The Story of Star Swirl The Bearded

by Faindragon

Chapter 1 - The Waterfall

The cold night rain drummed on the grand phoenix as he sat in the glade by himself. The rippling sound of the waterfall soothed him, even though he knew that the waterfall in front of him made no real sound, not in this place. What truly soothed him was a memory, a memory from a forgotten time, forcing itself into his waking consciousness. The soft glow emitting from the phoenix’s red and golden feathers illuminated the glade, bathing it in a light resembling that of a sunset.

The phoenix was asleep, and yet he was awake. It was hard to tell in a place like this, a place where the astral powers were more in control than anything else. He knew that the tribe he watched over was about to get a new foal, and he could not help but feel pride for that. This last decade had welcomed two new additions to his tribe, a pegasus and a unicorn, and now a third was about to be born.

A powerful surge stirred the phoenix truly awake, drawing him back from his astral slumber. It was as if a bright star had emerged from the heavens and landed in front of him. The sudden burst of such pure power overwhelmed him for a second before it disappearing as quickly as it had come. Driven by the curiosity that had been awoken by the surge, he took a look at what had happened in the small settlement he watched over from the astral plane where he lingered.

An earth pony held a baby unicorn in his hooves, looking up at the single star that lit up the night sky above him. The phoenix felt his heart swell with joy; this was the third unicorn in the village. But the joy was soon overwhelmed by unease. Could this new unicorn have been the source of the power surge he had felt mere moments ago? And how would the rest of the astral react to this?

Since The Sundering, every birth in the Phoenix Tribe had been followed by a grand celebration, and this unicorn’s birth was no exception. For days the tribe celebrated their new addition, celebrating with song and dance, storytelling and feasts. The foal slept through most of the celebration, but the few times he did awaken, his eyes were focused on the stars which twinkled above him, and if he awoke during the day, he would look at the celebration that surrounded him without a sound.

During the last day of celebration, the foal was carried to the alter by his parents to finish the celebration. The name-giving ritual, a ritual with its origin from the time before The Sundering, and still used even today, would be performed, concluding the celebration that surrounded the birthing. They gently smeared the foal with ash and sat him down on the decorated altar. The foal faced the tribe, and everypony looked at him as the old unicorn, the advisor who was the voice of the astral, took his place behind the foal. He spoke up, the wind carrying his voice so it could be heard by all of the assembled ponies.
“In the name of the ash, the fire, and the phoenix, I welcome you to our tribe. We welcome you in a time of peace, and pray that you carry such peace in your heart, mind, and soul. The seasons will change, the world around us will change, but we pray that you will be one with us. May Discord, Luna and Celestia watch over you, now and for the rest of your life.”

The phoenix looked down at the newborn foal, and he could feel the power that emerged from the heart of the foal.
“Welcome to us, Star,” he whispered at the same time as the unicorn spoke the very same words, letting the words slip out into the night around him.

~*^*~

The morning sun shone down on me, its radiating glow lighting up my world through my closed eyelids, warming my body. The gentle wind stroked my mane and coat, bringing the scent of roses to my nostrils. A small trickle of sweat dripped down my forehead as I focused on containing the magic that flowed through me, allowing me to shape the world to my will.

At least, it should have in theory. As for now, it would not even allow me to keep the stone which my focus lingered on in the air for long, much less shape the world around me. The energy that raced through my veins rapidly drained, as if I were a water pouch with a big hole punched in the side. I could feel my body tremble as I tried to fight against the strain that followed my attempt to press my magic beyond its limit. In the end I had to give up, releasing the magic around the rock, allowing it to flow back into the tiny light of my mind that was the source of my magic. I collapsed on the grass; exhausted after my feeble attempt at what could loosely be called ‘magic’.

“Remain focused, Star, and remember what I told you,” Crystal Fire, my grandfather, said from behind me. “Let the magic flow through you. It comes from your heart, but the mind must divide it, control it.”

I did not answer; I just nudged the stone in front of me with my hoof. All I wanted was for it to disappear, to remove the object that represented my failure. But the boring shade of gray it bore made it impossible for it to blend into the green grass which I lay on. The chilly dew from the grass had stuck to my coat and was slowly evaporating from the warmth of the sun that shone down from a cloudless sky.

“What’s the matter, Star?” the elder unicorn asked, his voice calm and steady as he sat down beside me. “You always have a thousand and one questions that you seek an answer for, but today you have been quiet. What is on your mind, little one?”

I did not answer him directly; instead I nudged the stone again, setting it in motion down the slope of the hill where I laid. I followed it with my eyes, trying to gain control over my thoughts. What was on my mind? He sat beside me, allowed me the time to gather my thoughts. I could feel his fire red eyes on me, but he waited patiently for me to answer. I didn’t know how to answer his question, nor did I know where to start.

I was a unicorn; the use of magic was in my nature, and still I could not do anything at all. I was not powerful enough. I could feel the magic as it pulsated through my body, pulsated together with my blood, pumped around by my heart. But as soon as I tried to use it, my strength quickly faded, leaving me empty, as if I had had an open wound.

