Dark Ascension

by Metta-Poke

Chapter 2: You must learn to walk before you can run

The alluring intricacies of a child's infancy once seemed all but a foreign concept to Starswirl, never considering the strange, yet intriguing nature of the development of a young colt into a proud stallion, nor a silent filly into a beautiful mare, yet his parenthood over Wild Encounter and Clover the Clever taught him an intricacy to his own life that he had regretted not discovering sooner - family.
"Family... Something I've never considered an importance before. I thought it best to confine myself to the lonely solitude of being around my own person and no other, yet these two young children... they awake a strange feeling inside me that I am glad to experience. I believe they call it... Love" Starswirl chuckled after uttering his self-imposed monologue, and gazed towards the attractive shining of the morning light, allowing the sun's gentle rays to flood into his dark chamber. He soon heard the echoing sound of tiny hooves clapping and tapping around the hallways and vacant chambers of his home, no doubt knowing that those he cared to protect had stirred from their slumber. "Thank you for protecting my children under your light, Lady Luna... I take them back into my care"

Now leaving the quiet vacancy of his chamber, Starswirl came towards the two young ponies, and announced his presence directly "Good morning, young ones. Today's lesson is going to be a little different from what you two are used to. No magic, no spells, nothing like that. Follow me out to the courtyard when you are ready" The colt and filly looked at each other puzzled, wondering just what kind of new lesson Starswirl had intended for them to pursue. Nevertheless, they both eagerly followed him, staying cheerfully by his side, yet never seeing a smile from his blank expression. As always, whenever Wild would trot down the almost-endless hallways, he looked side to side, observing all the tiniest details of wonder and intrigue that caught his curious attention - strange looking flora, alluring artifacts, and often menacing memoirs. He thought it best to not let his mind wander, and kept up with Starswirl and Clover. Now that they were outside in the glistening sunlight, the wide-open area of Starswirl's courtyard was in full-view, whilst the wizard stood clear in the middle of the field, the two small ponies sitting eagerly in front of him.

"Today's lesson is not one of magic, defense or fighting, but one you might find strange at first. I wish for you to learn how to walk."
True to his expectations, the two looked confusingly at one another, then back at him, yet not once did they break into laughter, as they knew Starswirl had some sense of sensibility to his words. At that moment, the lavender filly spoke with somewhat of a hesitance in her voice.
"Learn to... walk? What exactly do you mean by that? Is it some kind of metaphor we're not understanding, or have we been walking wrong our whole lives?" Starswirl gave a slight chuckle at her inquisitive nature, and nodded.
"Indeed, you have not been walking wrong, but you have also not been walking right" He pointed at Wild instantly, and gave a direct command in his confident tone "Wild, I want you to walk from here over to that tree 10 meters away. This is not a test of speed, this is merely an observation. Go right ahead." Thinking against wanting to question Starswirl's intentions, young Encounter stood up and paced carefully towards the looming tree in the distance, taking up to a minute at his minute pace. As he walked slowly towards the tree, he noticed a small blade jammed right into the bottom-right trunk, leaving a small indent underneath it. He took note of this, then returned in the same time-frame, as his small hooves brushed softly against the many blades of grass comforting his walk. "Alright, I walked to the tree and back. What was I supposed to learn from it?"

Starswirl stayed silent for what seemed like an eternity, yet only a few seconds had passed, then he gave a chuckle, and uttered his words with little restraint "Good. I see that you took care and observed even the most simplistic of surroundings. But now I want you to run to the tree in the same manner. And this time, I want to see if you can observe your surroundings just as well. Go." The dark-grey colt obeyed, this time galloping at a moderate pace, the blades of grass now carrying his pace across the field as he ran somewhat playfully, yet still looking around and observing his surroundings, trying desperately to understand the lesson he was supposed to learn. He made a turn when he reached the same distance he'd hit last time, and galloped back with a swiftness in his step. As he stopped in front of Starswirl, he now saw what looked like a disappointed stare on his once blank expression. "Did... did I do something wrong, sir...?"
Starswirl spoke with a sternness he often did not use lightly "As you recall, I asked you to observe your surroundings when you ran. Did you notice that the tree now had a small blade stuck right in the bottom-right side?" Wild gazed back at the tree, and looked down to its bottom-right trunk, but the blade was no longer in sight.
"I-I saw the blade the first time, but- but if you moved it I-" Starswirl interjected with an even harsher tone, no hesitance being present in his voice.

"You see its absence now, but you did not see it while you ran. You noticed its appearance as you walked, yet as you ran you got reckless, didn't observe, and that blade could have been anywhere. Had it been in the hooves of a pony with malicious intent, it could have been jammed into the back of your neck with no hesitation from this pony. You must learn to walk before you can run, young one. I hope you learn from this, because I will not always be here to protect you." Starswirl walked off back to their home, not once looking back at either of the small ponies, as the echoing of his hat's bells jingled quietly as he faded into the dimly-lit hallways. Clover sighed, then heard a slight sniffling, then looked over at Wild, who had hunched into his hooves in embarrassment "How... how can I learn to be a great wizard like him... when not only am I bad at magic as it is, but I can't even learn to walk? I'm useless like this... you're both so much better than me..." Clover tried to comfort him, placing her hoof gently on his shoulder and stroking down his right foreleg. He began to emit small whimpers, then at a sudden moment hugged Clover tight, his tears flooding her chest. "Clover... please never leave me... I don't want to be lonely, I don't want to lose you or daddy... I love you both so much..." Clover remained speechless, yet gladly wrapped both forelegs around her best friend, and kissed his forehead to comfort him in kind. The both of them stayed in place for some-time, and began to head back into the Wizard's home when they heard the ringing of the dinner bell.