My History, Rise, Fall and Return: Starlight's Story

by StormLuna

My Discoveries

A New Beginning

I had plenty of things that I had to do between my final day at the diner and my first day as a professor. Naturally I couldn't just do my teaching without any clothing on, you know how university regulations can be. I decided to purchase clothing that was practical but professional at the same time. At first I was only able to purchase a couple outfits because like I have said earlier, the diner didn't pay that well and I did have to eat. Once I get my first check from the university I will be able to diversify my wardrobe and get optional luxuries such as cable TV and a cell phone. For now though, I will have to do with what I have.

Finally the day came, my first day on the job. I woke up nervous but at the same time confident that I could help new students develop their skills and be able to find careers that involve magic. When I headed to the campus that morning I was greeted by Professor Red Star who led me to my new office. He said, "Well Professor, this is your office. This is where you will keep all your class records and meet with students." He took a look at my wardrobe, which was rather simple but professional looking and said, "Nice outfit. How many do you have right now?"

I replied, "Well right now I only have two because I didn't have a lot of money to purchase more than that."

He said, "Well I'll make sure that you are able to buy more. After all, we don't want the students thinking that you only have two outfits. That wouldn't make you look good and it wouldn't make the university look good either."

I replied, "Alright, I appreciate that."

For this upcoming semester I would be teaching two General Magic courses a day, one at ten in the morning and one at two in the afternoon. Also for this first semester, I will have to teach the evening labs from six to eight on Tuesday and Thursday nights. Yes I will admit that I wish my courses were back to back and that I had grad students to run the labs, but I knew that with me being a new professor that this is how it would be.

At five minutes before ten I headed to the classroom where I would be teaching my course from and saw the seats filling up with students. Most of them were talking and seemed rather indifferent but two students came in with smiles on their faces. One was a pink unicorn mare with a purple curly mane and tail while the other was a light blue unicorn stallion with a darker blue mane and tail. While this may sound odd to some, I had a feeling that those two would likely be among my top students.

All my students already were proficient in basic magic such as levitating things, short distance teleportation and using their abilities to perform their special talent, I would be the one to teach them how to harness their powers to levitate heavier objects, increase their teleportation distance and help them harness energies that would allow them to do things such as building and cooking. Basically, I was going to be teaching them the magic involved in everyday life.

My first class period went by without any problems. My afternoon class went by without any problems either but what shocked me was that there was a pegasus mare and an earth pony stallion. I honestly wondered what they were doing in a class that is solely for unicorns. After class I approached the two and asked them why they signed up for the course.

The pegasus replied, "I know with me being a pegasus that I can't practice any magic but I have always been fascinated by it and how it works."

The earth pony added, "I have always been interested in how it works as well. I honestly don't know why but I am."

I replied, "I am sorry but I don't think this class would be good for you because there is a mandatory lab with this class as well where students will have to show their improvement in their use of magic." I saw their faces drop and continued, "With you two being interested in how magic works, I would suggest you take the Workings of Magic course that is taught by Professor Red Star."

The mare asked, "When is this course taught?"

I replied, "Luckily for you two, it is taught at the same time that this one is, it has no mandatory lab and even better, it is taught in the classroom next door to this one."

The two thanked me for letting them know about this other magic class and headed on their way. While I was happy to see that other kinds of ponies were interested in magic, I couldn't help but wonder why. Perhaps it was because some of their relatives are unicorns or they had friends who were unicorns. One thing I did not know though was that these two would one day become a huge part of my life.

Researching the Past

While I was teaching during my first semester, myself along with some of the other magic professors began to discuss the history of magic and how it went from being simple things such as levitating things to eventually developing into the much more advanced magic that exists in this day and age. While I had always thought it was Celestia and Luna who brought more advanced magic to Equestria, I learned of the existence of ancient unicorn mages that lived here in the eastern side of the continent, before it was part of Equestria.

