The door opened a crack, barely wide enough to see a gray unicorn with a single blue eye. It seemed strange that a horse could grow such a large beard. "Go away. I already paid my tax for this month."
The door glowed faintly as the unicorn moved to stop it, but Golden stuck his hoof into the gap. "Wait. We're not who you think."
Starlight squeezed in just behind him, so they could both look through the opening. That mare clearly didn't care much about his personal space anymore. "Please let us in! Equestria needs your help."
The pressure on Golden's hoof eased. The door swung open a few inches wider. Yet what view he had of the dark space beyond was as repulsive as the old unicorn's property - worn wood, holes in the ceiling, and the shapes of rodents scurrying along the floor. How could anyone live in conditions like that?
"Equestria? Not our beloved king?"
"No." Starlight shook her head once. "An all-powerful monarch doesn't need our help. Equestria does."
The faint glow holding the door closed eased, then vanished completely. "Nopony even calls it Equestria anymore. We're another organ of service to the king, helpless before his will." The door swung open wide. "Come in then, quickly. Whoever you are, I suspect ponies are following. He has eyes everywhere."
Golden stepped in first, spreading out so he could completely block the hallway. If any attacker waited with a weapon, they'd have to stick him before they reached Starlight.
But there was no ambush waiting, nor other creepy monsters his memories of Earth's horror movies might've conjured. Instead, the house transformed before his eyes.
It resembled the same process as Rarity's illusion. The wooden walls warped, the holes in the ceiling filled, and dim shadows transformed to a well-appointed entryway, lit by little glowing crystals. Instead of bare cement, these walls bore heavy tapestries. Most featured two ponies in particular, a pair of towering sisters with sun and moon cutie marks.
No collaborator would treasure these portraits of the old monarchs. Golden relaxed, stepping aside for Starlight to pass. Her eyes went as wide as his, though her excitement was far greater. "That's a comprehensive phantasm! Selective exception with keys for... entry by consent? That's delicate work!"
The unicorn shut the door behind them, bringing several heavy locks across before spinning slowly in place. "You sound quite knowledgeable for a Pegasus. You dabble in runecraft, perhaps?"
This unicorn might as well be a perfect stereotype of what Golden Wind imagined of an old wizard - slightly sunken and thin, with a mane of stark white and a beard almost long enough to touch the floor. He even wore magical robes with various constellation marks stitched into the hem, not a threadbare brown jacket as it looked from outside.
"Oh, right." Starlight flicked her ear, and she transformed too. She got taller, leaner, and her false wings vanished.
Golden did the same, knocking his hoof against the floor until the illusion fell out, and he tossed it back into the saddlebags.
Finally, he could move his wings again! He shook them both out, dislodging a half dozen broken feathers onto the floor. Nowhere in San Palomino was safe enough to do that.
"Well, that's... somewhat more surprising. Starlight Glimmer, at large and crossing the Storm King's conquered lands in secret? You should know, you're a wanted mare. There's a significant bounty for anypony who turns you over to the Stormwatch."
She shrugged. "We need your help, Starswirl. Equestria needs your help."
"I... believe I should make us some tea," he said. "Come, sit down. It will only be a moment."
The rest of Starswirl's shelter proved as luxurious as the entry. Gone was any illusion of some desperate retreat and an elderly unicorn barely surviving. Whatever his age, this creature showed no sign of weakness.
Soon enough, they were gathered in front of a fireplace, with Starlight and Golden sharing a couch opposite the old stallion.
He sipped at the tea, which was an earthy flavor with faint hints of citrus. Not his usual choice, but he was too polite to refuse.
"You're not the first ponies to come to me," he said. "They all ask the same thing: how long until I kill the Storm King? Where's my mighty spell to unmake his wicked domain? If that's why you're here, I'm afraid you'll find only disappointment in my home. I am no invincible spellcaster. Your legends of me are... somewhat exaggerated."
Starlight nodded absently. "I remember. And that isn't why we're here. Few unicorns in Equestria know as well as I do how little one spellcaster can do, believe me."
She set down her glass, levitating a notebook out from inside her pack. "I'm not asking you to overthrow the Storm King. That's a silly question - you would've done it already if you could."
"True." The old unicorn nodded. Were those tears in his eyes? He looked very much like the survivor of some ancient war. Golden would probably look like that, if he had to watch the country he loved be conquered. "Truer than you can imagine. No mortal mage can hope to overpower him. His stolen magic is unassailable. Without an Alicorn, our work is impossible. And if you're going to ask me to help you create one... forget it. Only one mare ever understood that spell."
"No." Starlight flicked through the notebook, then levitated it over to him. "Take a look at this. I've been working on a counterspell for... over a year. But nothing I do makes a dent."
The unicorn caught the notebook in his magic, staring at its contents. His pain vanished, replaced with sudden, intense concentration.
Golden shifted uncomfortably on the small couch. There wasn't quite enough room for two ponies on this, at least not without getting cozy. There were worse fates.
"How did you get this?" Starswirl finally asked. "The Storm Kings stasis rote... I didn't know there were any written copies!"
Good thing you can read that, because I can't.
