Archmage: Square One

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Chapter 6 – “One hoof in front of the other”

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Spearhead, despite his gorgeous countenance, was about as cold and unforgiving as the metal his namesake was made out of. I found myself plunged headfirst into some rather confusing and advanced studies about the magic of the night. There was a clear-cut line between what an innocent pony could do with the night’s power, and what I could accomplish. That line was set at about ten percent of the skills available to me, but Spearhead seemed rather intent on shoving the other ninety percent down my throat.

From that fateful day in Luna’s library to today - a whole two weeks later – Spearhead and I had spent every day together. I’d come to resent that gorgeous stallion for his teaching process. He assured me it was the quickest and most efficient way to learn, but I found myself growing more flustered than knowledgeable. Maybe it was just the different way that the magic of the night worked. I was used to using my own strength (limited as it was) to cast the few spells I could.

But the night’s power didn’t come from practice and skill. It came from reverence and openness. While I was pretty damn good at humbling myself, I wasn’t the most open of mares. Stepping back and letting somepony (or something) else take the reins didn’t exactly sit well with me. So while I understood the concept, it was in the practice that I failed.

“Honestly,” Spearhead sighed at me as I failed to cast the seventh shield in about fifteen minutes. “You need to be more open. Relax. Take a breath. Let her in.”

“Easier said than done.” I grumbled at him with a glare, my chest heaving not with exhaustion, but with exasperation. Spearhead was incorrigible in his determination to make me some sort of indomitable expert at shadow magic.

“Well, let’s move on to snares.”

“Again?” I groaned, rolling my eyes. “We covered snares just an hour ago.”

“And you still haven’t cast one that could hold down a feather, let alone some manticore with its sights on your flanks.” Spearhead frowned at me. “Cast it. Now.”

“Fine!” I growled at him, my horn thrumming with dark energy. I watched in defeat as a single tendril of shadow magic wrapped feebly around Spearhead’s hoof, fading away almost as soon as it showed up.

“Again.”

“RRGH.” I grunted with effort, watching as a single shadow pulsed underneath him before fading away.

“Again.”

“You know what?!” I glared at him angrily. “Fuck you. I’m done.” I spun on my hoof, turning towards the door with an indignant flick of my tail.

“Star, get back here.” Spear called after me. I could hear him trotting up to my side, but I ignored him. “Hey, Luna tasked me with teaching you, so I’m teaching you!”

“All you’ve taught me is how to be even more upset with myself than I already am!” I whirled on him, an anger in my eyes the likes of which I hadn’t felt in a long while. He faltered in his steps, but I didn’t. “Something’s clearly wrong with me, in that I can hardly let something else even do my work for me!”

“O-okay. Alright.” Spearhead stopped at last, raising his hooves defensively. “Relax.”

“Rrgh. Just leave me be.” I snarled at him, turning around to the door once more. He didn’t follow this time, and I left unmolested.

Until I bumped into Twilight.

“Well hello there, Star.” Twilight chuckled. I looked up at her with wide eyes, my heart racing all of a sudden. “Having a tough time?”

“You’re back!” I bubbled as I threw my hooves around her neck. Twilight laughed as she returned my exuberant embrace.

“It’s good to be back. I’d missed you in Trottingham.”

“Oh you haven’t the slightest.” I groaned, casting a glance over my shoulder at the room I’d just left.

“Spearhead giving you trouble?” Twilight asked with a slight grin. She nodded back the way she had come, inviting me to walk beside her.

“I don’t know what it is,” I sighed. “I just can’t open up and let her take control… It feels so wrong.”

“Well, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.” Twilight offered, turning us away from the castle proper and out towards the grounds. It seemed she wanted to walk through the hedge maze, as she was sometimes wont to do. I could go for a bit of wandering myself, and there was nopony better to wander with than Twilight. “We just have to overcome this obstacle, one hoof in front of the other like we always have.”

“Right.” I nodded my approval, finding a sense of determination and excitement I’d found lacking in Spear’s presence. He seemed a cruel taskmaster, while Twilight was a kind and compassionate mentor. The contrast between the two was a refreshing change of pace, and I found myself rather giddy at Twilight’s return.

“So how was your time in Trottingham?” I asked, more out of curiosity than anything.

