The Unequal

Chapters

The Markless
The Rat
The Guilt
The Worm
The Bully
The Nightmare
The Fear
The Fury
The Breaking
The Chaos
The Invasion
The Queen
The Hallucinations
The Legacy
The Finale
The End
The Epilogue

The Markless

Starlight Glimmer smirked to herself as she got up out of bed. She walked down the stairs of Princess Twilight’s castle, humming to herself as she made her way to the kitchen. “Good morning Twilight.”

Princess Twilight jumped and put her book down, forcing a smile on her face as she turned to greet Starlight. “M-morning, Starlight. Did you sleep well?”

Starlight beamed. “I slept wonderfully. How about you?”

Princess Twilight weakly shrugged. “Can’t complain. No nightmares. No particularly memorable dreams either, but that’s the sacrifice we have to make for a better Equestria, right?” she chuckled nervously.

“I’m glad you think so. Have you made breakfast for us already?”

Princess Twilight gulped and looked down at the bowls of brown sludge on the kitchen counter. She glanced back at Starlight, shrugged, and carefully picked up the bowls with her hooves. She didn’t use her magic that much these days. “I’ve made something alright.”

Starlight looked down at her meal with delight. “It smells delicious!”

Princess Twilight ate a spoonful of the sludge and shuddered in disgust. “You would be a better judge for that than I would,” she said as she choked down her food.

Starlight’s gaze snapped back to Twilight as she glared suspiciously at the princess. “What would I be better at?”

Princess Twilight gulped and forced the smile back on her face. “Nothing. All of us are better for being best at nothing. We must always be our best by never being our best.”

Starlight smiled again, and patted Twilight’s head as if she were still a child. “That’s right my little princess. I’m no better than you are and you’re no better than me.” She stroked Twilight’s face and gazed at her with pity. “Still having difficulties remembering our philosophy, are we? I can always help you with that…”

Princess Twilight quickly got off her chair and backed away from the unicorn. “N-no Starlight. Y-you don’t need to remind me about our cause.”

“Are you sure? I would hate for you to lose all the friends you’ve made.”

Princess Twilight’s face darkened for a moment but she quickly forced her smile back on. “Neither would I. Friendship is very important after all and friendship can…only be made…through equality.”

“Well…let me know if your mind needs healing.” Starlight turned back to her breakfast and finished eating. When she was done, she tapped her hoof patiently. “Um, Twilight? Aren’t we forgetting something?”

“N-no Starlight. I have all the reports and checklists you asked for right here.” Princess Twilight carried several sheets of paper and placed them onto the table beside Starlight’s hoof.

“Perfect. What’s first on the agenda for today…oh, it looks like it’s my turn to begin our national anthem at the schoolhouse! It’ll be nice to see all the fillies’ and colts’ smiling faces.” She slowly drank a glass of muddy brown apple juice, savoring the taste. “We seem to be running out of apple juice. Pick some up today, will you princess?”

Princess Twilight nodded and smiled as Starlight made her way to the castle exit, waving her goodbye. “I will. May your day be just as good as the last one was!”

Starlight waved back before she turned around and left the castle, humming to herself as she walked through the streets of Ponyville. She was thinking about renaming the town, but then again she had only recently become the one true ruler of all of Equestria. Now that the princesses saw the value of equality, they knew not to question her. Starlight had all the time in the world to rename whatever she saw fit to rename.

The sky was very dark that day, the sun hidden behind thick gray clouds. Starlight smiled and waved to everypony she passed. Some ponies, mostly the ones from the first Town waved back with big grins on their faces. Other ponies grimaced a little before they smiled and waved back, although theirs was a halfhearted gesture. She wasn’t bothered by it though. Soon they would all be happy with their new lives, and all their doubts would fade away.

She made it to the schoolhouse and politely knocked on the door. Cheerilee opened the door and smiled nervously at her. “G-good morning Starlight Glimmer. It’s that time of the week again, huh?”

“Good morning to you too Miss Cheerilee. Are all the children here?”

“We’re ready when you are.” Cheerilee walked back inside with Starlight and smiled at the colts and fillies. “Okay children. It’s time to sing our national anthem. …Yay.”

The colts and fillies in the classroom responded with mixed enthusiasm. Starlight pretended not to notice that and shouted cheerfully. “Heads high, ponies! Let’s wake up and greet a new day! Come on, let’s see those big, happy smiles!” Starlight began to sing with Miss Cheerilee and the class following her lead:

“Life is so grand in Equestria
We’re always filled with cheer!
We never have to look around
To know that we’re all here.

In Our Town, in Our Town
We don’t have to wait
To find out that our destiny
Is just to emulate.”

As the ponies kept singing, the windows slowly opened. A gentle wind was blowing through Ponyville, brushing up against the town, listening to what the ponies in it had to say.

“Life is a smile in Equestria
Our cutie mark’s the same
Because we do not separate
Ourselves by more than name.”

Scootaloo stared down at her desk; a smile forced on her face as she sang along and tried her best to ignore the tears in her eyes.

“In Our Town, in Our Town
We dare not compete
Winning only breeds the worst
Ego-filled conceit.”

As they kept singing, Starlight noticed that one colt’s hair was not done up in a Equal-approved manner. She walked over to the colt and gently trimmed his mane as they kept singing, snipping away those messy, unwanted locks.

“Life is a joy in Equestria
We’re all equal here
No one is superior
And no one shakes in fear.”

Apple Bloom and Diamond Tiara glanced at each other as everyone in the class kept singing the same song.

“In Our Town, in Our Town
We work as a team
You can’t have a nightmare
If you never dream.”

However, just as Starlight was about to begin the next verse, one of the light bulbs in the classroom exploded. Because the sun wasn’t shining that day, one corner of the classroom was enveloped in darkness. The sudden explosion made the gathered ponies jump in fright, their song put on pause as they all turned to face the loud noise.

“W-what happened?” Sweetie Belle asked nervously.

Cheerilee and Starlight went over to examine the damage. Cheerilee looked up and smiled reassuringly at her class. “Nothing to worry about everypony. Just an old light bulb that couldn’t go on anymore. I’ll get a new one on the weekend.” She glanced at Starlight and added, “Um, if our budget will allow it. I-is that okay with you Miss Glimmer.”

“It’s no problem Miss Cheerilee. I’ll be happy to pay for the broken light. These children need to see in order to learn and a proper education is the most important gift we can offer Equestria, besides equality of course.”

She was about to turn back to the colts and fillies when something flashed in the corner of her eye. Starlight looked back down at the floor and noticed a shiny pebble sitting in the corner of the room. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion as she looked at the pebble, then at the broken glass. Her gaze drifted over to the one window that had been open when she arrived in the classroom. If somepony had really good aim…

She shook her head and faced her audience again. “After all, children are our future. Now, let’s see those happy smiles one more time everypony!”

The colts and fillies began to sing again. But as Starlight lead them in song, she couldn’t help but wonder why she felt a small shiver up her spine.

Starlight Glimmer walked back through the streets of Ponyville. Despite that small accident previously that morning, she was still in a good mood. “Morning in Ponyville glimmers. Morning in Ponyville shines! And I know for absolute certain, that everything is finally m-”

“Starlight Glimmer! We found somepony! You need to come, it’s an emergency!”

Starlight frowned in confusion and concern as her loyal friend Double Diamond ran up to her. “An emergency? Double Diamond, what could possibly be wrong?”

“There’s a filly who doesn’t have the same cutie mark that we do!” the stallion cried.

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “Oh dear. That is troublesome. Lead me to her.”

In no time at all, Double Diamond had brought Starlight to the young filly in the middle of the town square.

Two stallions were holding the filly, though she didn’t seem bothered by it. The filly was an earth pony with a bright white coat and a candy pink mane and tail. As Starlight approached the filly, she felt a shiver run down her spine again. The filly’s pink eyes were staring at her, and a soft smile was spread across her face. Starlight had seen the same look on just about everypony at least once. But on this filly, the smile didn’t quite look right.

She shook off the strange feeling and smiled at the filly. “Welcome! We’re so pleased to have you here!”

The filly smiled and continued to stare back at Starlight. The other ponies waited patiently for the filly to say something. But she remained silent.

Starlight coughed and said, “My name is Starlight Glimmer.”

The filly smiled and said, “I know.” There was something odd about the filly’s voice. She sounded more like a full-grown mare than a filly. Although, that wasn’t entirely true. There was a small hint of childishness in her voice, sort of like Pinkie Pie. There was something else too, but Starlight couldn’t quite put her hoof on it.

“What’s your name?” Starlight asked.

The filly smiled thoughtfully before she said, “Guess.”

Starlight smirked. “Now’s not the time for games my little pony. Tell me your name please.”

“Not the time for games? Oh, I’d have to disagree with you Miss Glimmer. There’s always time for games,” the filly giggled.

Starlight frowned before she turned to Double Diamond. “Since you’re not being cooperative, I’ll just have to ask somepony else. What’s her name?”

The equalized ponies in the town square shuffled their hooves nervously. “We…don’t know,” Double Diamond admitted.

“What? That can’t be. Somepony must know who this is!” But nobody answered her. Starlight huffed in frustration and asked, “Are her parents around?”

“Sorry Miss Glimmer. We don’t know who they are either,” Double Diamond said.

“What? Well, where did you find her? Where is she from?”

“I…I don’t know Starlight,” Double Diamond stammered. “She just...we found her at the edge of town.”

Starlight grunted. “Come on, someone must know something about her.”

The filly giggled when nobody answered her. “Oh bother. Good help is just so hard to find these days, isn’t it dearie?”

Starlight frowned at the filly. As she examined the giggling little girl, she noticed that the filly didn’t have a cutie mark. “Oh, a blank flank? My job is already halfway done. Princess Twilight?”

Princess Twilight stepped out from the crowd and handed Starlight her Staff of Sameness. Starlight grabbed the staff in her magic and smirked at the filly. “It doesn’t matter what your name is. You’re one of us now.”

The filly smirked back at her. “Oh, I’m one of something, alright.”

Starlight used her magic to cast her spell through the staff. She grinned as the beam of light enveloped the filly, tugging at her flank.

However, as the seconds passed Starlight’s smile faded. An equal sign was taking a remarkably long time to appear on the filly’s flank. Seconds soon turned into minutes, and the gathered ponies were gasping in disbelief. The filly was still a blank flank. She wasn’t even in any kind of pain as Starlight’s spell continued to wash over her. She sat there…staring at them all.

Starlight gasped and let go of the spell, the staff dropping to the ground as she sunk to the floor. The filly smiled as an exhausted Starlight gasped for breath. “Having trouble, honey cakes?

Starlight glared at the filly and stood back up. “How are you doing that? No pony has ever resisted the Staff of Sameness. No pony!”

The filly tilted her head in thought. “No pony, you say? Interesting,” she giggled.

Double Diamond gulped. “What do you want to do with her, Starlight?”

Starlight shook her head in disgust, before she smiled at the nervous crowd. “Don’t worry everypony. We’ll deal with this troublemaker the same we always do.”

The filly gasped in delight and clapped her hooves. “Are you taking me to the brainwashing shack? Oh goodie! I’ve always wanted to see it up close and personal!”

Starlight frowned at the filly again. “Well, I’m happy to see that you’re enthusiastic.”

The filly smiled at Starlight. “Really? You don’t look very happy. Almost nobody did when I was walking through town.”

Starlight smirked at the filly’s flank. “Well, we’ll fix that soon enough, now won’t we?”

The filly giggled. “Nice to find something we can agree upon.” The filly giggled again as she covered her flank with her tail. “Careful Starry! Where I come from, it’s considered rude to stare at a girl’s butt for too long. You don’t want to give anybody here any ideas, do you?”

“That’s quite enough out of you. If you want to talk so much you should have spoken up before. Now, you’ll just have to wait until tomorrow. That should give you plenty of time to consider our philosophy.”

The filly smiled as the two stallions carried her. “Oh, I’ve already spent quite a bit of time consider your philosophy. But you’re dear for thinking about my needs.”

As Starlight and the two stallions walked through town, the filly kept giggling at everything she saw. “My, my, you have been busy, haven’t you darling? Everybody in Ponyville, Manehatten, and even Canterlot I’ve heard! Speaking of bodies, I notice that there’s a lack of non-pony people around here. I was lead to believe that I might encounter a dragon? A zebra? Some cows? A donkey or two? Where might they be?”

Starlight grunted. “I don’t want to hear any attitude from you, little one.”

“Oh no, you misunderstand me, Starry! I’m congratulating you. For you to spread your interpretation of equality all across Equestria, even to ponies like Princess Celestia and Princess Luna…you must have very unique dreams.”

Starlight smiled proudly. “It is the dream of equality that we all share. One that you’ll be a part of soon too.”

As the two stallions set her down in front of the big door, the filly turned to Starlight. “What? Well that can’t be right, now can it? Nobody has the same dream that you do. You said so yourself, Miss Glimmer.”

Starlight glared at the filly. “What are you babbling about?”

The filly’s smile grew into a very large grin. “You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream.”

Starlight blinked in confusion. She opened her mouth to reply…but she found that she didn’t have a retort for that. She shook her head and closed the door.

Even as she turned away, she could still hear the filly’s voice. “Goodnight Starlight! Sleep tight! Don’t let the…surprise bite!”

As Starlight walked back to her friends, she could hear somebody singing, the wind carrying a strange, otherworldly voice:

“Twinkle, twinkle, little star
I always know where you are
Soon the fool shall be crowned
Like a smear upon the ground
Twinkle, twinkle, little star

Just try and run…you won’t get far.”

The Rat

Starlight Glimmer’s Progress Report on Unnamed Filly

Entry Number 3

Oh brother. We’ve got another stubborn fool on our case here. It’s been three whole days since the unnamed filly was placed into our care. So far, whatever is blocking my magic from getting the job is still in effect. And now I’ll have to bring in extra food and water so that the filly doesn’t dehydrate while she refuses to listen to reason.

Side note: The filly must have gorged herself on food for days before she came here. She has been given the same bare minimum amount of food and water that all the previous fools received before they finally saw reason and accepted equality. And yet she has shown zero signs of hunger or thirst, beyond a few requests for sweets. But if I don’t give her more food Fluttershy is going to be unbearable.

Entry Number 6

She’s strong willed, I’ll give her that. Over a week of non-stop conditioning and my magic still won’t work on her. That kind of resistance has only shown up in less than a dozen ponies so far. Princess Twilight’s friends and family also took a long time before they accepted equality. But this girl is just a lonely filly. No friends. No family. She’ll be begging to join our town once my magic takes a hold of her.

Side note: I have Princess Twilight and a few other ponies looking for any signs of her past. So far, nothing. No medical records. No records of any kind. Ridiculous. She didn’t just step out of thin air, did she?

Entry Number 8

If I thought filly’s constant giggling was annoying, her laughter is just aggravating. What in the world does she find so funny? Nothing else to report.

Entry Number 15

It’s been over two weeks.

Two whole weeks and nothing.

HOW?

Only the princesses have lasted this long. Princess Cadance lasted two and a half weeks before I got her husband to sort her out. Princess Celestia and Princess Luna lasted three weeks. But they’re alicorns! This is just a filly!

What is her secret? What is she hiding from me?

After today, I can’t wait any longer. I’m sick of seeing that filly’s smug smile every. Single. Morning. I need results.

Starlight closed her progress reports on the filly and waited for her friends to come. She was sitting in the throne room of Princess Twilight’s castle. A few changes had been made since the room was formed. As soon as Starlight saw the cutie marks on their thrones, she ordered her friends to scratch them off. As it turns out, the throne and the cutie marks on them were nigh indestructible. Instead, Starlight had her new Elements of Equality cover the tops of their thrones with banners depicting their devotion to equality.

Princess Twilight had also informed Starlight about an interactive crystal map of Equestria that previously stood in the center of the circle of thrones. However, when Starlight had tried to activate the map, the crystal platform had turned pitch black. Ever since then, nopony could activate the map.

Starlight tapped her hoof impatiently on the throne that had previously belonged to Spike the dragon. When it came to choosing her throne, there was only one seat available and luckily enough it was in a perfect position for Princess Twilight to sit by her side. The fact that it was the smallest throne didn’t bother her, as Starlight said she was willing to make the sacrifice for equality.

She smiled as her friends finally entered the throne room and took their seats. “Welcome my friends. I’m so glad you could join me to discuss this terrible problem that plagues our fair village. Pinkie Pie, it’s so good to see you again. I hate to pull you away from your family’s rock farm but I’m sure they understand the circumstances, yes?”

“Whatever,” Pinkie sighed. It was tragic really. Starlight wanted Pinkie to smile the same way every other pony in their kingdom did, but equality’s blessing was very thorough in crushing Pinkie’s talent. However Starlight was patients and she trusted Pinkie to be patient too. She didn’t need a cutie mark to be happy. Starlight believed that as long as everypony was equal, happiness would eventually come to them all.

“Right then. Let’s begin. First of all, have any of you found out anything about the filly.”

“Nope,” Applejack mumbled.

“What she said,” Rainbow muttered.

Starlight growled. “Nothing?”

“I’m sorry Starlight, but we’ve been searching for weeks now and still…no family records, no medical records, no records of any kind. I know how ridiculous it sounds but…” Princess Twilight sighed. “As far as official documents go, this filly didn’t exist before we met her. She just…appeared out of nowhere.”

Starlight sighed. “Fine, whatever. I didn’t want to hear her life story anyway.”

Rarity stared at the ceiling and smirked. “Oh my.”

Starlight glanced at her. “Excuse me?”

Rarity waved a hoof. “Nothing darling. The title of a book I read once just popped into my head. Haven’t the faintest idea why.”

Starlight sighed and turned to face Twilight again. “What about the guards? You spoke with them before you came here, right?”

Twilight nodded. “Yes. But they didn’t have much to say. The filly is kept in isolation for almost the entire day. She is not allowed to see another pony until she accepts equality. But from what the guards have heard, she doesn’t seem…bothered by her isolation.”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow. “Seriously? A little filly like her has been alone for two weeks, and she hasn’t gone insane yet?” She shivered a little. “That’s weird.”

“The guards haven’t let up their…um, guard though,” Princess Twilight said awkwardly. “They’ve kept their ears trained on the filly. They said it sounds like she spends most of her time…singing.”

Fluttershy finally chose to speak up. “Singing? What does she sing about?”

“They…aren’t sure. Most of the time, the filly sings in a language they’ve never heard before.” Twilight frowned. “Even I don’t know what she’s singing about.”

Starlight’s eyes widened in surprise. “But…how? Most fillies her age are still stumbling over their vocabulary. How can she know more than one language?”

Princess Twilight shrugged. “Not all colts and fillies grow up the same way. Perhaps she was born in a bilingual family. Maybe she’s blended two or more languages to make a new one.”

Starlight snorted in disgust. “What does she think she’ll achieve with that? Things are so much easier when everyone speaks the same language.”

The other ponies shifted uncomfortably in their chairs but didn’t say anything.

“We need to get a little more personal in our approach. Hearing our message of equality within the House of Tranquility is obviously not enough.” Starlight turned and smiled at the yellow pegasus in their group. “Fluttershy, out of all your friends you were the first one to accept equality.”

Fluttershy blushed. “W-well, everypony was so nice in your town. And ever since you’ve brought equality to Ponyville, it seems like nothing bad happens anymore.”

“Things have certainly calmed down a lot around here. Even if a few sacrifices had to be made,” Princess Twilight mumbled.

“Sacrifices? What sacrifices?” Starlight asked, glaring suspiciously at the princess.

Twilight fidgeted a little. “Sorry. It’s just, earlier I was speaking to…never mind.”

Starlight sighed. “Fluttershy, the point is I think you might be the key to this little problem. If you spend a day or two with the filly perhaps you can get her to see reason.”

Fluttershy smiled. “I’ll try my best.”

The next morning after Starlight said good morning over the loudspeaker, the filly was already off to a fine start at annoying her. As Starlight unlocked and opened the door of the Equalization House, the filly came strutting out with a smile on her face, as always.

“Looks like another excellent turn out!” the filly giggled as she saw that everpony in Ponyville was gathered outside the Equalization House once again. “My, my, I understand that I’m quite a curiosity but I didn’t think I was the only source of entertainment in this quaint little village.” The filly giggled and began to blow kisses to all of them. “Of course, who am I to say no to such an adoring crowd?! Come on everybody, shower me with your pearly smiles! Ya know ya want to.”

“That’s enough out of you,” Starlight said as she pulled the filly back with her magic. Starlight grumbled and rubbed her horn. She always got a headache when she used magic on the filly, even if it was simple telekinesis. But at least the levitation spell actually worked.

The filly smirked at Starlight. “Up for another round, Starry? Here to tickle my brain and tickle my butt?” she said as her tail swished around her flanks. “Well how can I say no to that?”

The filly laid down on her side, belly facing Starlight. Her tail swished a little and her eyes were hooded. She winked at the older mare and said, “I’m ready when you are, Starry.”

Just about all the other ponies cringed at the filly’s behaviour. “Stop that!” Starlight snapped as she picked the filly up in her magic again and set her down so that she was standing on four legs once more.

The filly giggled. “Well, since you asked so nicely. It was just simple teasing, dearie. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Starlight rubbed her head and said, “Clearly, the equalization process is having little effect on you. Which is why today we will be trying something different.”

The filly’s eyes widened. “Ooh, that sounds promising.”

“I hope so.” Starlight waved Fluttershy over and smiled at the filly. “This is my good friend Fluttershy. She’s a hard-working and compassionate member of our village who believes in equality with all her heart. She’s going to be joining you in the Equalization House today. My hope is that she will show you how wonderful life can be once you’ve embraced equality and that the two of you will form a healthy friendship. Tomorrow morning, we will see if she has made any progress with you.”

The filly’s smile slowly grew into a grin. “Let me get this straight…you’re going to lock me and this Fluttershy girl here in the same room for an entire day and night?”

Starlight smiled and nodded confidently. “Yes.”

“…He he heh. Ha ha hah. Ah ha ha! Hoo a-ha hoo ha ha ha!”

Starlight frowned as the filly clutched sides and fell to the ground in laughter. “What’s so funny?”

“He…a-hee…oh nothing you need concern yourself with. An inside joke, my dear.” The filly stood back up and held a hoof over her mouth. “Oh, if only the boys and girls back home could see this.” The filly turned to Fluttershy and beamed. “But enough about that! A good morning to you, madam!” The filly grabbed Fluttershy’s hooves and began to dance in circles, pulling the older mare into a twirl. “This is gonna be so much fun! We can stay up late, give each over makeover…talk about boys?” The filly giggled as Fluttershy blushed. “Unless of course you prefer girls, I’m certainly not one to judge my dear.”

“Will you please take this seriously?” Starlight scowled.

“Oh, very well miss party pooper. I’ll refrain from anything that might make Miss Fluttershy here uncomfortable. There’s so many other things we can swap stories about!” The filly glanced at Starlight before turning back to Fluttershy and gave her a hug. “Old childhood stories and the like.”

Starlight smiled. “That’s more like it. You two have a wonderful day and we’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Of course!” The filly’s eyes swept along the crowd until she spotted a brown earth stallion who was looking at a pocket watch hanging on a very long, gold chain. “Excuse me sir! Could we pretty please borrow that?”

Starlight blinked in confusion before she levitated the stallion’s golden watch over to the filly. “Why do you want this? You’ve never been interested in what the time was before?”

“Oh, I just want to make sure I spend the time I have with Fluttershy here wisely. Wouldn’t want to waste a single minute with her.” The filly examined the watch in her right hoof, staring at it as she swung it back and forth. “Yes, this will nicely.”

“Well, goodnight everyone! See you in the morning!” The filly waved at the crowd before she placed her hoof on Fluttershy and steered into the Equalization House.

Starlight blinked in surprise as the filly slammed the door behind her. She didn’t know why the filly was so excited about being interrogated by Fluttershy, but she going to complain. She locked the door and turned to the guards. “Be sure to give Fluttershy plenty of food, but don’t give the filly anything else that what she deserves. If the filly still won’t cooperate, perhaps we can at least make her jealous.”

“Of course Starlight Glimmer!” the two guards said, giving her the same smiles they had since they lost their cutie marks. Starlight nodded and walked away, confident that progress was finally being made.

The next morning, Starlight let Fluttershy’s friends go up and talk to her while she stayed in the crowd, keeping an eye on the filly.

“So? How’d it go?” Twilight asked.

Fluttershy yawned before she gave her friends a big smile. “Oh, it was wonderful. She was an absolute angel the entire night. So warm…and cheerful…such a good friend…” she yawned again and rubbed her eyes.

“Um, you okay there?” Applejack asked.

“Huh?” Fluttershy blinked a couple of times, her eyes looking a little glazed. She smiled again and said, “Oh, excuse me. We spent so much time talking. Did you know that’s she a fellow animal enthusiast too? She was telling me all about these amazing creatures that she’s encountered in her travels.”

“Really? What kind of animals?” Twilight asked.

“Oh where to begin…she talked about hummingbirds, loons, pink flamingoes, falcons, vultures, spiders, scorpions…she talked a lot about these two bats she…” Fluttershy drifted off as she yawned again.

“Um, Fluttershy?” Rarity said as she gently poked the dozing pegasus.

“Huh? Oh and she told me she has a pet named Mr. Nibbles!”

Rarity smiled. “A fellow cat owner? Well that’s nice to know.”

“Oh no, Mr. Nibbles isn’t a cat. He’s a snake.”

The other ponies stared at her with some alarm. “W-why would she name a snake that?”

“…He he he. Ah ha ha!” the filly laughed.

Rainbow glared at the filly. “What are you laughing at?”

The filly smiled. “Oh, nothing. I named him for rather…obvious reasons that are perhaps not so obvious to some people. I’ve always had a hidden talent with names.”

Starlight sighed. “It sounds like nothing has changed with you. Fluttershy, let’s just leave her alone.”

“Aw, now don’t say that. I like having Miss Fluttershy with me. She has such a relaxed attitude,” the filly said, giving the crowd a cute pout.

“This isn’t about what you want, it’s about what you need,” Starlight insisted.

“And clearly, I need to have more friends. That’s the goal of this exercise, isn’t it?” The filly glanced at Fluttershy and grinned. “Come now…we’re making such sunshiny good progress and I want you to stay with me.”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened. She turned away from her friends and faced Starlight with a big smile. “I think she’s right Starlight. We’re making such good progress.”

“Can’t she stay with me just one more night?” the filly asked gently.

“Can’t you give me just one more night with her?” Fluttershy asked with a hopeful smile.

Starlight frowned thoughtfully. “Well…alright. But just one more night.”

The crowd began to go their separate ways as Fluttershy and the filly were sent back into the Equalization House. Meanwhile Starlight went back to her room in Princess Twilight’s castle and looked over a few chalkboards she had. Before the filly had arrived in town, Starlight had drawn a few plans that she had been brainstorming about. One plan she kept coming back to was time travel. She imagined that if she could go back in time and start her equalization campaign early, then stubborn cases like the filly wouldn’t be such a problem. Of course, this was nothing more than brainstorming.

Starlight shrugged and went back downstairs to look for a book to read. Even if the filly was troublesome, she wasn’t worth rewriting history for. Starlight had faith in Fluttershy’s persuasion and by tomorrow, she was sure that something big would happen.

The next morning, Starlight jumped out of a bed as a loud scream pierced the air. She rushed out of the castle as fast as her legs could carry her, hurrying to see what the commotion was about. She soon arrived at the Equalization House were Fluttershy was outside, crying her eyes out as the filly gave her a gentle hug.

“There, there. It’s going to be okay,” the filly whispered in her ear as she patted Fluttershy. The filly was smiling at her friend but it was a much sadder smile than what Starlight was used to seeing.

Starlight was about to ask what happened when she glanced at the door and screamed at the top of her lungs.

There was a large dead rat nailed to the door. The rat’s body was covered in bite marks, small pieces of tree bark, dirt, and dried blood. Most disturbing of all, the rat’s mouth was stretched open into a grin with two more nails.

Right above the rat, there was a note nailed to the door too. A note with only one word.

SMILE

The Guilt

Starlight Glimmer sighed as she and Princess Twilight took their seats in the throne room. “This is a disaster.”

“Gee, what was your first clue?” Applejack grumbled as she and her friends took their seats as well.

Pinkie Pie looked over at Fluttershy. “You okay?”

“Mm hmm,” Fluttershy mumbled as she stared down at the object in her hooves that she was playing with.

“How could we let this happen? An innocent rat killed and nailed to our front door. What kind of pony could do this?!” Starlight growled.

Fluttershy meekly raised her hoof. “Um…if I could say something…”

“And Fluttershy! You were right there when it happened! I can only imagine how traumatized you must feel,” Starlight said, gazing at Fluttershy with pity.

Fluttershy gave them a small smile. “Oh, I’m feeling better now actually.”

“What?!” Rainbow exclaimed. “Fluttershy, I thought you loved animals!”

“I do! But you see-”

“Somepony killed a rat and hung it up right outside your window! How are you not creeped out by that?” Rainbow cried.

“But it wasn’t a pony who killed that rat,” Fluttershy said.

“It wasn’t? Fluttershy darling, who else could it have been?” Rarity asked.

“Well, I know Starlight wanted us all to hurry over here to discuss what happened but she let me stay behind so I could get a hold of myself before we started,” Fluttershy said as she smiled at Starlight. “That’s when the filly suggested that there might be more going on here. So with a little difficulty, we took that poor rat off the wall and examined the body. We had a few ponies who used to work at the hospital come and look too.” With that said, she took the object she had been toying with and placed it on the table. “Does this look familiar to anyone? Applejack? Twilight?”

Rarity raised an eyebrow before she shuddered in revulsion. “Oh dear. Did you get that tree bark from the rat?”

“Yes. But it’s not just tree bark.” Fluttershy stared at Twilight and Applejack, waiting for one of them to answer.

“Hey…now that ya mention it…this looks like a timberwolf fang,” Applejack said as she examined it.

“Here, let me see it,” Twilight asked. Applejack passed the fang over to her and the princess rolled it around on the table, examining it from every angle. “You’re right! But then…does that mean…”

Fluttershy nodded. “It means that a pony didn’t kill that rat. It was just a hungry predator looking for food.” When Starlight raised an eyebrow at her, the pegasus elaborated. “I might not have a talent for working with animals but I still have lots of experience. That sweet little filly said so herself. I’ve had a few carnivorous animals that needed to eat worms or fish before. That’s why I’m not upset anymore. A wolf eating a rat is just nature at work,” she said with a proud smile.

“There’s nothing natural about timberwolves,” Starlight growled.

“Except…the rat wasn’t completely eaten and its body was still nailed to a door,” Twilight said. “Even if a timberwolf killed the rat, it couldn’t have done everything else.”

Fluttershy’s smile faded. “Oh…I guess you’re right.”

“Which brings us back to the original question. Who could have done this?” Starlight grumbled. “The rat was bad enough, but the message only added to the problem.”

“What message? The word ‘smile’? What’s wrong with that?” Rainbow asked.

“Everything. Happiness and equality have always been the heart of our great community. Everypony is supposed to be filled with cheer at all times,” Starlight said. “And with one single word, this mysterious monster has cast doubt over everypony in Ponyville. Before this morning, the only pony in our town who couldn’t smile was Pinkie, and we were working on fixing that little problem. Now, absolutely nopony is happy.”

“Well yeah. A creepy dead rat isn’t exactly something you’d be smiling about,” Rainbow said.

Starlight frowned. “Oh, I think I know we all know one pony who’s smiling about this. She’s been nothing but trouble she’s shown up in our village, she’s openly defied our dream of equality, she won’t tell us who she is, and she was right there when it happened. Obviously, the filly is behind all this.”

The other ponies fidgeted uncomfortably as they saw the logic in that argument. All except for one.

“How dare you…how dare you!” Fluttershy cried as she flew right into Starlight’s face and growled.

Everyone in the room stared at her in shock. “F-Fluttershy?” Rainbow asked.

“She’s just a little kid! How could you even think she’d be capable of such a thing?!” Fluttershy cried.

“Now hold on sugarcube,” Applejack said, recovering her wits a little faster than everyone else. “Ya gotta admit that there’s something strange about that filly.”

“Aw, are you girls gossiping about me again? I’m flattered.”

The ponies in the room spun around to face the throne room’s entrance just as the doors swung open. There stood the filly, with wide eyes and a huge grin. “Hi girls!”

Pinkie’s body’s twitched as her eyes widened. She glanced at her flank and then at the filly before she edged backwards into her throne.

“You?” Starlight asked. “How long have you been out there? Were you listening to us?”

The filly ignored Starlight’s question, strolling into the throne room with a bounce in her step. “Sorry you’re late.”

Twilight raised an eyebrow in confusion. “Don’t you mean ‘sorry I’m late’?”

The filly giggled. “Darling, the only way I’m ever late is fashionably.” She shook her head and said, “No, no, I’m referring to this little meeting you’re having. Not exactly what I’d call a prompt response to the situation.”

“Huh?” Rainbow asked.

“Why, your response to that rat of course. Dreadful stuff, that is,” the filly said with a giggle.

Starlight scowled at her. “Do you think this is funny?”

The filly grinned. “Oh, try not to take it too seriously honey cakes. I think just about everything is funny! Of course, there’s nothing more hilarious than watching somebody’s panicked reaction. And boy howdy, is there panic a plenty!” she giggled. “You should see it out there. Ponies screaming everywhere you look! What a riot!”

“Of course they’re screaming! There’s a dead animal nailed to a door out there!” Rainbow cried.

“Well not anymore,” the filly said, her grin shrinking into a small smile. “After Fluttershy and those nice doctors were done examining the rat and the tree wolf fangs, I took the little guy off their hooves and put him into a tiny little coffin. I was looking for our resident animal expert so that we could perhaps put together a little goodbye party for him.”

“R-really?” Fluttershy asked, a very sad but hopeful smile on her face.

The filly smiled gently at her. “Of course my dear. I may find almost everything funny but death isn’t one of those. The poor guy deserves a respectable farewell.”

Rainbow threw her hooves up in disgust. “Oh come on Fluttershy! Don’t tell me you believe her! This filly has been a huge troublemaker ever since she got her!”

The filly grinned widely. “Funny! I could say the same thing about Scootaloo!”

Rainbow’s jaws dropped. “W-what?”

“And Apple Bloom! And Sweetie Belle, let’s not forget her friends now!” the filly said cheerfully as Applejack and Rarity stared at her in shock. The filly began to slowly circle the table. “Fluttershy mentioned some of the mischief your former Cutie Mark Crusaders regularly get into. Putting together tree houses, parade floats, chemical concoctions and elaborate traps…those three sound like my kind of girls!” The filly smiled. “I’m really looking forward to being friends with them.”

Starlight glared at her. “If you come anywhere near them-”

The filly simply grinned back at her. “What’s with the hostility? I though you wanted everyone to be friends with everyone. That’s the whole point of this equality thing, isn’t it? But this isn’t about me. No, no, we have to think about our families here.” The filly looked at Rarity, then Applejack, then Rainbow. “Ya know, right now those three girls are terrified. They have every right to be. A dangerous, bloodthirsty monster is on the move and where are their big sisters? The people they look up to the most? They’re gathered around a table, sitting on their flanks.”

The other ponies in the room were staring at the filly in horror. “W-wait…” Rainbow stuttered. “Y-you can’t…”

The filly spun around and grabbed Rainbow’s chest fur, pulling her close. For the first time since Starlight had met her, the filly wasn’t smiling at all. The filly glared at Rainbow and whispered, “Ya wanna know what I really hate? It’s big sisters who don’t look after their little siblings.”

The filly smiled again and let go of Rainbow. She strolled towards the doors and held them open. “Now this is just a friendly suggestion, but I really think you should go look for your sisters now. I know I wouldn’t want to see them nailed to somebody’s door.”

Rainbow, Rarity, and Applejack exchanged glances before they all got up and bolted out of the room.

Starlight stared at the retreating ponies in shock. “W-what?”

The filly smiled and placed a hoof over her chest. “Aw…the bonds between siblings. It warms the bottom of my heart.” She slammed the doors shut and walked back towards the thrones. “Now that the most important issue is settled, perhaps now is a good time to address the elephant in the room.” The filly turned around and addressed Starlight. “So Starry, you think I had something to do with all this? Well why don’t we get a second opinion?” she said with a smile aimed at Twilight. “If you’re going to pin the blame on little girls, why not start with the ones you know best?”

Princess Twilight swallowed a lump in her throat before she said, “It wasn’t her Starlight.”

“What?!” Starlight exclaimed. “Twilight…”

“I’m sorry Starlight, but it’s just not possible. First of all, no filly would ever be so cruel to do this. Second of all, no filly could ever be capable of doing this. She would have to sneak past Fluttershy, unlock the door, sneak past the two guards, sneak into the Everfree forest, find a timberwolf eating a rat, steal the rat from the timberwolf, avoiding being eaten by said timberwolf, get back to Ponyville, nail the rat and message to the door without anyone noticing, and finally sneaking back into the Equalization House.” Twilight finished her lengthy explanation and sucked in a deep breath.

“And a little filly like her would be too tired to stay up that late. She spent the entire day talking to me,” Fluttershy added.

Even Pinkie wasn’t glaring suspiciously at the filly anymore. “Even at their best, the Crusaders couldn’t do that. Nopony ever could.”

The filly grinned. “Exactly. No pony ever could.”

