//------------------------------// // Chapter Three – The First Step // Story: The Scion of Harmony // by Thornwing //------------------------------// Twilight came to a rise and held up a hoof waving back at Spike—the faithful assistant manning his post once again. He smiled and waved back. It seemed odd to her that he hadn’t complained much at all about her leaving. Nearing the range of being out of earshot, she heard his parting call, “Good luck, Twilight! I hope you…” His voice faded away as she broke into a full gallop. The castle doorway sank into the rolling hills and fields behind as she chased after her stallion. The phony Starswirl seemed eager to make it to the train station and had nearly left her in his dust. Impolite as it was to fly in mixed company, Twilight spread out her wings and caught a low lying current to close the gap. She wasn’t about to let the sham out of her sight. Noting the ease at which Spike had let her go, Twilight was convinced, now more than ever, that she was being set up. When she got to the train station, her friends would be waiting to surprise her—everypony returned home from their various vacation spots. The fake Starswirl would fess up to the ruse, and they would all have a bit of a laugh at her expense. “Very funny.” Twilight banked into a running landing, keeping stride for stride with the imposter as she met the ground. He didn’t say anything in return, and on they went, charging through the middle of town. Resident ponies, just going about their day, took notice. The pair plowed through the market and down the dusty path leading off to the train depot. Musing as she ran, the whole idea of this being an elaborate setup leading to a fanciful payoff wasn’t the only possibility she thought to consider. Could there be any truth to the strange stallion’s tale, Twilight wondered. Could she really be off on a grand voyage with the one-and-only Starswirl? Could this pony really be her magic idol? A log jam of questions began to form in her head. The shimmering silver traveling cloak rippled in the stallion’s wake, bouncing off his flank with every powerful stride a few lengths ahead. She caught a fleeting glimpse of his cutie mark with the rise and fall of the fabric. The image of a crescent moon in a field of swirling stars flickered like a frame in a movie reel. Recognizing that as the one thing that couldn’t be faked, her walls of doubt began to crumble. Her entire outlook flipped on its tail. Twilight had little idea where she was going. The train station was the end of the road for as far as she had been told. Beyond that, The Guardian—wherever he was. The lightly packed sacks on her back wobbled as she ran. If she was indeed about to head off on a long journey, the next stop should be a store where they could stock up on supplies. Starswirl, sporting a bard’s satchel strung around his neck and under one foreleg, looked equally ill prepared to be undertaking such a journey as advertised. Between the both of them, they couldn’t have enough supplies to last more than a day or two in an inhospitable clime. Twilight didn’t have time to look at what he had packed for her before she was tossed on her tail and dragged out the door. She thought she noticed Spike slipping something in her bag as she left, but other than that, it all came from the various containers and cupboards of her bedroom. Inventory would have to wait; they arrived at the depot. Quickly scanning the platform and the waiting train for any sign of her friends, Twilight felt a lump sink into the pit of her stomach. Not only had she skipped over breakfast, it was becoming clear that she was about to decide on taking a first big step down a path she didn’t know the end of. The threshold of the platform steps lay before her. She wasn’t sure if she was ready to take the leap of faith and see where the new road led, or if she should back away and avoid the risk. Could she put her trust in the pony claiming to be her hero from long ago tales of forgotten lore? Was she confident enough to risk it without the support of her friends? The train whistle blew. Starswirl poked his head out of the window of the car adjacent. “Are you coming or not?” The tap of his hoof on the side of the train car ticked out the seconds that passed, the car rocked back and forth almost ready to pull out of the station. His proper smile and welcoming manner drew the young princess forward; Twilight’s uncertainty and doubt held her back. One more step would lead to ten thousand more like it. A load of questions remained unanswered, but only one mattered. That one question burned in Twilight’s mind. “Can I trust you?” She craned her neck to meet the gaze of the grey stallion. Unfolding her wings and