All this discussion of ancient Eastern unicorn magic really piqued my interest. So while the other professors, including Red Star, would go out and mingle with professors from other departments on weekends, I would go to the library and pour over the books on the history of Eastern Unicorn magic. I came to discover that before Celestia and Luna conquered the whole continent, that this land was ruled by unicorn mages, with Meadowbrook being their leader because of Her immense power. I learned that She at one time, before the Celestial invasion, ran a community in the northeastern desert. She had established a community in which those who tried to overthrow the mages were equalized. I read this and thought, "equalized?" I wonder what it means that She equalized them.

I also learned that this was where She had eight magical artifacts that are believed to only respond to the magic of Eastern Unicorns and their descendants. While I figured that they must be amazing regardless, none of the books I read mentioned of what they are nor did they mention where the artifacts are located. I do have a feeling though that they are likely hidden very well since they have never been discovered.

I continued to read and I discovered that Meadowbrook would use Her magic to remove the cutie marks of those who were deemed enemies of the East, those who were considered spies for the Celestial west. I was amazed when I learned that She would store the cutie marks in a vault in a cave and that an equals sign would replace the mark on ponies that had their marks removed. I saw this and gasped, "Wait a minute, when I remove a mark an equals sign replaces it!"

As I continued to read, it mentioned that she was the last pony to use that kind of magic, that nopony has been able to use that kind of magic in over a thousand years. I smiled and thought, "well until now!" Apparently even Celestia herself must have forgot about that kind of magic ever existing given that the worst punishment I got for using it was expulsion and banishment from Canterlot.

I was amazed that I had the same magical talent that such a powerful mage had. I eventually got to the part of the book that would anger me greatly, a part of the book that would make me decide that Celestia must eventually pay for her crimes. I read about how Meadowbrook and Her forces got into a battle with Celestia and her forces. Meadowbrook had taken a great amount of cutie marks from Celestia's soldiers but when She was captured by Celestia, She was executed.

I lowered my head and began to sob. I never imagined that the "benevolent" Princess Celestia would execute another pony for any reason. It was at this moment that I decided that my destiny was much more than being a university professor. I realized that my true destiny was to punish Celestia for her crimes, to punish the Celestial Monarchy for it's crimes against the East and to study enough that I could become a mage, take the marks of the princesses and end the Celestial Era. This of course would take an extremely long time, something that I would have to hope that I would live long enough to accomplish. Given that I have the same talent that Meadowbrook had, maybe I will have an incredibly long life span like She did as well.

A Holiday Trip

After learning about the history of Eastern unicorn magic, Meadowbrook and the community that She had out in the northeastern desert, the semester seemed to drag by. While I continued to do a great job teaching, I soon found myself almost obsessing over taking a trip to the northeastern desert and finding the location of where Her village once stood. I found myself spending every single amount of my spare time immersing myself in information about Meadowbrook, Eastern Unicorns and what was known about the types of energies that they use.

Finally, after what seemed to take forever, the semester came to a close. While there was going to be a Hearth's Warming gala at the university for the professors, I would not be in town for it. The day after classes ended I set out on my journey. I boarded a train to a remote outpost that is basically where the tracks end and the train leaves in reverse. This was no cheap trip because I had to basically charter this trip.

Several hours passed and I the train finally reached it's destination. I got out of the car and the train began to go in reverse. Around me was what appeared to be a desolate wasteland. My first thought was, "Meadowbrook had Her community out here? How did She grow crops, how did She get water?"

Of course I then realized that being a unicorn mage, that She probably had the talent to simply make things grow and maybe had a well where She could access ground water. I began to head to the north where I saw a gorge, which had a very old bridge going over it. I did not trust this bridge one bit though so I teleported from one side of the gorge to the other. I then continued my journey north until I began to descend down from the hill into a lower elevated plain.

My heart nearly stopped with what I saw next. There before me was an old settlement, one that looked like it had sat abandoned for ages. It was simply two rows of identical buildings with a house sitting at the end of the town. I thought to myself, "No way would Meadowbrook reside in a dump like this!"

