Turmoil Rising

by JFT

Chapter 63: Past Sins and Regrets

Another meeting behind her. Celestia walked down the hallway of Canterlot’s castle. It’s been a long time since she remembered having a busy schedule. She remembered all too well how she yearned to finally be able to spend some time for herself, away from duties after a thousand years, which is why she decided to finally pass on the mantle to somebody else; after all, she found a worthy successor. And yet, in a way, she missed all those things that she left behind: The early morning rush, the drive to help others, and to lay in bed after a long day’s work, knowing that she’s done something good in the world. It’s what got her to finally get involved with others again after such a long time and started to work on the play in Manehatten – a play that in the current situation will most likely not see its debut. Most unfortunate. But for the sake of her former student, for the sake of everybody in Canterlot and Ponyville, for the sake of Equestria, she had to pick up the mantle until further notice. She needed a moment to breathe. She walked to the balcony of the castle that overlooked all of Canterlot. Down on the streets, the yearly event played out, as all the businesses were strewn with hearts. The ponies below seemed content as they went about their daily lives in a time of celebration. Things have been quiet for now, though it was impossible to know what could happen beyond the magical barrier that the headmare of the School of Friendship instructed to set up. The same was the case with the town in which she resided, as the magical dome could be seen not far. And in the distance, the Everfree Forest stood, the dark cloud still looming over it, and the devastation which her younger sibling warned her about last night was no longer visible. As she gazed in the direction of the late afternoon sun, she suddenly noticed a spot in it. She brought forth her spyglass to look through it and saw an airship. She didn’t recognize the rainbow blimp design, but she did know the mares that stood on it. It was them! She quickly lowered the magical barrier, allowing the zeppelin to enter the city, and made its way to the royal airport where it landed. The former royal flew down and landed aboard the vessel.

“Princess Celestia!” Twilight yelled and quickly ran in her former mentor’s direction, who was already prepared to embrace her.

“Twilight, I’m so glad you and your friends managed to come back okay.” She snuggled her mane.

As she took a good look at the group assembled she noticed something was not right, though. While the Elements of Harmony, as well as the zebra, were present, the same group that left two days ago, there was now also a new addition – the two faculty members of the School of Friendship and the students. What was more, most of the expressions displayed anything but joy.

“Something’s happened, didn’t it?” she wondered.

The purple alicorn pulled back. “More than you can imagine.”

“Alright, so let’s see if I got it all: Tirek has returned and joined Queen Chrysalis, the Storm King, and Grogar, and they managed to find and release another piece of Turmoil. The latter then brought the arimaspi which was responsible for the downfall of Griffinstone back to life, and the town itself was nearly completely reduced to ashes. And to make matters worse, the former Dragon Lord Torch was put under Chrysalis’ spell and can’t be freed…” Celestia laid back on a chair behind the large table in the conference hall, surrounded by everybody as they related the events that transpired to her.

“There’s more, Princess,” Twilight added. “For some reason, Grogar also sent Gusty to Dragon Lands but we don’t know yet why. Also, after what’s happened we decided to bring the students back home. It seems that outside of Ponyville and Canterlot, the chances of them being safe is not 100%, even at their own homes.”

“Things really aren’t looking great here either, Twilight. Especially with the recent attack in Ponyville. We’ve managed to set up protection that Starlight Glimmer suggested to us, and things have been quiet, but I’m not sure when the next strike will happen.”

“Yeah, about that, we need to get to Starlight and Star Swirl,” Sunburst said. “There are some serious we need to discuss with them.”

“Problem is, Ponyville’s under lockdown,” Applejack pointed out. “How can we get them to lower that giant magical lid? It reminds me too much of the time when Trixie put it on the town, except we’re on the other side now.” It was a comment at which the aforementioned unicorn glared.

“No worries.” The Mare of the Sun got up. “Starlight instructed me on casting a flash-bang spell over Canterlot to signal her to lower the protection. I’ll just-”

“Please, calm yourself, mister!”

The voice of Kibitz could be heard in the hallway outside, accompanied by the sound of gallop, as well as hooting. Whatever it was it banged against the doors of the conference room, trying to scratch its way in.

“Stop that! You’ll scratch the paint off!” More angry hoots followed. “Okay okay, I’ll let you in.” The door burst open and a lone owl flew in, with Kibitz standing in the doorway, noticeably perspiring. “My apologies, Your Majesty and Madame, but he wouldn't take no for an answer.”

The feathered creature flew about angrily hooting.

“Whoa, calm down! What’s wrong?” Spike asked.

He landed on the purple alicorn’s head and let out several angrier hoots.

“Owlowiscious, we’re so sorry, we didn’t know,” Fluttershy tried to calm it. “We only just got here ourselves a few moments ago.”

“Fluttershy, why is he angry?” Rarity inquired.

“He says he was given an urgent message from the Thicket to be delivered to the castle yesterday, but couldn’t get inside because of the barrier.”

The Princess of Friendship levitated her companion over to her side and gave him a quick snuggle, calming him down enough to take the message that was stuck around his leg. She opened it and began reading through it.

“Well?” Applejack wondered. “What are the deer saying?”

“They’re reporting on the disturbance that Princess Celestia spoke of earlier. A fire erupted in the Everfree Forest, scorching a great amount of it, and was beginning to spread toward Thicket. Luckily, they managed to suppress it, but they spotted hundreds of changelings hiding in the surrounding overgrowth. They’re becoming increasingly alert of what’s happening, especially since the sinister force they mentioned feeling last time, became even more pronounced.”

“Do we write down a report, Twilight?” the dragon asked.

“That won’t be necessary, Spike,” she answered. “It says that they’re getting directly involved now and they’re sending a liaison to Ponyville to wait for my audience.”

“Wait, why Ponyville?” Sunburst questioned.

“The deer kingdom is closer to Ponyville. If they’re coming over it’s only logical they’d…” the alicorn began explaining, and then her words trailed off when she realized something. “Oh no! Now I get why Owlowiscious was so angry! They sent the message yesterday, which means this entire time the liaison has been waiting outside the protective barrier!”

