Star Swirl dropped himself on a large plush cushion with a sigh and rubbed his temples with his forelegs before examining his bloodstained coat. He trembled slightly at the vivid memories of the young mare’s agonized screams. The wizard had toiled for hours to save his patient after she awakened from the sedation spell. Only very recently had he stabilized her enough to leave her alone.

The study was quiet save for the faint crackle of the fire heating a tea kettle. It cast a gentle glow over the room, just enough light for the old wizard to see the wash basin he needed. He levitated it over to himself and began to wash the blood from his coat and mane, it was still somewhat sticky.

Star Swirl was exhausted after the ordeal, it had taken three hours to save the young mare’s life. In the mere moments it had taken him to react, her thrashing had torn several lines of stitches along her chest and stomach, re-opening deep wounds. He shuddered a little at the recent memory, she had splattered blood everywhere, nearly got it on the ceiling.

Once he finished cleaning the blood from his body, he returned the wash basin to its original place. He’d clean it out later when he had more time and energy, for now he had other matters to tend to.

He winced a little as he massaged a cramp out of his sore leg, focusing on the location of a particular medical book. The air filled with a magical energy that began to crackle slightly, a flash followed by a pop revealed the appearance of a book on treating horn injuries. Star Swirl was confident he didn’t actually need to reread the book, but a refresher course was always nice.

“Time to find out a little more about what ails you my dear,” he muttered as he flipped through the pages. “Horn agitations, horn degradation, horn rot, horn flakes, horn flop, hmmmm, ah, horn fracture.”

The old wizard read until the kettle whistled for attention, at which point he closed the book. He felt reassured about the procedure yet to be performed and set about silencing the now screeching kettle. Star Swirl took a moment to eat a pair of cherry tomatoes without chewing, as per the book’s instructions. He then poured the appropriate amount of tea for his body weight, double checking his measurements to be certain. It had to be exact or…

“I certainly hope she appreciates this,” he said right before downing the nerve-deadening tea. His nose scrunched up after he finished the tea. “Ugh, tastes as foul as it smells,” he announced to the room as if to warn the furniture not to bother trying the tea. He went over the self-performing spell in his head again, it had to be executed perfectly or the next poor soul to enter this house would find two dead ponies.

Once he began to feel the tea taking effect, he moved to a nearby cot and lay flat on his stomach. He steeled himself, preparing for the pain he was going to have to endure. In spite of what the tea was doing to him, he knew the procedure would cause nearly unbearable amounts of pain.

After his body had become completely numb, he initiated the spell that more often than not killed the donor. The spell was usually lethal even when it was being performed by multiple trained doctors that didn’t have senses dulled by drug-laced tea. Star Swirl managed to remain confident in his abilities in spite of this knowledge. There was a reason after all.

A dull yellow glow began to emanate from his horn as he focused his magic. All at once every light source in the room was extinguished, leaving only the glow from his horn . The glow intensified as several objects moved themselves to the bedside.

Two fresh wash basins, one with water, the other with a powerful antiseptic. Accompanying them was a stack of clean towels, a needle and thread, a very recently sterilized jar, a syringe and some surgical tubing. One of the towels levitated from the stack and dipped itself in the antiseptic. The towel then began to clean his horn and a part of his foreleg.

The jar floated over accompanied by the surgical tubing and the syringe. He barely felt the insertion of the syringe. However the next step of the procedure was excruciating in spite of his preparations.

The yellow glow became bright violet with flashes of green and purple accompanied by sparks of gold that flew in every direction. He closed his eyes and braced himself.

A bright silver film developed around his horn and for a moment there was no feeling at all. Then the film dissipated until there were only a few tiny glowing squares. They burned as if they were on fire, the feeling only intensified as these squares separated themselves from the main body of the horn. His entire body convulsed as the newly formed flaps of tissue peeled themselves away, leaving holes in his horn. A faint blue hue appeared amongst the other colors of the spell, the pain lessened as the silver film returned and covered the holes in his horn.

Star Swirl lost touch with the world as his eyes rolled back. The final stage of the spell mercifully activated and sedated him while the silver film did its job.

Slowly, the fire under the kettle reignited and one by one the candles in the room flickered back to life. They stood a silent vigil, waiting for the eventual awakening of the one who once again cheated death to help another.

“It should hurt, shouldn’t it?” Star Swirl thought to himself as he watched the pool of crimson slowly spread across the stonework of the bridge. “Why doesn’t it hurt?” Blinking a few times to clear his vision, Star Swirl managed to glance to the left. “Celestia?” He managed to choke out, gagging on his own blood. “Celestia are you alright?” He called out weakly. He tried to turn his head to look for her but found he couldn’t. “Celestia can you hear me?”

Somehow he had noticed the lance of energy first, somehow he had moved quickly enough to shield Celestia with his own body. He had thrown up the most powerful barrier he could muster at such short notice, and he was still alive. For now.

The needle-fine beam of energy had pierced his shield before it could solidify and the two energies combined into a roiling ball of super-heated destruction. As the sphere detonated into a cloud of green flames he threw forward every last ounce of telekinetic power his mind could manage.

It had done the job he intended, it had saved Celestia from the death curse that was now taking him instead. He allowed himself a small moment of triumph, satisfied with the knowledge that his final act would be to deny the death-blow of Celestia’s would-be assassin.

Stubbornly, he attempted to move once more in spite of the extreme pain it caused and found that he was able to roll over and look behind him at the rest of the bridge. Celestia was nowhere to be seen.

Star Swirl prayed that she was merely concealed by the thick black clouds of smoke that consumed the area.

With a groan, he managed to get a foreleg under himself and lift his head off the hot stonework. Mere inches from where he lay, the stone slabs were glowing hot. They had been flash-melted from the heat of the blast just beyond the point where the shield had collapsed.

The air was buzzing with magical discharge and several nearby trees were on fire.

