The mountain was covered in a majestic coat of snow, draped about the hulking form like a royal cloak upon a sleeping giant. It was deep winter after all, one that brought many packs of Windigos sniffing southward from the arctic wastes. In the past few months, they had found something rather different from last winter’s expeditions, as a particular region was suddenly filled with the same level of hatred and dissent that they so craved. Unfortunately for them, there was a reason for that; those who had caused this change had also laid claim to the region as their territory, and had fought well and hard to keep it, though that still didn’t stop the younger and more reckless of the Winter Spirits from trying to take it regardless.
Of course, the destitute ponies occupying that region were blissfully unaware that monsters battled for the right to feed on them, too busy with their own lives and induced feuds to wonder why the snowstorms seemed more ferocious than usual this year. All but one, locked up in his high mountain tower and literally above the creatures' notice.
As far as mages went, Starswirl was still relatively young and inexperienced, unproven. He had plenty of ideas; research projects in the early stages of development, half-written spells. His coat had yet to fade to grey, and the glory and accolades he doubted his later life would bring had yet to prove him wrong by presenting themselves. He did, however, already sport a rather impressive beard of silver, having not shaven since it began growing in his youth.
But being so ill-established and isolated, he had been in a unique position to observe the effects on his local town as a curious phenomenon made itself known in the past seven months. The recent windigo battles were a new variable, to be sure, but he was both impressed and intimidated by his true quarry’s tenacious behavior in responding to this new threat. Oh, truly he held no illusions that what he was observing was predators fighting over prey, but he was impressed regardless.
But now he found, as he stared grimly at the scrolls and scraps of parchment tacked to his wall, was the time to act. He turned his attention down to the scroll sitting upon his desk, the product of three year’s study made suddenly much more urgent. He knew it wasn’t yet ready, not properly tested, but theory alone had taken him as far as it could, and deposited him surprisingly gently on the untamed shores of practical application. There were only four outcomes he could see for what might happen now, and two of them ended in his victory – far better odds than he could have expected, all things considered.
Illuminating his horn and closing his eyes, he felt for the rhythm of the universes, the music of the different realities as they ticked by ever-so-subtly out of phase.
The moon glowed bright tonight, almost as bright as the sun but far colder in hue. The winter-fields were bathed in silver, matched in beauty only by the ancient temple perched atop a hill, and its whiteness against the dim mountains and black night sky created a sharp contrast. The temple itself, made of a pearlescent marble, consisted of a wide, flat central area edged with rows of columns, overlooked by a narrow balcony on the back end. If there had been a roof at any point, it had long since disappeared, leaving the place open to the twinkling stars overhead. A long staircase, hewn instead of built of rough granite blocks, led up the hill to the entrance; usually it saw no use outside of very specific seasonal ceremonies.
However, though it was to be several weeks until the Spring Address, three sets of hooves could be heard clack-clacking up the winding way. Atop the balcony was another anomalous feature; a unicorn. The unicorn's coat was of a pale blue cast, and his white beard hung down to his knees. He wore a deep blue cloak with golden trim, and a tall pointed hat with a wide brim; both were thick and woolen to protect him from the weather. With clenched jaw and furrowed brow, Starswirl The Bearded was alert and waiting, as ready as he would ever be.
The clacking drew nearer.
The three mares who emerged over the rise and strode confidently into the temple seemed at first glance to be wholly unremarkable, aside from their ludicrous volume of hair. However, second glance revealed the gossamer fins held along their sides like a pegasus' wings, and the occasional flash of scales scattered beneath their coats. Each one wore a black choker bearing a red faceted jewel. Indeed, the trio standing before the mage were only barely ponies at all.
The leader was a pale golden yellow, with a pumpkin-orange mass of curly mane and tail. Her raspberry eyes appraised the scene, honing in on Starswirl with a raptor's precision that her smug grin failed to hide. She was a predator and a schemer, and he could see her mind turning over possibility after possibility as she surveyed the temple.
The second one in line was distinctly blue, with a mane done up in a long ponytail matched by her actual tail. She seemed perky, glancing about with a vapid expression and utterly failing to notice his mere presence, but that only put Starswirl even more on edge – she could be genuinely stupid, but he couldn't take the chance that she wasn't simply a very good actor.