“We’ve left a delegate from another kingdom in the lurch?! Twilight, we need to go now!” Rarity panicked.

The princess faced her former mentor. “Princess Celestia, can you please signal Starlight to lower the barrier?”

“Of course, right away,” she smiled. “I wouldn’t want to impede the relationship with our neighbors.”

“Yeah, sure. That’s the only reason and nothing else,” Pinkie Pie tried to force a smile, only for the country pony to jab her. “You’re pushing it.”

Meanwhile, the eldest alicorn walked out onto the balcony and shot a magic projectile in the air, which then dispersed, creating a loud boom and hundreds of flashing lights. “There. That should do it. Go on now, do not dawdle.”

“We’re gonna take the students to the castle where they’ll be safe until all of this blows over,” the unkempt unicorn said.

As they made their way out of the castle, and away from the earshot of the former princess, murmuring began among the group. “You sure we shouldn’t tell her?” Applejack immediately asked.

“Not until we see what he has to say,” Twilight answered.

Throughout Ponyville the banners and streamers, shaped like hearts were strewn, saying “Hearts and Hooves Day”. It was one day of the year that love was promoted and celebrated. And the usual promoters were out on duty.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!” the three young mares went door to door, giving away holiday cards to the locals.

And with it being in the late afternoon, they already combed the town, leaving not a single house unvisited, except for one… the last and biggest building in the settlement, Twilight’s former castle, where Starlight now lived. And much to their surprise, the building wasn't spruced up even a little for the holiday.

“You’d think Starlight would’ve decorated the castle for the occasion,” Applebloom thought.

“Yeah, the castle just stands out of place compare to the rest of town.” Sweetie Belle agreed.

“Come on, you two. You know full well that things haven’t been going well lately. And who knows what happened the other day when that barrier came up around Ponyville. Starlight’s probably got too much on her mind right now.” Scotaloo figured.

“I guess that’s true,” the earth pony agreed.

“Hey, if that’s the case we can try to brighten up her day,” the unicorn suggested.

The three young mares nodded at one another and then trotted up the stairs to the entrance of the building, the yellow one knocking on the door. They waited for a bit and finally heard the hoof steps from the other side approaching. As expected, the headmare of the School of Friendship answered the door.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!” they all yelled in unison.

They realized their voice became somewhat muffled, the reason for it being that they had a teal aura surrounding their heads so no sound could escape. The mare looked about behind her as if she was making sure nobody was watching, before fully enveloping the Cutie Mark Crusaders in her magical aura and carrying them back a bit so she could pass the threshold, and then closing the door behind her.

She finally released the hold on the young mares. “Girls, I appreciate the house call on this day, but for the love of Equestria do not let Star Swirl hear you.”

“What? Why?” the pegasus wondered.

“He’s been in a really bad mood since this morning. The moment he opened the window overlooking the town he became moody. My guess is he’s not a big fan of this holiday.”

“Oh Starlight, that’s just silly,” Applebloom waved her hoof. “Today’s the day when everypony’s out and celebrating it with their special somepony. Who in the world would hate a holiday like that?”

“Starlight!” a call came from inside the castle walls, and the headmare grimaced knowing full well who it was, but before she could do anything, the door opened and a grey old unicorn sorcerer looked outside. “There you are. I thought I heard the door knocking…” his voice trailed away when his eyes stopped at the three well-wishers.

“Happy Hearts and Hooves Day!” the three younger ponies cheered.

“No,” he bluntly said, enveloping the pink unicorn in a white aura, dragging her back inside, before slamming the door shut right in their face.

“Wait… what just happened?” Scotaloo just stared in disbelief.

“I can’t believe he just did that!” Sweetie Bell gasped.

Applebloom looked at them both. “Starlight was right. He really does seem to hate the holiday.”

“But why?! It doesn’t make sense!” the curly-maned unicorn yelled.

“Yeah! I mean what kind of pony would hate a holiday where you spend it with somepony you love very much…”

The three looked at each other. “Ooooooooooh,” they said in unison.

“I guess something bad must’ve happened regarding his love life at some point,” the speedster suggested.

“I mean, when you put it like that it doesn’t strike me as odd that he’s moody,” the fashionista’s youngest sibling agreed.

“Let’s not pester him then. Come on,” the country one said, motioning to the other two to follow her.

SLAM!

The elder unicorn shut the door carrying the pink mare before putting her down.

“Star Swirl, that was a bit much!” she complained.

“We’re not getting involved in this abysmal distraction. Not when the fate of ponykind is at stake.” He walked off.

“What do you mean by “abysmal”? This is the day when couples express genuine love toward one another. How is that in any way bad?”

“Genuine?” He stopped, glaring at Starlight. “Do tell me what’s so genuine about a love that’s been conjured by a love potion?”

She didn’t say a thing. Not that she didn’t have anything to say, but the atmosphere became so dark all of a sudden, she didn’t want to provoke the old sorcerer. But it did make her think of his reaction. This obvious spit for the event almost seemed… personal. But why? What’s happened to him in the past to resent the holiday so much?

BANG!

Their attention changed. There was a loud sound that came from outside. They quickly went to open one of the windows and looked in the direction of Canterlot, noticing a large collection of flashing lights over it.

“They’re back!” Starlight smiled. “Quick, let's lower the barrier so they can enter.”

The two unicorns combined their magic and shot it in the air through the window.

“Well, this was the last house.” Scotaloo stared.

The trio stood in front of the large magical pink dome that was covering the whole of Ponyville, preventing any outside force from entering, but in the same vein, nobody could leave it.

“When do you think Starlight will lift the lockdown?” the unicorn wondered.

“No idea, but it better be soon,” Applebloom answered. “Because whoever’s been waiting on the other side, he has been since yesterday.”

On the other side of the barrier, they could see a single tall figure that seemed to have been standing still, staring at the barrier just like them.

“You think it can see us?” Sweetie Belle waved, and much to her surprise it waved back.

BANG!

Just as she said that a noise followed. It came from the direction of Canterlot, although they couldn’t quite see what it was. Just as that happened, from the castle, an intertwined beam of white and teal shot up, coming in contact with the barrier, and it slowly began to disappear. As it passed their height, they covered their eyes, as the figure’s reveal radiated near-blinding light. Once they adjusted to the glow, they managed to take in the full view of who it was. The figure was tall and slender, and… radiant.

