Surface of the Sun, Part 9 (The Spells of Starswirl)

>Today, you decided, has been a fairly average day.
"CEEEEEEELEEEEEEEEESTIIIIIIIIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"
>You sprint down the corridor, your midnight black tormentor hot on your heels.
>"WE'LL SHOW YOU CRAZY!"
"Shitshitshitshit"
>You round the corner as Luna storms after you.
>All YOU WANTED TO DO WAS NAP!
>No rest for the wicked, you supposed.
>You practically slide into Celestia's throne room, Luna hot on your heels.
"PRINCESS!"
>Surprisingly enough, Celestia appears to be alone.
>No guards flank her, no petitioners swarm the throne room.
>Only the Princess of the Sun, sitting on her throne and holding a black tome.
>The sight pulls you up short.
>The book, embroidered with silver, arrests your attention immediately.
>It burns in your vision, almost causing you...pain to view it.
>A faint burning sensation fills your eyes, and you feel compelled to approach it, to-
>"TIA!"
>Celestia looks up, shocked, and the book appears to vanish.
>You hear the clatter of hooves behind you, and gulp as Luna looms over you.
>"Sister? Anonymous? What is it?"
"...I..uh...I'm..."
>"He dared call us mad!"
>Celestia eyes the both of you, her eyebrow slowly rising.
>"...To your face?"
>Luna falters.
>"Well...n-no, but-"
>"Were you dreamwalking?"
>"Sister, that-"
>"Lulu, we have discussed this. You've -just- returned. The dreams of ponies are not going to be quite...friendly."
>"But-"
>"Sister, please. Not now. We...have work to do today, remember?"
>Luna bites her tongue, giving you an irritated glare before looking at Celestia.
>"The Archives?"
>The Sun Princess nods.
>"The Archives."
"...Archives?"
>Both sisters look at you. Celestia speaks.
>"The Archives of Starswirl the Bearded."

>You and Luna glare at each other occasionally as you both march behind Celestia, who just rolls her eyes at the both of you.
>"I swear, you are -both- such children!"
"She started it."
>"I DID NO-"
>"Luna. Please."
>She falls silent, grumbling and shooting you dirty looks.
>You blow her a raspberry and enjoy the sight of lip twitching in what could be a smile.
>Or a pained grimace. You aren't sure.
"So...who's library is this again?"
>Celestia looks at you, incredulous.
>"Starswirl the Bearded, Anonymous."
"...That costume that Twi wears every year on Halloween?"
>Celestia blinks.
>"...Anonymous. You really don't know who Starswirl the Bearded is?"
"...No?"
>Celestia frowns.
>"The father of the Amniomorphic Spell? One of the greatest heroes of Equestrian history? Luna's-"
>She catches herself, glancing at her sister, who is giving Celestia the most horrifying death glare you have ever seen.
"Luna's...?"
>Luna snorts and looks away.
>"There is no story to tell."
"Ooookaaay...So...is there a reason that...you know...-we- have to...what exactly are we doing with the Archives?"
>"Organizing them, Anonymous, and curbing any wild spells."
"...Wild...spells?"
>Celestia sighs.
>"The Archives contain some of the most powerful magic ever crafted. Occasionally...the magic gets...loose. It tries to cast itself. As Princesses, it is our duty to put a stop to such and make sure that magic doesn't escape into Equestria proper."
"...And I'm helping because...?"
>"We can't enter the hidden levels of the Archives without you. We need the Royal...'Butler.'"
"What. Why?"
>"Some doors will only open at your touch. After all, who do you think held your office before you?"

"What."
>Celestia lifts an eyebrow and smiles at you.
>"Well...yes. Starswirl the Bearded was your predecessor. One of the greatest ponies to hold that office, though not the first."
"...Wait, he was...how long ago was this?"
>"...You are the first Royal Butler elected to the office in the past 1000 years, Anonymous."
>You glance at Luna.
>Celestia winces, and speaks more quietly.
>"I see...you...already heard that part of the tale, then."
>You glance at Luna, who is still looking away from the both of you.
"...Not all of it, Princess."
>"Well then. Let's make today...a history lesson of a sort, hmm? I'm sure you'd love to hear about the stallion who came before you."
>You continue to look at Luna as the three of you walk.
>The midnight blue alicorn stares sullenly at her hooves, refusing to speak, or even glance in your direction.
>You remember what she told you. She killed your predecessor. She killed -Starswirl-.
"...I think we can save the history lesson, Princess."
>"Yes, it's...not my story to tell, after all."
>The sisters glance at each other, and a silent communication passes between them, in the way it sometimes does between siblings.
>It mostly involves glares. And then...something changes. They both glance at you, and then it's Luna smirking and Celestia glaring.
>You cough.
"...Library?"
>Celestia blinks, turning to focus on you.
>"Oh, yes, Anonymous. Right this way."
>You follow them down the halls of the palace, into the Royal Library, a vast room, practically a museum dedicated to books.
>You detect a little spring in Celestia's step as she approaches, and you grin.
>Twilight had to get her love of books from -somewhere-, after all.