“It’s...” I paused. “It’s hard to explain.” I held my head down, unable to meet his eyes. I could hear him sigh behind me.

“Does it have anything to do with your lack of magical prowess?” my grandfather asked, keeping his voice low.

“I have read and read; I know the processes by heart. I should be able to do this in my sleep. And still…” I hesitated, what was it I wanted to say?

“And still you cannot draw the power from within you to control the world around you after your will.” Crystal Fire finished my sentence.

“Yes,” I sighed. “I can’t do anything with my magic. I can’t even keep a stupid rock floating in the air for more than a few seconds before I have to release the magic or collapse from the overexertion. But as soon as I release the magic, all of my energy runs back inside me at once.”

“Look at me, Star,” Crystal Fire said as he brought a hoof under my chin and raised my head. My gaze was met by his fiery eyes, eyes full of concern. “You have an inner strength deep down inside of you, but something is blocking it. Your subconscious protects you from the raging torrent that might destroy you from within if it were to break free. We will have to work around the blockade and make sure that you learn to control just how much power is set free while shaping said power after your will,” he said, smiling warmly at me.

“Now, child, this is not something I can help you with myself. While it might be possible to remove the blockade through magical measures this would, most likely, damage you more. Additionally, It would release magic that you aren’t ready to control, most likely burning you out completely in the process. It would maybe even put the settlement in danger.

“No, we will have to go about this another way, a more easily controlled one. I will contact Sea Walker, advisor of the Sea Serpent tribe. He had a problem like yours when he was a foal; he ought to know what needs to be done to go around it, or tear it down safely, should that would be necessary. You are still only a foal. Even if you should be stronger in your magic, it’s nothing unusual for you not to be able to use your magic to your full potential yet. .

“All unicorns have this issue at some part of their life. It comes often after a time of wild magic use, a way for your mind to protect your body from the raging torment that might envelop you. But I promise you that there are ways around this,” he said, nodding at his own words. “Now, go off and play, I need to send the message and speak to your mother.”

I smiled at him, the thoughts about my incapability with magic already fading away with the promise of a free day in the sun. I hugged him tightly, whispering “Thanks, Grandpa,” before I turned away and laughed in glee, taking off down the slope. The sun shone down on me as I ran, evaporating the last trace of dew from my coat with its warm light. Behind me I could hear my grandfather laugh softly, sharing some of my joy.

~*^*~

The settlement I was raised in did not have any name. While we referred to it as “Our Village,” the other tribes called it “The Village of the Phoenix”. The village was lazy this late summer evening. Its inhabitants walked around, stopping to talk with each other every now and then. They were the blood that pulsated in this village, and it was very much alive. I could feel how the wind stroked my mane gently, bringing with it the scent of flowers and food, and the sound of the inhabitants striking up conversation. I kept up my gallop as I entered the village, gleefully greeting everypony I met.

It was a friendly village; all of the inhabitants knew each other. I was more than once greeted by a small laugh and a quick comment on my energy this morning, something I only returned with a smile as I kept galloping.

“Why are you in such a hurry, Star?” a mare, Heart Flower, called after me. “Are you running from your lessons again?” I stopped in my tracks, coming to an abrupt halt in front of the flower garden that Heart Flower was tending. She had not even looked up at me.

“Not this time,” I said, trying to catch my breath again. My coat was dampened some by the sweat that ran from my forehead. “I have the day off.”

She laughed softly at me. “Oh, is that so? Well then, I shall not keep you busy and interrupt your day off,” she said,looking up at me. A smile played on her muzzle as she spoke. “Autumn Leaf and Sunny Daze are at the training grounds. I’m sure they would enjoy your company.”

I pricked my ears at this information, feeling the joy inside of me growing even more at the thought that the only two other younglings, if they could now be called that, had a day off as well. “Thank you, Miss Flower.” I said, already galloping towards the training grounds.

The sun’s journey had only just begun as I galloped through the village, leaving hours for me to spend with the only two friends I had around my own age. I had my mind on other things than the road I galloped on, and it ended with me running head first into something hard. I felt a sting of pain in my head as I bounced from the pony I had run into, and landed in a pile in the middle of the road.

The sudden pain made my head throb and tears started to well in my eyes. I looked up and noticed a stallion’s brown coat. My eyes instantly started to wander towards his cutie mark. It was a gray boulder which lay on its side, a design I knew all too well. I quickly wiped away the half hidden tears from my eyes and looked up at the earth pony in front of me. “Good morning, Father.”

He looked down at me, clearly trying to keep the smile away from his face; but his eyes betrayed him as they shone with amusement. He brought his hoof forward and helped me up, still holding the smile away.

“You seem to be in a hurry, son,” he said with a voice deeper than most other stallions had. “Did your grandfather send you on some assignment or did he finally give up on you?” He could not keep the smile inside him anymore; it came out together with a loud laugh.

