Horse Of The Rising Sun

by TCC56

16 - Trinitarian

It was good to have spring back. The perpetual near-autumn of the valley around the House of the Rising Sun had felt wrong the whole time they had been there - not to mention that Tempest had spent most of her life in the warm southern seas, making the chill feel even more off. But now that she was away from both, the slightly damp warmth of a more moderate late spring was refreshingly comforting.

Comforting, too, was the castle gardens of Canterlot. Despite this only being her second time in them, memories of the first three weeks earlier had already solidified them as a safe place. The company helped, as well.

Tempest bowed her head respectfully. "My Princess. Prioress."

Princess Celestia smiled softly. "Be at ease, Commander. We were just coming looking for you. Will you walk with us?"

"To beyond the ends of Equestria." Tempest fell in on Celestia's left, just as Reliquary Heart was on her right.

Celestia rolled her eyes. "And do we have to have another talk about being informal, Miss Berrytwist?"

On the far side of the Solar Princess, Tempest could hear a playful giggle. She bit her lip. "No, m'am. Message received. ...Again."

"Good." Celestia nudged the Prioress with her wing. "And please don't be too amused. Tempest has done a great many things given her difficult path through life. While I may give her a little bit of a hard time, she has long since earned respect."

"Oh! Respect and more," Reliquary confirmed with a nod. "I think much the same about her - enough of my ponies owe her their lives that I'd never really do something to hurt her."

They walked leisurely through the statue garden, passing by the empty plinth that once had held Discord. A little claw-drawn sign hung on it declaring OUT TO LUNCH: BACK IN ∞. The remainder of the plinths still held their occupants - works of fine art from across centuries, sculpted by the greatest artists in Equestria. Celestia barely noticed them as they walked past, long inured to the beauty.

"No, I suspect you would not." Celestia turned her head towards Tempest. "This past week has been rather full of that news, in fact. As the task of dealing with the fallout from Cozy Glow to has been left to Twilight and her friends, I've been taking personal interest in the adventure Starswirl and yourself had. It's been very enlightening."

Tempest swallowed, unsure of how to read that. "Enlightening?"

The Solar Princess nodded. "Mmhmm. The story of the House itself is fascinating - and I've already contacted Miss Yearling about it - but what I asked most about was your own role. Those I saw all spoke highly of your actions during the crisis, as well as your demeanor before. Some..." A little more of a smile cracked across her lips. "Minor issues with temper aside, you did Equestria proud."

Tempest bowed her head again. "You once again flatter and spoil me."

A click of the tongue, and Celestia gave Tempest a light shove with her wing. "I give you your due, Tempest. Your refusal to accept your heroism is almost as bad as that of the Elements. And the Pillars, now that I think of it, were quite bad about it for some time." She shook her head. "But to my point: I have spent the last few days learning quite a lot about this most unexpected situation. It really is fascinating what happened to your ancestors, Prioress."

The mare demurely looked away. "Please, your Highness. Reliquary is fine. And prioress is perhaps not so accurate anymore."

From the other side of the massive alicorn, Tempest raised her eyebrows and her voice. "You've handed over the reins?"

Reliquary nodded. "The time is right. Script's been ready for a while, and when better to have a fresh start? With Bit at his side and Scribble at his back, the House should be just fine."

"And it will be," added the Princess. "I've already tasked an emergency weather team to the area to start work on the region's snow. It's going to take time to melt it all without causing a flood, but the manager in charge of the team is confident that the valley should be clear by mid-summer and we can begin construction of a railway branch through the area."

They turned, following the path of statues towards the start of the hedge maze. "Until then I've dispatched a contingent from the Royal Engineers to help with rebuilding the damaged parts of the town, as well as a group of earth pony agriculturalists to bolster the food supply." Celestia paused briefly, considering her words. "I still expect to send several supply convoys to help them over the coming months, but in time things will calm again."

Reliquary nodded, face bright despite the hardships that the Princess' words implied. "And the valley will be well cared for in the future, I'm sure. Even with everything else that's happened, I've already had a few business ponies approach Script or I to ask about the situation. An entirely new town full of ponies has gotten attention."