>"And here we are...The Starswirl the Bearded Wing!"
>Celestia sweeps her wings wide to indicate the library, each shelf stacked with thick tomes, a massive hourglass sitting in the center.
>Celestia's voice grows warm with actual joy as she describes the place.
>"Oh Anonymous, Starswirl was a -true- prodigy. All unicorns, as you know, have inherent magical ability, but Starswirl...he didn't just study magic, he learned it. All of it. Magic of every stripe and description. In this wing are tomes on the magic of griffons, time spells, experiments with chaos magic, notes on dark magic, and even cross dimensional spells!"
>You gape at the starry eyed expression of joy on the Princess' face.
>Luna giggles at the both of you and trots deeper into the library.
>"Sister, you always -were- impressed with his spellcrafting."
"...Why wouldn't she be?"
>"Starswirl's true talents were much more impressive."
>Celestia skips past.
>"He wrote her poetry."
>Luna grumbles and shoots her sister a death glare.
>"FANTASTIC poetry, thank you."
"...Is one of my duties writing poetry?"
>Celestia stumbles and almost falls over while Luna giggles.
>"Oh, Anonymous, I'm sure Sister dear would lo-"
>"NO. IT IS NOT ONE OF YOUR ROYAL DUTIES."
>You cringe and cover your ears as Celestia's very own R.C.V. threatens to burst your eardrums.
>Celestia winces.
>"...My apologies, Anonymous. But...no...poetry isn't necessary."
>"Although she would love it."
>"HUSH, LUNA."
>"I can seee your dreeeaaams."
>You cough to interrupt the brewing sisterly scuffle forming.
"SO. RIGHT. ME. WING. WHAT DO?"
>Both sisters stare at you. Celestia looks mortified, and Luna is smirking.
>"Anonymous. Simply...pull out a book."

>You raise an eyebrow and reach out to a book, your fingers brushing the spine of one ancient, dusty tome.
>A shock travels up your hand, as if you just fingered a live wire, and you wince and withdraw.
>You shake your hand, sucking at your fingers and staring, wide-eyed, as the book begins...glowing.
>Blue light bursts out from the tome, running across the other books in the library, seeping down like oil to trace lines in the floor...in the walls...the ceiling...
>Liquid magic cuts azure lines into the stonework of the room around you and the two Princesses.
>For their part, they flank you, back to back, horns pointed outward at the room as the magic begins to...change it.
>The room seems to...expand. You can't quite place it, but what was once a quiet wing of a library has become something...more.
>Shelves run up and down the room in great rows, some protruding from the walls. Above you, shelves hang down like the great, book-laden teeth of a massive animal.
>There is a loud CRUNCH of cracking stone as the room just...grows, stone flowing out of the magic-etched lines like blood from a wound, shaping itself like clay into new rooms, new bookends, and new levels until the Starswirl the Bearded 'wing' has become a library in it's own right.
>The sisters glance around at the eldritch library unfolding itself around you, their horns sparking with light.
>Celestia looks to you first.
>"Anonymous...here we must take great care. Starswirl bound his knowledge in a demiplane tied to the castle's interior. In this place, time has no meaning. What he has written and cast is as potent as it was the day of it's creation."
>"So don't. Touch. Anything."
>"Uh."