“Later, Star. Right now we need to focus on your shadow magic.” Twilight chided, nudging my flank with hers. I blushed a little, nodding as the hedge maze’s entrance neared.

“Right… Well, I just… I feel some difficulty in opening up to her. The night, that is…”

“That’s curious.” Twilight tapped her lower lip in thought. “I had you pegged as an air-type, and I figured loosing yourself to the whims of another would come as almost second nature to you by now.”

“Air type?” I frowned up at her. “What do you mean by air-type?”

“Well,” Twilight smiled as we entered the hedge maze proper. I felt a sense of security in the leafy hedges, especially with Twilight back by my side. It was nice to know she was back from Trottingham. It meant I wouldn’t have to suffer through Spear’s tutelage any more. “Everypony has an element they identify with. For instance, Spear is an earth-type. He’s very rooted in tradition, and having anything done other than his way is like… Well, it’s like pulling a tree from the ground.”

“Oh I see.” I had heard of the elements and their attributes in passing before, most specifically when dealing with spell-forms. “So you mean everypony’s personality aligns itself with an element?”

“Or an element is easiest identified by a pony’s personality, yes.” Twilight nodded. “Take for instance myself. I’m a water-type. Can you guess why?”

“Umm…” I thought on it for a few moments, thinking about how Twilight best identified with water. “Well, you’re logical. You take the easiest route, step by step.”

“Uh huh.”

“It seems you wear your problems down little by little, searching for weaknesses, or in some cases, your own strengths in order to overcome an obstacle.”

“Keep going.”

“And… You don’t seem to sweat the details. You kind of let things run their course.”

“Good. That’s a good observation, Star. Now can you see how Spear’s an earth-type?” Twilight and I were now thoroughly lost in the hedge maze, having turned too many times for me to keep track of where we were. But that was half the fun, was getting so lost you had to think to find your way back.

“Well,” I furrowed my brow once more in thought. “He’s awfully damn stubborn, for one.”

“True,”

“And he can’t seem to understand me when I explain my problems to him.”

“Good…”

“He just does things on his own terms, without asking or consulting me, or how I feel.”

“Perfect. You see, the elements in and of themselves are opposed to one another. I had you pegged for an air type, and while I might not have been entirely wrong, I don’t think I got it right either.” She turned another corner before coming to a pause. I looked up at her curiously, but her horn was already glowing.

“Woah!” I gasped, feeling the earth beneath my hooves shift and move. Twilight just laid a wing across my back, keeping me close to her side. The hedges all around us began to shift and move, rumbling over the ground with a grating, intense sound. If I wasn’t with Twilight, I’d have thought the world was coming to an end. Instead, Twilight just kept me close until she finished doing whatever it was she was doing.

“You see,” Twilight smiled as the hedges came to a stop once more. We stood at an intersection of four corridors, each of them looking wildly unfamiliar to me. “I think you’re an air type because of your scatterbrained personality. But you can get tripped up on minor details, and you have your quirks, for the better or the worse.” Twilight spread her wings, flapping up above the level of the hedge maze.

“See if you can loose yourself into the greater flow of things, Star. Let go, and you’ll find yourself home before you know it.”

“Twilight?” I looked up at her, but she just shot me another wink before flapping off.

I was alone.

And oh holy fuck was I lost. Panic and vertigo began to set in as I spun about, looking down each corridor of leaves and grass. None of these looked like the way we had came, and to make matters worse, I wasn’t paying much attention to our route in the first place. This wasn’t like our usual hedge maze walks, where we’d get lost and find our way back. Whenever we did that, there was always the thought that ‘yeah, we got here, so there’s a way to get back.’

But for all I knew, I was trapped in a loop with no way out. Twilight had obviously re-arranged the hedge maze. She could have trapped me.

No, Twilight would never do that…

Would she?

Only one way to find out. I ground an X into the grass at my hooves, tearing up enough to expose the dark dirt underneath. Then, keeping one wall to my left, I used the tried and tested trick of getting out of mazes. If I followed the left edge, I would eventually find my way out of the maze, no matter how long it took me. So I focused on the left edge, taking every available left turn, following it without fail. Every twist, turn, and bend brought a new corridor of leaves to me, but that didn’t matter. I just had to find my way out of the maze.