I punched him on his leg, but he did not seem to notice the light contact at all. He just kept laughing. Instead I sank back down on my haunches and looked up at him, a sly smile spreading over my muzzle. At least I might take the opportunity to get a little payback. I quickly changed my expression, trying to look as grumpy as I could. But I suspect that I did not pull it off very well.
“So he already told you about it, then?” I said, trying to look as sad as possible.

That made the laughter die from his lips. He looked down at me with eyes that were full of concern and a hint of amusement, it seemed that he had seen through my act.
“He did what?!” my father shouted. “Oh, when I find him he will not be able to sit for a decade!”

I could not keep away the laughter. I did not even try, but instead allowed it to escape me as I started to roll on the ground, hooves tight against my chest and barely able to breathe.

“Gotcha,” I exclaimed between two laugh attacks.

He stood there and looked down on me, smiling fondly, before he burst out laughing as well, joining me in my fit of giggles. Some of the other ponies looked at the scene we created in the middle of the road, smiling warmly as us before returning to what they were doing.

We laughed for quite some time, the sun smiling down at us, seemingly sharing our joy. In the end I started to pull myself together, a couple of tears still in my eyes from laughing so much. I felt hooves around me as my father embraced me in a tight hug; a hug which I quickly returned. He chuckled lightly as he let me go.

“Now then, where are you going? What errand are you running for your grandfather this time?” he asked, still with a smile on his muzzle. “I’m sure there are a thousand and one things he would have you to do in order to keep you from breaking something again.”

“Hey, that was a one-time-only thing! It wasn’t my fault that that vase stood under my rock!” I said, embarrassment burning bright in my cheeks as I recalled the event. It had been in the beginning of my learning, and my grandfather had thought that I knew a simple levitation spell, and ordered me to levitate a rock over to myself. Unfortunate for his vase I did not know that spell, and instead the rock had, once it actually moved at all, flown away from me, straight into a vase that stood at the other end of the room. That was one of the reasons that I trained outdoors nowadays. “Besides, I was granted a day off.”

“Oh,” my father said, surprise in his voice. “That’s not like your grandfather. What was so important that he gave you a day off? Did Flame Raiser need his help again?”

“No, no nothing like that. He said that I had a blockade or something like that which blocked my use of magic. He should contact Sea... something.” I brought up my hoof and stroked my chin as I tried to remember the last part of the name, mirroring the way that Crystal Fire always positioned himself when he was deep in thought.

My father looked surprised at me, his eyes widening somewhat. “Is he contacting Sea Walker, advisor of the Sea Serpent tribe? Those two have not spoken to each other since the last tournament. I hope they can fix that, the situation between us Phoenix and the Sea Serpents has been...”

I ignored what my father was about to say; happy that he knew the name of the one I was trying to remember. My muzzle lit up as he said the name. “Yes, Sea Walker was his name,” I said, interrupting him. “Crystal Fire said that he had trouble as well when he was young, and might know a way around it.”

My father looked at me and smiled, bringing forth a subject I had already forgotten about.
“Why were you in such a hurry anyway? It’s not like you to only run straight forward and knock into ponies in the middle of the street.”

I quickly rose to my hooves as I remembered where I had been heading, once again taking off in a gallop towards the training ground. I stopped in my tracks after only a few steps though, and turned around and looked at my father. He still sat there, a sheepish expression on his face.
“Sunny Daze and Autumn Leaf have a day off as well. Heart Flower said they would be at the training ground. Got to go! See you at dinner, love you!” I shouted at him before I took off again.

He just sat there and looked after me, and I could feel his smile on my back as I hurried away towards my friends.

~*^*~

The training grounds lay in a valley just outside the small village. The small stream from the mountain ran out from the forest and gathered up into a small pond, which lay at the end of the hard packed dirt that served as the training grounds. It was a place for the ponies in the settlement to train in several different things. There was an area for archery, and one for hoof wrestling; there was even an area for martial arts and another for weaponry. There were several other areas, but I had no clue as to their purposes.

This area was practically never used. I had asked my father why we had kept it here, and he had told me that, a long time ago, still close enough in time to be fresh in the memory of the older ponies of the village, there had been a time when the tribes did not agree on a lot of topics. Ponies had been mean to each other and there had been a need to defend each other and fight against those with other viewpoints in the argument. But that was a different time. Now the tribes, at least most of them, agreed with one another again. The training area was now there for preparation before the tournaments, and thus only used around the times for that event. Some ponies were here other times as well, to keep in shape or to fight off a duel about a minor occurrence, although the latter rarely ever happened.

Today, the training ground was empty except for the two other younglings in the settlement. I could see how Sunny Daze soared in the sky. His violet red mane fluttered behind him as he flapped furiously with his wings, trying to gain speed as he raced straight upwards. His eyes were focused on a spot high up, and he looked nearly straight upward. Then, as he reached a point where I had to squint my eyes as not to be blinded by the sun, he turned around. His smile beamed like the sun that shone down on me from behind him as he dove straight down again, aiming for the small pond of water. I heard a gasp and looked away from Daze.