“Alright,” Starlight announced after the desolation spell was cast, “if I’m not mistaken, then they should be here. Right about… NOW!”

FLASH!

With a magical explosion of light, not far from them, the Elements of Harmony, the faculty members, as well as the students appeared, much to the headmare’s fortune that they materialized only a few hooves away from them.

“TWILIGHT!” she yelled in relief and hugged her. “I’m so glad everypony’s okay. I feared the worst when the Storm King's marking appeared on the Cutie Map over Griffinstone.”

“Map? What do you mean, headmare Starlight?” Ocellus curiously asked.

“Hold on, Ocellus,” the alicorn said, as the pink unicorn let go of her. “Starlight, you have some explaining to do. What’s happened? Princess Celestia said Ponyville was attacked.”

“Well, it all started yesterday in the early morning,” the mare began explaining. “I was about to sit down to have a nice hot cup while I examined… khm, something… when all of a sudden the desk just disappeared along with my chair. I was confused at first, but then I figured out that some outside force was responsible. I went to report to Star Swirl what’s just happened, and when I went past the dining hall, the table was gone. I went to check on other parts of the castle, and I saw some other pieces of furniture were missing, even though I knew they were there when I got back earlier. Something was using magic on the building and making things disappear. I immediately told Star Swirl about it and we conjured a protective barrier so that nothing could touch us or the rest of Ponyville, but not before we sent a message to Celestia about what’s happened, after which she put up a barrier around Canterlot as well. That’s how it’s been since yesterday morning – the entire town has been under lockdown since, and luckily there’s been no noticeable effect.”

“You mean, apart from the whole town being frustrated that they’re trapped under a lid,” the grey wizard added. “Some of them complained that it brought back memories of “you know who”.”

“Yeeeeeeeeeeah, about that… Sorry.” Trixie awkwardly smiled, as everybody else “in the know” looked at her.

“Never mind that, Trixie. It happened a long time ago,” the headmare tried to reassure her colleague.

“No, I mean, I’m sorry about that thing that happened yesterday with the furniture.”

“What? What are you…?” It took a moment for her to realize what she was saying, and it was marked by her expression going from confusion, the anger. “TRIXIE! You teleported all my stuff away?!”

“Look, it was urgent, okay? When the Storm King showed up I figured we needed somebody powerful to help us fight him. You came to mind, so I was trying to get you here, thinking I could get you by knowing your routine pattern, and when I missed you the first time I panicked, and started to teleport everything possible, hoping to get you eventually.”

“As flattered as I am, Trixie, this was uncalled for. And where’s all the stuff now?”

The illusionist and the vice-headstallion looked at one another. “Well… Tirek burned it down along with the rest of Griffinstone.”

“What?! Wait. WHAT?! First of all, Tirek burned down Griffinstone. And second: YOU LET HIM BURN EVERYTHING?!”

“Starlight, it’s not like she had a chance to protect any of it,” the unkempt unicorn defended her. “We were lucky to have even survived.”

“Don’t you defend her, Sunburst!” she turned her rage on him, red vapors noticeably beginning to vent from her horn.

“STOP!!!” the Princess of Friendship’s voice echoed throughout her castle before things could escalate any further. “Listen, Starlight, you have every right to be angry for what Trixie did. That being said, however, had it not been for her actions, I never would’ve discovered that you went behind my back.”

The pink unicorn was taken aback for a moment. “Went behind your back? Twilight, what are you talking about?”

The acorn used her magic to open the saddlebag that the workhorse was carrying, and levitated a large purple crystal out of it, bringing it to her face, and when she did, a yelp escaped her. “You know what this is, don’t you?”

Her eyes shifted as she watched the elder unicorn close in on the object to look it up closely.

“Hmmm, this crystal looks awfully familiar…” He stroked his beard.

“It should, Star Swirl,” Rarity said. “If I’m to guess, I’d say she took this crystal from you when you weren’t looking.”

When he heard that his eyes darted at the guilty mare whose eyes were now shifting back and forth between the two upset parties.

“You promised me that you wouldn’t go snooping after Star Swirl, Starlight, and you still did!” Twilight berated her former student mare who was making a sour expression, visibly sinking from shame from being caught.

“The nerve of you!” the elder joined in. “I let you into the repository and you went to steal from me?! Have I done you some sort of wrong to earn this sort of deceitful behavior?!”

“Maybe you have, old timer,” the griffin in the group responded, to which the Pillar of Sorcery gave him a surprised, yet confused look.

The alicorn stepped in. “Star Swirl, just like her, you have every right to be angry at Starlight, and so am I. However, had it not been for her rebellious attitude we never seen this revelation.”

“Yeah, you’ve got some explaining to do.” Rainbow Dash stomped with her hoof.

“Explaining? What do I have to explain?” the wizard became defensive.

“Star Swirl. We saw what the crystal contained,” Twilight declared.

The old stallion suddenly froze on the spot, the expression on his face deadly serious. “What did you see?”

The princess’ horn lit up and created a screen, playing out the events of the past.

Sun was finally up over the great tree upon which Griffinstone sat, or at least what was left of it. With the storm gone, the residents left the shelter to go and check what was left in the aftermath of the cataclysm, to see if anything from their belongings could be salvaged. So too did the Elements of Harmony and their friends. They all saw the locals digging through the remains of their houses. So was the case for Grandpa Gruff and Gilda.

She stood before what remained of her place. “All those bits I used to put this place together… It all went up in smoke,” she lamented.

“I’m sorry, Gilda,” the shy pegasus joined her side to offer her condolences, as did the wonderbolt. “Yeah, same here.”

“Never mind her, what about me?!” the illusionist ruined the moment. “Starlight’s gonna kill me when she finds out all her stuff that I teleported went up in smoke too!” She lept into the rubble of burnt wood and ash and began rummaging through it.

“Good heavens, Trixie, what are you going?” Rarity cringed at the sight of her jumping into a pile of ash.

