Shadows of the Past

by TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos

Chapter 3: Fangirling So Hard

With a click, Twilight snapped her jaw shut. She chuckled nervously and reached out to take the stallion's hoof. Starswirl was watching her with a confused expression as she shook his hoof with enthusiasm, still giggling wildly.

Yanking his hoof from her tight grasp, he asked, "Are you quite all right, Twilight Sparkle?" Twilight nearly squealed.

Starswirl the Bearded! Starswirl the Bearded just asked if I was all right! Starswirl the Bearded just said my name! Twilight began to sway back and forth in excitement, her grin nearly too big for her face, a tiny high-pitched noise coming from the back of her throat.

"Twilight?" Starswirl's voice cracked slightly. "Hello? Earth to Twilight? Earth to Twilight Sparkle?" He levitated one of the candles over to her and waved it in front of her face. Her eye just twitched slightly as her grin somehow widened. This is what Starswirl the Bearded really looks like! I'm looking at Starswirl the Bearded!

"Um. Twilight." The mare simply sat there. Starswirl sighed and put the candle back on a desk. Reaching out with a hoof, he tapped her lightly on the nose. "Boop!"

Twilight's grin faded as she put her hoof to her muzzle in confusion. She looked back up at him as he repeated the action. She scrunched her nose and scrabbled back a few feet. "What in the name of Equestria are you doing?"

A smirk twisting across his features, the stallion began to laugh. It resonated in the room, somehow familiar but foreign all the same. Twilight stared at him as he tumbled to the ground, clutching his stomach with his hooves.

"I have absolutely no idea what just happened," He said, as he wiped tears out of his eyes. "But that was hilarious."

"What do you expect? You're Starswirl the Bearded!" Twilight snapped indignantly.

"Oh, am I important?" His yellow eyes flashed as he clapped his hooves in excitement. "If so, would you mind informing my colleagues? Maybe they'd listen to me a bit more if they knew."

"You- You aren't-" Twilight stammered. "Why-"

"I have no idea what you're trying to ask me, dear. Why don't you try completing your sentences and then I'll see what I can do."

Twilight simply sat and looked at him. Starswirl the Bearded. I can't believe this. She abruptly changed her train of thought before she started squealing again. He's not famous yet, I guess. Explains his reaction. He seems the tiniest bit self-conceited, doesn't he? So, if he's not famous, does that mean he's young, or that he just became famous after he disappeared? When did he disappear? Oh no, he's starting to look at me funny. Say something, Twilight!

"Um. Well, I can't tell you too much I guess, but," Twilight began, steadying her voice a bit as she looked into her idol's gleaming yellow eyes. "Yes, you're quite a big deal in the future."

That's an understatement.

Starswirl began beaming once again, picking up the candle with his magic. "That's wonderful! A dream come true, if you will."

He picked his way across the room, pages fluttering down from the heights of the bookshelves as he swept by.

"I suppose it would be unwise to tell me more," He threw over his shoulders, the undercurrent of frustration quite clear in his voice, "But I do so wish I could know."

"I could tell you a few things," Twilight said uncertainly. "Just ask me and I'll see what I can do."

Starswirl grinned at her. "Wonderful!" He teleported next to her, causing Twilight to jump, hitting her sprained ankle at an angle. She grimaced and held it closer to her body.

Noticing her pain, he looked down. "Oh, goodness! You didn't tell me you were hurt!" He flicked his magic into a small pile, digging out a few medical kits.

"No, no!" Twilight waved him off, smiling wanly. "It's just a sprained hoof, don't worry about it."

"But, dear, I can fix sprained hoofs," Starswirl gave her a stern look as he slipped a pair of reading glasses on. He winked at her. "These are just for show," He gestured towards the glasses. "Makes me look smart, don't you think?"

Twilight laughed as he bent down to look at her hoof.

"So what did you do to knock your hoof up so bad?" He unwrapped the bandage carefully.

Twilight winced. "Well, I fell down the stairs at the library. I gave Spike, my baby dragon, quite a fright. It was silly trying to go down the stairs while still reading my book."

The stallion chuckled as he glanced over a sheet of paper that he had taken from the med kit. "Sounds like something I'd do. What did you trip on exactly?"

