One day King Starswirl of Mannulus Terram decided to leave the court for a few days of fresh air. He and Somnambula, one of his royal advisers and close friends, decided to take a trip into the northern mountains. Since nopony lived in the northern mountains they declined guards, and their other friends had other business to attend to. After three peaceful days of walking they reached the foothills. For their first day on the mountains everything was calm. They pitched their tents that night and settled in.
But then Starswirl heard some rocks shift outside his tent.
He poked his head out and called "Somnambula, was that you?"
"Was what me?" she answered.
"I heard something disturb some rocks. I’m not sure what it was though."
"No, I’ve been in my tent."
"I’m going to check it out."
"Alright, call if you need help."
He stepped out of his tent and cast a simple light spell, causing a startled yelp from some bushes about 20 feet away from the camp. "Hello? Who’s out there?" he called.
A light green earth pony stepped out of the bushes. "Stone Seeker, sir. I thought you were the taken, but you not from the valley are you?"
"No, we are from the plains of Mannulus Terram about 2 days trot south. I was unaware anypony lived in these mountains. How many of you are there?" Starswirl asked.
"And who are these ‘taken’?" queried Somnambula, who had emerged from her tent.
"They are those whose wills have been taken by the Dark Wizard Sombra," replied Stone. "Forced to help enslave their own neighbors by his foul magic."
"We will help save your valley," said Somnambula.
"Perhaps we should return to the capital and get help?" asked Starswirl.
"How many would perish if we were to delay by a week," asked Somnambula.
"There is an execution scheduled for several members of the resistance he found yesterday. He plans on killing them in the town square the day after the morrow."
Somnambula turned to face Starswirl, "We cannot let these ponies die."
"Very well, we shall try and save your valley."
"Oh thank you kind lords," said Stone with relief written clearly on his face. He paused and then continued, "Though, there is one more problem..."
Starswirl sighed, "What else is there?"
"A golden dragon. The biggest anypony in the valley has ever seen. It seems to serve Sombra as his muscle, dealing with any large scale resistance while he and his taken root out the smaller cells."
"Why would such a noble creature serve such evil?" wondered Somnambula.
"Perhaps for greed, as dragons do love their gems" posited Starswirl.
But Somnambula replied "I suspect there may be more to this tale, is it possible for us to talk with the dragon?"
"It makes its lair in a cave a short way up one of the mountain faces that you can see from the valley. It is only lightly guarded, you may be able to sneak past" said Stone.
"Very well but I shall be prepared to teleport us away the moment the dragon tries anything," said Starswirl.
"I am sure we will be fine, you worry to much," Somnambula added.
"Better safe then sorry," was Starswirl’s reply.
"Shall I take you now? It may be easier under the cover of night than in the broad daylight," prompted Stone.
"Yes, I doubt sleep will come easy after these revelations and time is of the essence," said Starswirl.
And so they headed out, with Stone Seeker leading the way further into the mountains, towards the dragon’s lair.
As they approached the dragon’s lair from above they saw two earth ponies watching a path that lead down into a small village in the center of the valley. Fortunately they were standing motionless and facing the wrong way to see the party.
"Here it is, the dragon’s lair," whispered Stone Seeker, gesturing at a large hole in the mountain. "I don’t know why he posts a guard, seeing as nopony would be foolish enough to attack a dragon with a force that would fall to two ponies." He looked back at his two allies. "I hope you know what you’re doing here."
"We go in, talk to the dragon, and see what to do from there," replied Somnambula.
"And if it wants a fight," said Starswirl, "I teleport us out of there before it kills us. Though, I will cast invisibility on us before we go. Just in case those guards turn around."
"Alright then hop on," said Somnambula, crouching and flaring her wings. Starswirl climbed on top of her and held on tight, casting the invisibility spell as Somnambula leaped off the ledge and gently descended onto the stone in front of the cave. One of the taken looked back at the cave. Starswirl prepared a sleep spell and waited.
After a moment that seemed to stretch on forever the pony faced forward once more. No speech, no indifferent shrug, nothing.
