardust in the room wearing his cloak. “You, what are you doing in here?” Stardust gave an audible gulp. “Oh boy.” Auburn walked up to Stardust looking down on him. “Stardust, just what do you think you’re doing in my marefriend’s room?” That was the last straw for Sunflare. She stormed up and placed herself between Stardust and Auburn and glared up at him with fire in her eyes. “Excuse me?! Your marefriend? Since when am I your marefriend?” She extenuated with a poke to Auburns chest with a hoof. “I never liked you, we’ve never even dated you meat head!” “Meat head? Now see here…” Auburn tried to say but Sunflare cut him off. “No, you see here! I am sick and tired of you hitting on me when I’ve made it perfectly clear I have no interest in you what so ever. Why do you insist on trying to get me in your bed?! It’s never going to happen so get those filthy ideas out of that thick headed skull of yours! I…DON’T…LOVE…YOU!” She started taking steps closer to Auburn, forcing him to back up. “I don’t even like you! You are just a pig headed, self-observed, control freak! Like it or not, I love Stardust, and he loves me, so you can consider me off the market.” At this point, Sunflare had managed to force Auburn back out of her room. “Good day Auburn!” She slammed her door in his face. After Sunflare slammed her door in his face, Auburn was seething mad. His eyes were burning with anger as he clenched his teeth. He gave a snort and trotted off. Sunflare turned back to face Stardust and gave out a sigh. “Whew, that felt good. I’m so glad I finally did that. I should have done it sooner.” Stardust seemed nervous as he spoke. “Stardust, you just insulted the head of the council, slammed your door in his face and called him a meat head. I think you may have gone a bit too far there.” Sunflare sighed out. “I don’t care. That horn dog has been trying to get at my flank for too long. It’s about time I finally spelled it out for him. If I get in trouble for it, it will be worth it if it means he’ll finally stop pestering me like this.” “I just hope you won’t be in too much trouble. You didn’t really do anything wrong, just trying to defend yourself.” Stardust offered. “Exactly, and….” Sunflare was cut off as a blue glow began to emanate from Stardust’s horn where the crack was. “What in the heavens?” “What’s happening?” The glow from the crack became more intense and grew brighter. A magical humming was heard as the glow continued growing in intensity. When it became too much for the pony’s eyes, there was a sudden flash and the bright glow dissipated. The sudden burst of magic had knocked Stardust and Sunflare back. Stardust was the first to slowly stand up. “Oh, my head, my horn….what happened?” Sunflare shook her head and looked up with half lidded eyes. “Stardust, are you….oh sweet heavens.” Her eyes shot open as she saw what had happened to Stardust’s horn. Stardust grew worried. “What, what happened, is it my horn?” Sunflare slowly walked up to Stardust. “I’m afraid so.” “Well, what happened?” Stardust lifted a hoof to feel the spot where his horn was; Instead, he found an empty space. “What the…where’s my horn?!” He asked in a panic and ran to the mirror. “Oh….my….gods.” Sunflare slowly walked up to Stardust and took to his side as she gazed at him in the mirror. “Stardust, don’t panic. I’m sure it’s nothing too serious.” Stardust now had two horns on his head. But instead of pointing straight out like a normal unicorn, they were curved back slightly over the top of his head and lacked a spiral. “My….my….what happened, why do I have two horns now? How am I going to hide this?” Sunflare placed a hoof on his back to try and comfort him. “Stardust, calm down, we’ll figure this out.” Stardust looked to Sunflare. “Calm down? I have two horns now! What am I going to do about this, huh? At this rate, I’ll be found out, I’ll be banished for sure, I’ll be seen as a monster, I’ll…” “STARDUST! Get a hold of yourself!” Sunflare shouted to get his attention. She grabbed him and forced him to look her in the eyes. “Look, for now, just…where the hood of your cloak, that will hide the horns at least.” Stardust gazed into Sunflare’s eyes. “Sunflare….I know I was excited about this at the beginning, but realizing what could happen to me because of this…I….I’m scared. I’m scared and I don’t know what to do.” His eyes watered up as he was ready to cry. Sunflare wrapped her hooves aroun him in a hug and rested her head over his shoulder with her eyes closed. “Stardust, I promise no matter what, I’ll stay with you. I’m not going anywhere.” Sunflare felt a bit of fear herself. Not for her, but for Stardust. She let a few tears of her own escape. Her coltfriend was afraid, he needed her now more than ever. No force on this planet was going to keep her away from Stardust. Not now, not ever. Over the next few days, Stardust had to wear his cloak with the hood up everywhere he went to