“Trying to salvage something so I don’t end up on a chopping block, that’s what! I’m not going to just lay down and wait for the end!” She resumed.

“You know what? I think she’s got a point,” Pinkie Pie said. “Maybe there’s something that we can still get out of this tragedy.”

“This is gonna require some rough force.” The workhorse tightened her cowboy hat on her head. “Let’s get to work.”

As the group dug into the ruins, the students stood by and observed them go about the task, as they saw all the other residents do it.

“This sad to watch. At least back home yak can make shelter from snow. Can’t do the same with ashes,” Yona commented.

“Agreed,” Smolder added. “Can anyone even believe that this place is going to recover after all this?”

None of them showed any sign of optimism except one. “Nah,” Gallus refuted. “The buildings may be gone, but Griffinstone still exists. It will rise again, as long as there are those who cling and believe in it.” He noticed the elder griffin nearby, who was also digging through the ashes, halting still and looking at him, as if he heard what he just said, to which the younger one gave him a quick wink and he smirked in response.

“Hey now, when did you suddenly become Mister Happy?” Silverstream too noticed a sudden change of attitude in him.

“Sometime between yesterday and today,” he quipped.

The hippogriff wrapped her claws around his neck and pulled him into a headlock-like hug. “Awww, there’s the Gallus I know.”

“Agh! Silverstream, that’s too close.”

Sandbar finally interrupted them. “So, now that another disaster has struck us on our destination, where do you suppose we’re going to be taken next?”

“Oh! Maybe we’ll go to the Changeling Kingdom…!” Ocellus eagerly suggested, only for her excitement to evaporate when she realized what the lime pony meant. “Oh… actually no, that would be bad if this repeats for the third time.”

“I don’t think you have to worry about that, Ocellus,” another voice answered.

It came from Twilight, who was joined by the scruffy-looking stallion. “I’m afraid to announce that our field trip tour is hereby canceled.”

“WHAT?!” the students collectively responded.

“Dragon Lord Ember, Sunburst, and I talked,” the alicorn followed up. “And we concluded that we simply do not know when Chrysalis and others will strike next. It’s hard to believe that they seemed to have gone to the same destinations that you all went to, so I wouldn’t be surprised if by some miracle that happened again. I’m not about to take that chance. You’ll return to Ponyville with us since that seems to be the only place that is protected.”

“Although that may be a problem if something just attacked Ponyville, according to the message that Celestia had sent to you,” Sunburst pointed out.

“I know. But we’ll have to see first what happened to address the gravity of the situation.” She turned to the students again. “You’ll all be going back to school.”

“But-!” they all tried to protest.

“No buts,” Ember finally spoke out. “That’s the final decision, and I’m sure all of your parents will agree to that.”

They all groaned in disappointment.

“Speaking of Changeling Kingdom, Ember,” the princess addressed her, “we’ll have to do something about the changelings that got captured back in Dragon Lands.”

“I know a good volcano. That’ll keep them pacified,” she suggested.

“Errr… how about something less lethal and more productive instead? Like sending them to Thorax for reeducation?”

Not far from them, the atmosphere changed to positive though. The group assisting the baker managed to remove most of the refuse, and as dirty as they were, they uncovered something solid – the stone oven.

“Thank goodness!” the griffin sighed in relief. “Out of all the things I didn’t think that my bit-maker was going to survive.”

“You know, rocks are pretty difficult to burn, right, Gilda?” Rainbow Dash pointed out.

“Who cares,” Rarity tried not to have her ruin the happy moment. “She’s got the one thing that’ll keep her afloat in this hard time while the town recovers.”

“I FOUND IT!” Trixie yelled as she poked her head out of the rubbish, her coat black from the ashes, levitating dark purple crystal. “I found something that the fire didn’t destroy!”

She trotted out proudly while everybody else gathered around her.

“Trixie, I’m not sure one crystal will make up for the loss of all the furniture you’ve teleported here,” the vice-headstallion pointed out the obvious.

“You don’t know that!” she said with desperation in her voice. “Perhaps this was some sort of big thing she was working on and will be happy that it didn’t go up in smoke like the rest!”

“Oh come on, Trixie. I get that you’re desperate, but what in the world could Starlight possibly do with a… single…” her voice came to a standstill.

“A single what, Twilight?” the school consular gave her a confused look but received no response.

Without a word she ripped the crystal out of Trixie’s grip and brought it to her face, looking it up closely. She knew what this crystal was.

“Ember!” she called out to her, and the dragon quickly joined her side. “Does this look familiar?”

Her eyes widened. “But that’s… Where did you get that?”

“It was one a table belonging to Starlight that I teleported from her home. Why?” Trixie asked.

The alicorn only gave the dragon a direct look. “Get the scepter.”

She flew to the ship and back with great speed, returning with the bloodstone scepter, and Twilight and the rest were already waiting, preparing for what would follow.

“What’s going on?” Smolder wondered.

“You’ll see soon enough,” Spike told her.

The Dragon Lord reached out with the scepter and touched the dark purple crystal with it. Bright light erupted upon their connection, and as it disappeared, an image conjured up.

A dragon appeared before them, sitting on the end of a ledge, and in his arms, he held a purple oval-shaped object, and the memory crystal in the other. Those that were on the ship quickly recognized him: It was the former Dragon Lord - Obsidian.

“Where are you?! Show yourself!” a voice out of visibility called.

The Elements, especially Twilight, quickly recognized that voice. And its owner would soon appear, as the purple dragon leaped off the ledge and landed on the ground, right in front of an old grey unicorn dressed in a starry hat and cloak.

“Ah… there you are,” Star Swirl the Bearded spoke. “I did not expect to see you any time soon, Obsidian. To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“No pleasure, Star Swirl,” he spoke. “The only way for me to get hold of you without arousing suspicion was to get a pony to deliver the message to you, and let me tell you, she was frightened to no end.”

“Yes, I noticed. Ponies may have an aversion towards dragons, but she was scared of something awful… Almost as if she experienced something horrible happening regarding a dragon.”

“It seems your actions have brought harm on both of our realms then,” Obsidian said.

“I was not responsible for the calamity that destroyed your lands, Obsidian!” the elder bit back.