trying to look as imposing and regal as possible didn’t do the trick. Without the backing of her entourage or the swelling magic of the Elements they bore, it proved difficult to look intimidating and resolute. “That’s a question you’ll have to answer for yourself, dear—tick, tock.” Starswirl tipped his head to the side as if suggesting she already knew the answer. He jerked it back in a signal toward the waiting train door as he urged Twilight to join him on this new adventure. The conductor blew his whistle. “All aboard!” The call answered the question, if not directly, but with latent command. Twilight stepped onto the platform and scampered inside the last car. Her journey of a million hoofsteps began with the largest one of all. The train lurched forward as the wheels began to turn. The engine belched white smoke in a hundred little puffs and they pulled away from the station. She stowed her bags and took her seat opposite the stallion in the otherwise vacant car. A bundle of nerves after a whirlwind morning proved hard to settle. She hadn’t stopped to catch her breath in the past hour since she awoke. After being accosted in her own bed and driven out of her castle, she barely had time to say goodbye to Spike before darting through town and hopping aboard a train bound for Celestia-knows-where. It was a lot to take in. Having resigned herself to the journey, she looked across at her traveling companion. “So, Starswirl the Bearded, where are we headed?” “The path of the Scion leads where it will. Do you have the faith to trust that it will lead you where you need to go?” Starswirl waxed poetic. “Do not trouble yourself with destinations, princess, they only get in the way of the journey.” He stared deep into her eyes, burrowing into her very soul with his gaze. “I see the seed of faith has been planted. It has the potential to grow to become a great tree of trust if given proper time and nurture. My hope is that our journey will afford us that time, so that in the end I may see that tree blossom before the winter comes.” Twilight blushed, caught up in a stirring rush of emotion. With the dawning realization that she sat mere inches from her fillyhood idol, goosebumps prickled her coat. She couldn’t tell if it could be attributed to the recent loss of her own tree home and the eloquent metaphor he just delivered, or if it meant something in the way of a budding attraction toward the young stallion. It seemed wrong for her to feel attraction; she had only known the pony for a little under an hour. Perhaps it was the nesting instincts of a young mare that begged for satisfaction. Perhaps it was the awkward feeling of being in the presence of a great pony of legend. Whatever it was, she felt a growing connection to him in some vaguely perceptible way. Regardless of all that, she was certain his beard was longer than she remembered from earlier. “Our journey will be long, but I guarantee it will be worth it. We’ll be traveling as far as our conveyance can take us, and then, more beyond that. We have a schedule to keep, but for now, you can lay back and enjoy the ride.” Starswirl talked with his foreleg. He swung it left and then back right, each move emphasizing a point of speech. Twilight sat, enthralled, content to take it all in. The engine finally got up to speed, settling into a steady rhythm as the sections of rail passed below in a series of clinks and clanks. Twilight wrapped her tail around herself as she nestled into her seat for what she assumed was to be the first leg of a very long journey ahead. She barely had time to rationalize what it was that she was doing. Starswirl, content to stare out the window, watched as the countryside rolled past. Fields and farms floated by as they rounded the bend leading across the upper bow of Saddle Lake—the train turning east toward the Baltimare/Fillydelphia line. Though not completely unfamiliar, Twilight had been this way only a few times before. She mainly enjoyed the standard trip north, bound for Canterlot and the Crystal Empire beyond. On occasion, travel called for a divergence northeast to Manehattan. In that case, the rails divided miles north of Canterlot proper. For all other easterly points, the junction lay further south of the capitol—Ponyville being the main embarkation point for the line joining to Fillydelphia and Baltimare. As they turned across the bow of the lake, Twilight worked up enough courage to try and kick start the conversation with her mysterious guide. She was fairly certain now that the pony was, in some strange way, the stallion he claimed to be. She would never have agreed to join him otherwise. His cutie mark had won her over. Few had ever seen the actual golden crescent moon and