Trailing behind the first two, looking as though she didn't even want to be here, was a lavender mare with a purple and teal mane done up in angular twintails. There was a sort of constant resentment in her eyes, one he imagined had been present for a long time before this night. The moment she spotted him, she stopped moving to hang back, a sort of cold suspicion taking shape. She didn't seem to match the leader's raw intellectual prowess, but the way she carried herself spoke to Starswirl of two arguably more dangerous weapons – humility, and common sense.
Though both parties were aware of one another, Starswirl stepped forth to announce himself. “I hail you, creatures of the sea. What brings you this far inland?” His eyes narrowed. “And why do you see fit to disgrace such a sacred location with your presence?”
“I could ask the same of you,” the leader shot back without missing a beat, disregarding the first question entirely. “We were given an invitation from a most interesting individual calling himself 'Starswirl the Bearded.' I don't suppose you would happen to know such a pony?”
“It is I.” Starswirl simply smiled at them. “Am I to assume you are indeed the ones called Adagio, Sonata, and Aria?”
“And if we aren't?” Adagio's grin grew wider, becoming distinctly unsettling – though the sharp pointed teeth peeking out from an otherwise ordinary pony muzzle certainly contributed to the effect. “I don't suppose you'd care to inform us of your reasons for inviting them here?”
Starswirl lit up his horn briefly, though he didn't seem to cast any spell. “Of course not. Such matters are on a purely need-to-know basis. I'm sure you understand.”
The smirk grew even wider. “Then allow us to give you proof of our identities.” She began singing, a long, clear note that carried well even through the thin air. The other two joined in moments later, singing lower notes that gave the song a distinctly menacing feeling. Then came the melodies, as the song developed and grew more complex, repetitions and variations, the trio singing seperate tracks that intertwined and complemented one another perfectly.
Starswirl, both to his immense relief and slight disappointment, heard none of it. He hadn't been sure if the Sirens' magic could break through his sound-dampening spell, but it had been his only option short of collecting earwax with which to plug his auditory senses. That would have been just as risky, and gross besides.
“I'm afraid you'll have to do better than that!” he shouted, uncertain how loud he was actually being. “I am perhaps a bit hard of hearing at the moment. Nasty flu going around these parts; I'm sure you understand.”
Adagio's face briefly contorted into an ugly scowl, but the smug mask quickly fell back into place. He could not hear what she said in response, but it didn't matter. As they resumed their song, the jewels at their necks began to glow, and their eyes followed suit, becoming completely red. Three bursts of energy shot upward, coming to a stop and coalescing into monstrous forms.
With the tail of a fish and the upper body of a horse, the ghostly projections bore no small degree of semblance to the dreaded Windigos. Starswirl filed away that notion for later examination; right now, he needed to focus. The projections were already circling around the temple, swimming through the air as though it were the sea. And he knew they didn't need him to hear them in order to hurt him.
Igniting his horn again, Starswirl reached into the small altar at the edge of the balcony. The surface rippled and distorted, and out from it emerged a tall, narrow ovular mirror. He telekinetically set it before the Sirens, though he kept his wary gaze on the projections.
Adagio uttered something gloatingly, most likely derisive of his choice of weapon, and Sonata joined in her likely wild cackling. The sight was really more amusing to Starswirl, as it seemed they were simply opening and closing their mouths rapidly. That is, it was funny until he spotted Aria, still standing near the temple's entrance with a dark expression.
Adagio suddenly leapt forth and swung her right forehoof into the mirror.
To her surprise, it didn't shatter. It didn't even crack. No, far more alarmingly, it held her hoof fast, a blinding glow beginning to emanate from the spot of contact. The song instantly broke down, the projections dissipating into vague hazes of magical energy as everyone present stared in shock or curiosity at what was happening. Starswirl canceled his spell, and his ears were instantly assaulted with a low but loud humming sound. Adagio's hoof was beginning to sink into the mirror, slow as molasses, and her desperate, wild struggling failed to pull it back out even by a slight margain. Her eyes were wide and terrified.
