//------------------------------// // Chapter Forty-four: Dissent and Wisdom // Story: A Rather Large Adventure // by BradyBunch //------------------------------// The metro was almost always crowded with people who were going to and fro on a normal day. The train was crowded now, but it was not with people. Aria Dazzle cautiously glanced around at the black-shelled, four-armed men that were slouching indolently on the metro seats. The train rumbled and screeched along as it always did, but it was now full to bursting with the grumbling Noxxa. Aria was in the back of the last train car, stuck in a train full to bursting of black-shelled warriors. Aria elbowed Sonata, who was about to fall asleep next to her, and she jolted awake with a snort. “Huh? What? What? Where am-” “It’s me,” Aria assured her. “Look, you’re okay, all right? You’re just on a train.” Aria looked around at the ten Noxxa in the train car with her. They were giving her leering stares every now and then, but they were mostly just focused on talking amongst themselves. “Did the guy in charge say where we were going?” Sonata asked. “No,” Aria said. All she knew was that they were going away from the portal to Equestria, in favor of going on some wild goose chase. “I want to go home,” Sonata abruptly said, sitting a little flatter in her seat. “I don’t want to go and pretend like this. I don't like these guys at all.” “I don't either,” Aria whispered. “But as long as they’re leading us away anyway, we might as well go along with them.” Aria chose not to mention how afraid she was of them. Shortly after the Noxxa had assembled on the school grounds in front of the portal, Captain Slath had ordered the girls and several of his best soldiers to follow him. They had invaded the nearby subway station after a short bus ride, went inside and killed the attendants and customers, hijacked an incoming metro as it screeched to a halt, hacked away at them, and had set themselves to riding in the fast train, unobstructed by traffic. They were racing along, much faster than if they had taken a bus or a car. She had done terrible things as being a siren, but she hadn't actually directly killed anybody before. And these Noxxa were doing it callously. Any creature that licked the blood off their weapons with delight was a species that Aria was uncomfortable around. And she still didn't know why Adiago was going along with them so casually. She knew that Adiago had the best intentions for them, but did it have to involve the association with literal demons? All they had to do was ditch the demons at the portal and pass through without their help! But Adiago had to go ahead and continue going along with them just so they could get back at Twilight Sparkle! Aria’s thoughts halted in their tracks. Did she really want to get revenge on Twilight all that much when the way back home was in reach? She still hated Twilight for very literally upstaging them, but when the way back home to their power was in front of her, suddenly, Twilight didn't matter. A creak came out, accompanied by roaring wind, and Aria looked up to see Adiago coming into the train car from the one in front. “Oh, there you are,” Aria said heavily. “Back from kissing up to the captain?” “Not kissing,” Adiago clarified sweetly. “Just discussing. He isn't my type, believe it or not.” “Four arms is a bit of a turn-off, isn't it?” Adiago snorted. “Shut up.” Aria shut up. “We’re going to an observatory,” Adiago resumed, settling down on a seat. She stared both of them in the face. “Star Swirl the Bearded is there.” “Star. Swirl. The Bearded,” Aria said slowly, unbelievingly. The name sang a bad tune in her memories. “I remember him!” Sonata piped up. “He was the one that sent us here a thousand years ago! Right?” “You’re right,” Adiago said, surprise evident in her complexion at Sonata remembering something important. “And get this. Twilight and her friends are going there as well. This is the perfect opportunity for us! Not only revenge on the pony who sent us out of Equestria, but also on the ponies that rely on him!” “What do we care about Twilight?” Adiago lifted her eyebrows so they disappeared into her bouncy orange hair. “What do we care about Twilight Sparkle?” she asked condescendingly. “Do you not remember what happened two years ago, when they broke our crystals with their silly ‘rainbow magic’ and rendered us powerless in this world?” “I remember,” Aria said. “I just don't care.” Adiago looked shocked. She put her face so close to Aria’s that either one could touch the other’s chin with their tongue. “You. Don’t. Care.” “No. Not really.” “Aria, you little usurper. I don't care about you wanting to not care about Twilight. You will follow my directions.” “I don’t care about that either.” “I