A Teacher (Re-Mastered)
Rowan moaned as he slipped out of unconsciousness, head pounding yet again. Opening his eyes, he instinctively tried to move his fore legs, which he found difficult due to their stiffness. It felt like he hadn't moved them for hours.
With some difficulty, Rowan was able to get up on all fours, though he felt like a slightest nudge could topple him over. He groaned as he struggled to balance himself, a slight bit of nausea tugged at his stomach, "Ugh, I feel like I'm gonna puke. I hope this is just a side effect from Shining Armor's immobilization spell."
His vision was still blurred, but after a few minutes his sight began to clear and make out his surroundings.
He was standing in a dimly lit, cramped, dungeon cell. Stone walls covered the inside of the cell, tightly packed together to keep anything from slipping out of the smallest crack. The ceiling curved down low, like a dome that threatened to cave in on top of him. A rusty, barred door blocked the only exit, and a iron lock held the barrier within its frame.
"A prison cell?" Rowan muttered, "Never thought I'd see myself land in one of these... Although, I suppose that only applied back in the human world."
He looked towards the iron door of his cell, grimacing slightly, "Either way, I need to get out of here."
Placing his front hooves on the iron bars, Rowan tried to push the door open. Although it started to creak under his weight, the lock held fast against its rusted frame.
Rowan sighed, "Great, it's locked tight. Figures, I crash land in an entirely different world, and then get locked in a jail cell within an hour. What was I thinking?"
He peered through the bars and into the rest of the dungeon outside. His cell was embedded into the wall of a dark, stone corridor, lined with numerous tunnels from what he could see.
"Okay, nobody's around. So, nobody will see me try to escape. Pushing on the door didn't work, so I'll just need another way out of this cell..."
Rowan's eyes fell to the lock of the door. It looked like it needed a small key to unlock it from the outside.
"Hm..." Rowan thought to himself, "I wonder if I can pick the lock?"
He looked around in the inside of his cell, trying to find some sort of rock or small item to pick the lock with. But, he only found disappointment. There was literally nothing in his cell, let alone anything that he could use to pick the lock.
"There's nothing that I can use here," Rowan announced bitterly, "Unless I want to use my horn, but I'd never be able to get it through the bars with my head..." He stopped suddenly, just as an idea came to mind.
"Maybe I can use my horn on the lock." He remembered how he had used magic to break through the blockade, back on the streets before he'd been caught. "Maybe not to pick it open," he glanced down at the lock, "But maybe I can blast it open."
But he was presented with yet another problem; He had no idea how to use magic. Back on the streets, Rowan had no idea how he had blasted through that blockade.
Groaning to himself, Rowan tapped the point of his horn with a hoof, "How do I make this thing work? I've done it before, so I know I can do it again... But if I can't, then it may take a really long time for me to get out of here."
"So how did I do it before?..." Rowan let his mind wander, remembering back to the guards' chase after him. The fear that had gripped his chest, the flash of the guards' spears, and then...
The burning sensation on his forehead, the heat of the fire, the flaming crescent, it all came flooding back to him in an instant, like he was living that exact moment again. The whole sensation surprised Rowan greatly. He had not been expecting that, nor had he been prepared for it. Looking back on it, that moment where he used magic seemed... Mechanical, like the feeling you get when you move part of your own body.
Suddenly, an idea came to Rowan, "I did that. It might've been on accident, but I still used my own magic. So,... Maybe if I can recreate that feeling of using it, then I'll be able to control it..."
He wasn't quite sure how to do it, but he knew he needed to at least try. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, "Alright, here it goes."
Rowan lowered his head and pointed his horn towards the lock. With his target in mind, he concentrated on the feeling from before, his burning horn, the hot fire, and then, the flaming crescent. Squinting his eyes in concentration, Rowan silently willed for the magic to happen, for his horn to create another flaming crescent to break down the door.
He must have done something right, because after a moment or two of concentration, Rowan felt a familiar burning coming from his forehead. He peeked one eye open to look up at his horn, which was now glowing with black energy.
A small twinge tugged at the corner of his mouth, "Okay, almost got it. Now I just need to make it fire." But a few droplets of sweat began dripping down his face. Using magic was harder than he thought. "Well, easier said than done."