Looking at Twilight, Fluttershy, Pinkie, the filly, and finally at the floor, Starlight let out a sigh. “You’re right. How could a little girl ever do all that? It’s completely insane.” She looked up at the filly and said, “I’m sorry for accusing you of a crime you didn’t commit.”

The filly smiled thoughtfully. “Apology…taken into consideration.” Before anyone could ask what she meant by that, the filly continued. “Now that we’ve got that unpleasantness settled, I’ve got an idea I’d like to propose. Something that might distract everyone from the rat and resolve the little problem that Starry and I have.” The filly grinned and strolled out of the throne room. “Come along now. We’ll want everyone to hear this.”

Half an hour later, the entire population of Ponyville was gathered outside Princess Twilight’s castle. Starlight noticed that the former Cutie Mark Crusaders were all hugging their big sisters tightly. The filly smiled at them as she pushed a box that was as big as she was up to the front of the castle. “I was hoping for a stage but I’ve improvised before,” she giggled. She climbed up on top of the box, turned around, and addressed the crowd.

“Hello boys and girls!” the filly said, waving cheerfully at everyone. “How’s everyone feeling today?”

“Horrified!” Rose, Daisy, and Lily Valley cried.

The filly grinned at the flower trio. “Wonderful! Audience participation. A little risky, but it usually spices things up even more. But not to worry everyone, I’ve got something to put the smiles back on your faces! Anyone know any good jokes?”

The crowd stared at her in confusion. Starlight narrowed her eyes and muttered, “What is she up to?”

“I’ll start. Two ponies walk into a bar. Ya know, you’d think the second pony would’ve been smart enough to duck!” The filly burst into giggles but quieted down when she noticed nobody was laughing with her. “Really? Wow, that one usually gets at least one chuckle. Let’s try something else. Ooh, I got one! Did you ever hear about the parasprite who ate a cupcake? He was beside himself.”

The filly grinned as a few ponies smiled at that one. “Ooh! I’ve got a few nibbles! Promising…but still not satisfactory. Since we talked about audience participation…” the filly’s eyes scanned over the crowd before she focused on Pinkie. “You there! The lovely madam in the pink coat! You look like you appreciate a good laugh!”

Pinkie’s eyes widened. “Me? Oh no, I can’t tell a joke…at least not anymore.”

“Oh come now dearie, you’re being too hard on yourself. How about a knock-knock joke. Anyone can do those! It’ll make you happy!” the filly promised. She winked at Starlight and said, “And we all know how important happiness is to your cult leader.”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “What did you just say?”

The filly grinned. “I said we all know how important happiness is to your cute leader.”

Starlight scowled in disgust, but the other ponies were too focused on Pinkie to notice. “Okay then…knock-knock.”

“Come on in!” the filly giggled and waved her hoof as if she was opening a door. A few ponies giggled and chuckled in the audience with her. “Now there, ya see! I knew you had it in ya! Give yourselves a round of applause everyone! Way to stay positive!”

A few ponies clapped and Starlight managed a smile as she saw cheer returning to them. “Well then, thank you for putting a smile back on Ponyville’s face miss…I’m sorry, are you planning to tell us your name anytime soon?”

The filly giggled. “You wouldn’t believe me if I did.”

Starlight blinked in confusion. “What does that mean?”

“Oh, nothing you need concern yourself with dearie. Now then, time to reveal…the main attraction!” the filly turned around and showed off her flank to everyone. “Ladies and gents, I present to you my butt! I know, I know, you’re all mesmerized by it.”

A few of the younger colts and fillies chuckled at that, but Starlight rolled her eyes. “Could you please be serious and tell us why you called us here?”

The filly turned around and flashed a smile at her. “You want me to be serious?”

“Yes please.”

The filly’s eyes and smile widened. “Trust me darling, no you don’t. But I suppose I’m getting bored with beating around the bush without actually hitting anything. So how’s this…clearly I’m not longer safe inside your little prison house and it’s not like too much progress was being made there anyway. So crazy thought! You let me out and about to explore my special talent!”

Starlight frowned. “Why would we do that? Special talents only lead to…”

“Yes, yes, your speech has reached my ears enough times Starry. But clearly it hasn’t reached the one part of me you care about…that being my rear. But that’s where my crazy thought comes in! I get myself a special talent sticker and maybe then the staff’s magic can remove it!”

Apple Bloom lifted her head out of the hug Applejack had been giving her. “That’s…not a bad idea.”

“That won’t be necessary. The Staff of Sameness works on all ponies, including blank flanks,” Starlight stated firmly.

“It still won’t work on me,” the filly pointed out. “So I’d say it’s worth a shot. Although…now that you mention it…” the filly grinned at Starlight. “If the Staff of Sameness wants every pony to be the same…why not just make every pony blank flanks?”

Several ponies stared at her in confusion. “Huh?” Scootaloo asked.

“You were all born as blank flanks, right? Why not just return to the way nature intended you to be?” the filly asked with a huge smile. “That is, if you want everyone to be equal Starry.”

Starlight tried to glare at the filly, but for some reason was finding it difficult to make eye contact with her. “You make it sound as if I have any control over what the Staff of Sameness does.”

The filly gave her a wide eyed grin. “Do you?”

“…O-of course not.”

“You hesitated,” the filly pointed out in a sing-song voice. Before Starlight could respond, the filly leapt off the box and strolled over to Fluttershy. “But never mind that. That’s a conversation for another time. What do you think my Flutter butter? Doesn’t that sound like a great idea on this sunshiny day?”

Fluttershy’s eyes widened as she nodded. “I think it’s a great idea. I think she’s right Starlight.”

The filly stood up on her back legs and stretched her front legs up to the sky, grinning widely. “Come on Ponyville! You want me to make friends? Then let’s get started!” the filly cheered. Pretty soon, the crowd was cheering with her.

Starlight held her hoof up to try and focus their attention on her. “Wait a minute! You can’t make true friends with anyone unless we’re all equal!”

“Oh, that’ll come later, Starry,” the filly said. “Ya wanna focus on the future that much? So do I!” She walked down the street, somehow managing to walk several steps like a biped before she settled back down on her four legs. “It’s a beautiful, sunshiny day in Ponyville!”

“…And I can’t wait to meet all my new…friends.”

The Worm

Cheerilee frowned at the single sheet of paper on her desk. “Is this really all the information we have on her?”

Starlight sighed. “I’m afraid so. She has repeatedly refused to get a physical with any of our doctors, so still no medical information. Nopony has come forward to claim her as their child. All she does is giggle when I ask her what her name is.”

“Well, okay then. Is there anything else I can do for you Miss Glimmer?” Cheerilee asked with a forced smile.

Starlight opened her mouth to answer but hesitated as she stared at the teacher. Normally, an equalized pony’s smile filled her with pride. But for the first time, she was noticing something strange about those smiles. Maybe because the filly…

Starlight shook her head. “That will be all.” Without another word, she walked out of the schoolhouse.

Starlight calmly strolled through Ponyville, smiling and nodding at all the equalized ponies she passed. However, her leisurely stroll was interrupted when a large beach ball sailed out of a window and smacked her in the head.

“Ow!” She growled and grabbed the ball in her magic before she turned to look at the window it had been thrown out of. Her eyes widened in surprise as she noticed that it was Rarity’s house and former boutique. She walked up to the door and knocked.

Rarity opened the door and gave her a forced smile. “Oh, Starlight! Good morning.”

“Good morning Rarity,” Starlight said as she held up the ball. “Do you have any idea why I found this outside your window?”

Rarity shrugged. “It was the strangest thing. The young filly that everyone has been talking about visited my home today. She asked if she could speak with Sweetie Belle and I told her that she was out playing with her friends. Then she asked if she could buy a cloak.”

Starlight smiled. “Oh, she’s taken an interest in local fashion? That’s wonderful news.”

Rarity giggled. “Oh, I’d say she’s taken more than an interest darling. She took my entire line. Every single hideous…I mean fabulous cloak I made. She also asked if I had any of the dresses I used to make before you came to Ponyville.” A frown slowly formed on Rarity’s face at the memory. “…You told me to get rid of them…why would you do that?”

Starlight frowned at Rarity’s sudden hostility. “Rarity, you know that those dresses are far too gaudy. In our town we keep things simple. A simple life leads to a harmonious life.”

“…Right,” Rarity sighed. “Anyway, she bought all those cloaks plus a pair of scissors, my old sewing machine, and some paint.”

“Paint?” Starlight asked. “What do you need paint for? What does she need paint for?”

“Oh, nothing you’d be interested in darling,” Rarity said with a wave of her hoof. “After our transaction, the little dear was so excited she raced upstairs to try it all on. She’s been upstairs in my room since then. Well, except for when she came downstairs to kick one of Sweetie Belle’s beach balls out the window. I scolded her for her treatment of my sister’s toys, but it looks like she was right when she said it would return,” she said as she pointed at the ball Starlight was still carrying.

Starlight frowned. “Did she say why she threw this ball out the window? It hit me in the back of the head. That couldn’t have been accidental.”

Rarity rolled her eyes. “You know, instead of asking me all these questions you can go upstairs and ask her. Just remember to knock first.”

“Fine.” Starlight dropped the ball on the floor and went upstairs. She was about to knock on Rarity’s bedroom door, when she heard the filly talking.

“…wait, no. No, no, no. It’s a little early to be doing that. We’ll save that for another day.”

Starlight frowned. Was someone in there with the filly? She decided to skip knocking and opened the door, walking towards the filly’s voice.

The sight before Starlight made her pause. There was a huge pile of Rarity’s old dresses lumped together in one corner of the room. In another corner, the filly was admiring her reflection in the mirror. The filly was wearing an unusual dress, composed of a green top and a pink skirt with zipper pockets. It looked like she had also taken up face painting. Her eyes had green circles around them, pink hearts were painted on her cheeks, and two red curves stretched out from the corners of her mouth.

“Now, now my dear, we talked about this. We’re trying some new ideas here,” the filly said to her reflection. “…You know, I get the feeling that our mutual friend was right about…well yes, I know how much fun it is, but there are things we need to procure from those woods. …Ah, now you’re getting it! I’m glad we could reach an understanding. No, no, you look adorable. No, you!” the filly giggled. “Oops, hold that thought dearie. Looks like we have company.”

The filly straightened up and turned around to smirk at Starlight. “You know, it’s quite rude to walk in on someone when they’re changing.”

“What’s…all this about?” Starlight asked as she took in the filly’s appearance.

“To make a good first impression of course! You want me to make friends here in Ponyville, don’t you? I wanna make sure I’m dressed to impress. Especially if I’m meeting the princesses later.”

“You’ve met Princess Twilight already. What makes you think you need to see the other princesses?”

The filly smirked at her. “What? You’re not allowing me to meet with them? That’s doesn’t seem very fair. It shouldn’t matter if they’re princesses. They’re people, just like me, aren’t they? Everyone deserves an equal chance to meet them, wouldn’t you say?”

Starlight frowned. “Only those who are equal themselves are allowed an equal chance in our town. Even if I could let you see the princesses, you certainly wouldn’t do it with your face painted. That sort of thing is reserved for birthday parties.”

“As a matter of fact, there is a birthday I’ll be celebrating soon,” the filly replied. Noticing the glare Starlight was giving her, the filly playfully rolled her eyes and said, “Oh, very well. I’ll wash the paint off. I do so adore this style though, I’m gonna see if Rarity has any more dresses like this one.”

“What happened to the cloaks you bought from her?”

The filly grinned at her. “I haven’t the smoggiest idea where those could be.”

“Don’t you mean ‘foggiest’ idea?”

The filly smirked, reached up, and patted Starlight on the head as if she were the younger pony. “You might want to avoid looking in fireplaces for the next few days. Just a suggestion of course.”

Rarity knocked on the open door before she walked into the room. “How do they fit darling? Are they too – whoa!”

The filly grinned at Rarity’s wide eyed expression. “Hi there dearie! Tell me, how do I look? I want your honest opinion now!”

Rarity forced a smile. “You look…wonderful.” The equal mark on her flank pulsed as she said that.

The filly titled her head and asked, “Why does it do that?” Before either of them could ask what she meant, the filly pointed at the equal mark. “Every once in a while I see those equal signs flash a little. Why, just this morning Miss Pinkie Pie’s mark looked like it was throwing a hissy fit!”

“He he he! Hissy fit! Good one!” Pinkie Pie said as she walked over and gave the filly a hoof bump.

Rarity and Starlight both did a double take. “Pinkie Pie? Where’d you come from?”

Pinkie giggled. “I was hiding under that pile of old dresses.”

The filly grinned at them. “Isn’t she just delightful?” Starlight felt a shiver run down her spine at the sight of the two pink-haired ponies. Their grins were…identical. And not in a way she was comfortable with.

Rarity gasped. “Pinkie Pie…you’re smiling again.”

The mark on Pinkie’s flank pulsed. Her smile faded a little, but it didn’t disappear completely. “I guess so.”

“Now see here? That. Why does it keep doing that?” the filly asked as she pointed at the equal mark.

“Sometimes a pony’s troublesome talent has a way of lingering even after a pony has accepted our philosophy. Equality’s blessing works to remove the traces of false promises from a cutie mark,” Starlight explained. She frowned as she said, “However, I’ve never heard of equality’s blessing having a ‘hissy fit’ as you say. What do you mean by that?”

Pinkie shrugged. “Oh, I think it was just my Pinkie sense.”

“What’s a Pinkie sense?” Starlight asked.

“A sixth sense that tells me when there’s danger nearby. For the past two weeks or so, I’ve had shivers going down my spine every time this filly here has smiled at me. Can’t remember why though. We were talking this morning about a birthday party and she was…he, he, he!” Pinkie giggled. “She was telling me like, the best jokes I’ve ever heard! You crack me up, little filly!”

“Aw Pinkie, you flatter me! Come here you!” the filly said as she gave the pink mare a hug. Over Pinkie’s shoulder, the filly smirked at Starlight. “Why so angry, little star? I promise I’ll be cracking you up very soon.”

Starlight glared at her. “I’m not angry. I’m just curious how you came to be friends with Pinkie so fast. Especially since you’re still not equal.”

Pinkie let go of the filly and walked over to pat Starlight on the head. “Aw, there, there. It’s okay to be a little jealous sometimes.”

“Jealous?! Why would I be jealous of her?!” Starlight snarled.

The filly shrugged. “Like you just said, you’re curious as to how I became friends with Pinkie so fast. She’s been avoiding me since I got here, but a few hours spent together and we’re smiling and laughing like old pals. From what she’s told me, you’ve spent a little quality time with her too and yet poor little Pinkie hasn’t been her normally cheerful self. It’s perfectly understandable why you might feel jealous…left out. Just think of what could have possibly happened between us that changed things so drastically!”

The filly proudly held up one hoof as if she was lecturing Starlight. “Well, here’s something that oughta put a smile back on your face. One thing you taught me about equality has managed to…worm…its way into my head,” the filly said, giggling at the word worm. “Friendship is built upon what you have in common. Sure, I disagree with everything else you do but I can agree to that! So you should be happy to know that I have decided to find common ground with the ponies of Ponyville.”

The filly pointed at Rarity and Pinkie. “Take these two lovely ladies here! I knew right away that I could get along with Pinkie given the right opportunity. So after a brief chat with Mr. and Mrs. Cake, I visited her this morning and asked her if she could craft a special birthday cake for a dear friend of mine. A lengthy conversation latter and we’re the best of buddies! Speaking of cakes…?”

Pinkie smiled and pulled out a small cupcake from her mane. The filly took a bite out of the cupcake, rolling the flavour around in her mouth. “Meh. Needs more sugar. I don’t mean to criticize you Pinkie but this cake is meant for a very special person.”

“No problem! I won’t stop until I get it right!” Pinkie said with a salute.

“Atta girl! Now as for you Miss Rarity, I think I’ve made it quite clear that I share your love for artistry! Why, just look at this adorable little creature!” The filly spun around to face the mirror again and winked at it. “A girl with a passion! Rather eccentric with fashion! But look in the mirror and the picture is quite…”

The filly paused for a second before she smashed her hoof into the mirror, smiling as the glass cracked.

“Smashing!” the filly giggled.

The other ponies stared at her in shock. “Darling! Are you hurt? Why would you do that?!” Rarity cried as she rushed to the filly’s side.

“Aw, don’t be sad! I know how to pull my punches. See? Not a scratch!” the filly said as she showed off her hoof. “Besides, I didn’t like the way she was looking at me.” She smirked at Starlight and said, “I’m sure you understand what that’s like.”

“No! I don’t understand anything you do!” Starlight snapped.

The filly grinned. “Don’t worry. You will soon enough.” She turned to Rarity and said, “But back to the question I was asking. Now, I’ve learned why Pinkie’s equal sign was having a hissy fit and I managed to work past that and find common ground. What about you darling? Any idea why I saw a pulse when I asked you what you thought of my dress?”

Rarity fidgeted uncomfortably. “Well…to tell you the truth darling, I’m not a fashionista anymore. I’ve accepted equality’s blessing but now…I can’t tell if your dress is good or bad.”

The filly smiled patiently. “That’s the point dearie! Fashion is just another form of art. And art is subjective! It’s opinionated! Only you can decide if the skin you’re wearing looks good! And despite my disagreement with that mirror, I’m happy with how I look.” She smirked at Rarity and Starlight. “Can you say the same?”

Before Rarity could reply, Starlight spoke up. “In our town we’re all happy with the opinion we share. Different opinions only lead to bitterness and misery.”

The filly grinned at her. “Then how come I’m not miserable?”

“Well, you did just break a mirror for no reason. Normal ponies don’t really do that,” Pinkie pointed out. “That’s seven years of bad luck.”

The filly smirked. “Notice how the expression never states who receives said bad luck. I’ve broken my fair share of mirrors and the misfortune that followed never came back to bite me. Speaking of fortune, I find it hard to believe that you’re no good with fashion, Miss Rarity. How else could you become one of Equestria’s famous designers? Just look at your past clientele! Pop stars, nobles, celebrities…”

The filly paused as she spotted a dress that had been lying in the pile of clothes. She walked over to the pile in the corner and plucked out several strands of dark blue hair.

“…Alicorn royalty.” The filly grinned as she began to comb through the dress, pulling out more strands of blue hair and fur. “He, he, he! Funny, furry, whirly, blurry,” she sang as she took the blue hair and stuffed it inside one of her skirt’s pockets before zipping it up.

Starlight groaned, rubbing her aching head as she watched the goofy filly. “What is wrong with you?”

“Aw, am I bugging you?” The filly playfully sighed. “Well, I know when I’m not wanted. I’ll get out of your manes…now that I’ve found the one I was looking for.” The filly smiled up at the clock on the wall before she walked to the other side of the room and opened the window. “Ooh, perfect timing! It looks like my ride’s here anyway.”

Rarity raised an eyebrow. “Ride?”

The filly grinned as she took a running leap and jumped straight out the window. “Wheeeeeee, eh he, he, ha, ha, ha!”

“No!” The three mares exclaimed as they ran to the window.

But rather than a filly with broken bones on the ground, the three of them were surprised to see the filly tightly clinging to Rainbow Dash. “What?! Hey! Get off!”

“…What?!” Starlight growled. She ran away from the window, down the stairs, and out of Rarity’s house, fuming all the way. Once outside she quickly reached the filly, who was standing next to a bewildered Rainbow and Applejack. “Are you insane?!”

The filly grinned up at her. “You’d be surprised how often I hear that.”

“No I wouldn’t!” Starlight snarled. Pinkie and Rarity came running behind her, but slowed down at the sight of the furious pony.

“Whoa! Easy there, Starlight,” Rainbow said. “Look, whatever happened I’m sure we can work it out. We’re all friends, right?”

“But she’s not your friend! She’s not equal yet! She can’t be friends with anyone!” Starlight screamed.

Applejack stared at her. “Sugarcube, what’s gotten into you? I’ve never seen you this mad before!”

“She just jumped out a window! That doesn’t bother you?!” Starlight asked.

“Ah, come on! Who hasn’t jumped out a window around here?” the filly asked. “Because whoever that is, they need to get out more.”

Applejack and Rainbow stared at the bizarre filly, finally noticing her face paint. “Uh, sugarcube? Why are you dressed like a rodeo clown?” Applejack asked.

The filly grinned at her. “You like rodeo clowns? Me too!”

Applejack chuckled a little. “Well shoot, course I like rodeo clowns. Who doesn’t like a pony willing to make a fool of themselves to entertain folks?”

“Oh, I completely agree. Those poor clowns are highly underrated if you ask me. Of course, I appreciate just about anyone who can put on a good show.” The filly turned to Rainbow. “Speaking of good shows, I hear you’re quite the showstopper yourself.”

“W-where’d you hear that?” Rainbow asked, blushing a little.

“A few friends of mine. Not to mention this little thing, ooh what was it called again…” the filly playfully tapped her chin in thought. “Oh yeah! A newspaper!”

“You’ve…read about me?” Rainbow asked, smiling a little.

“Darling, I’ve read up on all your friends! All the wild adventures this town goes through! Ever since Gabby Gums, I’ve been looking into everything noteworthy in Ponyville in my spare time. Oh, I hope it’s not too much to ask but…how about a race?”

Rainbow grinned at the filly, before a glare from Starlight made her pause. Her smile fading away, Rainbow sighed and said, “Sorry little buddy but…in our town, we dare not compete. Winning only breeds the worst ego-filled conceit.”

The filly shrugged. “Don’t want to race? That’s alright dearie. Wanna fight?”

“Fight?” Rainbow chuckled weakly. “Good one, little filly.”

The filly smirked. “Do I look like I’m joking? Now, I don’t mean a serious fight. Just one between friends. Basically what will happen is that I will kick your teeth in and you’ll find a way to be okay with that.”

Rainbow blinked in shock, taking a step back. “Are…are you serious?”

The filly giggled. “Nah. That one was a joke.” She sighed and said, “Still, it is rather disappointing. I’ve heard stories about the legendary weather mare, the master of the Sonic Rainboom. Now that I finally meet you, you seem so…dull. So drained. As if something sucked out all the fun in you.” She glanced at Starlight and muttered, “Wonder who that could’ve been.”

“Hey! I’m not dull!” Rainbow argued.

“Oh but haven’t you heard? Everyone in this town is just as dull as you are so there’s nothing to be hopelessly ashamed of. You’re no better than anyone else, isn’t that what you keep saying Starry?” Before Starlight could argue, the filly spoke up again. “Although now that I’ve got more ponies to compare, I have to point out…you don’t seem that dull Starlight.”

Starlight blinked in confusion and annoyance. “What are you babbling about now?”

“Your coat, my dear. Your mane and tail, my glimmering star. Everybody in town seems so dull and grey. But you seem a lot more…energetic and colourful. Your short fuse is evidence enough of that.” The filly smirked at her. “What makes you different, I wonder?”

Starlight growled. “Nothing. I’m no better than anyone else.”

“If you say so,” the filly giggled before she turned to Rainbow. “So sorry for putting you in the spotlight like that Miss Dash. I thought you’d enjoy that sort of thing but I suppose things can change. The reason I ask you these questions is that I am simply searching for common ground between us. If you don’t want things to get…physical, what would you suggest?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Um, I dunno. I…I like Daring Do…”

“You like books?!” the filly exclaimed, a huge grin on her face. “Ooh, I love books! Adventures galore!” She glanced at Starlight before she whispered in Rainbow’s ear. “And just between us, I heard there might be a new Daring Do book coming out today.”

“What?!” Rainbow exclaimed.

“Well, it could just be a rumor but you never know! Race you to the library?”

“I…I…” Rainbow nervously glanced at Starlight. “I…c-can’t race you. Winning only breeds the worst ego-filled-”

“Oh, that’s fine. I understand. But tell you what, since I’m feeling generous when I beat you to the library and read the book before you, I’ll spoil the whole story silly for you. How’s that sound?”

Rainbow gasped. “You wouldn’t!”

The filly’s only response was a mischievous grin before she took off in a blur of speed, laughing all the way to Twilight’s castle.

Sometime later, Starlight had managed to catch up to Twilight’s castle. She had ordered the other ponies to stay behind and get on with their days. Quite frankly, if she had a choice she wouldn’t put up with the crazy filly’s motor mouth either. But she decided to be a good friend and make sure the filly wasn’t tormenting Twilight. She walked inside and soon found Princess Twilight in the library.

The alicorn gave her a weary smile. “Looking for the filly? She’s energetic, I’ll give her that. Quite the bookworm too. I had to ask her to wash the paint off her face before she started literally burying her face in our all books.” She pointed at the filly, who was flipping through dozens of books and singing at the top of her lungs.

“From every single sight I’ve seen!
To every song I’ve heard!
If knowledge is power, then I am Queen!
Due to all the secrets I’ve learned! Bwa ha, ha, ha!”

Not too far away from the filly, Rainbow was frantically shuffling through a pile of Daring Do books. “Hey! None of these are new! You tricked me!”

The filly didn’t even bother to look up from her book. “Course I did. But hey, Pinkie told me you loved a good prank.”

“Wha…? But you…and I…” Rainbow sighed before she gave her a smirk. “Kid, you are so random.”

“Aw, thank you Miss Dash!”

Rainbow sighed again before flapped her wings and flew towards the exit. “Well, you have fun kid. See you later Twilight, Starlight.”

Twilight smiled at the filly as she continued to flip through books. “She’s not so bad when you get to know her.” The princess yelped as Starlight grabbed one of her wings. “Ow! Starlight, what’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?! What’s wrong is that you’re all being far too friendly with her,” Starlight growled.

Twilight blinked in confusion and a little fear. “B-but…don’t you want us to be friends with her?”

“True friendship can only be achieved when we’re all equal. When there is nothing separating you from your friends. That filly is completely separated from reality! She’s living in a dream world and she’s so delirious she can’t even understand how much she’s suffering!” Starlight ranted.

“Starlight. Starlight! Calm down!” At Princess Twilight’s pleading, Starlight sighed and let her go. “What’s gotten into you? You’re not usually this angry.”

Starlight groaned and rubbed her aching head. “Sorry. It’s just…it’s been a long day and this filly is very irritating.”

Twilight glanced back at the filly, who was smiling innocently. “Well…I don’t want to argue with you Starlight but you have to remember that she’s just a kid.”

Starlight sighed. “You’re right. She’s nothing more than an energetic kid with an overactive imagination. However, I have plans to enroll her in school and crush that rebellious spirit of hers. We’ll see how chatty she is then.”

Twilight opened her mouth to say something, but both ponies were interrupted by a loud smack. They turned around to see the filly, grinning madly at the large book that she had slammed against the table. The filly’s entire body was twitching and she was panting as if she has just run a marathon.

“Um…are you okay?” Twilight asked as the filly continued to droll over the book in her hooves.

“Honey…I’m fantastic. Neh heh, heh, he, ha, ha, ha!” The filly barely managed to get control over her giggles before she closed the book and showed it to Twilight. “I’d like to borrow this book please.”

“Oh um, of course. Just remember to return it after three weeks.”

As the filly ran off to another shelf, Starlight frowned suspiciously. “What book did you just give her?”

Twilight shrugged. “A copy of Botanical Legends. I don’t know why she’s so excited about a book of rare plants, but it’s always nice to see a young filly interested in literature.”

“I think that’ll be all for today, Princess Twilight. Thank you most kindly for this,” the filly said as she walked past them. The filly paused for a second before she turned around and gave a book to Starlight. “You know, something tells me that you might find this book interesting.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow at the cover. “The Adventures of Doctor Worm? This book was designed for your reading level little one, not mine.”

“Well, it’s not so much the book as it is the creature,” the filly explained. “Funny story, but for some reason I’m really fascinated by snakes and worms and similar creatures. Absolutely none of my friends understand that reason and frankly neither do I. But there’s something about the…wriggling…the slithering…the motion they make as they dig deep inside the ground.” The filly giggled as she made her way towards the exit.

“A creature can worm its way into a book…into your heart…and into your head.”

The Bully

Starlight Glimmer tapped her hoof on the right arm of Princess Twilight’s throne as she waited for her guests. She smiled as the doors opened and two ponies walked in. “Spoiled Rich. Diamond Tiara. Thank you for coming to this meeting on such short notice.”

“It was no trouble at all Miss Glimmer. We exist to serve equality,” Spoiled Rich said with a smile and a bow. She glanced over at her daughter and frowned. “Diamond Tiara.”

“Huh? Oh. Y-yes mother.” Diamond forced a smile on her face and bowed too. “We exist to serve equality.”

“Of course. You’ll find that no family is more equal than ours,” Spoiled said as she held her head up high. “Whatever request you ask of us, name it and it shall be yours.”

Starlight resisted the urge to smack herself in the face. “Miss Rich, we’ve talked about this. Nopony is more equal than anyone else.”

“Of course we are, Miss Glimmer. For while the Rich family recognizes the efforts you’ve made to establishing a perfect society of equality, ponies of lesser social standings may not appreciate what you’ve done for us,” Spoiled said disdainfully. “Take that beastly blank flank for example.”

Starlight nodded. “Well I’m happy that we’re getting straight to the point. The reason I’ve called you two here is that very pony. The unnamed filly will be enrolled into the Ponyville School tomorrow and I wish to speak to Diamond Tiara about it.”

“Ah, I understand now,” Spoiled said with a smug nod. “You wish for my daughter to instruct the delusional filly about how a civilized and equalized pony must act in our community. You’ve made an excellent choice Miss Glimmer. My daughter has always been good at getting other ponies to do what she wants.”

Starlight frowned. “But your family has embraced equality. You shouldn’t have any special talents.”

“Oh, it’s not just talent Miss Glimmer. It’s about reputation. It’s about a pony’s social standing,” Spoiled explained.

Starlight was beginning to think that Miss Rich wasn’t the best pony to be asking about this. The equalization process had changed Spoiled Rich in more ways than one. “But you don’t have a reputation or social standing. That’s the point of equality.”

“And the fact remains that the unnamed child is not equal. We know our place in society while she does not.”

Starlight sighed. “That’s not how equality works. Listen Miss Rich, perhaps you could leave the room for just a few minutes? I wanted to speak to Diamond Tiara about something in private.”

“Say no more, Miss Glimmer,” Spoiled said as she left the room and closed the doors behind her.

Starlight turned to Diamond and smiled at her. “It’s a pleasure to see you again Diamond Tiara. We really should get together more often.”

“S-sure,” Diamond said somewhat nervously. “What did you want to talk about?”

Starlight sighed heavily and placed a hoof on Diamond’s shoulder. “Diamond Tiara. I have called you to ask a…very difficult request of you. It is not one I take lightly. I honestly feel disgusted with myself for asking this of you. If there was another choice I would gladly take it…but the filly has left me with very few options.”

Diamond nervously backed away from Starlight’s hoof. “What…what are you talking about?”

“I’ve spoken with Miss Cheerilee and many other fillies and colts who go to your school. They say that before I brought equality and harmony to this village, you were a bit of a bully.”

Diamond cringed. “Well, I-I wouldn’t say that…I mean, ‘bully’ is such an ugly word…”

“Oh, Diamond…I understand. This may surprise but I too know the heartache a life with special talents can cause. I know how haunted you must feel for your past actions. But the past is behind us now! That’s the beauty of a world where everypony is equal. No one has to live in fear of being teased,” Starlight said as she patted Diamond’s head.

Starlight’s face darkened. “But all of that is thrown into disarray because of that filly. In a world where everypony is equal she is the wild card that threatens us all. It’s time she learned how much heartache she’s causing, not just to others but to herself as well. If she can’t comply with equality’s reasonable demands then she can’t reap its rewards either.” She smiled down at Diamond. “That’s why, tomorrow when you’re both at school, I would like you to…persuade her to rethink her life choices.”

Diamond’s eyes widened. “You want me to bully her into accepting equality.”

Starlight smiled gently. “Like you said, ‘bully’ is such an ugly word. I don’t like this anymore than you do but we have to think about Ponyville’s future. A filly like that…she doesn’t fit in with our community.”

“I…I don’t know, Miss Glimmer. You’ve asked me to give up my cutie mark, my tiara…” Diamond paused and touched the top of her head, sighing wistfully. “But this…I don’t know if I can do this.”

Starlight frowned. “Is that so? Spoiled Rich!” she called out.

Spoiled opened the door and walked back into the throne room. “Yes, Miss Glimmer?”

“I have asked your daughter to make a small sacrifice for the greater good of equality. My request may be horrible but I think you would find it quite necessary and easy for Diamond Tiara to accomplish. However, it appears that she does not care for equality the same way you and I do.”

Spoiled glared at the cringing Diamond. “Don’t worry Miss Glimmer. I shall be having a very long conversation with my daughter about respecting our community. Come, Diamond Tiara!”

Starlight smirked as Spoiled dragged her daughter out of the castle. She was confident that Spoiled Rich could convince Diamond how necessary this task was and that once the filly was subjected to the horrors of being bullied, she would change her mind.

Seeing that it was getting close to her bedtime, Starlight made her way up to her bedroom. Along the way, she spotted the filly strolling through the hallway, humming a happy tune.

Starlight frowned at the filly. “There you are! Where have you been? Princess Twilight told me that you left the castle over two hours ago!”

The filly grinned at Starlight. “Oh, I was just talking a walk through the forest. Appreciating nature, picking some colourful flowers, and just having a good time.”

Starlight glanced out the window. “At this hour? It’s getting close to midnight! What were you thinking, talking a walk through the woods this late at night?!”

The filly smirked at her. “Oh, don’t worry about me, little star. I take very enthusiastic walks.” With that said, the filly walked away, giggling to herself. Starlight scratched her head in confusion…even as a small chill ran down her spine.

Starlight Glimmer sighed to herself as she got up out of bed. Today was the big day. She hurried out of her bedroom and down to the kitchen. “Good morning Twilight. Have you made breakfast for us yet?” she asked out of habit.

The filly twirled around to face her, wearing a chef’s hat and a big grin. “You know, I find it quite peculiar that a princess is the one making breakfast in this house. You’d think she’d have better things to do. Well today it turns out that she does!”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed at the sight of her. “Where’s Princess Twilight?”

The filly took a plate of purple pancakes off the kitchen counter and showed them to Starlight. “I got her into these delightful pancakes. Want one?”

Starlight’s eyes widened in horror. “You did what?!”

“I’m fine!” Starlight turned around to see Twilight Sparkle, wearing another chef’s hat and hurriedly flying into the room. “I’m okay! I’m not a pancake. She was just telling a really mean joke.” The princess glared at the filly. “That wasn’t very funny.”

“The joke might not have been funny but her face was!” the filly laughed. “Bah, ha, ha! Did you see it?! Ooh, I wish I had my camera with me; it was priceless, my dear!” The filly chuckled a few more times before she sighed. “I’ll simply have to rely on my memory to conjure the image up when I’m feeling a little blue. Speaking of oddly coloured things, who wants breakfast? Twilight sweetheart, I think you’ve earned yourself a second pile.”

Twilight smiled as the filly gave her a plate of pancakes. “You’ve got to try these Starlight. These are some of the best pancakes I’ve had in a long time.” She took a bite out of one and hummed happily. “The flavour is remarkable. Where did you say you got these blueberries again?”

The filly giggled and shrugged. “Well, they were definitely berries and they were certainly blue. So hey, points for optimism, dearie.”

Starlight frowned with slight suspicion, but eventually decided that the matter wasn’t worth pursuing. Really, how much damage could a filly do with something as simple as breakfast? Either way, it looked like the filly wasn’t in the mood to talk as she had elected to do something different with her mouth. Without any warning, the filly began to devour her breakfast the same way a piranha would.

“Whoa. And I thought I was a messy eater,” Twilight muttered. Starlight had to agree with her as she wrinkled her nose in disgust. The filly ate more like a wild animal than a civilized pony.

“Oh yeah…oh yeah…mm, so good,” the filly growled happily as she held a pancake over her head and drank up the syrup that drizzled down, savouring every drop.

“That’s revolting.” Starlight groaned as the filly simply giggled some more. “I don’t have time for this. And neither do you! I’ve enrolled you in the Ponyville School and today’s your first day.”

The filly’s eyes and smiled widened. “First day at a new school? Why didn’t you say so?! I’ll be right back. Starlight darling, if you need to entertain yourself for a second just ask Twilight to take off her hat!” the filly said as she ran to another room of the castle.

Starlight blinked in confusion before she turned to face Princess Twilight. “What is she talking about? And why are you still wearing that thing? Remove it.” Twilight blushed a little before she sheepishly removed her chef’s hat. Starlight gasped as she saw how Twilight’s mane was styled. “What did you do to your hair?”

Twilight smiled as she pushed a few of the spikes back. “Actually, the filly wanted to try hairstyling to see if she could get a cutie mark out of it. So um…you could remove it of course. She said she modeled my mane after Spitfire’s old style. I’d have to ask Rainbow Dash how accurate it is, but…do you like it?”

“No.” Starlight said with a growl. Using her magic, she tried to arrange Twilight’s mane back into one of her socially acceptable styles.

“Now hold on Starlight,” Twilight said as she covered her hair with a hoof. “I…I don’t want to put my mane into a bun again.”

“Twilight, we’ve talked about this. Every mare, stallion, filly, and colt in Equestria needs to select one of the socially acceptable styles. Now, if you would prefer braids instead-”

“Oh Starry, let her wear her hair however she wants,” the filly said as she happily strolled back into the kitchen, a book bag on her back. “Although, I rather preferred the classic Hime cut myself. Ooh, I should probably take this off before I go.” The filly turned around and smirked at Starlight as she removed her chef’s hat.

