“Racing’s so boring. I need something different.” Solara said, tossing her mane in her sister Darkfall’s face. Darkfall opened her mouth to say something, but Solara cut her off. “I don’t need to be the best at something to know that it bores me.” It was as if she could read her sister’s mind. “All we do every day is fly around. We push clouds. Big deal. You know what else could push clouds? Unicorns. Their magic can do everything we do, everything the earth ponies do too, better and faster.”

“You realize complaining to me about it is useless, Solara. Earth ponies grow food, pegasi fly and maintain the weather, and unicorns maintain the heavens. That’s how life works, and how it has always been. Everyone has a role. Why does it sadden you so?” Darkfall went silent. There was that gleam in her sister’s eyes again. It meant something was coming, something big this time. The last time she saw that look was just before a horrible drought when Solara moved all of the rain clouds far away because she didn’t like the “ugliness of black splotches on a blue canvas”. A real helpless romantic.

Darkfall sighed. “Before you do anything drastic, notice this. Magic is not without cost. It takes unicorns energy to use. Doubtless, they could plant and harvest crops much faster than earth ponies, and perhaps control the weather without error, but strength has its limits. If they were tasked with food and weather, they would have no energy left for the sun and moon. We need the night and day, Solara. Without the cycle, there is no life.”

Solara frowned. “What made you think I was going to do anything? I know that day and night are important, I just thought it would be nice to try something… different.” With that, she flew off. Darkfall rolled her eyes. “Someday, big sister, someday you are going to go too far.”

Gold Chisel stood back, wiped the sweat from his brow, and admired his work. Another masterpiece complete. This one a statuette of three small ducks swimming in a pond. He smiled to himself as he went over the details once more. The ripples in the pond were set in the marble such that it seemed as if it would spill if he tipped it, made more realistic by countless hours of, skipping pebbles in the town lake after his studies. The ducks, carved to perfection, from hundreds of mistakes littered in the form of rubble around his floor, seemed as if they would come alive and start quacking. And goodness knows how long he spent making a realistic cattail and reeds from carved marble.

A loud, blaring sound tore him from his marble fantasy, nearly causing him to bump it off of his desk-turned-crafting table. It was time for sunrise and a morning meal. Gold Chisel disassembled his work and hid it in various, inconspicuous corners of the room. The chisel handle could serve as a believable large wooden inkwell at a glance, and the head wouldn’t be noticed in his bag of coins. The marble chips could be hidden with the dust on the windowsill, as it was a while since the room had seen the light of day, and the sculpture itself (which he had decided to call goodwill pond), had to be hidden very carefully. Gold Chisel used the last of his magic to remove a stone tile from beneath his bed, and stored goodwill pond with the rest of his most precious sculptures. “Someday,” he thought, “they will understand.” Nudging the tile back into place with his hooves, Gold Chisel left his room and headed off to the courtyard, exhausted but satisfied.

“Late. Late. Late.” The headmaster marked each of the unicorns passing by with a large, blaring red “LATE” on their foreheads using a crude old quill. “Well, if it isn’t Gold again.” They were on a first name basis by now. “Late again for the sunrise? What if we didn’t have enough energy today to lift the sun by ourselves? What if it stayed night forever? Every unicorn makes a difference.” Gold Chisel had heard this lecture before and rolled his eyes as he accepted his “LATE”, trotting towards the crowd as if he had just woken up from a long sleep.

“Now that everyone’s here, we can begin.” The headmaster levitated a wand, scanning through the audience. The wand went up. “Unicorns, the daybreak verse!” In other words, the boring old poem every unicorn was raised on.

“Night to day, day to night, our chanting to bring back the light. For though we raise the night for sleep, without the sun the earth will weep. Sun shine down, and light the way, and come to us, the break of day.”
The headmaster then surveyed the crowd for a suitable unicorn to lead the daybreak. “Perhaps Gold can lead it this time. He probably doesn’t feel like he participates enough. I’ve heard rumors of how some of the younger unicorns see this as meaningless.”She thought to herself.