Star Swirl was finding it difficult to focus on anything in particular, save for the ringing in his ears. At that point he deduced he at least had a concussion.

As the ringing faded, it was replaced by the loud crackle of the fire burning the trees. At this point he knew his ears still worked, although how well they still worked remained to be seen. The dull ache in his hind legs meant the nerves in his neck and spine were still intact as well.

He managed to get his legs under himself and shakily rose, his hooves planted on the hot stone. Spitting a mouthful of blood onto the sizzling stone, Star Swirl looked in the direction the attack had come from. Nothing.

Coughing up yet more blood onto the stones, the realization hit him. His lung was punctured, it wouldn’t be long before he wasn’t of use to anypony.

Taking a moment to clear his mind, Star Swirl swept through his memories in search of the spell that would keep him alive the longest. In the long run it wouldn’t matter, there was one thing he could not fix.

The curse that had hit him had already begun its grisly work. It wouldn’t be long before it had spread throughout his entire body.

Star Swirl realized this as the curse’s more visible effects surfaced. The flesh around his wounds became gangrenous and his wounds began to weep fresh blood. Small green lines were becoming visible along his entire body.

He looked over his shoulder and coughed out a loud and raspy “Celestia!” The effort caused him to lower his head and cough again, the coppery taste of blood once again invaded his muzzle. He couldn’t help but notice there was no reply.

The thick black clouds had not relented, in fact upon observation they appeared to thicken over time. It didn’t help that his vision was darkening with each cough that brought more blood with it.

Star Swirl strengthened his resolve with the goal of spending his final moments ensuring Celestia’s safety. Failing that, he could at least give the attacker an additional target and give Celestia an opportunity to escape or better yet destroy their attacker.

The blood in his lung began to pool, making breathing even more difficult. With each labored breath, more and more blood began to run out of his nose and mouth.

Star Swirl focused and forced one of his legs to move, then the other. He began a slow and awkward walk toward the far end of the bridge. He had only taken a few steps before stopping, his strength waning as he became distracted.

Suppressing a smile, he found himself studying the curse that was destroying his body. He was admiring its craftsmanship, it was clearly very well-made. It was brutal, yet elegant in its methodical spread throughout the body, not a single organ seemed to be missed by it. It was in fact, almost recognizable. It was familiar.

His blood ran cold as the realization hit him.

Star Swirl The Bearded had had three students over the course of his life. One was dead, the other had been on the bridge with him at the time of the attack. He then picked up just the faintest signal of an incoming magical discharge just before the bridge had exploded into a multicolored firestorm.

Star Swirl surged up from the cot in a fright. His heart raced, hammering away and his chest heaved with every breath. His eyes darted around the room in search of an enemy hidden within the shadows. Slowly, he catalogued every object in the room, reassuring himself that there was indeed no enemy and the dream was over. The scent of lavender flooded his nostrils and he regained his composure.

He closed his eyes and sighed, enjoying the scent that always fought back the darkness when it clouded his mind. Lavender always brought back memories of better times before the world changed. Before magic had been tainted by evil.

It was too quiet he thought. Aside from the gentle pops and crackles from the dying fire accompanied by the delicate ticks from the old grandfather clock all was silent.

Star Swirl whistled a specific tune, causing a pre-enchanted mirror to float to his side. Taking it in a hoof he examined the spell’s handiwork more thoroughly.

The delicate flakes of horn had separated cleanly, leaving perfect square holes in his horn. The silver film was still present, however it was limited to the boundaries of the square holes.

Satisfied that the grafts had been properly removed and that there was no sign of horn degradation or fractures, Starswirl set the mirror aside. He sighed with relief and smiled a little, he had gotten lucky yet again.

His head was still buzzing as he slowly stepped off the cot and slowly approached an ancient table carved right into the wall of the study. It was old, older than himself he was sure, and very ornate.

Rearing up onto his hind legs, Star Swirl rested his forelegs on the table and reached for a slot in the wall. He pulled a silver chalice from the slot in the wall and turned his attention to a small cabinet set atop the table. He opened it and began to look at a selection of crystal and glass bottles.

Out of habit he reached for a particular octagonal bottle. It was small and had a blue tint, the spring water it contained was still ice cold and from the very head of the mighty Amethyst River. That river flows northward from the base of the Crystal Mountains.

Star Swirl hesitated, while it was true the water possessed incredible healing powers along with a few other interesting effects. The water in this bottle could only treat wounds of a non-magical origin.

Reluctantly Star Swirl pushed the sweet-tasting, self-chilling water back into the cabinet. It could be more useful later at a different time.

Star Swirl glanced at the clock. Four twenty seven in the morning. “Ah, well then. This is a morning to celebrate anyways. Its not every day one gets the chance to cheat death.”

He gently nudged the bottles to the side to reach into the back of the cabinet. He carefully reached back and grabbed a reddish clay jar with a small smile. This stuff was definitely for celebrations, and it had been aging. He grasped it a little more firmly and pulled the old cork out with his mouth, giving it a deep sniff. He poured a small amount of the amber liquid into the silver chalice.

“To absent friends,” he whispered solemnly before putting the chalice to his lips. He downed the liquid in a single gulp. “May their journeys see them safely home,” he finished. The warm, electrifying taste of the zap apple hard cider tingled in his stomach and the sensation spread throughout his body.

Almost immediately the buzzing in his head was replaced with a soft, tingling warmth. The satisfying feeling was everywhere, he even managed a smile.

It was a shame, he thought to himself as he poured another sip of the cider. As soon as the jar was made empty, the drink would no longer be known to the world. This was the last batch known to exist, and he had paid quite a pretty sum for the zap apples needed to make it.

Even as he took another taste of the delectable cider his thoughts turned to one of his oldest friends. It had been centuries and Star Swirl still remembered that night as clearly as if it had just been yesterday.