“What do you think my dear?” the filly asked as she showed off her pigtails. “Always nice to shake things up a bit. You would know! You had pigtails yourself when you were a filly, didn’t you?”

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “How…” The filly simply giggled, and calmly strolled out the castle and toward the school. Starlight spun around to face Twilight. “Did I ever tell you I used to wear pigtails?”

“Um…not that I can remember. Now that I think about it, you’ve never talked about your childhood,” Twilight said. She paused as she noticed the fearful expression on Starlight’s face. “Um…are you okay?”

Rather than replying, Starlight raced outside the castle to catch up with the filly.

Starlight burst into the schoolhouse, gasping for breath.

Double Diamond looked up from the teacher’s desk. “Starlight Glimmer! There you are. We were starting to get worried.”

“Yes. What kept you, little star?” Starlight’s jaw dropped as she spotted the filly, cheerfully waving to her from one of the desks.

“You? But how…what…how did you get here before me?!” Starlight growled.

The filly smiled innocently. “Diet and exercise?”

“Stop. Just stop talking,” Starlight sighed. “I apologize for my tardiness, Double Diamond. If the class is ready we can start the day with our national anthem.”

“Actually Starlight, that’s what we were planning to do, but um…” Double Diamond hesitated, looking nervously at the filly.

“Ooh! Let her sing it again!” Scootaloo chuckled. “It’s really funny.”

“Funny? It’s amazing!” Sweetie Belle exclaimed.

“Aw, thank you! If I actually had the ability to blush, I’d be doing it right now!” the filly said. “Well, since you all asked so nicely…”

The filly sat up from her desk and climbed on top of it. She cleared her throat and began to sing. “Ereh lla er’ew taht wonk ot dnuora kool ot evah reven ew reehc htiw dellif syawla er’ew nwot ruo ni dnarg os si efil!”

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “…What?”

The filly smirked at her and said, “Eman naht erom yb sevlesruo etarapes ton od ew esuaceb emas eht s’kram eituc ruo nwot ruo ni elims a si efil!”

Starlight stared at the filly, completely flabbergasted. Around them, the colts and fillies in the room were looking at the filly with a mixture of confusion and amusement. A few ponies were even holding their hooves over their mouths to suppress their laughter. Starlight turned to Double and asked, “…What is she saying?”

Double shrugged nervously. “It took us a few times to figure it out but we’re pretty sure that she’s singing our national anthem…just backwards.”

“How?! No, don't answer that. Why haven't you stopped her?!”

Double shrugged again. “It’s actually an improvement compared to what she was doing before.”

Starlight stormed over to the filly’s desk and growled right in her face. “Stop that.”

The filly smiled. “Having a hard time following along? Well I’ll try to slow things down a bit for you.” She cleared her throat again and sang, “Town our in, team a as work we. Nightmare a have can’t you, dream never you if!”

“Quiet!” Starlight growled. “I’m not going to ask a second time. You are going to sing our town’s song, properly, and nobody is leaving this room until you sing with us.” She smirked to herself, knowing that the kids would hate the filly for keeping them in school longer than they had to.

The filly titled her head and smiled thoughtfully at her. “You know, now that you’re here I’ve been meaning to ask you a few things. Where’s Miss Cheerilee?”

“Double Diamond is your teacher today. Miss Cheerilee is taking some time off, because she is no longer forced by her cutie mark to teach children. She is free to live her own life, unburdened by her special talent,” Starlight answered.

“Except that she was never burdened by it before. Ask any kid here and they’ll tell you that Cheerilee loved her job,” the filly pointed out. “Really, the biggest difference not having a cutie mark in her life has made is that she kinda sucks at doing the thing she loves most.”

“That is no way to speak about your teacher. And stop changing the subject! Like it or not, our national anthem is a part of every school day-”

“Another interesting point! Why do you care about school? You say you want everyone to be their best by never being their best. To cease improving their talents and themselves so that everyone is exactly the same. And school is supposed to be about becoming smarter. So really, you’re making these colts and fillies better than adults. Not that I’m complaining of course. But if you want equality, doesn’t that mean you want everyone to have the exact same number of IQ points?”

The class stared at the filly for a few seconds. “Hey wait a minute…she’s right. Why do we still need to go to school?” one colt asked.

“Yeah! I’m just as smart as my dad is! Why do I need to be smarter?” a unicorn filly asked.

As the class became louder and louder, Starlight smacked herself in the head and made her way towards the exit. “Double Diamond, just…forget the anthem. Start teaching. If you need me, I’ll be in the staff lounge, trying to forget this morning ever happened.”

Starlight sat next to Double at a table, watching the little kids during recess. In the very first minute, the filly made a beeline towards the former Cutie Mark Crusaders. Starlight wasn’t close enough to hear their conversation but somehow the filly had managed to capture the Crusaders’ interest very fast.

Curiosity getting the better of her, Starlight sat up from the table and quietly made her way closer to the four fillies. She ducked behind a tree that was close enough so that she could hear them but far enough that they probably wouldn’t notice her.

“So you three were learning magic from Twilight Sparkle? That must have been a hoot and a half! I bet her lessons are way more fun than anything you could learn here.”

Sweetie smiled a little. “Well, Twilight Time was pretty fun while it lasted. How did you say you heard about it again?”

“I asked questions. I received answers,” the filly said with a smirk. “How else does one learn things?”

“Oh. Well, don’t get any ideas,” Scootaloo said. “Twilight Time got canceled. I know you probably wanted to hang out with a super famous princess and all-”

The filly waved a hoof. “Meh. I can see Twilight anytime. I want to hear more about you guys!”

Apple Bloom’s eyes widened. “Huh? You’d…you’d rather hang out with us than with a princess?”

“Which princess?” the filly asked innocently.

Scootaloo raised an eyebrow. “Princess Twilight.”

“Twilight’s a princess?” the filly asked, sounding genuinely surprised.

Apple Bloom stared at the filly. “But…you just said…”

“Hey, is it true that Princess Twilight was teaching you about potion making?” the filly asked, staring at her with a huge grin.

“Uh…yeah?” Apple Bloom replied hesitantly.

The filly’s grin widened. “How delightful. And where did you first pick up those skills?”

“Zecora,” Apple Bloom answered.

“Ooh! Zecora? That charming herbalist Fluttershy told me about? I’d love to meet her!”

“She uh, doesn’t live near here anymore. When Starlight went to visit her in the Everfree forest, she was long gone,” Apple Bloom said, sighing a little.

“Well that’s unfortunate.” The filly smiled, taping her chin a little before she innocently asked, “How abrupt was her departure? Did she have time to pack all her belongings? You know, her books, her trinkets, her potions, boxes containing magical amulets, and other knick-knacks?”

Scootaloo shrugged. “We don’t really know. Starlight doesn’t want anypony going to the Everfree forest anymore.”

“Interesting,” the filly said with a grin.

Starlight frowned. She didn’t know what the filly was hoping to learn from this discussion but she was going to put an end to it anyway. She glanced over at Diamond Tiara and waved her hoof, signalling the Rich pony to make her move.

Diamond nodded and waved Silver Spoon over before they walked towards the fillies. “Well, well, well. If it isn’t the last blank flank!”

The former Crusaders buried their faces in their hooves. “Oh Celestia, not again…” Scootaloo growled.

The filly turned to face Diamond and smirked. “Oh this? This is going to be adorable, I can already tell.”

“Diamond, what are you doing?!” Apple Bloom cried. “Starlight’s not gonna be happy if she finds out you’re picking on her!”

“Her? Isn’t that sad, Silver Spoon? She doesn’t even have a name!”

The filly calmly shrugged. “Not my fault if nobody has guessed what my name is yet. Of course, I am open to nicknames if I find them suitable.”

“Ooh! You like nicknames huh? How about blank flank!” Diamond said with a sneer.

The filly just smirked at her. “Really? That’s really your best shot? Years of tormenting little kids and that’s all you got?” The filly shook her head and walked away from them. “Call me when you’ve got your act together.”

“Hey! Where do you think you’re going?!” Diamond shouted.

“The girl you are trying to reach is in search of more entertaining and intelligent conversation. Please leave your message in your mouth where it belongs,” the filly said, giggling a little.

“Don’t you walk away from us!” Diamond and Silver ran in front of the filly and blocked her path. “We’re not done with you, you pale freak! Have you even heard of the sun?”

“Why, thank you!” the filly said with a smile. “My complexion is rather pale, isn’t it? Of course, your coat isn’t too bad to look at either. You’re such a cute shade of pink, you know that?”

Diamond frowned and blushed a little, feeling very confused about the compliment. “W-well, of course! Me and Silver are the most fabulous ponies in all of Ponyville. Unlike you, you little blank-”

“But you still have those equal signs, don’t ya? So really, you can only be as fabulous as every other pony, can’t you?”

“I…well, uh…” Diamond hesitated. She glanced at her friend for support but it appeared that Silver was struggling to think of something. The filly didn't seem bothered by anything they were saying.

“What’s the matter?” Scootaloo said. “All out of insults?”

“Yeah! You can’t push us around anymore! Starlight’s gonna be super mad at you when she finds out what you’re doing!” Sweetie said.

The filly smiled at the two nervous bullies. “An excellent point, Sweetie dearest. What brought this on exactly? Just so we’re not all confused, could you pretty paranoia please tell us why you would want to pick on me for no reason?”

As the filly asked her question, Silver Spoon stiffened a little before she smirked. “Starlight Glimmer asked Diamond to bully you so that you would realize how horrible life as a blank flank is and she dragged me along into her stupid scheme.”

Diamond’s eyes widened. “Silver Spoon! Why are you telling her that?!”

“Wait a minute…” The filly slowly grinned. “Starlight asked you…to bully me? Heh. He, he, he. Aha, ha, ha. Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed. “I haven’t even begun to play and she’s already folding! Bwa, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

Diamond scowled. “Would you stop laughing for once in your life?!”

The filly’s laughter faded away into small giggles. “Can’t do that, sprinkles. Doctor’s orders! Well, more like doctor’s suggestions…”

“What do you mean doctor’s orders?” Sweetie asked.

“Well, while Starlight hasn’t found any medical records on me, that doesn’t mean I haven’t been diagnosed before.”

Starlight’s eyes widened as she listened. A doctor had successfully examined the filly?

As if she could hear her thoughts, the filly continued speaking. “Oh sure, I’ve been examined by several doctors. I have to keep seeking a second opinion. Some doctors will examine my body, trying to piece together the origins of my condition and how far the symptoms are progressing. Other doctors might focus more on mind and, well they were at a loss for words or adequate explanations too. And then of course there is the matter of how contagious I am.” She traced her hoof across Diamond’s face. “Is it safe to touch me? Is it safe to even be around me? The only thing they can agree on…”

The filly grinned at Diamond and Silver. “Is that I am a very, very sick girl.”

“Y-you don’t look s-sick to me,” Diamond said, taking a step back.

“What other explanation could there be? They say laughter is the best medicine, and really, what could be funnier than pain?”

“Huh?” the other fillies asked.

The filly stared at Diamond and Silver, bringing her grinning face closer to them. “Did I forget to mention? Every moment of my life is agony. Pain courses like a poison through my blood. I feel as if I’m on fire. Like I’m drowning in lava. That’s why I’m always smiling and giggling. The only way I can deal with my pain is by laughing at it. Not like it’s much of a challenge at this point. After all…isn’t pain hilarious?”

“You…you’re lying…” Diamond mumbled nervously.

“Why would I lie about something like that? In fact…you two are bullies, aren’t you? Hit me.”

Diamond took a step back. “W-what?”

The filly smirked at them. “Hit me. Kick me. Bite me, if you’re feeling adventurous. I won’t feel it. At this point, the pain has come full circle…I don’t feel anything.”

“I’m not going to hit you!” Diamond cried.

The filly sneered at her. “You really are adorable. Like a cute little puppy. All bark and no bite. But don’t you worry. I know how to take care of puppies. Just ask Winona.”

“Winona?” Apple Bloom asked fearfully. “What’s wrong with her? W-Winona’s fine…right?”

The filly stared and smiled at the other fillies for a full minute. She then sighed happily and said, “Well, this was fun. Looks like recess is almost over. It was such a delight to meet you, Silver, Diamond. We really must do this again sometime.”

She left the horrified fillies behind, humming to herself. As the bell rang and the kids made their way back inside, Starlight did her best to ignore the cold feeling in her gut.

“So Winona’s fine?” Apple Bloom asked.

“Yes, sugarcube. She’s fine. Why are you so worried?” Applejack asked.

“N-no reason.”

School had ended, and the children were being picked up by their families. All except for the filly, who was happily chatting with anyone who passed by her.

“Diamond Tiara!” Starlight turned her attention away from the filly to focus on Spoiled Rich and her daughter. “What happened? That is not the face of a successful pony.”

“That’s because…I failed you mother,” Diamond sighed. “I couldn’t get the filly to accept our philosophy. But it’s not my fault! There’s something seriously wrong with her!”

“Diamond Tiara, I will not tolerate excuses!” Noticing that she was watching them, the two Rich ponies turned to Starlight and bowed. “Please forgive our family for my daughter’s failure.”

“It’s really not her fault, Miss Rich. I heard what the fillies said and I agree with Diamond.”

“You heard us?! Why didn’t you do anything?!” Diamond cried.

“Diamond Tiara!” Spoiled growled and pulled on her daughter’s ear. “That is not how we treat our social superiors! Apologize at once!”

“Ow! Mother, that hurts!” Diamond cried.

Starlight’s magic gently pulled the two ponies apart. “Ponies, please! There’s no need for you to fight!”

“But the filly is not following the laws of our perfect society! And my daughter has failed in the very simple mission you gave her!” Spoiled argued. As Diamond defended herself from her mom, Starlight glanced back at the listening children, wishing that they didn’t have to see this ridiculous argument.

“…You do not hurt your kids.”

Starlight blinked and turned to face the source of the voice. What she saw made her take several steps back. The filly had stopped smiling. Her cute little face was twisted into the most hideous snarl Starlight had ever seen. She looked furious. Murderous.

“You do not. Hurt. Your kids!” the filly growled. She spun around and stomped towards the playground. Anybody who was blocking her path took one look at her face and immediately backed out of her way.

“Um, Starlight? What’s she doing?” Double asked as he edged closer to her.

“I-I don’t know Double Diamond. I’ve never seen anypony so angry before.”

Double blinked. “What do you think she’s doing with that bat?”

Starlight turned back to face her. The filly was walking on her back legs again. Her left front hoof was twitching uncontrollably while her right front hoof was clutching a wooden baseball bat, dragging the fat end across the ground. The bat bounced off rocks and dirt as the filly stormed towards Spoiled Rich. The filly slowly lifted her bat off the ground and held onto it with her two front hooves, bringing it over her head. She had almost reached the older mare when another filly made her pause.

“Um…are you okay?” Twist asked nervously. The filly’s furious scowl faded as she glanced at the glasses wearing filly. A few days ago, Twist accidentally broke her glasses and had to fix them up using tape. The filly dropped her bat as she stared at Twist and smiled.

“Heh. He, he, he. Aha, ha, ha. Neh, he, he, ha, ha, ha! Mwa, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed. “Ooh…now there’s a fun idea.”

The filly grinned at Twist before she went back down on her four hooves. She strolled up to Starlight and said, “Starlight dearie, earlier today I made a few plans with our mutual friend Princess Twilight. Could you please ask if she can reschedule? I just remembered that Double Diamond gave us an art project.”

Starlight frowned. “An art project? He never mentioned that to me.”

“Well, I’m sure it’s nothing you’ve seen before. Haven’t seen, I mean. I think he was asking us to make a popsicle stick statue of an equal sign or something. Do you think you can point me to the locations of a few supplies? You know, just some basic paper, crayons, scissors, tape, and so on?”

“Why don’t you ask one of your classmates?” Starlight suggested.

“What a delightful idea, dearie! I could ask Apple Bloom and…ooh, we could have a slumber party! Oh, this is going to be so much fun!” And without another word, the filly skipped happily towards the former Crusaders.

As the colts and fillies went home, Starlight was left feeling very confused and a little nervous. She honestly didn’t know how to react to such an eventful day. But the silver lining was that she didn’t have to worry about the filly that night. The Apple family was honest, dependable, and above all loyal to equality. She was sure they could keep the wild filly under control. Feeling a little more relaxed, Starlight went back to Princess Twilight’s castle, looking forward to dinner and an early bedtime.

Starlight woke up very early in the morning as the door to her bedroom was flung open. “Starlight, Starlight! It’s an emergency!”

Starlight blinked the sleep out of her eyes. “Twilight? Double? What’s going on? The sun’s not even up yet.”

“Somepony’s been attacked!” Twilight cried.

The fully awakened Starlight leapt out of bed. “What happened?! Who’s been attacked?!”

“Spoiled Rich. Come on!” Double cried as he ran out of the room, the two mares following after him.

Eventually they reached the Rich household. A few ponies from the hospital were there too, causing Starlight’s heart to skip a beat. They hurried up the stairs and into Filthy and Spoiled Rich’s bedroom. Diamond Tiara was staring at her mom, stunned into silence. Filthy Rich was doing his best to console his sobbing wife. As for the mare who had been attacked...the sight of her made Starlight freeze in horror.

Spoiled Rich looked like she had been mauled by a swarm of angry parasprites. Her mane, tail, and fur coat had all been completely shaved off. Her skin was red and irritated. She looked naked, cold, terrified, and in a lot of pain. What scared Starlight the most was that a blood red word had been written across Spoiled’s head.

BULLY

The Nightmare

Starlight Glimmer tapped her hoof impatiently. She was trying to remain calm but the situation had everyone on edge. Upstairs, Twilight Sparkle and Double Diamond were trying to calm down the sobbing Spoiled Rich. Starlight hadn’t heard any noise coming from the bedroom for over an hour, and yet Twilight and Double had not yet returned from her room.

In the family room, Rarity was gently asking Filthy Rich and Diamond Tiara about what happened. “I don’t mean to make you uncomfortably Mr. Rich, but is there anything else you can remember from the attack? Anything at all? Even the slightest detail can help.”

Mr. Rich sighed. “It’s just like I’ve been telling you. We were all sleeping at the time. Suddenly, I heard one of the windows breaking. I got outta bed as fast as I could, but whatever attacked us was faster. Our bedroom door burst open and suddenly there’s this thick, green smoke filling our room. I tried to hold my breath but I must have inhaled some of the smoke already. I started to feel really dizzy, the room’s spinning, and I couldn’t make anything out. The attacker just looked like this black blur.”

“A black blur, you say? You’re sure about the colour?” Starlight asked.

“No. It was too dark for me to make out any details. Maybe it had a black coat but I can’t say for sure. If it even had a coat.” Mr. Rich shrugged. “Pretty soon I pass out completely. I woke up a few hours later. Me and Diamond are fine…but Spoiled…”

Diamond gave them a numb nod. She had been very quiet during Rarity’s questions, still recovering from the shock of it all. “Y-yeah. I was knocked out by some green smoke too.”

Rarity sighed and glanced at Starlight. “Well that doesn’t give us much to go on, does it? How are we supposed to continue this investigation when we don’t have any clues?”

There was a light knock on the side of the wall, before Applejack stepped into the room. “Uh, howdy. So how’s the investigation going?”

“Poorly, I’m afraid. Unless you’ve discovered a clue?” Rarity asked hopefully.

“Afraid not. I just stopped by to see how you were doing, and because this little one wanted to lend a helping hoof to Diamond Tiara,” Applejack said as she stepped aside.

“Howdy!”

Starlight grimaced as the filly strolled into the room, carrying a bouquet of bright yellow flowers. “Sorry to drop by unannounced but I merely wanted to offer my condolences. Or is it sympathies? I brought flowers!” she said cheerfully.

Diamond’s face twisted into a furious scowl. “You!” She lunged across the room and pinned the filly against the wall.

Everyone in the room stared at Diamond in shock. The only one who didn’t seem concerned was the filly. “Oh ho, ho, ho! Now we’re talking!” she said with a triumphant grin.

“Shut up! I know it was you!” Diamond cried.

“Why, whatever are you talking about dearie?” the filly asked with an innocent smile.

“Don’t play dumb! Yesterday I was picking on you and you called me out on being a bully! The very next morning, my mom has lost all her beautiful fur! And she has the word ‘bully’ written on her face! How could you do this?!”

The filly titled her head to the side. “You think I did this? My dear little diamond, I was having a sleepover at Applejack’s farm. Ask Apple Bloom, she’ll vouch for me. Ask Scootaloo if you want, I went to sleep before her and her bed was right next to mine. How could I have possibly left the farm without somebody spotting me, let alone accomplish this masterpiece of madness?”

“She’s right. I was watching those fillies like a hawk,” Applejack promised. “Now put her down, Diamond Tiara. I know you’re madder than a…than a…” The equal mark on Applejack’s flank pulsed a little before she shook her head. “I know you’re mad but you can’t go blaming this filly for something she didn’t do. I know she’s a little odd but I don’t think she would do something this cruel.”

“A little odd? More like a freak of nature,” Diamond grumbled.

The filly smiled. “Thank you!”

Diamond grumbled some more before she took her hoof off of the filly. If Starlight was being honest with herself, she wanted to blame the filly too, but she made a good point. There was no evidence linking the filly with this mysterious attacker. Really, how could a little girl even be capable of something so monstrous?

“If you didn’t attack my mom, then why are you here?” Diamond asked.

The filly smiled gently. “We may not have made the best first impressions on each other but I really do want to see you smile again. I know a desperate soul when I see one so I came to offer these flowers and my friendship.” She held out the yellow flowers for them to see.

Diamond’s expression softened before she lowered her head. “I’m not desperate.”

“Oh sweetheart, it’s okay.” The filly placed the flowers on the floor and gave Diamond a hug. “I’ve been where you are now. Saddened by the ill fortune of a loved one. Confused and angry at the world. Uncertain what the future may hold. But I clawed my way up from rock bottom. I’m made of stronger stuff than that and I think you can be too. I promise you, you and your family will survive.”

Diamond’s face twisted with emotion, her eyes watering a little. “Why…why are you being nice to me?”

The filly slowly released Diamond and smiled at her. “You didn’t really mean to be a bully to me yesterday, did you? And if I offended you in some way, then I apologize for that. But we can’t let a petty school fight get in the way of those we care about.”

“Thank…you,” Diamond whispered softly. “I just…I don’t know what to do. Some kind of monster broke into our house and I couldn’t do anything about it! I just…”

“There, there,” the filly said gently as she rubbed Diamond’s back. “You may be a little spoiled in your wealth; a little rough around the edges…but you’re a diamond, aren’t you? You can survive this.”

“I…I can’t…” Diamond whispered, her little body shaking with fear over the thought of another attack.

The filly’s smile became a bit brighter as she softly sang. “You’re a diamond – that means you’ll never break. No matter what be the cost of the paths we take. Whatever we have to do to win in the end.”

Starlight frowned. “I really don’t think this is the time for a song.”

“Yes, well, that’s because you have no music in your soul,” the filly said, childishly sticking her tongue out at Starlight.

“It’s okay,” Diamond said to Starlight. “She’s just trying to help, in her own freakish way.”

“See? We’re all better.” The filly smiled and turned to Rarity. “So, what brings you here Miss Rarity?”

“Well, a mystery this big requires an investigation. I’m afraid nopony got a good look at the attacker so I offered my services to help track down this monster.”

“Why don’t you just call a detective?” the filly asked sweetly.

Starlight frowned. “Because we have no need for one. When everypony is equal, there is no conflict. Nopony needs to fight or steal from anypony when we all share the same philosophy. Aside from the rat and last night, there has never been a crime or an attack in Ponyville since we have all embraced our equality.”

The filly chuckled. “You haven’t been to Canterlot or Manehatten recently, have you?”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about? I get reports from members of our community from both cities. Princess Twilight is in contact with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. There is no conflict. There is only equality. Equestria is at peace.”

The filly giggled some more. “He, he, he!” She turned to Rarity and said, “Well, setting aside Starlight’s charming fantasy, shall we return to my previous question? If you didn’t need a detective before, I think you need one now. Of course, I’m not trying to discredit you Miss Rarity. I’m sure your deductive skills are up to the task.”

“Thank you, darling.” Noticing the glare Starlight was giving her, Rarity gave her a forced smile and said, “But I’m afraid that I’m no better a detective than anypony else. I am simply the pony who volunteered, anypony could have done just as good as me.”

Princess Twilight and Double Diamond walked down the stairs. “Starlight, we have a problem.”

Starlight groaned. “What is it now?”

“We’ve managed to get Spoiled to stop crying, but now…we can’t get her to do anything,” Double said.

Twilight nodded sadly. “She’s become completely unresponsive.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about that,” the filly said with a wave of her hoof. “The old gal’s just had a bad shock. It’s just a tiny, little mental breakdown. Or would that be post-traumatic stress? I always get medical terminology mixed up…” the filly said as she rubbed her chin in cheerful thought.

Mr. Rich scowled at her. “That’s my wife you’re talking about! Can’t you take this seriously?”

The filly smiled at them. “Oh darling, you’re never going to get far in life if you take it too seriously. Now rest easy little ponies, for I have the answer to all your problems.” She held up the yellow flowers for them to see. “Much like myself, these flowers hide quite a few secrets behind their pretty faces. I found out about these in the Botanical Legends that Princess Twilight let me borrow. They have quite a…intoxicating aroma. Simply wave them under her nose and old Spoiled should be up and running again.”

Starlight frowned. “Now wait a minute. How do you know those flowers are safe?”

The filly shrugged cheerfully. “You got a better idea?” She giggled and said, “He, he, wait, wait. Don’t answer that, I just remembered who I was talking to.”

“She brings up a good point, darling,” Rarity said.

“Oh, quit your worrying! I’ve been inhaling their lovely scent the whole journey to this beautiful house.” To demonstrate, the filly held up the flowers and took a huge sniff. “Mmm. You really should try this. It feels like a lightning bolt!” The filly’s body shivered with delight. “Like electricity coursing through your veins…”

The other ponies looked a little uneasy as the filly closed her eyes and licked her lips. “Um, I don’t think I trust what those flowers are doing to you. Isn’t there something safer we can use for my wife?” Mr. Rich asked.

“Oh, do stop interrupting me,” the filly said. “This only happens with people who are wide awake. If Spoiled is truly as zonked out as you say she is, this should merely bring her back to her senses, nothing more.”

“I don’t know about this…” Double mumbled, fidgeting a little.

The filly smiled and rolled her eyes. “Diamond, why don’t you go bring these up to your mommy dearest since the grown-ups are apparently too busy to help her.”

As she passed the flowers to Diamond, Mr. Rich bit his lip. “I may not know much about you little one, but if you can help my wife the Rich family will be eternally in your debt.”

The filly’s smile brightened. “Ooh, I love making new friends!”

“Now wait just a minute!” Starlight shouted, trying to get their attention. “Are we really putting our trust in a bouquet of flowers? Delivered by a filly who still doesn’t understand our way of life no less!” She frowned at Diamond and said, “Put those down, they could be dangerous.”

The filly smiled, slowly brushing Diamond’s mane a little. “It’s your decision, my dear. But let me ask you this…if you love someone, isn’t it worth a little danger?”

“Back away from her! Diamond Tiara! Put those down before you hurt yourself!” Starlight cried.

Diamond glanced at the filly before she scowled Starlight. “You’re not the boss of me!”

The filly grinned as Diamond ran upstairs. “Atta girl!”

Starlight glared at the filly. “If anything happens to her…”

“I’ll be the first to know,” the filly said with a wink. “Well, I do believe my work is done here. I know when I have overstayed my welcome so I’ll be out of your hair for now.” She turned to walk out the door before she paused. “Oh, Applejack darling, might I have your permission to poke around your farm for supplies? We’ll need to get all the preparations in order before the town meeting.”

Applejack raised an eyebrow. “What town meeting?”

The filly grinned at them. “Why, to discuss the mysterious monster attacks, of course! There’s been no announcement but I assumed that either Starlight or more likely Princess Twilight would call a town meeting in order to alert the public on how to defend themselves!”

Princess Twilight’s eyes widened. “You’re right! We need to gather up everypony in Ponyville right away! Rarity, can you stay behind and make sure Mrs. Rich is alright?”

“Absolutely, Twilight!” Rarity said with a smile.

“Outstanding! Shall we all meet at Sweet Apple Acres then? I’m looking forward to it!” the filly said cheerfully.

“Wait a moment! Twilight, we need to talk about…wait, where are you going? Why Sweet Apple Acres?!” Starlight asked. But Twilight and Applejack were already heading out the door.

“Well, we’ll be sure to send you an invitation, my dear. I bid you adieu, my friends and Starlight.” The filly waved at them cheerfully before she skipped out the door.

“Wait! Come back!” Starlight cried out. Her head was spinning. First Diamond disobeyed her orders despite the risk to her safety and now Princess Twilight and Applejack were leaving her behind to deal with Spoiled Rich. They were doing it for a good reason of course, but it was still so frustrating for her.

She turned to see Mr. Rich, Double Diamond, and Rarity heading up the stairs and quickly followed them to see if Mrs. Rich’s condition had improved.

Spoiled Rich was staring up at the ceiling, her eyes glassy and her mouth hanging open. Diamond was desperately waving the bouquet of flowers under her nose. “Come on mom! Wake up!” she cried.

Starlight sighed as Spoiled Rich remained unresponsive. She was about to grab the flowers with her magic when the older mare slowly blinked.

“D-d…Diamond…” Spoiled croaked out.

“Mom?” Diamond asked hopefully.

“Honey?” Mr. Rich whispered as he gently grasped his wife’s hoof.

Rarity smiled as Spoiled slowly came back to reality. “It appears the little filly’s flowers work.”

“Apparently…” Starlight muttered. She reached out to Spoiled. “Mrs. Rich, now that you’re awake can you tell us who did this to you?”

What happened next, no pony saw coming. The second her hoof touched Spoiled, the older mare stared at Starlight with wide eyes before she let out a piercing scream.

“Aaahh! Evil! Horrible, little evil!” Spoiled screamed as she shrunk into her covers.

“Mom!” Diamond cried.

Mr. Rich glared at Starlight. “What did you do to her?!”

“Me? Nothing! I just touched her!” Starlight exclaimed, eyes wide with confusion and concern.

“Everyone please be calm!” Rarity begged. “Spoiled Rich, the nightmare is over! You’re safe!”

“N-not safe! The thing is still here! I can feel its slime all over my skin!” Spoiled cried.

“Spoiled Rich, please, we just want to help you! Who did this to you?” Starlight asked.

“Everypony give her some room!” Mr. Rich ordered. “She needs to breathe!” Everyone did as he asked and waited for her to calm down. After several minutes, Spoiled’s sobbing began to simmer.

“I…I apologize, Ms. Glimmer,” Spoiled said, sounding more like her old self. “I’m just…I’m so relieved that beast is gone.”

“Well, we’re glad you’re feeling better Mrs. Rich,” Rarity said with a smile.

Spoiled Rich huddled up in her covers. “You…know what attacked me, right? You’ll slay this beast, won’t you?”

“I’m afraid we don’t know who attacked you. Mrs. Rich, I don’t want to pry, but for the safety of Ponyville I must ask…what happened?” Starlight said.

Spoiled gulped. “It was…horrible. Sickly, green smoke filling the room. Then I woke up…only to find myself tied to my own bed.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “What?”

“When we found her, all four of her legs were tied up to the bedposts,” Double said, holding up a pile of rope. “The knots were really hard to untie.”

“The room was pitch black. I couldn’t see a thing. But I could feel the monster’s hot breath. I could feel something slimy hitting my stomach.” Spoiled shuddered in disgust in fear. “The whole time, it cut off my beautiful mane and tail with its wicked claws. I could feel it as the demon tore off my fur, strip by strip. And it…it whispered…things in my ear…”

“Do you remember what the voice sounded like? What did it say?” Starlight pressed her.

Spoiled shuddered. “I…I can’t…I can’t! I can’t, I can’t, I can’t!” she cried as she hid herself under the covers.

“Mom? Mom?!” Diamond cried.

“I…I’m sorry…” Spoiled whimpered. She took a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry Diamond Tiara…for everything.” She faced Starlight and said, “Please, I just…I want to be alone with my family.”

“Are you sure?” Rarity gently asked.

“Yes. Just leave me.”

“Very well,” Rarity sighed. “Starlight, perhaps we should see to that town meeting.”

“Maybe,” Starlight mumbled. Her eyes narrowed in…honestly, she wasn’t sure. Her emotions were all over the place.

As the two mares turned to leave, Spoiled suddenly sat up, a haunted look in her eyes. “It wants you,”

“W-what?” Starlight asked as her eyes widened.

“It. Wants. You,” Spoiled told her. She stared at Starlight for several seconds before her eyes rolled up and she collapsed on the bed.

As Spoiled slowly drifted into sleep, a very unnerved Starlight made her way out the door without another word.

“Who wants seconds?!” Apple Bloom shouted cheerfully.

“Me! Me!” Rainbow Dash shouted, wings and forelegs swinging wildly.

Starlight walked into the apple orchards, her expression torn between joy and anger. She had heard from Sugar Belle that the Apple family was distributing apple cider during the town meeting in order to help lighten every pony’s mood. Starlight felt as if the situation was very grim and didn’t need to be lightened but Applejack was being stubborn about it. It was nice that the ponies of Ponyville were being happy, but it was also infuriating that they weren’t doing what they were supposed to do.

“Starlight! You won’t believe it! The cider tastes good again!” Rainbow cried with joy as she drank her seventh glass of apple cider. “It finally tastes good again! Applejack, you make the best cider in all of Equestria!”

“Well, I-I’m sure my apple cider tastes the same as it always has,” Applejack said with a forced smile as Starlight glared at her.

Rainbow didn’t take the hint. “Oh come on AJ. When we had the official cider season two months ago, your cider tasted like dirt! Not as bad as what Flim and Flam tried that one time, but still pretty bad.”

“Now hold on,” Starlight held up a hoof. “The Flim Flam brothers are respected members of our community. The cider they make tastes just as good as Applejack’s.”

Apple Bloom frowned at her. “Hey, my sister and Rainbow Dash are having a conversation. Go bother somepony else.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped at the earth filly’s disrespectful tone. Applejack blushed and said, “She uh, she didn’t mean that.”

Starlight frowned and shook her head. “I’m sure she didn’t. Please be a little more respectful Apple Bloom. We’re all friends here.” She turned to Rainbow and said, “Where’s Twilight?”

“She was out somewhere in the orchards last I checked,” Rainbow said as she drank her eight glass of cider.

Starlight sighed. “Well, I wouldn’t want to keep you from spending time with your friends. I’ll find her myself.”

She began to walk through the orchard, past the many apple trees. Occasionally she walked by a couple of ponies drinking cider and talking with each other. After ten minutes of searching for Twilight with no luck, Starlight was ready to turn back when she felt something brush against her horn.

“Say now, what have we here?”

Starlight looked up to see the filly hanging from an apple tree, her tail wrapped around a branch. “Why, it’s a pony. A lost, little pony,” the filly giggled.

Starlight scowled in annoyance. “What are you doing up there?”

“Enjoying the fruits of our labor, of course. Care to join me?” The filly plucked an apple off the tree and offered it to her. “Come on now. Just one little bite.”

Starlight wrinkled her nose in disgust. “That apple is rotten. How can you even think of eating that?”

The filly smirked. “Yes, it is rotten. It’s not the only one. Actually, over half the apples in this orchard are looking a little worse for wear.”

The filly slithered down from the tree before she touched the ground and began to juggle the apple with her hooves. “Tell me something, exactly how much thought did you put into your little equality philosophy? Everyone being equally good at everything, with nobody being better?”

“What are you babbling about now?”

“Haven’t you heard the age old expression? Nobody’s good at everything, but everyone is good at something.” The filly stopped juggling and smirked at her. “Really, isn’t that a much healthier belief to hold?”

“You don’t understand the burden and the torment that a life with special talent leads to,” Starlight argued. “If you let me-”

“Speaking of healthier standards to live by, have you actually eaten any of the same food that your citizens have been sampling?” the filly said as she circled Starlight. “Not exactly what I’d call fine cuisine. Or even health inspector approved. Now what are you going to do when all the farmers and food providers are equally bad at doing their jobs? Applejack used to have a cutie mark involving apple bucking, but thanks to you she has lost her special talent. So how do you keep a talentless town from starving, little star? You gonna keep them all fed with nothing but Sugar Belle’s muffins or should I bring out the plates of cardboard and get it over with?”

“Stop that!” Starlight scowled. “These apples are perfectly safe to eat! We don’t need cutie marks to grow food! Anypony can do it.”

The filly merely chuckled darkly and shook her head. “You really are oblivious, aren’t you?”

Before Starlight could yell at the filly, another pony came their way. “Ooh, Starlight! Have you tried this cider? It’s tastes wonderful!” Sugar Belle said as she finished off her second glass.

The filly gasped dramatically. “You haven’t tried it yet? Oh now that won’t do at all. Excuse me! May I have your attention everyone!” she shouted. A few nearby ponies turned towards her. “Could someone fetch me a glass of cider or two? There’s a very special glass I saved just for Starry here. Does anyone recall where I left it?”