hide his latest change. He was able to dismiss questions about it by saying it was helping him to stay warm during these cold seasons. Every once in a while, whenever they could, Stardust and Sunflare would sneak out of the castle in the afternoons and go to Stardust’s home outside the castle to practice and research more on this new magic Stardust had in hopes of finding a way to reverse these changes. They hadn’t heard a peep out of Auburn since the incident when Sunflare slammed her door in his face so they assumed he had finally given up on trying to win Sunflare over and just dismissed the whole thing, not wanting anything to do with them. Days went by and the only thing Stardust and Sunflare were able to do was only learn what all Stardust could do with his new shadow magic, as they have come to call it, but no luck in finding a way to reverse it. The biggest change in their routine came when Stardust woke up one morning in his room and looked himself in the mirror. He simply stood there staring at himself with a frown. “First my wings, then my horn, now this. Is this it? Is this the final change or is there more to come?” Sunflare walked up to his side and nuzzled him. “I don’t know Stardust, but like I said, I’m not leaving your side.” Stardust nuzzled Sunflare back. “Thanks Sunflare, I can’t tell you how much I appreciate everything you’ve done to help me through all this.” He looked back to the mirror to see his changed eyes. His pupils had gone from being normally round to slit like a cat’s eyes. His hood kept his eyes hidden so no pony else could see them. The days continued to grow colder as winter rolled around. The snow fall was heavy and blanketed every roof top and street in a thick blanket of snow and ice. Stardust and Sunflare were making their ways through the stony halls of the castle to the dining hall for lunch. Stardust wore his cloak to conceal his altered form. Since his eye’s changed, it seemed no other changes would be coming. His head hung low as he trudged down the halls. Sunflare looked to Stardust. “Stardust, come on, cheer up, I’m sure we can do something about all this.” “Like what? We’ve learned everything we can about this shadow magic I gained and nothing can change me back to normal. I can’t hide this forever. Once winter ends I can’t just say I’m wearing my cloak to keep warm. They’ll suspect something is up and I’ll be found out.” “We’ll worry about it when we get to it. For now, let’s just get something to eat.” “Yeah, all right.” Stardust responded in a defeated tone. The two walked on to the dining hall and gathered their meals. Stardust still had his head down so he wasn’t paying attention to what was in front of him. He ended up pumping into somepony which caused him to stumble back and fall backwards, causing his hood to fall off. Earth Shaker shook off the bump and looked down to Stardust. “I say, do be more careful and….” He paused once he saw Stardust’s altered appearance. “What in the world? Stardust….is….is that you?” A collective gasp filled the room as all eyes fell on the two ponies, mainly Stardust. Sunflare watched in worry and fear as Stardust was suddenly discovered. Stardust looked himself over and quickly stood up. “Council pony Earth Shaker, I can explain, please…” Earth Shaker cut him off. “What have you done to yourself? Why have you changed your appearance? How did you even do that?” The other members of the council began to gather around. “Stardust, what is the meaning of this?” Sore Sight asked. “What in heaven’s name have you done?” Rosy asked. Stardust started backing away from them. Auburn pushed past the others and confronted Stardust. “So, you have been conducting unwarranted magical experiments without the council’s permission, haven’t you? You are in big trouble Stardust.” Auburn wore a wicked grin. “Guards, cease him!” A few ponies clad in armor entered the room and took hold of Stardust. “NO! Please don’t….” Sunflare tried to interject but was stopped when Snooty stepped in front of her. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Snooty stated. “He has commited a crime and must be punished for it. He will be given a fair trial to defend himself though. But this does not look good for him.” Auburn pointed a hoof to one of the exits of the dining hall. “Take him to the dungeon to await his trial.” Stardust cried out as he was dragged away. “No, please, I…I didn’t…I..” He tried to argue but couldn’t come up with anything. Auburn sauntered over to Sunflare with a smirk as the other members of the council dispersed. “Well Sunflare, consider this payback for scorning me like you did. I knew that fool was trouble, what with his ridiculous ideas and such. Knowledge can be a dangerous thing.” Sunfalre glared at Auburn with all her might. She stayed silent though as she had nothing to say. Auburn snorted out and walked away, leaving Sunflare alone. Sunflare hung her head and