The Creation of Harmony

by Time Ponies are cool

Under His Wing

Chapter IX: Under His Wing

Seventy-four years ago, in a small nameless village near the border of Ponytopia, a day's gallop from Castle Equites...

"My name is Starswirl, son of Starlight, son of Nightfall, son of Night Praeco, son of Moon Follower, son of Sectator Stellus, son of Servus Caeli, son of... son of... uhh..."

"Fairly good, Starswirl. Fairly good. I shall give you a B. You are dismissed. You may go home."

"Thank you, teacher. May the Sun bless your day."

"And may the Moon guard your night."

The little blue-coated, red-maned unicorn foal with a blank flank left the schoolhouse and trotted his way home. The Sun shone a light yellow as it approached the Western horizon as the villagers conducted their afternoon business. The foal stood out among the villagers as he was the only unicorn, while all the ponies around him were earth ponies. Little Starswirl arrived at his house shortly afterwards. His house was much grander than the other houses in the village as his father, Starlight, was the head sorcerer of the village. Starswirl stood in front of the door and decided not to knock; he wanted to try using magic. He had heard his father use a spell to unlock the door some time ago, so he pointed his horn at the door lock and recited the incantation, "Claustrum Patefacio." Starswirl put all his energy into the spell and the effort it took began to hurt his head. He was about to give up when he heard a click. Starswirl stopped and approached the door. He pushed and the door opened. Starswirl was overjoyed and galloped into the house, calling for his mother, Four-Leaf, who was at the stove preparing supper.

"Mama! Mama! Mama! I got into the house all by myself! Mama! Look! I used papa's spell to unlock the door! I did it all by myself!"

Four-Leaf turned around quickly and gasped, startled by her son's sudden entrance. She was a beige-coated earth pony with a flowing dark green mane and tail, and a four-leafed clover as her cutie mark.

"Oh, Starswirl! You startled me. Don't scare your mama like that."

"But mama! Look! I opened the door all by myself!"

"Well, that is very nice. Only five-years old and already you're performing some simple spells." Four-Leaf said as she patted Starswirl's head.

"I'm six now, mama! It's my birthday!"

"Oh, that's right! I always forget how fast you are growing up. Now, I must return to making our special supper for your birthday."

Four-Leaf turned around and continued cooking as Starswirl kept talking.

"And I got a B in my genealogy test today, mama! Teacher June Bloom said I performed fairly good!"

"Fairly well, Starswirl. Not fairly good. And you could have done better. I was expecting at least an A-, Starswirl. You should have spent more time studying than playing out in the fields at night."

"I wasn't playing!" Starswirl retorted, "I was stargazing!"

"That's enough!" Four-Leaf snapped, "You should have studied more and that is all. Now, dress yourself. We shall be having visitors for supper."

Starswirl looked down dejected and sulked up the stairs to his bedroom. He hopped onto his bed, lied down and looked out the window towards the setting Sun. A scolding from his mother happened nearly every time he came back with test results, regardless of the grade. And on the rare occasions when he received an A+, his mother would simply pat his head, say, "That's nice," and go back to whatever she was doing.

Starswirl heard the door open downstairs as his father entered the house. He listened closely to the ensuing conversation between his father and his mother.

"I'm home, dear."

"How was work, Starlight?"

"Dreadful. I've received even more complaints regarding pests. Apparently, earlier today, an army of ants and a few rats penetrated my vermin shield and cut apart much of the crop in the Grassroots farm. According to the pegasi scouts, the dragons have been burning the forests across the border and therefore all of the creatures flee to our side and now I have twice as mcuh vermin to protect our farms from."

"How unpleasant."

"How is Starswirl?"

"Your son got another B in a test. Do you know why? It's because he always goes to the fields and plays instead of studies. I do not understand why you can't discipline him more. I'm too busy cleaning up after him to address his study habits."

"Well, I-"

"He is upstairs, in his room. Go and lecture him or something of the like."

Starswirl hopped off his bed and went to his dresser to start looking for his formal clothes. Starlight knocked on the door and entered. He was a short unicorn, shorter than his mother, with a grey coat, a black mane and short beard, and exceptionally long horn and the constellation Leo as his cutie mark. He wore a dark blue cape with star and moon patterns on it, and bells lining the end and he wore a hat with the same color and patterns, and bells around the rim and on the pointy tip. He placed his hoof on Starswirl's shoulder and spoke.

"Son, you're mother is right."

"About what?" Starswirl said, feigning ignorance about the conversation dowstairs.

