The Epic of Starswirl the Bearded

by zeroxwolfx

The Dragon of the Earth Bones

The Lost Epic of Starswirl the Bearded

Chapter 1: The Bones of the Earth

The little colt stumbled through the rough and uneven dirt. He tripped and ran into an old earth pony. He looked up into the sky and saw how bright it was and he covered his eyes, “Mister, Why is the sun so bright?” asked the little colt.

The old earth pony squinted his eyes as he slowly looked up to the sun, “The sun is so bright because it has a big job to do,” he said gently. The little colt cocked his head. This made the old earth pony chuckle, “You see little one, the sun is our mother, and it brings life to all things in the world. She’s up there, always watching over us,” the colt looked up again into the sun, it was the first time he had noticed, not just the light that it brought to the world underneath it, but the first time he had noticed how beautiful the sun itself was.

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They weren’t very high up on the great mountain, but they still had a wonderful view of the Equestria Valley. Across the land the old pony could see the various villages and small towns that his people had since erected over the years. They were lovely little hamlets where earth ponies, unicorns and pegasai lived together in peace. For many years Starswirl didn’t think it possible. He thought that the bickering and hostility between the tribes would last forever and that their hatred would freeze them eternally, giving a new rise to windigo dominance. However, he had been proven wrong, thanks in no small part to his greatest apprentice, Clover the Clever. Over the years the three tribes had built themselves peaceful villages around Mount Canterlot and had lived in harmony. Harmony… it was something that reverberated in Starswirl’s mind; almost like their serenity held power in of itself. Indeed, for quite some time, Starswirl thought that there might be actual magic within the peace that these ponies had found. But he would have to study that later, right now he was more interested in what sort of magic this great mountain held. Ever since he drew near to it, he could feel a presence there. Being as experienced as a wizard he was, he could sense when there was magically attuned power near him, this lead him to make his journey up the mountain, along with his faithful apprentice.

“Well, come now Clover, you’re falling behind yet again! We want to get up this mountain sometime before the end of days now!” he said chuckling to himself as he used his staff to help him trek up the steep incline.

The younger unicorn cringed, stumbling over a rock and tripping, before getting back up shakily and moving to catch up with him, “Can we ple-e-e-ase rest master? Studying all day in the library… I don’t get much practice climbing… impossibly tall mountains,” she complained. Starswirl climbed on a ways before he eventually reached a flat spot on the mountain.

He sat down and set his staff down, before huffing out to catch his breath, “Very well then… we’ll rest here for a moment… you really do need to get out of that library more my young student…” said Starswirl the Bearded, lifting an eyebrow as the mare came and collapsed on the flat clearing.

“Master… if I don’t study hard, how am I going to become a great wizard one day like you?” she asked curiously.

Starswirl shot her a look, “And what did I tell you about that?” he asked strictly.

Clover lowered her head, “That you didn’t become a great wizard by having your nose stuck in books all day…” she said quietly.

He looked at her again, beckoning her to continue, “Annndd?”

She sighed and finished, “And… that you learned most of your magic by getting out and observing the living world around you…” she said, as if she had recited it a thousand times before.

Starswirl nodded at her confidently, “That’s exactly right young lady. And that’s exactly what we’re doing right now! Getting out there, and observing the living earth around us!” He said as he waved his hand majestically to the mountain behind him.

Clover looked at him curiously, “What do you think is in there master?” she asked.

This made Starswirl pause for a moment, and stroke his beard as he often did when contemplating something deep. Eventually he spoke up,“Something… old…” he paused again, as if trying to find the right words, for he himself wasn’t exactly sure what they would find, “…and something great,” was all he could say.

He didn’t like not having answers to give. So many ponies of the Equestrian Valley looked to him for guidance. There were very few ponies that held such knowledge of magic, and nopony that held knowledge to the degree that he did. The true understanding of magic was something that was fairly new to unicorns and all ponies of the land. Even before Starswirl’s time, few understood it and fewer yet could apply it. The only exception to this was the ability to raise and lower the sun and moon, which however old an ability, very few could actually do and no one knew how, or why they were able to do it. Starswirl the Bearded had long had the suspicion that it wasn’t the unicorns themselves that were raising the sun and moon, but the sun and moon that gave them the ability. It was something that he had studied for most of his life, and his understanding of the sun and moon and natural world around him that accounted for his vast knowledge of magic. He had written many spells that the unicorns of the land found fascinating, and studied readily, but to him they were trivial things that didn’t answer his real questions. Despite the fact that he felt that he was lacking so many answers, it was his knowledge that made him the most powerful unicorns of his time and although he wouldn’t know it, one of the most powerful unicorns that would ever be.