don't care about you not caring about me not caring about you not caring about Twilight!” Adiago retaliated. “I’m confused,” Sonata whispered. “I don't care!” Adiago snapped at her, whirling her head to Sonata. “Aria here has decided that her priorities matter above that of the group.” “I just don’t see why we have to take revenge on Twilight when we can just go home and-” “Aria!” Adiago said harshly, and Aria stopped her line of thought. “I’m sorry, but this is what is right. What are we going to do if Twilight is still around to thwart us?” She stood up straighter. “Look, I promise you, we don't have to stay with these guys longer than we have to. All right?” Aria folded her arms sourly. “All right,” she grumbled. “Good,” Adiago complimented her. “Now let’s get ready to face Twilight. We need everything we can manage without the power of the sirens on our side.” “Don’t say that so loud!” Aria hushed. “There’s still Noxxa here in the car.” Adiago looked around, noticed the Noxxa leering at them, and said, “Okay, fine. We’ll talk more about this after we get to the observatory. Just don't do anything stupid.” And with that Adiago walked off. Aria snorted. “Don’t do anything stupid,” she muttered disdainfully. “What if I’m the one doing something right and you’re the stupid one?” The night was dark, the building in front of them intimidating. The large party, including the two dogs, had come at last to the entrance of the observatory. Inside the windows, no lights were on, and clutter was scattered both outside and inside. “The door’s locked,” Fluttershy whispered, breath escaping her mouth in little bursts. Chains and padlocks were indeed wrapped around the double doors leading to the abandoned atrium. “We don’t have a key,” the other Twilight said. “How do we get in?” Firestorm raised his hand. “I’ve got a key.” “You do?” Starlight asked him. “When did you get it?” “I’ll tell you.” Firestorm reached over his back to one of the sword hilts and gripped it tightly. “I created the key on the spot.” He slashed his arm downward, and the blade ripped out of his scabbard and cleaved through the locks like they were made of string. The padlocks and chains fell to the floor with a tremendous clinking sound. He swirled the sword up and over his back again, and the sword was already once more across his back. “So your sword was the key?” Sunset Shimmer asked tiredly. He shrugged. “Yeah.” He pulled the door open, sweeping the fallen chains to the side, and waited for everyone else to go in. “I’ve never heard of a sword being a key before,” the other Rainbow Dash admitted, walking in. “Maybe in Daring Do books, where they have to fit the artifact into place, or something.” “Ooh! Ooh! I have an idea! What if the sword was a gigantic key?” Pinkie asked in excitement, hopping inside. “Come on!” Noble Blade said as the line of girls filed inside. “A gigantic key? That’s the most impractical weapon I've ever heard of!” “I know, right?” Firestorm added as Sunset squeezed by him. “What would we call it, the Keyblade? Where would the blade even be? On the small jagged bit at the end? There’s no blade running up the sword at all!” “I actually think it’s kind of cool,” Flash admitted, going in at the end of the line. “Then go and forge your own big-donkey key out of gold and wield it yourself,” Firestorm told him as he passed by. Noble and Firestorm followed him. Freedom Fighter went in last and shut the door. The atrium was as dark as the outside. An empty and shambled lobby desk welcomed them in, and they could see a passageway behind the desk leading deeper into the observatory. The girls were already going past the desk and heading in, so the Guardians of the Sun and Flash Sentry wasted no time in following after them. As they went down the hall, doors to their left and right displayed darkened offices through dusty windows. The bronze letters on the brown wooden plaques outside the rooms were discolored with age to resemble a dark mix of gold and brown. At the very end of the hall, it opened up to one of the largest rooms they had ever been in. The men came alongside the girls and joined in looking up at the object embedded there. “Sweet Celestia,” Applejack murmured, inclining her head. Protruding from the tall concave dome above them was the largest telescope any of them had ever seen. The diameter of the telescope was thicker than the greatest tree, dwarfing them all in comparison, but thinned out as it zigzagged to a small ledge one story up. That ledge had a metal staircase running up to it that ran along the circumference of the circular room. On the ground floor, benches, tables, and stools were scattered at random, and all had piles of paper, pencils, and various working materials. The two dogs were already poking