Autumn Leaf stood alone between me and the pond, looking up at the sky, eyes locked on Daze. The wind played lightly with her forest green mane, gently lifting it and descending it. Her coat had the light brown color of an almond tree, and the cutie mark on her flank was that of an orange leaf. She raised a hoof to her mouth as she kept her eyes on the pegasus above us.

I followed her gaze upwards, and saw Daze as he descended from the sky. He raced quickly towards the pond, his wings now pressed tightly against his body. He closed in to the body of water, his eyes drifting towards the small audience that consisted of myself and Leaf. A confident smile spread over his muzzle as he brought out his wings from his body, trying to stop his fall.

I could practically hear how his wings strained under the pressure of trying to stop the diving pegasus. He brought down his wings a couple of times more, resulting in him losing even more speed, but far from enough. I could see his smile quickly fade as he realized that he could not stop quickly enough, and he fell faster and faster towards the body of water. The air stunt ended in a splash as he landed in the water, small drops of water splashed all the way to me. Ripples spread from where he had landed, filling the crystal clear pond with lines that interrupted the reflective surface.

I began to run towards the pond, the sound of Leaf calling out the name of our friend made me turn around for a split second. She had started to run towards the pond as well, her eyes on the place where Daze had broken the surface. I quickly turned my own eyes back to the pond, and I had nearly reached it, Leaf not more than a step behind me, when its surface broke once again and Daze ascended in a cascade of droplets. The small drops landed around me and Leaf, the sun shone down, reflecting in the drops on Daze’s coat, making its purple color shimmer brighter than usually.

He laughed as he flapped his wings two times, quickly reducing the distance between him and us. He landed between us, and before either I or Leaf could react, we were embraced in a tight hug. His soaked coat and wings were cold and made my coat as wet as if I had jumped into the pond myself. I could hear how Leaf struggled on the other side. “Let me go you ruffian!” she yelled, the laughter that followed betraying her serious tone. “You have no right to hug me while you are soaking wet!”

He released the embrace and took a step back before he shook himself, shaking the water out of his coat and onto me and Leaf; laughing as he did so. He smiled brotherly at me. “Hey kiddo, what did you think about my perfect landing in that pond? Am I awesome or what?” he asked, his voice full of pride.

A pride I had to burst.

“You crashed into the pond, Daze.” I said, a smile spreading across my muzzle. “Did you plan to do that?”

“Okay, what did you think about my crash then?” he asked, ruffling my mane with a hoof.

“It was your best crash so far. I really liked the splash,” I said, trying to wiggle out from the ruffling. He released me and allowed his focus to move over to Leaf. I could see how she hastily hid the smile that had played on her lips as she looked at us, meeting Daze’s look with a stern gaze.

“I take that as a no, dear, I did not like it, then?” he asked jokingly, smiling at her.

In response, Leaf poked him hard in the chest with her outstretched hoof, causing him to grunt.
“Never. Do. That. Again.” she said, each word punctuated by another poke.

“Do what? Crashing, or soaking you with water afterwards?” Daze asked, a smile still on his lips.

Leaf sighed, putting down her hoof and allowed the smile to return to her muzzle.
“Both of them; you had me worried sick when you crashed into the water. Please promise me you won’t do that again. Please?” she pleaded; her big sky blue eyes brimming with false tears, the smile on her muzzle betraying her act.

“I didn’t crash. At least not that much! I was aiming for the pond to make it look spectacular!” he said, punctuating the last word with a smile. “And anyway,” he began, nuzzling Leaf. “You’re so cute when you’re soaked.”

She sighed again before she returned the nuzzling.

“You’re impossible, you know that right?”

“That I do,” he answered cheerfully before he turned back towards me. “Well kiddo, I didn’t expect to see you here today. Did you run from your lesson again? Or did that old goat finally give up on you?” he teased me, the smile still on his muzzle. It seemed to widen at his teasing tone.

“Why does everypony think that he gave up on me?” I asked, sitting down on my haunches with a grumpy look on my face, my eyes on the older pegasus in front of me.

“Oh, sorry kiddo, I’m just teasing you,” he said, once again ruffling my mane. “Now why are you here? Don’t you have training the whole day? Like all days before that and all days that are to come?”

“My grandpa gave me the day off, and Heart Flower told me I could find you here.”

“I must say, it’s not like Crystal Fire to give you a day off. Is he sick?” Autumn Leaf asked with concern in her voice as she made her way under one of Daze’s wings, leaning against him. “He usually only lets you go off if you disappoint him during something important, and he expects you to study up on the thing you screwed up. Please tell me that’s not the reason why.”

“Nah, he’s fine, and I didn’t screw up. He’s getting in contact with a unicorn from the Sea Serpent tribe who should be able to help me with things he couldn’t figure out,” I said, my smile returning as well. “So, what do you guys have planned for today? Can I come with you? Can I, can I?!”

Daze laughed softly at me, his eyes wandering towards the young mare under his wing.
“We don’t actually have any plans for the day, we were just going to enjoy it and each other’s company. But we’d be more than happy to do something that you want kiddo, since you have a day off for once. After all, it’s not often that you get the chance to spend an entire day with us.”

Autumn Leaf nodded in agreement.