Sonata instantly leapt into action, first grabbing her leader's voluminous tail and pulling with all her might, but Adagio only screeched in pain and fear. Sonata moved up, wrapping her forelegs around the trapped hoof and pulling – she nearly wrenched Adagio's elbow apart.
And in trying to adjust her angle, she found her shoulder touching the cold glass.
The humming had become howling now, a sharp noise that threatened to overwhelm the eardrums, pressing in on the mage's skull with the force of a thousand dragons. The glowing doubled, and the pair of flailing sirens were being pulled through even faster now. Starswirl was almost horrified at this; he hadn't expected the mirror to be so protracted. It was literal torture for the two victims. Starswirl would eventually come to harden his heart and accept that such things were preferable to the suffering of thousands, but he had yet to learn that harsh lesson.
And then, as the roar became a screaming whine, they were gone. The mirror gave a last ripple and fell dark, the light of the moon seeming very dim after the bright shine from the mirror. Starswirl was alone once more.
“What did you do to them?” No, he had forgotten about Aria. The purple Siren may have worn an expression of vague irritation before, but now she glared at the bearded mage with nothing less than pure hatred.
Starswirl was confident that between the lack of her leader and how shaken up she was, the lone siren would be unable to conjure up another song, so to that end he simply sat down at the edge of the balcony, tone conversational as he explained. “This mirror was the subject of an experimental spell of mine. If it worked properly, your comrades’ consciousnesses and biological data were recorded, their bodies broken down, their consciousnesses transferred to an entirely different –and purely theoretical- universe, and their bodies reconstructed with slight alterations to fit in with that universe.” He paused, then gave a careless shrug. “Or else they were broken down and their consciousnesses erased. After what you three have done… I don’t know that I care much, either way.”
Okay, so that was a lie, but even now he couldn't bring himself to show any weakness, just in case his victory wasn't as assured as he hoped.
The mare walked forward despite herself, looking up at the wizard from just below. “So if they didn’t just… just…” she couldn’t bring herself to say it, and moved on, “then did you basically just dump all your problems on some other world?” She didn’t seem to care that she was part of that problem, genuine disappointment creeping into her tone. “I know what I’ve done, and I’m not sorry, but I still have some standards.”
This seemed to strike a nerve, the unicorn glaring back as he hissed out a response. “Do you think I wasn’t thinking of that? I spent weeks casting an incredibly complex spell over and over to find the signature of a universe without magic, or at least little enough that you all will be rendered harmless. Don’t make me out to be as heartless as you are!”
The mare just rolled her eyes, setting back down in front of the mirror. But in a second, her attitude was gone as she looked pensively at her own reflection. “If they are still alive, in another world out there… they need me. But if they’re…” Her ragged voice seemed more suited to irritation than fear or sadness, but as the unicorn listened, he couldn’t deny her very real emotion, and he began to feel the first twinges of pity. “But without them, what am I? I…”
After a moment, she began pacing, back and forth in a very tight track before the mirror. The unicorn just watched her, still and silent. He didn’t feel the need to take action against her; he could see that an important decision was being made before his eyes. Not two minutes ago, she had been confident, but then again, not two minutes ago, she’d still had her companions with her.
And finally, upon completing five loops, she turned to look at him again. “Did it hurt them?”
“…Immensely.”
She sighed, looking deep into her reflection. “We will come back. We’ll have our revenge.” It was said almost casually, expression relaxing.
The unicorn just chuckled wryly. “Sure you will.” He felt it wasn’t necessary to mention that there had been only one part of the spell he hadn’t had time to perfect, which was ironically how the time in the two universes would match up. They could come back within seconds, aged by several years, or come back as young as they were now, long after he was dead and gone.
The mare reached out a hoof to tap the mirror. A long, loud moment later, only Starswirl the Bearded remained, and at last all was as peaceful below as it was in the sky.
In the end, it would be one of the lesser tales of his exploits, an obscure one that eventually grew separate from his name altogether, adapted into nursery rhymes and bedtime stories for foals, and eventually, not even that. Over history, the tale would sometimes resurface; in one version, a wicked wizard tricked three innocent fillies into looking into his mirror that stole their souls, while another version featured a seemingly helpless stallion cleverly besting a trio of terrible bandits by using a mirror to blind them. One song even had the trio using the mirror on the individual, though that take on the tale was ambiguous about who was in the right.