It had been a warm night near the end of summer with just a slight breeze escorting the dull rumble of the falls higher up the mountain.

All had gathered in the study to welcome home Master Silver Spark and his apprentice who were returning from an expedition. They had been exploring the newly formed forest at the base of the mountain. It had recently been created by the chaotic evil that had been released there.

Star Swirl had stood in this very spot listening to Silver Spark recount the four day excursion with great interest. Particularly when he came to the part regarding the center of the forest where the first battle had taken place.
Silver Spark’s apprentice lowered his head at the mention of charred bones. All that had remained of the group of alicorns which first stood against the evil that had shown itself to the world that day.
The true number of alicorns killed in that moment would likely never be known, but Star Swirl knew it was in the dozens. Only the alicorn king and queen had survived that day.

Star Swirl moved to a pillow near the fire and sat, placing his cider on a table nearby that was surrounded by other pillows in front of the fire. A place for friends to gather, a place where they’d likely never gather again. “If only we had known,” he said quietly to himself. “So many could have been saved.” Star Swirl’s gaze slowly panned the room, seeing it both as it was and as it should have been. Both empty and full of his departed companions.

The light from the fire danced across every surface in the room and revealed old memories everywhere. Some good, others he simply wished to forget. Sometimes he felt it would be best if he could just go senile and forget.

His eyes paused over a large disc of wood, maybe a foot thick that laid near the far wall. He could still make out the imprint of the old cushion that used to be set upon it. This particular piece of wood had been the favored seat of Luminescent Star, the once High Master of the Star Order and close personal friend of Star Swirl. This personal friend was also quite possibly the most powerful unicorn to ever live. Nopony could have predicted that he would be the first to fall at the hands of the draconequus.

Star Swirl stopped himself with a shake of his head. He knew where that set of memories would take him and it was nowhere pleasant.

The fire flickered lazily, almost as if begging for food. Star Swirl studied it intently for a long while. He was looking for answers in the flame that weren’t there.

Another sip of cider and the cup was empty.

Star Swirl stood and looked to the clock just in time to see the hands change and hear the gong. Five o’ clock.

He stood from the pillow with a sigh and took a fleeting glance at the trio of pictures that rested on the mantle above the fireplace. He then turned to leave the room, the three faces staring cheerfully after him. Star swirl stopped in another room briefly to check on his patient before heading to the stairs for the library.

Under normal circumstances Star Swirl would have simply teleported himself to the third floor library. However the circumstances were far from normal, he would need to wait a full twelve hours before using any magic whatsoever. His body was already tired and he’d barely done anything, even with healing spells later on, it could take several days to regain full use of his horn.

Upon reaching the uppermost step Star Swirl paused to look out the window on his left. There was no sunrise. It had been nearly two weeks since Celestia had left to mourn her sister and the sun had not risen all the days hence. It was getting very cold without the sun, he wondered how much longer it would be before the snow prevented him from opening the door.

Aware of his presence, the library door swung open on its large iron hinges, allowing him to pass. He smiled a little as he stepped inside, glad the enchantments still worked without his magic feeding them.

The library was smaller than one might expect inside a home that was once full of wizards. It contained perhaps a few hundred volumes across a half-dozen bookshelves. Every single volume however was worth its weight in gold, maybe more as almost none of them had been copied and most were hoof-written by the wizards who had lived here. They contained some of the most powerful and rare spells to ever exist in the entire world. Only a few existed outside this room, lest they fall into the wrong hooves, hands, claws, or whatever other horrible appendages would seek to do the world harm.

The bulk of the collection was in a vault in the Canterlot Castle. However its combined might would pale in comparison to what one would learn in this room. For many of these spells had been written by the ancients themselves.

Star Swirl stood a moment in the doorway and grimaced. There was an intense amount of energy in the air that his damaged horn did not take kindly to. Bracing himself, Star Swirl entered the room fully.

With effort he managed to banish the tingling feeling developing in his horn from his awareness and concentrate on the current task at hoof. Slowly and deliberately the wizard made it to the back of the room. Paying little to no attention to the abundant amount of power that lay contained on the shelves around him.

The most powerful of these scripts hovered at a central point in the room, denying it contact with any object or surface. A dull cloud of energy much resembling black fire surrounded the tome.

As a habit Star Swirl gave the large tome a wide berth. It reeked of death and he knew exactly why it was never to be touched. On the cover was but one word written in the most ancient of all the old Alicorn dialects. Translated it read simply. Malevolence.
A simple word to those that remained ignorant to its intended meaning.

Star Swirl realized a small part of himself was once again thinking of how grateful he was that the wretched thing remained in his care. Hidden from the world, and those that would seek to open its pages.

He gave the book a long stare. With time the disdain in his expression faded and he realized he’d spent too long staring at it as one of his hooves had begun to slide toward it.

Star Swirl tore his gaze from the book to look at the far wall and took a deep breath. The book was powerful enough to take one over if one were careless, or weak-willed enough to let it.

Steadying himself against the forces of the room, Star Swirl continued toward the back wall of the library. He needed to find the answer to a new question that his young patient had brought with her.

The book case he now approached was in itself rather unimpressive. It had no ornamental carvings, more on the practical or functional side. The brightly colored books however more than made up for the book case’s lack of flamboyancy.

His gaze fell upon the top row of books, analyzing each one carefully. The first was in its own way special to him. It was an in-depth study on windigos and their rather bizarre abilities. He had outlived its author and his first apprentice by over seven hundred years. The old stallion had read the volume many times. Clover had been very clever indeed.

The next was, by a historian’s point of view, possibly the most valuable work in existence. It was a dull red book with brilliant streaks of gold all leading to the top of the front cover. These gold streaks formed the title which was written in formal dragon runes.
Star Swirl knew only one thing for sure about that book, it contained the complete historical account of Kamarag. The last of the First Dragons. Kamarag had lived through the great catastrophe that had wiped out the Ancients and nearly destroyed the world.

