The Ninth Enchantment of Mage Meadowbrook

by Thornwing


6 - The Sounds of Silence

The early afternoon sun hung in the same place it always stayed as the train pulled into the station. Starlight woke with a jerk and caught herself as she teetered out of her seat. Taking stock of her company, Twilight was still sound asleep, but Starswirl came around the moment she turned to check on him.

“Did you have a good nap?” Starswirl asked with a smile as he stood and stretched out his limbs.

Starlight rubbed the side of her face and replied, “Yeah, I think I did. I just hope Twilight finally got some rest.”

“Not to worry,” Starswirl continued, “She slept the entire way. I didn’t even have to use a sleeping spell on her.”

“Wait, what?” Starlight drew back in mild shock at the wizard’s comment. “How do you know? Weren’t you asleep too?”

“My dear filly, a wizard always sleeps with one eye open.” He reached out with his magic and pulled on his satchel. “Better wake the young princess. We need to get a move on.”

Starlight continued, “But if you weren’t asleep, then why did you ignore us like that? We’ve got questions and you’re the only pony with answers.”

“Trust me, my dear, the less you know, the better.” Starswirl brushed past Starlight, head held high and seemingly above it all. “Just don’t tell Twilight I said that. She asks too many questions as it is.”

He made his way toward the compartment exit while Starlight, taken aback at his brusque dismissal, turned her attention to Twilight.

“Twilight.” Starlight gently nudged Twilight’s shoulder as the princess continued to snore. “Wake up, Twilight. We’re here.”

With a gasp, Twilight opened her eyes and nearly caught Starlight’s chin with the tip of her horn as she bolted upright. “What did I miss? Where’s Starswirl?”

“Don’t worry, Twilight. He just got off the train. Let me help you with your bags and we can catch up with him right away.” Starlight fired up her horn and floated her bag off the top shelf and then turned to levitate the load that Twilight was struggling to heft onto her back. Twilight gave her a look as if to say both ‘thank you’ and ‘don’t waste your magic’.

The pair disembarked and trotted off down the path into town, catching up with Starswirl just as he came to a group of locals gathered at the edge of the village to welcome the new arrivals.

“Welcome to our town, Mr. The Bearded. And welcome back Princess Twilight, and Starlight!” Double Diamond greeted the old wizard with a cordial hoofshake much to the old stallion’s displeasure. Other village regulars approached, greeting and embracing the party as they made their way into town.

“Hey there, Princess Twilight! It’s good to have you back.” Night Glider swooped in to bump hooves with the Princess. “You too, Starlight!” She flitted over and gave Starlight a bear-hug.

“Good to see you, too,” Starlight said, returning the hug and wincing from the force of the one she received.

“Hello, Sugar Belle!” Twilight called out to the pony just exiting her bake shop as the group wandered past. “How are those Sweet Apple Acres orders coming along? Applejack tells me that her brother won’t let anypony else make the deliveries.” She smiled and nodded, knowingly. Sugar Belle blushed bright red on purple and ran back inside her shop.

“Sorry, everypony,” Starlight called out above the noise of the crowd with Starswirl taking the opportunity to extricate his hoof from Party Favor’s forced embrace. “Here on official business. Need to find my old staff, for uhhh… reasons.”

It was then that it dawned on Starlight that she didn’t actually know where she’d left it. A mild panic attack ensued with her mind conjuring all sorts of ways in which it could have ended up — lost in the canyons leading up toward Rainbow Falls, tossed in the river floating out to sea, or worst of all, used for kindling in somepony’s kitchen fireplace. “Ahhh… Anypony know where I might have left it?”

Twilight whispered over to Starlight, “You don’t remember where you left it? I thought you said this would be a piece of cake?”

“Well…” Starlight began.

“The Staff of Sameness?” Double Diamond replied, confused. “Why do you need that old thing?”

Starswirl cleared his throat and raised his voice above the mumbling in the crowd at the mention of the old staff that had helped steal their cutie marks. “The Staff of Sameness, as you call it, is actually a priceless Equestrian artifact that must be returned to Canterlot at once.”

“Well, I think I know where it is,” Double Diamond said, “but I’m not sure I want anypony messing with it. How do I know if I give it to you, you won’t take our cutie marks again?”