"Come now, Starswirl. I know you've been listening to us. And she is right. You need to study more. I know you want to go out and improve your magic, but for now, you must make school the higher priority. We two are the only unicorns in the village, so to make your way in here, you need to do well with an earth pony education. I know it is frustrating. I was just like you when I was young and now I regret not striving to do well in school. Luckily, your grandfather forced me to study and study and study for hours and now here I am."

"But teacher June Bloom said I did good."

"Yes, son. A B is good. But you are in line to become the village's head sorcerer. You need better than a B. You need to be the best in class if you are to become a good leader for us. Being the head sorcerer is more than just magic. You need logic, oration, writing, history, even arithmetic. A good leader is a well-rounded one."

Starswirl sighed and conceded. "Okay..."

"Promise me, Starswirl, that you shall always strive to be the best."

"I promise."

"There's a good lad." Starlight turned and walked towards the door. "Now dress yourself and be ready to celebrate your birthday."

~~~~~

"Happy birthday to thee! Happy birthday to thee! Happy birthday dear Starswirl! Happy birthday to thee!" sang the crowd of relatives, neighbors and classmates gathered around the table.

Starswirl leaned over towards his cake and blew out the candles and made a wish. The crowd clapped their hooves and whistled. Starlight then used his magic to slice the cake into equal pieces for everypony. After everypony had enjoyed the cake, they proceeded to the gifts. Starswirl grabbed the first gift, wrapped in red paper. It was from his father. Starswirl opened the gift and gasped. "Papa! It's your sorcerer hat! Are you giving me your hat!?"

"Every great and powerful sorcerer needs a good hat, does he not?"

"Oh, thank you papa!" Starswirl put the oversized hat on and it covered his entire head. The bells jingled as he turned his head side to side. "I can't see."

Starlight chuckled and took the hat of his son's head and said, "Well, perhaps you could grow a bit more before you can start wearing it everyday."

Starswirl began to reach for the next gift when there was a sudden hard knocking on the door and a pony called out, "Starlight! Starlight! Help! Dragons! The village is under attack!"

Starlight quickly stood and galloped out the door. Starswirl tried to follow him, but his mother pulled him back and said, "No, Starswirl! Do not go out! We must stay here."

Outside, Starlight saw the Grassroots farm ablaze and a band of young dragons strutting down the road, spitting fire at fleeing ponies. Up in the sky, more dragons were flying around attacking the pegasi busy clearing away clouds. The calm night was being ruined by the raid. Starlight pointed his horn to the fire-lit sky and shouted the incantation, "Restinguo ignis! Abs ignis contego!"

From the tip of Starlight's horn burst a wave of blue light that put out all the fires and pushed away the dragons. Then a bubble shield around the village formed to keep out the dragons. He stood there still pointing his horn to the sky and called for all the villagers.

"This shield should keep the dragons at bay, but I need to focus solely on it, so all of you must repair the damages without me until the dragons leave. First, put out whatever fires are left and tend to anypony who is hurt. Then inspect all the buildings and take care of anything that is structurally compromised. Go!"

Starswirl approached his father and rubbed his head against his father's leg.

"Papa, I'm frightened."

"Worry not, son. Those dragons can't get through the shield. So long as I stay here keeping the shield up, they cannot hurt us. And soon they shall simply give up and fly away. Now, go and help your mother care for the injured. This is your first chance to serve the village, Starswirl. Make me proud."

Starswirl trotted off to his mother and Starlight turned his eyes back to the sky. The dragons above the village were gathering above the center of the village, where Starlight stood, and flew around in circles. Starlight kept a sharp watch on the dragons, waiting to see them leave the village alone. But the dragons would not leave. They concentrated themselves over the center and looked down on Starlight. It was then that Starlight realized what they were intending to do. He alone would not be able to stand against them; he needed aid from Castle Equites. He called to all the villagers.

"Everypony! Everypony! Listen! The dragons are going to concentrate all their fire and break through the shield! I cannot hold them off alone! Only soldiers from Castle Equites can stop them! Prepare to flee the village! When they break the shield I will send out a flare to call for help from the King, and I need all of you to flee!"

The villagers all panicked and galloped to their houses to gather their belongings before leaving their dear village, the one home they've known all their lives. Starlight called his son to him and gave him his cape.

"Take my cape, son, and run with your mother. It was made from the fur of a manticore. It will protect you from any fire. Now, go. Hurry."

