Queen of Storms

by Via

[7] Celestial

Celestial

---

The Goat's bell rang for the last time.

---

Magic was the blood of the world, and the Nexus was it's beating heart. A torrent of all magic in the world, where all magic came from, swirling at speeds that far surpassed the speed of sound. Every five minutes, all magic in the ground and trees across the entire world had been recycled into the Nexus and regurgitated out - so Discord only had five minutes to work on. Chaos magic was his tool, but using it on the Nexus was similar to using a flaming chainsaw to carve a piece of wood into an incredibly detailed shape, while six mages were calling up fireballs and a dragon was breathing flame on the wood.

Or, in another word, impossible. But the laws of the physical universe were Discord's pet puppy dog, and he was a master of the impossible. He had done the impossible. He was the impossible. While Order and Harmony were bound to the laws of reality, he was above that. He was, and he was not. The process was slow, painfully slow - so much that he had to fully open his ley circuits across his body and use as much magic as he possibly could. Had anything alive that wasn't the embodiment of chaos itself been in the area, it would have been torn apart. Sent into the depths of gibbering insanity as its mind and body were both lacerated.

The product of his work was solid magic, above the Nexus. Had it been inside the Nexus, it would have no effect and be torn to the wilds. There'd be an increase in chaos magic, but not enough to be significant. The ball was about twelve feet in diameter, but it glowed with red and pink energy, a thin barrier of yellow energy holding it tightly together. If this barrier wasn't here, the orb would erupt. The barrier of nullstone, stones that were so saturated with magic they were themselves immune to its effects, that surrounded the Nexus was shaking due to the sheer amount of magic present in the orb. This wasn't just enough to change the world - if Discord wanted to, he could destroy the world. (Well, no. Not literally. While he definitely could have destroyed a continent, the world was far too large for Discord to LITERALLY destroy it. Damage it irreparably? Sure. Cake.)

...Luckily. He didn't want to. Using the tiny bit of magic he had saved for this one purpose, he created an echo of himself - something with his thought patterns and mind, to control the chaos he was soon to forge. Then, he threw the orb down - the Nexus, the world trembled as an eruption of chaos magic changed and morphed the entire world. Only a select few areas, bastions of order and harmony would not be affected by the general surge of magic - but given time, this chaos, this anarchy would create much more power then he had spent.

Soon, Discord would be unstoppable. And all he had to do, was wait.

---

Tempest

---

If you had told me, even a week ago that I would meet the reincarnation of the embodiment of the very Sun and Moon, even after eating their corpses in a fit of hunger-fueled thought and being hunted by Discord...well. I wouldn't have laughed in your face, but I would silently think you were insane and walk off. Why? Because this never happened. Once there were thousands of Spirits, then there was the Great Purge and there were none. Nothing knew anything about the Great Purge. Even the Spirits who survived through it or were reincarnated after the event don't remember - the only details that people did know is that it happened, and it was bad. Not why or when, but it's also known that it muddled up history. When was Equestria founded? When did the dragons become a nation? Why was there a period of time where the Alicorns were gone? But after the Great Purge, it took centuries before the Spirits began to reincarnate. They aren't necessary. They're useful, but the world will spin with or without them.

The Spirit of Sun and Moon had been dead for weeks and they were already reincarnated. There was no denying that they were Spirits, either. The horns, the wings, the thick scent of harmony and order magic that the alicorns radiated all present in the air. But they were just filies. Something was clearly wrong, Spirits became the prime physical specimen of their species. They couldn't be just fillies, right?

"Wh..." The words had to be forced out of my mouth, but even then they made no sense. I didn't know what to say. I was at a loss for words. Using most of my magic I activated my magical sight and had to hold in a gasp. Starswirl claimed to be the most powerful mortal mage in the world. And honestly? I didn't doubt him. He had about four times my mana pool, and I was a drakon, he was just a unicorn. Although, was I immortal? I suppose I was ageless...well, no. Draconics did have an end to their lifespan, although it was unheard of for them to die of old age. The oldest draconic ever was by the name of Berzkeriel, Lord of the Fang, an old dragon empire and he was over 80,000 years old. If Discord had been around as long as Life had, that meant that he was at the bare minimum one billion years old. Was that possible? Possible to be alive that long without going insane? Ugh! I keep on getting off topic. Starswirl was a strong mage, the strongest mortal mage. But both of these ageless fillies had enough magic to dwarf him six times over, and they were so, so young.