Okay, what in Tartarus was the deal? There was no way the maze was this big before. It just filled about a quarter of the entire Canterlot Castle lawns. It was a small thing compared to the wheat mazes they used to make outside of Trottingham. Those things were huge, intricate pieces of agricultural prowess that could take hours to complete. This thing could be walked around in twenty minutes if one were going slow.

One hour had passed, and I had made no headway. What’s worse, I hadn’t come across my mark either. Each new intersection and long stretch made me worry more and more that I had gotten truly, miserably lost. It also made me certain that the exit was just around the next bend, just one more turn, one more long stretch…

I almost tripped over the damn thing. My X sat on the ground, just at the intersection of four different paths. I frowned at it intensely. It was mocking me.

“Fine. If the left won’t work, let’s do the right.” I looked up to the sky once more, frowning at the steadily-darkening horizon. I kept to the right side this time, following each turn.

At least, I would have, if the second turn didn’t deposit me right at the same intersection I had marked. “Oh what the fuck.” I groaned, frowning at the mark in the grass. I turned around, and there it was again. The same intersection, same mark.

“Twilight, I fucking hate you sometimes.” I sighed, looking to my left and right as another two intersections appeared seemingly out of nowhere, both of them marked with my X. Each way I turned, there was a mark on the ground, another intersection. I sat on my haunches, my mind whirling at the spatial implications. Twilight had to have done more than just re-arrange the maze. She must have enchanted the damn thing. Or she was actively changing it while I sat here, frustrated and angry.

I remembered her words.

’See if you can loose yourself into the greater flow of things, Star. Let go, and you’ll find yourself home before you know it.’

“Haah…” I drew a deep breath in through my nose and let it out of my mouth before stepping forwards. I stepped over my X and turned right, and then left again. I took three rights followed by a left, one more right, two lefts, another right…

And I was at the exit. The fountain that sat at the entrance bubbled happily, and I could see the entrance of the castle just across the twilit castle lawn. And Twilight, sitting on a stone bench with her back turned to me.

“Okay,” I joined her on the bench. “So if I learn to just let go, I can get out of most any situation.”

“But you’re also awfully logical when you need to be, and level-headed to boot.” Twilight closed the book she had been reading and gestured towards another nearby fountain. “You’ve got characteristics of two different elements, both air and water.”

“Is that unusual?”

“Uncommon, but not rare.” Twilight smiled and slid off the bench, indicating I should follow with a tilt of her head. “I’ve taught several unicorns in the past who are mixtures. Ooh, I remember one; he was both an earth and fire type. He was so headstrong and stubborn he’d argue with anyone who didn’t agree with his point of view. That being said, he was adamant when he needed to be, and passionate about what he believed in.” Twilight slowed her pace, her gaze going off somewhere else. I recognized it from our time together as her recalling a memory. She did it quite often. When you were over three thousand years old, I supposed you had a lot to remember.

“He made a fine commander of the guard.” Twilight surmised, picking the pace back up. “But anyways. I’m saying there are ponies out there who embody several elements at once. For instance, you’re calm and level-headed like a water-type, though you can be caught up in the details, which tends to throw you off of your flow. Furthermore, you’re prone to spacing out, and you can very easily get distracted. But that’s kind of your forte. When you let go and stop focusing, you tend to get things done one way or another.”

“I follow.” I sighed, plodding up the steps to the castle. “I must be a hoof-full to teach.”

“Not nearly as much as some.” Twilight chuckled. “Just different. I’ve never had the pleasure of teaching one like yourself.”

“So I guess you could say I’m your first?” I grinned up at Twilight. She returned the look and nudged my flank.

“I missed you, Star. You always know how to make me smile.” At Twilight’s admittance of longing, I blushed. Just knowing anypony had missed me was enough, but this was Twilight. A princess. I felt more entitled than I deserved. But a dark though crossed my mind, quickly putting a damper on my mood. Rather than let it stretch on, I decided to voice my concern.

“… What was going on in Trottingham?” Ever since emerging from the maze, I’d been dying to ask Twilight this all-important question. I had suffered quite a bit in the two weeks she’d been gone, and I was worried for my hometown. Twilight closed her eyes with a soft sigh, slowing her walk quite a bit. I mirrored her, knowing that this meant we’d be in for a long discussion. Twilight seldom shared much about her life or obligations with me, so the fact that she was about to open up had me excited.