The pair then slowly crept into the cave. ‘Whew that was close’ thought Starswirl. ‘I thought for sure he had noticed us. Though, the complete lack of emotions...’, he shuddered.
After about 50 feet the cave turned to the right, opening up into a wide spacious cavern with a huge dragon curled up in the center. Starswirl peered around the corner. He heard the light hoof falls of Somnambula stop just ahead of his position.
"Have you noticed," she whispered, "that there are no gems or gold?"
Starswirl looked over the cavern once more, noting that aside from the dragon it appeared completely empty. "Yes, quite strange," he whispered back. Dragons seldom left their hoards, and even then any residence of a dragon would have treasure in it. They were obsessed with the stuff, never leaving home without it. And a dragon of this size would surely have had a large collection.
"Can you prevent sounds from our conversation from reaching the guards?" asked Somnambula.
Starswirl took a step back and cast a sound barrier across the tunnel just behind him. "Done."
"Hello, if I may, I desire to have a word with you," called Somnambula.
The dragon quickly lifted it’s head and looked towards the tunnel. "If you wish to talk then reveal yourself, that we may speak face to face."
Starswirl ended the invisibility spell and stepped out to stand by Somnambula. "Very well, here we are," he said while mentally readying a teleportation spell.
"Who are you and why have you come?" asked the dragon.
"I am Somnambula, and this is Starswirl. We have come to ask you why you are serving Sombra."
"Hmm. And why do you seek this knowledge?" he asked, staring intently at them.
"Because we have been told he forces these ponies to serve him with dark magic," answered Somnambula. "If this is so, then why? Why would you serve such an evil."
"Because I must," growled the dragon. "The arrogant whelp has the Bloodstone Scepter, an ancient magic that holds sway over any dragon. As long as he has it I must follow his orders."
"Then perhaps we can help," said Starswirl. "Do you know where he keeps it?"
"You would aid in this struggle, just like that?" asked the dragon. "Risk your lives for those you hardly know? Why?"
"Because," said Somnambula, "we cannot stand by and let the innocent suffer when we have the chance to help them. Right now, we are the best hope of this village, if we can save them, then we shall."
"Well put, light bringer, I am glad we see eye to eye in this. I am Antiquorum, and I shall help you save this village. The whelp keeps the scepter with him at all times. He resides in a stone keep in the center of the village. It is well guarded. However, he only expects earth ponies, as they are the only race in the village."
"I see," murmured Starswirl. "Thank you for this information. Is there anything else we should know?"
"No, I have nothing else," he replied. "I wish you a bountiful hunt."
"Then we shall be off. Hopefully when next we meet, you shall be free," said Somnambula, as she and Starswirl headed back towards the tunnel entrance.
After their conversation with Antiquorum, Starswirl dropped the sound barrier and teleported himself and Somnambula back to the ledge where Stone Seeker was waiting for them.
"I am glad to see that you have returned safely. Have you discovered anything useful?" asked Stone.
"Yes," said Starswirl. "We found the secret of how Sombra controls the dragon. He has a magic scepter which has the ability to command dragons. If we can take it the dragon will no longer serve him. With the dragon out of the way I think Somnambula and I can take Sombra. Do you believe that the villagers can subdue the taken?"
"Hmm. I think we can, but only if we make sure to strike as one. We will have to coordinate carefully, to avoid raising suspicion. When will you take the scepter."
"Well since he keeps it with him, I was planning on taking it when he leaves the keep," said Starswirl. "When will that be?"
"He will be overseeing the executions, that will probably be the easiest time to strike," answered Stone. "But to save the prisoners we will have to get the timing right. It will be close but I think we can pull it off."
"Yes," said Starswirl. "I think we have the beginnings of a plan. We shall carefully spread word to revolt at the execution, after we steal the staff. The first thing they should do is stop the executions. We'll also see what the best method of stealing the staff is."
"Very well," said Stone. "Let's go into the village, but watch out for patrols. If they see us outside the village, farms, or quarry, they'll detain us for questioning."
As they walked further into the valley they slowly got a clearer view of the village. It was a small settlement made almost entirely of stone, with farmland surrounding it. Nearby there was an area that looked like somepony had been making all the stone flat and a large lake.