glowing star design of the famous Unicorn, let alone been able to duplicate it on another’s flank. Twilight focused on that point as she drew on her years of study into every aspect of her idol’s life to be able to properly identify the great pony wizard. “Mister Starswirl the Bearded, sir? I was wondering if you could answer a few questions, if you don’t mind.” Twilight’s timid approach further supported her budding infatuation. Whether the butterflies in her stomach meant it was love at first sight or just a simple idol crush was yet to be settled. Starswirl broke from his contemplation of the passing landscape to address the princess. “Don’t be shy, young filly. Ask any question you want. I may not have an answer, or I may choose to withhold what might be best shared further down our path, but neither should bar you from your asking.” Half intimidated to be in his presence, but also curious to discover what secrets the ancient pony held, Twilight posed her question. “I was wondering where you’ve been all this time. I mean, it’s been nearly two thousand years since anypony has seen your face. Where have you been?” “Yes, it has been a long time.” Starswirl turned to look out the window once again as his mind wandered back to the past. “However, it hasn’t been two thousand years since I last graced the flowing fields of pony lands—more like one thousand.” “What do you mean?” Twilight’s curiosity was peaked. “I’ve read most of your books from the archives in Canterlot and even some of the others from the hidden library in my own castle. They all date back to the first or second century A.U. If you’ve only been gone for a thousand years, what happened to the thousand years before that?” Starswirl failed to suppress a chuckle. “I haven’t written anything in nearly two thousand years. That doesn’t mean I ceased to exist the moment I stopped writing things down.” The humor at the thought of one’s life being tied to the volumes of literature they produced seemed to amuse him. “I merely moved on to another vocation.” “There’s so much you could tell me about the history of Equestria—things that aren’t written in any history books,” Twilight begged for more. “Surely you could fill a volume or two with your centuries of knowledge.” Her pleading eyes yearned for the knowledge Starswirl could impart. “Unfortunately, the things I have learned over the years are not meant for the general population.” Starswirl became more serious. “Only a select few ponies have ever ventured into my area of study. Fewer still are alive today that have any shred of knowledge about the things you are about to see and learn. When we reach The Guardian, He can explain.” “What’s all this got to do with that Guardian fellow you wrote me about?” Twilight turned her head in odd consideration. “Why did you send me a letter in the first place?” The serious tone now passed, Starswirl replied, “Well, I couldn’t very well interrupt your personal study time.” He brushed off her question with a wave of his hoof and a flick of his tail. “We had a little time that this trek could wait, so I wrote up my letter and sent it along with your trusty mailmare—beautiful thing, very dedicated. Then I took a little side trip to visit some old friends in Canterlot. That city sure hasn’t changed much in the past thousand years.” More confused now than before, Twilight held up her hoof to stop her partner’s rambling. “Wait. You don’t mean to say that you visited Princess Luna and Princess Celestia? Why wouldn’t they tell me you were coming?” Twilight drew back her hoof to her chest. A hurt expression crossed her face. “Why be redundant?” Starswirl shrugged his shoulders. “I’d already sent my letter. There’s no reason to waste good parchment in sending another.” Twilight tried her best to focus on the important questions and refocused. “Okay, your letter said I was summoned to appear before this Guardian. I’ve never heard of him before—does Celestia know him?” “Yes, and He is my master. You will meet Him soon enough.” Starswirl stopped abruptly and turned toward the windows once more. He lowered his voice and spoke again as if addressing his own reflection in the glass. “He is known by many names. ‘The Guardian’ is the only one you need concern yourself with at this time. We have a long journey ahead and hours of conversation to fill. For now, can we just enjoy the beautiful scenery?” “But, Mister Starswirl, sir—I have so many questions that need answering.” Twilight didn’t want to be cut off. “Where exactly are we going?” Like a foal in a candy shop, she felt her hoof had been slapped as she reached to pull a bit of sweet knowledge from the jars of the chief confectioner himself. “Patience, child,” Starswirl cooed as he peered