around at the feet of the tables, sniffing and gently nudging loose notes. “Spike!” Twilight hissed. Both dogs whipped around and stared at her. “I mean, my Spike!” Twilight corrected. “Get back here and stop disturbing Star Swirl’s notes!” “Twilight,” Spike said, “I actually assumed I would be the one telling you to stop poking around his notes.” Twilight rubbed her arm while scanning the room sheepishly with her eyes. All of the notes of Star Swirl the Bearded were right there, within her reach. After a few seconds, Twilight broke apart and said, “Okay, fine, Spike. Go ahead. Just don’t tear any paper!” Then she darted to a nearby table, snagged a paper, and passed her eyes over the paper with miraculous speed. The rest of the girls were already examining the things around them. Some of them were picking up objects and looking at the bottom with a keen eye, or looking over a paper filled with Xs and Ys in utter confusion. “What would he be doing here?” the other Fluttershy wondered, tentatively touching a packet as if it was a bomb. “He needed somewhere to stay, didn't he?” the other Rarity told her. “I meant, um, what is he working on?” the other Fluttershy clarified. She tapped the papers with a fingertip again and flinched like she had poked a snake. “Astronomy of some kind,” Sunset Shimmer said, lifting up a stack of paper. "Wouldn't put it past a guy called Star Swirl." “You're right,” the other Twilight said to her. “Look at this. Star charts!” Sunset and Firestorm came over to peek over the other Twilight’s head at the star charts. The celestial bodies were named and annotated extensively, to the point where every margin was filled. “You.” It was a frail voice, thin and tremulous, but it made everyone cease their talking and turn to a doorway leading out. It had opened silently, revealing the man who had spoken. It was a grey-skinned man with drooping wrinkles around his eyes, which poked bright and shining out of a cloudy white beard that came to his breastbone. He wore a blue cloak with golden constellations, and a wide-brimmed hat dripping with bells that ended in a point high above his head. The girls native to the dimension looked at him with curiosity, but the people from Equestria froze and stared at him in shock. The powerful unicorns of the group--Twilight, Starlight, Sunset, and Noble Blade--all looked like they had just seen a premonition. “I know you,” the man said, sounding for all the world like a grandfather who hadn't seen his descendants for too long. “I saw you. So many years ago.” He hobbled out of the shadows, and a clicking sound came on every other step. It was wood against stone. The old man was using a long staff to assist him in walking from one end of the room to the other. It was long, twisted, and knotted into a fork at the top, and between the two prongs was a blue crystal. Starlight Glimmer gasped when the staff came into view. “What is that?” Firestorm whispered, pointing at the staff as the man traversed the room. “That’s one of the eight enchanted items of Mage Meadowbrook!” Starlight Glimmer informed him. “It’s what I insisted the Staff of Sameness was one of. That’s the greatest of the artifacts--the Staff of Sacanas!” The old, wizened man kept on walking, evading the tables like a ship sailing through a rocky strait. He made his way to both Twilights and Sunset, and his eyes never left their faces. “Sir?” Sunset asked quietly, uncomfortable at his approach. Star Swirl said nothing. He only kept going on to where the three girls were. “It’s Star Swirl the Bearded!” Twilight hissed in excitement. She could barely keep from bouncing on her toes. “I’m meeting the greatest unicorn to ever exist! I’m so excited! Oh, my gosh, I should have touched myself up-” “I can’t handle this!” Sunset Shimmer hissed as well. “He’s the first to ever-” She stopped when she noticed Star Swirl just keeping eye contact with her. “Um, sir? We’ve got a problem we need your help for.” Star Swirl finally stopped walking and leaned on his staff. He exuded a wise and venerable air about him that made everyone hush their voices and stand quietly in place. “Sir?” Noble asked, reaching out hesitantly. Star Swirl ignored him, but instead spoke to the group at large. “You’re all here,” he croaked. “Good. Very good.” Twilight tried her hardest to contain a squeal, and stamped on the ground rapidly like a child. “Mister Star Swirl?” Pinkie Pie asked with surprising solemnity. “We’ve got something to ask you.” “Of course. Of course.” The venerable Star Swirl eased himself onto an uncovered stool. “Ask, child.” Before Pinkie could say anything, Rarity spoke. “Star Swirl, we are ponies from Equestria who are seeking your guidance.” “Many people have asked for guidance,” Star Swirl replied. “But not many