“No. But the current state in its aftermath is your responsibility. Had you not come to us and ask Mother for assistance she would’ve been with us now.”

“I told you where I last saw her, Obsidian.”

“You did. And when I came looking for her she was not there!”

“That’s not my responsibility!”

“Then whose is?!” the dragon bellowed. “Without her, my kin wouldn’t be fighting amongst themselves!”

“What are you talking about, Obsidian?”

“What I’m saying is that I’ve been ousted from my position as the Dragon Lord by one of my own kin, a whelpling even! And now all of Dragon Lands are in flame, trying to vie for easily obtained power! Had Mother been with us now none of this would’ve happened!”

Then silence lingered, the image clearly showing the unicorn trying to bottle up his anger. “Tell me why did you call me out here.”

He grasped the spotted oval-shaped item that he was holding under his arm so he could see it.

“What is that?” the pony curiously asked.

“An egg. One of Mother’s last that she laid before the left. I had to steal it from the rest of her clutch.”

“If this egg is so important why did you bring it here?” Star Swirl questioned, to which Obsidian extended his arms in his direction. “What are you doing…?”

“I’m giving it to you, Star Swirl. You’re the only one I could think to be trusted with this. I cannot stop my kin from infighting, but I will not simply stand by and let our Mother’s hard work perish. This egg is her legacy. And the whelp that will hatch from it will not be corrupted by greed and thirst for power.”

Once again, silence lingered. It was so long that the watchers thought for a moment that the image froze but then…

The elder wizard sighed. “I can’t take it, Obsidian.”

“What? What do you mean you can’t? Are you saying you’re not up to the task?”

“No. I cannot take it due to the controversial issue of it.”

The dragon gave him a confused look. “What controversial issue?”

“That it’s a dragon, Obsidian! If the one pony you managed to get the attention of showed such terror, what do you think will happen if they found a dragon in their midst? Even if I told them I’ll be keeping it for research they’ll view it with nothing but scorn and disdain. And if this is supposed to be a future hope for your people, then it cannot be left here.”

“I see…” Obsidian sighed. “So you will not help me…”

“Not because I don’t want to, Obsidian. It’s just-”

“I had hoped that the burden of guilt for leading one of the gentlest and purest creatures in the world to doom along with your ruler would’ve forced your conscious to act accordingly. But it seems my hopes were too high.”

“Obsidian, you can raise the whelp by yourself. There are many caves near Canterlot where you can-”

“I can’t stay here, Star Swirl,” he declined. “I have garnered the attention of some very unsavory beings, and I will not put any other creature at risk. I have no choice but to find somebody more trustworthy to help me protect Mother’s legacy.” He turned away for a moment but then halted himself. “Keep this.”

He tossed the memory crystal at Star Swirl, who promptly caught it. “What is this?” he asked.

“A reminder. A reminder of the day when somebody in desperation came to you to help him preserve hope, and you declined him. Goodbye, Star Swirl the Bearded.”

And with those words, Obsidian opened his wings and flew off, disappearing out of view, leaving the unicorn all alone.

“Obsidian,” he finally spoke again after a long time, “I’m sorry…”

And with those final words, the image of the pony disappeared.

Silence followed. Things that they heard being said, some of them shocking, and others lacking context. As they stared blankly, a figure appeared in the distance. A grey griffin was approaching, landing not far from them. Gabby finally returned after being gone throughout the night.

“Okay guys,” she addressed them, “I managed to get to all the Griffin Lords. They’ll be arriving to investigate the damage and they’ll be willing to offer assistance for…” She stopped after noticing that they were all staring at the dark purple crystal. “Guys? Is something wrong?”

And then, the imagery that Twilight had conjured disappeared.

With the presentation over, Twilight finally spoke again. “I didn’t want to say anything to Ember about you because, with or without context, she would’ve been furious if she knew you were still around after all these years. Nor did I say anything about this to Celestia until I understand what happened. You have some explaining to do, Star Swirl.”

The gaze of everybody turned to the old wizard, who was just blankly staring as if he just saw a ghost. But after a prolonged silence, he took a deep breath and finally sighed.

“Out of all things… this was something I had hoped would’ve faded away…” He paused. “Very well. You’ve already seen what you did, so there’s no point in shirking it. I will show you the full context of what you’ve witnessed… But I tell you now: It will not be a pretty sight.”

The bearded unicorn’s horn lit up and the bright light enveloped the room.

They found themselves in a small town. No, not Ponyville, though the looks would’ve been deceiving were it not for the locals traipsing about and they didn’t look like they belonged in a current era.

“To understand what had happened we must turn the time back a little,” Star Swirl spoke. “Not long after the founding of Equestria. The leaders of the respective tribes made themselves at home in this new hospitable land. And with the small town that eventually became the Crystal Empire standing as a border station for the exodus, the land quickly overflew with settlers. The earth ponies made themselves at home right away in setting up farming settlements all over, the pegasi built magnificent cities in the clouds, while the unicorns erected a single city, but sent expeditions out into the world to look for gemstone deposits. All of ponykind was enjoying prosperous times. But…”

There it was, that dreaded word. It indicated that not everything was as good as it seemed. And that became apparent when a unicorn filly trotted down the street, and all of a sudden, a ball dropped right in front of her. She looked about and saw nobody to whom it could’ve belonged until pegasus colt swopped down for the sky to pick it up. They stared at each other for a moment, and then the filly’s mother ran to her side and pulled her away, leaving the colt to look rather disappointed. The spectators saw how other unicorns around were glaring at him. And then the environment shifted to a window of a castle, through which the narrator was looking down on the scene.

“Despite the leaders declaring that all pony tribes would now live together in peace and harmony, that was something that proved far more difficult to convince the populace. They and their followers may have been the ones to experience the hardships and concluded that something had to be done to prevent what happened to our original homeland again, but that was not the case for the rest. It’s one thing for the leaders to declare that all the old grudges and grievances be buried… But it’s another to change the mindset of those who have been harboring aversion and hatred for generations. And it became obvious that something had to be done, otherwise, our new homeland would’ve been consumed by windigos again for sure.”