Suddenly, a large slam echoed down the end of the corridor, jolting Rowan out of his concentration. His loss of focus caused him to end his spell before he could cast it. Before he could curse to himself about losing his hold on his magic, hoof steps started to echo through the gloomy corridor as some ponies entered the dungeon.
Curiously, Rowan pressed his face against the bars to his cell, trying to catch a glimpse of who was coming. As they grew closer to Rowan's cell, he could make out light reflecting off of the armor they were wearing, golden and polished.
Soldiers! Squinting hard, Rowan tried to see how many had come into the corridor. From what he could see, there were only four; two were unicorns, and the other two were pegasi armed with spears.
Great, Rowan groaned, I can't blow the lock with them around. I'll just have to wait until they're gone before I try again. He watched as they walked in formation down the corridor, but he didn't expect them to stop suddenly and turn towards his cell.
"It's time to go." Said one of the unicorns sternly, as he inserted a key into the lock on Rowan's cell.
"Where are you taking me?" Rowan questioned. I just hope it's better than this place.
The soldier stood expressionless, "The princess has ordered that you appear before her for trial." He unlocked the cell and opened it, all the while keeping an eye on the prisoner.
Rowan felt his heart skip a beat. The princess? Princess Celestia? If they take me to the princess, then I'll be able to speak with her. And if I tell her what happened to me, then she can help me get back to my world! I still might have a chance to get home!
Like a good, reasonable prisoner, Rowan nodded his head and obediently walked out of the cell.
Immediately after exiting the cell, the soldiers took the formation of a square, completely surrounding him. The unicorn soldiers lead in front while the pegasus soldiers brought up the rear. Pushing Rowan along, they headed down the corridor, passing cell after cell, all identical to the one Rowan had been kept in. After a few minutes of walking, they reached the end of the corridor. A heavy steel door blocked the exit, completely solid and heavier than the barred prison doors.
The unicorns pulled open the door and the soldiers escorted Rowan through the door, bringing him into the bright light of day.
Morning already? I guess I was unconscious for the night. He mused, trying to shield his eyes with his hoof.
But the soldiers continued to push him along. The door opened out to an alley way, much like one of the ones Rowan had seen when he had been running in Canterlot. They walked to the end of the alley, which emptied out onto a wide street. Soon they turned the corner and walked out onto the streets of Canterlot.
Rowan gazed in surprise at what he saw. The streets were busy as ponies of every kind trotted up and down the roads, going about their everyday routines. Rowan hadn't seen Canterlot in the daytime like this before, and it was definitely different than walking around the city at night.
As the soldiers escorted him through the city, several ponies began to notice Rowan. They began to form small crowds, whispering to each other as they watched him pass by, with looks of uncertainty drawn on their faces. Just by looking at the large groups of ponies gathering and staring at him, Rowan started to feel a bit uncomfortable.
Word must travel around here fast. Rowan thought. He continued to look at the faces of the onlookers. Their expressions ranged from curiosity to disgust, but in general, most of them held a look of fear. Looking at them, Rowan couldn't help but feel... A pang of guilt, as if he were the cause of their unrest... Which, in all reality, was true.
They must be afraid of what I did last night with that magic. Rowan cringed as he remembered the spectacle of the flaming crescent in the night. The spell itself wasn't terrible, but when remembering how the guards were blown away by it, anyone would've been scared by it.
They saw how destructive that was, with the fire and all. Why wouldn't they be afraid of me? He glumly hung his head a bit as the eyes of the onlookers continued to bear down on him. Their stares felt like drills digging into his skin and, if not that, like weights on his shoulders.
After what seemed an eternity being stared down by the citizens of Canterlot, they reached the doors of the castle. Rowan gratefully walked inside when the guards opened the giant doors to let them in. At least now he was hidden from the view of the crowd outside.
The massive doors of the castle slammed shut, sending a startled shock up Rowan's spine. A small moment of realization crossed through his mind as he glanced around at the interior of the castle, where he found that dozens of soldiers stood guard at every corner. Just seeing the guards all around him, the same ones he had run from the night before, it kind of put his fur on end.