“Here you go!” Scootaloo said as she ran up to the filly and gave her two glasses of cider. “Right where you told me they’d be.”

The filly grinned at her. “Thank you, sweetheart.” She turned to Starlight and said, “So how about it, little star? How would you like a glass of the best apple cider I have ever tasted?”

The filly held up a glass. It was just an ordinary glass of cider, but it made her feel uneasy. The filly was grinning at her intently. Something about this particular grin was very unsettling.

“I…I’d rather not,” Starlight gulped.

“What’s the matter, dearie? You’re acting as if it’s poisoned!” the filly laughed. “Well allow me to ease your fears.” She smiled and drank the entire glass of cider, licking her lips as she savoured the taste. “Mmm. Absolutely intoxicating.”

Starlight stared at her in mild disbelief. The truth was, she really did think that the cider had been poisoned in some way. Now surely a little filly would never use a real poison, but she thought maybe the little troublemaker had added dirt or her spit to it or something.

“Um, thanks but no thanks,” Starlight said.

“What? Come on Starlight, it tastes great!” Sugar Belle said.

“Yeah! You really need to try some!” Scootaloo added.

“I know you’re still worried about Spoiled Rich, but this will ease your nerves,” Applejack said as she walked over to them.

“I have to agree,” Princess Twilight said as she came by carrying her own glass. “The filly suggested this emergency cider season in order to bring Ponyville together for this town meeting. A little positivity to remind us that even with a dangerous monster on the loss, we have nothing to fear as long as we have each other.”

As more and more ponies pressured her to try the cider, the filly smirked at her. “Isn’t this what you wanted, Starlight? Everyone is agreeing. Everyone is doing the exact same thing. Even me. So why are you the one who is rejecting equality now? You of all ponies deserve this.”

“I…I…” Starlight stammered. She was trapped and she knew it. There was no way out of this without looking paranoid and untrusting to the eyes of Ponyville. She shouldn’t be so nervous about a little drink but the filly’s huge grin was far too ominous.

“It tastes fine, Starlight. Go ahead,” Applejack said with a smile.

“Listen to your friends, dearie. Trust us,” the filly said, her voice a snakelike whisper.

Eventually, Starlight gave in and accepted the second glass of cider. She put on a confident smile for her community and made a toast. “To equality and harmony!”

The filly’s grin threated to split her face in half as she watched Starlight drink. Thankfully, the filly didn’t bother her for the rest of the day, and Starlight was able to concentrate on the town meeting.

That night, Starlight put her favourite book aside and slipped under her covers. She thought that the meeting had gone very well. New rules had been put into place, the curfew had changed from 9 pm. to 7 pm, and most importantly the filly was being moved to one of the guest bedrooms in the castle. Starlight didn’t trust the filly to continually have sleepovers with her friends every night. This way she could stay close and keep an eye on the troublemaking blank flank.

As she closed her eyes and drifted off into sleep, she felt confident that things were finally improving.

Starlight opened her eyes and smiled as the sunlight crept into the room. She got out of bed and made her way towards the kitchen. “Good morning Starlight.”

An alicorn Starlight Glimmer smiled at her. “Good morning Starlight!” She placed a plate full of bland, unappetizing muffins in front of the unicorn Starlight. The two Starlight’s ate in silence, both of them grinning at each other.

“Well, it’d better get going.” Starlight said.

“Good morning Starlight!” Princess Starlight said as she waved cheerfully at her.

Starlight left the castle and strolled leisurely through the village called ‘Pony Town’. She had a dentist appointment to get to that day, and she felt herself smile as she was greeted by every pony she passed.

“Good morning Starlight!” a pegasus Starlight said.

“Good morning Starlight!” an earth pony Starlight said.

“Hello girls!” Starlight said as she waved to a young pegasus, a unicorn, and an earth pony with a pink bow.

“Good morning Starlight!” the three fillies said simultaneously with big grins.

“Good morning!” she said as she passed by a rather large pony.

The other Starlight Glimmer grinned at her. “Eeyup!”

Eventually, she arrived at the door to the dentist’s office and walked inside. Another Starlight Glimmer was washing her hooves at a sink, her back turned to her. “Have a seat. I’ll be right with you.”

Starlight found a cold, metal seat in the center of the room and settled into it. “I don’t believe we’ve met before. Allow me to introduce myself. My name is-”

“Oh, it’s quite alright my dear. I know exactly who you are and what you have done. So allow me to introduce myself.”

The Starlight Glimmer picked up a clipboard with her magic and levitated it in front of her pale, smiling face. “My name is Doctor Psycho Path.”

Starlight smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you Doctor Path.”

The other unicorn mare giggled. “No need for such formalities, my dear. Doctor Psycho will do just fine.”

Starlight’s brow furrowed. For the first time she stepped into the office, she sensed that something wasn’t right. “Wait…I thought most of the professional doctors in Equestria quit their jobs. All the doctors we have now are volunteers because everypony is equally skilled at medicine as everypony else. Why do we still have a dentist?”

“Now what a horrible thing to say to the person doing your checkup! Trying to get rid of me, dearie?” Doctor Psycho asked.

“Oh, I would never want to get rid of you!” Starlight quickly apologized. “You are an equally valued member of our community. I’m just trying to wrap my head around this.”

“Well, let’s not focus too much on me. Today, I want to focus on you. Open wide, and let’s see that smile.”

Starlight did as she was told and grinned widely for the doctor. The other unicorn examined Starlight’s teeth before she frowned. “My, my. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Looks like someone hasn’t been taking very good care of themselves.”

“What do you mean?” Starlight asked.

“Just look at yourself. A philosophy with huge flaws in it, paranoid delusions of cutie marks, a self-centered and self-serving need to make everyone act exactly the same, a hatred of free thought, and a huge pile of anger issues.” Doctor Psycho shook her head. “You’re in terrible condition.”

“Hold on, none of that is true!” Starlight denied. “And I thought you were a dentist. You’re supposed to be looking at my teeth.”

“Well, your smile is completely insincere too. And I’ll have you know that a dentist is perfectly capable of treating the brain. Unfortunately, your mind is too far gone. So I’m afraid everything will have to go.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “What do you mean?”

Doctor Psycho grinned. “A lobotomy of course!”

“What? But I don’t need a lobotomy!” Starlight cried.

“Settle down now. Move around too much and the anaesthesia won’t kick in. Lucky for you, I’ve got my two nurses working on that.”

“Nurses? What are you – Aaahhh!” Starlight screamed as she looked down, only to discover to very large snakes wrapping all four of her legs tightly to the chair in their coils. The two snakes opened their mouths and sank their fangs deep into Starlight’s flesh.

“Starlight, meet Nurse Venom and Nurse Toxic. Guess which one is the brother,” the doctor said with a wink.

“Stop! You can’t do this!” Starlight cried as she tried to struggle.

“Don’t bother, darling. What my friends are currently injecting you with is more than enough to completely paralyze you. You’ll find that limbs and your magic are currently unavailable to you. Lucky for you, you won’t feel a thing during our little…operation. Now let’s see what toys I get to play with today!”

The crazed doctor levitated a tool box over and began to dig through it. “Scalpel? No, too small. Power drill? Close, but we have a lot to cover. Ah, here we are! Perfect!”

Starlight’s eyes widened as the doctor revved up a chainsaw. “You’re insane!”

The other pony smiled at her. “What, the name Doctor Psycho wasn’t a big enough clue? Let’s add obliviousness to your long list of problems that shall soon be cured.”

The pale-faced, insane doctor hovered over Starlight. Her face stretched into a grin so wide, blood began to drip out the corners of her mouth. “Now if you feel at all uncomfortable during this procedure, just remember that you were the one who made the appointment. In other words…

“You brought this on yourself.” She raised the chainsaw high and giggled. “Smile wide, dearie!”

“Wait! P-please, don’t do this!” Starlight begged. “I’ll do anything you want! I’ll-”

Everything after that was cut off as Doctor Psycho shoved the chainsaw down her throat. Starlight desperately tried to scream, but she was too busy choking on the spinning chainsaw and the fountain of blood.

“Neh, heh, heh, he! Aha, ha, ha, ha! Bwa, ha, ha, ha!” Doctor Psycho laughed.

Starlight’s world was spinning. Her vision was fading. She knew that she was dying and yet because of the snake venom, she just felt numb. She shut her eyes tight, hoping it was all just a nightmare. She almost got what she wanted.

Starlight felt herself fall off the chair. The roar of the chainsaw faded until it shut off. “Well, I think that turned out perfectly! Let’s take a look at our masterpiece!” She felt the world tilt upwards and soon she was staring at Doctor Psycho. “Now that’s much better! Quite the improvement if I do say so myself.”

Starlight tried to curse the doctor. She tried to call forth every hex, jinx, and spell she knew to blast the lunatic. She tried to run, to yell, kick, or scream at her attacker. But nothing came out. She didn’t understand. Was she still paralyzed or…

“Oh, but I’m sure you’re not going to simply take my word on it. See for yourself!”

Doctor Psycho held up a mirror for her. Starlight’s eyes widened in fear. It was one of the very few options left to her. All she saw was a pair of terrified eyeballs floating in a pool of blood.

“Dear, oh dear, what a mess we have made. I think you stained my uniform!” the doctor smoothed out her blood-soaked lab coat. “Not that I’m complaining. Red is such a beautiful colour. Still, somebody is going to have to clean up this mess. But I don’t want to inconvenience my vegetarian friends so I better get to it.”

The pale doctor lowered herself towards Starlight, a hungry grin spreading across her face. “You really have turned out spectacularly. So much better than your previous self. So tranquil. So calm. So colourful. So…delicious…”

The pony’s tongue lowered to the floor as she took the first long lick…

Starlight gasped as her eyes snapped open. She remained stunned, confused, and terrified as she shivered under her covers. It was the most horrific nightmare she had ever experienced. But before she could regain control over herself, she felt something else.

Something was crawling up her neck. Something long, cold, and slimy.

“Aaahh!” Starlight screamed as she leapt out of bed. She instinctively sent out a wave of telekinetic energy and blasted whatever had been licking her out of her bed. The force of Starlight’s magic nearly destroyed her bedroom as books, scrolls, and all her personal belongings were launched to every corner of the room. Starlight quickly scurried towards the door, keeping her eyes trained on the lump moving underneath her bedcovers.

“Starlight?!” The door swung open as Princess Twilight burst into the room. “What happened? I heard you screaming!”

Starlight tried to explain what happened, but all she could manage was terrified blubbering.

“Ugh,” a familiar voice moaned from underneath the covers. “Did anyone get the number on that train? Seriously, that magic can’t be normal…”

Starlight’s face twisted into a furious scowl. Grabbing the sheets with her magic, she flung her covers off to reveal the filly. “You!”

“Me!” the filly sang cheerfully, throwing her hooves up in the air. “Wait, what am I doing here?” She lowered them and glanced around the room. “Must have been some party.”

Starlight’s magic grabbed the filly and pushed her up against the wall, the enraged unicorn growled at her. “You diseased, filthy, parasitic, abomination!”

Twilight gasped at the hatred in Starlight’s voice. “Starlight! Put her down!”

“Ignore her. By all means little star,” the filly grinned. “Keep going.”

At the sound of the filly’s encouragement, Starlight realized what she was doing – in front of an alicorn princess, no less – and released her.

The filly made a show of running to Twilight and hiding behind her. “Princess Twilight! Starlight is picking on me!”

“Will someone please explain what’s going on here?!” Twilight angrily demanded.

“She was in my bed!” Starlight screamed.

Twilight frowned at the filly. “Is this true?”

The filly innocently shrugged. “I’m a sleepwalker. So…maybe?”

Twilight smiled sadly at her. “Oh. I’m sorry to hear that. Look Starlight, it’s not her fault. A sleepwalker can’t control what they do while they’re like that.”

“She was licking me in my sleep!” Starlight screamed.

The filly blinked in confusion. “I was?”

“Yes!”

“Oh. And you’re upset about that?”

“Yes!”

“Would you prefer if I licked you while we’re awake?”

“NO!”

The filly giggled. “Wow, you really need to learn how to take a joke. Darling, I can’t help what I do when I sleepwalk. I apologize if you are – understandably, I’ll admit – freaked out, but don’t you think destroying your bed was a tiny bit of an overreaction?”

“Overreaction?!” Starlight screamed. “I just woke up from the worst nightmare in pony history to you licking me in my sleep and you think I’m overreacting?!”

“Well that can’t be right, now can it?” the filly grinned. “You can’t have a nightmare if you never dream. Really Starlight, you seem to be forgetting your own philosophy more and more these days.” She leaned closer to Starlight. “Are you feeling well? Is there…something you’re not telling us?”

Starlight’s fury faded as her fear returned in full force. Instinctively, her tail swished around to cover her flank even though she knew all they would see was an equal sign. “N-no.”

Princess Twilight sighed. “It is way too late for this. We should all go back to bed. Starlight, if you want to talk in the morning I’ll be here.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped as the filly smiled and skipped out of the room. “You…you’re just going to leave it at that? She licked me in my sleep!”

“And that was really creepy and very inappropriate of her,” Princess Twilight frowned. “But what you did was worse. Starlight, you pinned up a defenceless filly against the wall and threatened her! You’re older than she is; you should know better than that.”

Starlight stared at her in disbelief. “You’re taking her side. Why are you taking her side?!”

Twilight sighed. “I’m not taking anyone’s side, Starlight. Just…please go back to bed. We’ll talk more in the morning when she’s not around. Is that okay?”

Starlight didn’t say anything but after a few seconds she nodded. As Twilight left the room, Starlight levitated her sheets back onto her bed and did a quick reorganization of her room with her magic. She settled back into bed, closed her eyes, and wished for sweet, peaceful sleep.

She remained awake for the entire night, the echoes of crazed laughter ringing in her ears.

The Fear

Starlight Glimmer slowly trotted into the library, feeling really woozy. “Ugh. I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled. “Twilight! Are you in here?”

She spotted Princess Twilight turned away from her, lying down on a sofa and staring at a picture in her hooves. Starlight walked over to her and cleared her throat. “Twilight?”

Twilight sighed, still staring at the picture. “I miss you,” she whispered, wiping away at the tears in her eyes.

“Twilight? Are you okay?” Starlight asked as she lightly poked her.

“Huh? Whoa, hey, I’m good!” Twilight yelped and quickly tucked the picture behind a couch cushion before smiling nervously at Starlight. “I’m fine! Nothing you need to worry about.”

“Are you sure? Twilight, whose photo was that?”

“I said I’m good!” Twilight growled, taking Starlight by surprise at the sudden hostility.

“I…I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to upset you.”

Twilight relaxed a little. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. Um…you wanted to talk about your nightmare, right? I brought tea.”

“I hope you remembered which kind I like. The nightmare I had last night was very stressful,” Starlight said as she sat in the couch across from Twilight, accepting a cup of tea from her.

“I imagine it would be,” Twilight said as she levitated a notebook over and began to take notes. “Would you like to start from the beginning?”

Starlight nodded. “The dream started off with me waking up in a very different version of Ponyville.”

“Different how, exactly?”

“Everypony was smiling, but they were all clones of me. You were still an alicorn but you looked like me. Big Macintosh was still an earth stallion but he looked and even sounded like me. Every unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony all looked identical.”

Twilight’s nose wrinkled a little. “Yikes. That’s horrifying.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Well, that part was a little weird, but that wasn’t the scary part.”

“Are you sure? I think that an entire village full of clones, all with the exact same creepy smile, would give anyone nightmares.”

“What? There was nothing wrong with their smiles.”

“Really? So you wouldn’t be scared if I did something like this?” Twilight said before she grinned at her.

Starlight immediately felt a shiver run down her spine at the sight. “Don’t do that!”

Twilight’s smile fell. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“No…no, I think you’re right. There was something wrong with the way my clones were smiling. They were all smiling like…her.”

“Her? Uh, could you be a little more specific?” Twilight asked.

Starlight sighed and shook her head. “The filly. I’d rather not think about her right now. Anyway, I’m getting to the part where the nightmare really kicked in.” She took a deep breath.

Twilight smiled patiently. “Take your time. I’m right here for you.”

“Okay. I showed up to the dentist for a checkup I had apparently scheduled. Then she started insulting me, acting as if she was some sort of psychotic psychoanalyst. Then she pinned me down in the chair and these two snakes came in and injected me with their venom. I was completely paralyzed. I couldn’t move at all,” she whispered with a shudder.

Twilight slowly nodded. “What happened next?”

“She pulled a chainsaw out of nowhere and she…she…she cut right through me,” she whispered in a haunted tone. “She sliced my entire body until there was nothing left but a pool of my blood and my eyeballs. Somehow I was still conscious after I died in my dream. Then she leaned down…and started licking up my blood.”

Starlight shivered as she concluded her tale. “That’s when I woke up…and found that blasted filly in bed with me.”

Twilight sighed. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that I had a talk with her earlier. She promised me that she’ll be on her best behaviour.”

Starlight groaned. “I said I don’t want to talk about the filly right now. I’m convinced that I’ll never get her under control until she’s been equalized. What’s more important is where these nightmares are coming from.”

“Well, I’ve identified two main sources,” Twilight reported, levitating a book towards them. “External or internal. For external sources, we have one very strong suspect who could be behind this.” Her magic flipped through the book until it reached a picture of a dark alicorn.

“Nightmare Moon? You think she did this to me?” Starlight asked. “She would have the power of course, but she was turned back into Princess Luna, right? Luna is still recovering in Canterlot.”

“We never figured out what Nightmare Moon really is. Was she just an angry Princess Luna or some kind of evil spirit that possessed her? Maybe the spirit of Nightmare Moon has returned and you just did something to royally tick her off.”

Starlight frowned at the princess. “Wait, what do you think I did to ‘royally tick her off’?”

“Now that brings me to my second suggestion. The cause of your nightmares might be internal. Something that you’re doing to yourself.”

Starlight stood up on the couch, glaring at Twilight. “You think this is my fault?!” she growled.

Twilight shrugged. “It could be any number of things. Maybe you’re having paranoid delusions because of all the stress you’re going through. Maybe you’re feeling guilty about something.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped, torn between shock and anger at this sudden betrayal. “Twilight! How could you even say that?”

Twilight smiled patiently. “Well, you did try to brainwash every pony into giving up the things they love. You kind of deserve this.” Starlight stared at Twilight’s innocent smile with a growing sense of dread.

“I’m having another nightmare, aren’t I?”

Twilight smirked and sipped her tea. “Does that really come as a surprise? You talked to the real Twilight Sparkle about my visits a week ago. Yes ma’am, you’ve been having nightmares for seven days in a row. You’d think you’d remember something like that, but then again I have been doing a number on your noggin,” she giggled.

Starlight shivered in anger and fear. “Get out of my head!” she cried as her horn glowed.

Twilight grinned. “Make me!”

Twilight’s horn glowed too, before the princess unleashed a blinding flash of light. When the spots faded from her vision, Starlight looked around her to see that the two ponies were hovering over Cloudsdale.

“What…what are we doing here?” Starlight asked, confused and frightened beyond measure.

A different Princess Twilight, more colourful and no longer smiling, glared at her with determination, with the little dragon Spike on her back. “It’s like I told you before Starlight. We could be stuck doing this for all eternity.”

Starlight’s widened. “No. No, no, no! I beat you!”

Twilight frowned. “You can’t beat me. No matter how many times you stop the race, I’ll come back. No matter how many times you reset the clock or try to brainwash us all, I’ll get back up. What you are doing is evil, Starlight Glimmer. And evil can never be allowed to win.”

“Evil?!” Starlight screamed in blinding rage. “Cutie marks are what’s evil! I stopped heartache in all of Equestria! I created harmony!”

Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Now who’s the one with the overblown ego? Cutie marks really aren’t that big of a deal. But the crimes you have committed are. I’m warning you Starlight, stop this madness now before I have to. Or before something far worse than me does.”

“SHUT UP!” Starlight screamed as her horn glowed with power. She sent a huge blast of magic rocketing toward the princess and grinned triumphantly as her attack landed.

But her grin disappeared once she heard Twilight screaming in pain.

“What did you do?!” Spike cried as Twilight continued to scream and clutch the bloody stump that used to be her left front leg. “You cut her leg off!”

Starlight’s jaw dropped in horror. “I…I didn’t mean to!” Without her permission, Starlight’s horn glowed with magic again, right before a second magical blast sliced off one of Twilight’s wings.

“STOP! PLEASE!” Spike begged.

“I-I’m trying! I can’t control it!” Starlight cried as her horn glowed again. The last magical blast connected with Twilight’s center. The alicorn princess exploded into a pile of ash, before the forces of gravity took both Spike and her remains.

“NO! No, no, no, no, no!” Starlight used her magic to dive towards the ground, hopping that at the very least saving Spike from falling would make up for the horrible act she had committed.

But when she reached the ground and stopped hovering, she was shocked to see that there was nothing there. The ground was covered with ash and the sky was filled with smoke. She spun around, searching desperately for any sign of Twilight and Spike. Eventually her eyes fell on a grave.

‘Here lies Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon. Buried together, friends forever.’

Starlight collapsed on the ground. “No…”

Her ears twitched as the sound of flapping wings descended on her. She stood up and turned around to face none other than Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn’s mouth pulled back to reveal her fangs as her pink eyes glowed with madness,

“Murderer,” she whispered.

Starlight screamed and the nightmare ended.

Starlight Glimmer bolted out of her bed, one hoof hovering over mouth as she scrambled to get out the door. As she ran down the hall, she passed by the filly who was sitting in a chair and reading a book.

The smiling filly didn’t even look up from her book as she kicked the item that had been lying next to her chair with her right back leg. “Morning Starlight. Here’s a bucket.”

Starlight didn’t have time to thank the filly before she grabbed the bucket and emptied the contents of her stomach into it.

The filly smiled and turned the page of her book. “Wow. Seven whole days of vomiting after you wake up. That’s gotta be a record!”

As Starlight moaned into her bucket, Princess Twilight walked into the hall and sighed with concern as she saw them. “Starlight, I’m really worried about you. An entire week of nightmares isn’t normal and they’re not going away like we thought they would. I know she doesn’t have any control over dreams anymore, but you need to see Princess Luna.”

“You’re right,” Starlight admitted. “I can’t keep this up. I feel like I’m going insane.”

“Mm, I’d say early stages. But it is progressing quite nicely,” the filly hummed happily.

“Shut up! Just shup up!” Starlight growled as she got off her knees and glared at the filly.

“Aw, somebody’s having a grumpy morning!” the filly giggled. “You want to try and slap an equal mark on me? I mean, we both know you’re going to fail, but it might make me feel better!”

“Listen um…little filly. We’re trying to make Starlight feel better, not you,” Twilight spoke gently.

“Well now that was uncalled for! I’ll have you know, Starlight Glimmer is not the only one having nightmares,” the filly said as hopped off her chair and walked away.

“What? Wait, what do you mean by that?” Twilight asked.

“My apologies, but I don’t feel like sharing that information. As you just said, this is better suited for Princess Loony’s ears, so we really should hurry up if we want to catch the train.”

Starlight blinked in confusion. “Wait…we?”

Very soon, Starlight, the filly, Double Diamond, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, the former Elements of Harmony, and the former Cutie Mark Crusaders were all on a train heading towards Canterlot. “And when I looked up, the fire breathing squirrel had stolen my taco. It was at that moment that I learned that if you want to catch a squirrel, all you have to do is climb a tree and act like a nut.”

Every pony, except for Starlight, chuckled as the filly continued to tell her story. Starlight just sighed and fell deeper into the seat cushion.

“Anyway, that’s the last thing I saw before the Elements zapped it all away. I never got to meet Discord in person, but I really want to!” The filly paused in her story and smiled at Starlight. “Why so glum, chum?” she asked as she hopped into the seat next to her. Starlight groaned and buried her face into the cushion. “Aw, is the poor little Starry feeling cranky?” The unicorn continued to ignore her, but the filly was undeterred. “So what kind of dream was it that finally pushed you over the edge, hmm? What convinced you that you desperately need help?”

Starlight looked up and glared at her. “You couldn’t handle it.”

The filly giggled. “Oh, I think the opposite is quite true. You haven’t even asked me what kind of demons have been torturing my own dreams!”

Twilight frowned. “She makes a good point Starlight. You’ve always shared your dreams before, at least with me. What was different about this one?”

The filly tapped her chin in cheerful thought. “She’s shared every dream before, you say? Maybe you were in it.” The filly’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Maybe she fought you? Stole something from you? Ooh, ooh, I know! Maybe in her dream, she killed you!”

As Twilight opened her mouth to say how ridiculous that was, Starlight bolted up from the seat. “How do you know that?!”

The filly blinked in surprise before she smiled again. “I guessed right? Wow. Well, what can I say? I have a very wild…and a very accurate imagination.”

“Starlight…you killed Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered in horror.

“No! It was just a nightmare! It didn’t mean anything! I would never kill anypony!” Starlight cried.

The filly smirked playfully. “Of course you won’t, darling. But hey, now that we know what her nightmare is, who wants to hear mine?” the filly asked.

Starlight groaned. “Nobody cares about your nightmare. We’ll get Luna to fix things and that will be that.”

Fluttershy frowned. “Now Starlight, that’s not very nice. Learning more about her nightmare might make her feel better.”

“It would give us something to do,” Scootaloo muttered as she edged away from Double Diamond’s forced smile.

“Yeah. And now that we know what your nightmare was about, you don’t have to feel bad about it. I mean, we know you’d never kill Twilight or any of us!” Rainbow Dash said. The filly muttered something under her breath but Starlight couldn’t hear it.

Fluttershy smiled and gently patted the filly’s head. “It’s okay little one. You can tell us.”

The filly lifted her head up and gave her a sad smile. “Well…if you insist.” The filly sat back in her chair and got comfortable.

“In the dream I had, there was a family of five. Two earth pony farmers, both of them very proud. Very traditional. They placed a lot of importance on their family history, farm work, and serving the greater good. They had three children. The middle child was a unicorn. She was a little shy, but also very smart. Kind of like Twilight Sparkle, but not quite. She also had a lot of determination, and a rather remarkable sense of humor.

“The oldest child was a pegasus. She was bold and adventurous, but also very patient and kind. Like a mesh of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She loved magic in all its forms. She liked to fly as often as she could but she also had a great appreciation for unicorn magic. She’d often get together with her sister and talk about magic for hours.

“The youngest child was also a pegasus. He was the family favourite. Oh, he was the most adorable little boy you could ever imagine. He was just a baby too; hadn’t even said his first word. But his baby talk sounded enough like his big sister’s names. They adored him. Who wouldn’t? He almost never cried, he never made a mess, and he was always laughing. He was the friendliest, nicest brother they could ask for.

“Now the parents were quite concerned about this. Three children and not one of them an earth pony? The husband said that his wife must have cheated on him. The wife promised him that they were his kids, but there was always doubt in his mind. He left the matter alone and focused on more important things, like getting them ready to help out with the chores.

“Now the three kids didn’t really like work. Oh, they still did their chores every day. They were always polite at the table and out in the fields. They were always well behaved when guests were over. But they wanted more out of life. They were ambitious, you see? And very talented I might add. The oldest child flew every day, getting faster and faster. The middle child dove into her books, her magic getting stronger as her mind became sharper. The youngest child loved to fly with his big sister, in smaller spaces of course where there was no danger of him flying away and getting lost.

“But the parents were mad at their kids. They kept yelling at them to stop playing around and get back to work. ‘Don’t you know how important our family is to Equestria? We need to feed the people! We can’t spend our lives thinking only of ourselves. Stop being so selfish.’ And the kids would stop playing and help out around the house. But the second they started playing and learning again, the parents would just get angry again.

“One day, a very important unicorn came into town. The parents didn’t like outsiders, but they really appreciated the unicorn’s message. She said they need to work harder and make more food. She said your kids may be smart but they can’t leave home. ‘They would never last in a college or a special school for gifted ponies. They spend too much time improving talents that they will never have.’ The parents agree with the unicorn; they don’t like their kids playing with all this magic. Personally, I thought the unicorn was annoying but it’s not like they could hear me in the dream.

“So they sit down with their kids and say they need to work more. The kids argue that they just want to have fun and learn new things. The parents get really angry. They throw out the middle child’s books and the youngest child’s toys. The kids say it’s not fair and they’re being mean. The mother answers, ‘that’s life.’

“So the work increases, and the kids do the best they can. They no longer go out to play when they’re done their chores. They just go to their rooms to catch up on their rest. Most of the time, they sit and talk with each other. The baby still can’t talk, but his sisters pretend that he can and they involve him in their conversations. But the parents still think they’re just being lazy, and playing too much when they’re not working.

“One night, the parents become really mad. The maddest they’ve ever been. Maybe mommy and daddy decided to drink too much hard cider. Or maybe they never drank alcohol in their entire lives. But either way, they’re sick of their kids. They don’t like not having earth pony farmers for kids. It’s untraditional, they say. They put up with it before because they worked hard, but they’re not working hard enough now.

“So, on this one night, they lose it. Daddy grabs his two daughters and pins them down. Mommy gets a knife from the kitchen. The youngest child starts crying. He almost never cries, but when he does it’s very loud. Loudest cry you ever heard. Daddy tells mommy to shut him up.

“Now, I didn’t see what happened next, but the mother took the baby into another room. The crying stopped. I didn’t hear or see the baby in my dream after that.

“So the mother comes back and gives the father the knife. She grabs the unicorn by the horn and holds her down. The middle child wasn’t talented enough in magic yet to teleport or even blast anything. She cried out, don’t do this! They didn’t listen. So daddy goes, and slices the wings off the oldest child. Feathers and blood go flying. She looks more like an earth pony now.

“Then daddy gives mommy the knife. She’s very skilled with it; knows exactly where to cut. Too high up, and the horn is too tough. Too far down, and she’s cutting brains instead of skin. So she gets the spot just right and cuts the horn off the middle child. She looks like an earth pony now too.

“So the parents go to sleep, convinced that their kids will do their jobs and not play around anymore. Now the oldest child, she’s smart. She understands that her parents are evil and stupid and she won’t put up with it. She wants to run away with her sister, but the middle child says she needs to do something first.

“The next morning, the parents wake up. They’re tied to their beds. The middle child is hovering above them with the knife. They took away her pride and joy. So she does the same to them. She stabs them, over and over, in all eight legs. The parents will never leave their beds again.

“But the kids aren’t murderers. They go next door and meet up with a friend. He says he’ll look after their parents. So his family feeds them, keeps them clean, and look after their farm. The parents still keep their proud tradition. But they don’t have their pride anymore. They don’t have their strong legs that they used to pick fruit and push carts. They don’t have what made them special anymore.

“The kids run away, off into the sunset. And that’s when I woke up.”

The filly finished her story and smiled sadly at them. Everybody in the room stared at the filly in horror and concern, their eyes wide and jaws dropped.

“…I’m never falling asleep again,” Sweetie Belle mumbled as she gave Rarity a tight hug.

“Y…your parents loved you, Apple Bloom. Never forget, your parents loved you. And if you decided you didn’t want to farm, we’d understand. Nothing wrong with wanting to have fun. Nope. No,” Applejack said as she rocked back and forth, holding Apple Bloom tightly.

“Oh, you poor thing!” Fluttershy cried as she hugged the filly. “I’m so sorry!” Several other ponies including, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Scootaloo all tried to join in on the hug.

“Now why would any of you feel sorry?” the filly cheerfully asked as she stepped out of the hug. “It was just a nightmare. And it’s not like any of you were the parents. Or you know…the annoying unicorn.” She looked out the window as the train stopped and said, “Oh look, we’re finally here. Took long enough.”

The ponies collected their luggage and got off the train, still very shaken by the story. After they had left, Starlight took the filly aside to talk to her alone. “Listen little one. This isn’t easy for me to say but…I’m sorry. I should have taken your feelings into consideration.”

The filly rolled her eyes. “You really should. Could you get your hoof off me?”

Starlight removed her hoof, feeling a little hurt as the filly shrugged her off. “I…I know we haven’t become friends yet, but I’m trying to be nice to you here!”

“And why are you being nice now, dearie?” the filly said with a smirk.

“Because your nightmare was horrible!”

“It had a happy ending, unlike yours. You killed Twilight and Spike in your dream, huh?” The filly’s pink eyes flashed dangerously in the light. “I’m watching you, little missy.”

“B-but that was just a nightmare! It wasn’t real! I’d never kill anypony!”

“And why should I believe you? Why should I believe you even found my nightmare scary? Isn’t cutting off body parts your thing?”

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “What…what are you implying?!”

The filly slowly circled Starlight. “You want everyone to be exactly the same. The same lack of skill. But pegasus ponies can still fly. Unicorns can still cast spells, no matter how weak they are. If you want to equalize every pony, you would have to take everything – and I mean everything – away from them.”

“I would never cut off a pony’s body part!” Starlight screamed in disgust, outrage, and fear.

“Oh Starry…you already have. Or did you forget all the cutie marks you’ve stolen?”

“But that’s…that’s not the same! It’s just a mark that traps a pony with false promises of being better than everypony else!”

“Oh yes, can’t forget how much better the Wonderbolts are than everyone else,” the filly said with some slight sarcasm. “Or how helpful they are during a dragon attack. Will you be removing their wings next?”

“NO! What kind of monster do you think I am?!” Starlight cried.

“You’re Starlight Glimmer. The unicorn who tried to steal from, brainwash, and conquer all of Equestria,” the filly stated simply.

As the filly grabbed her bag, realization struck the stunned Starlight’s head. “You honestly think that about me. That’s why you won’t accept equality. That’s why you take every opportunity to rebel against me. You…you actually think I’m a monster.”

“Is that remorse I detect?” the filly asked hopefully.

“Please I…I want to help you. Equality has done so much good for us.”

The filly smirked and shook her head. “Sorry Starry, but I don’t believe you.”

“Please, l-let me make it up to you. I don’t want to fight you anymore.”

“Wonderful!” the filly grinned. “Give every pony their cutie marks back, put the princesses back in power, and we can all let bygones be bygones.”

“Aren’t you listening to me? We need equality!” Starlight growled, her anger clouding over her concern for the filly.

“Yeesh, fine grumpy pants. Didn’t expect that to work yet anyway. Well if you want to make it up to me, the first step forward is letting me talk to Celestia and Luna. Alone. With nobody spying on me either. Don’t worry, I’ll mention your dreams to them.”

“Why do you want to talk to them alone?” Starlight asked.

The filly giggled. “My reasons are my own, honey.”

“…Fine. Go ahead. I’ll be outside with the others.”

The filly grinned and walked away from her.

“The princesses will see you now. Try not to agitate them,” the guards told the filly. He closed the door behind her and walked away.

The filly turned around to face the queen sized bed and smiled. Lying under the covers, the two royal sisters were hugging each other and looking curiously at her. “Celly! Loony! Such an honour to finally meet you two face to face. You’re both looking…” Her smile became a little strained. “Well, you’re both a rather lovely shade of death. Um, crazy question, but what happened to you?”

Luna weakly smiled. “My sister and I apologise that we are not able to greet you properly, little pony. We’re feeling a little under the weather, that’s all.”

“You’re sick? Sweetheart, you’re both immortal. You don’t get sick.”

Celestia weakly smiled. “Well, ever since we have both given up our cutie marks to support Starlight Glimmer in her noble quest for equality, I’m afraid that we don’t have the same level of magic that we did before. However, Starlight assured us that this was only temporary. I’m sure we’ll recover soon…” She trailed off as she suddenly released a series of violent coughs.

As Luna patted her sister’s back, the filly’s eyes began to twitch. “Oh dear. Well…this explains why I didn’t see much of Granny Smith. Or any elderly ponies outside a senior center.” Her voice sounded detached as she absentmindedly paced around the room. “Course that means this is even worse than I thought.” She paused next to a table by the sister’s bed and stared at a glass bottle containing several pills.

“There, there Celestia. All better,” Luna said as Celestia stopped coughing. “Now, what did you want to discuss little one?”

The filly didn’t say anything to them for a full minute. She then reached out for the glass bottle and threw it at the wall, glaring furiously at nothing in particular.

“The seas of chaos bubble in my name. The madness builds to set evil aflame.”

Celestia and Luna both sat up in shock. “Are you alright?” Celestia asked.

The filly turned back around to face them with a big smile. “Don’t mind me, sweetheart. I’m just building a fire.”

Luna’s brow furrowed with worry. “Little one…why would you say something like that? You should not invoke things you do not understand.”

“I understand more than you think, my darling princess of darkness. But enough about me.” The filly leapt onto the bed and bounced around on the mattress before she settled down. “Let’s talk about you. Now what in the world could have caused such intelligent mares like yourselves to listen to Starlight Glimmer’s obviously evil plan? Those didn’t look like stupid pills, but maybe I didn’t check the label.”

Celestia smiled patiently. “Ah. You are confused about how equality shall benefit us. I’ll admit that we didn’t see it at first either. But Equestria is at peace. A team of fifty unicorns have been chosen to raise and lower the sun and moon. Crime around Equestria has been erased. A life without differences is a life without conflict. Once you accept that you will never be better than anypony else, then you will know peace.”

The filly smirked. “Golly gee, where have I heard that nonsense before?” She sighed and said, “I really don’t want to do this; you’re both such nice people, but you really need a wake-up slap.”

“My little pony, equality has given us more happiness than you've ever known. This is what’s best for Equestria,” Celestia said confidently.