Unfortunately the book itself could never be fully translated as there was no living being left in the world that could read formal dragon runes. There were thankfully other historical records that made reference to key events in the book.

Master Luminescent Star after finding several partially translated texts from Kamarag’s writings was convinced he had been trying to warn future generations. Of what nopony could be certain, but Luminescent had been right. Star Swirl could not think of a time when Luminescent Star was ever completely wrong about something.

He had to focus, if he didn’t he’d end up spending all day in this room.

He needed the answer to his reason.

Star Swirl skimmed past several other volumes until finding the particular one that had brought him up those steps in the first place.

By this room’s standards, the book was simple and quite boring looking. The binding was a light sky blue with a much darker blue making up the lettering and edges. A golden ribbon held the book shut and also served as a book mark.
Written in an older more formal unicorn dialect the title read: “A Guide To The Identification And Treatment Of Netherworld Spell Wounds And Or Possessions.” He chuckled a little at the capitalization of every word in the title, even the less important words were held high in this dialect.

Star Swirl took the book in a hoof and moved to sit at a small desk off to the side of the room.. He seated himself on one of the thick pillows that formed a half moon around the table. He stole a look at the book’s author. Master Star Shine.

Star Swirl immediately closed his mind to the flood of memories that threatened to overtake him at the thought of the name.

Star Shine.

NO! He had to stay focused. He took a moment and a breath to clear his mind and block everything out completely. This took considerable effort to say the least. Star Swirl opened the book, the need to find his answer now stronger than the memories trying to take him away. He was certain he already knew the answer, but he needed to be certain, to confirm what he had seen.

The words were hard to read. Not just because the author had chosen to use a dead language. It was dead now anyways, the only ones to speak the language for the last thousand years had been the Star Order. There was no telling how long it would be before another Star Unicorn was born.

Star Swirl found the chapter that had been calling him and began to read more slowly rather than skimming through.
He read for what felt like hours even though mere minutes had passed. Reading these words again was torture after so many years.

He continued to read, knowing full well by now that he was already right. He already knew that his patient downstairs bore wounds she had received from a creature not from the natural world. A creature that could only have been summoned by another unfathomable power and possessing an even greater evil.

Worse still, that creature had once been. A lifetime ago, Star Swirl’s truest friend.

He closed the book gently with all the care of a loving mother and sat back from the table. He leaned on his haunches and stared at the ceiling, lost in thought.

Turning his head to look at the uppermost shelf in the room, Star Swirl studied several small figurines perched up there.
Right in the middle of the group stood a little stone Draconequus staring down at him. A humor filled smile on its face. The look was a little ironic as well, almost as if he was laughing at himself.

Star Swirl froze, his heart skipped a beat. “Discord,” he said with a tone of disbelief. “It can’t be,” he thought out loud. “Not now, not then, not ever again!” He screamed inside.

At the sound of the spoken name, the great floating book in the center of the room stirred. The dull black flames surrounding the book surged with renewed vigor, regaining their violet hues. Small electrical charges began to arc across the book’s surface. The covers began to ripple as if they were made of liquid. It was almost as if the book was excited at the mention of the name.

Star Swirl wheeled about and stared dumbstruck at the book that was nearly as old as time itself. It had never, in the recorded history of the Order moved and it was now doing just that before the last remaining member.
The air in the room began to vibrate as it slowly and very ominously opened. Small bolts of electricity arced from page to page as they turned. AS they did, the black fire began to reach out for anything it could consume.

Star Swirl dove out of the way of an errant bolt of lightning that shot from the book. Was it attacking him? He took cover under the table just in case and continued to observe the book.

The fluttering pages stopped turning as the book neared its middle. For a moment everything fell silent again. No lightning, no fire, no sound.

Just as Star Swirl thought the book had returned to its slumber, the storm awoke once more. It started as a breeze, but quickly grew into gale force winds INSIDE the library.

Many of the books took to the air and flew about the room with pages flopping in the wind. Even the thick door to the stairwell was thrown open by the sheer force of the winds. Its magic had been overcome by the magic wind tearing through the room.

Star Swirl knew immediately not to attempt to control what was happening. The power within this book greatly outweighed his own by an incalculable amount. For now at least, he was at its mercy.

A dark blue, almost black light appeared just above the pages of the book. It floated there a moment and Star Swirl almost felt another mind in the room, like it was trying to do something else.

The pony under the table watched with ever growing interest. His fear was overwhelmed by his curiosity at this point, it was something that had no explanation.

With a sudden flash the light became a sphere a meter wide hovering a mere inch above the paper.

A dark cloud that closely resembled smoke billowed up out of the light and headed toward the ceiling. It was strangely unaffected by the near-hurricane force winds that surrounded it. This smoke, or whatever it was, moved with a purpose. It floated until it reached the ceiling, paused a moment, then struck like a snake toward the shelf of figurines. it was headed toward the little statue of Discord.

Star Swirl crept farther out from under the table. He didn’t want to miss a single part of this event, knowing his memory would be the only record of these events. If things went badly enough, the table probably wouldn’t be able to keep him safe anyway. With one hoof wrapped around a leg of the table and the other shielding his face from books and other objects flying around the room he continued to watch.

The smoke reached the statue but did not touch it. Instead it encircled the figurine, staying maybe an inch from its surface. A moment later a bolt of energy with the likeness of lightning shot up from the book and into the smoke. It traveled through the smoke and into the stone figurine.

The stone figurine began to shudder as if it might explode. Small arcs of what appeared to be electricity began to jump back and forth between the smoke and the statue with steadily decreasing intervals.

Star Swirl’s eyes widened. He recognized it for what it was. A high capacity data-transfer spell. The real question was, what could the book be learning from the little piece of stonework?