Starlight chuckled uneasily. “Why would I ever do that? No way. Just trying to get it back to its rightful owner is all. No plans for world domination for this here filly, I can promise you that.” She gazed out over the perplexed stares of the crowd, embarrassed and flustered.

Twilight came to the rescue taking two steps forward. “As the Princess of Friendship, I can promise you all that you have nothing to fear. Starlight, Starswirl, and I are here on a friendship quest to retrieve the staff and bring it back to where it belongs in Canterlot.”

“Well, if Starlight promises she won’t take our cutie marks, and the Princess of Friendship says it’s okay, that’s good enough for me,” Night Glider said.

“Alright, everypony, let’s go get the staff.” Double Diamond reared up and set course before Starswirl stopped them all.

“Everypony, hold on! While we greatly appreciate your help, fillies and gentlecolts, this is a very dangerous item and a matter of national security. Please tell us where we might find the staff, and we will secure it ourselves.”

Double Diamond sat and thought for a moment. “Well, I don’t know for sure, but I think the last time I saw it was up in the vault. Nopony’s been back there since we broke out our cutie marks, so it’s probably still in the cave.”

“And I trust that, Starlight, you know where this cave is located?” Starswirl kept his comments aloof and procedural.

“Yep! Follow me.” Starlight grinned and nodded, waving awkwardly to all her old subjects as the trio departed the village proper. The rest of the ponies sat in a daze, not knowing what it was they should do next. From the back of the pack, one of the taller ponies waved a tenuous goodbye.

Climbing up into the hills a short distance from the village, Starlight looked back over her shoulder upon the two neat rows of houses down below. Memories, both good and bad, came flooding back. For a little over a year, she had been the one in charge here. She had been the one directing all these ponies lives. Of course, they had forgiven her of all her wrongdoing, but deep down inside, she could never look at them the same way as she had before. She swam through an ocean of guilt whenever she came back to visit. This time was no different. She had to wonder where all these ponies might have ended up if she hadn’t altered their destiny and forced them into those two simple rows laid out neatly in the arid valley below.

“Be on your guard,” Starswirl said as they approached the cave entrance. “I sense a powerful magic here.”

“Yeah, about that.” Starlight trotted up beside him. “This was kinda the place I took and stored all those cutie marks from the ponies in the village we just passed through. Big wall. Little compartments. Sort of a magical safe deposit box system.”

“I see.” Starswirl turned to Twilight. “Anything to add before we go in, Princess?”

Twilight stopped a few paces behind the others. “Actually, I have a few questions about that book of yours. Also, how do you know so much about this staff? Have you ever used it?”

“I was asking if you had anything you wanted to tell me before we face the guardian of this place. We don’t have time for pedantic show-and-tell.” Starswirl turned in a huff and proceeded into the cave.

“Guardian? What do you mean by that?” Starlight called out to Starswirl, but he pressed forward into the cave undeterred. She shrugged her shoulders at Twilight. “It was worth a shot.”

“I don’t like this one bit, Starlight. Keep your eyes open and a protection spell at the ready. Only use it if you have to.” Twilight moved forward past Starlight, following Starswirl inside. “If there is a guardian holding onto the staff, we might be in for a fight to get it back.”

Starlight mumbled to herself. “It’s just the cutie mark vault. You’d think we were infiltrating Chrysalis’ hive.”

The trio moved inside, horns lighting the way.

The cavern opening bent around a turn toward the rear wall of the cave and the display of the cutie mark vault with its outer glass shell cracked straight down the middle. Starswirl led the group forward one step at a time. With his magic he reached out into the ether, searching for any sign of trouble. The girls followed his lead but focused mainly on keeping the space lit.

Twilight examined the broken vault ahead. The magical signature remained, but felt weak and barely clinging to the physical plane. Only a few small clusters of cutie marks remained in the upper and lower quadrants.

Starlight scanned around the space. The rock cast awkward shadows against the throw of light from her horn matching with the glow from the others. Once, she thought she saw the outline of the staff along the base of the wall to the right of the vault, but focusing her beam on that location revealed only a twisted root.

Suddenly, Starswirl yelled, “It’s a trap!” and he immediately vanished in a teleporting flash.