"The laundry," Twilight said sheepishly. "I didn't see where my hooves were going."

Starswirl laughed again before he put the paper down. "This may tingle a little bit."

Twilight smirked. "I'm sure I've handled worse."

"I don't know, this could be pretty tough," He winked and began the spell. He was right, there was a slight tingle, but nothing more. The alicorn shook her hoof and smiled.

"Thanks!" She chirped, putting her weight on it once more.

"No problem," Starswirl's eyes sparkled. "Though, you could repay me with a little information."

"Shoot," Twilight replied, leaning back.

"Elements of Harmony. Who or what are they?"

"Hm," Twilight considered. Guess it couldn't really hurt. "Well, the Elements are these powerful artifacts that can be used to fight evil. I wield the Element of Magic. It's widely known as the most powerful and elusive element."

"Well, aren't you high on yourself," Starswirl snorted.

"Oh, shut it," Twilight glared at him.

He laughed.

Rolling her eyes, she continued, "Well there's Applejack, she's the Element of Honesty, Rainbow Dash the Element of Loyalty, and Rarity, the Element of Generosity. Fluttershy is Kindness, and Pinkie Pie's is Laughter."

"Laughter sounds like my style," Starswirl winked. "But they all seem very sappy, if you ask me. But if they're powerful, well, I guess you can deal with a little sappy."

"I guess so," Twilight laughed.

"So the Elements defeat evil, huh? What evil have you defeated thus far?"

"Well, first there was Nightmare Moon. Princess Luna was taken over by jealously for her sister, Celestia, because the ponies like her sister's sun more than her moon. We used the Elements of Harmony to drive the Nightmare from her.

"Then there was Discord. He's the self-proclaimed Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony, though he lives up to it, so maybe he really is. He definitely looks the part. He split us up in the castle maze, and he turned all of my friend's personalities to their opposites. For a little while, I really thought he'd won. Chocolate milk rain and cotton candy clouds everywhere!"

Starswirl snorted again.

"But Princess Celestia sent me all the letters on friendship I had written to her and made me realize how to turn my friends back to normal. Once I did, we were able to use the Elements to turn him back to stone."

"Nice job!" Starswirl grinned at her.

"It was nothing," She deflected. "But a few months later, Princess Celestia had us release him. Fluttershy befriended him and now he's apparently 'reformed'" Twilight rolled her eyes at that. "I don't believe him, but whatever."

She proceeded to tell him about Chrysalis and the Changeling attack, as well as the Crystal Empire and Sombra, the evil king who had made the kingdom vanish for a thousand years.

"Is that all?" Starswirl asked sarcastically when she finally finished.

"Hey, you're the one who wanted to know!" Twilight stuck her tongue out at him and he cracked up.

"Yeah, yeah, you're right. Can you tell me more about Canterlot? And Ponyville? How do you guys live your daily lives?"

They talked for hours, the moon outside slowly slipping down over the horizon. As the sun finally peeked above the horizon, the candles automatically stopped burning and the light from the sun shone perfectly into the window, lighting up even more shelves of books that had been hidden in shadow. Some covers sparkled, seemingly made of glass, and others were simply dusty, shoved in a corner, forgotten.

Eventually, the two ponies began to run out of things to talk about. Starswirl shifted from his spot, stretching and looked in surprise at the sun in the window. "Hey, the sun's up."

"You didn't notice?" Twilight deadpanned.

"Of course I noticed," He replied snarkily. "I was making sure you did."

"Yeah, right," Twilight yawned, flexing her wings out behind her.

"You seem tired." He picked a book out of the clutter and levitated it over to himself. "I assume you want to be heading home now that we're through? The spell in here should do the trick."

Twilight blinked in surprise. "Well, actually, now that I know who you are, I wouldn't mind staying a little longer," She protested. "I would love to learn more about you and the Renaissance, and what better way to do so than to live it?"

"Ah, an inquisitive mind after my own heart, I see?" Starswirl turned to grin crookedly at her. "Now, I'm not always the best company, and I have places to go and people to see. Are you still up to it?"

Twilight opened her mouth to say yes, but paused.