The filly gave her an icy-cold smile. “…How many more friends will you lose? How many lives will be destroyed in the pursuit of what you think is best for Equestria? When you fought Sombra you didn’t think of your surroundings and because of your short sidedness an entire empire of ponies was lost to the sands of time. When you put more priority over your royal duties instead of your own baby sister you lost her to darkness and to a thousand years of isolation. When you failed to properly mentor Sunset Shimmer you lost her to her own hunger for power, and she still hasn’t come back. And now you are slowly losing Twilight Sparkle, your greatest student. Only this time, you’re losing all of Equestria with her.”

Celestia cringed with every sentence the filly uttered. She tried to sink under the covers as she felt the filly’s accusations sting her like frostbite. But Luna would not let her sister’s good name be tarnished. “BE SILENT!” she shouted. Without any magic her Royal Canterlot Voice was a lot weaker, but she liked to think it might be a little effective. “How dare you speak that way to my sister?! You do not know the torture she has suffered through!”

“I know that you caused some of it. You were supposed to fight against evil and protect the ponies from the monsters that lurk in the midnight. And yet Nightmare Moon was the product of everything you fear; everything you fought against. Jealousy. Violence. Madness. Darkness. Loneliness. Helplessness. All that remained of your legacy, for thousands of years, were some shattered Elements and a broken heart.”

Both sister had tears in their eyes, but Luna still struggled to glare at the filly. “Is that all you came here to do? To mock us? To throw our failures in our face?”

Immediately, the filly’s cold smile softened. “Oh dear. I went too far, didn’t I? Oh sweetheart, that wasn’t my intention at all. I actually respect you both quite a lot. You have both done a wonderful job at ruling Equestria. And you wanna know what’s funny? Nightmare Moon wasn’t that bad! If you hadn’t turned into her, Twilight Sparkle would have never found the Elements of Harmony! Without Nightmare Moon, there would be no Nightmare Night! Really, you turning into her was a good thing! The only people that Nightmare truly hurt…was the two of you. She separated two loving sisters for a thousand years. It breaks my heart just thinking about it,” the filly held her hoof over her chest and smiled sadly.

“I just wanted to point out that you both made some mistakes. That’s okay, everyone makes mistakes! The problem you two have is that you’re always pushing ponies away, even when you try to make friends. You don’t want them to be dependent on you; you want them to be smart enough to solve their problems without your help. I can respect that. But it doesn’t always work, does it? The ponies respect you but they also put you up on a pedestal. It’s hard to be friends with someone you practically worship. Not impossible, just hard. But by not getting more involved with your subjects and your friends, I’m afraid you’re both making another mistake.

“Starlight Glimmer may think that her fake equality is helping Equestria, but it’s not. Real equality is about accepting differences, not locking them up behind a talent-suppressing curse. Crime hasn’t disappeared, it’s just taking advantage of the lack of law enforcement to hide better. That’s all just short term. In the long term, this fake equality is going to lead Equestria into the same place that Nightmare Moon’s eternal night would lead it. Starlight Glimmer is going to push you all into an early grave unless somebody stops her. And you can’t see any of that because you’re not asking your friends the right questions.”

By now the tears had dried out of the sisters eyes and they were now regarding the filly with much more caution. “There is far more to you than meets the eye, my little pony,” Celestia said. “Who are you?”

The filly smiled. “Well, I’ve been trying to keep that a surprise. But if you can keep a secret, I think I can show you this much.” The filly walked over to where her bag was propped up against the wall. She dug around inside it until she grabbed a piece of paper. She hopped back up onto the bed and showed it to them. Luna took the paper with her hooves, her eyes narrowed in confusion.

“This? This is but a drawing of an old pony’s tale.”

“Well ain’t that a coincidence? They said the same thing about you, didn’t they?” the filly giggled.

“I remember this,” Celestia said as she examined the paper. “But I haven’t this since…since before Discord’s time.”

“Actually, I think you’ll find the image first appeared during Discord’s time. But it’s an easy mistake to make. Speaking of, do either of you know where he went?” the filly batted her eyelashes innocently.

“What do you have to do with the spirit of chaos?” Luna asked.

The filly grinned. “Oh sweetheart…chaos is my past, my present, and my future. But it doesn’t need to be yours. Now I understand that Starlight did a number on your noggins, but whatever ideas she’s tried to brainwash you with, you can fight it off! Believe in harmony the way you did before! And for now, you don’t even have to do that much. Sit back and let me take care of the problem. You have some experience, I’m sure. I’ll alert you when Starlight Glimmer is no longer a threat to everyone and that’s when you swoop in and help friendship flourish once more.”

Celestia and Luna frowned as they carefully considered her words. Eventually, Celestia asked, “What do you want, little one?”

The filly winked at her. “Oh, nothing you’ll miss, I’m sure. Just a few things from your library. A few trinkets from some of those shiny, magical vaults you have. You won’t even realize it’s gone,” she said as her smile grew so large it swallowed up the sky.

Starlight woke up with a start and shook the playing cards off her face. “What? Huh?”

“Oh, you’re awake. Did you have a nice dream?” Fluttershy asked as she smiled at her. The other ponies in the room were all occupying their time, reading books or playing non-competitive card games with each other.

“I feel asleep?” Starlight asked, feeling woozy.

“Yep. About ten minutes ago. We thought about waking you up but you weren’t thrashing or crying like the last three times so we thought maybe the nightmares were gone and you could catch up on your sleep,” Pinkie said. She laid out her cards on the table and smiled at Sugar Belle, the mare she’d been playing with. “I have no idea what game we’re playing.”

“Are the nightmares gone?” Twilight asked hesitantly.

“I…don’t know. I don’t remember what this dream was about,” Starlight admitted, one hoof clutching her aching head. “I think…the princesses were there. And I was there...no, wait…” She scratched her head and sighed.

“Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked.

“Not really. I thought I could tolerate the filly’s rebellious attitude, sneaky attitude, and inane chattering. But knowing now that she did all that as a sort of coping mechanism…to know that she’s actually afraid of me...it doesn’t sit right with me.”

“Aw, you’re not that bad Starry. I’m sure she’s not that scared of you,” Pinkie smiled cheerfully, giving her poofy mane a little shake. “Actually, I don’t think she’s afraid of anything.”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed as she tapped her chin in thought. “Afraid…fear…”

“Ooh, I know that look,” Double Diamond said with a big, twitchy smile. “You have a plan, Starlight Glimmer. You always know what to do.”

“Yes…I think I do. Princess Twilight, we’re going to be visiting your brother and Princess Cadance next, correct? They have a baby filly that we are going to deliver equality’s blessing onto.”

Twilight’s smile became very forced. She gulped a little and said, “Y-yes. I-I’m sure she’ll love it.”

“And the Crystal Empire…King Sombra left behind a few of his old relics, didn’t he? I remember you mentioned a door that leads to your worst fears.”

Twilight’s smile faded and her eyes widened. “Y…yes. But Starlight, why would you want to use that?”

“I need to show her that equality can help her overcome her fears. To do that, I need to know what the filly is afraid of,” Starlight muttered, fierce determination building in her eyes.

“What she fears more than anything.”

The Fury

Starlight Glimmer cautiously opened the door and peeked her head in. “Good morning, girls. We’ll be arriving in the Crystal Empire in a few minutes. Did you all have a nice sleep?”

Apple Bloom, Sweetie Belle, and Scootaloo stretched and yawned. “Is it just me, or has the train gotten slower?” Scootaloo asked.

Starlight shrugged. “I’m sure it’s just your imagination. Smiley, are you up yet?”

The former Crusaders frowned in confusion. “Smiley? Who are you talking about?” Sweetie asked.

Starlight sighed. “You know, the nameless wonder. If we still haven’t guessed her name by this point, why don’t we just give her a new one?”

“We tried that when we met her. She said we could call her anything we want, but don’t expect her to answer to it,” Apple Bloom said.

“Never mind, Apple Bloom. I can see that she’s up now,” Starlight said as she walked over to where the filly was resting.

“Um…actually, I don’t think she is,” Sweetie said.

Starlight frowned in confusion as she looked down at the filly. The nameless filly was staring up at the ceiling, eyes wide open and grinning. She was dressed in pink pajamas with little red X’s dotted all over the front and back.

“Ahem. Good morning,” Starlight said. When the filly didn’t respond, she waved her hoof over the filly’s unblinking eyes.

“Yeah. We found out that she sleeps with her eyes open,” Scootaloo said. “It’s really creepy,” she admitted, shivering a little.

Starlight grimaced at the grinning filly and silently agreed with that statement. “What’s this?” she asked as she noticed a piece of folded up paper clutched tightly in the filly’s grip. She reached down and slowly began to pry the paper out and away from the filly.

A white hoof shot out and grabbed Starlight’s hoof. “Hi girls!” the filly exclaimed as her head shot up to stare at them all with a huge smile.

The former Crusaders screamed in fright. Starlight was so startled that she teleported out of the filly’s grasp, reappearing with her back facing the wall, staring at the filly in terror.

“Aw, you spoil me girls. Such a sweet sound to wake up to,” the filly giggled as she rubbed the sleep out of her eyes.

Starlight and the former Crusaders took several deep breaths to calm themselves after the initial shock. “Heh…you startled us there,” Starlight said with a nervous smile, still trying to be friendly to the filly.

“You call that startled?! I nearly wet myself!” Apple Bloom complained.

Sweetie grimaced. “Ew!”

“I said nearly! Not like I actually did it,” Apple Bloom said with a glare at her friend.

The filly giggled as she leapt out of bed. “Oh ho, you girls are such a delight! Pardon me as I dress to impress.” The filly slipped out of her pajamas and strolled over to her suitcase. “Let’s see here…”

“Um, little one? Do you mind if I ask you something? Why do you feel the need to dress up all the time? You don’t need fancy clothes to look nice,” Starlight said.

The filly grinned at Starlight and said, “I’m a very expressive kind of gal, darling. I’ve got a lot to share with the world and so very few reliable ways of communicating those feelings. So I need to get…creative, in how I express myself.” The filly picked out a pink shirt and smiled. “This will do nicely. Fashionable, yet flexible, if the need to exercise arises.” She tugged the shirt over her head and brushed her mane straight.

“Well, that’s enough dilly-dallying for me. Onwards friends!” the filly exclaimed as she dashed out of the train, with the former Crusaders following behind her.

Starlight took a moment to sit down and compose her thoughts. It was the day she planned to use Sombra’s dark magic to force the filly to confront her fears. Hopefully something good would come out of learning what lurked in the darkest corners of the filly’s mind.

Speaking of which, Starlight noticed the piece of paper the filly had been holding onto was now lying on her bed. Curiosity overcoming her, she picked up the paper and read from it.

Reality is an illusion. Your world is a delusion. Buy some apples. BYE!

Starlight stared at the message. “…Huh?”

As the group of ponies stepped off the train, Sweetie frowned in confusion as she took in her surroundings. “For some reason, I remember the Crystal Empire looking a lot more…you know, sparkly the last time we visited.”

The filly nodded. “The old empire has lost some of its luster that much is plain to see.”

A unicorn mare with a pale orange coat and a black mane and tail stepped forward to greet them. “Welcome Starlight Glimmer and friends!” The mare’s hair was styled into a formal bun and her grin looked a little more forced and twitchy than normal. “It is such a pleasure to have you back here Starlight.”

Starlight smiled as more ponies with equal marks came to welcome them. “Please, the pleasure is all mine. It’s nice to see you again, my friends.”

“It most certainly is! Prismatic Sunshine, is that you? My, my, it has been a while.”

The smile on Sunshine’s face collapsed as the filly stepped out from behind Fluttershy and Rainbow Dash. Her eyes widened with fear as she took several steps back. “No…sweet Cadance, please, no…”

The filly grinned. “Cadance isn’t here, darling. It’s just you and me.” The mare turned around to flee before the filly spoke again. “Freeze.”
Sunshine froze in her tracks, shivering as she watched the filly approach her. “Aw, look at that. You actually remembered to listen. If you did run away, we would have no choice but to play another friendly game of tag. I seem to recall you not enjoying that game as much as I did.” The filly’s smile widened. “That reminds me…how’s your leg doing?”

“G-good,” Sunshine stammered. “M-my leg’s all better.”

“That’s so nice to hear, darling.” The filly reached up and gently brushed Sunshine’s cheek with her hoof, causing the mare to cringe. “So very nice.”

“Um, Sunshine, is it?” Applejack asked. “Do you know who this little one is?”

“Why do you suppose she’s shaking like a leaf in the wind?” Apple Bloom whispered to her friends.

The filly glanced back at them. “Ah, that reminds me. Apple Bloom, Sweetie, Scootaloo, you might want to duck behind your sisters.”

“Why?” Scootaloo asked.

“Ooh, now that’s a good question. Why are you out and about Sunshine? I don’t imagine the guards would be happy about this. I know I’m not,” the filly said with a strained smile. Her mouth relaxed as she asked, “How is prison, by the way?”

“Prison?!” the other ponies surrounding them asked.

“You didn’t tell anyone? Not even your neighbours? Oh Sunshine, what am I going to do with you?” the filly shook her head in mock sadness. “Well, I guess I could always bring out the mustard and the weather vane…”

“W-wait! It isn’t like that!” Sunshine cried. The filly nodded her head towards the crowd and towards Starlight. Sunshine bowed her head and gulped. “As…as you wish.”

“What’s going on here? Why does she seem so scared of you?” Starlight asked the filly.

“I got her arrested,” the filly cheerfully responded.

Sunshine gulped. “It’s true. S-she found out what I was doing. I was a-arrested and sent to prison for…for child abuse and endangerment.”

“What was that?!” Rainbow Dash asked with narrowed eyes as she pushed Scootaloo behind her, with Applejack and Rarity doing the same with their sisters.

“I…I ran a daycare center. I was supposed to look after the children…including my own.” Sunshine fearfully glanced back at the filly, who was nodding her head in encouragement. “Some of the little colts and fillies were very d-disruptive and w-wild. On top of that, a lot of them…didn’t agree with your philosophy, Starlight. So I…I may have gotten a little carried away when I issued out punishments.”

“I remember the smell was the worst part,” the filly casually mentioned.

Sunshine’s eyes widened and she prostrated herself. “T-that was an understatement. I…I’m horrible pony. I acted h-hatefully towards the kids, e-even my own children. I…I deserve worse than the castle dungeons.” She looked up at a shocked Starlight with pleading eyes. “Please Starlight Glimmer, for the sake of the good people of Equestria…please banish me, far, FAR away from this land.” She glanced back at the filly and muttered. “Far away…”

The filly giggled. “Oh, you’re not getting off that easy, dearie. Which reminds me, what are you doing out here again?”

“I…I’m doing community service as part of my punishment. I…I was sent to inform you all that Prince Shining Armor could not make it to greet you all. V-very busy. H-he told me to tell y-you to just come on up.”

“Community service? Why didn’t you say so earlier? You know, there’s a few things I might be able to help you with in terms of that…” the filly whispered, playfully stroking her ear.

Sunshine shuddered. “P…please no…don’t wanna…”

“You hurt a lot of innocent people, dearie,” the filly hissed in her ear. “What you want doesn’t matter anymore.”

“Well um…” Princess Twilight hesitated before she said, “Well clearly, you’re hard at work if my brother trusts you enough to deliver this message. I can see that you’re very sorry about what you’ve done. We should go see them now, so…”

“Y-you’re leaving?” Sunshine asked. She glanced back to see the filly nod once before she smiled. “Oh, t-thank you! Thank you, m-merciful one! Yes, please go and see them! T-they’re very excited to see you!”

Pinkie blinked and stared at Sunshine’s frightened, wide grin. “What happened to your teeth?”

Starlight cringed as she noticed that Sunshine’s smile was full of holes. “Oh, um…a disease caused about half my teeth fall out.”

“A disease, huh?” the filly innocently asked.

“Well…that’s what I think it is. B-but it’s not that b-bad!” Sunshine nervously smiled again. “Really, it’s good that the disease came when it did. I’m clearly not d-done with my p-punishment.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that you’re becoming a better pony!” the filly cheered. “We should be on our way now. Ta, ta, darling.”

Sunshine waved as the other ponies walked away from her and towards the castle. Seeing that Starlight was trailing behind them, she pulled her aside and around a corner.

“Hey! What are you doing?” Starlight exclaimed.

“When heroes can’t save the day, the demon comes out to make villains pay. Beg for mercy. Trust no one. Never buy apples,” Sunshine hissed into her ear, a deranged look in her eye.

The startled Starlight pushed the other mare away from her and quickly caught up with the others. “Freak,” she muttered in disgust under her breath.

Later in the day, while the rest of their friends went to visit Shining and Cadance, Twilight and Starlight were examining the throne room. “So how does this work again?” Starlight asked.

Twilight sighed. “The crystal on top of that throne will open the way to Sombra’s door, but it requires dark magic. But since I’m no longer talented at magic, I can’t open it.”

“Well then it looks like Starry can’t open it either!” the filly said as she strolled into the room. “Since you know, she’s equally as bad at magic as every pony else.”

“Oh! Uh, hello there!” Starlight smiled nervously as she spun around to face the filly. “What are you doing here, little one? I thought I told you to wait outside for your special, secret, surprise present!”

“He, he, he! Is that what you’re calling it? Starry darling, do you really think Twilight wouldn’t tell me about your plan to use Sombra’s door?” the filly asked with a giggle.

Starlight’s eyes widened. “Twilight? You told her?!”

Before Twilight could respond, the filly held up her hoof. “Now, now, don’t be mad at our sweet little book princess. She was just doing what any good, concerned friend would do. I mean really dearie, subjecting a little girl to her worst fears in the hopes of squeezing some kind of equality lecture from it?”

Starlight sighed. “Listen little one, I know it sounds scary and a little crazy…”

“And that’s why I’m all for it!” the filly grinned.

“Huh?” the two mares asked in unison, staring at her.

“My mind is a mystery to many, and that includes me! So go ahead and show me Sombra’s door, you sneaky little star.” The filly’s smile widened. “I bet it’ll be a real blast.”

Starlight smiled in relief even while Twilight frowned in concern, still worried about what Sombra’s door would show the filly. “I’m glad you’re finally working with us to resolve your issues.”

“Just as long as you’re willing to do the same, dearie. Tell me Starlight…what are YOU really scared of?” the filly whispered as she leaned in closer to Starlight.

Starlight winced as she smelled the filly’s breath on her face and backed away. “The only thing I’m scared of is the thought of you all alone and suffering. No family. No friends. Trapped by such horrible nightmares. A lonely little outcast in our utopian society.”

The filly smirked. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, little ‘Light. From what I’ve been hearing, you need all the help you can get.”

At the uncomfortable reminder of her own nightmares, Starlight turned back to face the throne. “Well, um…back to the topic at hoof. Don’t worry Twilight. As I’ve said before, the staff of sameness has all the magic we need.” Using her magic, she levitated the old staff she had brought on their trip and pointed it at the throne. “So um…how did you use the dark magic before? Just so I know what to tell the staff to do.”

Twilight shrugged uneasily. “I picked up the trick from Celestia. At the time, she looked pretty scary, almost nothing like how she normally is. I thought about that, plus what I knew about Sombra at the time. Basically, you need to think about negative emotions such as anger and fear.”

“Or you could just try knocking.” Starlight looked up to see that the filly had climbed on top of the throne and was tapping the crystal with her hoof. Before she could order the filly to get down from there, she was stunned to see a dark hole open up in the middle of the throne room, a set of stairs leading down to Sombra’s door.

Twilight blinked in shock. “But…but how! That didn’t happen before!”

The filly smiled as she slid down from the throne. “Did you try knocking before?”

“I…I guess I didn’t. But then, does that mean that anyone could have opened the door? I thought Sombra put up all these safeguards to keep ponies away from the Crystal Heart.”

“Oh, why worry about the how? Secret door time! Race ya down the stairs!” the filly cheered as she ran down.

For once feeling grateful about the filly’s enthusiasm, Starlight went down the stairs, her magic carrying the staff and lighting the way. As they all reached the bottom, she turned to Twilight again. “There’s the door. How do I activate it?”

“With more dark magic,” Twilight sighed. “Listen Starlight…are you sure about this? Even a minute was enough to drive me into despair. If Spike hadn’t been there, I would have lost my mind to my own fears.”

“That’s why we’re here, Twilight. To bring this poor, scared little filly out of her nightmares…and into our utopia,” Starlight smiled confidently. “This will be over before you know it.”

Twilight sighed. “I don’t like this…but okay. The sooner we help the filly, the sooner we can see my new niece. Maybe the baby will help cheer her up.”

“Of course. Now let’s…”

“Hold everything!” the filly exclaimed as she leapt at Twilight and grabbed her by the face. “Did you just say BABY?”

Twilight’s eyes widened as she tried to pull the filly off her face. “Uh, yes. Shining and Cadance recently had a baby. I’m an aunt now. Pretty crazy, huh?”

The filly’s grin stretched so wide, even Pinkie Pie would call it unsettling. “Move, fleshlings!” The filly pushed Twilight and Starlight out of the way as she went rocketing back up the stairs. Exchanging worried glances, the two mares chased after the insane filly.

The two mares burst into the room where their friends were waiting for them. “We got here as fast as we could! Where’s the filly?” Starlight asked. “What’s happening?”

A very tired looking Shining and Cadance smiled weakly at them before they stepped aside to show the filly, gazing lovingly at the baby pony sleeping in her hooves.

“Perfection,” the filly whispered softly. The baby stirred in her hooves and the filly gasped happily. “Ooh. Is somebody ready to greet the day?”

Shining, Cadance, and the filly all kept staring as the baby woke up, even while every other jaw in the room dropped at the sight of the filly’s unfurled wings.

“Good morning, sweetheart,” the filly whispered as the baby stared at her.

“Free-he! Ha gee, he!” the baby cooed, waving her tiny legs.

“Aww! She’s so cute!” the filly squeed.

“The baby is an alicorn?” Twilight exclaimed.

“Yes Twilight, we can all see her. And she is the sweetest, little sweetheart I’ve ever seen!” the filly cooed as she nuzzled the giggling baby. “Aren’t you boo-boo?”

The flabbergasted Starlight was having trouble making sense of all this. “But…I thought that alicorns-”

“Do you mind?!” the filly snapped as she glared at Starlight. “I’m having an intelligent conversation over here! Butt out!” She turned her attention back to the baby and smiled. “I am so sorry for that annoying interruption. You were saying?”

“Glee, blee, gah ha!” the baby cooed.

“Wow! That’s amazing!” the filly said to the baby before she glanced back at Shining and Cadance. “Congratulations on producing this adorable little sweetheart, you two. Seriously, if you ever need a babysitter I will gladly take the job. Completely free too.”

Cadance weakly smiled. “That’s sweet of you, but you don’t need to do that.” She yawned and said, “Sorry. We haven’t gotten that much sleep since the baby was born, and I wasn’t feeling that great even before the birth.”

“Aw, but you both look so tired. Fine, I will pay you money to look after your baby.”

“Even if we are tired, I’m sure we’ll manage. Really, we don’t need a babysitter,” Cadance said.

“Very well, what if you adopt me so that I can be her big sister?”

Applejack chuckled. “That’s a good one. Ya really like babies, huh?”

“What’s a good one?” the filly asked as she wiped up a bit of droll on the baby with a soft towel.

“Well duh! Of course she loves babies! You’ve all seen her with the Cake twins!” Pinkie said cheerfully.

“I don’t think I have,” Starlight said honestly.

The filly glanced over at Starlight, her eyes narrowing as she remembered something unpleasant. “But you have seen them, haven’t you ya little witch?” she growled under her breath.

“See, gee?” the baby cooed.

“Don’t worry, sweetheart. I’ll protect you from the mean old witch,” the filly whispered comfortably as she gently rocked the baby. “Now what were you saying?”

“Glee, bee, he!”

“Fascinating. Tell me dear, do you know about…spiny, shiny, and crunchy?”

“Spee, she, cra?” the baby cooed.

“Exactly, my little sweetheart! Egg, say, see!” the filly cooed, mimicking the baby’s gurgles.

“I’m sorry, but doesn’t anybody care that there is a baby alicorn?” Starlight asked.

“No. We don’t question perfection. Go kick a hydra,” the filly said, waving her hoof in dismissal.

“Mind your manners, little one,” Rarity said. “I’m sorry Twilight, Starlight, but we already finished discussing that topic by the time you arrived.”

“Do you have a name for her yet?” the filly asked Cadance and Shining.

“Not yet I’m afraid,” Shining admitted.

“That’s okay. How about Princess Sweetheart?” the filly hugged the baby gently before she set her back down in her crib. “Because she’s the sweetest little sweetheart I’ve ever seen.”

“Alright that’s enough little filly. That’s not your baby,” Starlight said. “Don’t you think that-”

“Look, go to Tartarus,” the filly snapped at Starlight.

The other ponies in the room frowned. “Okay, that was uncalled for. I think you’ve spent enough time with our baby now,” Cadance said.

The filly blinked a few times before she smiled. “Right, of course. I can see that she wants her mommy and daddy anyway.” She passed the baby over to Shining and Cadance.

“She is pretty cute,” Starlight said. “Can I hold her?”

The filly shot a mad grin at Starlight. “I will vomit blood all over your face.”

As the other ponies cringed in a mixture of nervousness and disgust, Fluttershy flew over to her. “She didn’t mean that. She just gets very protective around babies.”

At that moment, the baby’s nose began to twitch. Noticing this, the filly zipped over to take a closer look. “Aw, she’s about to sneeze! That’s so cute! She’s like a precious, little, kitty…”

“Ah…ah…AH CHOO!” the baby sneezed, shooting a humongous beam of magic out her horn and knocking the filly against the wall.

“Oh my goodness!” Fluttershy exclaimed as she flew over to the filly imbedded in the wall while Shining and Cadance tried to cover their baby’s nose. “Are you alright?”

The filly leapt off the wall with a happy grin. “WOW! Did you see that? Right in the kisser! Ha, ha, ha, that was beautiful!”

“Wait…you’re not mad?” Rainbow asked in astonishment.

“As a hatter, darling. But I could never be angry with this bundle of perfection. Oh ho, she reminds me of myself when I was her age!” the filly cheered as she played peek-a-boo with the baby.

With the mental image of the baby growing up with the same personality as the filly, Starlight felt cold dread fill her heart. “Well, I know how dangerous baby magic can be and it seems to be a hundred times worse in your daughter, Princess Cadance. But don’t worry. Once we complete the cutie unmarking, her magic will be much more manageable. We can prevent her magic from running wild and welcome your daughter into our society all at once.”

“Over your mutilated body!” the filly said with a crazed grin, stepping in between the baby and Starlight.

“Listen little one, we all know how much you love kids. But you’re being way too overprotective,” Shining said. He glanced at Starlight who nodded in encouragement and made a few quick gestures. “I think Twilight and Starlight wanted to show you something. Why don’t you go with them and calm down a little?”

The filly’s smile twitched nervously. “But what if the mean old witch tries to hurt your little sweetheart?”

“Trust us. We would never let anything hurt our little princess,” Shining said reassuringly. He hugged his wife and daughter.

The filly’s brow furrowed in thought before she smiled. “You guys are good parents. I’m sure she’ll be fine.” Her smile widened as she added, “And like the wolves protecting their cub, I know you’ll rip apart anything that threatens her.”

Shining and Cadance chuckled nervously before Shining gave the filly a pat on the head. “Of course we will. You run along now. We’ll be fine.”

The filly followed Starlight and Twilight as they left the room.

Starlight frowned in concentration as her horn and eyes glowed with dark magic. Using the staff to project her spell, she fired a beam at the crystal at the top of Sombra’s door and smirked as the door opened. She stepped aside and swept her hoof towards the door. “Go ahead little one. The sooner we face your fears and the sooner you join us in equality and harmony…well, the sooner you can see the baby again! Wouldn’t you like that?”

The filly smiled and stepped forward. “Alright. Let’s get this party started.” She stared at the door as her pink eyes began to glow green and red.

Starlight and Twilight leaned in closer, hoping to hear the filly whisper about her greatest fears. A few seconds passed…

Then a few more. Then a minute. The three minutes…

Twilight’s jaw began to drop. “That’s…not possible.”

Starlight frowned. “She’s just standing there.” She waved her hoof in front of the filly’s face. “Clearly the door did something to her but we’re not learning anything about it. And she’s still smiling!”

The filly brushed her hair back a little and licked her teeth as she stared at the door. She titled her head and wiped her mouth a few times.

“What is she doing?!” Starlight exclaimed. “I thought this was the door leading to your greatest fears! Not the mirror hanging in the bathroom! She’s just grooming herself!”

Twilight shrugged. “M-maybe Sombra’s dark magic doesn’t work now that the Crystal Empire is out of his control.”

“Let me be the judge of that!” Starlight growled as she stared at the door. Her eyes began to glow green and red…

“As long as you let us be the judge of this!” the filly shouted as she flung a bucket of water at Starlight’s flank.

“What?!” Starlight cried as spun around to face the castle full of ponies. The former Elements, the Crusaders, and the ponies of Her Town were all there. “No! Get away!” she cried as Fluttershy flew down to wipe the fake equal sign to reveal her true cutie mark.

The crowd gasped. “Starlight! How could you? You said cutie marks lead to pain and heartache!”

“They do!” she cried. “Don’t you see? Look at the filly! She’s the problem, not me!”

The filly chuckled darkly. “But I don’t have a cutie mark, remember? In fact, if you think about it…according to your own philosophy, you’re the biggest problem.”

“What are you talking about?!” Starlight snarled.

“They might be equal signs…but those are still cutie marks on all your flanks, aren’t they? And who gave you those cutie marks? Why, Starlight Glimmer! Following your own flawed logic, if cutie marks are evil then you must be the most evil mare in all of Equestria, because you haven’t been getting rid of cutie marks. You’ve just been replacing them with new cutie marks.”

Starlight’s eyes widened as she realized that the filly had a point. “No…no, that’s not true!”

“If that’s not true, why do why have these things? Why couldn’t you just turn us into blank flanks?” Sweetie Belle growled from the crowd.

“I…I…” Starlight stammered.

“You lied to us! It was all lies!” the crowd roared.

“NO! I’ve never lied in my entire life! I’m not a liar!” Starlight sobbed.

“Gather round ponies! I’d like to show you all the latest attraction at the Canterlot Sculpture Garden!” the filly announced. Starlight gasped in fear as she pulled out a cockatrice. “This statue represents failure! A failure at equality, harmony, and friendship all in one!” She grinned at someone in the crowd. “Sunburst? Care to do the honours?”

Starlight’s hoof went to her heart as she saw her childhood friend Sunburst. He was still a colt but he had an equal sign on one side of this flank and his real cutie mark on the other side. The fury in his eyes made her cringe.

“Sunburst? P-please. Don’t do this! We’re friends!”

“You killed the only friend I ever had. And you’re not going anywhere until you bring the real Starlight Glimmer back!” Sunburst cried. He took the cockatrice from the filly and directed the monster’s petrifying glare at her.

“NO!” Starlight cried as her body was turned to stone, left behind to as nothing but a failure to be mocked for all eternity…

“Starlight! Starlight, wake up!” Twilight cried as she shook Starlight awake.

Starlight shook her head. “W-what happened?”

“Sombra’s dark magic. Are you okay? You were mumbling under your breath a lot. Starlight, what did you lie about? Who’s Sunburst?”

Starlight paled. “Nothing! Nobody! Uh… I just saw something scary and it made me babble nonsense.” Her gaze went back up the stairs. “Anyway…looks like we’ve got some extra time so why don’t we help Shining Armor and Cadance’s baby with her cutie unmarking?”

“B-but what about her?” Twilight asked, pointing at the still smiling filly.

“W-well, maybe the door doesn’t work on lunatics! She’ll be fine! Now hurry up Twilight!” Starlight growled.

Twilight flinched. “If…if you say so. I’m sorry little one,” she said before she followed Starlight back up the stairs, leaving the filly alone with her worst fear.

“Did Apple Bloom say why she and her friends didn’t want to stay and see the baby’s cutie unmarking?” Double Diamond asked.

Applejack shrugged. “Nope.”

“Scootaloo was looking at me kinda funny, but they didn’t say anything. It’s creepy, I’ve never seen them so quite before,” Rainbow Dash said.

Starlight and Twilight walked into the room. “We’re here. Let’s get this started.” Starlight smiled. “Double Diamond, Sugar Belle! I’m so glad you could make it.”

“We wouldn’t miss a cutie unmarking for anything!” Double said with a big, forced smile.

Sugar Belle nodded. “We’re so sorry we didn’t get here sooner. I was trying to get some more baking supplies when we got distracted by a really persistent salespony.”

“Well you’re here now.” Starlight levitated the staff over to the center of the room. “Cadance, Shining Armor, bring forth your daughter so that we may welcome her into our society.”

Shining and Cadance exchanged nervous glances. “Are you sure it’s not going to hurt her?” Shining asked.

Starlight frowned for a second at their hesitation before she quickly smiled again. “The cutie unmarking and equalization process is perfectly safe. It wasn’t so bad when you went through it.”

“But we’re grown-ups. She’s just a baby!” Cadance protested.

“I’ve done it with babies before. Like the Cake twins,” Starlight said with a nod towards Pinkie.

Pinkie grimaced. “I dunno Starry. Pound and Pumpkin cried a lot before, during, and after the whole ceremony. And they’re not as cheerful as I remember them. M-maybe this can wait?” She smiled nervously.

The baby choose that moment to wriggle around in her mother’s grasp before she giggled and shot out a burst of magic that almost fried Starlight’s mane off. Starlight ducked under the blast and pointed at her. “See?! Her magic is keeping us separate from her. She’s far too dangerous and different to fit in our society.” When Shining and Cadance still hesitated, she rolled her eyes and levitated the baby out of Cadance’s grasp. “Trust me, this is for her own good.”

As she was levitated away from her parents, the baby began to sniffle. “Mee. Nah me ba. Wan my…” Shining and Cadance reached out for their daughter but a glare from Starlight made them retract their hooves.

“Let’s begin.” Starlight strengthened her magical hold on the staff and the baby. She channeled her spell through the staff, causing it fire a beam of magic at the baby.

“WAAAH!” the baby screamed at the top of her lungs as Starlight’s spell fired.

Every pony in the room except for Starlight cringed. “Stop! You’re hurting her!” Shining cried.

“The process is painless. She’s just a little spooked,” Starlight stated calmly. “Double, Sugar, restrain them.”

“That’s not ‘a little spooked’ kind of crying! She’s in pain!” Cadance cried as she tried to push past Double Diamond and Sugar Belle.

Starlight’s gaze didn’t leave the baby’s flank. “It will be over soon enough. Your daughter’s special talent for destruction needs to be removed if she wants to fit into our society. At this point nothing can stop the – OW!”

Starlight cried as she felt a swift and brutal kick connect with her flank. She spun around to face the threat only to receive a left hook, a right hook, and a merciless uppercut that knocked her onto the floor. As she lost her ground she also lost control of her levitation.

The furious filly stomped on Starlight, leapt over Double and Sugar, and dove to catch the baby before she hit the ground. “Aw, there, there sweetheart. I won’t let that awful, mean, nasty witch hurt you anymore,” the filly cooed as she gently rocked the crying baby.

Twilight’s jaw dropped. “H-how are you back here? I thought somepony on the outside needed to pull you out of the illusion. How did you escape Sombra’s door by yourself?!” The filly ignored her and continued her efforts to calm the baby down.

Starlight groaned and slowly stood back up. “D-did you just hit me?!”

“It was more than that. She just kicked your flank!” Rainbow said, looking pretty impressed.

“Technically, she kicked your flank, punched you three times, and stomped on your back,” Pinkie pointed out.

Double Diamond frowned at the filly. “Young lady that is not how we act.”

His frown faded away as the filly shot them all a glare that could burn down kingdoms. “I trusted you,” she growled with a voice that could make dragons freeze with fear.

“Whoa nelly,” Applejack said as she took several steps back.

But the filly ignored most of them, focusing her glare on Cadance and Shining. “You said you wouldn’t let anything hurt her and then you just let that witch try and rip away what makes her special!”

“W-we…” Cadance stammered.

“Ya know, this is a new feeling for me!” the filly exclaimed. “Astonishment at someone else’s insanity. Am I really the only person in this room against shooting a death beam at a baby?! You’re making me look SANE! That’s supposed to be beyond impossible! Like, literally inconceivable! Unfortunately this astonishment is overshadowed by all this blazing fury!” she snarled as she directed her glare at Starlight.

“Hey you were the one who hit me!” Starlight shouted.

“There’s more where that came from, Starry,” the filly growled. “But since I’m holding a baby right now, I’m afraid I’ll have to postpone your flank kicking. So here’s something to chew on for someone who has clearly never removed her own cutie mark and hides that fact by painting over her real mark!”

Starlight froze. How did the filly know about that?!

“The cutie unmarking hurts like heck! It might not work on me, but it hurts every! Freaking! Time! I can laugh the pain off but were you seriously letting this precious sweetheart suffer through that?!”

Twilight flinched. “I-I know it hurts a little at first, b-but Starlight said that equality is the only true path to happiness.”

