The End War

by SC_Orion

Mentor

Celestia calmly laid on a silken red rug in front of the stone fireplace. The rocks were uneven but smooth, having come from a nearby riverbed. Inside the fireplace, flames danced across the surface of the wood laying on the iron rack, charring the wood until it turned from a dull grayish brown to black, then glowing red and eventually burning into white ash which fell and built up below the fire.

The warmth of the fire fought back the cold night and the welcoming glow aided the soft moonlight in banishing the darkness. The only sound breaking the stillness was the steady crackle of flames and the distant rustling of dry autumn leaves. Celestia blinked as the flames continued dancing in the center of her vision, the gentle roaring threatening to lull her to sleep. She licked her lips, then hesitantly turned her head to the right.

Beside her, lying curled up under her enveloping white wing was her younger sister. A happy, loving smile pulled at her lips, and a mirthful joy filled her soft pink eyes at the sight. Luna was snuggled against her side, with her head tucked in against her chest and against Celestia's side. Her light blue ear twitched ever so slightly as she slept, and her pale blue mane loosely laid around her neck, protecting her from the chill.

Celestia slowly looked towards the door. The strong oak planks were bound together by several iron straps which were bolted to the wood. The door had been created with the utmost care and quality; it was thick and well insulated from the cold, but the stone walls didn't offer quite as much protection, leaving the room at the mercy of the elements, the only warmth coming from the fire.

She looked at the door longingly, hoping and wishing every second that it would open and the wait would finally end, but with every second, that hope faded and seemed to grow more and more distant. It was like the flame of a candle, where the wick was starting to go out. Eventually, the wick would cease to offer its radiant glow and would burn to an ember before finally burning out, leaving the room in total darkness.

She glanced down from the door and steeled her resolve. She let her eyes wander over the stone floor, looking over the smoothed stone. Despite the cracks where each individual stone met having been filled in with dirt and dust over time, she could still make out the individual stones composing the floor. She had often spent hours just studying the lines in the floor. There was no rhyme or reason to them, it had simply been a matter of the construction and how the stones laid together, but it still held her interest when she was younger.

The crackle of the flames continued unimpeded. Seconds faded into minutes and the glow of the fire, like her hope, started to burn low. She glanced over to the left side of the door. A neatly stacked pile of split wood laid between two desks. She lit her horn, adding a new glow to illuminate the room. Her aura was golden and as warm as the day, casting a bright and cheerful light throughout the room. She enveloped two sticks and a split log in her magic, then levitated them up from the stack with ease, transferring them over to the fireplace.

Seconds passed with no reaction, but gradually, gray smoke started to rise from the fire, and then the wood burst into flames. The light emitted from the fire intensified, and warmth washed over the room once more. The cheerful crackling of flames once more threatened to lull her to sleep, as it already had with her sister.

The gentle click of hooves softly striking wood drew her attention back to the door. There was a gentle clunk, then the door was enveloped in a whitish gray aura before it swung inward. A young, light gray stallion calmly stepped inside the doorway, then hastily shut the door behind him. "Tia, Luna," he acknowledged. A knowing smile crossed his lips. "They are ready."

Celestia smiled and pushed herself up into a sitting position. Luna grumbled in her sleep as her pillow moved. Celestia looked down at Luna. For a moment, she just looked at her and how her muzzle was scrunched up in discomfort. She leaned down and nuzzled her younger sister. "Lu... it's time to wake up," she said softly.

"Tia..." Luna groaned softly. She hesitantly opened her eyes and looked around. Almost immediately, she looked towards the doorway.

Celestia folded her wing back to her side and stood up. Luna calmly stretched out, then stood up beside her sister. Celestia was easily twice as tall as her, and while Starswirl had a solid decade on Celestia, Celestia stood just barely a hoof shorter than him. She calmly made her way over to the door, and Luna stayed by her side the entire time.

At their approach, Starswirl opened the door for them. Celestia braced herself, then calmly strode out into the early morning chill. The cold nipped at her coat as she left the comforting warmth of the fire. She fluffed her wings and held them close. She felt her sister's body brush against her foreleg. She glanced down as Luna ducked under her and tried to take shelter between her hooves, shivering slightly.

"Tia... it's cold..." Luna pouted.

Celestia smiled reassuringly. "It's alright, Lu," she said in a soft, silken voice. Her tender voice instantly reassured Luna, and the filly perked up, although she could still see the lingering effects of the cold biting at her coat. A cold wind blew past, bringing with it a harsh whistle.