out over the reflection of the hills across the mirror surface of Saddle Lake. “We have all day before we arrive at Horseshoe Bay.” At least Twilight knew where they were headed now. Unfortunately, their brief conversation produced more questions than answers. She filed away her mental notes, trying to keep some order to the lines of questioning she would trace out later. The next chance she got, her remarks needed to be brief and to the point. She hoped to avoid another shutdown if she kept it simple and direct. Horseshoe Bay sat on the far eastern edge of Equestria. The town of Balitimare lay at its toe near the delta of the Filly River. Twilight traced the stages of their journey by searching the memories of past trips to the beach. The first half of their travels would take them over Saddle Lake, straddling the plateau of Ramblin’ Rock Ridge, before crossing the Filly Gorge. From there the track dove into the valley carrying the runoff from Canterlot Peak and the Foal Mountains to the forests below. The railway split shortly after the river crossing with the northern spur winging off above the Filly Range and the southern track running parallel to the river stretching toward Baltimare and the bay. Gladly, she noted, they would avoid the bug infested Hayseed Swamp further south. Twilight could still remember the adventure of her last trip to the ocean. The salty sea air and the crashing waves as they broke upon the reef near the white sandy beach made for a spectacular vacation spot—if only it hadn’t been for the pirates. Staying in town or along the coast was relatively safe, but once you made it out onto the open waters of the bay, you were at the mercy of the sea and everything that came with it. The idea of submitting to the unknown frightened her. Twilight relaxed a bit, building up her confidence with the mantra of her good friend, Fluttershy—Baby steps, Twilight—baby steps.’ In her gut she felt that this was only the start of something bigger than she dared know. She wondered how she would fare this time around, practically alone and without her best friends for the first time in a very long time. With only Starswirl for company—as simple as that company may be—a million questions still shot through her head. Hoping the answers would come soon didn’t make the wait any easier to bear. The train chugged along as they drove across the plateau stretching out to the eastern side of the lake. Ponyville sat to the west of the continental divide. Canterlot Mountain and the expanse of the Everfree Forest were the only landmarks that straddled it. Whatever lay west, flowed toward Las Pegasus and the western sea. Everything east of their current position drained into the bay. The geology of Equestria fascinated Twilight. At the scenery change where the bridge spanned the Filly River, she would make her next attempt at conversation. Past the bridge, the river’s flow would guide them on their journey to the city by the bay with trees and coursing water acting as backdrop for the latter half of the trip. Time slipped away and Twilight found herself staring out the window taking in the view. Her companion seemed content in his observational state for a good hour before he finally broke the silence on his own. “I had forgotten how beautiful the lands of Equestria were.” Starswirl looked misty eyed as he stared out the window. His eyes glossed over as he drank in sights potentially remembered only in passing from his foalhood of long ago. “Mister Starswirl the Bearded, sir?” Twilight asked in the same timid voice as earlier. “I’m sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if we could get back to my questions?” She broached a smile, trying her best to coax the reminiscing stallion from his musings. “My apologies, dear one—just call me Starswirl, if you please. Unless, of course, you would like me to start addressing you as Your Royal Highness, Princess of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle, bearer of the Element of Magic.” Starswirl turned back around and chuckled at the sight of Twilight’s ever expanding rosy-red cheeks. “It’s been so long since I’ve had the chance to see the lands where I once lived up close. …But never mind that, go ahead and ask your questions.” He laughed a bit down deep in his throat, seemingly aware of the effect his words had on the young mare. Twilight fumbled with her reply, a little embarrassed to ask now that Starswirl made such an impassioned remark. “W-well, I-I was wonder—” Suddenly the train lurched forward. The cabin pitched to the right, tossing stallion and mare from their seats. Twilight was thrown toward the far window, only stopping short of smacking it head-on by virtue of her cupping wing’s reaction