"That spell. To send me back? It can send me to whatever time right? So, I could be gone from my time for only a few minutes but spend days here?"

"That's the intent of the spell, yes," Starswirl replied nonchalantly, scribbling something down on a stray sheet of paper.

She sighed in relief. "Good. I wouldn't want my friends to worry. In that case then, I would be honored to accompany you.”

"All right then!" The wizard strode to her side, tucking the scrap of paper into his saddlebag as he swung it over his back. He knocked over a stack of books as he did so, but to Twilight's amusement, he seemed not to notice.

"First order of business," Starswirl stuck his hoof in the air with exaggerated importance. "Off to the Council of the Pony Tribes."

Twilight's breath caught in her throat. The stallion, watching in alarm as she had a small coughing fit, levitated another glass of water over to her. She snatched it gratefully with her own magic and chugged it down.

Panting, she gasped out, "The Council of the Pony Tribes?" Her voice was filled with disbelief.

"Yeah. That sound crazy to you?" He watched Twilight as she did a small dance.

"This is gonna be so awesome!" She imitated Rainbow as she brought her hooves to her face.

Starswirl gave a strange, barking laugh. "Yeah, don't get your hopes up too much. All they do is bicker. The Commander, Queen and Chancellor may have all made up in the new land of Equestria or whatever it's called, but the ponies here are still very biased. The windigoes may be gone, but the animosity is definitely not."

Twilight gaped at him. "We're not in Equestria?"

The wizard gave a sideways smirk and trotted over to the door. "Not yet. But I hope I'll get there soon. Seems like a nicer place then here. From all I hear, Equestria's a right paradise! All three types of ponies, coming together in harmony? Almost too good to be true."

Unlocking the door with his magic, he gave a quick glance back at Twilight. His gaze lingered on her wings, and having a second thought, teleported a cloak over to her.

"We'll be walking through the unicorn part of town to get to the Council's building," He turned to look in her eyes. "Whatever you do, do not take off that cloak," His yellow eyes burned with a familiar intensity.

"I may be awed and fascinated by your wings, but others around here won't treat you with that same respect."

Author's Note:

Yay Inspiration. You are a wonderful thing.

Comments

[Night_Shine]

Hooray, this fic's back! :D I love the interactions between these two, but I feel like Twilight kinda sorta made a huge freaking mistake explaining to Discord (wait, is the whole 'Discord-is-Starswril' thing supposed to be a secret?) exactly how he gets defeated... Still, if it's a problem, she'll hopefully be able to deal with it. Wait, is that a huge plot point here? Anywaiz, great to see this fic back, and I hope you make another chapter soon

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos]

4370884 Aaaaah your reviews always make me grin like a maniac!

*evil laugh* You'll see. Oh, you'll see....

[lunaisbestpony1]

Wow, this was pretty cool! But why is Twilight giving him the low down on how she and the others defeat Discord? That's a huge misfire. It could get her into some real trouble in the future. I also liked the implied prejudice at the end. It certainly added some depth to the world building! Can't wait to read more!

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos]

4372575 Well, you have to understand. All she sees is her idol, who disappears hundreds of years before she's born. To her, that information wouldn't have any use during his lifetime, so she doesn't see a point in withholding it.

I was trying to think of a way to neatly end the chapter, and I just thought, "Oh, prejudice. That'll work! "

[lunaisbestpony1]

4372655 Good call, and you're right about the hero thing. If I was sitting face to face with my idle I would tell them everything, regardless of the consequences.

[sakuralovelight]

i really like this story is there going to be more???

[TheSupremeLeaderOfChaos]

4494154 Planning on it!
Don't know when the drive is going to hit me, but it comes and goes quite often, and the summer is a great time to write!

[sakuralovelight]

4503548 okay thank you so much for letting me know

[Doctor REDACTED]

YES TIMEY WIMY

[chocolatecow]

Why U no Continue?

[Carnelian-Quasar]

Wow, this story is so cool! Sadly hasn't been updated in... a while, but that's how it goes sometimes. I'm gonna favourite it just in case you ever write more :)

[WitapA2399]

I wouldn't mind if there was a romance between the two, I would love it