He shook his head, Okay, I just need to stay calm. If I can get Celestia to listen to me, then everything will be alright. But even as he tried to calm himself down, his feeling of uneasiness stayed with him as the soldiers lead him through the castle. After passing through the massive halls and corridors of the castle, he and the soldiers reached a door of which Rowan recognized.
"The throne room." He whispered to himself. It's funny., chuckling weakly to himself, I went through all of this trouble, and yet these soldiers brought me where I wanted to be in the first place. Rowan's throat suddenly went dry as the soldiers opened the doors to the throne room.
Well, here goes nothing. Rowan started through the open doors, I hope.
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In the throne room, numerous ponies and royal officers stood at the sides of the room, waiting for the trial to begin. Shining Armor stood next to Princess Celestia by her throne, waiting for his soldiers to bring the accused colt to the trial.
Much to his own dissatisfaction, the captain was still puzzled by how that colt had been able to use a spell that powerful without any pause. He was sure that this pony meant trouble and that any pony around him should be cautious.
The captain could still remember when the alarm sounded last night. He had almost reached his home, but his duty as captain begrudgingly turned him back to the streets. He had met with Javelin, who had told him about this rogue unicorn. Javelin explained that the unicorn had gotten angry that he hadn't been allowed inside the city and that he had wanted to speak with the princesses. But Shining wondered why any pony would go through all of that trouble just meet with them? That is, unless they needed something desperately from their highnesses.
Lost in his thoughts, Shining Armor didn't notice as somepony walked up next to him and tapped his hoof gently with theirs. Surprised by the sudden touch, the captain turned to see Cadence standing next to him, smiling at him with her adoring eyes. Yet, through her smile, Shining Armor could feel her uneasiness about this trial. It was much like his own.
He smiled at her, "I know. I feel just as uneasy about this colt, but Celestia has ordered the trial. After all, no one knows better than her." Although that seemed to give Cadence reassurance, she looked nervously towards the doors where the rogue unicorn was going to enter.
She looked back at him, "But why would a pony like him come to Canterlot? In the dead of night, no less."
Shining Armor opened his mouth to answer, but he was cut short as the doors of the throne room opened. The slam of the doors was enough to silence the chatting of the ponies who stood at the sides of the room.
The four officers Shining Armor had sent to fetch the prisoner walked into the room. And among them, they led a young colt along towards Princess Celestia's throne.
Shining Armor glanced suspiciously at the prisoner, finding that seeing him in the light of day yielded a different view of him than at night. He was only a teenage unicorn, far too young to have cast the spell he had supposedly used last night. How could somepony so young use magic like that? Most unicorns his age could only barely grasp the majority of their magical powers, though not use it all at once. Was it maybe just a fluke? Did he just get lucky and a random magical surge came exactly when he needed it?
The guards led him to the center of the throne room, only a small distance in front of Celestia's throne. The two Pegasi guards then took to the air and left the throne room, leaving the two unicorn guards to keep the prisoner from trying anything during the trial.
Off on the sides of the room, several hushed whispers chorused through the Canterlot onlookers. But many of the ponies present paid them no mind. Mainly two ponies kept their eyes on each other: Princess Celestia and the young prisoner.
The princess kept an unwavering gaze on the colt, one that only an immortal goddess could perfect. Her stare almost seemed to pierce through him, and the unicorn looked as if he were going to crack under the pressure. He actually cringed from the awesome presence of the solar diarch.
Shining Armor stepped forward and broke the silence, announcing, "The trial will now begin." The room fell silent, save for the quiet scribbling of the scribes who were documenting the trial. He stepped back next to Cadence as Celestia looked down on the grey unicorn.
"What is your name?" she asked, almost emotionless, though a hint of curiosity resided in her voice.
The colt seemed hesitant to answer, "My name is Rowan."
Pushing the fact that his name was uncommon into the back of her mind, Celestia continued, "Rowan, you were witnessed last night by several soldiers and citizens of Canterlot for several charges against Equestrian law. You have been accused of attacking a royal guard, avoiding capture, violent actions towards several soldiers of Canterlot, and using magic that could not only have only harmed any citizens in the vicinity, but could have destroyed their property as well. Do you deny having done these actions?"