>You freeze, while both sisters slooooowly turn to look at you.
"..."
>"..."
>"..."
"...This...isn't what it looks like?"
>"...Damnit, Anon."
"I WAS CURIOUS!"
>They glare at you, or more specifically, your fingers.
>The fingers that are currently halfway through opening one of the glowing tomes.
>Celestia starts to open her mouth to respond, when suddenly, her eyes become glazed and unfocused.
>"...Curious..."
>Without another word, her horn ignites and she starts pulling books off the shelves, opening them and flipping through the pages in a frenzy while Luna looks on.
>"Sister!?"
"Whoa, Celestia, calm down!"
>Celestia immediately freezes, her posture going slack and her eyes drooping.
>"...Calm. I'm calm, Anon. No reason not to be, right?"
>Celestia idles and looks at her hooves.
"O...kay..well-"
>"Anon, shut up!"
>Luna glares at you and walks over to examine her sister, waving her hoof in front of her face.
>Celestia gives her a dazed smile and tries to follow the hoof with her eyes. She fails.
>"Obviously, your stupidity triggered a spell, so-"
"LUNA, SERIOUSLY, STOP GETTING MAD AT ME, IT WAS AN ACCIDENT."
>"Anon, no! You-"
>Her eyes widen, and her pupils shrink to pinpricks.
>Her lip curls as she starts...is she -growling- at you?
"Luna...Princess...uh...I don't know wh-"
>"YOU. IDIOT. TAKE YOUR HAND OFF THE FAUST-DAMNED BOOK."
"Wh-"
>You gasp as midnight blue magic wraps around you tight enough to constrict your chest.
>"STOP. SAYING. WORDS. YOU. DIM.WITTED. APE."
>She punctuates each word by slamming you against the book case hard enough to rattle your skull.
>Celestia calmly watches the proceedings, a pleased smile on her face.
>You yelp as Luna drags you to her.

>You have time to realize a few things as you're dragged through the air towards a fuming God-Princess.
>First, most importantly, you are probably going to die.
>Second, you're starting to realize that the chance of impending death seems to come with your job's territory. It's somewhat fitting that you'll die at the same hoof who killed your predecessor in his library, in a grim sort of way.
>Third, the 'library' is fucking HUGE. As you're dragged through the air, you can't help but notice the vaulted ceiling of the place, the sheer SIZE.
>It's like you're looking at another palac-OH GOD YOU'RE GOING TO FUCKING DIE.
>You slam into the floor with a rough 'thump', the impact jarring you and knocking the book free of your hands.
>Immediately, both alicorns freeze. Luna, midway through bringing her hoof down on your skull, sighs in relief and gently brings her hoof down to the stone.
>Celestia shakily gets to all four hooves, blinking rapidly and scowling.
>"I...-hate- that spell."
"What was that?"
>Luna answers.
>"...An emotional manipulator. Starswirl was experimenting with...altering minds in his last few...spellcraftings."
"Well sounds like he succeeded."
>Luna is quiet.
>"You have no idea."
>You feel something light brush your back as Celestia's wing brushes it down.
>"For a wild spell, that was relatively weak. If we're lucky, nothing's gotten worse since we were last down here, and archiving will be simple!"
"...Celestia...when you say archiving..."
>"It's more like...banishing. We're...dissolving the echoes, or the remnants, of very potent spells.”
“...Wait. So we're...”

Music: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4MjuEqaSWmk
"GHOSTBUSTERS!"
>"...What."
"If there's somethin' strange...in yo neighborhood..."
>Luna and Celestia just shake their heads and keep walking while you sing.
>"Sister, two feet to our left, one of Starswirl's conjurations."
>Something with far too many tentacles was trying to heave itself out of a glowing book.
"...Who ya gon' call?"
>Celestia lashed out with her horn, yellow-white light slamming into the tentacled mass.
>It wails as it's sucked back into the book from whence it crawled, tentacles lashing at the air.
>Luna whirls and fires over your shoulder as you sing, her magic slamming into a snarling, toothed spellbook.
"GHOSTBUSTERS!"
>"ANONYMOUS PLEASE TRY AND FOCUS."
>You hop under a set of rays fired out of a sputtering, hissing spellscroll
"Lemme tell ya somethin'..."
>Another book flies up in front of you and Celestia, and both alicorns go stumbling backwards from it.
>"Sister, that's-"
>"I KNOW, I KNOW, RUN!"
>A burning white temporal rift EXPLODES from the book, and slimy liquid start to spill from it.
>Celestia grabs you with her magic and drags you along away from the edge of the rift, as...
>Is that ectoplasm?
>Yes, what looks like an endless stream of ectoplasm pours out of the burning white rift after you and your two bosses.
>"Anon, run!"
"What the f-"
>"KEEP BUCKING RUNNING!"
>You turn and run with them from the wave of ectoplasm pours after you, almost as if it had a will of its own.
>The sisters round the corner, and as you run, Celestia's magic yanks you behind a shelf as the wave passes you.
>All three of you collapse, panting, as the rift wears itself out.