“Come my pupil!” cried out Starswirl suddenly. He picked his staff and resumed his trek up the mountain. Wearily, Clover got up and began to trot after him. The two would spend the next two days hiking up the steep mountain, braving its loose boulders, steep inclines and as they neared the top, its frigid weather. Luckily, Starswirl and Clover had come prepared, with their long, thick cloaks to protect them from the cold. The landscape beneath them had begun to shrink more noticeably the higher they went up, and soon they would even pass the outline of the clouds. At this point their hike was slowed to a crawl; hampered by the strong gusts of wind that threatened to send them tumbling down the mountain. The wind was freezing, and made ice and snow cling to their faces. Soon even Starswirl began to doubt himself, his mind clouded by the constant feeling of cold that clung to his face. They summit of the mountain was in their view now, and not a moment too soon, for the icy weather was hell on both the ponies, Starswirl had wondered why Clover hadn’t done any complaining lately, but he figured it was most likely do to her trying to save her breath. Starswirl feared for the safety of his pupil, and to protect her and him both, he unveiled his horn from underneath his hat, and it shone brightly. The two were suddenly encased in a glowing orb of bright red; the edges of the bubble flickering with flames. It warmed them suddenly, giving them at least a bit of relief, as they watched the snowflakes and ice melt as it hit the orb of flame.

Just when their legs were feeling like they would give way any second, something quite unexpected happened. The tundra-like weather disappeared, and rather suddenly. There was still a wind about them, but it was much gentler, and it was strangely warm. They had gone from being into a frozen wasteland, to suddenly being in a spring meadow.

“Master… did it just,” Clover began.

“Yes… it appears it did, rather odd; I believe we are rather close,” finished Starswirl. And he spoke none too soon, for just a little ways further; they could see something near the summit of Mount Canterlot. It was the mouth of a massive cave. “Actually… I believe we’re there,” he said.

The air about them was strange as they neared the large entrance to the cave. It was warm, and had an organic, steady flow to it. It was almost as if the air was alive. The two came to the ledge that brought them to the cave, and they discovered the source of the warm air was coming from the cave itself. Now, more than ever, Starswirl the Bearded felt the powerful presence was nearly atop of them. He had a nagging suspicion that whatever power he sensed in Mount Canterlot was inside this very cave and he wouldn’t show it, but he was also a bit nervous to continue.

“M-master?” stuttered Clover, “Maybe we… shouldn’t go in there…”

“I think, I think we very much ought to my student. After all, we did come all this way,” he spoke, but it was not with much confidence, which only served to worry her more, “Come along now,” Clover trotted slowly and very close to his side, nearly touching him as they walked into the blackness of the cave. And it was there that they saw it.

He was enormous; the most colossal creature anypony had ever laid eyes on. No pony had ever seen a dragon before, not even so much as heard of one, but somehow his presence did not look unfamiliar to Starswirl; he could not explain this. His hide was the color of a dry soil, but it did not look dull, for his hide was the crust of the earth, from which all life occupied. His very breathing shook the ground like a gentle quake; this was the movement of the earth. His eyes glowed like bright embers; this was the flame of the world, life. The entire cave, which did not appear to have any apparent light source, was shone brightly, almost as if the dragon itself was illuminating it with his presence. When it spoke, it could not just be heard echoing throughout the large cave, but it could be heard, echoing through the very soul of him, as if he was speaking to every living creature in the world.

“A child of the earth has come to my lair, welcome young one. I am the Dragon of the Earth Bones,” it spoke powerfully. Starswirl was nearly at a loss with what to say, for he had never come across something so primal, so fundamental to the very earth, and so powerful.

“Great Dragon… why do you stay here in this cave?” he asked curiously, his voice sounding as meek as a mouse’s in comparison.

“Child, it is in the nature of all the great dragons to dwell in the mountains. We stay here to watch over the world, for you see it is not our world to live in; it is only our world to watch. And I have watched many things pass, and I have felt all manner of things on the earth shift below me.”

“And what of the ponies who come to live here, below your mountain, have you felt that?” he asked curiously, quite careful not to offend the great aspect.

The dragon shifted his mighty head, “Hmmm… yes, I have felt the movement of the ponies. I have felt the warmth and the peace of them move through the earth. And I think that this is good…” he spoke slowly, “…And I have felt something else too, something far in the distance…” he paused, appearing like he was going to speak, but he did not continue.

Starswirl urged him on, “What was it you felt great dragon?”

The dragon appeared to be deep in thought, “I have felt… a disturbance… a strange movement in the earth, a creaking; as if it means to complain to me. I feel this cracking of the earth far, far away,” he finished.