"It has." The Princess turned them again, directing their journey towards a familiar seeming dead-end along the garden path. "The mountains themselves have garnered interest as well - the slopes of Balius and Xanthos have been nearly untouched by hoof or claw. And we are fortunate enough to already have newly hired a representative familiar with the area to coordinate the mining surveys." Celestia's eyes glittered with mischief. "Your Abyssinian friend was hilarious, by the way. The snow disappearing confused him enough, then when I arrived at his doorstep..." Un-Princessy giggles broke out from the alicorn. "He thought I was there to arrest him! Instead I made him unexpectedly rich."

Tempest's eyes rolled at the Princess' filly-like cheer. As they approached the hidden arch at the end of the path, she lit her horn and reached out. Sparks flew as she grit her teeth, electric blue magic grabbing hold of the ivy. Both sizzled - but the ivy lifted slightly. The others both waited patiently until Tempest finally gave up with a gasp of exhaustion and released her telekinetic grip.

Then Reliquary easily lifted the ivy aside while Celestia extinguished the small fires that the sparks had started - both without words or judgement.

Inside the hidden nook was a bit different than the last time - Starswirl was once more present, but this time his easel and paints were gone. Instead he was putting the last touches on a quiet lunch of cucumber sandwiches and tea. At the trio's appearance, the old sage gave a respectful bow. "Princess. Prioress. Commander."

General pleasantries took a moment - the most notable being Reliquary giving Starswirl a little peck on the cheek, much to his embarrassment and Celestia's amusement - before they all sat down to lunch. Princess Celestia was quick to resume the prior conversation, however, waiting only for Starswirl to fill her cup. "So as I was saying: by autumn, the valley and its inhabitants should be fully recovered and brought into Equestria as a whole. Between the untapped resources and a fresh population of hearty ponies, I suspect that there will be quite a boom."

"To say nothing of the scholars who will be traveling there," Starswirl noted. "I've taken the liberty of giving some notes on the situation to one of Canterlot University's historians. She was packing before I was halfway through telling her the story." He chuckled before taking another bite of his sandwich. "Once word filters out, that old library will be clogged with knowledge-seekers."

Laughing merrily, Reliquary shook her head. "Which will drive poor Script mad because not a one of them will reshelve their books properly."

They all got a smile out of that - and Tempest eased into one of the questions on her mind. "So Reliquary. If you're letting Script take leadership of the House, what are you going to do?"

For a moment there was a hesitation - a glance between her and Starswirl. He gave a nod to her, small enough to not jostle his bells. Reliquary Heart relaxed a little and gave her response. "At least for a little while, I'm going to stay here in Canterlot as the House's representative at court. Script needs to focus on rebuilding, so my being here can help coordinate the aid and the scholars and the miners. Once that's taken care of, however?" She reached out, putting her hoof on Starswirl's. "I've been given quite the offer to get a taste of being an adventurer. Starswirl wants to do a bit more research to prepare, but he has a place in mind for us to go."

In spite of the urge to make a face at the idea of Starswirl The Really Ancient dating, Tempest still managed a smile. "I'm happy for you both. Really. And I hope that whatever adventure you're going to go on that you find the experience you're looking for, Reliquary."

Across the table, Princess Celestia pursed her lips and held back smug laughter.

Starswirl leaned forward - he didn't bother to try and not be smug. "Actually, Commander, I think you may be interested in joining us."

Tempest didn't hold back from making a face this time, sticking out her tongue in (mostly) mock disgust. "Eugh. Okay, look. I'm happy for you two but I am very not interested. After everything that's happened I'll admit you're a pretty decent traveling companion, Starswirl, but there are so many ways that you're not my type the Princess doesn't have enough time to hear me say it all."

Celestia joined them in not holding back, breaking out into loud, outrageous laughter.

Both Starswirl and Reliquary Heart blushed, though for different reasons - his was far more irate than hers. But even with an edge of frustration in his voice, Starswirl tried to continue. "That's not even slightly what I meant, Miss Shadow, and you know it."