Meanwhile, Gold mumbled along with the rest of the unicorns, trying to make himself unseen. It didn’t matter, he was never picked anyway, as he was failing most of his classes, including Studies of Ancient Magicks, which included the spell of daybreak. And so he cursed his luck when the headmaster’s wand chose him, the “lucky” unicorn to hold the honor of bringing forth a new day.

“Here goes nothing…”Gold thought. He stared out the Dawn’s Porch and concentrated on the moon, willing it to go down. Nothing happened. He tried harder, but he was out of magic. His eye darted back and forth to all the students waiting expectantly. “Of all the times I wish I could just disappear…” he thought.

And then the moon dropped an inch. And then another. And slowly but surely, made its way to the bottom of the horizon, where the much larger sun began its rise. His fellow unicorns had joined in by now and the day had begun. But how?

Later that day, Gold reassembled his tools and cleaned his room, taking the utmost care to sweep the marble chips into a dustbin to be deposited outside in the dirt, as opposed to his trash bin. A knock on his door made him jump.

It was the headmaster. He just knew it. Gold shoved the dustbin into a corner and opened his door. Sure enough, Mysticia Spellhorn himself came in.

“There’s something we need to talk about,” Spellhorn said. “Earlier today, I chose you to lead the sunrise…”

“And I led it perfectly, even for my first time as a flunkie. I don’t see what’s wrong here.” Gold said, glancing at his dustbin.

The headmaster sighed. “You’re not the first to try to pull this, Gold. I’ve been here for a long time. There are some unicorns here and there who do not devote their full time to studying magics. These unicorns tend to have worse grades, like yours.”

“What are you getting at?” Gold replied.

“I’m ‘getting at’ this- when I picked you to lead the sunrise, I was unsure about your powers and thought to help you a little by keeping a steady hoof on the moon. But despite your struggling, the moon did not move at all. I was the one who led the sunrise this morning, Gold. You did not have a drop of magic left. Explain this to me now, what were you doing the entire night?”

Gold gave up. “I know this isn’t allowed, but let me start by saying it’s hardly misuse of magic-” Mysticia cut him off. “Magic is not to be used to indulge on personal pleasures. It is a tool and must be respected as such. Since you have admitted to misuse of magic, I am sorry, Gold, but you are asked to leave the School of Mystic Studies. You have until nightfall to gather your belongings.”

“If you would just let me explain,” Gold started, but Mysticia had already left. So this was it. His life was over. Oh well, a life he could never bear the monotony of, the pointlessness of, one that he would never want to live, was over. He could do without it. And yet, Gold felt a small sadness in his heart, perhaps an attachment to his bedroom-turned-workshop, to the school, to even his studies.

Before Gold left, he placed “goodwill pond” at the headmaster’s desk, along a note saying “I am sorry you cannot accept what I really am.” With tears running down his cheeks, he slowly walked away, never to return to the unforgiving stone structure of a school.

Solara punched a cloud with a huff. Sky-clearing duty was so boring. “I wish something would CHANGE ALREADY!” She shouted at nobody in particular. She spied a unicorn sitting by a stream playing with some rocks and did a double take. A unicorn, so far away from their precious “civilization”? She went down to take a closer look.

He was hammering something. A nail-like device, defiling one of the larger rocks in the stream. Perfect, something interesting finally happens. Time to show this scum not to destroy what isn’t his.

Solara divebombed the poor unicorn, who subsequently fell into the water, thrashing. “What did you do THAT for?” the unicorn shouted. “As if I didn’t have enough to worry about, now I have a psychopath Pegasus going around shoving people into streams.”

“Cease your graffiti, criminal, and prepare to be punished by the skyward enforcement!” Solara pointed an accusing hoof. “I witnessed you destroying those rocks myself!”

“Great, another one who doesn’t understand. This. Is. ART. Just CALM DOWN, and take a closer look at what I was really doing.” The unicorn shook himself off and gestured. Upon closer inspection, the rocks bore a striking resemblance to the sunshine. Only halfway finished from the looks of it, but still breathtaking.