“It’s an awfully complicated matter of magic, I’m afraid… I’m scared to reduce it to simple terms you could understand.” Twilight started, choosing her words carefully. “Let’s just say a very old and dangerous magic has resurfaced. It’s one that I’ve only met once, when I was very, very young. It was such a blast from the past, I found myself stumped for about an entire week.”

Twilight? Stumped? There was something new. She was always so calm and collected. Whenever I had a question about anything magic-related, she had the answer in a heartbeat. The fact that she’d be caught up on anything for a week had me worried.

“But everything’s safe, isn’t it?”

“It ought to be.” Twilight nodded. “Though I did have to resort to some… Extreme measures.”

“Such as…?”

“Well, I had to put a shield up blocking the entire timberwolf territory from Equestria and the Crystal Kingdom.”

I stopped, my jaw hanging open.

“What?” Twilight teased.

“That’s… That border is like, a hundred miles long!”

“You wonder why I was gone for two weeks.” Twilight winked at me, turning to continue our slow walk. I trotted a bit to catch up, still trying to comprehend a shield even a mile wide, let alone a hundred. “I don’t know the cause or the source of the magic, so I took the high road and locked the entire forest off. We’re safe from whatever threat is in those woods, but that threat is still there, behind that barrier.” Twilight’s expression turned dark. “I’d like to know what it is exactly. It’s got me more worried than I’d care to admit.”

“So, Trottingham is safe?”

“Yes it is.” Twilight nodded to me, with yet another smile. “And your parents say hello.”

“You spoke to mom and dad?” I perked up, a helpless smile crossing my lips.

“I did indeed. They’re very proud of you, Star. And truth be told, so am I.”

“You are?”

“Of course I am.” Twilight ruffled my mane playfully. “You’ve advanced admirably since becoming my student. What’s more, you give me something to do. I’ve been a little bored lately, so making books for you and thinking out solutions to your problems keeps me occupied. Thankfully so.”

“Well I don’t want to be a burden.” I blushed, feeling quite a bit more self-conscious.

“You’re not a burden, Star.” Twilight nudged me again. “And don’t let anypony tell you otherwise. You’re a blessing. And a good friend to have.”

The praise was making me melt. I felt like a stuttering young schoolfilly being proposed by her first awkward high school coltfriend. Twilight laid a wing over my back as we came to a stop in front of her quarters.

“I’m proud of how far you’ve come, Star. And I know you’re destined to do great things.” At the mention of the word destiny, I regained my sanity. I frowned up at Twilight.

“About destiny… Did you hear that prophecy about me?”

“I did indeed.” Twilight’s face turned from a smile to a frown in half a moment and she leaned in to me. “Star, I promise you, we’re going to have a nice, long discussion about this prophecy. But not right now. I’ve been away from Luna for far too long, and I’m in dire need of… Well, to put it bluntly, a skilled tongue and a few dozen orgasms.” She blushed as we devolved into a small fit of giggles. My fears were allayed as Twilight straightened up, ruffling her wings a little.

“I will read into this prophecy some more, and then I promise I’ll do everything in my power to either tell you about it, or prepare you for what’s to come.” She laid a hoof on her breast, catching my eyes with hers. “This I swear to you.”

“Thank you.” I knew a promise from a princess was nothing to be taken lightly. I smiled up at Twilight, feeling radiant for all the praise and attention she’d given me today. “I do appreciate it.”

“Good night, Star. I’ll see you tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow morning.” I nodded to Twilight firmly. “Good night, Twilight.” At that, she slipped into her quarters, leaving me alone in the castle. I stood there for a few moments, trying hard to reconcile all that had happened in the past six hours. Twilight’s return from Trottingham, learning what sort of element I was, getting out of the maze, and oh bucking stars the praise!

I didn’t walk so much as floated home, up the stairs, and into my bed. When I laid my tired muscles down, they responded in kind by carrying me off to a deep, peaceful sleep. I didn’t dream that night.