time. Starswirl was not so lucky. He crashed into the wall taking the brunt of the blow along his side, knocking him out cold as his head cracked into the twisting metal frame. Gravity took hold and the earthbound passenger dropped back the other direction, toppling him into a heap of cushions ejected from the seats. Pegasi, owing to their built-in mode of transportation, rarely rode the trains. Earth ponies and Unicorns made up the bulk of the passengers aboard. As was probably the case in many a forward car, Starswirl lay motionless, unable to teleport to safety or assist in the righting of the train. Twilight, however, burst into action. She teleported from the remains of the Friendship Express and hovered above the scene as she sought to identify her options. Two sections lay in danger of plunging into the river, carrying a dozen or so ponies with them. The engine had, only moments ago, edged across the threshold of the bridge spanning the Filly River. To each side of the caboose there remained a patch of earth. The cars leading forward torqued in a corkscrew of spiraling wreckage to meet the ground while the engine and lead passenger cabin dangled precipitously from the cliff edge. A drop of a hundred feet or more to the raging river below greeted the hysterical passengers that clung to the wreckage with everything they could manage to give. Many a pony lay smashed against broken windows—some partially ejected and hanging on for dear life. The prospect of a laid back train ride to a town far afield, shattered in the blink of an eye. Twilight shot past the edge of the cliff, willing her spell to take hold of the engine as she dropped into position over the gorge. Terrified screams assaulted her ears. The conductor hung by a single hoof wedged between the side rod and driving wheels. Turning her attention from the engine itself, Twilight caught the stallion in her levitation spell just as his hoof slipped free of the rod. She tossed him over the top of the cliff to the grassy patch above and continued with her original plan. Bringing the full extent of her Alicorn magic to bear, she enveloped the engine in her magic’s glow. The passenger’s screams rose a notch and she held steady. A little late, she discovered moving the engine wasn’t going to be possible. The successive cars linking to it could not bear the strain of swinging it back up the cliff. The enormity of the situation filled Twilight with fear. She worked against a burning fuse to devise a plan that wouldn’t further endanger the lives of everypony on board. I hope this works! Searing light shot from her horn. The burning ray blasted the coupling that tied the engine to the stack. Crashing down the slope, the engine dropped into the rushing waters below. Now for the rest… Her magic shot again, this time directed at the coupling between the first and second passenger cars. Just as before, the link exploded on impact. Immediately, and with every ounce of energy she had left in her young horn, Twilight willed the broken car to rise. Screams of terror turned to shouts of joy. The car lifted over the precipice and settled into the turf of the ridge above. Everypony now safe from the prospect of taking a deathly plunge, Twilight swung back to the anchorage point of the bridge. Ponies in various states of injury and delirium staggered from the wreckage. The whimpering cries of the mentally shaken and physically wounded hung on the breeze. “How can I help?” Twilight’s call was more a personal question spoken aloud. She watched as mare and colt, stallion and filly, worked to free their fellow passengers and tend to the wounded. “You’ve taken care a’ all the heavy liftin’, yer highness.” The train conductor ventured a shaky bow holding one hoof tenderly to his chest, a little bent and probably broken. “Thank Celestia you ‘er here to save us.” Quaking in pain, he collapsed to the ground. A strikingly white mare with a pale pink tail and mane spun around and shouted at him. “Sir! Take a seat and wait for help. You can’t get up on that broken hoof of yours.” Her attention quickly refocused on Twilight. Her shout rang in Twilight’s ears. “Princess! Stay where you are—I’ll be right there.” She shot to her hooves and bounded toward them. Twilight’s head spun as she took in the sight before her. Half a dozen passenger cars lay in a tangled and twisted serpentine mess. The rescued lead transport leaned on its side a few paces to her left. As she turned her back leg to alter her stance, a shooting pain radiated up her spine. She doubled over and searched with a foreleg reaching to find the source of her distress. “I told you not to move!” The pink plumed mare dropped to her fetlocks and shoved a tattered piece of cloth in the