However, in every version, there were three constants; an old stallion, a mirror, and three mares with beautiful singing voices…
Three little fillies, one wicked wizard
Evil heart he had, their song he had heard
Mirror he brought out, taking her soul
Two little fillies, happiness he stole
Two little fillies, one vile wizard
Evil heart he had, their song he had heard
Mirror he brought out, claiming her soul
One little filly, hiding in a hole
One little filly, one cruel wizard
Evil heart he had, her song he had heard
Mirror he brought out, sealing her soul
No little fillies, nothing at all...
The moon was bright and silver... but it made little difference in the depths of the orchard, where the trees crowded overhead let little more than the subtlest of moonbeams fall through. It was still and silent, and oddly calm. Only the distant chirping of crickets and the even more distant dull roar of the freeway interrupted this quiet sanctuary.
That was, until with an earsplitting crack of thunder and a screaming torrent of sound, a glowing disk appeared among the trees. Hovering above the ground and whirling, whirling like a top on its side, it shone bright, beams of light lancing away through the thick trunks. A moment later, it fell to the ground and went dark, landing beside the soft lumpy shape that hadn't been present seconds ago.
“Ugh...” the lump groaned, and a blue-haired head groggily lifted itself up. “'Dagi?” A voice whimpered, “Why does everything hurt? It feels like I was pulled apart and put back together all wrong.”
Slowly, the lump pulled itself apart, as Sonata and Adagio struggled to their hooves. Everything felt wrong. Their fins were gone, their hooves felt like they'd been turned to ribbons, and their faces felt strangely bald. Not to mention that every limb seemed stretched way out.
“'Dagi, is that you?” The siren leader flinched as something touched her side, and she whirled around. And then screamed. Sonata screamed right back, the two falling away from one another in an almost comical fashion as they tried to take in the monstrosities before them.
Several minutes of awkward self-exploration later, the mirror which lay forgotten to one side began to glow again, and another form tumbled out in a display of true grace and sophistication. “Damn, bucking...”
To be fair to her, Aria didn't scream when she saw the other two, already vaguely aware that some degree of change was to be expected, and more relieved than anything else that her fellow Sirens were alive. Of course, jumping on Adagio and hugging her whilst repeatedly punching her in the face... was certainly a memorable reaction in its own right. "Ow, ow, get off me, you bucking moron!"
“Shush!” Sonata hissed, finally pulling the two apart. “I hear someone.”
Indeed, some withered old lady wearing a green shirt and an apron decorated with apples was rushing between the trees toward them, silhouetted by a porch light that had just turned on and waving a soup ladle menacingly in the air. “Yeh crazy youngsters, whaddaya think yer doin' out here on mah property at this time o' night? Git, git off with yeh!” It was incredibly demeaning and awkward, made worse by their stumbling as they struggled with unfamiliar bodies, but the Sirens knew when to pick their battles, and this was a day they'd already lost the moment Adagio touched that damned mirror. And so they ran.
You never know what you had until it's gone.
A day later, Aria found herself sitting in the corner booth of some sort of 'cafe.' The term was unfamiliar to her, as was everything else in this strange world, but the trio had learned that this place meant food, both of the regular variety and of the emotional type. Magic seemed sparse at best; she had never noticed it until now, but there had always been a faint tingling in the air of Equestria, a subtle feeling of energy. This place was all but devoid of it, and that alone made it feel cold and barren despite the colorful signs everywhere and the oddly clean 'sidewalks' made of some unknown stone. The metal monsters called 'cars' were an especially alarming feature, after one had nearly attacked Sonata this morning, but they had soon enough learned to follow the signs where the roads met.
The inhabitants of this world, and their own bodies, would take some more time to get used to, and part of Aria hoped she never had to. Even if she got to a point where she wasn't stumbling about as if drunk, she hated the thought of spending any longer than absolutely necessary in this horrible world. They'd find the mirror and return to Equestria again, somehow. Soon. Adagio promised it.
And when they did, oh, the three of them had a score to settle.