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The following morning was overcast and dreary, but I rather liked those days. They usually meant heavy rains, which were perfect for staying in and getting plenty of reading done. Even if I didn’t feel like staying in, the rain was always cool and fresh in Canterlot, and I did love taking long, wet walks followed by a warm shower and a good, hard mug of cider. Today, though, I opted for an umbrella and galoshes to make my way to the castle. I had promised Twilight I would meet her that morning.

Thankfully, the rain had only just begun to fall as I arrived at the castle. The first few substantial drops chased me up the steps and into the castle, where I was told Twilight would meet me after her meeting with the captain of the guard was over. I wasn’t unused to waiting for Twilight to finish her meetings, or even leaving me in the middle of a lesson for one important matter or another. There had been several days our lessons had been cancelled outright because of important goings on. This was no different.

So as I found myself outside of the council chamber, waiting patiently for Twilight to emerge, I couldn’t help but catch the faintest whisper of conversation. The council chamber doors were both heavy banded oak, and enchanted so as not to let any sound out. Yet here I was, hearing whispers of some conversation being carried to my ears.

Upon closer inspection of the doors, I realized one of them had been left cracked open by the slightest amount. ’The doors aren’t engaged, so neither is the spell! I can eavesdrop!’ I hated myself for it, but eavesdropping was one of my nasty habits. I’d gotten in trouble with the parents for spoiling a few birthday surprises as well as one particularly important gift of a book collection when I was younger, and what few friends I had in Trottingham quickly learned not to share any gossip about me while I was anywhere nearby.

This was juicy, though. I could get an insight into Twilight’s life outside of her instructing me for once! I surreptitiously made my way to the crack, placing my ear almost against it to listen as best I could. I could only catch stray words and portions of sentences.

“… -reat is real! They’re gr-… Never in all my years have I-“

“-elax, it’s fine. Sh-“

“That’s not right at- … -vry bit as much a right as we do to-“

“…-ater. I have to-“

“Fine. Just don’t expect me to-…” I gasped as hooffalls came closer to the door. Backing away, I tried my best to appear innocent and bored, looking disinterestedly at one of the myriad of paintings adorning the walls of the castle. As soon as I took up my position, the doors opened, and everypony froze.

Twilight, Luna, and Celestia stood at the fore, and behind them I thought I saw quite a few other ponies, chiefly guards and a few other unicorns that looked rather important.

“Star. Good morning.” Twilight forced a smile onto her face as she and the rest of her entourage paused between the heavy oak doors. “Have you been waiting long?”

“I just arrived.” I managed a smile of my own, praying the lie took. “I’m sorry; I hope I’m not interrupting anything…?”

“Not at all.” Luna shot a quick glance at everypony else in the chamber behind her. I tried hard to ignore the fact that all three mother-bucking princesses stood right in front of me. I’d like to think I succeeded, but the way everypony was looking at me like I were some sort of zombie had me worried. I shuffled my hooves, hoping against hope somepony said something soon.

“Well. That was a good budget meeting.” Twilight cleared her throat, glancing at the group behind her. “We’ll meet again next week?”

“Certainly.” Celestia nodded with a smile. “Have a good day, Twilight. Sister.”

“Good day, Celestia.” Twilight gave Celestia a brief hug before smiling down at me. “Come on, Star. We have a lot of ground to cover today.”

“We do?” I blinked at Twilight as I was hastily and rather unceremoniously shuttled down the hall and away from the most powerful figures in Equestrian politics. I looked back at Celestia and Luna, and indeed everypony else. They were watching me go.

It felt not unlike I was trailing a shadow. Twilight was silent, and the snips of conversation I’d heard had me worried. When we were well out of earshot of the others, I found my voice. Slipping up to Twilight’s side, I spoke softly.

“That wasn’t a budget meeting, was it?”

“You don’t miss a thing, do you?” Twilight chuckled, nudging me gently. “Let’s chat when we get to my office.” At least she wasn’t denying me, and it sounded almost as if I was about to get some answers. Rather than fret over it, I followed Twilight to the East wing, and her office. “Tea?”

“No, thanks…” I shook my head, though I gestured with a hoof. “Don’t let me stop you, though.”

“It’s been a trying morning, so you’ll have to forgive me.” Twilight set about preparing some tea, and I patiently waited for my chance to speak. When Twilight had poured herself a steaming cup and sat at the table, I was finally able to speak.