The filly’s glare switched to Twilight, Shining, and Cadance. “Tell me your majesties,” she growled. “Have you heard of the Crystal Empire’s darker days? Here’s a short history lesson. Back when old Sombra was still in power, there was a little technique he used only for the most rebellious and stubborn of crystal ponies. Maybe he used it rarely because it made them practically useless for slave labor or maybe even he was horrified by it. This technique involved taking a long metal stick with a symbol or harsh word on it, heating it up with magic, and using it to burn that symbol on a pony’s flank. He called it branding.”

The filly jabbed her hoof at Starlight. “So while you’re all advertising about how freaking great your fake ‘equality’ is, why don’t ya put THAT up on a billboard?! Starlight Glimmer! She brands babies!”

The other ponies cringed in horror at what the filly was describing. Even Starlight bit her lip in thought. For a filly to suffer through a cutie unmarking and equalization process so many times, it must have become painful over time. Given how protective the filly was with the baby, she guessed it made sense. But the filly was too out of control, and she didn’t understand things the way an adult would, Starlight thought.

“Listen little on, I promise I’ll find a way to make the process hurt less. But she needs-”

The filly sent her a death glare. “Oh no, dearie. You’re going to promise something else. You’re going to promise me that you’ll never take another person’s special talent or mark away EVER again. And if you or if any version of Starlight Glimmer ever breaks that promise, I’ll make sure you ALL regret it!” the filly growled.

Starlight frowned at the filly’s challenging tone. “And how will you do that?”

The filly looked down at the scared baby in her hooves and whispered softly in her ears. “There, there, little one. I’ve got you. I’m sorry, but I need to ask a quick favor of you. Remember the spiny, shiny, crunchy?”

“Spee, she, cra?” the baby whimpered.

“That’s it,” the filly smiled.

The baby blinked a few times before she giggled. “Spee, sha, cra!” The baby’s horn began to glow.

Cadance’s eyes widened. “What are you doing with my baby?”

The filly smiled sadly at her. “You had your chance Caddy. I will return your daughter to a mommy and daddy who love her for who she is, and nobody else. You want her back? Come find us.” With a flash of light, the baby and the filly disappeared.

“Oh no! No, no, no, where did they go?!” Cadance cried.

A terrified Shining cupped his hoof to his ear. “I can’t hear her giggling! She’s never teleported this far away before!”

Starlight raised her voice. “Everypony calm down! They can’t have gotten far! Let’s just split up and search for the baby. Twilight, you’re with me.”

“What about the rest of us?” Double asked.

“I don’t care!” Starlight snapped. “Choose your own partner! Find them!”

Twilight and Starlight hurried down the hall. “How big is this stupid palace?” Starlight growled.

“Relax, they couldn’t have left the castle,” Twilight said as she rubbed her head. “Hey, where do you think that earthquake came from? I thought the Crystal Heart protected the empire from those.”

“What earthquake?” Starlight asked.

“You know, the rumbling that passed by when we left?”

“I didn’t feel any rumbling. Come on, we’re wasting time.”

Twilight rubbed her eyes. “Okay, I’m coming. You don’t need to be so bossy about it.”

Starlight frowned at her. “Did you just call me bossy?”

Twilight frowned up at the ceiling. “What in the world is that?”

“Twilight, I asked you a question.”

“Yeah, yeah, can it wait until the room stops buzzing?”

“What are you talking about?”

“That buzzing!” Twilight rubbed her head. “Or that ringing. You know.”

“What ringing? I don’t hear anything. Twilight, quit fooling around!”

“You quit fooling around! How could you not hear that?” Twilight’s glare darted around the hall. “It’s like…like a hawk mixed with a mare screaming or…or something.”

“Well, can’t you ignore it? We need to find where those two teleported!”

“Fine. Hey, can I have my magic back?”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“My magic. My cutie mark, my special talent sticker, whatever you wanna call it. Give it here, Star-Sun Glitter.” Twilight held out her hoof.

Starlight glared at her. “You’re asking for your cutie mark at a time like this? How can you be so selfish?!”

Twilight frowned. “Well maybe I could track them and teleport to them if I had my magic.”

“You don’t need your magic-”

“Why do you get to decide if I need my magic or not?!” Twilight snapped. “What happened to my say in the matter, Glitter Star? I thought staying in your town was our choice?”

“And you chose to give up your cutie marks. Now let’s-”

“I don’t remember that! All I remember is you being a delusional control freak who throws temper tantrums when everyone isn’t exactly the same!”

Starlight glared at her. “Excuse me?!”

Twilight’s eyes twitched. “Hey, now I remember…you were the jerk who threw out Spike just because he’s different! What did dragons ever do to you?!”

“Twilight what is your problem?!” Starlight growled.

“Problem? You mean like a friendship problem? I’m good at solving those!” Twilight said with a wide grin.

“Twilight what…” Starlight’s anger faded as she took another look. “Twilight what’s going on with your eyes?”

Twilight’s glowing pink eyes fell to her side. “Spike! There you are!” She hugged the air and smiled. “I’ve been looking everywhere for you! You’re just in time to help me with a friendship problem! Or maybe it’s just my studies. He, he, I don’t remember!”

“Oh Twilight! There you are darling!” Starlight turned around as a grinning Rarity walked up to them, carrying a set of shredded curtains in her magic. “What do you think of my new fashion line? I call it Curtain Call! He, he, he!”

Starlight stared the two giggling mares. “Oh brother, I’m having another nightmare.”

Rarity’s glowing pink eyes focused on her. “Hmm. What an interesting observation. Twilight, can you feel anything in a nightmare?”

Starlight smiled. “No. I can’t. I just need to pinch myself awake and then-” She was cut off as two bursts of magic blasted her against the wall, causing her a decent amount of pain. Starlight’s head shot up in horror. “Uh oh...”

“Rarity, would you care to join Spike and I in an experiment?”

“Anything for my Spikey-wikey!” Rarity giggled.

Twilight grinned. “Great! Today we’re going to learn how much pressure a pony’s leg can take before it snaps!”

Starlight’s eyes widened as her front legs glowed in Twilight’s magic. “Get away from me!” With a quick flash of light, she teleported out of their grasp and ran down the hall.

“Starlight! There you are!” Starlight turned her head as she saw the former Crusaders running towards them.

“Girls, go back to your room!” Starlight ordered. “Something’s wrong with Princess Twilight and Rarity.”

“What about Rainbow Dash!” Scootaloo cried.

“I haven’t seen her, but girls you need to-”

“No! Give me back Rainbow!” Scootaloo cried into her hooves, tears spilling out of her eyes. “I…I don’t even recognize her rainbow mane when she hides it behind that mark of shame! She can’t even use those wings she bears. She used to be a legend, a righteous mare!”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Why are you singing?”

Scootaloo glared up at her with glowing pink eyes. “You turned us into failures to fuel your success in your stubborn and stupid game of chess. And you sit upon my sister’s throne and toy with us like mice and send us all to fail in your equality device!”

Starlight took several steps back. “Not you too!”

“Cool song, Scootaloo. But I don’t know if that pig will work,” Sweetie said.

Apple Bloom’s pink eyes examined her. “Aw, she ain’t that ugly. Either way, that’s what we’re here to fix! Cutie Mark Crusaders, Make-up Artists!”

Sweetie grinned. “This is gonna be so good! I brought the paintbrush!” she said as she lifted a hammer with her magic.

“And I brought the paint!” the suddenly cheerful Scootaloo said as she pulled out a bottle of glue.

“I need to get out of here,” Starlight cried. She turned around to flee, only to smack right into Applejack.

“Well now ain’t you the ugliest pig I’ve ever seen.” Starlight gulped as Applejack’s pink eyes focused on her.

“We’re gonna give her a makeover!” Sweetie squeed.

“Aw, that’s sweet of you girls. Care to make it more interesting? Hey RD, you keeping up with me?”

“You bet!” a grinning Rainbow said as she flew in. “Whoa, that’s one ugly cat.”

“Nah, it’s a pig, ya silly filly. How’s about a race girls? Whoever catches the pig gets to do whatever they want with it!”

“Awesome!” Rainbow licked her lips. “I think I’ll eat it. I’m so hungry I could eat a horse!”

“Has everypony lost their minds?!” Starlight cried.

“Good idea Dashie! It’s the chatty brownies that taste the best!” Pinkie said as she appeared out of nowhere and began to spread chocolate frosting on Starlight’s back.

“AAH!” Starlight screamed and teleported away from the crowd of ponies, running for her life.

“Starlight? Is everything okay?” She heard Fluttershy say as she flew towards her.

“Stay back! I’m not getting involved in this insanity!” she growled as she grabbed Fluttershy in her magic.

“S-starlight?! W-what’s going on? Why are you so upset?” Fluttershy cried. “P-please let me go…you’re hurting me.” Her blue eyes began to water.

“Fluttershy? Thank goodness you’re still sane!” Starlight let go of her immediately.

Fluttershy relaxed a little and said, “S-starlight, I saw them. They’re right outside. They haven’t even really left the castle. The filly was just showing the baby the Crystal Heart.” Fluttershy smiled. “Isn’t that great?” She frowned and scratched her ears. “Even if I do keep hearing this annoying buzz.”

“Forget about them! Fluttershy, everypony has gone crazy! I don’t know what to do!” Starlight wailed and fell into Fluttershy’s comforting embrace.

“Oh Starlight. If you think they’re crazy…” Starlight gulped as Fluttershy’s eyes turned pink. “You’re going to love me.”

Starlight teleported out of the castle and gasped for breath on the outside. “The entire world’s gone mad!”

“Funny you should ask about that, sweetheart. Everyone has their own idea of madness. Really, madness is a matter of perspective,” she heard the filly say.

Starlight turned around to see the filly smiling down at the baby in one hoof with her other hoof touching the Crystal Heart.

“It’s funny what the emotions in our minds can lead us to do. And it’s flipping hilarious what this spinning, shiny, heart can do. If the Crystal Heart is filled with hope and love, those things are reflected across all of Equestria. If hatred and fear take hold…” The filly let go of the Crystal Heart, which instantly began to spin again. As it spun, it released a shockwave of pink, black, and gold coloured magic.

Starlight gazed up at the sky as it turned blood red. A cold gust of wind blew down her spine. The former Elements and Crusaders appeared in a flash of light, their crazed grins focused on her. Ponies from all over the empire began to surround her, all of them with glowing pink eyes.

“People always thought I was a very emotional kind of girl,” the filly said to the baby. “So it got me thinking…what would happen if all of MY feelings were reflected? I’ve got more than enough love to share with the empire, Equestria…and beyond! Isn’t that right sweetheart?”

The baby giggled as the filly placed her hoof on the Heart again.

“Starlight!” Sugar Belle screamed as a grinning pegasus dropped her in front of Starlight. “Try my muffins! They’re so yummy ya just want to choke on them all! He, he, he!”

Starlight pushed the grinning mare away with her magic. “You’re behind this! This is your doing!” she screamed at the filly. The filly didn’t make any sign that she had even heard Starlight.

Two more pairs of glowing pink eyes appeared in a flash of light. “You didn’t think you could hurt my family a second time, did you changeling?!” Shining growled.

“Nobody hurts my daughter and gets away with it, you parasite,” Cadance growled. “Shiny, what do you think we should do with this one?”

Shining pulled out a sword from its scabbard and grinned. “I think we should take turns.”

“NO! Get back!” Starlight’s horn glowed with power as she blasted Shining. But a shield spell cut the blast off, causing Starlight to back away further. Somehow, the same power that was infecting everyone with insanity was also strengthening their magic.

She tried to teleport away but was halted by blasts of magic from Cadance, Shining, Rarity, Twilight, and a dozen other unicorns smacking into her.

“Wait…stop…” Starlight groaned as Cadance took the sword from her husband and raised it above her head.

The filly finally glanced back at Starlight with a big grin. Her smile faded as she saw the sword. “Ah, darn it. Way to ruin the ride.” She sighed and smiled at the baby. “I think that’s enough for now sweetheart. Let’s take a bow.”

The filly helped the baby up as the two of them planted kisses on the Crystal Heart. The insane magic that had been firing out of the Heart began to recede as the Heart spun in the opposite direction. The sky slowly cleared, the wind died down, and all the glowing pink eyes returned to normal.

Cadance rubbed her eyes and glanced around. “What…what happened? What am I doing with this?” she asked as she examined the sword.

More ponies in the crowd shook their heads. “What am I doing out here?” “Where’d I get this thing from?” “Why does my hoof hurt?”

“Pardon me, your majesties,” the filly said as she walked towards the royal couple. “This little sweetheart misses her mommy and daddy.” She rolled her eyes and added, “Madness know why.”

“Oh there you are!” Shining and Cadance smiled and ran towards the filly. “We were looking all over for you.”

“Ah huh. Tell me, have you changed your mind about your daughter?”

Cadance frowned in confusion. “Changed what?"

“Lemme ask ya something quick. Do you think your baby is special? And you wouldn’t change her for the world?”

“Well of course!” Shining said. He scratched his head and muttered, “I mean, we were thinking about equalizing her…” He then chuckled and said, “But why bother? She’s perfect the way she is!”

“There ya go!” the filly grinned and gave the baby back to her parents. As the former Elements, the Crusaders, and the crystal ponies gathered around the royal family, the filly walked over to Starlight. “Need some help? Looks like you took a nasty fall, dearie.”

“How could I have been so blind?! I should have known you can’t be trusted!” Starlight growled and smacked her hoof away.

The filly innocently smiled. “Starry? You feeling alright?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, demon! I saw what you did! The whole world saw!”

Twilight glanced back at them. “Starlight? Are you okay?”

“Don’t act like you’ve forgotten about that! This thing touched the heart and you all went insane and tried to kill me!” Starlight cried.

Fluttershy gasped. “What? We’d never kill anyone, Starlight. Are you sure you’re okay?”

“I think she’s just feeling a little stressed. She’s been obsessed with the filly for…what has it been, a month? Two?” Rainbow muttered.

Starlight cringed as her friends all looked at her with pity. “Why are you all looking at me like that?!” Starlight cried. “She’s the problem not me!”

“Sugarcube, you can’t blame all your problems on the filly,” Applejack said.

“This thing is not a filly! Normal ponies can’t do the things she does!” Starlight growled. “She’s some kind of…Nightmare spirit, or changeling, or…or I don’t know!”

Rarity shook her head. “This is just sad, darling. I know you don’t like her, but that’s no excuse to make up such vicious accusations. Come on everyone, I think Miss Glimmer needs some time to cool off.”

As the ponies all walked away from her, Starlight send a death glare at the filly’s back. “You might have fooled them but you can’t fool me any longer! I’ll find out what kind of monster you are and I’ll end you! Do you hear me?! There is nothing that you or anypony can do to stop me from-”

“Starlight? Starlight Glimmer?”

Starlight froze and spun around to face the voice. “S…Sunburst?”

The filly turned back to face them and giggled. “And the fun will last forever...”

The Breaking

Starlight Glimmer stared at her old friend in shock. From the beard, the glasses, and the cloak she could tell that he had changed quite a bit since they were kids.

“Well, well, well!” the filly giggled as she strolled over to Sunburst. “This visit has just been chock full of twists and turns, hasn’t it?” She grinned and stuck her hoof out to Sunburst. “How ya doing there, Sunny?”

Sunburst frowned. “What are you doing with her?”

“I…” Starlight said with a raised hoof, trying to think of what to say.

“I wasn’t talking to you.” He turned to the filly and asked, “Well?”

The filly giggled and waved her hoof. “Oh, it’s just a project I’ve been working on. You understand what that’s like, don’t you? Actually, it’s quite fortunate that you two have this opportunity to catch up. But before we can get to what I’m sure will be a warm, tearful reunion, how’s about a proper hello?” She stuck her out towards him. “So I ask again: how ya doing there, Sunny?”

Sunburst sighed. “I’ve been better.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped as she saw her oldest friend shake hooves with the creature that was determined to become her worst nightmare.

“Hi there! Nice to meet you!” Pinkie said as she bounced over to them. “I’m Pinkie Pie! These are-”

“No need for that Miss Pie, I’ve already spoken to Sunny here about you guys,” the filly said with a wink. Seeing that the crystal ponies had already left, she turned to address the former Elements and Cutie Mark Crusaders. “Everyone, this here is Sunburst. He was a student at Celestia’s old school. If you’re wondering about how we met, well I bumped into him whilst I was doing some…let’s call it research.”

The filly looked up at him with a smile. “So, I take it that your vision hasn’t exactly become ‘equal’ if you know what I mean. And you still got that beard thing going…any chance you might consider getting it cut?”

Sunburst pushed his glasses up. “Well, um…”

“I mean, if you want to keep it, go ahead. Personally, I’m not a fan of beards. Far too scratchy. But hey, it’s your hair, you should do what you want with it,” the filly said with a shrug.

“Listen um…can this wait? I have a few things I need to say to her.” Sunburst pointed at Starlight, his gaze turning cold again.

The filly grinned. “Oh by all means, go ahead. Pretend we’re not even here.” The filly quickly bounced over to Pinkie Pie, dug around in her mane, and pulled out a bowl of popcorn. “Oh ho, this is gonna be good!” she giggled.

Starlight glanced back hatefully at the filly, before she turned back to Sunburst. “So Sunburst…it’s uh, good to see you again.”

“I don’t remember it being that great the last we saw each other,” Sunburst said coldly. “Starlight, how could you do this to us all?”

Starlight glared at him. “How could I do what exactly?”

“You know what.”

“Actually, I don’t! What are you mad at me for?! You’re the one who abandoned me!”

“Abandon you? What are you talking about?” Sunburst asked, a little confusion mixing in with his cold glare.

“After you got your stupid cutie mark,” she hissed. “You just left me! You just ran off to Celestia’s school to become some big, powerful, important wizard and you never even stopped to think about me!”

Fluttershy whispered to the filly “Um, should we…?”

The filly giggled and whispered back to her. “Hush now. We’re getting to the good part.”

“Starlight, what are you talking about?” Sunburst asked.

Starlight’s face twisted with rage. “You don’t even remember what happened?! FINE! I’ll show you! I’ll show the whole world what you did to me!” She levitated the staff of sameness to her side and created a screen of magic, showing her childhood memories.

“Ooh! Flashbacks!” the filly cheered.

“Shut up!” Starlight snapped at her. Using the screen, she showed them all the day when Sunburst gained his cutie mark. She tried to hold her tears back as she watched the colt run past her to go celebrate his new mark with the rest of their village. “And just like that my friend was gone.”

Scootaloo’s eyes narrowed. “What do you mean gone? He’s standing right over there.”

The screen vanished and Sunburst raised an eyebrow. “How did you do that? I thought that every unicorn’s magic was weakened because of these equal signs.”

“The staff has all the magic I need,” Starlight lied. “But that’s not the point!” She glared back at him. “How could you just leave me?! I thought you were my friend!”

The flabbergasted Sunburst stared at her. “What are you talking about? I didn’t leave you. I invited you to my cutie mark party, didn’t I?”

“So is it only the fillies who call it a cute-ceañera?” the filly muttered to herself.

“No! You never invited me! Why would I even want to celebrate that horrible day?” Starlight cried. “You got your mark and I didn’t! You moved on and I didn’t! I got left behind and never made another friend because I was afraid another cutie mark would steal them from me too!”

The filly leaned over and gently nudged Applejack. Applejack raised an eyebrow at her and the filly made a ‘go ahead’ gesture. Applejack looked back at Starlight, before her eyes narrowed. “Hold on, why are you riled up about that Starlight? You said cutie marks only lead to trouble. Why would you be mad at him for getting his before you?”

A smile stretched across Starlight’s face. “Yes! Yes, that’s it exactly. Thank you so much for pointing that out, Applejack!” she giggled.

“Um, you okay there Starlight?” Rainbow Dash asked with a raised eyebrow.

Starlight failed to notice that her own smile had gotten a little twitchy. “Never better! Sunburst, I’ve figured out how we can fix things!” She pointed the staff of sameness at him and grinned. “With cutie marks, friends can argue and become jealous or angry because of each other. But without cutie marks, we can’t have those problems anymore! Everypony is equal and no one has a reason to fight or to be jealous.” Her face twisted into an evil grin as the staff glowed. “I just have to take your cutie mark away and we can finally fix our broken friendship! He, he, he! We’ll be friends, forever and ever!” she giggled.

The filly grinned. “And the egg starts to crack,” she whispered to herself so nobody could hear her.

Sunburst glared at Starlight. “That’s not going to work Starlight.”

“Oh what? Don’t tell me that the Great and Powerful Sunburst has found a way to shield himself from the staff’s magic!” Starlight sneered. “Nopony can resist the power of the staff of sameness!”

“Spaghetti!” the filly randomly cheered.

“You don’t count!” Starlight growled at her.

“Starlight, it’s not going to work on me because you already took my cutie mark,” Sunburst said.

“What? Don’t lie to me! I never took your…” She trailed off as Sunburst pulled his blue robe back a bit to show her the equal sign on his flank. “…cutie mark.”

“That’s why I’m mad at you Starlight. Those things you said about ‘equality’ fixing friendships? It’s not working the way you think it is,” Sunburst said as he pushed his robe back to cover the equal sign.

The stunned Starlight dropped her staff. “How…how…”

“Perhaps someone needs to shed some light on the subject,” the filly suggested with a smirk. “Starlight, how do you normally capture cutie marks? One at a time? Or in one big group?

“I…I…” Starlight stammered. How could this happen, she thought. How could she not remember taking Sunburst’s cutie mark?

“As I suspected. Sunburst, what exactly happened the day you lost your mark?” the filly asked.

“A while ago, a group of ponies who kept prattling on about the ‘dangers of cutie marks’ came to the Crystal Empire. I didn’t see much of them because I was busy with my studies. On the fourth day they were here, a large group of guards escorted me and thirty other ponies towards the castle. I was somewhere in the back of the crowd,” Sunburst said.

“We were lead to this room and I saw this unicorn mare who was lecturing everyone on the joys of ‘equality’. I didn’t recognize her at first, but she introduced herself as Starlight Glimmer, and some of my memories came back to me. I tried to reach out to her, but she couldn’t hear me. She fired off this beam of magic from what she called the staff of sameness. She said it was one of Mage Meadowbrook’s nine magical artifacts.”

His eyes narrowed. “But I knew she was lying. Mage Meadowbrook only made eight magical items. Before I could call her out on her lie, she fired this beam of magic from the staff and then there was this burning pain. Like a piece of myself was being ripped off. Next thing I knew, I had that ugly equal sign on my flank and most of my magical knowledge just…wasn’t there.”

Starlight gulped. She took Sunburst’s cutie mark away? And because she removed those marks in groups, she didn’t even remember it? Starlight placed a hoof over her stomach, feeling a little queasy for some reason.

“Is that so?” the filly chuckled. “From your tone of voice, I take it that you’re not finding Starlight’s philosophy to be very agreeable. Tell me, how has her ‘equality’ changed your life?”

“It’s horrible,” Sunburst said with a grimace at Starlight. “You think that everypony is happy about this but you’re wrong Starlight. They’re only smiling like that because you want them to.”

“It’s true,” the filly said as she nodded at Pinkie Pie. “Two out of two smile experts agree.”

“Starlight, please! Can’t you see how much you’re hurting everyone?” Sunburst cried.

“Well….well…” Starlight stammered before her face twisted into a frown. “Can’t you see how arrogant you’re acting?! All that time spent as some big, important, wizard has turned you into a…a…a big jerk!”

“Oh honey,” the filly shook her head and chuckled.

“Important wizard? Starlight, what are you talking about? My magic is average! It always has been,” Sunburst said sternly.

“…What?” Starlight asked, doubt creeping back into her voice.

“My magic wasn’t any better than anypony else’s even before I got stuck with this thing! I’ve studied these equal signs of yours! If a pony’s special talent is in magic, then they can barely use any magic. But for any unicorn who has a different talent, their magic is only slightly weakened. If my special talent was in magic, how come I can still do this?” Sunburst reached out with his magic and grabbed several pieces of litter and spun them around in the air. One of the most impressive displays of magic she had seen from an equalized pony.

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “But…but your cutie mark was in magic…”

“Magical knowledge,” Sunburst stressed. “I could only levitate those books because I knew the right spell. Of course I didn’t figure it out until I got to Celestia’s school. Do you have any idea how hard it is to know so much and not be able to do any of it? Of course now I don’t even have that! I can still read basic things like ingredients and street signs, but if I try to read anything with even the slightest mention of magic, I’m practically illiterate!”

“What?!” a heartbroken Twilight cried. “That’s horrible!”

The queasiness in Starlight’s stomach was becoming hard to ignore, but she kept searching for a way out of her predicament. “But…but…what about your new friends? W-without special talents, you must have more in common with ponies. Surely you’ve made new friends? Y-you don’t need magical knowledge when friendship is the greatest magic of all.”

“The only thing I have common with these ponies is that we’re all miserable, Starlight. I haven’t made any new friends. Before or after you took my cutie mark.”

“Wow.” The filly turned to Starlight with a huge smirk. “You took your best friend’s special talent away and you didn’t even notice it. You were hoping to have more things in common with ponies, and there you go! The details might have been different, but in the end you BOTH got distracted by cutie marks. Sunburst ran outside to go celebrate his destiny, not even noticing that your feelings got hurt. Meanwhile, YOU marched through Equestria to celebrate your equality, and you didn’t even notice the pain you put him through! No talent, no fame, and no friends!” The filly laughed. “Ha, ha, ha! Boy, Starlight, I’d hate to be you right now. You must be freaking out!”

And that’s exactly what Starlight was doing. Her face twisted into a terrified expression accompanied by several twitches. On the inside, her mind was reeling. She destroyed her friendship with Sunburst, just like he had done. And she didn’t even realize it, just like he had done. She took away his special talent, and he didn’t even have any new friends to make up for it. Her oldest friend, the reason why she established her plan for equality in the first place, was furious at her. He was treating her like she was evil. She barely survived when the Crystal Empire and sanity itself turned against her, but this…

“Hey Rarity, do you have your couch with you?” she heard the filly say. She sounded far away.

“No darling, I’m…Starlight? Are you…”

The filly’s smiling face filled her fading vision. “Poor dear has been through a lot…mind can only take so much…ease her pain…”

Starlight collapsed onto the ground, struggling to maintain her consciousness. It wasn’t long before she fainted, her thoughts spiraling into despair.

Starlight’s mind swirled in darkness, voices faded in and out at the edge of her hearing as she struggled to overcome an intense feeling of helplessness. She felt a repetitive shaking and could hear the click-clack sound of a train going over train tracks.

She slowly regained consciousness and woke up to find herself on a bed on Friendship Express. Princess Twilight, Double Diamond, and Sugar Belle were in the train car with her.

“Good morning Starlight! How do you feel?” Double asked gently.

“What…happened?” she groaned.

“Try not to be too upset, but you kinda fainted after your talk with Sunburst. N-not that there’s anything wrong with that, Rarity and Fluttershy faint all the time,” Twilight said with a small chuckle. She meant it to sound friendly, but to Starlight’s ears it sounded more like mocking.

“Sunburst?” she groaned.

“Well, after his anti-equality outburst, several guards tried to arrest him and bring him to the Crystal Empire’s equalization house. We still don’t know how, but he escaped. Don’t worry, we have more guards on the lookout for him. He can’t have gotten far,” Double said.

“No…order them to leave him alone,” Starlight sighed.

Double blinked in surprise. “But Starlight, he publicly insulted our way of life! Why do you want to-?”

“Because I said so!” Starlight growled as she stood up from her bed, pausing to rub her head when her blood rushed right to it. “Ugh…”

“Careful Starlight. You’re still very dizzy,” Sugar said.

“I’m fine,” Starlight grumbled as she swatted Sugar’s hoof away. “Why are we on a train?”

“We’re returning to Ponyville, Starlight. The filly said that you had concluded your business in the Crystal Empire,” Double said.

Starlight glared at him. “Oh the filly said that, did she? And since when do you take orders from her?”

“What? I never said that,” Double said, taking a cautious step back. “Like you always say, Starlight, we’re all equal here. We don’t need a leader. We all do what needs to be done to ensure our community prospers and-”

“Save it!” Starlight snapped. “I know what my own speeches sound like, but it appears that I’m the only one who’s truly listening to them anymore! And you’re wrong, Double Diamond. You all take orders from me!”

Twilight’s eyes widened at her hostility. “Whoa! Starlight, you don’t need to-.”

“QUIET!” Starlight snarled. “Since none of you can even grasp the gravity of this crisis, I’m taking charge! Where are the others?” She pushed herself out of bed and made her way towards the door.

“Wait, Starlight!” Twilight cried. “You’re not thinking clearly. You need to rest.”

“I’ll rest when the problem is dealt with! Move!” Starlight growled as she shoved her way past. She entered the next part of the train to see the rest of the former Element bearers. “Where’s the filly?!”

Fluttershy flinched at Starlight’s harsh tone. “Um, which filly do you mean?”

“Which filly?! You KNOW which one! That pink and white monster!” Starlight growled.

Rarity raised her hooves placatingly. “Now Starlight, I’m sure whatever Sweetie Belle did, she’s very sorry about-”

“NO! I’m talking about that unnamed, unequal, freak! I’m talking about the monster that brainwashed the entire Empire and you can’t even remember it!” Starlight screamed.

“Whoa, Starlight, calm down!” Rainbow raised her hooves in defense, while the other ponies backed away cautiously. “Do you even know how crazy you sound right now?”

“I’m not crazy! You’re all crazy for trusting that filly! Especially the filly! Why am I the only one who can see that?!” Starlight roared.

“Simmer down now,” Applejack said gently. “Just explain from the beginning what you think we missed. Okay?”

Starlight reeled in her temper, seeing that her anger wasn’t getting her anywhere. “You want to start from the beginning? Fine. How about the fact that the staff of sameness doesn’t work on that filly when it’s worked on every other pony. That proves she’s a monster!”

“Starlight, while that’s a little unusual, it’s no reason to think that she’s not a pony,” Twilight said. “I’m sure there’s another explanation for-”

“What about the dead rat? Remember that? You can argue that a timberwolf killed it but who else would nail a dead rat to a door and pin its mouth open into a forced smile?!”

“Well, I haven’t the faintest idea who could be so cruel. But I highly doubt that a little filly could do something so awful,” Rarity argued.

“What about the way she treated Diamond Tiara?”

“From what Apple Bloom told me, Diamond Tiara was picking on her the same way she used to pick on my sister and her friends. The filly said a few things to spook her off, and I don’t rightly think they were true,” Applejack said. “I don’t really like it when ponies lie, but she was just making up tall tales about herself. There’s no way she could be in constant pain with the only cure being laughter.”

“What about Spoiled Rich? She was attacked in her home, tied to her bed, and her mane and coat were completely shaved off!”

“Why are you blaming the filly for that? When Mr. Rich and Diamond Tiara mentioned a black blur and green smoke, the first thing I thought about was changelings,” Rainbow said.

Starlight’s eyes widened. “Maybe that’s it. Maybe the filly is a changeling. It could explain the crazy stuff she does if she could use magic. And a changeling can take any form they want!”

Twilight shook her head. “We already gave her a changeling test.”

Starlight blinked in confusion. “What? When did this happen?”

“While she was still in the equalization house. During the first week the filly entered our lives, we gave her a changeling test. I mean, an unnamed filly with no known family or history? It seemed really suspicious. But the thing about changelings is that their disguises are very weak,” Twilight said. “Any changeling disguise can be dispelled by a strong enough hit. We didn’t want to attack her, but she gave us her permission. We all pushed her as hard as we could and nothing happened. She’s not a changeling.”

“Well maybe you didn’t hit her hard enough!” Starlight growled. “Why wasn’t I informed about this?”

“We didn’t think we needed your permission,” Pinkie said with a shrug. “I mean, either she’s a changeling or she’s not. You’d really only need to know about it if she was. And it’s not nice to hit ponies, Starlight,” she added with a frown.

“Besides, we already got something for stronger changelings. Zecora cooked up something for that ages ago,” Applejack said. “She figured that not every pony was super strong or great at spell casting. It could be that the changelings went after weaker ponies who couldn’t defend themselves. So she gave us this magic potion-”

“It was a magical salve,” Twilight corrected.

Rainbow rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Point is, she made this green magical goop that can tell if a pony is a changeling or not. The filly rolled around in it for us, and it didn’t do anything.”

Starlight frowned. “Well…maybe she found a way to resist it?”

“Starlight, what would a changeling even have to gain from turning into a filly?” Fluttershy asked.

“To mess with me!” Starlight growled. “What about those nightmares I’ve been having? How do you explain those?!”

“How did you jump to that conclusion? Darling, changelings don’t have any power over dreams,” Rarity said.

“Maybe it’s Nightmare Moon!” Starlight argued. Rarity raised a hoof and Starlight rolled her eyes. “Yes, I know about Princess Luna’s condition. Well, fine! Even if it’s not Nightmare Moon it could still be some other kind of Nightmare creature!”

“You’re grasping at straws, sugar cube,” Applejack sighed.

“Well what about that mare? Prismatic Sunshine? She was terrified of the filly!”

Fluttershy frowned. “Because the filly helped the guards arrest her. That mare was abusing her kids. She was punished for her crimes and I’m sure that she doesn’t want to get in anymore trouble. She’s scared because the filly sent her to prison once and she could probably do it again. Not because the filly is some kind of monster.”

“How can you still think she’s a normal filly?!” Starlight screamed. “She said she would vomit blood all over my face, just because I wanted to hold Cadance’s baby! Who says that?!”

Pinkie frowned in confusion. “Huh? She never said that.”

“Of course she did! You were all there!”

“I don’t remember her ever saying anything like that,” Rainbow said.

A mad grin stretched across Starlight’s face. “Aha! You can’t remember! Yes, let’s focus on what happened yesterday! The final clues that made me see that creature for the monster she is! First of all, Twilight and I tried to use Sombra’s door on the filly to see what she was afraid of and it didn’t work!”

Rarity frowned. “Well that says more about you than it does her. How could you even think about forcing that on a little filly?”

“I tried to tell her it was a bad idea, but she didn’t listen,” Twilight sighed.

“I had my reasons! Don’t try to take what I do out of context, it was for her own good! The point is, the door didn’t work, just like the staff!”

“I thought it did work. A little bit, I mean. I guess she just doesn’t scare her easily,” Twilight said.

“How could she not be afraid of her own worst fear?! You saw her! She was just zoning off, acting like she was in front of a mirror instead of a door filled with dark magic!”

Pinkie shrugged. “Maybe she really did see a mirror. Maybe she’s scared of herself.”

“It would explain her smashing my mirror…” Rarity mumbled. “But that can’t be right. Why would she be afraid of herself?”

“Exactly! Why would anypony be afraid of themselves? It makes no sense!” Starlight argued.

“It’s makes more sense than you’d think,” Fluttershy whispered, remembering what happened after she first met Iron Will. “I don’t know Starlight. The only pony who knows what’s going on inside the filly’s head is the filly.”

“We’re getting off topic,” Starlight growled. “Even if you can ignore the door not working on her, how do you explain her violent behaviour?”

“What violent behaviour?” Fluttershy asked.

“When I was attempting to use the staff of sameness on Cadance’s baby, she burst out of nowhere and kicked my flank!” Starlight cried.

Rainbow snorted, suppressing a chuckle. “Really? You got beat up by a little kid? When did that happen?”

“You were right there! Don’t you remember…but that’s just it! You don’t remember! Well, after I tried to welcome Cadance’s baby into our community of friendship and equality, the filly did something to the Crystal Heart! You all went crazy and tried to attack me! And you don’t remember that happening because she brainwashed you!”

Rainbow rubbed her head. “I…I dunno...”

The rest of her friends rubbed their heads too. “There…is a significant hole in my memory. Did…did that really happen?” Twilight asked.

“Yes! Yes, it did! Don’t you see?” Starlight cried. “That filly is a crazed monster! She’s a dangerous, insane, lunatic who wants to take over Equestria!”

“Well, why hasn’t she?” Pinkie asked.

The other ponies turned to stare at her. “Huh?” Rainbow asked.

“You said she brainwashed us and made us crazy but…we’re not crazy right now. Right?”

“R…right,” Starlight hesitantly answered.

“If she really was evil and she really did brainwash us, why aren’t we still crazy?” Pinkie asked. “I mean, if she wanted to take over Equestria, she would have kept us under her control. But we’re not.”

“That’s…that’s just part of her plan! She’s trying to confuse us!”

“If she wanted to confuse us, I think she’d keep us as mind-controlled zombies,” Pinkie cheerfully argued. “I mean, then she could make us think whatever she wants. Like if chocolate cake was made with cardboard and ice cream!”

“Yeah, Pinkie’s right. If she really wanted to take over the world, why hasn’t she?” Rainbow argued. “So…can you tell us the real reason why you’re acting crazy now?”

“I’ve already told you!” Starlight shouted. “She’s a crazy, insane monster! There’s something seriously wrong with that filly! Why can’t you see that?!”

“Starlight, I think we all know that the filly, to put it delicately, has a mental health problem,” Twilight said. At Starlight’s dumbfounded expression, she continued explaining. “We know that the things she says and does aren’t normal, but they make her who she is.”

“It’s that kind of abnormality and individuality that makes her dangerous!” Starlight argued.

“Starlight, you’re not being fair to her. She’s not dangerous. In fact, studies show that ponies like her are more likely to be attacked, instead of being the attacker.”

“She’s right,” Fluttershy said as she glared at Starlight. “You’ve been treating that poor little girl like a menace just because she’s different. I know that you don’t like her but at least she tries to be nice to you. I’ve talked with her plenty of times; I know how much she’s struggling to fit it.”