“Can we go to the waterfall?” I asked curiously. I knew that it was somewhere in the forest, my father had spoken about it a couple of times and Crystal Fire had told me that it was the basis of life for this village, providing us with the water that we drink, and the plants we eat. I had been curious about the waterfall, but I never had the opportunity to visit there before.

“I don’t know, kiddo; it would take some time to get there,” Daze said, looking back at the earth pony under his wing.

“I haven’t been there for years,” Leaf whispered from Daze’s embrace. “And I remember it as a beautiful place. I would love to go there.”

“That settles it then,” Daze said with a smile. “We’re going to the waterfall. But we’re not staying there for long, the others might start to worry.”

A cheer escaped me as I quickly got up onto my hooves again. I trotted towards the forest, following the small stream that emerged from it. I could hear Leaf and Daze laugh together as they trotted behind me, leaving the now calm pond behind us.

~*^*~

Birds sang in the trees as we slowly walked alongside the lazily moving stream. The branches of the trees twined around each other above us, and the sun found its way through the ceiling of leaves and emanated an emerald green light around us. We followed a small track that winded along the stream. The sound of the slowly moving water was the only thing that could be heard together with the birds’ song; the sounds enveloping around each other and created a song of harmony.

We walked in silence, enjoying the peace that the forest around us created. Our hooves did not stir up any dust or leaves from the ground, nor were any hoof steps heard. I found it hard not to look at everything around me; I had never been this deep into the forest before.

I stopped in my tracks and examined a big boulder standing a bit away from the road, green moss almost completely covering it. Leaf and Daze trotted past me, leaning close to each other, but my focus was on the boulder. There was something beneath the moss, and I was eager to see what it was.

I slowly made my way towards it; the vegetation’s scent filling my nostrils as I approached. I heard Daze telling Leaf something, but I did not pay it any more mind. The boulder looked even bigger up close, easily three times as high as me. I moved the moss at the base of the boulder as far up as I could. Letters, previously hidden beneath the dark green growths, became visible. I read the ones I could see:
“Remember the flames of protection.
The phoenix is one of affection.”

“What did you find, kiddo?” Daze asked from behind me.

“I don’t know. Does this sentence mean anything to you?” I asked, unable to keep the curiosity from my voice.

He read it, slowly pronouncing every syllable of the sentence.
“Nope, sorry, I’ve never heard of anything like this. Perhaps you should ask your grandfather about it? I’m sure he knows,” he said. “Anyway, we should keep going. If you haven’t changed your mind and don’t want to see the waterfall anymore, that is?”

I looked over the letters again, trying to memorize the sentence.
“Yeah, we should,” I agreed with a last glance at the stone. “No, I still want to see it. I can ask him when I get home.”

We walked together to the small path again, where Leaf was waiting for us. The earth pony had a smile on her muzzle as she looked up at two birds who sang beside each other in one of the trees. As we approached her, she turned around and shared the smile with us. It was a warm, tender smile which both I and Daze returned. We stood together and listened to the birds’ song until they thought it was time to leave us. As they left so did we, and we proceeded to walk together towards the waterfall, whispering lightly to each other as to not interrupt the harmony of the forest.

~*^*~

The sound of the waterfall reached my ears first, the low rumble of it slowly rising as we approached. The birds in the trees around us stopped their singing; the waterfall had taken its place in the creation of harmony together with the sound of the stream and the gentle rustling of the leaves in the trees.

I quickened my pace, the wish to see the waterfall pulled me towards the source of the sound, pulled me towards the waterfall. The path emerged into a round glade, trees surrounding it on all sides. The trees here stood higher than any other tree I had ever seen. Their crowns were greater than any other trees; covering the whole glade underneath them. The thick foliage above us was only allowing through the faintest of the sun’s light, bathing the whole area in a deep emerald green color.

The waterfall flowed down from the crescent-shaped cliff formation that stood in a circle around the small pond at the far end of the glade, its water frothing around the rocks as the waterfall hit them with full power. The gray cliffs covered most of that part of the glade around us, making it impossible to travel further into the forest without climbing over them. The rumble of the waterfall was higher here, but still low enough for us to speak with each other without any problem. The water continued in the stream that divided the glade in two, flowing faster here than it did around the training grounds.

Flowers of every color and combination grew in clusters in the green grass, their fragrances mixing together in one single aroma that enveloped the entire glade. It was impossible to pick out a single scent in that aroma, they existed in a perfect harmony.

I could not do anything else other than watch in awe at the scene in front of me. My eyes wandered from one part to the next. I could hear how Leaf murmured to Daze how beautiful it was, and I had to agree with her. I slowed down my pace to a slow trot. The harmony of the place washed over me, filling me with a calm serenity that had not been there before. I made my way through the calm place towards the stream, careful so to not trample any of the many flowers here. I had made it halfway when I saw a particularly beautiful flower, a sight that made me stop in my tracks to admire it. Its beauty caught my attention more than anything else in the glade had done.