The transaction was taking a rather long time for the speed of the arcs of lightning. Or at least thats how it felt to Star Swirl. He knew how much information that kind of spell could send or receive in a second.

Just before the one minute mark, the electrical pulses stopped and the cloud receded to the book. There was a loud snap of magical static and the light was gone. The wind stopped dead as well and a shower of books and other light objects came raining down around the poor wizard pony.

Star Swirl swore he heard a faint cackle of evil laughter as the book’s cover shut with a thud.

All was silent for a moment until the library door was finally released from the curse that was holding it open and it slammed shut.

After gathering his wits Star Swirl got to his hooves and surveyed the mess around him. It would take a non-telekinetic days to sort through this mess. He set about searching the piles for the book he had been reading.

“Why now?” He asked almost angrily as he glanced back at the book. The flames were once more dancing lazily over the book’s surface, faded back to their dull hue.

“Why choose this morning, of all mornings to show yourself to me?” He sounded somewhat frustrated, still searching for his book. The book just floated there, impassive.

“Why indeed?” He thought to himself, his frustration giving way to deeper thought. “And why to such a random, yet specific remark?” He mumbled as he moved to rummage through a different pile of books.

The dark thing in the book gave him no hints, no clues. It simply floated there, almost mockingly.

Pushing over a rather large volume entitled: “One Thousand And One Uses For Eye Of Newt” the old pony paused in his search.

“Discord,” he thought inwardly. Not wanting to utter it aloud again lest he trigger another event. Who knew what else the book was capable of?

“It is not a common name by any means,” Starswirl puzzled. “It has only become historically significant within the last five hundred years or so,” he said whilst tilting his head. “Which is about the equivalent of an afternoon nap for you.”

Pulling aside a large and rather comfortable throw pillow Star Swirl spotted his prize and yanked it from the pile.

“It’s not as if the two of you have ever met,” he said building on a thought. “Your imprisonment here began many millennia ago,” he said as a matter-of-factly.

Star Swirl flipped idly through the book in search of the place he had left off in. He sat at the table to read again but found he couldn’t, not yet. Not with this new question forming in his head.

The wizard looked up from his book to the statuette of Discord.

“Just because Master Luminescent elected to train him never meant that he would become a member of the Star Order. It was just not in his blood,” he recalled. He had said the second part half-heartedly. “Thus he was never made aware of this place,” he said, finishing his thought.

The statue smiled back blankly. “But then you knew that as well didn’t you?” He said, watching the dancing flame out of the corner of his eye. He noted the flame had slowed in its movements.

A reaction? Possibly, but not very likely. Clearly at this point anything could happen around this strange book.

Upon finding his place in the book, Star Swirl once again began to read. However he only paid half a mind to the words in the book as his thoughts remained fixed on the events of the past few minutes. A dozen facts swirled through his head, every single one of them demanded his attention.

Distracting him further still of course was the need to talk to the barely alive mare downstairs.

After managing to stammer out his name she had been instantly overcome by pain. Nevermind pain, she was in agony. Which as anypony could imagine made conversation impossible.

To make matters worse, Star Swirl knew another operation would be necessary or she would surely die of something more than a mere wound to the flesh.

He knew it would be a terrible death for her.

Star Swirl sat there a few moments. His head was spinning and a sense of helplessness was creeping up from someplace deep within him. A lump formed in his throat, he was tired, mentally and physically. Any other unicorn would have spent days in bed recovering from that procedure and he just put up with a hurricane of books and has another unicorn’s life that needs saving.

He took a moment to regain his composure and rubbed his temples with his hooves. After massaging some of the stress away, he began reading once more.

It spoke of the black fire spell. It was easily the most powerful and deadliest of all destruction magic. Nopony had ever developed an effective defense against it. The black fire consumed all it touched. Be it earth, stone, flesh, bone, not even water was safe from the black fire’s hunger.

The only objects to ever survive exposure to the black flames were the bones of some of the alicorns that had died that fateful day over the Everfree Forest.Well, the bones and one other powerful item survived.

Star Swirl finished the chapter, his questions answered. He closed his eyes and gently closed the book.

Several facts were falling into place but he still lacked a vital piece of information. However said piece of information was currently being held in the mind of a dying unicorn downstairs.

For a small moment, Star Swirl acknowledged just how alone he really was. It wasn’t the first time he found himself wishing that he had perished alongside his brethren all those years ago.

Destiny it seemed, had other plans for the old wizard.

Star Swirl rose with a groan and shelved the book. He gave it a light tap with his hoof. He knew what needed to be done, the question was, could he?

The dizzying sensation of the room increased as the magical aura in the room began to overwhelm his damaged horn.

Little black dots began to form in his vision, he had to focus just to see where he was going now. The sooner he left the room the better! Still, he had one more question, one that potentially held his greatest fears as an answer.

Star Swirl reached for a long black roll of cloth near the door. It had been left there to await this very moment.

Unrolling the cloth revealed a beautifully crafted dual-bladed sword. It was engraved with elegant dragon runes. Unlike most dual-bladed swords, this one possessed no handle in the middle, meaning it couldn’t be used by a non-telekinetic pony. This weapon was crafted specifically for unicorns who’s telekinetic abilities were advanced enough to use it in battle.

Having been forged in the flames of a noble dragon’s breath, its blade had withstood the test of time. After seeing untold centuries, the fall of countless enemies, and the resolution of many great battles, the blade was still sharp and true as the day it was made.

Celestia herself could not have damaged this relic.

Star Swirl carefully balanced the glistening blade on a steady hoof as he eyed the evil book in the center of the room.

He steeled himself against the grief he was certain he was about to feel.

The blade had a long history, most of it was unknown to Star Swirl. For a time it had belonged to Silver Spark and had served him well. He was likely the best telekinetic swordspony in the Order.

Star Swirl watched the dancing black flames as they rolled lazily across the surface of the book. He knew there was but one force left in this world capable of damaging his friends dragon fire weapon.