Starswirl closed the door, then stepped over to them. A moment later, he draped his cloak over Celestia and coaxed the two alicorns closer to him so the three of them would be sheltered. As soon as they adjusted to the closeness, Starswirl took the lead, coaxing Celestia and thus Luna onward.

The trio navigated the dirt roads, lead on by Starswirl as he guided them through the village. The road was surrounded mostly by small wooden houses, although the occasional larger stone building offered a little more shelter from the chilly fall wind.

As Starswirl led on, he constantly swept his gaze from left to right, never once pausing for more than an instant as he took in the surroundings.

"You remember what I taught you, correct?" Starswirl asked without stopping.

"Of course," Celestia answered calmly.

"Yeah," Luna agreed.

"Good. According to my research, neither of you should have any problems with the task at hoof. Your magic is far superior to mine," Starswirl replied.

"Even mine?" Luna asked eagerly.

A slight chuckle escaped Starswirl's lips, and he nodded. "Yes, Luna. Even your magic is more powerful than mine..." Luna put a slight skip into her walk at the praise. "You two will grow up to become powerful alicorns... you already easily outpower the council..." he trailed off.

Eventually, the buildings faded to tall trees with branches filled with dry leaves and low shrubs guarding the path. Occasionally, a leaf or two fluttered down, carried on by the wind. The dirt road gradually turned into a stone path through the forest. Eventually, the darkness was broken by the light of fire from a clearing. Beyond the clearing, a vast plain stretched out below them, filled with forests and crisscrossed by rivers feeding the fertile, untamed expanse.

"I have returned," Starswirl acknowledged as the trio walked into the light. A dozen unicorns all wearing dull robes turned to acknowledge their arrival. Most of them were stallions, but two of them were mares. Starswirl casually lifted his cloak from Celestia and Luna, then took a step aside, letting the others examine them.

Celestia fluttered her wings as all of the unicorns sized her up, their gazes trailing from her vibrant pink mane and horn to her majestic wings at her sides, then to her barren white flank. Luna shyly slid back in between her forelegs. She glanced down at her sister, then swallowed and looked back up.

One of the unicorns, a light brown stallion with a grayed mane and tail smiled and nodded as he approached. He came to a stop a few hooves from them and scrutinized both alicorns. "They're just foals... are you certain that-"

"Of course I'm certain!" Starswirl shot back. "I wouldn't risk them if I wasn't completely sure. My research proves their capability."

"They don't even have their cutie marks..." he muttered, shaking his head. He sighed softly, then nodded. "I trust your judgment, Starswirl. You wouldn't risk your apprentices, especially them, if you weren't sure." After a few seconds, he backed away.

The rest of the unicorns followed his lead and they formed two lines, each one facing the other, forming a sort of aisle before Celestia and Luna. At the end of the path was a raised stone platform.

A hoof rested against Celestia's shoulders. She looked at the hoof, then followed the leg back to the source. Starswirl smiled a reassuring, yet distant smile. "Go on, Tia... Luna," he coaxed. "You can do this," he stated.

Celestia's expression wavered, then she nodded. She cast a quick glance at Luna, then picked her up with her magic. Starswirl slid his hoof from Celestia's shoulder and stepped back. Celestia levitated Luna up and placed her on her back, then calmly took a step forward, and then another.

With every step, she passed two of the unicorns, and their eyes fell on her and lingered. With every step, the ones she passed gave her a respectful nod. Until finally, she took the last step and stood up on the platform. She gazed out across the known world and took it in. She could hear Luna gasping from her back, and she could practically feel the excitement in the filly's body.

Her lips pulled into a smile. She looked back at her sister's wide-eyed expression. "Are you ready, Luna?" she asked softly.

Luan nodded, then sat up on Celestia's withers. She closed her eyes tight and stuck her tongue out of her mouth in intense concentration, despite the night's chill. Light blue sparks shot out of her horn, then a steady blue aura glowed to life. Her mane seemed to twinkle and shimmer ever so slightly. Celestia watched for a moment, then looked up at the moon. The majestic white orb seemed to shudder as Luna's magic reached out to it. Seconds passed. The moon gradually sunk lower from the pinnacle of the sky until it neared the horizon.

Luna giggled from her back. "I'm doing it, Tia!" she cheered.

Celestia nodded, her eyes sparkling in awe. Several seconds passed as she just watched as her sister moved the moon with the same ease that she would levitate a stick. Eventually, she closed her eyes and lit her horn. She could feel the sun and the moon. At just the right moment, she sent a flare of her magic into the spell Starswirl had meticulously taught them. With limitless ease, she embraced the warm sun and coaxed it up along its path for the day. Through her closed eyes, she could see the soft pinks and oranges coming from the edge of the horizon as the sun crept forward.