“So how did you go about that?” Fluttershy wondered.

The scene shifted to Star Swirl walking to the throne room where a white pink-maned unicorn, dressed in a royal garment, sat. A conversation took place that couldn’t be heard, after which she nodded. The visual changed to the balcony overlooking the grand square in front of the castle, under which hundreds of ponies gathered to see the royal unicorn mare beside a stallion dressed in black armor, yet his bright coat could still be visible. This stallion was a pegasus, which became apparent as he began to fly to put a small ring around the mare’s horn before landing, and then they both raised their hooves in unison.

“Virtue has to come from those higher up so that those who are lower can look up to it. Marriages tend to be a good way of settling past grievances. It’s something that I suggested to Princess Platinum, and she was of the same mindset. And Commander Hurricane was perfect since he was the leader of the pegasus tribe.”

“Wait… Princess Platinum and Commander Hurricane got married?!” the wonderbolt’s jaw dropped. “I don’t remember reading that in any of the history books!”

“Yes… There’s more to that, but I digress.” The elder waved it away.

The two newlyweds rode a carriage down the street of the unicorn town, with the locals, as well as the pegasi who were flying above watching. It became clear that some were not particularly thrilled, but the rest showed some approval. The scene suddenly shifted. They were now back inside the castle, in the royal couple’s private quarters, and what the watchers saw shocked them. The princess was laying on her bed with her stallion by the bedside, and the mare cradled a little bright-furred foal… one that had not just a horn, but wings as well!

“Wait! Is… is that an alicorn?!” the party planner was to express the shock.

“Yes. The first one ever to exist in Equestria. Her name was Radiant Bliss. The grandmother of Celestia and Luna.”

“WHAT?!” the group reacted.

“What is going on?!” the fashionista began tearing at her mane. “First we hear that the two royal sisters had a father, and now a grandmother too?! Why didn’t we hear this from any of the history books?!”

“Because I already explained the reason for it, Miss Rarity.”

“Because of Turmoil…? Hold on, Star Swirl, how far did you use your magic to erase everypony’s memories?” Starlight questioned.

“This far,” the old stallion answered. “I had to erase anything that would trace to King Titan, and as a result, Turmoil's existence, which also included his predecessor. Which was for the better anyway, as you are about to witness.”

They were confused. Why was forgetting her a good thing? The scene shifted again. The little foal they saw earlier was now a beautiful princess with a mane red as autumn leaves and a mane as white as snow, and she rode through town on a carriage. Upon further inspection, the town itself had changed: It was much bigger now, seeming to have become a large trading hub during the time skip that had just occurred; it was littered with both unicorns and pegasi, and there were even a handful of earth ponies among them. And that’s what they noticed - among the happy faces they noticed the latter scowling as she passed by.

“The divide between unicorns and pegasi has been bridged, and Princess Radiant Bliss was the physical embodiment of that. But the earth ponies, unfortunately, felt left out. They provided food for the entire pony population, yet they felt slighted. A suitor had to be found for the princess, but the problem came in from the fact that they had no royalty in any form. They were a simple kind, their position of leader was chosen by others, and they had no nobility. But that wasn’t an issue, the stallion only had to look the part.”

The scenery changed to a beautiful garden, and the princess was present, enjoying the greenery. Suddenly, past the bushes, a stallion appeared – tall, with a brown coat and an even darker brown mane, but his clothes were fancy, and he held a large bouquet of roses in one hoof. Events suddenly zoomed past everybody in rapid succession, watching the princess and the stallion enjoying walks in the park, taking a boat ride, having tea time together, and altogether having a good time. All the while, from atop his tower, the bearded sorcerer kept a close watch on both of them with his telescope.

“Brown Mane was one of many earth ponies from one of the many villages. He has shown a mild interest in the princess when a proposition was offered to him but he was still the best candidate. He was humble and I was therefore assured that he wouldn’t crave power. Radiant Bliss has grown to like him and they made a lot of progress in their relationship but…”

“There’s always a BUT in things like this,” the pony among the students said.

“But at some point, things slowed down, seeming that their relationship would not go beyond them just being good friends.”

“But Star Swirl, that’s a good thing!” the alicorn insisted. “Even if it’s just friendship it would’ve shown to other earth ponies that they have a place to be equal to everypony else.”

“I know that, Twilight. But that was not me as I am now. I had as much patience as I was old and wise.”

“You mean, none at all then?” the headmare quipped.

“Starlight, don’t say things like that!” Twilight yelled at her.

“No. She’s absolutely correct in this case,” Star Swirl defended her.

They were confused by what the headmare was saying, but the old pony acknowledged that she knew something they didn’t. The scene then shifted to a laboratory.

“I was determined to make this work, even if I had to “nudge” things along.”

It showed him experimenting, dumping substances like clouds and rainbows into a bottle, creating a concoction that eventually turned purple and bubbly. A wide grin appeared on his face. And as Brown Mane was in his room where he was staying at the castle, a gift suddenly appeared on his bed – a bottle of purple substance that had a note attached to it, saying “For best of luck to you and your wife to be – A friend”. He looked about and couldn’t figure out where it came from, all he did was shrug and carry the drink with him. It then showed the two friends enjoying the bubbly purple beverage together, and after a single sip, their eyes turned mesmerized and they began intently staring into each other’s eyes. The events suddenly zoomed by the watchers, as they saw the marriage taking place, and soon after, they saw a dark purple foal with a fiery mane in the embrace of his alicorn and earth pony parent.

“It was a success. Within a day, the two wed, and sometime later, their child came into the world – Titan.”

“Wait wait wait, how’s that possible? You said earlier that they were willing to just be friends, and all of a sudden they decided to get married within a day?” Applejack pointed out the inconsistency. “You can’t just jump from that onward unless…”

“Did you give them a love potion?” the Element of Magic interjected immediately, drawing everybody’s attention

“Huh, you know it’s funny, but the way things have played out so far seems exactly like from that story on which Hearts and Hooves Day is based.” Pinkie Pie pointed out. “But that’s probably just a coincidence, right, Star Swirl?” He didn’t answer so she nudged him. “Go on, Star Swirl, tell them how that’s silly.”

