Unlikely Heroes

by Raptor

Act I: Prologue

Day III
Canterlot Quarries, Canterlot, Equestria
Dusk

Silver Mine did what he did best when worried about something-- he worked. He swung his pickaxe with strength and precision, hitting the same mark with each swing, effectively taking away chunks of the rockface in little time. When he got a good chunk off, he paused to regain his energy, wiped the sweat off his brow, and looked at the other workers in the vacinity.

All the big, strong, tough ones put all their strength in every swing, taking away small chunks every time. However, their swings were slow and inconsistent, effectively tiring them out and making little overall progress. The smaller, less strong ones were making swift, accurate, little strikes with their picks, taking away little bits at a time. While they conserved their energy, their lack of effort simply didn't make enough progress. Silver shook his head and rolled his eyes to himself.

Accuracy or strength. Why not both? He thought to himself, as if it was the easiest thing in the world. He continued his balanced strategy, making more progress in his sector of the quarry than any other three combined. After a while of working, he noticed the shadow of a pony cast over where he was working. He turned around to see Golden Quill, a middle-aged male unicorn with a rusty-gold coat and a slightly desaturated brown mane. He looked at Silver's progress and smiled.

"Well done, lad," he said cheerfully. "You never disappoint me. Good work."

Silver nodded and smiled back. "Thank you, sir."

Quill waved his hoof dismissively. "Oh, Mr. Mine, please. If you must use formalities, please refrain from using sir. Just call me Mr. Quill." Silver admired Golden Quill. He represented all good things in a pony. Understanding, flexible, sincere, kind, generous, and above all else, he treated everypony as equals. He represented the good things all ponies needed to be during these times. He represented hope. He turned to the rest of the workers and called out: "Take five, everypony!" There were some relieved sighs and grunts of appreciation, followed by faint idle chit-chat. He turned back to Silver. "Oh, yes, I almost forgot. These letters came for you, listed as 'highly urgent'." He pulled out a pile of letters bound together out of his satchel and held them out to Silver. Silver narrowed his eyes briefly in confusion and curiosity, then took the letters. They had no titles, just numbers and an adress-- Silver's work.

"Who are they from?" he asked.

Golden shrugged, his smile now gone. "Anonymous. The messenger said they were supposed to be 'the returned rally forms'." Silver's eyes snapped to Quill's. "He said the recipient would know what it means. Do you, per chance?" Silver nodded slowly and looked down at the bundle of letters. "He also said that more could quite possibly be on the way. I'll let you know if I receive any more." Silver remained there, staring at the letters blankly. "Are you alright, lad?"

Silver looked back up to Quill, who was wearing an expression of concern. Silver nodded. "I'm fine. Would it be too much trouble for me to take the rest of the day off?" he asked.

Quill looked off to the side with a frown. "It shouldn't be that much of a problem. We're almost done for the day anyway."

Silver nodded. "Good. Because I need to look over these for a few hours. You'll be sure to forward these to the inn I'm staying in, should more arrive?" Quill nodded with an understanding smile. Silver nodded back. "Alright. Thanks."

"No problem, lad. Will you be in tomorrow?"

"Hopefully."

"Well, see you tomorrow then, hopefully!" He trotted off with a wave. Silver looked down at the bundle in his hoof. He sighed, rammed his pickaxe in the ground, picked up his saddlebags, and walked off.

Dragons, he thought to himself. Who could possibly be crazy enough to think they could stand against dragons? He sighed. He would have to pick the most elite, fearless, battle-worn soldiers ponykind had ever laid-

"Silver Mine."

Silver froze. He turned to where the deep voice had come from, and his eyes widened. Standing a good five paces away from him was none other than the legendary Star Swirl the Bearded. The old mage glared at the Earth pony with a look of deep seriousness. His eyes were shadowed by the long brim of his hat, darkening his face, yet still allowing his golden eyes to glow unnaturally. Silver said nothing. He just furrowed his brow.

"Listen to me, boy," the timeless wizard said. "I know who you think would be best for this mission- but I must advise you... you are incorrect." Silver remained silent. How had he known of the mission? How did he know what he was thinking? "I am not reading your mind, boy," he answered, as if reading his mind. "But I do know what you are thinking."