“Don’t you understand? That’s what she does! Every word that she speaks is a weapon she wields! She’s manipulating you!” Starlight argued.

“Starlight, I understand what you’re going through,” Twilight said. “I nearly drove myself crazy when the changeling queen pretended to be Cadance and no one would believe me. If it makes you feel any better, we could ask her to take the changeling test again. Would that make you happy?” she gave a friendly smile to her, but to Starlight’s eyes it just looked condescending.

“How dare you patronize me,” Starlight hissed.

“What? I’m not-”

Fluttershy gently rested a wing on Starlight’s shoulder. “Starlight, you need to stop lashing out at everyone. You’re not thinking straight. I think meeting your old friend Sunburst and-”

“I don’t want to talk about him,” Starlight interrupted coldly.

“Darling, I think we should talk about him,” Rarity said. “He spoke of a lot of things that-”

“Shut. Up,” Starlight hissed.

“Starlight, I think you’re ignoring the real problem here. You’re just using the filly to distract yourself from what Sunburst said.”

“She’s the one who turned Sunburst against me!” Starlight growled.

“Give it a rest already!” Rainbow exclaimed. “She’s just a little filly!” She shook her head in disgust and made her way towards the next part of the train. “I’ve had enough of this. I’m going over to check on the kids.”

“I think I’ll join you,” Rarity said, giving Starlight a disappointed glare. Twilight, Applejack, Fluttershy, and Pinkie went after them too.

Seeing that she had been left alone, Starlight stomped off back to her part of the train. “I’ll show them. That filly can’t hide forever.”

“Who said I needed to hide, dearie?”

Starlight jumped and spun around, searching for the source of that voice. But she couldn’t see a single strand of pink or white hair. Double and Sugar had already left and moved to a different part of the train. She was alone.

Starlight shook her head and settled back into her bed, hoping to wake up in Ponyville soon.

“Starlight? Stay with us Starlight!”

The exhausted unicorn slowly opened her eyes to see a trio of doctors hovering over her. “What happened? What’s going on?”

“You’re doing great, Starlight! Just another push,” one of the doctors said.

Starlight blinked in bewilderment. “Another what?” She glanced around at her surroundings, making a note that everything in the hospital room looked blurry. She groaned as the answer came to her. “Another nightmare. Just ignore it Starlight,” she said with closed eyes and clenched teeth.

“Aww! And there she is!” The doctor held up a tiny foal. “Congratulations Starlight Glimmer. It’s a filly!”

Starlight’s slowly relaxed her expression. “Okay. This dream isn’t too bad.” She examined the pink and purple baby unicorn. “Huh. She looks kinda like me.”

“Have you decided on a number yet?” the doctor asked.

Starlight blushed and smiled a little. “Well, I have a few ideas for names. Starlight Junior, maybe? Oh, the name Sunlight always sounded good to me…wait, what did you say?”

“Well, you can assign her a number later. Better toss her in with the rest,” the doctor giggled before throwing her baby across the room and into a black void.

“NO! Give her back! That’s my daughter, you…” Starlight paused in her panic attack to see that she was standing in an empty room. “…Just a nightmare. Just a nightmare,” she reminded herself. “Just gotta ride it out.”

She grimaced and hurried off in the direction her imaginary daughter flew. Eventually she reached the next part of her nightmare, and gasped in horror at what she saw.

Hundreds of crying colts and fillies being pushed along by a factory conveyor belt. At the end of a line was the staff of sameness. Only this staff was made of metal and glowing red.

“Oh no…not that!” Starlight cried.

But it was exactly what she feared. The unicorn filly that was her daughter in this mad world was pushed in front of the staff. The staff lowered itself down to her and literally burned the symbol of Starlight’s equality onto her flank. Starlight cringed and slammed her hooves over her ears at the sound of screaming.

“I’m not going to put up with this any longer!” she shouted. She teleported herself over to the staff. Whether it was with her magic or dream logic, she didn’t care. She blasted the staff in two and landed in front of the conveyor belt.

“Oh Celestia…” she grumbled as she saw another version of herself standing where the staff had been. “Why do you keep doing this? Just leave me alone!”

“Alone?” the other Starlight said with a mocking smile. “But we’ll never be alone again! In equality, we are all connected!”

“This isn’t equality! This isn’t what I asked for!” Starlight cried.

“But it’s where your path will lead to. I have seen your legacy, Starlight Glimmer. Your rage will only lead to ruin!” the other Starlight declared with an evil laugh.

“I won’t listen to these nightmares anymore! Get out of my head! Let me out!” Starlight cried.

The other Starlight grinned evilly. “If you insist…”

Starlight cringed as she was blasted by her doppelganger and sent hurtling out of her nightmare.

“Starlight? Starlight, wake up!”

Starlight groaned and slowly sat up from her bed. “What now?”

“Starlight, we’re back in Ponyville,” Double informed her. He backed away from her bed and gave her a concerned look. “Are you feeling okay? You’re as white as ice.”

“Oh, I’ll be okay, Double” Starlight growled as she pushed herself out of bed. “Just as soon as my little problem is dealt with.”

She got off the train and stomped her way up towards Twilight’s castle. She ignored her friend’s looks of concern and questions about how she feeling. She tuned everything out as she collected a large pile of books from the library. When she got to her room in the castle she informed the princess that she didn’t want to be disturbed. She slammed the door in Twilight’s face and sat down at her desk, dumping the books she had brought with her.

“Let’s see…the Mare in the Moon…Changeling Behaviour…Monster-ology…A Story on King Sombra…the dread Lord Tirek…and the Spirit of Chaos…” She frowned down at the books on her desk. “There’s gotta be something in one of these books that tells me who you are.”

She groaned as she heard a knock. “I told you Twilight, I’m fine! Let me work in peace!”

“Princess Twilight? Um, I don’t think I’m her.”

Starlight frowned as her mind registered that the knock didn’t come from her door but from her window. She walked over to the window and opened it to see a gray pegasus with a yellow mane and tail and with crossed eyes. “Um, are you Starlight Glimmer?”

Starlight raised her eyebrow at that. She thought everypony knew who she was. “Yes. Wait, aren’t you Muffins?”

The pegasus scratched her head in confusion. “I don’t know. There’s been some debate on it. I can’t recall if my name was Derpy, Ditzy, or Muffins. I know it’s one of those three but I can’t…remember.” She scratched her head some more as the equal sign pulsed on her flank.

“What do you want?” Starlight asked coldly.

“Oh um, I think this is for you.” The pegasus passed a package over to Starlight. “So, there you go. I guess.” She flew away, scratching her head some more.

“Have a nice day,” Starlight mumbled half-heartedly as she unwrapped the package. Once the wrapping paper was removed she pulled out a dark pink book without a title and a letter. She unfolded the letter and read from it.

Dear Starlight Glimmer

I know you didn’t listen to me before. But perhaps after the nightmare with the Crystal Heart, you’ll be a little more open minded. Now that I’ve got your attention, I beg you to take caution.

By now you should know the face of the monster that stalks you. Like so many others, I was once its target too. When I first encountered her, I thought she was powerless to stop me. But she gained power at an alarming rate. This girl is clever. She’s manipulative. Even though everything she does seems random, it’s all part of her plan. Even if you try to fight her, she’ll think of a new way to stop you.

I don’t know if you’ve looked yet but I once visited the Crystal Empire library, searching for information on what this nightmarish creature could be. This book was the only one I could find that alluded to it. Most of it is pure speculation with an unnerving poem.

Still, I think you need all the help you can get. I knew what was happening when every pony around me went crazy. One idea this book mentions is the possibility that the filly was born without magic. This monster is dangerous under ordinary circumstances but once she gets the power she’s looking for, there is nothing you can do to stop her.

This book is the only defence I can provide if you insist on fighting this creature. Your only other option is to surrender yourself and face whatever justice she has planned for you.

You might think I’m being paranoid. But I say you’re not being paranoid enough. This girl is crazy, but she can be charming and charismatic too. She has most likely already wormed her way into the minds of your friends. From this point on, trust no one Starlight Glimmer.

Destroy this letter once you finish reading it. I don’t want that thing coming after me again.

Sincerely, Prismatic Sunshine.

Starlight dutifully burned the letter with her magic and opened the book. On the very first page was the poem that Sunshine had mentioned. She frowned as she saw that the page had been ripped at the top and the bottom. Feeling uneasy, she began to read what was left on the page.

“…And when the boys and girls turn out all the lights
They tell the story of a creature, all snowy and white.
A mysterious monster of chaotic might.
A hero with a heart as dark as night.

A villain’s victory comes at a price
So if you consider doing evil, you better think twice.”

She turned to the other side of the page and kept reading.

“Pleas for mercy echo through a divided city
A terrible fury built within unnerving tranquility
The screams of the guilty fill the air
And the remains of their schemes are scattered here and there

A mighty monster built within the wake
Of a resurrected dream, little demon awake
The people will sleep, never quite knowing when
The demon will reawaken, hungry again.”

Starlight scowled as she turned the page, only to find the next one had also been ripped. “How much has this book been tampered with?” She flipped through the book only to find more rips and more disturbing imagery. “That’s it? One pointlessly creepy poem?! This book is useless! I wouldn’t be surprised if the filly wrote this thing herself.”

She threw the book in the trash bin, ignoring the rest of its contents and the fact that Twilight would be furious about anyone throwing a book out. “Come on already! There must be something that I missed!” Starlight scowled as she grabbed a different book and began reading.

The filly strolled calmly through the forest, a bag of supplies strapped to her back. “Twinkle, twinkle, little star. I always know where you are.” She chuckled to herself. “Ah, she’s coming along so nicely. Even from this distance, I can feel her anger. Her fear. He, he, he! Won’t be long now!”

“Of course, deviations must be expected. A perfect plan always allows room for improvisation and alteration.” The filly looked up at the sky as she walked and grinned. “Ooh, I like the looks of that one! Ooh, another good idea!”

The filly kept walking through the woods, constantly mumbling under her breath. Pretty soon her ears perked up and she stopped her muttering. “Ah. There you are.”

She strolled over to a broken down wagon in the middle of a circle of trees. She curiously waved her hoof through the space between two trees. “Magical barrier. But designed to keep someone else out, it appears. Looks like someone has picked up some new tricks.”

She bounced up to the broken wagon and knocked on it. “Oh Spikey-wikey! I know you’re in there!”

The door to the wagon opened up and a blue unicorn poked her glowing horn out. “How did you get past my barrier? Who dares to knock on the Great and Powerful Trixie’s door?”

The filly’s eyes lit up. “Ooh, Trixie? What a pleasant surprise! I didn’t know you were hiding with our mutual dragon friend.”

But Trixie’s gaze was focused on the filly’s blank flank. “You…you are still unequal! Your body has not yet been cursed by the villainous Glimmer!” She opened the door wide. “Welcome, fellow freedom fighter!”

“Oh, how kind of you!” the filly grinned and stepped inside. “And there he is! Spike buddy, we missed ya!”

Spike the dragon looked up in surprise from the book on magic he was reading. “Trixie? Who’s this?”

The filly chuckled. “The girl who’s going to bring Starlight to her knees.”

“Wait, really?” Spike’s eyes lit up with hope. “You can stop Starlight? You can get Twilight un-brainwashed? And Rarity? And…”

“And every other pony too, my dear boy,” the filly promised.

“Little one, I do not wish to crush your hopes so early after meeting you, but our situation is grim,” Trixie said. “Trixie and her new friend Zecora are the only pony and zebra left who have avoided the fate of so many unlucky ponies. The three of us have been on the run for weeks. As much as Trixie regrets saying this, Starlight Glimmer has won.”

“He, he, he. That’s just what she wants you to think, dearie! But we’ll prove her wrong soon enough. Now since you brought her up, where can I find Zecora? I’ve picked up several new tricks that I really gotta thank her for.”

Trixie frowned. “It was most unusual. She said she was going to ask the spirits for help and that the natural order would reassert itself. Or something like that. The Great and Powerful Trixie is well versed in the art of magic, not the art of rhyming.”

The filly chuckled. “I had a feeling. Well, the next time you see her, show her this symbol.” She reached into her bag and pulled out a card, giving it to Spike.

Spike raised an eyebrow as he examined the card. “Um, this is just a picture of-”

“I know what it is, my friend. More importantly, Zecora will know what it is. Now if only the rest of Equestria remembered what it means!” she giggled.

“Who are you anyway?” Trixie asked.

“Guess!” the filly sang cheerfully.

Spike frowned. “We don’t have time to guess! Come on, you were telling us about how to free our friends?”

“He, he, he! See, he’s clever enough to get it!” the filly chuckled. “My name can only be guessed by those who already know it.” She smiled gently at the dragon. “But surely you don’t need my help for it. Twilight is practically your sister! You can convince her to free herself. Ya just gotta try harder.”

“You don’t understand. Starlight’s controlling my friends and I don’t know how to snap them out of it!” Spike cried. “She…she even…” His eyes began to water. “She ordered Twilight to get rid of me. When I couldn’t get that dumb equal sign on me, she forced Twilight to kick me out of Ponyville.”

The filly’s smile faded and her expression grew very cold. “I expected this to happen. I thought it might get easier with time…and yet it’s still not funny.” She stormed her way of out the wagon and gazed up at the sky, Trixie and Spike following behind her.

“First the princesses losing their strength, then her treatment of my darling Princess Sweetheart…this is the last straw,” she growled. “I’d say the fire is roaring wildly now.” She stood up on her back legs and pointed up at the sky.

“The seas of chaos bubble and churn! For friendship and freedom, our spirits yearn! The time has come for your return! I invoke the ancient power so that evil may burn!”

The sky darkened for a few seconds but then returned to normal. The filly settled back down on all fours and smiled. “Well that was fun.”

“What was that about?” Trixie asked.

“Oh, don’t mind me. Just shouting nonsense at the sky like I always do. It’s been fun playing mind games with Starlight Glimmer. I’ve got her brain filled with so much fear that it’d be difficult to convince her I was normal even if I wanted to,” she giggled. “By now she’s probably searching through books, trying to figure out who in the heck I really am. Soon, I’ll be bringing this party to its explosive finale. And then her rule will be brought to ruin.”

“Okay, this kid is starting to creep me out,” Spike whispered to Trixie.

Trixie snorted. “You’re not taking this seriously are you? She’s just a little girl, Spike. She’s just…”

“Oh of course!” the filly spun around to face them. “That’s what you all say. ‘She can’t be evil, she’s just a kid!’ ‘If she’s not a changeling, she’s just a normal kid!’ ‘You’re just imagining things, a kid can’t do that.’ Don’t you get it Trixie?”

She leaned into Trixie’s face and grinned. “The arrogance of adults, my dear. No grown-up would ever take a silly kid seriously and so no grown-up would ever suspect me. It’s funny how naïve you people are. Though to be fair, I don’t think you’ve ever encountered a kid like me before.” She giggled. “Really, the closest thing you had to a kid super villain was Diamond Tiara.”

Trixie frowned. “Trixie entertains and brags for a living, kid; she knows boasting when she hears it. You may have found our hiding spot, but so far you have given us nothing but empty promises and cryptic ramblings. What proof do you have that you can defeat Starlight Glimmer?”

“For one thing, I can resist her magic. Actually, I know the secret to resisting a lot of magic.”

Trixie snorted in disbelief. “You? You’re just a child, and not even a unicorn at that.”

“Hey! Trixie, that’s not very nice,” Spike scolded her.

“I am simply stating facts, Spike. You’d need to be an exceptionally skilled unicorn to have control over magic like that.”

The filly giggled. “If you have doubts, why not put it to the test? Levitate me. Make me fly.”

Trixie smirked. “An easy feat for the Great and Powerful Trixie.” Her horn glowed as she made the filly float into the air. “There. Where’s your resistance now?”

“Right here, baby.” The filly grinned and rapidly swung her hoof down.

“OW!” Trixie cried and held a hoof up to her horn. “What was that?”

“In comparison you weren’t as bad as Starlight is and I know with the Alicorn Amulet you weren’t in control of your actions. So in the hopes that we can still be friends, I’ll make this quick.” The filly giggled and swung her hoof upwards.

“OW!” Trixie cried as her knees buckled. “Ow, ow, ow!”

Spike’s eyes widened with concern. “What are you doing to her?”

“Haven’t you figured it out? Magic comes from willpower, my boy. That’s the reason why Starlight’s magic doesn’t work on me. Baby unicorns don’t know their limitations and therefore, they don’t think they have limitations. Pinkie Pie can do random things that other earth ponies can’t, simply because she wills herself to. Why, it’s spelled out word for word in the most basic forms of magic!” The filly clenched her hoof, causing Trixie to wince as she lost control over her own telekinesis. “Mind over matter, my friends.”

“I know how magic works!” Trixie grumbled as she tried getting back up. “That doesn’t explain how an earth pony can cast spells!”

“This isn’t a case of casting spells, dearie. It’s a case of who has the stronger will. I wasn’t born with any ability to manipulate magic. But willpower? I excel at manipulating that.” Another ache hit Trixie hard, bringing her to her knees.

The floating filly smiled gently and said, “You know, you can stop the pain by just ending the spell.”

Trixie’s eyes widened and her horn stopped glowing, letting the filly land back on the ground. Trixie rubbed her head and sighed in relief. “Thank Celestia…”

Spike raised a claw. “Hold on, if it’s as easy as mind over matter, why can’t other ponies stop Starlight?”

“That was me resisting levitation. Starlight’s spell is much more painful. Ironically, the best way to beat it is also painful. To resist her spell, you need to distract your mind and your body at the same time. If you wanna try fighting Starry, I recommend stomping on your own hoof. I already know a few other tricks, but it’s an easy step for your first go.”

“That’s the secret? Stubbing your hoof?” Trixie asked skeptically.

“Well who would ever think to try it?” The filly smiled at Spike. “You and your friends are all so determined to do the right thing. Of course, Starlight is determined to get her own way too. But you all have limits. There’s a certain point where you stop yourselves because you encounter something you just won’t risk. I don’t have that.”

The filly’s face stretched into a mad grin. “You are filled with determination. But I am filled with obsession. I’m willing to take risks that no normal pony ever could.”

Trixie frowned at her. “And you think that’s enough?”

The filly cheerfully shrugged. “You’ll see soon enough. Now listen closely, because I have other matters in need to attend to. When Zecora gets back, show her that symbol. She’ll know what to do from there. If you can sneak into the Everfree without Starlight’s goons noticing, you three should be able to hide inside Zecora’s house. You’ve been gone for so long, nobody will think to look for you there. Set some traps if you’re feeling cautious and lay low. By the time I’m done, Twilight will welcome you back with open arms and a sincere apology.”

Spike’s eyes filled with hope. “You promise?”

“I Pinkie promise, Spike,” the filly said with a smile. “Now I better skedaddle. But before I go, could you spare some dragon fire real quick?” She picked up a large stick from the ground and held it up to him.

“If it means I get to see my friends soon, sure!” Spike took a deep breath and spat a jet of flame, lighting the torch.

Trixie cautiously backed away from the giggling filly admiring the flames. “What are you going to do with that?”

“An old friend of ours will be returning to Ponyville very soon. A reunion like this will require the proper gift.” The filly calmly walked away from them, twirling the torch as she journeyed back to Ponyville.

“Because once we’re together…our comeback party is going to set the whole town on fire.”

The Chaos

Starlight Glimmer’s eyes began to droop. She yawned and slowly lowered her head onto the book she was reading…before bolting up again. “NO!” She pushed away from her desk and crouched down to a bucket of water that she was keeping nearby. “No, no, no!” She plunged her head into the water, held her breath for several seconds, and lifted her head back out again.

“Drat. The ice melted again,” Starlight growled to herself. “Bet the filly has something to do with this.” She grumbled and turned back to her books.

She jumped again as she heard a knock on her door but calmed down a little when she heard Twilight’s voice. “Starlight? Are you in there? You didn’t come down for breakfast.”

“I’ll eat later, Twilight,” she said as she turned to the next page.

Twilight cautiously entered the room with a plate of waffles and cupcakes. Her eyes widened as she took in the huge mess in Starlight’s room. “Whoa. What happened here?”

Starlight rolled her eyes. “Oh don’t act like you’ve never made a mess before. I’ll re-shelve those books when I’m done.”

Twilight frowned in concern. “Starlight, are you okay?”

“‘Starlight, are you okay?’” Starlight mimicked in a whiny tone. “‘Starlight, why are you being crazy? Starlight, why can’t you just kiss the filly’s hooves like the rest of us mindless idiots!’” she growled.

Twilight frowned at her. “Do you want to explain why you’re acting like a huge jerk now?”

Starlight grumbled. “Sorry Twilight. I’m just grumpy.”

“You’re more than grumpy, Starlight. When’s the last time you got any sleep?”

“I can’t sleep. Every time I do I get nightmares.”

“Starlight. When did you last sleep?”

“I don’t know. What day is it?” Starlight said as she rubbed the bags under her eyes.

“It’s Sunday.”

“Sunday,” Starlight sighed, her eyes fluttering a little. “Why don’t we have sundaes anymore…”

“Um…I don’t want to repeat myself, but are you okay?”

Starlight groaned and focused her gaze on Twilight. “I’m fine. Now take your twin and leave.”

“What twin?” a bewildered Twilight asked.

“Get out already!” Starlight snapped, pushing the princess out the door. “And get me some more ice water! I need something to keep me awake and the filly keeps stealing from me!”

“What? But the filly hasn’t been in your room since-”

Starlight slammed the door in Twilight’s face, hurrying back over to her books. She spent the next three hours searching through texts and scrolls for anything about what the filly truly was.

Eventually she shoved a pile of books off her desk in frustration. “Nothing! It all adds up to nothing! Every fact I have is challenged by two more! She’s happy, then she’s mad! She’s cheerful and then she’s cold! She’s quiet when she first appears and she hasn’t shut up since then! The only thing I know for sure is that she’s driving me crazy! Every crazy, insane thing this filly has done…it all adds up to nothing! Nothing she does makes any sense!”

Starlight slammed her head on her desk, her eyes watering with tears of exhaustion and enraged frustration. Slowly, she lifted her head up and grinned. “Wait…make sense. I mean…I ordered Fluttershy to get rid of him…but then again…”

She levitated a discarded book over to her face and flipped it open. “The Spirit of Chaos…” she whispered as her face stretched into a mad grin.

Twilight Sparkle nervously bit her lip as she searched through her castle. Starlight was really starting to scare her. Being the responsible princess that she was, she thought it would be best to let the filly know that she should try to stay away from Starlight as much as possible until she calmed down. When she couldn’t find the filly in any of the usual spots she liked to study in, she began to open and close every door she passed by in the hopes of finding her.

Eventually, she opened a door leading to a pretty small room with a window. The filly was sitting down and holding a slice of birthday cake and a photo of something that Twilight couldn’t quite make out.

The filly held up the photo to the light and smiled softly. Her ear twitched as if she was listening to something. “Oh, I know. I admit, I’ve been taking my time with her. But a little patience can add so much to the perfect present. You just keep smiling for me…” She set the photo down and grinned out the window. “And I’ll make that witch pay for what she did to you.”

Twilight blinked in confusion. “Um…”

The filly spun around to face her with wide eyes, but her huge grin settled down into a relaxed smile as she saw the princess. “Oh. Hey there Twilight. Come to join the party?”

“What party?” Twilight asked.

The filly giggled and held up the cake. “My friend’s birthday party! What else could it be?”

“But…you’re the only one here,” Twilight said. The filly blinked cheerfully at her. “Where is this friend of yours?”

“Right here!” the filly answered, hugging the empty air next to her.

Twilight’s ears lowered as she came to a horrifying realization. “Oh my gosh…I’m so sorry.”

The filly blinked in happy confusion. “Sorry about what?”

Twilight gulped and wiped away some of the water in her eyes. “N-nothing. It’s nothing.” She put on a brave smile and said, “You and your friend can stay here as long as you like.” She quietly left the room, resolving to let the filly have her peace.

“Hold on sweetie. Twilight, are you feeling okay?” Twilight turned around to see the filly smiling patiently at her. “Is there anything you want to talk about?”

Twilight slowly shook her head and smiled sadly at her. “I just want you to be happy.”

“Aww! Right back at you!” the filly danced over to her and gave her a hug. As Twilight returned the hug, the filly asked, “Are you sure you don’t want to stay and meet my friend? I think you have a lot in common with him.”

“Um…s-sure,” Twilight said. “What’s your friend’s name?”

The filly giggled. “He doesn’t have one.”

“What…what do you mean?”

The filly shrugged and examined the photo. “His name was taken from him. But it’s okay. I just need the witch to give it back.” She was quiet for a few seconds before she stared at Twilight. Her face was eerily serious, without a trace of a smile. “Starlight Glimmer has hurt you in ways you don’t yet understand. You should be careful around her, darling.”

Twilight’s eyes widened. “What? But…Starlight’s never hurt anypony…right?”

The filly turned away and smirked at the floor. “You don’t know her like I do.” Her ear twitched and she looked up with a smile. “I can hear the witch whispering already.” She giggled and said, “No more room for you Starry. My head’s crowded enough.”

Twilight stared at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?”

Before the filly could answer, Starlight Glimmer zipped into the room, a mad grin on her face. “AH HA! I finally figured it out!”

Princess Twilight groaned. “Starlight, can’t you just leave her alone?”

“Quiet,” Starlight growled as she stormed her way towards the filly. She held up the book she was levitating and pointed at the picture in it. “I finally figured out who you really are…” she grinned triumphantly. “Discord.”

The filly blinked a few times and then smiled. “Oh please, do go on.”

“Twilight, don’t you see? It all makes sense because it doesn’t make sense!” Starlight beamed excitedly. “It explains everything the filly has been doing and how she’s been hiding it from you all! Only Discord could be so utterly crazy and powerful enough to pull off every sneaky, slimy scheme that has happened since she came here.”

Twilight groaned. “Not this again. Starlight, she’s just a filly. I don’t care if you can’t equalize her, but you need to stop picking on her.”

“Do you hear yourself?! You don’t care if she’s equal? I thought you supported our proud philosophy, but everything she does is to further her own twisted goals and turn you all against me! Discord’s cast a spell on you! It all makes sense!”

“Do you want to explain why she’s wrong this time, or should I?” the filly asked, picking up her slice of cake and licking the frosting.

“Starlight, I know she’s a little crazy but she can’t be Discord,” Twilight said. “And before you ask, I already gave her another changeling test and-”

Starlight interrupted with a snort. “Oh, she CAN’T be Discord? And why is that?”

“Discord likes to brag.” Twilight spread her hooves out to better explain. “No matter how manipulative he was when my friends and I first met him, he made sure we knew who he was. When we were in the maze, we knew it was him. When the plunderseed vines grew all over Ponyville, he later admitted that he did it even though he didn’t have to. Even though he’s our friend now, he still loves to be the center of attention. He can stick to the shadows, but not for very long.”

“She’s right, Starry,” the filly said. “If I was stirring up so much trouble, I’d make sure you knew it was me. He, he, he!” she giggled. “But I’m not Discord, so whatcha gonna do?”

“Don’t lie to me!” Starlight snarled at the filly. “I know it’s you Discord! It’s been you all along, you lying, sneaky, smug, manipulative, obnoxious, little BRAT!”

A flash of light appeared behind them. Twilight and Starlight turned around to see the real Discord, hovering in front of them. He frowned at Twilight and asked, “Where’s Fluttershy?”

Starlight spun around to face the filly. She looked at Discord. She looked at the filly. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped. “Bah…bah, bwa?”

The filly’s grin widened. “You were saying?”

“Dah…dee, dah…” a thoroughly confused Starlight stammered.

“Twilight! Where’s Fluttershy?” Discord repeated impatiently.

“D…Discord? What are you doing here?” Twilight asked.

Discord slapped his face with his lion paw and dragged it down in frustration. “Oh, I really don’t have time for this. Never mind, we’ll look together.”

He snapped his fingers and the two of them disappeared in a flash of light. Starlight shook her head a few times and glared at the filly again. “Where did you take them – I mean, her?!”

The filly smiled innocently. “Me? I believe it was that handsome little spirit who just departed with our beautiful book princess.”

“Stop trying to confuse me!” Starlight growled. “Y-you’re still Discord. You have to be!”

“How do you figure that, my dear?” the filly asked, taking another bite of her cake.

“You used your chaotic powers to disguise yourself as a pony. Just now, you must have split yourself in two and turned your clone back to normal. Or abnormal. Or maybe he’s the original and you’re the clone…” Starlight muttered as she scratched her head.

The filly shrugged and said, “Well, if you won’t believe me, why don’t you ask the real Discord? Or did you forget that a super-powerful chaos spirit just kidnapped your princess and is probably planning on doing the same to a whole herd full of ponies? You might wanna get on that.”

“You…you…AAHH!” Starlight roared. She teleported out of the castle with a flash of light, her mind too clouded with anger to consider the consequences of somepony seeing her teleport. She reappeared out in the middle of Ponyville and began searching for Discord and Twilight

She didn’t have to search for long before she spotted a miniature tornado zipping back and forth through Ponyville, setting the townsfolk into a panic. The tornado zoomed off to a hill on the outskirts of Ponyville before it settled down. Taking an educated guess that Twilight had convinced Discord to stop, Starlight teleported up to the hill to see what in the world was happening.

There she saw Princess Twilight, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, and Applejack all looking at the spirit of chaos. She hid behind a tree and began eavesdropping. “Okay Discord, you got us all. Now could you please explain what’s going on?” Fluttershy asked.

Discord sighed. “I’m sorry Fluttershy. Not about what I’m doing, but what I was foolish enough to do before. To make a long story short, it seems that even you can make mistakes sometimes. When you ordered me to leave Ponyville and never return I should have realized that my dear Fluttershy would never say anything like that.” Discord’s red pupils flashed dangerously. “Not unless some control-freak witch was telling you to.”

Fluttershy’s ear folded down. “Discord, I…when we couldn’t get the equalization spell to work on you, I…I thought Starlight Glimmer would understand. I never wanted to hurt you, but I…she…”

Discord crossed his arms. “Fluttershy, you’re supposed to be smarter than this. How could you just abandon me like that? Did my friendship mean nothing to you?!”

Fluttershy flinched. “Of course your friendship means something to me. I…” Her eyes began to water. “I’m sorry Discord. I had no right to kick you of Ponyville.”

“Then why did you?” he growled.

Applejack spoke up. “Starlight’s whole equality deal didn’t give us much choice, sugar cube. She said anything that’s different from you just gets in the way of true friendship. And you’re about as different as it gets. But…” Her ears folded down. “For a while now, I’ve been thinking maybe this ain’t such a hot deal. Things haven’t been as perfect as Starlight promised it would be.”

“I see. And do you all feel this way?” Discord looked to the rest of his friends. Seeing their ears folded down in shame, he sighed. “Well at least you all came to your senses eventually.”

Starlight grumbled as she continued to spy on them. Hearing that her friends were turning against her and regretting their decision to kick the freak of nature out…she was simmering with anger. But she remained hidden, on the small chance that she might hear something about the filly.

“Well now that we’re done with this sentimental and tearful reunion I suggest we all make like lightning and bolt. Just tell me where old Starlight hid your cutie marks and we can get rolling.”

“Stop right there!” Starlight shouted as she got out from behind the tree. “You’re not laying a hoof on those cutie marks!”

The other ponies turned to face her with a look of shock. Discord was far less impressed. “Not exactly a problem for me,” he said, examining his talons. He folded his arms and asked, “Who invited old lady buzzkill, anyway?”

“Old?!” Starlight growled. “I’m over a thousand years younger than you!”

Discord grimaced. “You don’t look like it. Seriously my dear, when was the last time you got any beauty sleep? Luna knows you need it.”

“Shut up! I won’t let a spirit of chaos disrupt the perfect harmony that I’ve created!”

Discord snorted. “You think what you’re creating is harmony? My dear, you have problems. And coming from me that’s saying a lot.”

Her horn began to glow as she stomped towards him. Fluttershy quickly got in between them. “Starlight, stop! I don’t want my friends to fight!”

“See?! Why can’t any of you see this?!” Starlight shouted at Twilight. “This is what I’ve been talking about! She’s trying to turn you all against equality, forcing you back into a chaotic world of special talents and flawed friendships!”

“She? Did I switch genders in my sleep and forget about it again?” Discord stroked his beard and shrugged.

“Starlight, just…just take a breath, okay?” Twilight said gently. “Listen, there’s a calming technique that Cadance taught me. Maybe if you-”

“I’ll calm down just as soon as the filly is dealt with!” Starlight snapped.

“Filly?” Discord’s head lowered to Fluttershy’s level and asked her, “Do you have any idea what she’s talking about?”

Starlight’s horn glowed brighter as she took aim at him. She knew that a direct attack wouldn’t work on him. Already she was thinking of a number magical compulsions, reform, and mind control spells that might work…

“Right, I’m going to stop you right there,” Discord said as he snapped his fingers. Starlight’s horn disappeared and reappeared in his eagle claw. One of his talons gave it a small scratch before he handed it to Fluttershy. “Could you please hold this for a few minutes? Thank you.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped as her hoof frantically patted her forehead, confirming that her horn had indeed been stolen. She glared at him. “How dare you-”

Discord held out his lion paw and curled his fingers. Starlight found herself pulled by his power and flying towards him until her face touched his. “Between the two of us, you have dared quite a lot more.” His eyes narrowed and flashed dangerously. “You hurt my friends, little star, in ways you can’t even comprehend. And you’re going to regret it.”

“Discord, stop!” Twilight cried. “Don’t hurt her!”

He smirked at the frightened Starlight. “Now why would I do that, Twilight? She’s already tied herself to a far worse fate.” He telekinetically lowered her back onto the grass.

He teleported over to his friends and gathered them up in a hug with his long arms. “Now, why don’t we go find your cutie marks and take our leave? Oh.” He took Starlight’s horn from Fluttershy and casually tossed it onto the ground. “You can just screw that back on whenever.”

“You don’t get off that easy,” Starlight said as she recovered her horn and her courage, twisting the former back onto her head until she could feel her connection to her magic return. “What ‘worse fate’ are you talking about? Why have you come back to Ponyville? You’re not going anywhere until I get answers!”

Discord stuck his tongue out at her. “Watch me. Now girls, those cutie marks?”

Rarity frowned. “Darling, I think it’s only fair that you tell us what’s going on.”

“Yeah Discord. You’re being awfully sneaky right now,” Pinkie said, looking at him through a magnifying glass.

Only Starlight raised an eyebrow at that. “Where did you get that magnifying…it doesn’t matter. Talk!” she growled at Discord.

“Discord…” Fluttershy said sternly.

“Listen, I would love to explain what’s going on. Can you please wait until we are far away from Ponyville?”

“Why? What’s in Ponyville?” Rainbow asked.

Discord let go of his friends and nervously chuckled. “It’s nothing.”

Applejack groaned. “What did you do this time, Discord?”

“Okay it actually wasn’t me. Or rather, not directly. You know, it’s sort of like that situation with my plunderseeds, you remember those right?” Seeing her frown, he coughed a little. “Yes, I can see that you do. Well like that incident, it happened long before I met any of you. And really, it wasn’t my actions but rather a pony who was reacting to my actions,” he rambled.

“You’re avoiding the question Discord,” Twilight said sternly.

“No, I’m trying to avoid something else entirely,” Discord grumbled. He sighed and said, “But I can see that you’re not going to let this go. I guess it’s story time, everypony. Now you’ll have to excuse the brief flash of chaos I am about to create. I’ll return this hill back to its normal, boring self but I need to set the stage as it were.”

He brought his claw and paw together, creating a ball of chaotic magic. He spread his arms out, expanding the ball until it had enveloped a large part of the hill. The watching ponies were gently pushed away as the sphere expanded. When the light faded, a large area of the hill have been converted to what Ponyville used to look like when Discord had taken over. The rest of Ponyville still looked the same but within the stage Discord had created the grass had turned bright blue and checkered, striped fish and chunks of the ground were floating in the air, and Discord was seated on an elaborate throne.

“Now I want you all to remember that the old me was not a pleasant fellow. Certainly, there are many things I did back then that I would never do now that I have learned about friendship. Also, I shall be using a few illusions of ponies long past to help explain my story. No real ponies were harmed in the making of this production. Keeping that in mind, please try not to be too alarmed by the things I said in the past and please hold all questions until the scene is over.” Discord smiled and snapped his fingers. “With that warning out of the way, on with the show!”

As the ponies watched him, Discord slouched back on his throne. He raised his paw and a blob of energy oozed out of him until it took the shape of a wooden pony puppet. He twirled his fingers and soon the puppet was an actual pony, a young unicorn mare with a purple coat and an electric blue mane and tail.

The pony shuddered with fear, even though Discord wasn’t doing anything to her. “What about these two?” he asked her. He snapped his fingers and two pink and black ballerina outfits appeared in the air.

“Um, t-those are n-nice,” the pony stammered fearfully.

Discord rolled his eyes. “You said the same thing about the last five outfits! If you’re not going to give me anything useful perhaps I should just turn you into a two-headed squirrel and be done with you.”

“Please don’t kill me!” the pony cried, sobbing uncontrollably.