And yet he gave no response. He had a dark expression on his face as if he couldn’t deny it. Hearts and Hooves Day was a holiday based on the story of a love potion being used by a royal couple, who became so enamored with one another that they couldn't fulfill their royal duties, which lead to the downfall of a kingdom, but not before being attacked by a dragon.

“Wait a second! This is for real?! It can’t be!” the purple mare began to freak out. “If that’s the case and you really were the instigator behind the events, why does everypony know about this but not everything else, Star Swirl?! You said you erased everypony’s memory!”

“Of course I did. But much like in even the tightest cases, something will leak out. It seems my mind-wiping spell didn’t hit everypony and some memories remained intact, though I assume most of them were beyond its casting range. As for the reason why one thing is remembered and the other not, that one is easily explainable: One has an easier time speaking about good things. Even bad things can be talked about as long as they’re something one can overcome. But things that were horrible beyond belief are preferred to be bottled up, because as long as you do not think of them your life will be much easier. Equestria survived the former, but the latter was something that everypony wanted to forget.”

“So… it’s all true then? The thing with love poison really happened?”

“Yes,” he somberly confirmed. “And if you’ve all read the book about it, then you already know what followed, so I will spare you the sordid details. Although the events played out a bit differently compared to what the book says.”

The old wizard was back in his study rummaging through a scroll, desperately trying to find the antidote.

“As the kingdom was collapsing around me, I struggled to find the cure for the poison with which I had afflicted the royal couple. You wouldn’t believe it, but I discovered it purely by chance when I left two test bunnies isolated from one another for little more than an hour. That being said, however, medicating the situation proved far, far more difficult than finding the cure.”

The scenes then zoomed by showing the Pillar of Magic trying to divert, snatch, or inconvenience Brown Mane from looking at his wife for at least an hour, yet it all ended the same way, as the anticipated mare teleported herself right to his side soon after, foiling the old unicorn’s plans.

“I don’t know how, but Princess Radiant Bliss had grown such an attraction to her mate that she could force herself to his side no matter where I took him. She’d have probably teleported to the other side of the world if I did so. That’s when I realized if subtle means were no longer an option… force would have to be used.”

“You wanted to fight a princess of Equestria?” Starlight insinuated.

“No. I couldn’t. Not because I didn’t have the means to do it, I just couldn’t do it on principle. The magic that she possessed could be comparable to my own. If we were to fight, this wouldn’t have been something that would’ve gone quiet. We’ve finally managed to achieve unity in some way, but what do you think would’ve happened, if they save a unicorn fighting that symbol of unity? No. I couldn’t compromise the work that the founders of Equestria put everything they had into. I needed an outside help. Somebody of great power who would e willing to fight an alicorn princess, somebody… who would be ready to potentially perish.”

What followed was showing Star Swirl traveling all over the land, asking all manner of native creatures, until he eventually came across an old dragon that was resting in a nearby cave.

“I traversed the land to try and find an outsider of great power. I asked a lot of sentient creatures that were native to parts of Equestria, yet I ended up coming up short. But my fortunes changed when I came across an old dragon in his lair. He was willing to talk and he directed me to a creature he referred to as “Mother”, saying she might be able to help me. And so, I traveled east, across the vast sea, and into a lush jungle with volcanic activities that comprised Dragon Lands back then. And there I met… her.”

The image of the grey wizard passed through a large cavern entry and into a grand interior. Whatever lived here must’ve been really big, and that target wasn’t easy to miss. And what the viewers saw left them without words. Leaning against the wall of the giant cave was a giant dragon, but it looked nothing like any other dragon they saw before. It was gargantuan, even by the species' standards, and the comparison became noticeable when some of the other dragons flew by her, barely being the size of her claw. Its scales were emerald green, yet every now and then there were noticeable gems in their place, giving the body a brilliant shine. On the tip of its massive jaw, a giant cluster of purple crystals stuck out and it was shrinking the closer it went towards the eyes, and on top of its head, a pair of equally purple horns were spreading out. And last but not least, its eyes were diamond-shaped.

“Is that… The Mother of Dragons?” Spike asked, barely able to say it.

“I… I don’t think there are words that would fit the description except… majestic…” Rarity was short on breath.

“Yes,” the projector answered. “She was truly a magnificent creature beyond compare. She seemed both dragons and more, almost as if she’s become one with her homeland. I stepped before her and made my intentions known, explaining the dire situation and my desperation for help to prevent Equestria from collapsing. I didn’t have much hope, to be honest; I was basically asking this great magnificent being to sacrifice herself to help me fix my mistake, I had no reason to believe that she would say yes… And yet, she did…”

The mares anticipated that the wizard would continue, but as they inspected the look on his face - it looked deadly serious, and the reason why would soon become clear, as the scene shifted once more. They were back at the castle. In the throne room, the princess and her mate, along with their newborn by their side, sat on the throne, their heads touching one another, looking into each other’s eyes. Suddenly, there was a quake, a tremor that made them snap out of their daze. Then a cracking sound followed, and a powerful light entered the room from above. The roof of the building was torn open and through it, an image of a giant dragon could be seen. It reached down, and Princess Radiant Bliss dodged it; a decision that she would soon regret, as she saw the giant claw grabbing her husband and pulling back out. She quickly flew ran out of the castle and saw the giant green dragon towering over the castle above the city, before finally taking off and flying away. The alicorn quickly took off – there was no way she’d let that giant beast take away her significant other! She trailed the Mother of Dragons to a large forest in the far distance, and she was determined to not let her go any further, as she intercepted her and fired a bolt of green magic at the beast. It bounced off, yet the beast still stopped even though it seemed to have shrugged off the attack. She fired again, trying to distract her, then zoomed past to try and get close to the claw in which Brown Mane was being held; she was so desperate to see him. But the dragon seemed to be aware of what the princess wanted and it pulled away, denying her. It made her angry, yet she tried again. The watchers quickly became aware the pattern was forming, as the alicorn tried to make eye contact with her consort, and the Mother of Dragons, seemingly being aware of their condition, tried to make sure to keep them separated for at least an hour. And the instructor stood by on a nearby cliff edge, watching the events play out, with a sun clock by his side, counting down the time. At this point, a considerable amount of time had passed and it seemed that things were going to resolve soon, but then, something horrifying happened. As the battle progressed, the princess continued to grow more and more desperate, so much that it turned to anger, and eventually, seeing the creature far more powerful than her and not being able to do anything against her, turned to hatred, and as predicted, her eyes began exuding purple green magical essence. She let out a scream and unleashed a powerful blast of magic at the dragon, striking a hit, and making it let out a roar of pain. The unicorn observer who stood motionless so far suddenly showed concern, as if he’s never witnessed something like this happen before. But if he was planning to intervene in the fight before this escalated further it was already too late. The alicorn charged up for another attack, and when the dragon saw that it decided not to just let it happen, as it opened her mouth and green fire erupted the moment she shot out a beam. The two attacks collided, causing a chain reaction that created an explosive backlash, striking both of them and knocking them out of the sky into the forest below. He levitated himself and flew towards a large hole in the cluster of trees. As he landed he saw the devastation left by the fall of one of the combatants, and there, lying in a crater just big enough for her to fill it, the Mother of Dragons lay. The grey unicorn approached, trying to get her to react, and in response she opened her closed claw, revealing the kidnapped earth pony, unconscious but unscathed.

