Pixels

by shysage

Chapter 2, Starswirl

Princess Celestia's response to my last message didn't help me relax at all...

"Air Coach, be there in an hour."

Well, I was just a little alarmed, as I wandered out of the library, down the hall and to the castle door to check the weather. Then I sighed heavily. It was snowing fiercely and at a good angle too. Princess Celestia's Air Coach ride would be horrible. But she felt she needed to come here right away... I was more alarmed. But all I could do was wait. So, I laid on my belly facing out the door and watched it snow, and tried to calm down. Spike came up a time or two, and asked me if something was wrong. I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I just gazed out across the blowing, drifting snow.

Maybe 2 hours later, the Air Coach unsteadily landed. It was still snowing, and I couldn't quite see, and I stood up. The Air Coach took abruptly off again, and was gone. But Princess Celestia walked quickly out of the snow, straight past me, down the hall into the library, and over to the thick rug in front of the Portal. She was laying down on that rug, shivering, when I walked up. Well, I laid on my belly right next to her, to try and help her thaw out, and her shivering only slowly went away. Then she started crying softly. "I hope we don't lose you..." she said this quietly, just a few times as she cried. I was soon crying too; I had no idea what these now 8 spots in my vision were, or what they meant. It was clear Princess Celestia did know however, and her responses... Well, around dinner time, we walked to the dining area for some food, then were back on our bellies facing each other on that thick rug in the library. Princess Celestia began to explain. And this would take a while. I guess there was a lot of information to cover. Or maybe, Princess Celestia was enjoying some of her remembering. She spoke slowly.

"Summer Star was such a precious Unicorn mare, and very gifted magically, too. Her coat was faded light blue, and reminded me of the late afternoon sky. Her mane and tail were very light, almost white, with just a hint of yellow, just like the first visible stars as the sun set. I helped her through her early stages in magic, and she was such a treasure to teach. Every little magical discovery, something new she could do with her magic, every new step brought her such amazing joy. Summer Star's magic grew quickly and it was clear that it would be quite powerful. I spent a lot of time teaching magic to her over the course of two years. We were the best of friends by then, and she was clearly taking in magic on her own, and spent a lot of time in the library studying, learning, practicing. Her magic was still growing rapidly."

Princess Celestia stopped here abruptly and began to cry. She cried pretty hard for a few minutes. Through her tears, she said this. "Living forever can be such a curse... I have had to watch so many amazing friends... pass..." Princess Celestia cried a while more, then worked on calming down. Still, that curse awaited me as well, and was a sobering reminder... Princess Celestia continued when she could.

"In spite of his name, Storm Swirl was a calm, considerate stallion. A unicorn too, most of his magic learning was done on his own, with the help of books, of course. He grew up to the west of our growing kingdom. His coat was light green. This correlated to the fact his wind magic was very powerful. His mane and tail were just a much lighter color of green. Storm Swirl was in the guard force at that time, and rising nicely through the ranks. Well, his unit was assigned to protect me as I toured one of our western outposts one day. And we ran into a large group of Cougars. We were clearly out-numbered, and I was just not sure... Storm Swirl immediately created the largest wind vortex I had ever seen, and ran that vortex around randomly in the midst of those Cougars. His vortex tossed the Cougars about like they were just pieces of paper on a windy day. They quickly ran off, limped off, and were gone. A week later, I had him back in Canterlot, trying to teach me the secret of his vortex magic. It was, is really quite powerful. Well, I quickly realized that this unknown Unicorn who taught himself in the wilds of the west, his magic, his magical ability was vast. But I guess, well maybe I just have a hard time with magic like that. It involves layering, I guess, two similar wind spells, and carefully controlling... Well, he had obviously mastered what I had trouble even learning. I still practice that when I can. I don't seem to be making much progress."

Princess Celestial smiled, and almost started crying, I could tell. Tears did slowly fall at this point.

"Even before I realized what a good tactical move this would be, Storm Swirl and Summer Star met. I was in the library with Storm Swirl. He was so patient, but I was having problems learning, even understanding his vortex spell. Summer Star found me there; we had planned on lunch together. I introduced them, I guess, and asked Storm Swirl if he would accompany us. And lunch was very quiet. I had to wonder if they both knew instantly that they each were facing... their perfect match. Well, I wasn't trying to do that, but I knew from past experience that the offspring of two very powerful Unicorns can be even more powerful. Equestria always needed more magic. Well, we had a hard time keeping them apart after that. They were growing more deeply in love, so devoted to each other. But they both... Well magic was just at the core of both their lives, and it was amazing to even watch them. It was like they used their magic for everything, together. Storm Swirl and Summer Star, they just walked calmly together wherever they were, and almost like a cloud around them, they used their magic to do everything they needed. Of course I married them two months later."

Princess Celestia was smiling by now. I think this was an amazing memory for her. But as she explained this heart-warming romance, I had actually placed their names. I will let Princess Celestia explain it though.