The flower was in the form of a drop, gold and red colors embracing each other. The stem was a soft blue color, its single leaf the same. It stood in the middle of a flower cluster, the rest of the flowers giving it more space than any other flower had. I lay down beside it, ignoring the flowers I most likely had crushed beneath me. My eyes were on the golden flower in front of me. Before my eyes the capsule, which I had mistaken for the flower itself, opened up; the gold and red petals unfurled. The emerald green sun light shone down and was reflected on the flower, creating an illusion of small fires in each petal. And then the scent of the flower reached my nostrils, overwhelming every other scent in the glade.

The scent was fresh. All at once, I could smell the aroma of newly fallen snow in a winter landscape, a crystal clear pond on a summer day, and a light rain in the spring. That single flower contained all the fragrances I knew about, and the flowers around it stood with it in perfect harmony. Each scent had its own place; each scent needed the others to create the harmony. I closed my eyelids, allowed my olfactory sense to take over. I could feel my body grow tired, I lowered my head down to my front legs, my eyelids still closed, and allowed sleep to embrace me. The last thing I could sense was the fragrance of the flower.

~*^*~

“Arise Star,” a voice called out from the darkness around me. “Open your eyes and see the truth.”

I did not even think before I opened my eyelids: the voice had a hint of command in it, enough for me to listen. I noticed that I still was in the glade, but the emerald light around me was gone, replaced with a golden and red light. I could see the waterfall in front of me, but the rumble from it was gone, although it still poured down water from it. The flower in front of me had once again closed its petals; the drop shaped capsule burned like a fire in the golden light. A wind blew lazily in the glade, playing around with my mane and with the flowers around me. Even if I should be able to smell the harmonic scents from before, the mixture of fragrances was not there.

“Why are you here, Star?” the voice asked from a point behind me. It was a voice that sounded like running water. Calm, but still wild, clear and powerful. “What do you want from Eternal Fire?”

“I don’t…” I turned towards the sound and lost my words midsentence. A giant bird loomed over me, its feathers the color of golden fires, its chest the color of red rubies. It pulsated with light; radiated the glow of the sun, each feather glowing by itself. I took a step back from it, tears formed in my eyes and I had to shut them slightly to avoid the stinging that I felt in them when I looked straight at the bird. It felt as if I had looked directly at the sun.

The bird opened up his wings, each being at least eight times as long as I was from head to tail, and held them out from his body. Runes covered the inside of the wings, glowing in their own soft blue color. I could make out some of them, runes of freedom and rebirth, fire and ashes, power and control. Others were completely lost for me; runes I had never seen before. The golden glow was dampened some; the inside of the wings did not seem to radiate it in the same way as the outside of them.

“Why are you here, Star? I didn’t expect you for years yet,” the phoenix asked me. Its beak did not move at all, but still it looked down at me with the two golden orbs it had as eyes.

“I don’t know, what is this place? And what do you mean with expecting me? Who are you?” I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

The phoenix must have noticed that I was afraid of the situation. His voice became calmer, as soothing as the sound of rippling water.
“You have nothing to fear, Star. I’m Eternal Fire, and this is the astral plane of the fire, my domain. This is the place where your final ritual into adulthood will be committed, where I myself accept you into the tribe of the phoenix. What you see around you reflects the living world; the astral plane doesn’t project the surrounding area but the feeling of it.”

I was stunned by his words. “Accept me into the tribe? But my father told me that I was accepted into the tribe during the name giving ceremony! Do Sunny Daze and Autumn Leaf know about this? What happens if you do not accept me?” I dove to the ground, protecting my head with my fore hooves as I looked up at the great phoenix, my eyes big as I pledged to him. “You will accept me, won’t you?”

He looked surprisingly at me before he started to laugh, a laugh that sounded like the roaring of a fire in the silent winter. “None have spoken to you about it because it is forbidden to mention this place in the outside world. The ones arriving here must do so on their own and when it’s their time. But you are here too early; you are not meant to take this test yet. Your friend Sunny Daze has done the test, Autumn Leaf has not. I can feel the fear in Sunny’s heart that the mare will not pass the test, but I do not think he needs to worry, the test is different for each pony; designed to drive out the power from inside of each individual. If you don’t pass the test, if I don’t accept you under my wings, then you will be cast out from the tribe. You will be left to wander the world, given a chance to find yourself before you find this place again and can prove your worth. But I wouldn’t worry about that if I were you. Your inner power burns bright, your will is strong.”

“When is it Autumn’s turn to do the test? And what does the test consist of?” I asked before I could stop myself. My mind craved for answers.

“Autumn will be tested when her time comes, not before and not after. The content of each denizen’s test is different, never are two ponies’ test alike. Some might be tested by their endurance, some by their speed. A selected few are tested by their sheer will, others by the power of their hearts.”

“So I came here just to be tested, and now you will not let me?” I asked. “Why? Am I to weak? Do you not think I’m worthy to be tested?”

The phoenix chuckled again. “You did not arrive here to be tested; you have not yet met the criteria of the test. You have not achieved the signs of your inner strength. The test would not be in your field, and it would instead become a test that would give you a field, thus destroying what you are meant to be.