"Papa..."

"Go!" Starlight shouted. Starswirl ran to his mother and together they ran to the edge of the village. Starswirl looked back to his father.

Above the village, the dragons drew in their breath, and then all together spewed fire at the center of the shield. The shield began to crack under the heat and pressure until it finally shattered and collapsed. The moment the shield broke, Starlight cried out an incantation that Starswirl could not hear over the roaring of the dragons and a pulse of red magic shot up from Starlight's horn into the sky and flew towards Castle Equites, leaving a trail of red luminescence across the sky.

Starlight stood his ground at the center of the village, firing spells at the dragons in order to buy the fleeing villagers time. His magic pushed the one dragon back at a time, but soon too many had descended for him to keep fighting. The dragons landed and circled around Starlight, ready for the kill.

"Papa!" Starswirl yelled as he saw the dragons surround his father. He left his mother and galloped towards Starlight. The largest dragon, the leader of the band, raised his head, opened his mouth, baring his sharp teeth, and struck.

"PAPA!" cried Starswirl. The circle of dragons opened and the dragons turned to see the little helpless foal a few feet away. Starswirl saw his father's lifeless body in the jaws of the lead dragon, and tears streamed down his face. The dragon spat the body out and spoke in Draigish, taunting Starswirl, but he could not understand the dragon. He collapsed, covered his face with his hooves and wept. Four-Leaf arrived and stood in front of her son.

"Starswirl! Run!" she shouted as she helplessly stood against the dragons to protect her one child. But she heard a soft word from behind her in a strange otherworldly voice, "No..." She looked behind her and saw Starswirl standing, his eyes glowing white and his face covered in rage. Starswirl horn glowed brighter than any horn she had ever seen. And the voice came again from Starswirl.

"NOOOO!"

A blinding golden light shone from the tip of Starswirl's horn and the little unicorn charged at the dragon that killed his father and struck him in the chest. The dragon cried out in pain and dissolved into dust. The other dragons backed up in shock of what happened to their leader. Starswirl turned to the one to his right, who readied himself to spit fire on him, and as the dragon was about to breath out his flames, Starswirl shot magic at the dragon's neck, severing his head. Other dragons then together tried to attack Starswirl, and the little unicorn split the earth beneath them. They fell into the crevice and Starswirl closed it, crushing the dragons inside. The few left recognized the danger and began to fly away, but Starswirl used his magic to pull some back and tied them by the tail to a tree. He then lifted his burning house, levitated it over them and dropped it. Starswirl then galloped towards the last dragon, who had begun to fly away, and used his magic to gallop faster than any creature could go. He levitated himself up, landed on the dragon's back and then made the dragon's blood boil inside his veins. The body fell to the ground, cushioning Starswirl's fall. Having killed the last dragon, Starswirl calmed and returned to normal.

Starswirl was shocked to see a dragon's body under his hooves and he quickly backed up. He stared at the dragon for a few moments, thinking to himself, "Did I do that?" He turned around and saw the silhouette of a tall alicorn with a battalion of pegasi armed with spears, backed by the light of the burning village. The alicorn approached Starswirl and lowered his head as he spoke.

"That is great power thou keepest within thy horn, young one. 'Tis magic we have seen in no mere unicorn.

"Oh, I'm- I am sorry, sir. I didn't mean to kill all these dragons. I- I- I should have left it to you to take care of, sir. I... the dragons... they-"

"What is thy name, young one?"

"Starswirl, son of Starlight, son of Nightfall, sir."

"Ave, Starswirl, son of Starlight. We are thy king, Concordius, son of Lux V."

Starswirl gasped and immediately bowed. "Oh, Y-Y-Your - I mean, Thy - Majesty! 'Tis an honour!"

"Tell me, young one, what purpose doth a powerful sorcerer such as thee have in such a village?"

"I was born here, Thy Majesty."

"Hmmm..." The King looked back the village, which was almost completely destroyed, and continued, "'Twould seem this is no place for thee, now." Concordius spoke the incantation, " Restinguo ignis," and let out a wave of white light that put out all the fires. Now the night was dark and the only light was the torches carried by the pegasi soldiers, and the glow of Concordius' horn, which revealed his aged face to Starswirl.

"We hath always sought a young unicorn worthy of being our apprentice whom we may taketh under our wing. Mayhaps we hath found him..."

Comments

[Mudkipman98]

So awesome!

[Jaypelt]

You know i was playing Oblivion during this and thought of a scene where the doctor help Martin and the people inside the chapel. Did so in about 10 minutes of killing daedra.