"What is that place for?" asked Starswirl, pointing.
"Which place?" said Stone Seeker, looking at Starswirl.
"The place with all the worked stone."
"Oh, that's the quarry. It's where all our stone comes from. We use it to build just about everything here."
"Why?" asked Starswirl.
"Because we like the stone," replied Stone. "It makes us feel relaxed. And it's not like it's hard to find around here." He gestured around at the rocky, lightly forested valley.
"Do you do anything with your trees?" asked Somnambula.
"Yes. We use them to make our furniture, as well as our doors. Those are more important to be light, since they move."
"And what do you grow in your fields?" she asked.
"Mostly potatoes, since they grow well up here. We grow carrots in the northern field."
"Alright, are you both ready," asked Stone Seeker, as he glanced back at his new allies. They had decided it would help them blend in if Starswirl and Somnambula wore simple burlap coats to obscure their features. Such coats were somewhat common in the village for keeping warm.
"I believe so," said Starswirl. Somnambula nodded her head in agreement.
"Ok then, just follow me and we should be able to get to the forepony's house. He was trying to keep things together when I left. Hopefully he hasn't been caught."
And so, the trio made their way through the streets in the pre-dawn glow. They didn't meet anypony before they arrived at a house that had two stories, making it the tallest building they had seen today. Stone opened the door and led them inside without so much as a knock. Inside was a spacious room with two couches sitting on opposite sides of a grey wooden table with a candle and tinder box resting on it. In the back right corner was a staircase leading up to the second floor. On the left side of the room was an empty fireplace, with a simple cloth lying in front of it and a stack of pale grey-brown wood beside it.
After they had all entered Stone turned to his companions and held a hoof to his mouth. then he called out, "Hello? Are you home? I need to discuss work with you."
"I'll be right down," called a voice from upstairs. "I wasn't expecting to see you this morning. What brings you here so early?"
"I found success earlier than anticipated. I believe that I found the blind seams for our next project."
"Really? So soon?" the voice responded as it's owner began to enter the trio's sight. It was an aged purple earth pony. "Ah, it would appear so, this is great news." He then strode over to the fireplace and lifted a corner of the rug to reveal a hidden trapdoor. He opened the door and motioned them to enter with a wave of his hoof. Stone led the way, with Starswirl and Somnambula following close behind. After they were all inside, the forepony lit the candle and held its metal tray in his mouth. Then he followed them down and closed the door behind them.
"Alright," he said after setting the candle on a small table in the center of the room. "Now we may speak freely. I assume Stone has filled you in on our situation?"
They were in a small basement with stone walls and floor, and a low stone roof. It had a small table, two bookshelves, and a writing desk. All were made of the same grey wood.
"Yes," said Starswirl. "In fact I have formulated a plan that should solve all your problems, if we do it right."
"Really?" the forepony replied. "Overnight you found a solution to the problems we've been struggling with for weeks. What is it, just ask the Dark Wizard and his pet dragon to go away? Maybe sing them a song, see if they feel bad about what they've done? Or did you bring an army of friends that are going to help?"
"Well the first one was half right," said Somnambula. "We asked the dragon to stop helping Sombra."
The forepony stared at Somnambula. "I hope that either you're joking, or there's more to it."
"Indeed," said Starswirl, looking at Somnambula. "I would have led with the magic scepter that can control dragons. The dragon said if we take it from Sombra he would help save the village. He seemed quite angry at his servitude."
"So the dragon is no more responsible than the taken? Merely puppeted by the Dark Wizard?"
"He seems more aware, but yes, that's what he said," answered Somnambula.
"Alright, do you know where he keeps this scepter?"
"The dragon said Sombra kept it on hoof at all times," said Starswirl. "Likely he cannot use it unless he has it with him."
"And how are we going to take it if he always has it with him? He never leaves the keep without several bodyguards."
"Actually," said Starswirl, "that's what we needed to see you about."
"We thought that the executions would be the best time," added Stone Seeker. "He would be focused on the crowd below. Then they could come in from above, where he'd never see it coming."