Face set with grim determination and resolve, Star Swirl approached the evil in front of him. He reached out with the blade and whispered. “I’m sorry Silver. But I need to know.”

No sooner had the tip of the sword entered the edge of the flames they surged out along its length nearly to the midpoint. The blade began to vibrate against Star Swirl’s hoof. The flames coiled around their prey like a snake as black embers and a thick violet smoke rose from the surface of the sword.

Star Swirl stood passive and watched the blade. The Telekinesis Blade, immune to even the withering effects of time itself was pulverised into glittering dust. It was consumed by the flames as it fell toward the floor, never making it that far.

Star Swirl pulled back the half blade and inspected it. The broken end was nearly a perfect cut. As always with the flame’s destroyed targets, the sword was cool to the touch where the flame had just been.

The flames around the book emitted small snaps and pops as they surged angrily. It sent out several little fingers in search of the removed food supply.

The wizard took a few steps back, now that the first part of the test was done, the real one could begin.

Star swirl reached into a small cloth saddle bag and removed a sapphire colored Greater Soul gem. The gems color pulsed weakly, its enchantment barely containing what lay within.

He carefully placed the little stone atop the broken edge of the blade and whispered the spell to release its contents.
Immediately the tiny rock vaporized, consumed by the fragment of black fire that had been contained within it. For a moment after finishing off the gem it simply floated there. Almost as if inspecting its surroundings. Star Swirl noted that its color was slightly different from the flame around the book.

However that pattern of behavior changed as the flame suddenly reached out onto the blade below it. At first nothing happened and Star Swirl began to think that the worst had not yet happened. That this was hopefully a knockoff of the real deal, a fake version of the black fire that had been cooked up by some random psycho.

These hopeful thoughts were put to a sudden end as the fire began to pop and sizzle and boil the blade away. Star Swirl’s heart sank as he realized that the flame he had trapped in the gem was indeed the real deal.

Star Swirl closed his eyes and murmured a silent prayer to whatever deity may be listening. The old pony approached the book once more and tipped the blade over, causing the fragment of black flame to fall off the blade and onto the book. Now clear of the black flame, he absent-mindedly dropped the ruined blade.

His gaze turned to the statuette on the shelf. “So its true then,” he said as he bowed his head. Fear creeping up from deep within. “The demon has returned,” he muttered as his gaze fell. “And far more powerful than ever I suspect,” he stopped at the blade, guilt filling his mind.

He scooped it up gently and returned it to its wrapping.

Master Luminescent had been right once again it seemed. Not even the Elements could hold back his friend forever.

Star Swirl placed Silver Spark’s blade on a shelf next to the door before leaving the dizzying room behind. Right after the enchanted door closed behind him the aura of the room was cut off. With the aura, went the feeling of disorientation, falling, and those pesky black dots.

He checked out the window before descending the stairs. Still no sun.

Star Swirl had to feel his way down the stairs as the wall lantern had long since gone out. He headed for the study which was thankfully still illuminated by the dying fire within.

He paused at the threshold and counted to three.

The old clock struck seven.

The old stallion’s lips curled into a smile. “Glad my old mental clock is still functioning and right on time,” he mused quietly. “I’d say the mechanical one is about a sixteenth of a second off,” he challenged the old clock.

It might have seemed a bit senile to somepony, maybe downright crazy. After having lived alone for so many years in a house so full of memories it was all he could do to cope.

It was ironic when he stopped to think about it. Star Swirl was neither the strongest, nor the wisest of the Order. He was certainly not the most powerful either. Yet here he stood, the last one to occupy the lonely house on the mountain.

The fire sputtered and popped, breaking his mind’s downward spiral. He watched a few embers rise lazily up until they passed from view into the chimney. It was time.

Somewhat hesitantly, the old wizard crossed the room to the old cot he had made use of earlier.

Star Swirl took a moment to inspect the tiny slivers of horn lying on the tray that remained sterile. It was all protected by a preservation spell.

These were the young mare’s only hope of ever regaining the full use of her horn.

Star Swirl knew the odds of him being an acceptable donor were astronomical at best. He had observed however that their horn grains were a near perfect match. There was always a reason for everything, he knew.

He moved on to a row of small glass bottles all containing pre-mixed potions of varying colors.

As soon as his mental clock hit seven seventeen he bit the cork on the greenish bottle and pulled it out. He downed the bottle’s contents in one go. His face contorted in what would have surely been the funniest face he’s made in decades had another pony been nearby to observe it.

“By Celestia’s grandmother!” He bellowed loudly. “That is absolutely foul!” He shook his head, wishing he could have something tasty to wash the taste away. He tossed the little bottle into the fire where it was instantly vaporized. He didn’t move for a moment, he just kept his hoof pressed against his mouth.

“Stardust Jade if I never taste another one of your invigoration potions it’ll be too soon.”

He took a glance at the next two bottles in line. Hefting a very small bright pink bottle, Star Swirl uttered a carefully chosen string of curses as the bitter fluid ran down his throat.

Star Swirl slammed the bottle down like a shot glass and tilted his head to the side, causing his neck to crack loudly.

Finally he moved to the end of the table and checked the jar of blood he had drained from himself earlier. Into this jar of donated blood he poured yet another potion, this one would ensure the blood was purified. An additional potion served to convert his blood type to hers. An ingenious trick taught to him by Stardust Jade. The taste of whom’s potions still lingered on his tongue and in his throat.

The ancient mare had always been completely mad. However she always seemed to know a pony’s body better than they did and her alchemic knowledge was unmatched.

“Still,” he said with the remnants of an upset face. “I wish she could’ve come up with a way to make the damned things taste better,” he complained as he looked at the final potion sitting on the table. It stood there defiantly, taunting him.