In fact, they had enough magic that had they been fighting Discord with Gryphus, he might actually be threatened. This was an absurd amount of magic. If they were children with this much power, then how was Discord able to kill the many-thousand-year-old alicorns? Spirits were confusing.

"...They're Spirits." I said dumbly, and I had to resist the urge to smack myself in the face. The greatest mortal mage shows you two Spirits, and you say they're Spirits. What a great observation, Tempest. Starswirl arched an eyebrow and nodded. "Yes, they are Spirits. Thank you. I might not have noticed." He paused, then he continued. "They're also young. Imagine my surprise when a desperate mare holding two ten-year-olds in her magical grip comes to my doorstep and begs me for help." Starswirl shut his eyes, his horn glowing and with a pop we were back outside of the crack.

"Tempest, I'm going to die." He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. I stared at him blankly, not really sure what to say. "I've seen it foretold. Something will take me. Be it beast, age, or magic - this year, I will die. But I cannot die. I owe it to the world to somehow, somehow contribute to Discord's defeat. I know that will come to - he denies it, but deep down he knows it's inevitable. But the thing is, Tempest? You and me? We are footnotes. Footnotes at the bottom of history. Inconsequential, because the only creatures that matter in the end are Spirits. And I cannot guide them any longer."

"You have the Mark of the Spirits on you. Discord cannot track you, and this makes you an infinitely better caretaker than me. He will come to me soon. I feel it. You clearly know how to find food. How to survive, how to cast magic. Tempest - you and I are footnotes, but make yourself better than that. Guide them into greatness, and guide them to defeating Discord. And then rebuild."

He just met me, and he was asking me to take care of them? ...So he was a madman, alright. I stared at him for a moment before asking the one question that was important.

"Why me?" I tilted my head to the side.
Starswirl blinked and said, as if it was obvious, "who else?"

He brought up a valid point. I was the only one since this whole event to have started to have encountered the mad Spirit multiple times and survived, if only by sheer luck. Not to mention I was one of the last draconics in existence, if not the last...although, considering that I've heard Bellum was only a tenth of the power of Berzkeriel, it would be safe to say I was one of the last. Sadly he was senile, barely able to remember his name. That alone made me...honestly, the only candidate. The tribalist ponies in the town would probably end up using them as weapons and attract Discord right to them.

"...Alright." I nodded. "But I have questions for you."
He nodded. "Please, ask away."
And so I did.

---

The Book of the Endless Blood. That was what the book bound in scales was called. Before the Great Purge, during the times of The Continent - it was known that once, Spirits did live there instead of Augolor, there was a dragon empire. Not dragons, but they were called the same. They were hybrids between drakons and dragons, basically, and ended up dividing into two groups. Their king, known as Draelian the First, the forefather of the Draelos Line of dragons, got in a fight with another Spirit. Their fight apparently was the reason that the Continent was destroyed according to legend, but that was up for debate. What was for sure though is that Draelian lost, and his scales were used to create a book that could hold infinite knowledge.

...But it also couldn't be opened. The book contained all the knowledge of the Spirits, but then they died, and just so happened to be bound with magic that only the Spirits knew...so the binding couldn't be undone, and the knowledge was trapped behind a dragon scale that was so durable and resistant to magic that even if it was teleported into the sun for a million years it would only be half melted. Its title was as such because apparently, a lot of people didn't know that it couldn't be opened. Wars, battles, large-scale fights of all kinds from all races were fought over the book. As much blood as was spilled in the Draconic Wars was also spilled over this one book.

That was one of the many things he taught me. He also taught me more about Spirits. Nothing concrete was known about them. Why were some people Spirits and some couldn't be? What was a Spirit? Why were there so many? Why are there so few? How old are they? How do the memories of their predecessors work? Well, Starswirl told me that everything I had learned was basically speculation and theory crafting. He told me the list of facts about Spirits.

1. They are powerful and represent a concept. The Rule of Concept.
2. They are ageless, but not immortal. The Rule of Death.
3. A drakon Spirit is not a drakon, but rather a drakon shaped Spirit. The Rule of Being.
4. They have some relationship to the Maker, and all have a Grand Role to play. The Rule of Role.
5. They had memories of their predecessor. The Rule of Memory.