"Okay, well in that case you'll be wanting the keep's floorplan," the forepony said, walking over to one of the bookshelves and pulling out a scroll. "Here it is." He unrolled the scroll on the desk and set a stone on either side.
Starswirl walked over, with Somnambula close behind. "So," asked Starswirl, "where will he be overseeing the executions from?"
"The gallows are being constructed directly under this balcony," said the forepony, pointing. "It's where he makes all of his announcements from."
"Alright then, Somnambula and I will wait on the roof for him to come out."
"What if one of the taken sees you?" asked the forepony.
"Not to worry, my good sir. I will make us both invisible first. Anyway, while we take care of Sombra we'll need the resistance to interrupt the execution. We're rushing this to save those ponies, no point if they all die in the struggle."
"Of course," said the forepony. "I will make sure that everypony is prepared by dawn."
That day there was much activity in the northernmost settlement of Värld av Hästar. On the surface things proceeded much as they had every day since the Dark Wizard had come to the village. Some ponies went to the farms, to grow food for the village. Others went to work at the quarry to get stone. And the rest went to build the gallows under the taken's watchful gaze. But whispers were there, if one knew where to look, of a new plot. Slowly, carefully, the news spread. By the time everypony went back home the remaining members of the resistance had been informed. The time to strike back was nearly here. At dawn they would make their stand.
Starswirl and Somnambula woke before dawn the next morning. They had spent the previous day learning everything they could about the keep and Sombra from Stone Seeker. The forepony had to go to work, both to spread the news and to avoid suspicion. One worker was easy to forget, but if the forepony was missing a search would have been made. That evening Stone had gone home and they had slept in the basement, in case the taken came calling.
Ping. Starswirl awoke to his alarm spell. He lit his horn and turned to Somnambula. She was already blinking her eyes at the change in lighting.
"Is it time?" she asked.
"Indeed," he said as he stood and walked over to the trapdoor. Then he held up a hoof, put his ear to the wood and listened intently. After waiting a moment he opened the door a crack and peered out. Upon not seeing anypony he opened it the rest of the way and walked out, followed by Somnambula. They walked upstairs to the bedroom.
"Oh, hello," said the forepony. "I was about to wake you, but I see that won't be needed."
"I was just coming by to inform you that Somnambula and I are headed out."
"Hopefully we will all meet again soon."
After they had gone back downstairs and stepped out the front door they looked around. Seeing nopony watching, Starswirl cast invisibility on them as they made their way to the keep.
A pair of green glowing eyes watched from a shadowy alleyway, then melted into the shadows.
"Are you sure you can do this Archer?" asked a dark blue earth pony mare with a light blue mane.
"Yes mother," replied the filly beside her. She had the same colors as the mare but reversed, a light coat and a dark mane. "I feel like have been training for this moment, like all my practice is leading here." She was standing in a house with a small hole drilled into the wall facing the gallows. As she spoke she strung a bow and set it into a groove in the ground. "I have to make this shot, because nopony else in the village can."
"Alright, you've got this, I'll make sure you don't have any interruptions." And with that she stepped outside.
Once they arrived at the keep Starswirl teleported them both onto the roof of the tower above the balcony. Shortly afterword many taken began to filter out into the town, intent on gathering the citizens. Attendance of the executions was mandatory. Several more began tying up the prisoners in the nooses.
In about ten minutes ponies began coming into the square from all over town and the sun began poking out over the mountains. Once they were all settled one of the taken on the ground blew a horn. "Now presenting Lord Sombra!"
Starswirl and Somnambula heard hoofsteps below them and saw a hooded figure with a red horn holding a gold scepter with a ruby on the end step forward. Starswirl leapt down onto Sombra with a shout, "Now!"
At this moment many things were set into motion. For one, the hangman reached for the lever to drop the prisoners. Meanwhile Archer pulled back on the arrow nocked in her bow and let it loose. It sailed through the air until it hit the first noose's rope, and kept going until it had severed all four ropes, freeing the prisoners. At this a small flash appeared by the filly's side. She looked down and saw it subside into a picture of a silver bow and arrow. "Oh! It's here!" She started jumping up and down, her part of the plan complete.