“Wasting your time on things like this? You could be using magic for other things. Why not move these clouds for me? It’s supposed to be a sunny day.” Solara stared at what she thought was the stupidest unicorn in the world, with absolutely zero appreciation for art while gesturing to the many clouds causing patchy sunlight all along the stream.

“If I do, will you leave me to my work?” The grumpy unicorn shook his head and the clouds flew off. “There. Now leave me alone-”

“Hello, sister.” Darkfall appeared. “Is this a unicorn? What is a unicorn doing so far from from the others?”

“First of all, my name is not ‘a unicorn’, I am called Gold. Gold Chisel. And I am making art,” Gold gestured towards the rock he had been working on for a little over two hours. “And what’s with the formal tone?”

“Oh she always talks that way, don’t worry about it. She thinks it makes her sound more sophisticated. I, personally, can’t stand formalities. Solara, by the way, and she’s Darkfall.” Solara was pushed aside as Darkfall went in to get a closer look at Gold’s work.

“It’s the sunset,”she whispered, and reached out a hoof to touch it. “So beautiful…”

Solara righted herself, “Ahem, I’m right here, you know. And that’s obviously the sun RISE. Why would anyone even make a sculpture of such a thing everypony sees all the time? I’m sure it would be something to show us non-unicorns something that only they are awake to see, and besides, they cause the sunrise.”

“The unicorns bring about the sunset as well, and you would see more sunrises if you followed a more regular sleep schedule,” Darkfall replied.

Gold, meanwhile, was lost in the conversation. “Well, it’s my sculpture, so regardless of what you two think, I am the one with the final say in what it really is.” The argument stopped and both turned to look at him. “Well then? Which one is it?” They asked in unison.

Gold shook his head, “Actually, I never really thought of it. I just pictured a sun on the horizon when I made this. I suppose it could be either. But haven’t we all had enough of sunrises and sunsets?”

Solara did a somersault in midair. “You’re so lucky. Magic is easy for you. You know how many pegasi have flown to the sun and moved it across the sky? A grand total of zero.”

“If you’re so interested in magic, you are welcome to my textbook.” Gold removed his heavy textbook from his satchel. “I don’t know why I’m still carrying this, as I won’t be needing it anymore, but it’s been enchanted to be completely waterproof and contains a lot of information on Ancient Magicks. Go read yourself blind for all I care.”

“Won’t need it? So you’re a student? You got kicked out of school?” Solara rummaged through his bag for potentially more magical tomes. “Whatcha do to make you get kicked out?”

Gold hovered his chisel and pointed it at his sculpture. “That. It’s all that mattered to me. It’s all that should matter to anyone, and it is enough.” His stomach rumbled, contradicting him immediately. “Though I do wish I had a some food.”

“Shall we make an agrrangement then?” Darkfall flew between Gold and Solara. “I would like to keep this. In exchange, I will provide you with enough food to eat for a week.” She held up one of his earlier sculptures, of an earth pony sleeping under a tree. He could easily let it go.

“Finally, someone who appreciates my work. Very well, I suppose I could part with one masterpiece...” Darkfall squealed (in a sophisticated manner) with delight and replaced her lunch apple in her bag with the figurine. She then dropped the lunch apple into Gold’s bookbag. “Please stay here so I know where to deliver your apples.”

Gold retrieved the apple from his bag and took a bite, returning to his unfinished sculpture while Darkfall flew off to store her newly acquired treasure.

Solara, on the other hand, was poring over the textbook she had opened. “Ancient Magicks differ from modern magicks in that they are much more powerful and not restricted to the same rules.” She read aloud. “What are these rules?”

Gold tossed her a scroll, labeled “the Rules of Magick, Part 1”. “There you go, basic rules about using or failing to use magic. Glad to be rid of them. I don’t need more than a basic levitation spell to create my work.”

“Rule 1: Any magick cast will cost energy, supplied by the caster. Rule 2: Magicks must only be channeled through a unicorn’s horn, as any other conduit may have catastrophic consequences. Rule 3: Level three or above spells will not affect any ponies who do not wish for the spell’s effects… Hey what are levels of spells?”