Twilight and Starlight fell into a defensive stance against each other as they sidled up to the other’s flank, horns blazing. Above them, a thud sounded akin to somepony walking into a glass door. A second later, Starswirl dropped out of thin air, landing on the ground at their hooves.

Twilight reached out to help the old wizard up. As she did, a hooded figure materialized near the base of the cutie vault cloaked in a dark earthen robe, cowl covering its head.

Without waiting for an explanation, Starlight brought her magic to bear and fired a stunning blast toward the new target. The magic sailed across the cave in an arcing strike, rebounding only inches from connecting, and ricocheting back toward her.

“Look out!” Twilight yelled as she dropped her assistance from a teetering Starswirl and lunged into Starlight, tossing her aside.

The magic blast missed Starlight by a hair, but caught Twilight broadside, through her overloaded pack and just below her left wing socket. Fur singed and knocked away by the force of the impact, she rolled head over hooves and collapsed in a heap.

Starlight leapt back to her hooves. “Twilight! No!” She glanced over at Starswirl, himself lost in a flickering pile of robes and pointed wizard hat, prostrate on the ground. Back again to the shadowy figure, she took stock of her situation. Three on one now reduced to a face off. Readying her magic for another strike, the mystery pony inexplicably sat back on her haunches and drew back her hood revealing a middle-aged earth pony mare.

“Excellent work, my dear!” The mystery pony clapped her forehooves in a most patronizing fashion. “Although I have to dock you points for technique, I do admire your courage in coming back to me even after your desertion. Did my sister send you here, or have you come to exact your revenge personally? We shall see.”

“Revenge?” Starlight said, taking a moment to collect her thoughts. The magic swirling around her horn subsided, but she kept the light glowing as intensely as she could muster. “I’m just here for the staff. Nopony said anything about revenge.”

“No use giving excuses. Actions speak louder than words. And why attack me, a poor defenseless earth pony, with your powerful unicorn magic? Not that it did you any good. Your friend can certainly attest to that.”

“What have you done? Why are you here? Who are you and where is the staff?” Starlight said. Her heart beat rapidly as she tried her best to remain calm with limited options. Twilight and Starswirl needed help, but all her attention remained focused on cloaked figure.

“Have you forgotten your manners, champion? Bow to me at once and swear your unwavering loyalty, or I shall destroy you as well!” The larger than average somewhat heavyset mare remained seated, a stern look etched across her face.

Starlight looked to her left and then to her right. Not seeing any available options, she turned back toward the mystery pony. As she did, a glint of light reflecting off the pony’s chest caught her eye. Curious, she focused in on a strange object hanging from a thin silver chain around the pony’s neck. Starlight’s worry began to melt away as a small grin spread across her face.

“What? What are you doing? I told you to kneel!” The mystery pony sat up but did not approach. A worried expression fell across her otherwise weatherbeaten visage. “Return to your place at once!”

Weighing her otherwise non-existent options, Starlight took a final measure of the pony fussing in the far corner and settled on her course of action. She knew she had the upper hoof, but needed to execute her plan perfectly.

She took a deep breath and exhaled slowly while running through the motions in her mind.

With a jerk of her head, she quickly reversed the polarity of a simple levitation spell and shot it toward the object hanging from the chain around the pony’s neck. A moment later, a silver rock, no larger than one of Pinkie Pie’s miniature cupcakes, came hurtling toward her. She leapt up and back, and in the same swift motion drove her hoof down on the object as it impacted the cavern’s solid ground at her hooves.

Before the cloaked pony could react, the rock shattered in a thousand tiny fragments.

“Oh… No, no, no…” the pony bemoaned as she pulled on her hood and tried to sneak back into the shadows.

Starlight wheeled on her, horn lit to full.

“Please, please don’t hurt me.” The pony backed into the dead end corner as far as she could go.

Starlight approached. Step by step, the creature begging for mercy as though Death herself came calling.

Finally, she stood over the mare, nothing more than a huddled mass writhing on the ground.

Starlight reached out a hoof and dropped her magic aura completely. “It’s okay. I’m not going to hurt you.”