"Okay...Princesses...what...the fuck...was that?"
>You try to get up on your elbow, still panting from the sprint.
>Celestia answers first.
>"Starswirl's...Rift. It...homes in on thoughts and...tears a hole in reality to try and..."
>She just sighs irritably and waves a hoof.
>"Nevermind, Anonymous. It's a very, very dangerous spell. And thankfully, it set itself off before it could consume everything."
"O...kay. So...wow...this is...oh boy. This is serious shit."
>Celestia looks at you, deadpan.
>"Yes. This is serious shit."
"...Sorry."
>Her lips curve in the tiniest smile.
>"Don't be. I like it when you sing."
>"That's not all she li-"
>"HUSH, LUNA."
>Celestia's face turns a bright, shameful red as Luna giggles and trots towards another set of shelves.
>You raise your eyebrow.
"So...is your sister serious?"
>"Serious about...?"
"Celestia."
>"I have no idea what you're talking about let's get back to archiving."
>Celestia promptly turns and starts lifting spellbooks with her magic.
>You walk beside her, watching as she mutters over the books, casting the occasional spell.
>As she lifts another book, something catches your eye.
"What do we have here..."
>You go to pick it up, almost missing the shocked gasp from Celestia.
>"Anon, no, don't t-oh. Ohoho. What -do- we have here?"
>Golden magic lifts the midnight blue envelope from it's resting place as Celestia flicks it open and pulls out the letter.
>"Let's see. To 'my beloved lady of the moon'...from...Starswirl."
>You snicker.
"Poetry, huh?"
>Celestia's eyes flick over the letter with a growing grin, before her face falls flat.
>Then she looks up at you with...
>You don't like that look.

"...Celestia."
>"Anon~."
>She takes a step toward you, the letter still floating in her magic.
>"Did you write me this~? It's beautiful, Anonymous..."
>ABORT.
"Celestia. Princess. Hello!"
>You snap your fingers next to her ear, and she ignores you.
>"Call me Celly..."
"Somehow I don't think that's a good idea Celestia please set down the letter and let's find your sister oh God please no-"
>"Oh but I insist~."
>You try to take a step back, and find your ability to move...gone.
>In fact, you're moving forward.
>This isn't what you wanted. This isn't what you wanted at all!
>White wings frame your face as magic, old as the sun and hard as iron 'round your limbs, brings your face to hers.
>Brings your lips to hers.
>This...wasn't so bad, actually.
>A wing cradled the back of your head as she kissed you, bowing your face to hers.
>For a moment, it was...bliss. It was like taking the idea of sunshine and rainbows and joy and light and...kissing it.
>Then you felt something tug at your pants.
>NOPE. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
>You flailed your arms uselessly against her magic and her wings as her kiss intensified, went from something loving to something terrifying, something hungry.
>"SISTER."
>Celestia doesn't stop. You find yourself with a compelling need to breathe.
>You feel another tug in a place where there really should not be tugs in any context related to your employer.
>"SISTER, RELEASE HIM."
>There is a flash of midnight blue, and you find yourself on the other side of the room, sprawled on your ass.
>Across from you is a dazed-looking Celestia, the romance letter no longer in her grip.
>"...Luna? Sister? What's wrong? Why are you both looking at me like that?"






>"Anon I am SO SORRY. Please, PLEASE do not be upset. I would never-"
"Princess. For the thousandth time. It's okay. It was the spell."
>"Such a filthy, vile, disgusting creation! I cannot believe Starswirl created it! Hijacking a pony's free will for a means so base, it-"
>"Sister. For the thousandth time. The spell only amplifies feelings and desires that already exist."
>Celestia shoots her sister a death glare.
>"LUNA! HUSH!"
>The night princess continues as if her sister hadn't spoken.
>"If you had come to me, I would have warned you. After all, Starswirl and I exchanged such correspondences quite frequently...but you couldn't resist a chance to peek at my dirty laundry, could you?"
>Celestia's face turns red and she sighs.
>"I'm sorry, sister. I was just..."
"Curious?"
>Celestia glares.
>"Yessss...."
"Didn't you tell ME not to touch anythi-"
>A white wing bops you on the head.
"I'll shut up now, Princess."
>"Thank you, Anonymous."
>"I'm under no such obligation."
>Celestia bops Luna on the snout.
>"..."
>Luna bops her back.
>"..."
>"..."
>Suddenly, a sisterly head bopping war starts to your left.
>You sigh through your nose and just follow them as they bop each other in the library foyer.
>You are too human for this shit.
>You and the two arguing sisters continue deeper into Starswirls' library. To your surprise, there really haven't been any wild spells to be found. Just the occasional dancing boo-
>...Oh God.
"Princesses?"
>They continue bopping each other.
"...Your Majesties?"
>The air temperature swiftly drops as you behold It.
>Books rise and fall, drifting on invisible air currents.
"Girls!?"
>"WHA-Oh."
>"...Oh. Oh dear Faust."