Only four things were known about them. Five, technically - four was a two-parter. Starswirl also told me one of his theories that he couldn't really prove. It's a little hard to explain but, I believe he referred to it was percentage based memory. Take the Spirit of Examples. The Spirit was originally born as a stallion, who then became an alicorn. He lived for 10,000 years before he met his end in a fight against a dragon. The next Spirit would be able to remember 50% of that - but not "50 starting from the end" or "50 starting from the beginning." Random memories, equivalent to 50% of the knowledge the first Spirit accumulated would be present in the next one. And this continued. While Starswirl wasn't sure about the percentage, he had noted four caveats to this theory.

5A. They had some knowledge that would always be remembered. Every Spirit knew every other Spirit and what they thought of them. Magical knowledge, as well as what their Role was and...some other things, but it took time to remember all this. Base Knowledge.
5B. With focus and meditation, Spirits could remember more and transcend this rule. This was the most speculative of this theory. Meditation.
5C. Memories could be damaged irreparably with magic, and then deleted from any further succeeding Spirits. Destruction.
5D. The Spirit of Examples lived for 10,000 years. 50% of his memory would be transported to the next Spirit, as well as Base Knowledge. Then, when the next Spirit of Examples died, 50% of that knowledge INCLUDING the original Spirit of Examples would be transported. Basically, each generation of Spirits had a more random assortment of memories.

The Rule of Role is another important rule. Each Spirit had a grand, cosmic role to play. The Spirit of the Sun maintained the sun and made sure it didn't explode and destroy Liogella. The Spirit of Air maintained the storms of the world and made sure the storms didn't consume the world, although storm mages also did that. The ones with the most important roles were Death, Life, (who Starswirl had found were quite real in his studies, but hadn't been seen in millennium,) Order, Harmony, and Discord. Life created life. Death ended it. Order enforced what had to happen, and what couldn't not happen. Harmony made sure the magic supply was in balance and that the world didn't overload with one type or be drained too much of one type, while Discord would provide challenges to make sure things didn't remain static. By challenges that meant storms, volcanoes, earthquakes, not mass extinction for fun...although, what were his motivations? He did have some relationship with Glory, I believe romantic in nature. Was this some...misconstrued attempt at vengeance? On who? Why would he kill the alicorns then? Ugh. No matter. He also taught me that these Spirits had a name - the Essentials. The Essentials all could sense magic and magical disturbances. So he had placed Celestia and Luna into a magical sleep when they slept as to prevent them from accidentally surging and firing off an alert that would tell Discord where they were. He taught me this spell, too. It was an adaptation of a sleeping spell, made to be maintained every few hours. Mys, Somn.

I'm sure you're more interested in the magical side of what the greatest mortal mage alive taught me. And well...honestly? He only taught me one thing. Creativity.

"What is the most important trait a wizard can have, Tempest?" The old stallion spoke, voice containing renewed vigor and the fire roaring within his belly. "Power? Intelligence? Knowledge?" He stared at me, his horn glowing.
I hummed and thought for a while. Power was clearly what he expected me to say. Everyone wanted to be the strongest in the world, but what good is strength without any knowledge? But no. Knowledge by itself is useless. I know over fifty glyphs, but none of that matters unless I know how to use that knowledge. Intelligence. "Intelligence," I answered, and he laughed and shook his head.

"No, no. Tempest - intelligence is a good answer, but no. If I was given the opportunity to start anew, I would choose none of these things. Power can be earned and gained. Intelligence can be cultivated, and knowledge can be learned. But in reality? Creativity is the only part of a wizard that matters. Think fast," he spoke, and then I was going to die.

The spell was deadly. It was a swirling physical black bolt that crackled with power. It had enough power to penetrate my magical defenses, so I couldn't just let it splatter off me. I doubt it would be able to kill me, honestly, but it would wound me. A shield I couldn't conjure fast enough to save myself, nor could I dodge. My mind went into overdrive, thinking of everything I could do...then I realized. Magic absorbed magic. I used a basic spell to call the aether into the world, a bubble of purple stripping the magic away from the bolt. But it was still accelerating towards me lightning fast, and- it paused right in front of my scales. Starswirl tutted. I snarled in response and prepared to say something, but he interrupted me.

"I suppose that one was a bit too hard. Again." And this time, he threw a fireball at me. This wouldn't hurt me, but I knew that wasn't the point. My anger faded away as I realized what he was doing. He was testing my creativity to see how I could dodge it, and denying me the ability to just block it with a shield. Alright. This, I could do.