The mare trembled, her eyes closed and forehooves covering her head. The ratty fabric surrounding her gave off a putrid stench and looked to be caked with dirt and other assorted filth. She wouldn’t look up.

Starlight leaned down and placed a hoof on her shoulder. The mare winced and drew back from her touch. Drawing up into a ball, she clutched at her sides and kept repeating the words “Have courage and be strong — Have courage and be strong” like it was some kind of life-sustaining mantra.

Starlight sat with the pony trying everything she could to calm and reassure her. “Just take a breath. I’m not going to hurt you. You’ll be fine, just tell me who you are.” Nothing she said seemed to be giving the frightened pony any reassurances.

The moments ticked on. Twilight groaned and twitched. Starswirl rolled to his side, the jingle of bells from his hat not quite sounding properly.

Suddenly, Starlight’s ears perked up. She reached into her bag and brought out an apple. It was a little bruised and mushed on one side, but she held it out for the pony with a smile. “Straight from Sweet Apple Acres.”

The chanting stopped. The pony opened her eyes and stared out at the apple, then up at Starlight, and then back at the apple. She reached out with a shaky hoof and placed it on the offering. Slowly, she pushed it down.

The two ponies stared at each other for a long breath, the earth pony finally breaking the silence. “I have no need of your offering, my Champion.”

“Champion?” Starlight asked, a little perplexed and somewhat reeling from the smell. She withdrew the apple and covered her nose. “Can I help you with that cloak?” She pointed at the clasp holding the earthen sheet bound at the neck.

The pony regarded her a moment, and then pointed at the clasp herself. “You want my cloak?”

Starlight shook her head. “No, I just want to get it off you. It’s pretty dirty and smells awful. We should take it down to the village and get it cleaned.” She proceeded to gently light up her horn in an attempt to remove the cloak.

The pony gasped and drew back. “Stay your magic! I’ll do whatever you want.”

Starlight reached out with her hoof and took the other pony’s hoof in hers. With her magic, she carefully undid the clasp and levitated the mess off of the quivering mare.

Under the dirty cloth, the pony’s bedraggled golden fur shone a fair amount less that it should have if she had bathed in the past year.

“Maybe we should take you down to the village as well — get you a nice warm bath.” Starlight smiled and nodded her head encouragingly.

The mare’s eyes began to fill with tears. “Please don’t take my cloak. It’s all I have left. You already destroyed my incubator and now you’ve left me powerless to defend myself against my traitorous sisters. Just leave me here to die as my essence fades into oblivion.” The tears began to fall as the pony buried her head in her hooves.

“Don’t cry,” Starlight said, her smile fading with worry. “I’m here to help. Twilight, and Starswirl — they’re here to help too.”

The pony looked up and gave a sigh, visibly annoyed. “If you insist on speaking to me so, then you must first let me in. There is no other way.” She cautiously stretched out with her forehoof, reaching for Starlight’s horn.

Starlight held for a moment, but felt this was something she could indulge in the spirit of mutual trust. “Okay. I guess we’re doing this now.” She leaned forward and allowed the mare to touch her horn.

Energy burst from their contact. Starlight could feel herself being yanked out of place, like with a teleportation spell but not quite as smooth. With a jerk, she alighted on a silvery plane. A glowing, golden mare stood before her, radiant in her flowing velvet robe.

“We don’t have much time here, but welcome back, Starlight Glimmer, Champion of Earth. I was not sure I would ever see you again.”

Starlight spun around — nothing but blackness in all directions except for the spotlit circle immediately surrounding her and the golden mare. “But, how? How do you even know my name?”

“How quickly you forget. In the physical realm, I am deaf, but here in my inner sanctum, I hear and know all present.” The mare smiled and gently bowed her head. “I am Terrara, Priestess of Courage and Keeper of the Cradle of Destiny within the Sanctum of Earth. You, Starlight Glimmer, are my adopted champion.”

“Whoa there. Back it up. Adopted champion?” Starlight drew back in partial shock. “You mean like Starswirl, but only kind of? What does that even mean?”

“You are no pony of Earth, Starlight, so you couldn’t be of my literal house. The best I could do was to enlist a fallen member of another house to assist me in filling the role. And that you did — to a point.”