have come to me.” He gripped the Staff of Sacanas tighter. “I was wondering when you would come. When I gave your human counterparts the magic from Camp Everfree, I was sure that you would inquire closer.” “You really did give us our magical abilities?” the other Rainbow asked him. “Who do you think organized the field trip to the camp?” Star Swirl asked the human world natives, pointing at himself. “I divined the location of the crystals that give you powers any mortal would snag for themselves. I admit; I was interested in you six when you were admitted to the earliest stages of education. Until you could be trusted to use that power responsibly, however, I was giving you portions of my magic, one jot or tittle at a time, as bit by bit you learned to control them.” “But how can you use magic in this world?” Firestorm asked him. “Your horn was screwed off when you became a human.” “It’s the staff,” Starlight said to him, eyeing the gnarled pole. “The Staff of Sacanas absorbs magic for non-magic users to wield for themselves. Star Swirl must have put all of his magic into the staff before leaving Equestria so he could have the same magical capacity here!” Star Swirl gave a tired, weak smile at Starlight Glimmer. “Indeed, Last Hero. Your perception is astounding.” The true name of Starlight Glimmer being spoken made her mouth shut in response. “That’s his magic?” Firestorm asked, pointing at the staff. “I just thought it had a couple of AA batteries in it or something.” “My magic is like a battery,” Star Swirl conceded weakly. “And I gave parts of my magic to the bearers of the Elements of Harmony on this world.” “Why us?” the other Applejack asked him quietly. “Who else could I pick?” he said hoarsely. “The people whose counterparts I knew would bear the Elements was all the reason I needed. I know there is something special about all of you--even if you don't bear the Elements.” Sunset Shimmer rubbed her arm uncomfortably. “Mister Star Swirl?” Twilight asked. “Well, not mister, exactly, but, um... Star Swirl?” She tucked a lock of ironed-straight hair behind her ear. “There’s a problem about the Elements right now, actually. There’s ten of them, but we don't know where the lost four are.” “They were meant to be hidden,” Star Swirl croaked. “The job was done well.” “But we need to find them now, sir,” Noble Blade said strongly. “An army is preparing to make a preemptive strike against Equestria. Some of their forces were already discreetly placed here as spies and followed us to this world.” “Who would dare to invade Equestria, Knight Protector?” Star Swirl asked tiredly. “The Noxxa,” Rainbow Dash finished tremulously. “And the only way to stop them is to get all ten Elements and blast this Solaris guy in the face!” Star Swirl blinked and leaned forward. “Noxxa?” He twisted the staff and looked up contemplatively. “The name sounds familiar…” “Scorpan came from the Noxxa lands telling us of it,” Rarity said. “And correct me if I’m wrong, but you and Scorpan became the best of friends the first time he came over to Equestria, did you not?” Star Swirl put a hand to his mottled face and nodded while looking down. “If you are the Seer, and Scorpan is the Prophet, and both of you say that the ten Elements must be found soon, then it should be obvious that we need to find the tools we need to save our people,” Starlight finished. Star Swirl nodded yet again. His complexion was troubled. “I knew the day would come soon,” he moaned. “I didn't want it to, but it has come at last.” He stood up and withdrew a shaking hand into his robe pocket. It emerged again with a tightly-furled, yellow scroll with a thin red ribbon clenched in his shaking hand. He proffered it to Twilight. “This will lead you to the caverns of Maretania, where the first of the missing four are located. I made this map when I first divined where the accursed Elements were. I left other clues so as to prevent any one force from instantly getting their hooves all over them.” As Twilight took the scroll, Star Swirl laid a small, tremulous hand on her shoulder. “You’re Celestia’s student.” Twilight was rendered unable to speak for a moment. “Only a student of Celestia would pluck up the determination to go to such lengths to save the world,” Star Swirl said wisely. “I see the many feats you have accomplished, and the foes you have defeated. Nightmare Moon, Discord, Tirek, the Tantabus, Chrysalis. I even see how you perfected a spell of my own to become an alicorn Princess. I see them all in you.” He pointed a trembling grey finger at Twilight’s forehead. “You truly are the Child of Light in this dark and dreary world.” Twilight’s color switched faster than a traffic light, going from light purple to a color resembling a ripe tomato. She tried to say