The fireball I tore the air and force out of it, causing it to melt into nothingness. I had a ball of air still in my grasp, so I threw it at Starswirl and then, converted it into a bolt of lightning. The lightning shot out fast, so fast that I could barely see it but I could see Starswirl's eyes tracking it perfectly. The ground shot up and blocked it, the lightning dispersing harmlessly into the ground before he threw the chunk of the ground at me. This was easy enough to block, I just applied some force to it and let it crumble. He then responded by firing out a fan of magical bolts at me before teleporting behind me and throwing out another fan. They were purely magical, so I couldn't move them physically and they would pass through any physical barrier. Except for iron, iron wasn't very magically conductive. But I had no iron.

I couldn't teleport, I didn't have enough magic for that. I couldn't open a pocket to the aether. While I didn't find it that hard, honestly, it still did take the magic out of me. So then I looked at the actual spellcrafting of the bolts.

They were simple. Bolts of force, but with an aether bubble around them that would allow them to pass through physical objects. This is what I meant by purely magical, they had aetheric properties. But then I realized...why should I open an aetheric bubble when I could just close one? Mys, Aesr was the blade I wielded. Then- The bolts impacted me. I had been too slow. They didn't hurt that much, but it still pushed me back and caused me to grunt. Starswirl tutted. "Again!" He repeated, and so we did it again.

---

He continued the idea of creativity. Teaching me how to use it to dodge, how to use it to attack. He taught me twenty uses for every spell I knew and then told me an old adage that his master had told him - "I fear not the mage with a thousand spells with one use, but rather with one spell with a thousand uses." Basically, to practice, elaborate on and expand the knowledge of the spells I knew. He said it wouldn't be worth the effort to teach me a hundred spells that I would never use but to select a few spells that I could really work with. He did teach me one spell, however.

Mys, Moreut, Boryd, Domnus, Boryd. Magic - Body Movement and Body Strength. Also known as an "enhancement spell," to enhance the physical components of someone. Make them faster and stronger, basically. He also taught me how I could expand it or edit it into different body parts, and how often during fights he had spells of speed cast on him during combat so he could react and move faster. Speed was another important part of a caster. He said that often in his fights against the powerful demons that roamed the world, speed and creativity were the two deciding factors.

Anyways, he asked me to bring to him a few spells that I was interested in. So I did. The bag of holding around my throat was nice, but honestly? I kept forgetting to use it, and it was far too easy to damage. If a rune was damaged, everything would be lost to the aether and turned into raw magic. Which would not be preferable. But it wasn't the spell that called to me the most. That spell would have to be Tesfyrd. Lightning. Something about channeling the force of a storm through my magic and through my horns was exciting. I also chose Telekinesis, Brute Force, Storm Magic, and Teleportation.

He taught me applications of all of them as well as alternatives to bags of holding as well as once more going over the importance of artifacts similar to how Astrabelle had. He told me to never ever do this unless I had a surplus of magic to burn, but taught me how to create a pocket dimension. Mys, Vor, Aesr, Vor, Oes, Vor, SLOT and where there was a SLOT I could put in more glyphs of my choosing. He taught me I could make a refrigerated dimension that I could store food in, although there was a caveat to the wonders of a pocket dimension. Something with a soul could not enter it. It was superior to a bag of holding in that it couldn't be destroyed, and only had to be created once and could be quite easily accessed. I planned to eventually make a pocket dimension to store my stuff in as well as creating a refrigerated bag of holding to store food easier.

To summarize what else he taught me - well, there was a lot. He taught me how to move my magic through the aether while still allowing it to retain its shape. So instead of creating a fireball and ramming it into the aether then yanking out a squiggly mess of magic that I'd have to reshape, he taught me how to imbue my spells with a bit more magic that warded them against aether, namely. But, his response to when I asked him to teach me about the spell of brute force was strange.

"What is the most deadly weapon that a mage has?" He tilted his head to the side and looked at me. I frowned and looked up at him, his eyes glimmering. "Creativity?" I said unsurely. He laughed and shook his head. "No, good guess. The real answer? Telekinesis."