“Wait, you don’t mean…” Starlight brought her hoof to her chin in deep thought. “Just because I had a falling out with my family, and I found that staff and brought it here, I’m supposed to be your champion, like Starswirl with Celeste?”

“I recognize my sister’s champion in your company. Has he not told you?”

“Told me what?”

“Nevermind. It is not important now.” Terrara tossed her shining mane to the opposite side. “I also recognize the Princess Twilight Sparkle whom you struck just a short while ago. Tell me, do you do that with all your friends, or have you had a change of heart and wish to serve me again?”

“Uhhh, that was a mistake. Sorry. I shot first and asked questions later. Sort of a thing I’m working on — when to shoot, when not to shoot.” Starlight gave an uneasy chuckle. “I probably should see how they’re doing.”

“Nonsense.” Terrara returned the chuckle. “I may not be a unicorn like my sister, but I know enough of magic to tell a dazzle stun spell when I see one. As well, Celeste’s champion will be fine once his body comes back into phase after that gloriously aborted teleportation spell. I mean, what is it with you unicorns and casting spells first, and thinking after?”

“Well, it might have helped if somepony hadn’t been wearing a magic lodestone in close proximity to the spell being cast. Teleportation spells are hard enough without having to calculate for phase shift interference.” Starlight gave Terrara a scolding glare. “Good thing I recognized what that rock was doing and took measures to compensate.”

“You can’t fault me for trying to defend myself. It’s the best I can do in my fallen state. You’ve really left me no choice.”

“Me? What did I do?”

“For starters, you denied your own destiny. Don’t you remember our deal?” Terrara stomped her hoof and a vision of the past opened up like a viewing screen beneath the clear crystal floor. “I helped you fulfill your destiny in exchange for becoming my champion, but then you abandoned me leaving me vulnerable.”

Scenes from Starlight’s past played out as she gazed beneath her hooves at the swirling images. First, the moment she left her village, departing as a older filly without a cutie mark. Next, the trek into the wilderness, lost and alone. Then the discovery of the staff, what she thought to be a stick of no importance other than it forming the root of a plan to bring everypony down to her level. An idea she still struggled with knowing where it came from - herself, the staff, Terrara? Connecting with that idea lit a fire inside her - one that opened the door to the discovery of her destiny and the revelation of her cutie mark. A fallen star. Somepony with wasted potential that would never reach the heights and needed to bring others down to feel accomplished.

The shame of her lust for power at the expense of others forced Starlight to turn away, tears welling in her eyes. “I can’t watch this. It’s too painful.”

“And how do you think I feel? My powers stripped away and forced to live on less than a trickle of sustenance. The Fork of Destiny was meant to bring everything into balance, and it slipped through my hooves. I blame you and every other deceitful unicorn like you. You and your lust for power have doomed us all!”

The images played on. Crystal shattering. Magic escaping the vault. Terrara sitting alone in the dark gazing up at the broken crystal, willing each new cutie mark into being and giving her all in doing so.

“I can’t keep up. It takes everything I have to hold it together.” Terrara gazed down at the ground and waved a hoof over the shadowy image, the vision dissipating into blackness. “The cutie marks need nourishment if they are to survive. Without them, my purpose is lost, and I am no longer able to fulfill my sacred duty. That lodestone was the last bit of leverage I had to funnel magic into the Cradle of Destiny. And now, you’ve destroyed that as well.”

“Cradle of Destiny? Wait. Let me get this straight,” Starlight replied, trying to hold herself together. “You gave me this cutie mark,” she said pointing at her flank, “and set me up with this staff that I had no idea was so powerful,” she continued, mimicking holding a staff, “and then I went a little power crazy,” she intoned waving a hoof in a circular motion near her left ear, “and now you blame me for all this?”

“Well, yes. You and my conniving sister.”

“Okay, well, the power crazy thing might be on me, but how is the rest of this my fault?” Recovering, Starlight begged a question, “Why didn’t you just fix the vault? I mean, we left the staff here with you. Why couldn’t you just use that to fix this — whatever you call it?”

“Cradle of Destiny. And, well, umm…” Terrara recoiled a bit. “I… I thought you and my sister stole it back, didn’t you? I could sense a familiar presence after your struggle with the Princess, and then the staff was gone.”