Shining Armor could see sweat start to drip down Rowan's face. The accused unicorn looked as if he were guilty, as if each accusation the princess listed twisted a knife in his chest. The captain was intrigued, since this wasn't what he had expected of the young colt. Maybe this Rowan hadn't wanted to cause trouble.
"No, I don't deny it." He said, cringing, "But I had to do it because I needed to speak with you."
The Princess raised an eyebrow, now even more curious, "Explain yourself, please."
Rowan sighed, "I needed to speak with you because I thought you could help get me home."
Celestia looked a bit confused, "So, you forced your way into the city, avoided the pursuit of the guards, attacked them with magic when they cornered you, only for you to fall into their custody, and all of this was caused by a desire to return home? Why come to me and ask for help, and why not somepony else? Surely you know how difficult it would have been to reach me and ask for my help."
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Rowan's mind raced, Whoa, I never realized Celestia was so... Intimidating. I guess it's different seeing her in person rather than through a television screen. I'm glad that I'm at least talking to her now, but... He felt a few droplets of sweat roll down the back of his neck as the dozens of ponies along the sides of the room looked down at him, ...I just wish there weren't so many ponies here. I hate being the center of a crowd.
He shook himself back out of his thoughts, and back to Celestia on her throne. The solar diarch asked another question,
"Why couldn't you just have waited for the guards to let you inside the city after checking you at the gate? If you needed to return home, why couldn't you have bought a ticket for a train ride to get you there?"
Rowan gulped to himself, Well, like I said before, here goes nothing. He cleared his throat and spoke, "I couldn't do any of that stuff because nobody could've help me get home except you."
He looked at Celestia's unwavering expression, "I need your help to get home because I'm from a different world, and I don't know how to get back." As he said it, Rowan mentally noted how both weird and cliche that sounded... I've seriously got to stop reading so many fan fics.
Suddenly, a large uproar broke out through the assembly of ponies at the trial. Rowan jumped in shock as he looked around at the audience there. He hadn't expected any Canterlot nobles to shout so loudly. Celestia stomped her hoof on her throne like a gavel, trying to quiet those who were present. It took some doing, but every pony eventually grew silent.
Celestia turned her attention back to Rowan, appearing as if his answer hadn't fazed her at all, "If you are in fact from another world, then tell us what has happened since you arrived in Equestria."
Taking a deep breath, Rowan proceeded to tell the princess, and unfortunately the rest of the crowd, about his journey to Canterlot. He told them everything; How he had tried to speak to Shining Armor, but he hadn't been able to, and the entire account of his chase through the streets. He explained that the magic he used had been purely by accident, since he hadn't been able to use magic in his home world. He didn't mention what had happened that morning, since he thought it didn't really matter now. When he finished his story, the entire room had fallen silent.
Rowan almost laughed as he saw the expressions of multiple faces, including Shining Armor and Cadence, ranging from wonder, to curiosity, to complete confusion. Rowan would have called all of their expressions priceless, except he was still held at spear point by two guards. Out of everypony present, only Celestia seemed to be mildly surprised, while everyone else seemed on the more extreme side.
But then, their minds managed to connect to their mouths and several voices broke out from the crowd,
A stallion shouted out from the side, "He's lying! He's just making all of this up so he can avoid the punishment he deserves!"
A mare somewhere else called out, "What if he's really a changeling and he's trying to get rid of the princess?" The majority of the ponies called out in outrage as they began to shout at Rowan, and even began to argue with each other.
"No!" Rowan tried to call out. Crap, this isn't what I'd been expecting. "I'm not lying. You've got to believe me!"
But the crowd still argued against each other, completely ignoring Rowan. Celestia tried to quiet every pony like before, stomping a hoof hard against the ground, but no one heard her over the schism. The room seemed to scream with a thousand voices, piercing the inside of Rowan's ears like needles. He tried to cover his ears with his hooves, but he found out that hooves weren't like hands in the fact that they couldn't block out the sound very well.
Out of nowhere, the doors of the throne room burst open and a booming voice canceled out the sounds of the arguing ponies.
"Silence! This childish bickering must cease!"