Star Swirl opened the bottle and poured its contents onto a towel, soaking it thoroughly. As he did this he glanced at the clock to be sure, he had twelve seconds to go.

He glanced at the cot to make sure the cleaning spell had worked while he was up in the library. Satisfied that all was in order, Star Swirl turned back and downed the final potion.

“Ugh! What the buck was wrong with that mare?!” He howled as a taste the equivalent of hot sewage and what could only be described as jalapeño flavored cough medicine oozed down his throat.

“Thats it! I swear on the Divines that I, Star Swirl The Bearded, shall never willingly save another pony via these potions ever again!” He fumed.

The little timer in Star Swirl’s mind informed him that it was time. He gritted his teeth and turned again to the cot. Holding his breath the pony counted his heartbeats. One. Two.

A white flash of light notified the room of something being teleported.

Starswirl blinked the exact moment of the flash and there on the cot was the broken and battered body of his patient. “Right then,” he said to himself.

First order of business was to start the blood transfusion, she wouldn’t survive without it if she didn’t get some more into her system soon.

Checking thoroughly to ensure she was still sedated, Star Swirl reassured himself that she was fully prepped and set about his work.

The self-calculating time-delayed teleportation spell had worked perfectly. The mare had been laid out on her back with her legs out of the way.

Star Swirl began checking and changing all of the necessary bandages, finishing with her horn. He tended to her horn with the utmost care, knowing a single mistake could end her life.

It was hard not to get distracted by his glowing hooves, that final potion he had ingested sterilized his hooves and was generating a sterilizing field around his forelegs.

After moving a few candles closer to cast more light on his work area he grabbed the potion-soaked towel. He began to slowly and gently wash the mare’s horn until the entire appendage had been thoroughly moistened.

Star Swirl then hung the blood jar from an appropriated coat hanger and attached a sterile needle and surgical tubing. He gently cleaned one of her forelegs near her shoulder and stuck the needle into one of her veins, starting the blood transfusion.

His next objective was the small wound on her chest, just below the midpoint between her forelegs. The wound was a small puncture less than a tenth of an inch across. Most ponies would have missed it or thought of it as nothing at all. However it was one of the deadliest wounds she possessed.

Star Swirl removed a towel from a tray revealing a large assortment of surgical tools. He also had an extra doctor’s bag full of supplies and instruments he thought he might need in case of an emergency. Truthfully, there wasn’t enough he could do to prepare for this surgery.

He glanced up at the jar full of blood to check its progress and was satisfied that she was ready for surgery. He grabbed a flip open razor and began to shave around the soon to be re-opened wound.

After washing any loosed hair and dried blood away, he grabbed a scalpel and took a moment to study the puncture more closely. He drew a line with his mind, then followed it with a well-practiced hoof. He cut from slightly above the hole to six inches below it, clenching his jaw at the sight of the blade effortlessly gliding through the mare’s skin.

Blood oozed from the cut but was quickly drawn away by an unseen force in a tiny stream to the far side of the cot where it was then deposited into an enchanted bowl.

Star Swirl pushed the edges of the tissue open a bit wider before pushing in a spreading shackle to hold the incision open.

The wizard whistled a three note tune and a nearby lantern floated off the wall to his side. He positioned it over his workspace to improve the lighting a bit more. His tired old eyes weren’t what they used to be.

Star Swirl cut deeper, following the path of the original intruder. He glanced at the blood jar, less than half full. He had to work faster if he wanted her to have any blood left at the end of the operation.

He cut just a bit deeper, getting scared that he might not be able to save her. He stopped and breathed a sigh of relief, the chase was over. Protruding from a bed of exposed muscle was the end of a long, barbed stinger.

Careful not to touch the intruder, Star Swirl cut the tissue around the stinger and lifted the entire mass out.

He tossed another potion into the fire, causing the flames to change to a color similar to the mare’s coat before dropping the stinger into the fireplace. The now enchanted flames destroyed the otherworldly poisonous barb in a safe and timely manner.

After another minute of searching for additional fragments and thankfully finding none within her, Star Swirl closed the wound.

Star Swirl stole another glance at the blood jar and was thankful to see that there was still some left. Good, she would need it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to donate again until tomorrow at the earliest.

Now the impromptu surgeon moved to a task more delicate than any other he had attempted thus far.

After checking to see that the cleansing potion from earlier had finished with her horn Star Swirl reached into the saddlebag he had brought back with him from the castle and retrieved the small jar of salve.

The salve had taken an entire day to prepare and would act as a bonding agent for the horn grafts. He liberally applied it to all of the areas to be grafted.

After taking a moment to catch his breath and wipe away the built up sweat on his forehead with a towel, Star Swirl broke the protection field on the tray that was covering the horn grafts. After one final inspection for decay or damage, he began to cut them to fit their new owner.

It took another three hours to cut, clean and place all of the grafts properly. At last it was done, and Star Swirl managed to convince himself that the mare’s chances were now more than a fifty-fifty.

Star Swirl didn’t have much left in him at this point. He withdrew the needle from her foreleg, double checked his most recent stitch job and lastly made sure her fresh bandages were as perfect of a fit as they could be.

Exhausted from the exertion, lack of sleep, lack of food, and his own surgery, Star Swirl was able to lay on a pair of pillows on the floor and fall asleep within seconds.

Somewhere in the darkness somepony screamed.

Twilight froze in place. It was the same scream she had been hearing for and hour now while running through the darkened streets of Canterlot. High pitched, terrified, full of agony, and it always cut off suddenly.

She backed into a corner and looked about frantically. One was close. Twilight could feel its presence with her horn but the creature remained visibly hidden. She could feel it watching her.

Holding a hoof to her bleeding leg she concentrated and scanned for it with her horn.

There! A pulse of the dark one’s enchantment. Twilight fired as powerful a burst of freezing magic as she could muster.

The beast was only momentarily revealed as it shrugged off the spell as though it had been cast by a filly fresh from magic kindergarten.