She opened her eyes and beheld the sunrise, the very first one she brought on. A shiver raced down her spine, and her heart beat faster.

A blinding flash of light erupted from behind her, turning the morning brighter than the day. She closed her eyes to protect them from the light, but as soon as it happened, it faded. A second passed, then a wave of gasps broke the silence.

"Tia! I got my cutie mark!" Luna cheered. She leaned forward and fell onto Celestia's neck, giggling giddily.

A quick glance back revealed a white crescent moon adorning Luna's flank, surrounded by an inky black. A quick glance at her own flank revealed the image of the sun sat in place, looking like it had always been there, like it had always meant to be there.

"Their cutie marks..." a stallion whispered. She turned around to face the wide-eyed unicorns and shifted her weight in apprehension. She hesitantly stepped down from the stone platform. Less than a second passed before every single unicorn who occupied the clearing, save for Starswirl, bowed to them.

Celestia fluttered her wings at her sides in apprehension, and her back muscles tensed up. She stood there rigidly.

"Tia, what are they doing?" Luna asked in the innocent curiosity of a filly.

"Bowing to us, Lu..." Celestia answered softly as she looked over the bowing unicorns. Starswirl smirked at her.

Luna nodded, although understanding escaped her grasp.

---

Celestia calmly lifted a small ceramic teacup to her lips, then tilted it upward. A warm liquid flowed into her mouth, but it didn't really have a taste to it. She swallowed the sip of liquid and closed her eyes, a smile pulling at her lips, as the liquid rolled down her throat, leaving a pleasant aftertaste of roses and raspberries in her mouth.

She opened her eyes and gently set the teacup back down on its plate, sending a short-lived, high-pitched clink to break the silence. She turned her attention back to the parchment in front of her. The hide was a dull yellow in color and sharply contrasted with the black ink writing adorning it. She diligently read over the report, and with every new sentence, her brow creased further, and the smile on her lips faded before eventually morphing into a frown.

She scooped the parchment up in her magic, then rolled it up so that the text was hidden from sight. She calmly stood up, then stretched out. She closed her eyes and let out a soft moan of enjoyment as a result of stretching. She let herself relax and go limp for a few seconds, then sighed and opened her eyes. She stood back up, then glanced out of the lone window in her chambers.

The moon calmly rose into the sky in the distance above the tall trees. Once more, she smiled. Several seconds passed, then she turned and calmly walked to the door and opened it with her magic.

Two guards, both unicorns, clad in dull gray armor bowed as she walked out of the room. "Princess," they acknowledged in unison, their voices rough yet respectful.

Celestia nodded in acknowledgment, then calmly started down the hallway to her right. Her hooves clicked against the cold stone floor as she walked, and the sound of armored hooves striking the stone closely followed her. The trip through the unremarkable castle's hallways passed by in a blur.

Eventually, she slowed to a stop at one of the reinforced oak doors. Marking the stone archway at the top was Starswirl's cutie mark. She calmly rapped on the door with her left forehoof. "Starswirl?" she called.

At the sound of her voice, the door opened, pulled inward by a grayish white aura. "Tia," an aged stallion greeted.

Celestia smiled, then calmly walked inside. She swept her gaze to the left and looked over the familiar bookshelves, taking in the tomes of knowledge the stallion possessed, then she looked to the right and looked over yet more tomes and artifacts of great power. After a moment, she closed the door behind her. "I wanted to talk to you about this report," she stated.

Starswirl looked back at her, his white beard on full display as it hung loosely from his chin. "What report?" he inquired.

Celestia fluffed her wings. "The one about the Ursa Major," she stated.

Starswirl snorted. "What of it?" he asked.

"Luna fought it on her own," Celestia answered. "And she beat it! She's not supposed to-"

"Tia," Starswirl interjected calmly. He turned around and stared up at the alicorn. "She may be your younger sister, but she has come into her own over the past decade. Surely you've seen that she posesses an aptitude for combat magic that you don't."

Celestia nibbled on her lip and nodded. "I do, but-"

"She can handle it herself. She took on the task of protecting ponies from monsters of her own will. She's good at it. It's her domain, Tia," Starswirl replied.

Celestia sighed and nodded. "I worry about her... I know she can, but... what if something happens to her?" she asked.

Starswirl's eyes seemed to gloss over, and his gaze turned distant. A few seconds passed, then he let out a tired, aged sigh. "You can handle it," he stated. He took a deep breath, then looked over at the bookshelf. He levitated out a small, leather-bound journal, then flipped through it.

Celestia frowned. "What's that?" she asked.