Starswirl and Somnambula heard hoofsteps below them and saw a hooded figure with a red horn holding a gold scepter with a ruby on the end step forward. Starswirl leapt down onto Sombra with a shout, "Now!"
Starswirl tackled the stallion to the ground, knocking the scepter away. Once he stood back up, however, he noticed the horn and hood had fallen off, revealing the forepony.
"Well, well, well," said a deep voice from behind Starswirl. As he turned to face the voice a blast of magic encased him in a translucent crystal. "What have we here? Another unicorn come to challenge me?" The speaker stepped into view. He was a tall dark-grey stallion with an ethereal black mane, a red cape with white trim, a silver collar and matching crown. What really stood out though, was his horn. It was red, as Starswirl knew it would be, but it was also curved, unlike any other unicorn Starswirl had ever seen. This, then, was the true Dark Wizard.
"You thought to steal this," he said, holding a light grey crystal staff with a large ruby on the end. "But I have managed to outwit your clever little scheme. What do you have to say now! Hahahahaha!"
Somnambula swooped in, stole the scepter, and began flying upwards. "What? Get back here with that!" Sombra yelled as he fired a magic beam at her. It hit her left wing and sent her spinning down into the courtyard. "You, go get my staff back!" He pointed at the forepony, who immediately galloped off. Sombra looked back to Starswirl just as he managed to destroy the crystal prison. "Alright now to deal with you."
Starswirl fired a magic beam of his own at Sombra, only for Sombra to make a black crystal grow up from the floor, blocking the shot. "It's cute you think that will do anything," quipped Sombra as he caused several more crystals to grow in a wave. Starswirl teleported past Sombra and his crystals just before the last one burst though the spot where he was standing.
Starswirl fired a magic beam at Sombra from behind. "I don't know what you are," he said as Sombra whipped around to face him and met his beam with another one, "but I've been practicing magic my whole life, why don't you just stand down."
"How about... No!" Sombra shouted as he overpowered Starswirl's beam. Starswirl jumped to the side as the black and blue torrent of bubbling energy tore a chunk out of the stone floor.
"How did you know to set up a decoy?" asked Starswirl. He glanced into the courtyard looking for Somnambula but quickly scrambled around the left corner to avoid Sombra's beam that came when his attention was divided. Sombra walked forward until he was standing on the inner wall just twenty feet from Starswirl.
"I saw you and your pegasus in town and figured you would try to stop me from killing anypony. Your bleeding heart is going to be the end of you. Along with my magic, of course." And with that Sombra fired another magic beam, but Starswirl was expecting it. He had cast an illusion of himself and turned himself invisible. While Sombra had been talking he had silently teleported over to the right side. When Sombra fired his beam, so did Starswirl. Unfortunately it bounced off of Sombra's silver collar.
"Well, that was a clever trick, but you cannot hope to defeat me! I am Lord Sombra! Try as you might nopony can rival my magic!" Sombra fired a beam of magic at Starswirl, who responded by raising a shield spell. "You can't keep this up forever!"
Somnambula cried out as Sombra's magic hit her wing, causing it to break. She lost control and crashed into the courtyard. Fortunately most of the taken were outside but two were guarding the main entrance, and they immediately began galloping toward her.
"Halt!" they droned in unison. She decided not to comply.
Picking up the scepter in her mouth she mumbled as she ran, "You are free. If you can hear me please come help us. We are at the keep." She burst through the right doors, finding a hallway stretching both directions and a table on either side. She shut the doors and dragged a table in front of them just as the taken slammed into the doors.
After taking a moment to catch her breath Somnambula heard somepony coming from the right. She turned and saw the forepony galloping after her. She set off to the left and ducked into the first door she came across.
"You are a strong wizard to withstand my power for so long," said Sombra. "But I can tell you are weakening. Since you have proven yourself capable I will let you live."
"And why," asked Starswirl, "would you do that?"
"So that you will serve me, of course."