A lot of people don't really pay attention to how powerful telekinesis and telekinetic force is. He taught me the difference between brute force and telekinetic force in detail though. What he had been using against the wolves was a mixture of both - brute force wrapped in a casing of telekinetic force. Telekinetic force was easier to control and could be shaped quite easily. Brute force was basically just a wave of angry energy that pushed, hit, and broke. But they could be mixed together for greater effect. The ability to move something with your mind seems just useful in day to day life - until you think about what you could also move with your mind. Blood. Insides. Hearts. Bones. Starswirl claimed that if he was able to overpower someone's hold on their body, he would be able to flay them in less than five seconds. The hold was the tricky part though. It was the latent magical protection had on their body. Every creature had some degree of hold, usually proportionate to how much magic you had. It was one of the only defenses against True Transmogrification or being murdered instantly via telekinesis. But Starswirl also taught me how to apply telekinesis creatively and how to create telekinetic force. While yes, I couldn't snap your neck with a thought, the ground you were standing on is very, very malleable. Would be a shame if it wrapped around you, and then dug into your flesh. He taught me how to use it on what was around and nearby the opponent as opposed to...well, the opponent.

Lightning and storms was a topic he wasn't very...well versed in, in his own words. He couldn't tell me much about storm magic, but he was an archmage. In order to become an archmage, you needed to have at the very least background information in all types of magic. He was able to teach me how to fire multiple lightning bolts and make magical projectiles that could mimic the effects of lightning, as well as when to use and when to not use lightning. I didn't know this, but apparently lightning was one of the few things that scales weren't resistant to. It was also very hot, and very powerful. That was about the extent of all he taught me. There was nothing more he could teach me about teleportation in his words, although he did tell me about his theory that potentially someone could travel through leylines vast distances without a droplet of their own power being spent.

The lesson had taken the better part of the day, and now it turned to night. Despite how he had taught me much, it was in a surprisingly little amount of time. Starswirl was a good teacher, and I was a good student. I don't want to toot my own horn - but I'm going to, I am a good student. Drakons are prideful by nature. Humbleness - especially false humbleness is not a trait that I desire to have. Starswirl's mana supply had regenerated significantly, and so had mine. Midway during the lesson, we had stopped for food - apparently Starswirl wasn't that opposed to eating fish, but still did prefer to eat grass and plants and the like. But apparently fish were stupid enough that he didn't feel bad eating them, although he didn't prefer to.

He took me back into the cavern and sighed. He stared down at the two sleeping fillies and looked up at me. "...Tempest. I've told you I'm going to die." He tilted his head to the side. "It shouldn't shock you that I plan to kill myself."
I blinked. Immediately my face curled into a snarl and I tensed up, my tail whipping back and forth. Maybe it's not a big deal to whatever species you are - it's a little saddening, but to a draconic? Killing yourself was something extremely shameful. It was the coward's way out, only for the weak and pathetic. Yes, sadly, I had wanted to kill myself for a little bit but I had quickly worked my way out of that. I honestly doubt I would have done it anyway. "Coward." I snarled.

Starswirl raised his hooves up and shook his head. "I'm going to die. So I'd like to go out on my own terms. Ideally - you'll take care of Luna and Celestia, and I'll kill myself to stall Discord. I know I can't beat him. But I have more than enough power and skill to trap him. A few weeks, at most. To buy you time. Because while you and I are nothing in the eyes of history - we are the only ones with the position to do something. Celestia and Luna. Take care of them. And let me give you the time you need to search for a way to defeat him."

"I thank you for your lesson in magic, Starswirl. It was truly invaluable. But this? This is insanity. You thrust two fillies into the responsibility of beating a mad god-"
"AND WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE ME DO!?" He roared and slammed his hooves down, energy crackling around his horn. "I am Starswirl the Bearded, and I am ancient. I am one hundred and seventy-two years old and I have seen things you would not believe, drakon. I have conquered the gods themselves and subjugated the magic of the maker to my will but now I am powerless. What is a better route of action!? What would you have me do then put the two people with any meaning, any power into responsibility-"
"There are other ways! Gryphus spoke to me of Harmony, of Order-"
"The idiot tree and alicorn would have already acted if they could."
"The tree is rooted! She can't move. Surely if she's found she can do something-"
"And what, oh Drakon, would that something be?"