Starswirl glanced up at the tall alicorn. "One of my mentor's journals," he stated matter-of-factly. "She gave it to me the last time we spoke," he acknowledged, then turned and walked back to his desk. He set the journal down on the desk.

Celestia looked at the open journal curiously. Starswirl's large hat blocked most of it from sight. She tilted her head to the side, then took a few steps forward. "How... is she?" she asked calmly.

Starswirl paused and looked up. After a moment, he looked back at Celestia. "She's... getting up there in years..." he trailed off. "But then again, I suppose we all are..." he trailed off and looked over Celestia's pristine visage. "With two exceptions, of course," he noted.

Celestia stayed silent and watched him.

Starswirl's expression hardened and he snorted derisively again. "I kind of look forward to it. I won't have to deal with those young unicorn upstarts thinking they know everything there is to know about magic then."

Celestia's lips twitched up slightly. "They're not all that bad," she stated.

Starswirl let out a tired groan and shook his head. "And to think, they're the future..." he muttered. "Well, at least they have you and Luna to knock some sense into them..." he relented. He looked back at the journal on the desk, then took a step to the right.

Celestia stepped forward and stood beside him. "What is it?"

"A journal of one of her expeditions to the Everfree Forest. She says she felt something odd about the place and so she gave me this to look through, thinking that I'd be able to figure it out," he acknowledged.

"The Everfree Forest?" Celestia asked, a shiver racing down her spine. "That's... risky..." she said hesitantly.

Starswirl nodded. "I'm planning an expedition to investigate myself. Some of her notes don't make any sense. According to her, there's potent magic there that has no reason to be there."

Celestia grimaced. "The Everfree contains many mysteries... many of the monsters we have faced have originated from there... Starswirl-"

"I'll be fine, Celestia," he replied steadfastly.

"You're not as young as you used to be," Celestia cautioned.

"Age has its own advantages, Tia. My body and my magic may not be as strong or potent as yours or Luna's, but I have my fair share of experience," he replied. Celestia sighed, then nodded reluctantly. "I'll be leaving in two days' time. I will be sure to stay in touch. I shouldn't be gone longer than a month."

"I can't talk you out of this?" Celestia asked with a grimace.

Starswirl chuckled. "Since when were you ever able to talk me out of an adventure, Tia?" he asked with a playful smile. Despite her concern, Celestia smiled.

---

Luna winced as Celestia dabbed a damp white cloth over a nasty cut across the side of her neck, running over one of her arteries. She held her head to the side and avoided eye contact with her elder sister as Celestia tended to her wounds.

"Luna," Celestia said softly. "You need to be more careful, griffon bandits-"

Luna looked at Celestia and silence her by meeting her gaze. "We can't just leave the bandits to reign freely and harass and kill ponies, Tia."

Celestia grimaced and hesitantly nodded. "We have soldiers patrolling the roads to deal with them."

"It's not enough," Luna stated firmly.

Celestia paused and watched Luna for a moment. After a few seconds, she looked away and rinsed the blood out of the cloth in a small bowl. Once the cloth was cleaned, she brought it back over and resumed dabbing Luna's cuts. "How did this even happen?" she asked.

Luna shifted her weight uncomfortably. "They... caught me off guard. They had a unicorn with them. She was using dark magic, and..." she trailed off.

"Tia," Starswirl said calmly. "Luna."

Celestia turned away from Luna and looked back at the aged stallion. She frowned at his silent arrival. Luna shifted her weight as Starswirl looked over her injuries. Starswirl eventually looked back at Celestia. "I had a vision last night."

Celestia nodded slowly. "And this couldn't wait?"

Starswirl shook his head. "No," he stated. "I saw another alicorn. She was wearing a cloak of light, and she outshined you and Luna combined," he stated.

Celestia shared a glance with Luna before looking back at Starswirl. "Another alicorn?" she asked.

Starswirl nodded. "You were there with her. You called her a friend."

"Was there anything else to your vision, Starswirl?" Luna inquired.

"No," Starswirl replied casually. "But I found it significant that there was another alicorn. My mentor also mentioned having a vision of another alicorn... She was at a... structure of some kind. She said she knew it was important, but she didn't know how it was important. There wasn't enough information for her..."

---

Celestia calmly opened her eyes as the dream faded away. She stared up at the ceiling, looking at the marble, pondering the memories. Several minutes passed in silence as she laid there calmly, contemplating her dreams. She frowned, then sat up and climbed out of bed.

She casually glanced towards her balcony, then broke the darkness with the light of her horn. A few seconds passed, then the sky gradually started to lighten as the sun's rays shined from behind the horizon. She walked over to her mirror, then levitated on her shoes, regalia, and tiara. A quick spell cleaned her coat, mane, and tail from sleeping.