Silver remained silent for a little while longer. His eyes narrowed. "How do you know who I am?" he asked. Star Swirl opened his mouth to reply- "More importantly, how do you know what I'm dealing with?" The wizard closed his mouth and darkened his gaze, lowering his head slightly.

"What you are dealing with is severely important, as I'm sure you know already," he replied, ignoring the question. "That bundle of applications you have received," he nodded to the letters, "must be looked at with wise prejudice."

"What kind of prejudice?"

"The kind I'm about to give you." The wizard sighed and closed his eyes. "Soldiers alone will not win your war. You need morale, strategy, familiarity, perception, innovation, devotion, and above all else, cooperation." He looked back up at the miner. "When you choose your heroes, don't pick the best of the best. Pick the most unlikely. Pick the different. The odd ones out. Pick the outcasts."

Silver looked down at the letters in his hoof. "Outcasts..." he repeated. He heard Star Swirl approach him, and he looked up. The wizard's gaze was less hardened now, and more sincere.

"I understand what you're going through, boy," he said softly, placing a hoof on Silver's shoulder. "Making difficult decisions is... troubling. But I trust you will make the best choices." He looked directly into Silver's eyes, staring straight into his very mind. "You're more wise and clever than you give yourself credit for, boy. If it's any consolation, I believe in you." He took his hoof off of the miner and backed up a step. "I think you should, too." His eyes wandered to a particular bulge in Silver's saddlebag and he smiled. "I know he does." With that, his form vanished. Not in a spark like a teleport, or a fade like invisibility, but like a wipe away from existence.

Silver stood there, looking to where the notorious mage once stood. He then looked at the bulge Star had referred to, and opened the bag. There, nestled among his things, was a glowing red orb.
He's right, you know.

---

Day III
Canterlot Castle, Canterlot, Equestria
Dusk

Star Swirl canceled the spell, allowing his consciousness to return to his bedroom in Canterlot Castle. The old mage sighed. A knock came from his door. "Enter," he said. A royal guard cracked the door open and poked his head in.

"Are you alright, sir?" he asked. "I heard you talking. Is someone here?" He started to look around the room, but saw no one.

"No, I'm fine. No one else is here." The mage sighed and turned to his desk, which was littered with scrolls, flasks, bottles, and other magical items. "I will be departing shortly. I will be gone for a few days. how long exactly, I'm not sure. Please inform the princess of my departure, and let her know that I am at her beck and call, should she require my assistance."

The guard nodded. "Of course, sir." He paused, as he watched Star Swirl levitate things into his bags. "Does this have to do with the dragon issue?"

"It does. Please apologize to her on my behalf that I cannot protect her, and ask her to trust my judgment on the matter."

The guard's mouth curved upward slightly. "I think she already does, but I will, sir." The wizard nodded to him without looking, and the guard closed the door.

Author's Note:

Silver DID in fact receive more applications forwarded from Golden Quill. They did not disappoint.
I have all the characters I need. Thank you all!
The story will begin soon.

Comments

[Brother Roga]

Well, where do I even begin...

Ah well, guess I can turn all my feedback into one word:
MOAR

Oh, and a friend of mine is also gonna make an acc here on FIMFic, I showed this story and he was intrigued. You can expect a new OC soon.

[Sirnicklaser111]

hey can you use my oc star shooter that would be so cool

[Sirnicklaser111]

i well send you all the detail about me my character in a little reply back in a message to were to send it to you ether here or privet message please

[Equestrian Wyvern]

Hmm... Well I already submitted a full compliment of three, but I do have a few more ideas up my sleeves (this was originally a group of 6 ponies to be the elements of harmony in my history for an RPG) all you need to do is ask and I will post the unicorn fortune teller (not actual magic just making vague enough guesses that they are probably going to happen), the Earthpony pirate, or the Pegasus show flyer. Or if you really want I can always loan you my latest and most interesting OC B Sharpe the changling singer

[Wonderstruck]

It...sounds...AWESOME!!!!
MOAR PLEASE

[Wonderstruck]

Oh, btw, what kind of OC's are you looking for? Mares/colts, pegasus/earth/unicorns?

[Coal Scorcher]

2393030

And now you went and ruined the surprise!
Meanie!