"I would rather die than serve the likes of you!"
"Well, unfortunately for you, I won't be offering you that choice." Starswirl's shield cracked under the pressure of Sombra's attack. "And now we begin." With a final push Sombra destroyed the shield. Then he formed a cage of black and blue crystals around Starswirl. Sombra's eyes began to glow green. The green seemed to expand from his eyes outward until it was all Starswirl could see. Then everything went black.
Starswirl looked around and saw his castle, the one back home in Rex Civitatis, burning down around him. He tried to send a signal flare up, but his horn would not light. He tried to conjure water but again nothing happened. He called out, "Guards! Friends! Anypony! Help!" All the time trying in vain to work any magic and stumbling down the hallway, looking for the exit.
As Starswirl stopped struggling and sagged in defeat Sombra's eyes faded back to red and white. "Much better. Such a waste, using your magic to help others. But now you can do that for the rest of your life. As for me, I would much rather be served than serve others." A rhythmic flapping sound began to grow audible. "Ah, like this one here," said Sombra, pointing at the dragon approaching the keep. "And now, with your magic and his strength to aid me, perhaps I will set my sights on bigger prey. You must have come from somewhere, I can invade that. And nopony, nay, nocreature, can stand in my way!"
While Sombra spoke Antiquorum had reached the side of the keep and landed. As Sombra began to laugh the great dragon bent down and swallowed the dark mage whole, incinerating him to ensure there would be no survival.
With Sombra gone everypony stopped and looked at Antiquorum. The taken all blinked and shook their heads, then everypony began to rejoice. Starswirl blasted apart the crystal cage and called out, "Thank you for your timely assistance."
After the banging on the other side of the door stopped Somnambula heard the forepony say, "I think you can come out now. My head is mine once again."
She removed the bunk she had placed against the door and cracked it open. "I think we should go see what has happened."
That day everypony had a celebration. Starswirl, Somnambula, and Antiquorum were lauded as heroes, along with minor accolades for Archer, Stone Seeker, and the forepony. Lady Amore thanked all those involved for their parts in freeing the village. That night Starswirl, Somnambula, and Antiquorum were standing on a ledge above the village looking down.
"So, can this be destroyed?" asked Somnambula, holding up the Bloodstone Scepter.
"Yes, though it will take some doing," said Starswirl, taking the scepter in his magic. "The magic is wrapped up in the gem, the staff is merely to focus the power. Shattering the gem won't quite be sufficient, the shards would hold a small amount of the magic in them."
"I can destroy it," said Antiquorum. "Give it to me, and I will eat it, for nothing of stone can survive a dragon's stomach." Starswirl passed the scepter to Antiquorum, who popped it into his mouth with his claws. "Thank you for freeing both myself and the village from the whelp. I have decided to aid you and yours forever."
"Are you sure?" asked Starswirl. "I wouldn't want to impose."
"I am, I owe you a great debt, and you are good ponies. If you would have me, I would be of service."
"In that case, I accept your offer, Sir Antiquorum. I am sure your service shall be exemplary."
Behind the scenes.
First draft: Iusiurandum Part 1: The Enchanter The continent this story takes place in has but two countries. Staswirl frees Antiquorum from the evil sorcerer Sombra. In return Antiquorum pledges his allegience to Starswirl, his decendents, and Mannulus Terram forever.
Second draft: Starswirl and Somnambula go exploring the mountains alone. They meet Stone, who tells them about Sombra and the dragon. They agree to help since ponies would die if they took the time to get reinforcements. Then they sneak over to Antiquorum to ask it why he is helping Sombra. They then learn about the Bloodstone Scepter. They decide to steal the Bloodstone Scepter from Lord Sombra. When Sombra appears for the execution of the rebels Somnambula takes the staff. Then Antiquorum eats Sombra. With the village saved Starswirl and Somnambula decide to return early to tell of this event and Antiquorum decides to join them, promising to serve them forever.
Artwork (By Morning Glory) General idea started back in late January
And a picture of us. I am represented by blue unicorn while the pegasus represents my little sister. She has a message for you. "It's not over. Not even close."