Starswirl looked worried for a moment, “And what does this mean for Equestria, for the pony villages that inhabit it?!” he asked, trying to push him a little more.

The dragon however did not look moved, “I do not believe it means anything for the young ponies that are in the valley beneath my mountain, as I have said, this disturbance is very, very far away….” He said with a nod of his massive head.

Starswirl looked a bit more relieved at hearting this. He was still in awe at the presence of the great dragon, he thought that he might not overstay his welcome, but his curiosity of something got the better of him, “Great Dragon of the Earth… What can you tell me of the magic of the sun?”

This was something that made the dragon turn his great head, and he appeared to be thinking about it for some time. Eventually he spoke, “Hrrm… the sun… I haven’t spoken of the sun in so long…” he paused to think some more, “The sun…” he began as if he had a firm grasp on what he was going to say, “… Is the aspect of life, and she is perhaps the oldest of my sisters. Now if you mean to ask me about her magic, it is the magic of creation, and it is indeed a very powerful magic to have,” the dragon paused, and he shifted his massive weight, turning to look better at the very, very tiny looking creature in front of him, “But you know you are quite young my child, perhaps it is best that you not yet know these things. I am the dragon of the earth, and I know much about it, but if you would know about the sun, then you should perhaps ask her,” he said ominously.

Starswirl looked a little confused, “But, great dragon… how would I possibly ask something from the sun?” he asked

The dragon took a deep, slow breath, “Oh yes I remember… she is much more difficult to talk to…” He hummed to himself for a moment, “…I believe that it is she that may come to speak to you. And, I believe she may only come to speak to you when you have most need of her,” he finished, just as ominously as before.

Starswirl looked, at the same time hopeful yet disappointed by the answer, and the great dragon seemed to take notice of this, “Do not look full of sorrow my little friend, for I will be here when you need me, and when the time is right, you will come to know my elder sisters. And do not forget, that there is magic, in the peacefulness of your lands below my mountain…” the dragon raised his claw up this time, to emphasize his point, which is something that Starswirl took great notice of, as the dragon would otherwise hardly move, “…do NOT forget this. There is magic in your peacefulness, and… I believe that you may need it someday yet… much as you have needed it in the past,” he said, speaking slowly as he pointed his claw at them.

Starswirl the bearded lifted his hoof in fair well to the great and powerful dragon, despite the fact that he didn’t quite find what he was looking for, he was quite glad that he got to be in the presence of such an old and powerful creature, “I will not forget, Great Dragon of the Earth Bone, I hope indeed that we shall meet again,” the dragon gave him a slow nod, before returning to what looked like a slumber. Then Starswirl and his apprentice walked out of the cave, taking a moment to drink in the magnificent view of the whole of Equestria. Starswirl grasped his staff, and planted it in the ground. There was a loud crackle of magic, that sounded like lightening and Starswirl and Clover were engulfed inside a ball of blue light, and then disappeared. In an instant, Starswirl and Clover found themselves at the base of the mountain, far removed from the tip of the mountain, or the cave that contained the ancient dragon. As the electricity of his magic wore off, the old wizard pony took one last look over his peaceful equestrian valley. He did not know that it would be the last look he would have of it in its serene condition.

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To be continued with, Chapter 2: The Coming of Disharmony

Comments

[The Truth of Chaos]

1.bp.blogspot.com/-_TkbcIBMy1Y/T2Ioh3r-T_I/AAAAAAAABGA/BAJcgUhFm7c/s1600/firstpost.jpg
But seriously,this is good! Can't wait for more!

[smileyfacer]

How exciting! Can't wait for more!

[Salacar]

This looks promising, will definitely fave and follow

[Jaffaarchfiend]

Dun dun dunnnn!

Well, this should be interesting to see what happens. Can't wait.

[Riku006]

Interesting, very interesting indeed.
I shall watch it for now.

[SonOfTheNorthe]

ur a retard. epics r suppossed to be poems, dipshit.

Nah, I'm just kidding. Nice story you've got here, liked and tracking.

[zeroxwolfx]

Weeee popular! I'm working on the second chapter as we speak, I worked out the first chapter and edited it in a day, but the second chapter might take me two days, as I have it planned to be longer than the first chapter. Things start to get more interesting in the second chapter, and things start to get more... "epic" in the third chapter... I promise! Thanks for the comments guys :D

[Silver Wrench]

Awesome work

[P0nies]

Pretty good man!

[Secrets and Lies]

Doing a fantastic job, will keep reading! However, this is kind of odd to me, in a good way. You see, in my story I also wrote about a wise dragon in a mountain top cave who was related to the Princess'. This is a very strange coincidence, and because of this very strange coincidence I will be watching you

If you care to read the chapter I'm talking about in my fic, have at it!