"I think Storm Swirl and Summer Star correctly realized that their foals would be very special. I know it was a chore for them, as deeply devoted to each other as they were, but they tried to space their foals out. They wanted to be able to focus their magic training on just one foal, one yearling at a time. And, of course, they would do this together. Magic was such an integral part of their lives. They loved sharing it, and would absolutely love teaching their own foals together. By the time one foal was 3 or 4 years old, which meant they would take their magic training on by themselves, Storm Swirl and Summer Star would think about having another foal." Princess Celestia laughed here, then kept going. "And I retained them in the magical reserves of the guard force so we could actually support them as a family while they hopefully brought new magic into the kingdom. That was both a strategic decision as well as... Well, I loved them both.

"Well, Starswirl the Bearded was one of their foals. And as you know, he was very gifted magically. He was one of the few Unicorns I have ever seen, whose magic kept growing dramatically until we lost him in battle. I won't even go into that... But Starswirl the Bearded helped defend Equestria loyally over the decades he served us. He was kind, but his magic was so very powerful. I don't even remember the name, but some magical monster attacked, and was giving us a hard time, and a number of our prized ponies were killed. Starswirl the Bearded ran up, cast some spell, and this monster was squeezed into an ever smaller ball, until it exploded in a ball of fire. Just that monster's ashes fell to the ground. Then he ran back to what he was doing before."

Princess Celestia was explaining this, but I knew it all, already. I had read everything I could find about my favorite Unicorn master! I didn't know these details about his parents though, but I doubt anything was written down about that. I thought maybe I should do a short article from Princess Celestia's recollections, covering this part of Starswirl the Bearded's life. As I was thinking that, Princess Celestia began to cry again...

"The first time Summer Star was in foal, Storm Swirl and Summer Star decided together that all their children would be named Starswirl, of course pulling both their names together. They loved each other so much... And this is not well known, but Starswirl the Bearded wasn't their first foal. Their first foal became known as Starswirl the Elder. His magic, his magical ability was vastly greater than even Starswirl the Bearded. If you can imagine sibling rivalry in a family of Unicorns... Well, mom and dad kept things calm and safe. But it was clear that their first foal (Starswirl the Elder) was magically stronger than their second (Starswirl the Bearded). And I really don't know how they came up with the exact names.

"But Starswirl the Elder... He was so powerful... He was loving and kind, just like his mom and dad, but his magic... His magic grew so rapidly, and quickly... After just three months as my student, he didn't need to do more than read a magical spell, and he could quickly analyze, extrapolate, take that spell apart and use the pieces in any number of different, new ways. During one of those few magic lessons I had with this gifted yearling Unicorn, I smiled inside, and thought "Equestria needs you!" And after just 3 months, he spent most of his time in the library. He definitely didn't need my help after that! But when he was not quite full grown... he noticed..."

Princess Celestia cried pretty hard here. And I had to wonder why there was absolutely nothing in print, in any libraries I had found, about my favorite Unicorn's family... I supposed I would find out... Princess Celestia cried for a while. Then she tried to go on.

"Those spots... Starswirl the Elder noticed them too, and told his mom and dad. None of us, we had never seen it before. Well, Starswirl the Elder, his magic was huge... But we just didn't know... Slowly varying in size, deeply dark purple color... starting around the outer edges of his view... they were just like..."

Well, I was scared now, and crying too. Princess Celestia finished that recollection, though.

"It slowly got worse, obstructing more and more of his view... And, I guess Starswirl the Elder, he was just so sensitive... There is a keen link between sensitivity and magic after all. But Starswirl the Elder just knew... It was evil that was eating away at his vision, eating away at his life inside, slowly pulling him towards darkness... This Unicorn with such vast magical ability, darkness was pulling him to itself. Starswirl the Elder increasingly felt that... He knew that. And Starswirl the Elder knew... there was only one way to stop this progression... And as he pleaded, he warned there was only one way to protect Equestria from one day having to deal with his own powerful magic, turned against us... He cried out... He pleaded... He shouted... We had to break his Unicorn horn.... This seemed a barbaric solution to be sure; his magic would be ruined... Well, his magic was unaffected, his vision was not substantially impaired, and so we tried to wait it out. But Starswirl the Elder, he just absolutely knew... We couldn't wait. He warned us soberly one afternoon. 'If you don't break my horn soon, then I probably won't let you, and you won't be able to stop me... He was crying out in anguish as he said that. Then he added, pleading "It is only a matter of time before I am lost... Save me from the evil... please...' "

Princess Celestia and I, we were both crying hard now... Still, she...

"On that very spot... crying torrents themselves, Storm Swirl and Summer Star... as Starswirl the Elder roared out in pain, and was quickly fighting back harshly to stop them... Mom and dad worked together... resolutely... and broke their own colt's Unicorn horn... to save him from evil... to save Equestria from him..."

Princess Celestia and I cried together for hours on that rug, until sleep finally took over...

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Comments

[TheLastBrunnenG]

If you haven't already, consider adding this to some groups, however many you feel are applicable. It needs more exposure. Perhaps the Twilestia group under "teacher and student" or "platonic".

[shysage]

Ugh... working my tail off to survive, can barely find time to write... Sorry...