She had just enough time to scream like all the rest as it leapt the distance separating them instantly. Pain unlike any she had ever experienced before coursed through her body as the creature wrapped its whip-like arms around her and sunk spines and stingers deep into her body.

With a final savage twist, the creature ripped Twilight in half.

Twilight tried to jolt upright from her dream but she could not. At first she thought she was still in a part of that awful nightmare. She didn’t recognize any of her surroundings and there was a terrible burning sensation coming from her horn. Her horn. Something wasn’t right with it, but what was it?

Fuzzily, Twilight focused on her horn, trying to dissect what was wrong with it. Her mind reeled at the horrid realization.

She couldn’t sense her own magical field! It was like suddenly finding oneself blind or deaf. On a unicorn’s instinct she panicked which was only made worse by the apparent paralysis she was experiencing from the neck down.

Desperation taking effect, she tried to scream for help but only managed a small choked cry thanks to dehydration and disuse. However, the tiny sound she made was enough to gain the attention of a certain pony.

“Calm yourself child,” came a firm yet gentle tone from somewhere just beyond Twilight’s vision. “All is well,” it said. “You have nothing to fear here, I promise you.”

There was the sound of pouring water as the voice continued. “You have some fight in you dear. Not many a pony could survive what you’ve been through,” the voice sounded a bit amused, and impressed.

Twilight’s eyes moved around in their sockets, surveying what little part of the room they could see.

A match was struck and a candle was lit, adding to the light in the room. “Rest easy,” the voice ordered sternly. “You’ll be able to move again once I allow it,” he said reassuringly. Twilight was now certain the voice belonged to a male, an old male. “I simply did not want a repeat of your previous awakening,” the old voice continued. “You made quite the mess and I had to start over on a lot of difficult work,” he finished.

Twilight struggled to remember what had happened before but her head was still floating and swirling. It was tiring, she wanted to move, take in the necessary information, get oriented. however all she could do was lay there drowsily.

Again she tried to speak, but all that escaped her muzzle was a ragged choke.

“Now lets have none of that,” the old stallion scolded.

The candle light approached the bedside and an old bearded stallion came into view. The edge of a cup was put to her lips and she gladly accepted the water within. “Slowly now, that’s it. You’ve been through a lot, just take it easy,” he encouraged. “You are still quite dehydrated but your voice should return with the water’s aid.”

The liquid was surprisingly cold and mildly bitter, but Twilight didn’t care. This was the finest water she had ever tasted.

She felt a hoof on her forehead. “Good, no sign of a fever,” he said with a smile. “The worst should be behind you at last,” the old pony said as he turned away.

Twilight managed to swallow the last of the water and then squeak out a barely audible “Thank you.”

The pony froze in his tracks as if rooted in place by the words. Without turning to face her he simply said. “Do not thank me yet child, for there is much more pain to come. I fear I shall be powerless to stop it,” he admitted solemnly.

She tried to see him clearly, but Twilight’s eyes remained fuzzy as she blinked. The room was spinning slightly as well, but over time a warm, reassuring feeling grew within her.

Star Swirl continued to watch her from the corner of his eye. “The water is doing its job nicely,” he thought to himself. “She is ready.”

Twilight’s eyes slowly began to come into focus and she looked on in astonishment as the pony before her turned to face her. She knew that face. She had seen it a hundred times in history books and ancient tomes. Standing before her was the one and only Star Swirl The Bearded.

That was impossible... Right?

Star Swirl noted the recognition in the mare’s eyes and spent a moment to ponder it. He was about to ask her his first question but the mare beat him to the punch.

“Star Swirl?!” she choked out loudly. “But how? How did you get here? how could you have come?” she asked insistently.

The stallion pulled a potion off the nearby table and once again approached the bed. “I have done nothing and gone nowhere,” he said as a matter-of-factly. “It was you who came to me, and in a matter of great distress I might add,” he looked at her analytically.

“What happened, exactly?” Twilight asked, continuing to bombard Star Swirl with questions. Her mind was still jumbled badly it kept wandering off topic. She couldn’t tell the difference between her recent nightmares and her recent memories. Something else was bothering her but she couldn’t seem to put her hoof on it. If only her friends were here, they could help.

Star Swirl moved to her side and sat atop a pillow and started to mix the contents of the small bottle. “As the only available witness to your past I was hoping you could tell me,” he said as the liquid in the container began to glow blue.

Twilight closed her eyes in thought, her brow furrowing slightly. “What had happened?” She asked herself. “Why am I so badly hurt?” The more she thought, the more questions seemed to pop up. “Where are my friends?!” She blurted out, not realizing it.

Star Swirl looked surprised at this sudden outburst. “I am sorry my dear but you are the only one who exited the corridor at this end,” he said gravely.

“But that can’t be! They were all right there with me!” She sobbed. “I… I had them all with me. I saved them. I saved them!” She screamed through the tears.

Twilight’s mind exploded with everything it had been holding back in a vain attempt at maintaining her sanity. The party, the Phage, Celestia, Pinkie, and him. The creature responsible for it all. So much pain and death. she simply couldn’t handle it.

A gentle hoof was placed on her cheek and a voice that was calmer than anypony could have managed at such a time reached across the sea of horror that threatened to drown her.

“Come back. Come back to me now. Come back and be rid of that nightmare I see within you,” he said slowly.

Her eyes shot open at the mention of a nightmare and she shivered slightly. Star Swirl waited for her to calm and for her eyes to finally meet his before asking the question he knew would upset her again. There could be no doubt now, she remembered everything.

“What happened?”

Her lips quivered and her voice was ragged from the crying.

“The world ended.”

Author's Notes:

Conrad: Well then this took a lot longer than it was supposed to. We've been running into a few computer problems but our goal is to get a few more chapters out in the coming weeks. Many thanks to the loyal readers!