Startled, every pony looked towards a figure in the doorway. She was a mare that resembled Princess Celestia, yet her appearance was more like that of the night sky. It was...
Rowan gasped, "Princess Luna..."
The Lunar Princess looked at the crowd of ponies inside the throne room, a scowl on her face, "What is the matter with you ponies? Is it not our law that thou shouldst remain silent during royal trials?" A hint of medieval speaking leaked out through her frustration.
Nopony along the sides made any comment, either ashamed for speaking out of turn, or just grumbling under their breaths for being chastised like a little child.
Luna's expression softened from her scowl into a more calm demeanor, "I testify that this colt, Rowan, speaks the truth. As it is my duty to watch the night, I was present when the events of last night unfolded. I can confirm that what Rowan says is true, and I say that he is innocent and should be relieved of all charges."
In shock, all of the ponies began to talk among themselves, still surprised by Luna's sudden appearance, and now even more surprised by her defending Rowan. Of course, they all wanted to argue, but then they realized they couldn't prove anything against the princess' point. Eventually, the whole of the crowd quieted in defeat.
Celestia looked over the crowd, seeing their acceptance to Luna's claim, and nodded, "Very well, Luna. I find that Rowan is innocent, and he is therefore released from any accusations against him. Until such a time as I have permitted, no pony is to speak about Rowan or this trial to anyone else. Trial dismissed!" She stomped her hoof against the ground, signaling for the audience to leave, which they all gladly did.
The only ones who didn't exit the room were the princesses Celestia, Luna, and Cadence, along with Shining Armor, and Rowan. Of course, the two guards still stood on either side of him, but they were dismissed with a wave of Celestia's hoof. As everyone filed out of the room, Luna walked up to Rowan.
Rowan smiled at her, though he had to suppress some fanboyish desire to squee. Luna had always been his favorite, and that opinion just increased tenfold since she had saved him from the angry mob of a court room.
"Princess Luna, I don't know how I can thank you enough." Rowan internally chuckled. He'd never thought he'd say that to her in real life.
She smiled back, "You're welcome, young Rowan. Are you alright?"
Rowan nodded, a huge grin plastered on his face, "Yes, I'm alright."
Luna chuckled a bit at his happy expression, "I'm glad to hear that." But, Her expression suddenly saddened, "I'm guessing that now you are wondering if my sister and I can send you back to your world. Am I correct?" Rowan nodded.
Celestia walked to stand by her sister, "I apologize, Rowan. We do believe you came from another world, though we may not explain how we know. If Luna and I could send you back to your own world, we would. But... I'm afraid I have unfortunate news."
Rowan's smile vanished, replaced by a look of confusion, "What is it?"
Celestia sighed, "The amount of magical energy needed to return you to your home is astronomical, far beyond the power Luna and I could conjure together. I'm sorry, my little pony, but no magic that we posses could send you back home."
Rowan felt his heart skip a beat, "But... But... no!" He stomped his hoof against the ground in frustration. Is this what it felt like to get the rug swept from underneath your feet? He'd already gone through all of this trouble, but it was all for nothing? He just couldn't believe it. "No! No! No! There must be some way for me to get back home!" What's the point of being in Equestria if I can't get home again? I don't want to stay here forever!
Just as Rowan began thinking all hope was lost for getting home again, Luna cleared her throat, bringing Rowan's mind back to the present, "There may be one way in which you can return home. No other unicorn or alicorn can do it, but you may be able to."
That caught Rowan's attention. Wait... What?
Everyone present turned to Luna, confused looks on their faces. Cadence spoke, "What do you mean, Aunt Luna?"
Luna smiled slightly, "It's... not a sure way to return Rowan home, but I feel it's more of a lead in the right direction."
Rowan found himself interested. Whether it was just a lead or not didn't matter to him, "What is it? If there's a chance to get home, I want to try it."
Luna nodded, "Very well, Rowan." She turned to face everyone else who was present, "Late last night, during my time to watch the night, I watched as Rowan forced his way into the city. I watched the chase begin, thinking that the guards could apprehend him easily. But I was proven wrong when Rowan used his magic, and I then learned that there is more to this colt than meets the eye.