Gold rolled his eyes. “You won’t be able to cast spells without a horn anyway. Spells are organized in varying levels of power, and thus varying costs of energy. Say we were to assign a cost number to this chisel I’m using. Every second I keep it up costs about ten.”

“Ten what?” Solara interjected.

“Don’t interrupt. Anyway, hypothetically, this costs about ten. If I were to levitate this apple core, which weighs about half of my chisel, it would cost about five. If I were to… spin the core around while holding it, it would cost about seven. Spells have costs, and this limits what you can do with them.” Gold finished his sculpture and stood back proudly. Every detail perfect as always.

“So about how much energy do you have? Enough to lift that boulder?” Solara gestured towards a pony-sized boulder a little ways away.

“Well, I haven’t tested my limits yet, but I could probably lift it for several seconds. I’m not a prodigy or anything though, and ponies rarely have a set limit. Performance depends on many things, such as state of mind, and level of tiredness. For reference, this would be a level two spell- strong levitation, and cost about one thousand.” Gold lifted the boulder and some worms crawled out. Solara squeaked and hid behind him.

“They’re… worms… so… gross…” she whispered. “Get rid of them.” Gold stared at her for a good two seconds and gently set the boulder down, so as to not harm the earthworms. “They’re just worms. You’re the one who told me to lift this in the first place. No need to be afraid.”

“Afraid?! What are you, stupid? I live in the clouds. We don’t have disgusting things like those up there. They just surprised me is all.” Solara turned away. “Anyway, I’m keeping this book. Maybe I’ll bring you something later, living on apples is kind of dull.” She tucked the book into her satchel. “Thanks for the help with the clouds by the way. Hopefully this book will make things less boring around here.”

Solara flew home, mentally marking the location of the dropout student and his pet sunset. Sunrise. Whatever.

Late that night, Darkfall was rudely woken from her sleep. “Sis, wake up. C’mon. Sis.”

“Ugh. Whuzzuh? I wunna sleep, lemme sleep mummy… I mean, what is the meaning of this interruption of my slumb-”

“I found something. In his book.” Solara was standing over the now wide-awake Darkfall.

Darkfall stretched her wings, “I swear, with you for a sister, I may as well give up sleeping and just stay awake the entire night. What is it that is so important that I must be interrupted in this uncustomary time?”

“Look! Here, right in chapter twenty-two!” Solara pulled the large book out and laid it on her sister’s bed with a *whump*.

“It has been ten hours since you last acquired that book, and you have already studied twenty-two chapters of material? Do my ears deceive me? Solara showing the slightest sign of dedication to something?.” Darkfall started reading.

“Not exactly, I just kinda skimmed and skipped all the boring stuff until I found what I wanted! Anyway, you remember that scroll where it said the rules of magick, and how Magicks must be channeled through a unicorn’s horn? And remember how ancient magicks don’t apply to this? Well it turns out there’s a fix for all of our problems!”

“All of YOUR problems, sister dear,” Darkfall was still unhappy from being woken up. “One of the oldest known sources of magic is the Well of Magicka. Just a sip from its waters is enough to completely unlock the potential of any magical or non magical creature. The only creature in history to do so has been granted magick without cost and devoted his life to keeping the well safe from outsiders.”

“We gotta go there! Let’s go find Gold and tell him about it!” Solara jumped off the bed, ready to head for the door.

“Patience, did you even finish reading the section? It goes on to list some dangerous trials to pass-” Solara snatched the book back.

“Three trials are required to grant the favor of the Keeper. These are often performed in groups, as they are exhaustive and companionship helps overcome many mental barriers. Trials have ranged from trivial to life-threatening in difficulty and are picked at random by the Keeper of the well. Upon completion of the three trials, the Keeper will grant any three wishes to the victor(s). These wishes are not restricted to the Rules, and as such can be very dangerous.” Solara smiled. “I’m gonna wish for some water from that well. If it could give the Keeper the ability to grant any wish, it can give me the magic I’ve always wanted! It could give YOU what you’ve always wanted!”