something coherent, but all that came out was gibberish. Her hand was shaking so hard the scroll in her hand almost dropped. “I would ask a favor of you, my child,” Star Swirl said slowly, his hand trembling ever so slightly. “Whaaa... whaaat is it?” Twilight asked, barely comprehensible at this point. She began to sway on the spot. “When you return to Equestria,” Star Swirl instructed, “Do all in your power to record these experiences in the final days of our people.” The last few words snapped Twilight back to reality. “The final days?” Star Swirl slashed his hand horizontally, his expression now grave. “Our time has run out, Child of Light. Destruction... is sure. The ponies of our homeland, for all their talk of friendship, have become arrogant. Lifted up in the pride of their hearts. They are ripe for the flames to come, for the land wills it. Like fire across the planet, this war will spread and engulf anything in its path.” His eyes brightened until they shined like stars between dark clouds at night. “The Elements... are the only things that matter now.” None of the girls said anything in their dumbfounded state. “Go to Maretania,” Star Swirl intoned, as if he was an uncle telling his nephews and nieces what to do later in life. “Where I myself explored with little more than a candle. Descend into the catacombs. Find the Elements. This is what must be done for Equestria’s salvation.” “We hear and obey, Star Swirl,” Noble Blade reverently, bowing at the waist and creaking as he did so. “Oh, please,” Star Swirl annoyedly said, waving a hand. “Don’t do that whole routine. I’m not that old, you know.” “You may be a thousand years old, but you don't look a day over eight hundred,” Pinkie admitted, putting her fists on her hips. Star Swirl chuckled deeply, holding a hand at his side. Then he grew serious again. “And there is one more thing.” He indicated the staff. “This staff... has run its use.” “What?” Starlight asked, coming in front of Star Swirl. “That’s the Staff of-” “I know precisely what it is, Last Hero,” Star Swirl admonished her. “And it was used for the sole purpose of keeping me alive for the Ten Souls to meet with me. When you go, take the staff and give it to Scorpan the Prophet. He will make a steward of it before the time must come to unleash its fury against the armies of Tartarus.” “But that would mean…” Twilight’s face contorted into an expression of shock. “You would die! The staff is the only thing keeping you alive! We don't want to lose you, Star Swirl!” Star Swirl only nodded matter-of-factly. “I am ready for it, my child. I have been here too long. I am a relic of a bygone age. I wait for the embrace of death, but I do not love it.” Noticing the distress on her face, Star Swirl strode over to Twilight and stooped down so he was her height. “Twilight Sparkle, Child of Light. Do not pity the death of great men, for they have lived a good life, and go to rest for their effort. Pity instead those that have died without truly living. Love those that have suffered, and understand when their time has come to be released.” Twilight trembled in place, but nodded obediently. Star Swirl leaned on the Staff of Sacanas. “You were chosen to lead the charge against the ultimate evil. I know not the reason, but I know it is a wise one to choose you over me.” He smiled reassuringly. “My time is over. Your time... has only just begun.” Captain Slath stared up the hill at the darkened half sphere. He could see the telescope jutting out at the top at a diagonal angle. “They’re all in there,” he said, as if to himself. “Like fish in a barrel.” Him and about fifty of his best warriors were near the helicopter crash halfway down the hill. After finding no bodies inside, the black-shelled abominations had turned their sickly yellow eyes up to the observatory above them. “Encircle the building and infiltrate it quietly,” Captain Slath ordered with a wave of one of his arms. “Ten of you, with me. We will go through the front doors.” Ten volunteers were quickly selected, and the rest of them sprinted up the hill and began to surround the large observatory, their figures becoming fainter as they ran further up. Captain Slath then turned around to look at the Dazzlings with a condescending yellow eye. “And you three. Your powers could be used to thwart the Elements.” Adiago nodded assuredly. “Absolutely, sir.” Captain Slath made a guttural sound in his mouth for acknowledgment and turned away. Adiago started to shake in place so hard she needed to cross her legs and clutch her arm. Aria and Sonata were making no effort to calm her down, but were instead looking nervous on their own. Adiago tried to take deep breaths, but the presence of the dark creature made it hard to inhale. What on earth would she do now?