There was silence for a time.
"I don't know." I turned and stared him in the eye. "I don't know," I repeated. And I didn't.
Starswirl let out a deep exhale. He docked his head. "I'm tired, Tempest. So tired. And I can tell you are too. Both of us. Just going on, for the sake of going on." He shook his head. "This...is the only thing worth something. Do you understand? It's the only cause left to live for. The only...the..." He shook his head and wiped moisture from his eyes. He grunted then stood up, stoic and almost regal once more. "Excuse my break in composure. There won't be any more discussion. Take the fillies. Train them. Save the world, Tempest."

My eyes met with his, and I saw how tired they were. I shut my eyes as I said the only thing that I could say in that situation,
"okay."

---

Starswirl's horn glowed with golden energy. So much energy that I could faintly see the ley through the keratin of his horn. Wispy gold particles began to rise up from the duo and sunk back into his horn. After a second, the two fillies began to stir. Their eyes fluttered open and they yawned, stretching their legs and wings, craning their necks and snuggling closer together. The larger one, the white one - her violet eyes opened wide and she shot up at the sight of me. She scrambled and pushed herself into the wall, quickly pulling her sister with her. Her horn began to spark. Starswirl quickly stepped in-between us and cleared his throat. "Ahem."
Celestia stared at me with wide, fearful eyes, but her horn wasn't sparking anymore and she seemed slightly more relaxed now that Starswirl was there. Luna, the little one, was still waking up and seemed more confused than anything else.
Starswirl turned his head to meet his eyes with Celestia. "Celestia. This is Tempest Pulseradottir. She is a drakon."
Luna blinked and yawned. "A dragon...?" She squinted. Her eyes then slowly widened as she looked at me and she pushed herself closer to the wall. "She's going to eat us!" She squealed out fearfully.
Starswirl rolled his eyes and shook his head. "No. This drakon, not dragon does not plan on eating you, dear Luna. She's going to take care of you for a while."
Celestia and Luna exchanged a glance and frowned. Celestia, who had been silent so far, spoke in a voice of steel - but I could hear how she was masking the confusion and fear within. It was ever so slightly shaky. "Where are you going?"
"I'm going to look for an old friend. One who might be able to help us."
"...Why her? Who is she." Celestia turned to look at me. Her eyes were narrow, and I could see the suspicion in them.
"the only one available." He muttered under his breath so quietly they couldn't hear. I sure could though. He cleared his throat. "Excuse me. She's an enemy of Discord. She's battled him three times and managed to escape each and every time. She's immune to his detection, and is more than able to keep herself alive in the wild."
Luna wrestled out of Celestia's grasp and walked up to me. Celestia reached in to try and pull her back, but Starswirl held up his hoof in protest. Celestia paused.
I looked down at her, making sure to move my head slowly as to not startle her. She looked up at me and leaned in.
"What's the difference between a dragon and a dra...dra..." Luna began.
"Drakon." I finished for her. At the sound of my voice, she slightly stepped back but quickly relaxed. I tilted my head to the side and considered my answer for a moment. I could tell her the objective difference - no wings, less magic resistance, physical superiority but the ability to use magic in larger bursts. Or...I could tell her the difference that would tease her childish curiosity and make her like me a little more. Hopefully.
"...Drakons are cooler." I nodded at her.
She blinked. "Ok but how."
I shrugged. "If you stick around with me, maybe you'll see."
Luna squinted intently before she giggled, seemingly satisfied with my answer. She turned to Celestia and sat down.
Celestia got a little closer but kept her distance overall.
Starswirl cleared his throat. My head turned to him. "I'll have to be on my way now. Tempest is more than able to keep you alive." He turned to me. "Tempest. If their magic starts to surge - put them in a magically induced sleep for at least a day. If their magic surges, it..." He paused. He looked at Luna, who was busy inspecting the floor. "...Won't be good." He finished and looked at me. I responded with a knowing nod.
"If you don't mind, I'd like a moment alone with them," Starswirl said softly.
I nodded. I took my leave out of the cave room and sat down.

After about ten minutes, Starswirl walked out and stood next to me. I turned to face him.
"Are you leaving now?" I tilted my head to the side.
He nodded. "I am."
"...Goodbye, Star-Swirl. Thank you."
"Be good to them, Tempest." He stared intensely at me. I suppressed a shiver.
"I will," I said softly.

Starswirl was gone like that. There was no pop of displaced air or rush of magic - he was there, and then he was not.