Starlight heaved an enormous sigh. “So, you don’t have the staff, and your crazy sister doesn’t have the staff. So…” She thought for a moment and a sudden realization dawned on her. “I have to ask, do you happen to have a another sister and does she live somewhere out in the Southern desert?”

“Why, yes. Volara, the Fate of Wisdom. She resides in the—”

They both chimed in together, “Desert of the Shifting Sands.”

“—I know,” Starlight continued. “It’s the third location on our map.”

“Map?”

“Nevermind. If I had to bet, I’d say she’s somehow got the staff.”

“Nonsense. She can’t leave her realm. There is no possible way that she could have stolen the staff in the physical plane.”

“Does she have some sort of champion that could have taken it?”

“Not that I know of. Her true bloodline was wiped out centuries ago.” Terrara paused. She clenched her jaw. “She does have a pet. I suppose it could be trained to steal the staff.”

“And this pet of hers — is a…”

“Sphinx. Crafty and cunning beast.” Terrara gasped and covered her mouth with a hoof. “Oh dear! Well, if that’s the case, we are certainly in a lot of danger. You must hurry and retrieve the Fork of Destiny, Champion. I warned my sister what would happen if we let her have it, and now the whole world might truly descend into chaos! But does anypony ever listen to me? No! And they call me deaf!” She tossed her forehooves in the air with a dramatic flourish.

Starlight paced the floor, almost imitating Twilight to a tee. “So, if we get the staff from your other, completely welcoming and totally not insane sister and her pet sphinx, we bring it back here to fix the Cradle, then we can take it back to the magic altar place, and everything goes back to normal, right?”

“Not exactly.”

“Please tell me there isn’t a fourth sister,” Starlight said, shaking her head. “I’ve had a really long week, and I don’t think I can take much more of this.”

“While restoring the Cradle and Fork will do much to bring about the balance of Destiny, there is still the problem of balance among the Fates. You see, the Fate of Power is blessed with a pure line and three ascended. The Fate of Wisdom had her line broken as I, but she still holds sway with one ascended. As for me, the Fate of Courage, I have nothing to sustain my task but the bitter charity of my sisters. Alone I sit, in silence, tending to these cutie marks until they mature. I’ve had enough of my sister’s barbs and taunts — how they always think they are better than me. I had hoped the Fork of Destiny would level the playing field, but it has done nothing but bury me beneath it.” Terrara paused for a moment, gazing at the glazed over stare from Starlight. “You don’t have much time in any case. The Fork of Destiny must be recovered before my power runs out for good and Volara seals this dismal fate upon us all!”

Starlight took a deep breath. “I’m going to pretend I understood some of that and say we move on to phase three of this game of ultimate fetch.” She glanced around at the swirling darkness on every side. “Now, how do I get out of here?”

“Oh, that’s easy.” Terrara whipped her tail and stomped her hoof.

Starlight felt herself being pulled back into the physical plane as Terrara’s parting words echoed in her head.

“Good luck storming the temple!”

In a flash, Starlight found herself back in the cave.

“Starlight!” Twilight yelped. “Where have you been?”

Starlight turned away from the blank space in the corner once occupied by the lowly Fate. Twilight and Starswirl met her gaze. “Twilight! Are you okay?”

“Yeah. A little bruised, but now I’ll have to explain to Princess Celestia how her first edition of Ancient History of Equestria got a hole burned straight through it.” She held up an old book with a large hole in it that had been carried in her saddle bag covering the spot and taking the brunt of the spell when she had been struck.

“And Starswirl? All back together again?”

“I feel no ill effects from the disapparition mishap.” He stood rigid, gazing into Starlight’s eyes. “But I might ask of you the same question. Where have you been all this time, and more importantly, where is the staff?”

“Great!” Starlight took off at a full gallop past them both. “Gotta catch a train; no time to lose. Follow me.”

Twilight looked at Starswirl, and Starswirl glanced at the departing Starlight before turning back toward Twilight. “We should probably follow her.” He hitched up his satchel and proceeded to the exit.

Twilight’s left eye twitched. “Could somepony please just answer a question? Is it that hard?” She yanked her saddlebags over her back and tried her best to catch up with the others.