She stood there, frowning at her reflection in the mirror. "Starswirl... you could be so cryptic at times..." she sighed. "An alicorn wearing a cloak of light?" she asked herself. A grimace pulled at her lips.

She shook it off, then walked over to her desk. With a quick flash of light, a large tome teleported, then fell down onto the desk, making a loud thunk. She opened the book and looked over the table of contents. A list of Starswirl's prophecies laid written across the page. Many of them had already come to pass while others were clearly wrong, and yet none of them mentioned anything about an alicorn wearing a cloak of light.

Her eyes froze as the skimmed over one prophecy, the one which she had been so completely blind to. Her chest tightened up and she clenched her jaws. After several seconds, she forced her eyes to the prophecy below it and continued on. She flipped the page and read it over, then sighed in defeat and closed the book.

A knock on the door drew her attention away from the desk. The door calmly opened, and her sister walked in, carrying a tray with a teapot and two teacups. Celestia smiled as she watched the steam rise from the pot. "Luna," she greeted.

"Good morning, sister," Luna replied. "I figured some tea would help you, considering your dreams during the night."

Celestia nodded. "You were watching the dreams?"

Luna inclined her head, then came to a stop and sat down on her haunches. "Of course, sister," she stated. She levitated the teapot up and poured two cups of tea, then set it back down. She lifted one cup with her magic and levitated it over to Celestia, who took it with her magic and took a quick sip of it. "I... remembered something while watching your dreams," she said hesitantly. "The alicorn war you remember him speaking of?" she asked.

Celestia nodded. "Yes, what about it?"

"He didn't mention it until after coming back from his trip," Luna replied. "I remember us rushing over to his chambers when we heard he had returned. He wasn't alone in there when we arrived, there was another pony with him. I can't remember her voice, but it was a unicorn mare. She was wearing a dark, hooded cloak of some kind." Luna tilted her head to the side. "I remember thinking it was strange... her cloak looked thick and well-insulated around her body, despite the time of year..." She shook her head. "Starswirl was talking to her, but he didn't act like he knew her that well. I remember thinking something about her was off, but... I don't remember what. Starswirl mentioned the alicorn war as we walked inside. She was nodding."

Celestia frowned and nodded slowly. "I never saw her face, and I don't recall Starswirl ever mentioning her again. I don't think either of us saw her again after that."

Luna nodded in agreement. "I remember seeing that Starswirl was missing the bell on his hat."

"So... that's where he was, and that's when he was there... who was the mare?" Celestia asked.

Luna shook her head. "I do not know, and with as much time has passed, I do not believe we will be able to identify her unless there was something in his writings about her. Our best chance still seems like it would be the missing pages of his journal, or perhaps there are other journals of his which we do not know about."

Celestia levitated the teacup a little lower. "I feel as if we're on a wild goose chase," she said calmly. "We are missing something, and because of that, none of this makes sense..." she muttered. "Perhaps I should investigate our old castle in the Everfree Forest... I did not move all of Starswirl's journals from there when I moved to Canterlot... although I know that some of his journals were lost during the move from our first castle..." she trailed off and frowned. "Starswirl's mentor sensed the Tree of Harmony, and we know that is what he found on that expedition... but what if there is something more to that?" she asked.

Luna hesitated to say something, but after a second, she nodded. "If you are certain that the spell Starswirl found was the one which Twilight completed, then there is some link between the Elements of Harmony and the structure he uncovered since the spell required the Elements of Harmony to function..."

Celestia took another sip of her tea and looked to the right, her eyes darting around as she thought. "Perhaps we can find further clues in his writings about the Tree of Harmony, then..." she mused.

Author's Note:

My prereaders have informed me that I should put a note somewhere about this story not following "canon."

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Comments

[Sir Budginton]

Starswirl shook his head. "No," he stated. "I saw another alicorn. She was wearing a cloak of light, and she outshined you and Luna combined," he stated.

A cloak of light

Light are photons (is photons? are made of photons? How do you say it)

More photons means more shining

Cloaks that shine emit photons.

A cloak covers

The evening covers the ground in a "cloak" of red and orange photons

Twilight comes after evening

Photons are very fast

teleporting is very fast (actually you could argue that your not moving very fast (or at all) since you bypass all the space between your starting and ending locations)

Teleporting gives of a flash, photons

You could say this is a bright "cloak"

I've got it. This secret and mysterious alicorn is flurry heart . I know, I'm a genius. I'll be taking my nobel prize now.