[Blackthunderaceattorney]

Would a changeling OC be ok If not i have others

[Raptor]

2394961 A changeling OC could be implemented into the story, but won't be a main character. Feel free to submit it and any others you may have!

[Brother Roga]

2394595

Sorry!

[Sirnicklaser111]

Star Shooter
Gender: Male
Race: Pegasus
Age: Young adult 19
Appearance
Coat Color: Yellow
Mane/Tail Color:Blue
Secondary Mane/Tail Color: Light blue
Eye Color: light red
Mane style: smooth, straight, flat up and smoothed back just like my profile pic
Tail style: smooth, straight, flat kind of like lighting bolt just side ways just like my profile pic
Cutie Mark: shooting star going through a portal and out another in a different direction
Attire: dark sunglasses
Personality: Pugnacious, usually the first to leap into danger, often jumps to conclusions. always laughing at the misfortunes and pains of others.
Voice: standard young intelligent ever now and then male
Mannerisms: as his own
Assertiveness: like to think of his self as a leader
Aggression: can be set off but try to control his self
Mood: calm
Honesty: neutral
Selfishness: Hardly any
Modesty: modest
Courage: really brave
Traits: sorta kind; generous; noble; fast thinker; helpful; Strong
Overall Personality Description:
Ability
portals: able to generate wormholes as seen in the video game "Portal"
fast flyer and can do a sonic rain boom
insight info on a few things
enhanced strength and speed
Info
Home town: Cloudsdale
Occupation: dimension traveler helps set things in order
Backstory: worked with aperture science till a explosion happen with a proto type portal gun that allows you to put a portal on any surfece and even mid air for al of it to work it ran on a lot of compact radiation that i asorbrd when a reft that the explosion caused opened up and ended up in another dimension. so i help travel from dimension to dimension settling in the main dimension of equstria but because of the radiation i can create portals just by thinking and have increased speed and streanght than a normal pony and can travil through rifts to fix thing that should not be happening in that set dimension.
Additional notes: to author would like to help out any why if you will allow it with your story. and if you have any issues with my OC i well let you fix them just let me know first please. i well finish the rest later but please look at mine

[Blackthunderaceattorney]

Sorry to bug you about this but my friend Start Shooter told me about this and decided to try it out so lets get started With my OC
Name: Black thunder
Race: Pegasus
Gender: Male
Age: young adult 22
Coat Color: a solid Black and a grey tint on his muzzle and hooves
Mane and tail colors: Blue
Secondary: Dark grey
Eye color: Light blue
Mane style: Long and flat in the back and the front is straight out with a bump in the middle
Tail Style: Long and and slightly puffed
(If it not clear enough just look at my profile)
Cutie Mark: A shield with a magnify glass and scale crossed
Attire: A Formal blue with silver pins stripes suit a monocle and a sleuth hat
Personality: joking, pessimistic, loyal, logical, honest, outgoing,has a strong sense of justice, but will break the law to make sure justice is delivered fairly, and curious
Voice: Strong and deep but often crakes when angry or annoyed.
Mannerism: Makes bad jokes at the wrong time in conversations. yells OBJECTION when in an argument. speaks sarcastically when around friends.
Assertiveness: Outgoing
Aggression: neutral
Mood: Bipolar
Honesty: Neutral
Selfishness: selfless
Modesty: Modest
Courage: Brave
Traits: Kind, Cleaver, sly, chivalrous, joking, sarcastic, helpful, protecting, nobel,fickle
Overall personality: Fun loving but can be serious when needed to be but is also easily put down. he will out of his way to help his friends even if it means putting himself in danger he hates injustice and will do to make sure his client is given a fair trail.
Abilities: Excels in intelligence and speed, master of observation and deduction,and
Hometown: Cloudsdale
Occupation: Defense attorney/Detective
Back story: Black-thunder never took flight school in Cloudsdale not because he was a bad flier but because he wanted to follow his passion as defense attorney.He was once falsely accused of a crime he didn’t commit and felt all alone. His the only pony who stood by him was his attorney and he admired her for that. He then wanted other ponies accused to be able to have some to depend on which is why he choose to be a defense attorney to help any pony in need.

Well that my OC if you want to ask any more question then you can just pm me and i’ll answer them for you hope it was detailed enough for you