"You see, the form of magic I saw Rowan use was one that I have not seen for many centuries, though I could not remember where I had seen it. It took me all night until only a few minutes ago to remember, and then I flew here as soon as I could to put a stop to this trial."
Luna turned to Rowan, "Where exactly did you learn how to use that magic?"
"I don't know. I've never used magic before, except for last night." He replied, "It was an accident."
"Interesting... It can't be a mere coincidence..." Luna tapped a hoof to her chin in thought... For quite a while, silently.
After a few moments of silence, Celestia tapped her sister with a hoof, "Luna... You were saying?"
Luna's eyes widened as she realized what she had been doing, only to blush slightly, "Oh, my apologies." Shaking her head, "As I said, it took all of my night for me to remember where I'd seen that magic, but I eventually did. The magic I saw Rowan use was a very rare form of black magic, though less evil. It's called, 'Shadow Magic', and up until this time, I believed it to be extinct."
Celestia frowned, "I haven't heard of shadow magic before. How is it that you know of it, Luna?"
"I found it over a thousand years ago, before my imprisonment in the moon, a few years after our reign over Equestria began." The Lunar diarch replied, "It was then that I came across an ancient tome, a spell book of shadow magic. It supposedly contains every single spell of shadow magic known to pony kind."
"And how exactly is this book supposed to help Rowan?" Shining Armor asked, finally adding to the conversation.
Luna glanced back towards Rowan, "The book I found is a magical item which will only allow those who can use shadow magic to read it. Since I can't read it myself, I don't know exactly what spells are in there. But if Rowan were to use it, then he might be able to find a spell and use his magic to return to his home world."
"But that's the problem." Rowan said, troubled, "I already told you, I don't know how I used that magic. It just happened without me trying. Plus, I doubt that I could even read a book that old. It's probably written in some old script or rotted and brittle by now since you've had it for over a thousand years."
Luna smirked as if he had given her a challenge too tempting to pass up, "It hasn't aged or decayed a single minute in time. It is in the same condition as when I first received it, because I have magically sealed it within myself, out of reach from the influence of time and space."
Suddenly, light as bright as a full moon shone from the princess's horn. A spark floated out slowly and stopped in the middle of all of them. Levitating in front of the five ponies present, the spark flashed twice and burst in a blinding light, causing Rowan to shield his eyes from the brightness. But when he looked back, the spark was gone and a black leather-bound book was floating in its place.
Looking at the book, Rowan noticed he couldn't see any wear or tear on it. It looked like any other regular old book, like the kind you could buy from a book shop.
"It's known as the Liber Tenebrarum or The Book of Shadows. It's the only one of its kind left in existence. I had sealed it within me, for I feared that an evil fiend of some sort would use it and lead the world towards the brink of disaster." Luna then turned the cover of the book open to the first page. Showing it to Rowan, "Try to use this spell here."
Rowan squinted at the strange text that covered the page. As he began to read it, Shining Armor interrupted him, "How is Rowan supposed to read it? It's written in a language that I've never even seen before."
"As I have said before, Shining Armor, the book will only allow some one with shadow magic to read it. The way it does this is by appearing different for each pony that tries to read it. Therefore, Rowan is the only one that can use the book out of all of us." Luna looked back at Rowan, "Continue."
Rowan nodded and started to read the page. The words seemed readable, since they were surprisingly written in the English alphabet, but they were written in words that seemed to be gibberish.
Although he thought that it was nonsense, as he read the first page, a strange feeling began to come over him. Though strange, it felt familiar, as if he knew what it was. It almost felt like his horn was burning, yet he knew it wasn't.
When he finished reading, he nodded to Luna, "Okay, what do I do now?"
"Now focus on what you received from the text and use the spell."
Rowan hesitated, having expected a bit more instruction, but then he turned away from every one else. Trusting Luna, he muttered, "Here it goes."
Concentrating on the feeling he got while reading the book, Rowan aimed his horn towards the far wall. He felt his horn grow warm as it glowed with black mist, just like the time he used magic before. Come on... please work, he inwardly pleaded.