let a few tears escape as she quietly sobbed out. “Stardust.” The next day, Stardust stood in the council chamber before the members of the council in chains. Sunflare sat with a few other ponies in the seats to watch the trial. Auburn was doing his best to keep a straight face even though on the inside, he was smiling wickedly at his victory over Stardust. “My fellow ponies, today we are gathered here to pass judgment on Stardust. The charge is conducting magical experiments without the council’s knowledge and approval. As you can see, Stardust has altered his physical appearance for whatever reason.” Snooty stood up to speak. “Stardust, we give you one chance to defend yourself before us this day. For your sake, I hope you can change our minds.” Stardust looked over the council with worry. He took a deep breath and began. “Council, ponies, I am but a simple pony who only seeks to learn about the world we live in. I want to learn about what is out there, how things work. Is that really so bad? Think of how much easier our lives could be if we just took the time to learn about everything around us. We could find plants that could cure diseases. We could learn spells that could make things easier for us. There is so much about our world we don’t know about. I merely wanted to learn more about it.” “What about those stones I created so every pony could have a nice warm bath in these cold seasons? Was that not a good thing? It was thanks to my curiosity and magical tinkering that I came up with them. Yes, I was researching such magics behind the councils back, and I’m sorry about that. I should have told you and asked if I could do such research. But I was afraid of being turned down. I just want to learn. In my studies of magic, I discovered a new form of magic. It’s incredible what it can do.” Rosy raised a hoof to silence Stardust. “You discovered a new form of magic? What kind of magic, what can it do?” Stardust continued. “I have decided to call it shadow magic, as when using it, I am able to manipulate the shadows, I can control them, make things with them, and even travel through them. It was because of my discovery of this new magic that I started changing and ended up looking like I do now.” Auburn spoke up. “Do you really think this helps your case? You conducted experiments behind our backs without our permission. You have changed yourself into an abomination because of it.” Sore Sight hung her head and shook it. “I’m sorry Stardust, but despite your heating stones, the fact of the matter stands that you did research without our approval. Now because of one of these experiments, you have changed your physical appearance to a horrid look.” Stardust spoke desperately. “But I’m still me. I’m in complete control of my actions and this shadow magic. Nothing else about me has changed other than my physical appearance.” Earth Shaker rose to speak. “And how do you know that this shadow magic won’t eventually begin to affect your mind? For all we know, it could be controlling you right now making us think you are in control of yourself. This is dangerous stuff Stardust.” Auburn picked up from there. “I think we’ve heard enough. The council will now vote. All those in favor of banishing Stardust for his crimes, raise your hoof.” Stardust watched in fear as one by one, a hoof went up until the last of the council had their hoof raised. “Then it is unanimous. Stardust, you are..” “WAIT!” Sunflare yelled out. She stood up and galloped to Stardust’s side. “Sunflare? What are you doing?” Stardust asked. “Please, don’t do this! So what if he did some experiments behind your backs. So what if he looks different. I know Stardust, he has a good heart, he doesn’t deserve this! I beg you, please reconsider.” Auburn glared down. “Stay out of this Sunflare, it has already been decided. Your former boss is to be banished to the dark forest never to return here.” “Then….then you’ll have to banish me too!” Sunflare suddenly said. “I’m not leaving his side, I helped him with these experiments, I’m just as guilty as he is. So if you’re going to banish him for this, then you’ll have to banish me too.” Auburn furrowed his brow. “Sunflare, what are you doing?” Sunflare glared at Auburn. “I’m staying with Stardust no matter what, I helped him, I’m guilty too.” Stardust kept his eyes on Sunflare as she stood next to him. “Sunflare.” He said silently to himself. Auburn hung his head. “I see, it seems we have no choice. Sunflare, you and Stardust are hereby banished from Trottingsdale to the forest never to return. May the heavens have mercy on your souls.” “Sunflare….you…” “I promised didn’t I?” Sunfalre said, cutting Stardust off with a sad smile. “I’m not leaving your side no matter what.” Stardust closed his eyes and hung his head. “Thank you Sunflare.” “Guards, take them away!” Earth Shaker ordered. A few of the guards came and began to escort Sunflare and Stardust away.