I then saw a path that headed northwards out of town up a hill and eventually led to what appeared to be an opening in the rock. While I was headed up the hill I discovered a two pronged wooden staff. I was unsure as to what it was but a nagging voice in the back of my head told me that while it may look useless, that someday it would help me in my cause greatly so I decided to take it up to the opening.

When I got up to the opening I discovered this was no mere opening, it was a cave. As I got towards the back of it I saw something that was not natural, it was something that was put in there. I lit up my horn and before me stood a massive structure. I looked closer and it had many glass compartments in it and I began to wonder what it truly was. In the bottom most compartment on the left side I saw something strange. The glass was covered in dirt so I wound up brushing it off and I was shocked by what I found. A CUTIE MARK! I saw a shield cutie mark. I am guessing that it was one from Celestia's forces that was never recovered.

I began to jump up and down and shout, "I found it! I found it! I can't believe I found it!"

I had never felt happier in my life. While I had a great job and a very comfortable place to live, I realized that part of my destiny must be to revive Meadowbrook's village. While Equestria is united as one and there are not the problems that Meadowbrook had, that didn't mean that I could not begin to equalize ponies. While Meadowbrook targeted spies and Celestial soldiers, I will go after the arrogant ponies who flaunt their talents and those who taunt other ponies that they consider beneath them.

Now getting back to Manehattan was going to be far more difficult than getting here was as there will be no train coming out this way. I generally knew the location of this town and the nearest community was Marentreal, which was off to the west. It took several days for me to go through the desert but I eventually reached Marentreal and caught the train home. My trip took much less time than I thought as when I got home, there were still two and a half weeks remaining until classes would start again.

I was very excited about everything that happened but I was frustrated that I could not go see my parents. I know they have their jobs, friends and lives there, I truly wish they would leave Canterlot. I miss them so much but for now, again, a letter telling them of everything that has happened would have to do.

Dear Mom and Dad,

Hi, it's me again. How are you doing? I hope all is going well for you. Here in Manehattan things have been going quite well. I finished teaching my first semester and things went rather normally. During this time my co-workers and I began to discuss ancient Eastern Unicorn magic and I became very interested in it. While I would teach during the week, my weekends would be spend doing as much research as possible regarding the magic of Eastern Unicorns and the history of Meadowbrook. Did you know that She had the same talent that I do? Did you know that She could take cutie marks, store them and in their place a black equals sign would appear on the pony's flank. I think that is amazing!

During my research I discovered that Meadowbrook had a community that She led out in the northeastern desert. It was a place where Celestial soldiers, western spies and Celestial loyalists would be taken to be equalized. I read about how Meadowbrook had a cave with a cutie mark vault in it. I decided to take a trip up to this area and the old legends are true. Apparently the conditions there are so dry that even after over a thousand years, the community is still standing. I headed up to the cave and sure enough, there is a cutie mark vault and upon further inspection, I saw that there was still one cutie mark being stored in there! It is of a shield so it is likely that of a Celestial soldier. I really wish I could have shared this with you together but this letter will have to do. I hope we can see each other soon.

Love your Daughter,

Professor Starlight Glimmer

Discovering My True Origins

The remaining time of my break seemed to be racing by as before I knew it, there was only one more week before I would begin teaching again. I would be teaching the same classes and have the exact same schedule. Luckily though, there would be grad students to teach the labs so all I had to worry about were the daytime classes.

As I was getting ready to fix breakfast that morning I heard a knock on my door. I was not expecting any company and I had hoped to get some more research on how Eastern Unicorns used their energy in that day so I was a bit frustrated. I opened the door and I was shocked. There stood mom and dad! I rushed into their hooves and began to cry I was so happy. It had been so long since I saw them. I invited them in and asked them if they wanted some breakfast and of course they said yes.

I fixed us eggs, bacon, toast and oatmeal, which was a family favorite when I was growing up. During breakfast we began to talk. Mom asked "Starlight, we got your letter and we are happy that you seem to be happy here."

Dad added, "I am so happy to see that you are learning about Eastern Unicorn magic. Had you remained in Canterlot, you would never have been able to diversify your knowledge like this."