The glowing surged as the spell cast. Out of shock, Rowan almost fell backwards as another flaming crescent leaped from his horn, just like the one he had made the night before. The crescent flew from his horn and arched across the inside of the throne room, blazing brightly in a sort of fiery glory.
Before the flaming projectile burst against the far wall of the throne room, as it had done before in the street, Shining Armor quickly shielded the wall with his own magic, keeping it from lighting up in flames.
Rowan just stared at the magic he created as it evaporated into nothing as it impacted Shining Armor's shield. He knew he had used that same spell before, but last time it had never occurred to him how awesome it was. He had just used magic, and it had felt great!
Luna smiled down at Rowan, "Well done."
I can't believe I really used magic. No, I used Shadow magic. Wow, that was... AWESOME!.... But....How did Luna even know that first spell was the one I used before...?
Rowan turned and asked the same question to the Lunar Princess, where she replied,
"I didn't know that the first spell in the book had been the one you used last night. But, this is how I knew that you could use the book." She levitated the Liber Tenebrarum in front of Rowan. "Take a look at the cover."
Rowan looked closer at the cover than he had before, and he was surprised to see there was a symbol engraved on it: A crescent wrapped in fire.
Realization dawned on Rowan as Luna continued, "Yes. You were able to use that spell for a reason. It's because the Book of Shadows is rightfully yours. Please accept it." She lowered the book down on the ground in front of his front hooves.
Rowan's mind raced as he stared at the book by his hooves, She's just giving me the book? I mean, I'm not complaining... It would be awesome to learn magic while I'm here, but what if there is something in this book that I can't figure out on my own? It's over a thousand years old, so there's bound to be some things in here that I won't understand. Luna is the only one that knows where this book comes from. What if I need her help?
He looked up at the princess, "I'll accept it on one condition."
"And what would that be?"
"That you teach me everything that you know about shadow magic and this book. If I'm going to use this to get back home, then I'll need to learn as much magic from it as I can."
Luna looked curiously at him, "Very well, I give you the book as well as my services as a mentor in shadow magic."
At that moment, a light suddenly flashed from Rowan's flank. He looked to see that his cutie mark had appeared; It was in the shape of a flaming crescent, the mark of shadow magic.
Hm, what do you know about that?... Maybe that explains why I didn't have a cutie mark when I first arrived in Equestria. I didn't know what my special talent was yet.
He looked back at everyone present, "Thanks for your help."
Everyone smiled in reply, which was enough for Rowan.
Luna cleared her throat, "There are many ponies that appeared at your trial that won't quite agree with our decision to release you. For now, I would like to keep you out of sight by sending you to study shadow magic in the town of Ponyville."
Rowan was about to object, but he decided against it. After all, Luna was his mentor now, and he wasn't one to talk back at a teacher, "Yes, Princess."
Celestia turned towards Shining Armor, "In that case, I would like you to accompany Rowan to Ponyville and help him get settled there."
Shining Armor saluted, "Yes, Princess."
Celestia looked at both of them, "We will have provisions prepared for you. When you are ready, you will leave for Ponyville on the next train out of Canterlot. Rowan, follow Shining Armor to get supplies and make yourself ready. When you arrive in Ponyville, I will have my student, Twilight Sparkle, help you through town. And I also want you to send me a message the moment you arrive there, so I may know that you've arrived safely."
Shining Armor bowed to the two princesses, Rowan did likewise, and they both walked out of the throne room, Rowan holding the Liber Tenebrarum in his teeth. He smiled to himself, What a crazy morning.
But then, another though came to mind, Oh My Gosh! I'm gonna meet Twilight Sparkle! My favorite of the mane six from the tv show! *squee*
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oh so if you are going to remake the story, would it be a chance that the idea of the captain of the Lunar guard that I mention some time ago will appear?
pleeese?
It would've been cooler if they didn't listen to him and he was running from the law- with bad-ass magical powers, of course.
Er... Why did the guards not put an inhibitor ring on his horn?
Wait, if they wanted to keep him away from the ponies that witnessed the trial, why send him to Ponyville?
By doing that, they're separating him from his now-to-be mentor, Luna, as well as showing the public that he got off Scott free!
*Slow claps* Princess Luna to the rescue!!
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