And you are not weak, far from it. Others of my kind fear you. In turn, they fear me as I’m the one to lead your test and thus create your place in the tribe. They have insisted that you should be dealt with, and all of them are not happy about the arrangements that have been made. You have a power inside of you that one day will outshine mine, maybe even outshine the stars. But this is not the time for you to be tested; your right of passage will come one day,” he said and looked down on me, amusement shining in his golden eyes. “Never think of yourself as weak, Star. That is as far from the truth as you can get.”

“Then why am I here? And I cannot be that powerful, my blockade is not letting me touch the powers you say I have.”

“I do not know why you are here. Even if I’m the one that is in control in this place so is this place ruled by magic. I can bend it after my will, but so can other powers. You will have to search in your heart for why you are here, that’s how you will understand. And that blockade will vanish in time, as they always do. Find your inner power, and work hard and it will disappear like dew on a summer morning.”

I looked away from the phoenix, and the flower caught my attention once again.
“What is that? I have never seen a flower like that before.”

The Eternal Fire chuckled behind me.
“That is a flower called Phoenix Breath, and is in fact a flower that spring out from the egg of a phoenix. When the time for the phoenix draws near, when it’s time for the first life cycle to begin, the capsule opens up. The petals show their beauty to the world that surrounds it. It contains a lot of magic, magic that guides the warmth from the sun that hits the petals to the egg in the ground, warming up the phoenix so that it might burst into flames and crack open the egg in which it have slept in since the beginning of time.”

“But… it opened in front of me, and now it is closed. How is that?” I asked and turned around to the flower.

“A phoenix choose when it is its time, nothing can change that.”

“When did you choose?”

“I didn’t. You see, I’m not a phoenix in the true meaning. I’m an astral spirit, the prayers and sacrifices of your tribe are fueling my powers, but it also change me to what they pray towards. I was once shaped like you, but change with the time into the shape I now live in. I have not gotten my knowledge by living through everything, but by observing.”

“But how do yo…” I started as I looked back. The phoenix was not behind me anymore.

I could feel how the air grew colder, could see how snow started to fall around me. A chilly wind whined through the gale, violently tossing my mane around, the snow it brought with it felt like ice shards piercing my skin. I could see how the flowers around me died, their scent replaced by the cold scent of winter. The waterfall froze solid in a second, the water staying in place, the ice overlaying it reflected the small amount of sunshine that made its way through the clouds. The stream froze as well, the ice soon coated by snow. The foliage above me had disappeared, allowing the nearly clouded sky above me to be seen. One thing remained through all of this, and that was the Phoenix Breath that still stood tall in front of me.

I was stunned, the world changed so fast, it did not take half a minute before it was all coated by the winter. Something else caught my attention, a small cottage at the other side of the glade, close to the base of the once lively waterfall. Thick smoke erupted from a chimney on the roof; a warm light emerged from a window close to the wooden door. I was practically chilled to the bone, so I galloped towards the cottage, hoping that somepony was home and that it was warm. I also wanted answers, and the best place to get them appeared to be in that cottage.

I rapped multiple times on the door and was a rewarded by the voice of a stallion who called out for me to take it easy and not break down the door. The door opened and in front of me stood a full grown unicorn, his horn one of the longest I had seen. He had an old hat on his head, with bells around the brim of it. A white beard was placed on the end of his muzzle, his grey coat and silver mane nearly hidden behind a blue cape. A pair of golden eyes looked out in the night, looking for the disturbance. He even looked down, but he did not even seem to notice me. I could feel the warmth from the cottage, but when I tried to run in I was blocked by something, bouncing away from the doorway, and ended up on my haunches, looking in surprise at the door.

The old stallion started to close the door, but stopped dead when it was only half closed. He squinted some with his eyes, before he quickly rushed out, panic in his eyes. He hurriedly made his way towards a small lump in the snow, not much bigger than I was. A silver shine, like the light the stars emit a clear winter night, enveloped his horn and the small lump. I watched in astonishment as the lump floated upwards in the air, the snow starting to fall away from it and revealing a nearly snow white unicorn mare underneath it. The stallion gently lifted her up with his magic and magically floated her to the cottage. He looked around himself once more before he closed the door besides him.

I still stood in the snow, but strangely did I not feel cold anymore. I did, however, feel sleepy, and the snow felt soft under my hooves. I closed my eyelids and lay down, allowing the embrace of sleep to take me over.

~*^*~

I was awoken by the sound of hoofsteps. I laid on something warm, my body slowly swaying with whatever I lay on. I could hear soft murmurs around me, and I could make out Leaf’s and Daze’s voices as they talked to each other, too low for me to hear properly what they talked about. I slowly opened my eyelids, and saw that I was still in the forest, but walking through it. I laid on Daze’s back as he walked beside Leaf, their muzzles close together as they whispered to each other. Leaf had a single flower in her mane, right above her right ear, and they both smiled together while they walked side by side, Leaf under one of Daze’s wings.

“So you are finally awake, kiddo.” Daze spoke up. “Thought you should sleep the entire walk home; you scared us when you fell asleep back there and we couldn’t wake you up.”