"I've only had the rote for two weeks. Before then, I had to work with a sample." She lifted something else from her bag: a chunk of dark rock. It shimmered faintly green where it caught the firelight. "The Elements found it during that raid with Discord last year."
Starswirl set the notebook down on the table in front of him. "I thought they failed. Hence, they were paraded through the streets in chains, getting thrown down into a dark prison..."
"They were," Starlight said. "But Rarity memorized it. And my friend here - he rescued the Elements. Not quite two weeks ago, right?"
He nodded eagerly. At least this part of their conversation made sense. Rescues and secret missions he could talk about. "I don't think there will be a Stormgate for much longer. We started a riot on our way out. Pretty sure the ponies won."
Starswirl lifted the notebook again, flicking through a few pages. "You believe I can solve what you couldn't? Weren't you Princess Twilight's apprentice? You don't need me."
Starlight looked away. Her ears pressed flat as her voice became more timid. "This is a careful spellcasting kind of problem. Like you said, the Storm King's magic is way stronger than an ordinary pony's. But spells have weaknesses, right? It just takes a pony with the right eye to notice. That was true of Twilight, but not me."
Starswirl stood, shoving the notebook back towards her. "I've already tried, and already failed. The Storm King is mightier than any magic I wield. If I join with your rebellion, I'll only earn another place in one of his prisons, or worse."
"You can't give up!" Starlight protested. "Not you! Starswirl, the stallion everypony studies in magical kindergarten? The one who protected Equestria during the dragon invasion? Who invented the amniomorphic spell?"
The old stallion shook his head again. His home might not be a disgusting shack full of mold and mice, but he almost looked worn down enough to live in that illusion.
Golden stood to his full height, facing him. "This isn't even my world," he said, frustrated. "I'm fighting. I got your Elements of Harmony out of the Storm King's prison. You think it wasn't terrifying for me too?"
The unicorn looked away, his body sagging under Golden Wind's glare. "I was never a fighter. But less today than ever. The king took all the fighters away. The other Pillars are imprisoned or in hiding. It's all survivors now. We adapt, we flee, and we keep going. Nopony can ask for more."
"We aren't asking you to fight," he insisted. "Starlight has powerful magic; she doesn't need to borrow yours. We just need your help with the spell. Solve the puzzle for her, then don't tell anyone we were here. Is that so hard?"
"Please," Starlight added. "The rebellion is getting bigger every day. We have to overthrow the Storm King before he realizes how much of a threat we are. We're running out of time."
The stallion glared at them both. His horn glowed, then went out again. Finally, he snatched the notebook from the air. "You know what? Fine. I'll make your counterspell! I just didn't want to send two more good ponies to prison, or worse. He won't let you escape a second time."
Before Golden Wind could respond, the stallion already had the book, and he turned his back to them. "Guestroom is first door on the right. I'll have your spell by morning, if you don't come downstairs and disturb me. Then I want you gone, before the Storm King's army come knocking at my door."
"We can do that!" Starlight exclaimed, eager. "We'll be gone first thing tomorrow morning. You won't even know we're here."
The stallion groaned loudly. "I doubt that very much. Now let me work." He slammed a distant door shut, leaving the two of them alone in his sitting room.
Golden Wind dared to smile, a grin spreading slowly over his lips. "Were you expecting..."
"Resistance?" she finished for him. "A little. Nopony wants to be the one the Storm King finds. If he knew half as much about history, he would be hunting Starswirl down as energetically as he's trying to hunt us. He's only the wisest unicorn who ever lived."
She peered down the hall, opening the nearest bedroom door.
It was hardly luxurious accommodations - a single pony bed and a desk, with bookshelves filling every wall. All overflowed with books and scrolls. Not all his books even fit on the shelves, and some piled up on the floor.
"Cozy," she said, stepping back into the hall. They entered Starswirl's kitchen and ate a quiet meal together. Most of it was plain, tasteless stuff in brown bags marked with the Storm King's face - but the mage also kept some fresh herbs to season it. But if he would've felt guilty about ``borrowing'' some of the wizard's food, that passed when the pony tried to send them away.
Not a collaborator, but still - how could anyone just give up like that? At least Golden Wind had an excuse - this wasn't his country yet.
Then they were done, and Starlight shut the door behind her. She shook out her mane, stretching into a yawn. "I... hope he can really do this in a night," she said, levitating the covers open. "I'd rather not deal with the Stormwatch."
Golden Wind followed, though he stopped short by the bed. His tail whipped sharply back and forth, both wings opening awkwardly. "I should probably sleep on the couch outside."
The mare met his eyes. "You could. Whether you should..." She flicked her tail in his face, far too light to be an accident. "It didn't look very comfortable to me."
Golden Wind reached over to the wall, switching the light off with one wing. "I guess not."
His long and successful career had certainly brought Phil his fair share of romantic nights. Usually, they began with a sports car and ended in a penthouse suite somewhere. He'd never had to lie to the secret police to get there, or argue with an old wizard.
But he'd never been with someone he cared about quite like Starlight, either.
tf-sential
![Triple-Header! [INCOMPLETE]](https://sf.ib.metapix.net/thumbnails/medium/5601/5601951_PheagleAdler_img_5253.jpg "Triple-Header! [INCOMPLETE]")