Lighting his horn, he lifted a book up to the table - an ages-old book, bound in simple brown and with the title Studies In Non-Unicorn Magic embossed on the cover. "This was one of the books we found in the House's library. It was done by an old colleague of mine, Golden Rays. He was one of the unicorns who worked beside myself to raise and lower the sun - and he was one of those who paid the price. Like you, Miss Shadow, he lost his magic almost entirely due to an injury that lost him much of his horn. And in turn, he dedicated his life in a search to find a way to repair the damage." Tapping his hoof on the book, Starswirl pulled attention to it. "His search took him beyond Equestria's borders. And while he never found the final answer, he did provide some key clues for our own search."

Now Tempest was leaning forward, locked on the sorcerer with rapt attention and eager ears.

"Once we returned to Canterlot, I was able to access a thousand years' extra knowledge and fill in many of the gaps that Golden Rays had in his research." Starswirl flipped open the book, leafing through it. "He felt that the solution lay with other races and tribes that used magic through horns and horn-like body parts. From the kirin to changelings to the semi-mythical gift-giving reindeer, Equestria has gained quite a lot of knowledge in that area." A few more pages - and then Starswirl closed the book again. "And between his work and this age's greater knowledge, I believe I've found something that should be very, very interesting to you."

Tempest shifted further forward, coming to the edge of her seat.

A playful smirk danced across Starswirl's lips and his eyes glittered with smug satisfaction. "For example, Miss Shadow. Did you know that every year, the deer shed and regrow their antlers?"

---

Horse Of The Rising Sun

Stay Tuned Until Next Time

Starswirl the Bearded, Reliquary Heart and Tempest Shadow Will Return In:

A Bridge Over Troubled Waters^*

Comments

[JustFalcon]

A Sequel?! I didn't expect that!
Damn, now I'm really hyped up for it!

[Baineblade]

... Whelp. I'm hooked. I can't wait to find out what Tempest is gonna get up to with a buncha Raindeer!

[Jedimk Pony]

Excellent Story!

[Rambling Writer]

So... this was a solid story. The setup was interesting, the setting was creative, and I liked the way you wove it into the canon of the show without it feeling forced.

But it's not the story the blurb sold me.

The blurb promised a journey shared by Tempest and Starswirl, but outside of his relationship with Reliquary, it's less Starswirl and more a powerful-unicorn-shaped slot that Starswirl happened to fit into. I wanted to see them share jabs, experiences, regrets, favorite foods, anything; instead, Starswirl mostly does magic Tempest can't and does exposition. It promised Tempest questing to restore her horn, but once they actually reach the House, that plotline's almost completely forgotten until the very last paragraphs. There's minimal discussion of it at the House and it never factors into any decisions anyone makes. I'll admit I don't know how the next story will play out, but I feel like I wouldn't be missing much if it started exactly like this one, except the plot hook was "Did you know deer regrow their antlers?" rather than "A long time ago, there was this monastery for unicorns with crippled magic..."

I don't know. It's still a good story and I'll keep an eye out for the sequel, but it's like ordering a pizza and being delivered a sub. No matter how delicious the sub is, I wanted a pizza.

[FanOfMostEverything]

Excellent denouement and teaser for the next installment. This has been quite an adventure. (And I have to wonder how long they’ll keep news of the House from Twilight. Goodness knows she’d try to move there.) Thank you for a great read. Here’s to the next one!

[i_am_the_jam]

About time they got back to the original point of the story.

[Hedonism Bot]

Revisiting the deer? This has potential. They seemed like a pretty interesting culture in the comics, but all we got out of them was a questionably executed "save the environment" type story.

10784262

For what it's worth, Tempest's character arc in the movie was all about learning to be happy without normal unicorn magic, courtesy of the Power of Friendship. When the Windigoes tried breaking in through the library roof, it kind of looked like this story would be going in the same direction. Though in such a situation, I'm sure Twilight would happily put a few more bits towards prosthetics research if Tempest were to ask nicely.

There's the problem with doing that kind of thing from within speculative fiction. "You don't need to be not-disabled to be special" is a fine moral in and of itself. Implicitly using it as an excuse to slack off with developing actual solutions? Not so fine. (see also: Scootaloo and the various examples of heavier-than-air flight technology from both the show and the comic).

[Jarvy Jared]

This was a whole lot of fun to read. It's both a bit sad that it has to end, but I think you've wrapped things up in the best way possible, as well as given us a nice thing to look forward to, should you do continue this series.