“What happened?” I asked, my jaws wide open in a yawn.

“You trotted first, and we sat down and enjoyed each other’s company a little bit from you. After a while we notice that you were way quieter than you usually are and we decided that we should check on you. We found you asleep in the middle of a flower cluster and you did not respond when we tried to wake you up. We picked you up and here we are, almost back home.”

I realized that the sun had started to set; the dim light in the forest threw long shadows around us. The birds still sang around us, their song creating a soothing melody together with the rippling stream besides us. I looked up at the sky above us, the setting sun colored the clouds crimson red.

“Hey kiddo.” Daze said. “What happened with you back there? Why didn’t you wake up?”

“I…” I stopped myself, remembering the phoenix words. “I don’t know.” I did not like to lie towards my friends, but I was not sure if the deity's rule affected me, and I did not want to take any chances. “I can only remember that I dreamed about snow, about the winter that closed in around me. And then I awoke here.”

“Well, I hope you enjoyed your day off anyway, even if you slept through most of it,” Leaf said.

“I did, Leaf. Thank you for bringing me to the waterfall. It really was as beautiful as you said.”

We walked the rest of the way in silence, enjoying each other’s company and the harmonic forest around us.

~*^*~

“Where have you been?” the usually calm voice of my mother was now high and as far from calm as possible. “Do you have any idea what time it is? Do you have any idea how worried I have been?”

I sighed; I knew very well what time it was. I had arrived together with Leaf and Daze at the village when the sun had set and the moon had gone up, they had both walked me home before they had walked away together under the moonlight. And as soon as I had entered our small home, it had started. Now I sat in the hallway and was lectured by my mother for coming home late. The moon shone through a small window at the end of the room, and not a sound was heard from the village outside.

“Yes mom, the time is way over my bed time, and I guess you were worried sick for me,” I said, trying to keep my voice as calm as I could. I was not very good at it; I was terrified that I had made my mom feel like this.

“Don’t you take that tone with me, son. Why did you not come and tell me where you went? No, you just walked into the forest and didn’t return until the moon was high in the sky. Your grandfather came by earlier, told me that you had a free day off. He’s probably as worried as I am that you went in there without a word to anypony. What do you have to say for yourself?”

“I’m sorry mom; I shouldn’t have gone away without talking to you first.” I said with a lump in my throat. I had never meant to scare her like that, I had not even thought about it at the time.

Her features softened, and she sat down on her haunches with her forelegs open for a hug. I slowly moved forward, curling up in her hooves. She embraced me in a hug, softly whispering to me as she stroke my mane.
“Please don’t do that again. I love you and don’t want you to disappear like that.”

“I won’t, mommy,” I said, returning the hug. The moment was destroyed by the loud rumbling of my stomach.

My mother released the grip, smiling down at me. “You are hungry. Come, Star, let us get you something to eat.”

I happily followed her as she trotted towards the kitchen area. Our kitchen was small; a table took up most of the room. A chimney was our only source of heat; old ashes lay inside it from the morning fire which had long since burnt out. A stack of firewood lay besides it, filling the room with the smell of dry wood. My mother trotted to a small counter and brought forth some bread, quickly preparing three sandwiches.

We sat down at the table and she smiled at me while I ate two of them, lazily eating one herself. My father was out working, he had the night shift as always and had been home earlier, surprised that I had not been there waiting for him. We ate in silence and it did not take long before I had eaten up the sandwiches.
“Time for bed, Star.”

“But mom…”

“No buts, son. The moon is high and your grandfather expects you to be awake at the lesson tomorrow. March to bed, young colt,” she said, smiling at me.

“Yes mommy,” I said. She was right, I had only had the day off, not the week.

I trotted out of the kitchen and into my room, jumping onto the bed. My room was small, the only things in it were the bed and a writing desk under the window. Parchments rolls were stacked high at the desk, some of them had rolled down from the pile and now spread out over it as well. I closed my eyes, despite having slept during the day, I was still tired. I suppressed a yawn as I called out to my mother in the kitchen.

“Yes, Star?”

“I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you.”

“It’s okay, you’re home now. Sleep well, my star shine.”

I felt how the sleep embraced me, and slowly I gave away to it, allowing the wings of sleep to slowly fly me away to the field of dreams.

~*^*~

Grammar corrections by Taranasaurus0.0 and Comicironic

Proofread by Some_Person and Bronymaster

Comments

[Ken10Ethan]

Why am i reminded of Hunger Games at the challenge part? I dunno, anyway, this is quite good for only having a brief "Hey there is a dude named Star Swirl he is a pony lulz" description

[viperxix]

at being about 10 times longer than it was when I read it, I love the way this story is developing already.
and It was amazing, as always.

btw. yes you actually did finish on sunday, and with quality. I'm impressed

[Faindragon]

171589
Thank you, I hope you enjoyed the read and like the rest if you keep read it.

172019
Well, I hope you will like the rest and thank you for ya kind words ;)

[derpy416]

Start swirl hehehe a spinning start? hehe