I meant what I said. Starswirl's words had some truth to them, despite how I may not have entirely agreed. Those fillies were infinitely more powerful than me and Starswirl put together and they were just that - fillies. If given time, they could stand against Discord, the two of them. But not by themselves. They'd need help - help that potentially Harmony and Order could offer. And a part of me felt as if I had to. I had eaten their past selves. I owed it to Apollo and Artemis to do...something. Something.

So that would be what comes next for me, I thought.
I turned to enter the cave, to guide the sun and moon.

---

Elsewhere

---

The Spirit of Chaos rested by the shores of the Nexus, on a small island that he had created before-hand in order to not be dragged into the whirlpool of magic. His eyes were half-lidded and he had almost dozed off. But he fought to stay awake - he couldn't sleep, not when what he had been building towards was so near. His eyes snapped open as he felt a magical disturbance though - one so prominent that it caused the Nexus to spin slightly faster and caused his spine to tingle and his body to shiver. He sat up and looked around, his eyes narrowing.

About ten feet away from him stood Starswirl the Bearded, his golden eyes glowing slightly and his hooves firmly planted. His horn was glowing with renewed power and over his face was cast an expression of determination. Faint power radiated out of him. Discord blinked once before he stood up to his full height, and silently readied what little magic he had left. Despite how he had just used almost all of his power on his work inside of the Nexus, he still had more enough to vaporize Starswirl on a good day three times over. Discord grinned. "Hello, old friend. I didn't expect you to come to me, admittedly."
Starswirl nodded. "Admittedly until recently, neither did I."
Discord blinked, confused by his statement. He shrugged and thought nothing more of it as he floated over to Starswirl before he cut the space in-between them and was suddenly coiled tightly around him. "So, do you come here to fight me? Or to surrender. Or better yet - to join me in an attempt to backstab me?" He grinned.
Starswirl teleported out of Discord's grasp, and Discord's coiled body stretched like play-doh as it fell to the ground. He spun his head upside down until it flattened out, then his head rotated 180 degrees and stared at Starswirl who was now standing behind him.
"Neither," Starswirl replied. "I come to die."
Discord squinted. "So you come to fight me, then?" Pink and red energy ran over his features.
"No. I come to die." Starswirl said, his voice filling with resolution. He began to walk towards Discord.
Discord was silent as he drew himself up to his height. There was a faint flitting of annoyance at Starswirl's eerily calm, cryptic nature that washed over him but was gone as quick as it came.
Starswirl's horn began to glow brighter. Discord suddenly realized how it had been glowing their entire conversation - and switched into his magical vision to see the strands of magic. His eyes then widened as he realized he was unable to - the magical disturbance he had felt was messing with his senses. Did Starswirl do that? He thought to himself. He quickly shifted his magic from ready to fight to ready to defend. "What are you doing, friend?" Discord spat the word and his eyes glowed for a brief moment. Starswirl stopped his advance.
"If I fight you, you'll win. If I stall you to get time for an ambush-" He paused. Discord's eyes narrowed as he quickly grew another pair of eyes on the back of his head and spun them around. "...you'll win." He finished. Discord frowned, then grinned. He could appreciate a good trick, at the least.
"I could continue this for a good twenty minutes. There is no feasible scenario in which you lose and I win."
Discord nodded. "So, you come to surrender yourself and simply...let me kill you?"
Starswirl shook his head. "There is a scenario in which we both lose."
Discord stared as growing realization washed over him. "No." He whispered. He lunged towards Starswirl and brought his claw down in a swipe at his throat. Starswirl backstepped effortlessly, then threw Discord backward with a wave of golden energy. The golden power concentrated around his horn began to create a ball of white energy.
"In the future, Discord - assuming you have one - don't let a chronomancer stall for Time." He grinned. And then the spell was cast.

A prison of time formed around Discord and squeezed tightly around him. Discord let out an unholy roar as he tried to tear the magic that held him apart. Starswirl's flesh slowly began to convert into raw mana to fuel the insanely high mana-demands of the spell that he had just cast - and as Starswirl faded into golden dust, an explosion of energy destroyed the island that they were on.

The Chaos King was trapped in an instance of time - and the Sun and Moon were given peace, for a woefully short time.

-

Comments

[Zake]

I think this is the most badass Starswirl I have ever seen.

[Pat_Hoof_5000]

10838728
Agreed

[Missty Griffion]

Wow just wow to put it in simpler words