gaping wound in Twilight’s flank. She applied pressure as she worked to staunch the flow of blood spurting from the gash. “It’s deep. I’ll need a needle and some thread. We may have to cauterize it if I can’t get it closed.” Twilight sunk to the ground, quickly fading from the combined loss of blood and recently realized pain. “Sano vitae!” A roll of thunder crashed over the ponies. Green light spun out in radiating waves from back of the heap of twisted debris. What was only moments before a confused and anguished lot of glad-to-barely-be-alive ponies, dissolved into a blissful state of peace. Enveloped in a soothing bath of calming mist, cuts were closed, bones were mended, souls were comforted. The gash on Twilight’s flank melted together; her cutie mark made whole once more. “Praise Celestia!” The nursemare collapsed over her patient and rolled to the side—her own adrenaline level now dropping. She lay on her back letting her hooves fall where they may. “What a ride!” Twilight blinked. She raised her head in slow reaction to the grey stallion that approached, saddlebag strap firmly gripped between his teeth. Starswirl tossed the packs aside. “A Scion of self-sacrifice. Tending to others with no thought to herself. You are quite the treasure, my dear.” He held out a foreleg in greeting and assistance to the recovering princess. “May I have this dance?” His smile gleamed as Twilight reached up and took hold of his hoof brushing aside the long hairs that dangled from his chin. He helped haul her to up to a standing position. “I-Is everypony okay?” Twilight leaned around the stallion blockade to assess the current state of pony distress. To her amazement, each and every pony seemed untouched and unscathed, reveling in their general wholeness. The train passengers gathered in celebration, hugging and high hoofing one another. “They are, thanks to you.” Starswirl took a nod to the pony splayed on the ground beside him. “And also a bit thanks to this one here. What’s your name miss?” The pasty pony nurse drew in her hooves as she looked up at the princess and her stallion friend. “Uh… N-Nurse Redheart.” She rolled over and promptly stood giving a clumsy curtsy in the process. “E-Excuse me, I need to see to my foals.” She dashed off toward the group of ponies that had gathered up the rise. “Thank you for saving my life, princess.” The train conductor minus his hat and plus four intact hooves rose up and immediately bowed again. “I-I don’t know what to say.” Twilight wasn’t able to fully process the event. “I… just did what I could—sorry I couldn’t save your engine.” “She was a good ‘un, she was.” The conductor paced over to the cliff and hung his head taking in the sight below. A giant scar tore down the cliff wall and scooped into the eddies of the water that swirled about the crumpled mass of steel below. He turned around and faced Twilight. “Ah’m the one that should be sorry. This here track’s all busted outta joint. Coulda caused the whole mess to jump us into that there gorge.” He pointed down at the broken track a few meters from the edge of the span. “Iffun that piece had been a length or so further on, we’d all be swimming with the fishes.” The conductor took a whistle from his vest pocket and tossed it over the edge in tribute to the final flight of the faithful engine. “You two sit tight. I’m not sure how long it’ll be fer a repair team to arrive, but I need to check up on the others and see to assessin’ the damage.” He turned away and trudged toward the other group of ponies. The task of accounting for all of his passengers and seeing to their immediate needs looked to weigh heavily upon him. A few maintenance ponies were sure to get a stern talking to over the broken rail situation—not to mention the destroyed train engine. Twilight turned back to her guide. “I had no idea magic could do all that. There are so many things I need to ask you about… I don’t know where to start.” “Magic can do a lot, but some things are better left to natural means. There are always consequences for taking shortcuts.” Starswirl looked back over the wreckage. “This certainly puts a burr in our travel schedule.” Twilight saddled up close taking in the sight herself. “So we clear the track and wait for a replacement train?” Starswirl looked up into the sky and checked the position of the sun. “No time for that. We need to get going right away.” “Well, I can fly, but that doesn’t help you very much, does it?” Twilight stretched out her wings and made sure her feathers fell flat before folding them back down against her sides. Starswirl carefully plodded over to the edge of the gorge and stared down at the river below. He slowly turned his head back. “Princess, how are you at canoeing?”