I replied, "I know. Celestia never had any materials on the eastern half of Equestria prior to her takeover of the full continent."

Mom said, "Well Celestia and her armies did commit horrible atrocities against not just Eastern Unicorns, but all ponies here in the East."

I replied, "I know. It almost makes me ashamed that I ever went to Celestia's school. I never imagined that she was evil like that." A few tears began to roll down my cheeks as I continued, "And the fact that she executed Meadowbrook bothers me so much. I hate her, I truly hate her."

My mom looked at dad and asked, "Honey, think we should tell her."

Dad nodded and began, "Starlight honey, there is something that we have been hiding from you. It is something that many ponies in Equestria have to hide from their children for their safety and well-being."

I was not thrilled that they would hide something but with the reason they gave of hiding it, I wasn't quite as upset. I asked, "What are you hiding."

Mom continued, "Honey, I know we have told you that our heritage comes from basically Vanhoover and Las Pegasus, but that is not the truth. We have had to tell you this because ponies of our heritage are frowned upon by many other ponies. On both sides of the family, our heritage comes from a much different place."

I asked, "Oh, and where is that?"

Mom continued, "Starlight, our lineage comes from the East. Biologically we are Eastern Unicorns. On your father's side of the family, he is descended directly back to Mage Meadowbrook Herself."

I rushed into their arms and asked, "Does that mean that I too am a direct descendant of Meadowbrook?"

My dad replied, "Yes Starlight, you are a direct descendant of Meadowbrook."

Mom pulled the family tree out of her saddlebag, which was massive and spread it out on my dining room table. Sure enough, my lineage on my father's side traces straight back to Mage Meadowbrook and on my mom's side it traces back to Mage Shadowstar, who was Meadowbrook's second in command and the second most powerful mage in the East.

My mom patted me on the back and said, "You know Starlight, perhaps you were meant to be expelled from Celestia's school and banished from Canterlot. You got what you could out of Celestia's school and now despite being a professor here, you are learning a lot here as well."

Dad added, "And given that you made the journey out to Meadowbrook's community and discovered the cutie mark vault, the time has come for you to fulfill your true destiny."

I asked, "My true destiny?"

Mom replied, "Yes Starlight, your true destiny. After you were expelled, Celestia paid us a visit and said that since you had begun to play with Twilight that you were so close to becoming a princess."

Dad added, "But with your expulsion, while at first things may have seemed horrible at first, you are now on your way to fulfilling your destiny." He paused for a couple of seconds and continued, "The old Eastern Unicorn prophecy is being fulfilled. The direct descendant of the two most powerful mages has arrived and begun her journey. You have many more things ahead of you in your future, some good and some not so good but in the end you will liberate the East from Celestial rule."

Mom continued, "And perhaps even avenge Meadowbrook Herself."

When my parents told me all of this, I realized that all of the feelings I had when I discovered the cutie mark vault actually were true. I did not want to even mutter such things to myself at that time as I did not want to make myself superior to anypony else. I replied, "Mom, dad, I promise you that I will not let you down. I will not let Meadowbrook and Shadowstar down. I will not let the race of Eastern Unicorns and other Eastern ponies in general down. I will bring about equality for all, nopony should have to be scared to show their true heritage."

Mom said, "I know you won't honey. I am hoping we can stay here for a couple of days before returning back to Canterlot."

I replied, "Of course you can stay! I have some clean sheets and blankets. I want you two to sleep in my bedroom and I will sleep on the couch."

They smiled and in unison they said, "You are a true Eastern Unicorn, your offer would make Meadowbrook and Shadowstar proud."

The days that my parents stayed with me were the happiest days that I had had in a long time. They were even happier than the moment that I discovered the cutie mark vault and vastly more happy than the day I was accepted into Celestia's school.

Comments

[Nox Knock Jokes]

This is so awesome! I'm really loving this story. It's so mind blowing when characters find that they are related to a really powerful person from the past. This is like Star Wars mind blowing fanspasm! FANSPASM EVERYWHERE!