[lazyreader19]

Starswirl the Bearded, Reliquary Heart and Tempest Shadow Will Return In:

HUZZAH!

Celestia joined them in not holding back, breaking out into loud, outrageous laughter.

Both Starswirl and Reliquary Heart blushed, though for different reasons

Also shit, I'm right with Celestia! My sides 🤣🤣🤣😆🤭

Gosh this was just a really fun adventurous punch, looking forward to the teased sequel!

[TCC56]

10793771

I don't know. It's still a good story and I'll keep an eye out for the sequel, but it's like ordering a pizza and being delivered a sub. No matter how delicious the sub is, I wanted a pizza.

That's entirely fair, and honestly not inaccurate. This story, as a whole, underwent a lot of conceptual revisions during the planning process. I'd thought I'd kept it reasonably close to the original pitch, but I can entirely see why it didn't always hit it on points like yours.

Part of it was that I found, along the way, that Starswirl's a very dominant personality and he had the bad tendency to bull over every conversation he was involved in. A number of aspects in the story (including Reliquary Heart existing) were put in solely to pull him out of the scene or off to the side so that Tempest (and the other characters) could get breathing room and a chance to speak. I suppose I pulled on that too hard.

Ah well - not every moment hits, eh? There's always the chance to do better with it next time.

[Thought Prism]

Aww, you skipped the best part: all the townsponies marveling at the stuff that's changed over 1000 years! Admittedly, that's just me, and there are plenty of other characters one can use for that (Luna, the crystal ponies, the Pillars, half the series' villains, etc.), but I still don't see it often enough from good authors on here. Maybe it'll come up in conversation in the sequel.

[Rambling Writer]

10793863

There's always the chance to do better with it next time.

Very true. I can see Reliquary's addition doing a lot to keep Starswirl less conversation-dominating, if only in the sense of her being a mediator and being willing to go, "Starswirl, I love you, but you need to shut up sometimes." After all, no matter how sweet and gentle she seems, sweetness and gentleness alone can only get you so far when you're heading (what you think is) the last speck of civilization in the world.

[Eroraf86]

Kirin, changelings, reindeer, and regular deer? Unicorn non-superiority for the win! Gimme that sequel, I NEED IT!

[Zervon Tora]

A well crafted story of very believable characters. I liked the way you handled the Windigos and the village's history to present. Great character development for Tempest.

[Xanderfox]

10793976
The regular deer don't have "horn magic" they use potions

[Xena Skywalker]

This was a very good story. I can't wait for the sequel .

[Zubric]

A sequel cool, I hope I remember to check back in.

[Hedonism Bot]

10794428
It kind of looked like a combination of both.

[Xanderfox]

10796717
I think the King's peytral was a magic artifact

[RDT]

I'd have to agree with Rambling Writer in that this didn't feel like the story that was sold. Maybe part of it is because I was accidentally spoiled. The description mage it seem like it would be a story about deep introspection and self-transformation, maybe with a dash of mystery, but instead we recieved an adventure story. Tempest and Starswirl were mostly able to reaffirm their 'good' sides with only minor challenges. I was half-convinced that there was still some sort of dark secret that the windigos continued to feed on more than just despair, because that's the story I thought it would be.

I guess it's like "journeying to visit a monastery" implies a lot more philosophy (implied or explicit), which didn't really show up here.

Still enjoyed it though.

[Snowy Helmet]

An intriguing concept to write a story around, and a very well done execution of said concept! :)

Tempest Shadow and Starswirl the Bearded were not two ponies I would have thought of seeing associated before, and yet the way you made it happen in this fic just made perfect sense. Their dynamic in general felt very true to what we got to see from their characters, and you managed to make them both mesh well together and yet have friction in the parts where it would be believable.

The original characters were well done also, the way you handled their society was fairly balanced, I felt - they felt both believably behind the times, for lack of a better term, and yet amenable enough to both the modern audience and the 'modern ponies' in-universe - and the building tension once the storyline starts becoming concurrent with the end of Season 8 was both wonderfully gripping and worry-inducing, even as canon dictated that at least Tempest and Starswirl would be alright.

Put simply, it was a great story! I loved it, and I look forward to the sequel!

[Jarvy Jared]

11586047
Sorry, who are you?