“Well, there is ONE thing I would really like…” Darkfall said, “let’s go find Gold in the morning. He should know more about this.” She nudged the textbook off her bed and set her head down on her pillow.

“You know you won’t be able to sleep til’ I leave the room,” Solara said. “And I’m not leaving anytime soon. C’mon, sis, let’s go now.” There was no response. “Don’t make me harass you.” Solara poked the bundle of sheets that was her sister. “Hey sis, hey sis, hey sis, hey si-” The bundle of sheets exploded outward.

“ENOUGH ALREADY! Let’s go.” Darkfall leered. “You really are insufferable.”

Solara headed for the door. “And besides, this way, you can give him his breakfast early, so there’s no way he can complain!”

It was a monster, come to destroy his work. A monster that looked and sounded very familiar. “HEY YOU! WHAT ARE YOU DOING UP THIS LATE?” Definitely a monster.

Gold watched as Solara and Darkfall invaded the stone house he had set up. “Well, if you must know, I was working on another masterpiece. Force of habit, you see, I had to work in secret for the longest time as it was forbidden to show the slightest bit of interest in what you do.”

“That is horrible, it is unacceptable for a school to have treated you like that.” Darkfall entered the cottage. “Might I inquire where did this cottage come from?”

Gold tapped his horn with a hoof. “I’m not completely inept at magic. All I had to do was sculpt a house out of clay and enlarge it, using about half of my remaining energy. It’s not so much, really, energy regenerates quite quickly over time, and I was just struck with inspiration.”

Darkfall took a look around. “Does that stone bed feel comfortable?”

“Laugh all you want, it’s good for my back and I don’t have anything else. Besides, it’s not like I’m going to sleep much anyways, with all this time on my hands, I’ve been busy.” He gestured to a stone workbench, where a half-finished statue of a soaring Pegasus could be seen. “In any case, what are you two doing here? It’s the middle of the night.”

Solara retrieved the textbook from her bag and set it on the stone bed. “What do you know about this?” she inquired, gesturing at the article about the Well.
Gold paced around the room. “I was half asleep during the time my class went over it, and this lack of sleep really isn’t helping. I remember something along the lines of: some unicorn discovered an incredible source of power and challenged anypony else to pass his trials. In return he promised to grant any three wishes to the victors. Of course, this has come across skepticism, as the amount of energy to make any wish in Equestria would be tremendous. And of course the few believers who tried have all failed so far and died. I don’t even know why it’s in the textbook at all, to be honest. Although it’s only a side note, there’s never been any proof, aside from rumors, of great magical powers or ancient magic.”

“But it can’t hurt to try, right? Do you have any idea where we could start looking?” Solara pawed at the stone floor impatiently.

“I just don’t see why this is so important to you. Rumor has it, though, that the Well will only appear to those with great ambition, in the Cave of Dreams and Nightmares. You’re not planning on going there, are you? The Cave is in the Everfree Forest, and most likely home to more than just the Well. It’s incredibly dangerous, and nopony should ever go risking their life over a rumor.”

“I’m sorry, Gold, but my mind is made up. I am sick of this life. This world needs change, and it will only take one wish to do it.” Solara turned pages of her book until she found a map of Equestria. “Mark the location.”

With a sigh, Gold took the book and tucked it away in his bag. “I can see there’s no reasoning with you. In that case, I am going with you. You don’t have access to any sort of magic at the moment, so I should come in handy. It is only a short walk from here, and I have enough magic left to handle whatever may come up. I hope.”

“Hold one moment. Are you by any chance suggesting one lazy pegasus and a unicorn flunkie attempt what so many others have failed at?” Darkfall flew towards the doorway. “You may as well feed yourselves to a hungry dragon. But of course, I may join you, with the promise of a share of the reward.” She struck what she thought was a sophisticated pose in an attempt to demonstrate her potential usefulness.

Solara grinned and shoved her sister out of her “sophisticated pose”. “Alright, sis, come along. I’ll only need one wish for myself after all.”