“So what were you talking about? It involved me, didn’t it?”

“It did indeed.” Twilight nodded, sipping her tea calmly. “But allow me to assure you, it’s not immediately important. There will come a time when the Farseers and the princesses, myself included, may very well need your help. But that’s day will not come for a while now. We have a long time to prepare you.”

“Prepare me?” I swallowed. “Prepare me for what?”

“For your destiny.” Twilight looked to me with a serious expression. She held my eyes in hers, both of us locked in an iron staring contest. When she spoke next, it was with all the seriousness I felt she could muster. “I’ve never cared much for the words of prophecy, as they’ve influenced my life for the worse. If I’d have paid less heed to the whispers of the future, my life would have been quite a bit more ideal. Don’t get me wrong, I’m thankful for what I have, but I still dislike that prophecy laid my path out for me before I had walked it.

“You understand the dangers of a prophecy that goes unfulfilled. Indeed, the prophecy centered around you is very pivotal; it could easily destroy many things. But I urge you, Star. Do not fret about it. The more you know about your future, the more you’re going to impact it. You might even deny yourself a happy future by learning even the slightest bit about it. So I hope you won’t hold it against me, and indeed everypony else, when we deny you your own prophecy.”

“But…” I felt the heat of anger rise up inside of me. “But I can’t just deny my future. Twilight, I have to know what it says about me…”

“I know how you feel.” Twilight’s frown intensified. “It’s a very complex matter, though. I don’t expect you to fully understand, either. But take it from somepony who’s been down that road, Star. It’s better that you don’t know.”

“How did you deal with it?” I asked, feeling the tears well up in my eyes. “Your prophecy, the one about you becoming a princess…”

“I had a lot of help.” Twilight said quietly. “And I had the love of somepony wonderful. But trust me, this prophecy isn’t about you becoming a princess, or living forever, or uncovering a library…” Twilight shook her head and sighed. “It’s a great deal more important than that.”

“What? How?” I was shocked. More important than the Valley of Knowledge and Twilight herself? “Twilight, you can’t just tell me my prophecy is more important than… Than… Than you! What is it?”

“I already told you, Star.” Twilight met my eyes again. “I’m not going to tell you your prophecy. Doing so puts us all at risk. This isn’t just for your benefit; it’s for mine and Luna’s as well. Celestia and Cadance as well.”

“WHAT?!” I sputtered. “How does my prophecy revolve around you? Am I a threat to you?”

“I’ve already said too much, Star!” Twilight snapped, glowering at me as she rose to all four hooves. I felt flattened under her gaze, forced to cower underneath her. She was even more intimidating than Luna in that moment, and that was saying something. “Continue pressing the matter, and I’ll have no choice but to remove you from my presence!”

“Okay.” I squeaked, my eyes wide. “I just… I just want to know more.”

“And you will.” Twilight calmed down, her face changing from stone cold to compassionate smoothly. “In time. I promise you, Star, all will be made clear. We just need to put one hoof in front of the other. Meanwhile, Celestia, Luna and I are going to do everything we can to prepare you for what’s to come.”

“How?” I felt the tears break free, streaming down my face. “What do I need to do?”

“Nothing that you haven’t been already.” Twilight smiled, reaching out to gingerly cup my chin. “Do you remember what the night said to you the first night you met? That your thirst for knowledge would be your saving grace?”

“I do…”

“She was correct.” Twilight released my chin, hovering a small selection of books forward. “Continue learning, Star. Develop yourself. Before you know it, your destiny will become clear.”

I wiped my eyes and looked to the books. I did enjoy learning immensely, and I’d been more happy under Twilight’s diligence than I could ever remember. While not knowing my own future was infuriating to no degree, I was glad that all I had to do to reach that point was continue learning. I glanced up at Twilight before taking a book on elemental theory. Given yesterday’s lesson, I figured it’d be as good a place as any to start.

Not to mention I was feeling a fire in my gut right then. I wasn’t sure if it was possibly to embody three elements, but I certainly felt like I could burn something to ashes just about then.

“One hoof in front of the other, eh?” I flipped the book open, giving Twilight a brave smile. “In we go.”