“I was horrified by what had occurred,” the elder finally spoke. “I didn’t anticipate that the love poison would make Princess Radiant Bliss so desperate that she would begin to exude signs of negative emotion taking over. This was the first time I’ve seen it happen, and its destructive power was enough to even hurt somebody as powerful as the Mother of Dragons.”

“What about her?” Fluttershy asked with great concern.

He only gazed at the scene with a somber look. “She was wounded. She managed to protect Brown Mane, and the spell should’ve ended by now… but at what cost? I tried to do something to help her, yet she refused my help, saying that it didn’t matter and that her current condition only accelerated the inevitable outcome. She told me to get the consort back home and look for the missing princess, and once it’s done, I should go and fetch Dragon Lord Obsidian, saying that he would know what to do.”

As the wizard levitated the sleeping stallion out of the dragon’s claw, she retracted all her limbs and curled up into a ball, draping herself in her own wings. Her scales suddenly began to flicker, eventually erupting in a blinding flash, and when it passed, all that was left in her place was a large oval-shaped object.

“Wait… Mother of Dragons turned into… an egg…?” Pinkie Pie raised an eyebrow.

“It may look as such, but upon closer examination, she’s turned into a rock,” he corrected. “At least that way I knew she wasn’t going anywhere, and it’s not like somebody was just going to move a giant rock in the middle of nowhere… And I should curse myself for thinking that.”

“Why? DID somepony or creature remove the rock from the spot?” Trixie inquired.

He didn’t answer the question right away. “I took Brown Mane back to the castle, to have others know at least he was safe, while I went to look for the Radiant Bliss… And I failed…”

“What do you mean you failed, Star Swirl?” Rarity wondered.

“I flew in every direction of the forest where the battle took place, I searched high and low, and I ever tried to track her magical aura… and in the end, I couldn’t find her. It’s almost as if the princess was swallowed by the ground, disappearing without a trace. My actions have left, not just our kingdom without a ruler, but another as well…”

“Wait, are you trying to say that…?” Trixie spoke again before the switch of the scene cut her off.

“After searching and failing to find Princess Radiant Bliss for four days straight, I decided to finally let one of Mother’s children know where to find her. I brought Obsidian to the place where his mother fell, and she was gone. The large boulder that was laying in the crater had disappeared…”

The scene then shifted back to the city. The collapse that was imminent some time ago had been averted and residents have been going about their day-to-day lives to rebuild what was lost, but there was a noticeable depression marked on their faces. The same was with the old wizard, as he trotted down the hall of the castle, and for a brief moment took a peek inside the throne room, only to see the consort alone by the side of a small crib, staring at the fruit of his labor, who was oblivious to the tragedy that had played out.

“I would be forever haunted by my actions. In a desperate attempt to fill the gaps between our kind I had nearly caused the kingdom’s downfall, and not just the embodiment of our unity, but also the kindest gentlest creature I have ever known, had to pay the price for it… as did her successor…”

The images shifted one last time, putting them right in the place of the moment when former Dragon Lord Obsidian stood before Star Swirl the bearded and offered him a purple spotted egg to protect; one that he refused. Afterward, he tossed him the purple crystal and flew off in the direction of the setting sun. The surroundings suddenly began to turn dark until the only thing that could be seen was the wizard staring at the crystal, with a despondent look on his face, saying a single sentence:

Obsidian… I’m sorry…

The images disappeared and they found themselves back in Twilight’s old castle, by the side of the Cutie Map.

“And there you have it, Starlight Glimmer,” the old unicorn addressed her directly, much to her surprise. “My past sin… My life’s greatest regret…”

Comments

[Wild Stallion]

I honestly thought it was going to be revealed that Starswirl was Chrysalis's ex, but this is far more mysterious and intriguing.

[nightshroud96]

Is that egg Obsidian brought to Starswirl.. was Spike's? :0

[JFT]

11612392
It just wouldn't fit Star Swirl's character honestly. XD

11612489
Why would you assume that? Obsidian didn't leave the egg in Star Swirl's care.

[nightshroud96]

11613894
Because where else the egg be?
Like it might end up in Celestia's school after Starswirl went missing.

That and the show never bothered telling WHERE Celestia got Spike's egg.
Eggs of sapient beings don't just pop into the hooves of ponies out of thin air.
The writers really trolled Spike by never letting him find out where his egg came from.

If the egg isn't Spike's, well.. whoops..

[Doctor_Den]

OK. This Starswirl story is really cool and sad at the same time.
Did that egg belong to Spike? Is Spike much older than we thought?
Will they show us where the princess really disappeared?
After all, Starswirl could not even find a dead body.

too many questions

[JFT]

11661887
What makes you assume that it's Spike's egg? Wouldn't Obsidian leave it with Star Swirl if that was the case?
You may also wonder where Mother of Dragon's "remains" disappeared to. Somebody probably moved them.