Music:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EluxF0YH8Y
>The royal pony sisters drop each other as they gaze at what waits for you at the center of the library.
>Calling it a spell isn't quite right. It isn't a book, either, or a scroll.
>It simply...is.
>The very air seems to bend and curve to bow to it on it's crumbling podium.
>You can't see it. Not directly. You know without knowing that to do so would invite agony.
>The other magic, the wild spells, those were silly, occasionally scary, but at their core, at their essence, they were magic. Invention and will given form.
>This...this is something different.
>Something not quite -right-.
>Light, sound, matter, all curve towards the anomaly sitting there on the stone pillar it seats itself on, like a throne.
>It's a canker, a sore, a cancer in reality. And it's old. So very, very old.
>"Sister...what...what is this?"
>"...I don't know. I...Starswirl never...before...I..."
>The two alicorns stare directly at it, their jaws gaping.
>"...We have to destroy it, Luna. It's...there's too much power in that weaving, too much magic...how could Starswirl..."
>There is a crackling, and you flinch away from it, covering your eyes.
>Two beams of light spear past you, one golden, the other midnight blue, and collide with the anomaly.
>The anomaly responds. More than responds. It reacts.
>There is a sound that is no sound as the thing flares, tendrils of jagged light that are no color and every color streaking out to defend it.
>Behind you, you hear Celestia cry out in shock and pain as the tendrils streak over your shoulder.
>Luna shouts, more blue magic flaring at the horrendous magical construct.
>You hear the cry, and you feel anger.

>You look up, and look into the heart of the thing.
>You see darkness, and chaos, and time, and magic, and terrible, terrible power put to a twisted purpose.
>And you see a book. A white book with gold-
>Pain flares in your eyes, and you look away.
>Behind you, Luna's cries of rage are growing more and more ragged, and Celestia has ceased to speak at all.
>Flares of alicorn magic slam into the anomaly, and it bats them aside with contemptuous ease.
>You hear the non-sound again, a sound that strains towards being given voice, purpose, but isn't quite there.
>You don't look at the thing again.
>You look around you, you look for a weapon, for something you can use...
>Another book catches your eye. An hourglass is carved into the center, with runes etched into the cover around it.
>It'll have to do.
>You dive for the tome, your fingers closing around it's thick cover even as you feel it burn with fell purpose.
>The hourglass seems to set itself alight at your touch, the runes crawling like spiders over the cover.
>You ignore all of this as you face that dark -thing- on the pedastal.
>The sound has become a voice, now, a pounding un-voice that you feel in your bones.
>You ignore it as you pull back your arm and hurl the spellbook at the anomaly.
>The voice becomes a scream.
>A throaty, feminine scream that issues from a place beyond and below this one.
>The scream rises in pitch, the tendrils of spell-light dancing as your projectile slams into the anomaly.
>Then there is a sound like an eggshell cracking.
>Everything goes white.

>Time passes.
>Eventually, you remember you can breathe.
>You inhale, coughing as dust and ash gets in your lungs.
>The air smells like burned...paper and something else.
>You roll onto your side, still coughing, and take a look at the library around you.
>It's...just a wing.
>The hourglass has returned, and the shelves no longer crowd around an extra dimensional space.
>The books all sit in their shelves, there's no ectoplasm or floating spellbooks or...
>You shudder as you remember that Thing.
>The Thing!
>What happened to it?
>You sit up abruptly, trying to brush off your clothes of ashes.
>Smoldering, blackened pages of paper rain from the ceiling, miraculously not on fire.
"What. The fuck. Happened?"
>"ANON!?"
>You blink.
>That voice...
>Celestia?
>You hear the sound of hooves pounding on tile from the shelf behind you as she races around to the other side.
"Princess? You're okay!?"
>"I'm fine! I'm coming, Anon, don't you worry! Lulu, I found him!"
>You blink. Lulu?
>"'M comin' Tia, wait up!"
>More hooves, faster. But...not as heavy as you're used to hearing. Or as graceful.
>The princesses round the corner, and your heart threatens to stop.
>And then it drops somewhere around your stomach.
>Celestia looks up at you.
>Celestia looks WAAAAAAY up at you.
>She struggles to move her oversized crown out of the way, wearing her golden torque like an oversized necklace.
>"...Whoa...when did you get so...big?"
"..."
>Luna doesn't speak.
>She's busy sucking on her hoof.
>Two Royal Fillies sit on their bums and look up at you.
>You do the only logical thing.
>Scream.
>And then faint.