Discord groaned. “Okay, that was funny the first seven times but it has now become boring. If there’s one thing I can’t stand it’s being bored.” His eyes flashed dangerously

The pony cried even harder causing Discord to sigh. “Alright already.” He pulled out a clean tissue out from his mouth and levitated it to her. “Come on, you’re a big filly now. Dry those tears.” The pony seized the tissue and wept into it. “Look, I’ll only be mad if you don’t answer my question. So just tell me what you think and I won’t have to dangle you over a volcano of boiling jelly beans.”

The pony was still shaking uncontrollably but she did her best to answer. “W-well who are these outfits for?”

“It’s for those adorable sisters of course. Loony and Celly-belly, or whatever their names are. It has been entertaining watching them fail over and over again.” He grinned. “When I next defeat them, I’m going to make them put on a play for me! It will involve sock puppets and incredibly embarrassing outfits. I’m just trying to figure out which one is more humiliating. So what do you think? Ballerinas? Maids? Clowns?”

A dozen costumes appeared and circled around the confused pony. “Um, I don’t know. Fashion isn’t my special talent.”

Discord rolled his eyes and the outfits disappeared. “Well then what use are you to me?” He snapped his fingers and rectangle of fire leapt up from the ground. The mare screamed as she was slowly lowered towards the flames.

“DISCORD! STOP!” Fluttershy cried. The rest of the ponies were just as horrified as she was. Within seconds, the entire scene froze. The pony turned back into a puppet and gazed back at them with a blank stare.

“Oh dear.” Discord broke character and addressed his audience. “As I said before, no ponies were harmed in the making of this. Ask Twilight and she can confirm that I never killed anyone during my reign, including this mare.” He cringed as he noticed the tears in her eyes. “Sorry, perhaps my warning should have been clearer. However, you have no need to worry. Whoever this pony is, she lived a long and happy life…I assume. I don’t know what happened to her while I was imprisoned.” He grinned and turned the puppet back into a terrified mare. “But look! This is where the mysterious stranger comes to rescue the poor little pony from the big bad Discord!”

He snapped his fingers again and another puppet appeared, right in the middle of his audience. The puppet also transformed into a pony, but this one was concealed by a tattered cloak. The pony marched towards the spirit of chaos and shouted at the top of his lungs. “DISCORD!”

Discord resumed character and gave a curious glance at the newcomer. “Well hello there little pony. Perhaps you can help me out. See, I’m trying to think of the best outfits for the flying freak sisters and…”

“Shup up!” the stallion shouted. “Spirit of Chaos! You have wrought destruction and anarchy upon our peaceful lands for the last time! You will never again corrupt our homes, our friends, our bodies, or our minds! Release that innocent mare at once and let her go free so that you may face justice for your many atrocities! Come, and face the end of your chaotic conquest!”

Discord raised both eyebrows. “Wow. Quite a way with words you have there.” He stared at the stallion in silence for three seconds before his gaze drifted to the sky. “You know, I bet Celestia would look hilarious with a squid hat…”

“Enough!” the stallion shouted. “No more of your games! No more of your sadistic torture! No more of your poisonous words! You are going to be silent and listen to what I have to say!” The stallion began to draw his cloak back. “Or else I’ll be forced to break one of your toys.”

Discord smirked. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“There is only one reason a cold-hearted, cruel abomination like you would keep us alive. Entertainment.” The stallion threw off his cloak, revealing his disfigured appearance. His mane and tail had been shaved off, likely a result of one of Discord’s pranks. His brown eyes were red with exhaustion. His pale coat was covered in bruises and scrapes. But the most alarming traits were the two symbols it looked like the stallion had carved into his body. The bloody cuts were not too serious, but they did look ominous. The arrows of chaos over his head and a cheerful, but unsettling smile over his heart.

The stallion pulled out a knife. “Something tells me you don’t want to see me die. After all, you’re the only one allowed to break your ‘toys’, aren’t you?” he growled.

By now, Discord, the unnamed mare, and the audience of ponies were all shocked. “Whoa, now! There’s no need for that!” He snapped his fingers and the mare was safely lowered to the ground. “See? She’s free to go! Run along now, dearie.” The mare glanced fearfully at Discord and the stallion before she ran off. “See? You can put the knife down now. Um…listen, I’m sure there are lots of ponies who care about you. Is there anypony I can summon for you? Family or…ugh, friends? I’m not so great with the mushy-feely stuff but-”

The stallion lowered the knife. “I will not return to my friends and family until I have ensured that you will never hurt them again. So listen well to these words of warning, vile spirit.”

Discord stared at the stallion in surprise. “Well…good. Glad you’re not suicidal. I must say, I’m used to you ponies being about as threatening as a basket of declawed kittens. Celly and Lulu are the only interesting ones. I’ve never seen a pony get so…dark.” He lowered himself back into his throne and smiled. “You have my interest, little pony. Tell me all about my supposed ‘doom’,” he said with a chuckle.

“For too long, the innocent have been preyed upon by the wicked. The hatred and fear that spread between the pony tribes, the horrifying Windigos, the bandits and thieves, the bullies and monsters, all leading up to you. The spirit of chaos and the enemy of harmony. But on this day, I shall give life to the creature that will end all evil,” the stallion said as he raised his right hoof.

“Nice speech,” Discord said, tapping his chin in amusement.

“Celestia and Luna are already doing everything they can to stop you. But ponies are beginning to lose faith in their heroes. They are beginning to lose hope. And so from the depths of despair I shall bring a new, but unorthodox hero. One who spreads both hope and fear to all who cross her path.”

“I honestly don’t know where you’re going with this,” Discord commented with a smile. “Please don’t stop.”

“I will ensure that even against overwhelming odds, good shall always win. I will ensure that even when heroes cannot fight any longer, evil will always lose. If a hero is not strong enough to save the day…then something else will avenge it.”

The stallion lifted up his right hoof, and unwrapped a scroll that had been tied to his leg. He unfolded the scroll and held it up to the light. The scroll’s paper was a perfect shade of white but the letters on it were made with a dark red, glowing ink of some kind. The scroll had an otherworldly aura to it.

“Ooh! What have you got there?” Discord grinned.

“A being that I cannot even begin to understand gifted this spell to me. And so I call upon the forces of nature, upon this scroll’s magic, and upon your own power for this curse!” the stallion declared.

“My power?” Discord asked, an amused smirk on his face.

“I shall call forth a monster just as chaotic, crazy, cruel, and cunning as you are. She will be your equal match, if not your superior. A monster that preys upon other monsters. A monster that you cannot stand against.”

“Just as chaotic as me? The master of chaos?” Discord laughed. “You’re kidding me! No pony is as crazy as I am! Honestly, what are you trying to do? From the pronoun you’re using it sounds like you’re trying to summon a female version of me. Sorry kid, but I am one of a kind. Now, I suppose in some other universes I might have siblings, but-”

“I have already considered that,” the stallion stated. “Making another Discord is the last thing I want. No, this creature will be chaotic in mind but less so in body. She will not have access to your magic because she won’t need it.”

“Doesn’t sound like she has a chance then, does it?” Discord chuckled.

“You underestimate my knowledge of chaos. She won’t need magic but she’ll hunger for it, even if I tell her otherwise. No matter the obstacles she faces…she will find a way to overcome and overpower it,” the stallion murmured.

“I still don’t see how any of this could kill me,” Discord scoffed.

“Kill you? This creature will never kill anyone! The villains she fights will never escape justice because she will not allow them to die! She will be without mercy! She will not rest until the villain she targets is left a shell of their former selves! She will reduce the cruelest of monsters into broken weaklings!”

“Sure she will,” Discord said with a condescending smirk.

“You may doubt me now, but you will learn to fear this creature. Every evil being will. Which brings me closer the next part of the spell. This curse is the curse to end all curses. In both power and purpose. A curse such as this requires sacrifice. Something to bind and fuel its power. But I cannot bind this curse to myself as I am a mere mortal.”

The stallion glared at Discord. “And so I shall bind this curse to evil itself. This creature will never truly die so long as evil continues to exist. Evil shall sow the seeds of its own destruction and the tree shall bear fruit.”

“You know, you sure love to talk about whatever this creature is without actually saying anything,” Discord said.

The stallion gave him an angry grin. “Ah, but that is where I leave the details up to the whims of nature. I have explained her personality, power, and purpose. But I won’t give away her true form. For fear of the unknown is the one thing everybody fears. You won’t have a clue what this creature looks like until it is too late.”

Discord sighed. “Right. Well this has been fun, but I feel like you’ve dragged this on long enough. Is that everything? I’m feeling hungry.”

“And she is too. The time has come.” The stallion picked up the knife again and with one quick slice, made a small cut into his right hoof. He set the knife down and clenched the scroll tightly, his blood beginning to ooze over the scroll. His eyes focused on Discord, but they didn’t look the same.

“I summon this creature from the darkest shadows. A being born of the magic of friendship and the power of madness. A protector of the innocent and devourer of the wicked. I cast her curse upon evil itself. Monsters, witches, villains, and tyrants will wake from their tortured nightmares, screaming at the very thought of her. Her legacy will be one of carnage and chaos.”

Discord sighed. “Is that-”

“Evil will cower before her!” the stallion roared. “She will not rest until all of space and time has been utterly transformed by Her! Chaotic! Vengeance!”

With that final shout, the stallion lowered the scroll, gasping for breath. Discord smirked at him. “Well that was a very lovely speech you had. I don’t think I’ve ever heard one of you ponies act so crazy. You deserve a prize for being a mildly entertaining distraction. How do you feel about extra appendages?”

Discord raised his claw to snap his talons…and frowned. “Huh?” He examined his eagle claw, still raised in the air. There was a faint white aura around his talons. He reached over with his paw to grab his other limb and pulled. But his claw remained frozen in midair. “How odd. My limbs don’t usually gain minds of their own at this hour.”

His eyes widened as his talons began to move, scratching a hole into the fabric of space and time. Soon a small portal had appeared over his claw. And from that portal, a great cloud of pink smoke began to pour out.

The pink smoke continued to grow until Discord regained control of claw and pulled it back, closing the portal. The pink smoke began to twist and transform in the air. A pony, a dragon, a snake, and a dozen other creatures. After a minute it finally settled on a form. A pair of huge pink and purple eyes, filled with glowing spirals of endless insanity.

The floating eyes focused their gaze on the stallion and on the former Elements of Harmony. After a few seconds the eyes winked at them, doing a happy little spin in the air. Then, the eyes switched their focus. One eye stared at Discord while the other eye stared at Starlight Glimmer.

A floating mouth appeared below the eyes, filled with sharp, pearly white fangs. It stretched out into an impossibly wide grin as the fangs began to ooze blood. The grinning face let out an utterly demonic, otherworldly, and insane laugh…and then faded into the air.

Everyone stared in shock. Slowly Discord pointed at the space where the smoke had been. “What…in the world…was that?”

The stallion shocked gaze slowly faded. He glared at Discord and said, “Three days.”

“What?” Discord asked.

“Celestia and Luna have three days to defeat you. If they fail to beat you in that time she will come back to finish the job.”

The stallion let out a long sigh and smiled peacefully. “At last…the nightmare will be over. And one day in the future all nightmares will be over.” He smirked at Discord, turned around, and walked away. “Goodbye Discord. And good riddance.”

Discord chuckled nervously. “Ha, ha, ha. Was that supposed to scare me? Nice magic trick of yours, but I’m not impressed. So you made a little smoke appear. I’m not worried. Why would I be worried? I’m Discord! The master of chaos! You think you can threaten me? You think just because I lost control of my own magic, I’m going to leave you ponies alone? You think I can be stopped?”

The stallion kept walking away at a calm pace. Eventually he left the sphere of chaos Discord had created for his enactment and the stallion puppet faded away. Discord slowly floated back down to his throne, nervously stroking his beard.

“Can I be stopped? That smoke thing…no, no, no. That’s crazy.” He stared at his eagle claw before he snapped his fingers and conjured up a bag full of little black seeds. “Although…I suppose it couldn’t hurt to start making backup plans. Not like I’ll need them or anything.”

Discord looked back at his audience and clapped his paw and claw together. The sphere of chaos imploded; collapsing in on itself until the hill was normal again. He floated over to them and said, “The rest of my story, you already know.”

Starlight frowned. “What was that all about?”

Discord stared at her as if she was dumber than dirt. “Are…are you kidding? You’re kidding me, right? Have you no sense? Have you no appreciation for theatre?!” He glanced at his friends. “You all understand what I’m saying, right?”

“You’re saying that some guy a thousand years ago got super angry at you and made a spooky curse that was supposed to defeat you in the event that the Elements of Harmony couldn’t,” Pinkie said with a smile. “The reason you’re telling us this now is because the curse has come back and it’s targeting a really big meanie in Ponyville and you’re worried that the big spooky monster is going to beat us up if we get in her way.”

“Hit the nail right on the head Pinkie,” Discord said with a small shiver. “At first I dismissed the Curse-Ender as an empty threat, but recently I have heard somepony or something try to invoke me.”

“Invoke you?” Rainbow asked.

“Indeed. Something has spoken words that no normal pony would ever utter. The creature is calling out to me and it’s doing it from Ponyville.” Discord explained. “You see-”

“Oh give me a break!” Starlight snapped.

Discord frowned at her. “I don’t take many things seriously Miss Glimmer, but this is important.”

“Oh sure! That’s such a great, spooky legend…that you made up!” she growled.

He glared at her. “Excuse me?”

“You’re lying! You’re making up some ridiculous story to scare us and try to fool us into thinking that you’re not behind all the insanity that I’ve had to put up with thanks to that blasted filly, who you totally are!” she growled. She glanced at Twilight and her friends and shouted, “Can’t any of you see that he’s lying to you?!”

Discord frowned. “Twilight, Fluttershy, you know me. Would I lie to you?” He paused and quickly added, “About something this serious?”

Rainbow shrugged. “Doesn’t seem that serious to me. I haven’t seen any spooky smoke creatures. Even if I did, we could take it!”

“Oh for goodness sake! Pinkie Pie, could you please organize a town wide panic already?!”

Pinkie shrugged. “I dunno. That guy said his monster was a protector of the innocent. Which means she’s nice as long as you’re a good person. Maybe she just wants a friend! Come on Discord, why are you acting so scared?”

“Me? Scared?! HA! What do I have to be scared of?” Discord scoffed.

“I can think of a few things.” Everyone turned around to see the filly strolling up the hill with a chilling smile.

“You’re afraid of losing, dear boy. You were afraid of the Elements because they could seal you in stone, costing you victory and robbing you of years of mischief and misadventure. You’re afraid of losing your power and reputation. You worry that your friends are taming you, crushing your chaotic spirit until you’re just a pony errand boy; making you something less than Discord. Most of all, you’re afraid of losing your friends. Too harmonious and you’re not you anymore. But too chaotic and you might lose them for good. It’s how Tirek tricked you, it’s how Fluttershy and Luna helped you…”

The filly giggled. “And really, why stop the running gag now?”

Discord took a step back. “Do I know you?” he said, sounding both confused and nervous.

The filly gasped dramatically. “Why, you don’t recall me? Oh, I’m crushed! How the high and mighty forget!” she giggled. “Well, you’ll remember soon enough. First of all, don’t take too much of what I said to heart. I’m a big fan of your work. I might not have approved of your message back when you were evil but your performance is much more enjoyable now that you’ve reformed.”

The filly held up a party invitation. ” Anyway, even if you don’t know who I am, I’ve got quite a memorable event planned! There’ll be games, fireworks, dancing, and cake! I even brought some sponge cake for starters!”

Pinkie frowned suspiciously at the soapy, wet sponge that the filly held up next. “That’s not cake.”

Starlight scoffed. “So much for your supposed ‘Curse-Ender’. Just admit that you created this menace, Discord.”

Discord’s eyes widened. “What?” He stared down at the filly. “That’s the Curse-Ender?”

“Of course not! There’s no such thing!”

But the two chaotic creatures ignored Starlight. “Ooh, what’s this I see? A hint of recognition? A hint of fear?” The filly swept her hoof over her face. “Perhaps this will help. Look at me Discord. Tell me what you see.”

Discord stared at the smiling filly. “I…I’m sorry, I don’t know who you are.”

“Look closer, sweetheart,” the filly whispered.

Discord took a step back, shaking his head. “No, really. I don’t know…what you are.”

The filly grinned. “There’s the answer I was looking for.” Her face relaxed as she examined the wet sponge. “So Dissy, you can mess around with ponies’ minds, huh? Can you make them sleepy?”

“Of…of course.”

“Can you erase – no, wait – modify their memories?”

“I…probably.”

“Good.” The filly gestured at Twilight and her friends. “Knock their lights out. You and I need to have a private conversation.”

“What in tarnation?!” Applejack asked as she and her friends backed up.

“Kid, what are you doing?” Rainbow asked.

“Ah ha! See? I told you she can’t be trusted!” Starlight shouted.

The filly smiled at her. “Oh dearie, you mistake my intentions. I’m not that selfish. Truly, I’m doing this with your feelings in mind!”

“My feelings?! What makes you think I want this, you lunatic?!”

“Simple, darling.” Without any more warning, the filly ran towards Starlight in a burst of speed. Before Starlight could react, the filly had leapt over her head and landed on her back, the soapy sponge in hoof.

“And sweep, sweep!” the filly sang before she jumped off again. “Not so equal anymore, eh dearies?”

Starlight felt a shiver run down her spine, along with the water running down her flank. “Oh no…” She gulped as she felt their eyes fall on her.

“Starlight…your cutie mark…”

“How could you?”

“You lied to us!”

Starlight couldn’t make out which pony was saying what. Her world was crashing down around her. Everything she had worked to achieve, destroyed in seconds. All she could focus on was the filly who was looking positively ecstatic.

“Since I’m feeling generous, I’m giving you this choice, Starry. You can allow Discord to modify their memories so that we can have our conversation in peace. Your secret will be safe. Or…everything stays the way I have set it in motion.” Her grin widened. “And the whole world can see both of us for who we truly are.”

Rarity gasped. “Starlight! You’re not seriously going to-”

“Hey Discord, you got a camera? I can already see the headlines and the angry mobs!” the filly giggled.

“No!” Starlight cried as she felt their gaze burn into her soul. She buried her face in the ground and covered her flank with her tail. “Don’t look at me!”

“I think we have our answer,” the filly giggled. “Discord, knock their lights out. Remove my presence from this conversation but keep the seeds of your story buried in their minds.”

With his jaw dropped, Discord snapped his fingers, causing the former Elements of Harmony to fall asleep. A second snap, brought out golden swirls of memory out from their foreheads and into his waiting paw.

“Excellent.” The filly smiled wider as she studied Starlight. “Look at that. Her shoulders actually relaxed. She cares more about her secret than anything else. It’s so pathetic it’s funny.”

“You…you…” Starlight growled as she stood back up, hatred burning in her eyes.

“Tuck our friends into bed, Dissy, and give them some sweet dreams.”

Discord snapped his fingers and teleported his friends back to their homes. He stared at the filly with admiration. “That was an impressively sadistic choice.”

The filly smiled. “Aww! Thank you!”

“Turn around and face me!” Starlight cried as she blasted the filly with all of her might. She grinned as her spell connected with the filly’s face and sent her flying. “HA! Not so high and mighty now, are you?!”

“Nyeh heh, he, ha, ha! Ah ha, ha, ha, ha!” Starlight’s smile faded as the filly stood back up. “Such anger! Now we’re talking!”

“You sick freak!” Starlight growled as she blasted the filly again.

Once again, the filly was knocked off her hooves. But she got back up with another smile on her face. “Come now Starlight Glimmer, a baby princess has hit me harder than that!”

“Stay down!” Starlight cried as she fired at the filly, only for her enemy to sidestep away from her attack. “Why. Won’t. You. Break?!” She screamed, her every word punctuated with another blast.

The filly either dodged her attacks or took them with a giggle. Starlight knew that she was letting her anger get the best of her, but it was just so hard to control it. Seeing that her attacks weren’t doing anything, she planned to trap the filly in crystal. But as her horn glowed with power, the scratch that Discord had left on her horn choose that moment to interfere.

Seeing that her horn’s light was beginning to dim, the filly seized the opportunity and rushed towards her enemy. With surprising speed and strength, the filly kicked Starlight’s legs in, causing her to fall down. Starlight gasped as two hooves landed on her stomach and two more landed on her throat.

The filly gazed down at Starlight. Not with a smug smirk or an innocent smile designed to disguise her inner darkness. Not even with a pair of crazy eyes. For the first time in Starlight’s memory, the filly stared at her with a pure, evil grin.

“Ya wanna know something funny? I could have done this anytime I wanted. All the magic you can wield wouldn’t have stopped me. The only thing holding me back was...well, you’re not exactly martyr material. But too many ponies still believe all the lies you spewed about a concept you don’t understand. They need to see you for who you truly are. Of course, I also held back for my own benefit.” the filly gave her a dark chuckle. “Your prolonged suffering is such sweetness.”

“You’re a monster…” Starlight gasped out as the filly tightened her hold on her neck.

The filly chuckled. “I may be a monster, but at least I’m not a murderer.” She hopped off of Starlight’s body, allowing the unicorn to catch her breath.

“I have…never killed…anypony,” Starlight gasped.

The filly smiled. “Not in this timeline.”

“Oh what? You’re a time traveler now?” Starlight glared up at her foe.

The filly shrugged. “Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not.”

Discord shook his head. “I never knew the Curse-Ender could be this scary.”

Again, the filly shrugged. “Maybe I am her. Maybe I’m not.” She giggled and said, “Really darlings, you’re not focusing on the bigger picture here. But you will soon enough.” The last thing Starlight heard was a finger snap and the filly’s fading laughter.

Discord looked down at the sleeping Starlight. “So…that was something.”

“Oh, I know! She’s shaping up quite nicely, don’t you think?” the filly asked. “Now Discord, unlike the others I want you to lock her memories in her head. She won’t remember this encounter until we want her to.”

Discord snapped his fingers again and cloud of darkness swirled around Starlight’s head before vanishing. “Just so you’re aware, I’m only doing this because-”

“We have common allies and a common enemy.” The filly smiled at him. “Fear me all you want Discord, but know that I care about you and your friends. You’ve got nothing to worry about me. Starlight Glimmer is the one I’m after.”

“Well I’m quite happy to hear it. But you can’t blame me for being cautious around the curse that was created to torture me,” Discord replied.

“Now when did I say I was the so-called Curse-Ender?” the filly asked.

“But…I remember that curse. It happened just like I said it did,” Discord protested.

“Are you sure about that? Out of the three people here, none of us are reliable narrators, now are we?” the filly asked as she gently brushed Starlight’s mane.

“What other explanation can there be?”

“Maybe I was inspired by the Curse-Ender,” the filly suggested. “Maybe I was an ordinary girl who dreamed of turning herself into the world’s scariest legend.” She laughed and said, “Or maybe I just like to mess with people.”

“But enough about me, let’s talk about what you want. You want your friends back, don’t you? I can do that. I can return Ponyville to the happy, peaceful village it was always meant to be. And I can even promise that we’ll have fun doing it. All I ask in return is that you keep helping me. When we’re done, you can have friendship AND freedom.” She smiled up at Discord and asked, “What do you say?”

Discord’s face morphed into a confident smile. “I’d say it’s a deal.” He reached down and shook the filly’s hoof. “So what’s the next part of our plan?”

“I began my party preparations at a specific point in time, darling. Where Starlight Glimmer was at the peak of her power. All of Equestria under her hoof. Its citizens ignorantly believing her every lie, except for those who fight on. Starlight’s ‘equality’ movement is at the perfect stage. Unforgettable but still vulnerable. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

“Not a clue,” Discord replied.

“I want to strike down this evil when it is at its strongest, but before it has a chance to do any permanent damage. And so far, things have worked out splendidly. Starlight’s mind is almost at its snapping point. And I want the world to witness it.”

The filly smiled as another white-coated, pink-maned, smiling filly walked up to them. “So are we good to go?”

“We’re on to the fireworks show, my boy. Tell Chrysalis that I’m going to open the gates soon and her whole kingdom is invited.”

Green fire consumed the second filly, revealing his true form. The changeling saluted her before he buzzed his wings and flew away.

“You made a deal with Chrysalis?” Discord asked.

“Don’t worry sweetheart, I’ve got a surprise planned for her too.” The filly looked down at Starlight. “It’s a beautiful day outside. Birds are singing, flowers are blooming. On days like these, mares like you…”

“Well, that part will come true soon.”

The Invasion

Starlight Glimmer opened her eyes and shot out of bed. “Ow!” She clutched her aching head and groaned. “Ugh. What happened?” She rapidly blinked her eyes several times as the room spun around her. “Why do I feel dizzy?”

“Morning sunshine.”

“AAH!” Starlight screamed as she spotted the filly, lying in her bed with a big, creepy grin. “Can’t I get a moment's rest from you anymore?!”

“Sorry Starry, you’re thinking about the early chapters of our little journey. Story’s wrapping up soon and we’re approaching the finale.” The filly licked her lips. “Ooh, the anticipation has been driving us ALL insane, hasn’t it?”

“Get out of my bed!” Starlight shouted.

“Oh very well. I’ll just grab this on my way out.” The filly’s grin widened as she waved a photo in Starlight’s face.

Starlight’s eyes widened and she ripped her bed covers off to see that her flank had been splashed with water while she had been sleeping. Her cutie mark was on full display.

“You…” Starlight glared at the filly. “How long have you known?”

“Since the very beginning, Starry. Funny story actually…”

“Give me that!” Starlight growled as she levitated the incriminating photo out of the filly’s hooves and ripped in apart. “You’re not going to tell anypony about what you saw! Do you hear me, you freak of nature?!”

“Oh you think you can tell me what to do. That’s cute,” the filly chuckled. “Speaking of which, you might want to get this one too.”

The filly held up another photo of Starlight’s cutie mark and giggled as it was ripped apart. “Adorable! Now who’s got room for thirds?”

Starlight’s teeth grit together as the filly pulled up another photo. “How many pictures did you take of my…you know what?!” she cried, her voice a mixture of unforgiving rage towards the filly and an overwhelming sense of fear as to who she might have told and who might be eavesdropping on her.

“Oh, don’t waste all your screams before the sun’s even risen, dearie. Compared to me, you’re a tremendously heavy sleeper. Now for the next photo I took of your cutesy-wootsy mark, I’ve got a fun little hunt planned for today!” She pointed at the torn remains of all the ripped photos. “Now if you put all these pieces together, there should be a map that leads to the first clue…”

“You’re not serious, are you?!” Starlight said, paling at the idea of having to spend all day hunting down the filly’s blackmail.

“Maybe I am, maybe I’m not.” The filly grinned at her. “You have no way of knowing. For that matter, you have no way of hiding your little secret anymore. You can cover your flank with as much makeup as you want, but I’m going to keep pulling these little tricks.” The filly’s smile relaxed into something chillingly calm. “You realize there’s no escape, don’t you? That you can’t control me, even if you managed to paint an equal sign on my flank.”

Starlight glared at her enemy. “Why are you doing this? What did I ever do to you?”

“You’re a hypocrite, a tyrant, a bully, and a selfish thief.” The filly shrugged. “Words that I’m sure are sailing right over you head. Actually, I’m curious about how much you understand of what is happening. Has the room stopped spinning for you yet?”

Starlight winced as she felt another headache hit her, but did her best to hide her pain from the filly.

“You’re going to get wrinkles, frowning so much. Smile a little more, sunshine! Breakfast will be waiting for you downstairs,” the filly giggled as she leapt off the bed. She grinned and added, “And so is the rest of the day. Cheer up, Starry! Today is the first day of the rest of your long life.”

Starlight shuddered as the filly left the room laughing. Paranoid thoughts were furiously buzzing around in her head. It sounded like the filly hadn’t told anypony yet about Starlight’s cutie mark, but that she was looking forward to doing so. Starlight was running out of time faster than she could imagine. If the filly told the ponies of Equestria that Starlight still had her cutie mark, it could ruin all of Starlight’s plans. Starlight gulped as a solution sprung to her mind; a solution that she was reluctant to try out. She needed her magic to remove cutie marks and to protect Ponyville from the various monsters that still lurked in the Everfree forest. But there was only one monster she was afraid of at the moment.

She used her magic to lock the doors and shut the curtains in her room before levitating a full body mirror out from her closet. Staring at her reflection, Starlight took a deep breath before she fired a beam of magic at the mirror. Her magic bounced off the mirror’s surface and struck Starlight. She grit her teeth at the surprising amount of pain. After several seconds, she let go of the spell and nearly collapsed back onto her bed, panting in exhaustion. Her brow furrowing with rage, she levitated an empty jar from one of the shelves before casting her spell on her reflection once more.

As the pain got even more intense, Starlight levitated one of the pillows off her bed and held it over her mouth, hoping to muffle her screams so that nopony in the castle would come to investigate. Why was it hurting so much? For some reason, it felt more like she was ripping off one of her legs instead of her cutie mark. But with a final tug, she ripped off her cutie mark and stuffed it into the jar. She twisted the lid onto the jar and stuffed it under her bed before she fell into the soft embrace of her covers. She had done it. The filly wouldn’t be able to blackmail her anymore. If she had anymore photos, well those could be faked, couldn’t they? Without any real evidence, the filly didn’t hold any…

Starlight groaned as her train of thought was pushed off the tracks by a giggling pink dragon. Even without the threat of revealing Starlight’s lies, the filly still had too much power in Ponyville. What was even worse was that without her magic, Starlight couldn’t remove anypony’s cutie mark. But that could be fixed. All she had to do was wait a few days for the filly to make her move. When that failed, she could reclaim her cutie mark and get back to work.

Starlight smirked confidently and left her room, ready to face whatever the filly could throw at her.

…Or so she thought.

Starlight yawned and shuffled over to the castle’s kitchen table. She blinked her tired eyes a few times in confusion as she saw that Twilight wasn’t the only pony at the table. “Girls? What are you doing here?”

“It’s Thursday. You said Sleepover Thursdays were a good way to strengthen our friendship and understanding of equality,” Applejack answered. She looked up from her tasteless muffin and did a double take when she saw Starlight. “Whoa nelly. You alright there Starlight? You look paler than a…than a…” She frowned as the equal sign on her flank pulsed again. “Dang it.”

Rarity cleared her throat. “I think what Applejack is trying to say is you…how do I put this delicately? Well you look just a little-”

“Exhausted?” Fluttershy timidly suggested.

“Gray?” Pinkie said.

“Like a zombie?” Rainbow Dash mumbled, loud enough for them all to hear.

“Um, yes. I mean no! I mean…what Pinkie and Fluttershy said, not Rainbow Dash. You look rather pale Starlight. Have you been getting enough sun?” Rarity asked.

“Thank you for your concern girls, but I’m feeling much better today,” Starlight said confidently.

“Today? Why do you say that? Were you feeling icky yesterday?” Pinkie asked.

“It’s not important. Now then, what’s for breakfast? Muffins?” Starlight smiled pleasantly. Her smile faded as she noticed the rest of the ponies looking pretty disappointed.

“Yeah. Cardboard muffins, same as always,” Pinkie grumbled.

Fluttershy smiled. “Don’t worry Pinkie. Even if breakfast is pretty boring today, the filly said she has a surprise for us when we’re finished.”

Starlight’s eyes widened as she felt a shiver go down her spine. “What kind of surprise?”

Pinkie giggled. “Silly Starry! It wouldn’t be much of a surprise if she told us what it was!”

Starlight frowned. “Where is she?”

Twilight sighed. “Starlight, can’t you just leave her alone for a day? She’s really not as bad as you think she is. She’s been a good friend to us and she’s been rather patient with you, despite your-”

“Shut. Up,” Starlight growled in the princess’ face. “Where is she?”

The other ponies edged away from the mad unicorn, but for some reason Fluttershy didn’t even register her anger. “She’s getting some stuff set up in a room in the castle. Just go down the hall, turn left, down that hall, turn left again, and it should be the fourth door on your right.”

Applejack nervously raised her hoof. “Now hold on there sugarcube. Don’t you think maybe you-”

But Starlight wasn’t paying any more attention. Following Fluttershy’s directions, she raced down the halls until she came to the door the filly was hiding behind. Whether the filly was planning on showing them photos of her cutie mark or if she had some other trick waiting for her, Starlight would get there first. She held her head high with confidence that she was prepared to face the filly. No more holding back. She pushed the door open and marched inside…and promptly wished for her mommy to rock her to sleep and make the mean pink monster go away.

The filly gave her such an innocent smile. It seemed so out of place to Starlight. Everything in the room seemed out of place. The freshly pressed suit the filly was wearing, even though it was clearly meant for a colt to wear. The dozens of flickering candles that were lighting the otherwise dark room. The chalk circle on the floor that wouldn’t look out of place in a book of magical rituals, even though she had never seen those runes before. But most of all, the corpse in the filly’s hooves.

Oh yes, Starlight’s eyes were sad to inform her horrified mind. The filly was holding a dead pony in her hooves. An adult unicorn mare, whose fur was peeling away and whose flesh had turned a rotten green with decay. The beautiful dress and the makeup the mare was wearing did nothing to mask the fact that this was the most terrifying thing she had ever seen. Starlight almost felt like throwing up when she spotted the maggots crawling around on the mare’s flesh. She was completely paralyzed with fear even as her mind tried to make a decision between fainting, fleeing, screaming, and vomiting in pure disgust and horror.

“Well would ya look at that? We appear to have an audience, my dear! Hopefully you don’t get stage fright, sweetheart.” The filly held up the corpse and gave her a bow. “May I have this dance?”

The corpse’s head flopped downwards.

“Thank you, my dear. I promise you, this’ll be a night you won’t forget.” The filly held the pony’s body a bit higher and began to dance with it, singing a little tune as she danced.

“Hello my baby, hello my honey
Hello my ragtime gal
Send me a kiss by wire.”

The filly grinned at Starlight as she dipped the dead body. She then punched her hoof right into the corpse’s chest. With a little struggle she ripped out the pony’s heart.”

“Baby, my heart's on fire!”

As she held up the heart for Starlight to see, somehow it burst into flames. Starlight screamed and backed up against the wall, before once more freezing with fear.

“If you refuse me, honey, you’ll lose me
And you'll be left alone, oh baby
Telephone, and tell me I'm your own.”

With that, the filly did one more spin with the dead pony before she took a bow. “Ta-da!” she cheered, right before the corpse’s head flopped down. The pony’s decayed neck snapped, and her head rolled onto the floor.

“TWILIGHT!” Starlight screamed as her fight-or-flight instincts finally kicked in. Her horn charged with magic, ready to blast the filly or to teleport as far away as possible, she couldn’t say. A pulse on her flank reminded her of what she had done. Realizing just how utterly screwed she was, Starlight ran back to the kitchen as fast as her legs could carry her. “TWILIGHT!” Starlight was so terrified she didn’t even notice when she tripped over a rug and ended up smashing into the kitchen table. She was too hysterical to even question the flash of light she had seen or care about the ringing in her ears.

Her friend all stared at her in concern. “Starlight? What happened? Are you-”

“FILLY!” Starlight babbled, interrupting Fluttershy. “Filly, dance, suit, p-pony, dress, song, dance, p-pony, pony! Pony!”

Applejack held up her hooves. “Sugarcube, you’re not making a lick of sense. What-”

“DEAD BODY!” Starlight screamed. “D-d-dead pa-pa-pony!”

All the ponies winced, the look of horror on Starlight’s face spreading to each of them. “What?” Fluttershy asked, sounding terribly heartbroken.

“T-t-that way!” Starlight shakily pointed with her hoof. “Ha-ha-h…HURRY!” The ponies all raced down the halls, following Starlight as she lead them back to the room the filly had danced in. Still feeling overwhelmed with fear, Starlight stepped away from the room as the other ponies hurried in, not wanting to risk seeing such a horrible, unnatural…

“Starlight? Really? If this is some kind of prank, it’s not funny at all!” Starlight opened her eyes to see an extremely annoyed Twilight Sparkle glaring back at her.

“H…huh?” Starlight asked.

“Twilight’s right. That was really uncool,” Rainbow said, snorting in disgust.

Starlight cautiously poked her head back into the room. There was the filly, smiling innocently. All the candles that had been lit before were out and safely stored in a box. Sunlight was streaming in through the windows; curtains folded neatly to let the light in. The filly wasn’t wearing a colt’s suit, but rather a light pink dress with seafoam green frills. Most importantly, there was no corpse. The filly wasn’t dancing with a dead pony, but rather with a pony sized doll. It kind of looked like Smarty Pants, but a lot cleaner.

“Hey everybody. What’s with all the ruckus?” the filly asked. “Did you come to see my performance early? You’ve kinda spoiled my surprise, but I can still make this into a real showstopper!”

Fluttershy giggled as the filly danced around with the doll. “Aww! You’re so cute! I’m sorry, we didn’t mean to spoil your surprise.” She glared at Starlight and said, “A big meanie just decided to lose her head and scare us all over nothing.”

“I’m with Fluttershy. Starlight, you have serious problems. How do you confuse a doll with a…you know what,” Pinkie said, wrinkling her muzzle in disgust.

“Ba-ba. Da…da. B-but there was a dead pony! I saw it with my own eyes!” Starlight stammered.

“A dead pony? Goodness, how dreadful!” The filly said. “Starry darling, it’s a little early for Nightmare Night pranks, don’t you think?”

“T-Twilight! F-Fluttershy!” Starlight cried. “Girls, you gotta believe me! She was dancing with a corpse! She was! I…I’m not crazy!”

Twilight sighed. “Starlight…do we need to take you to a hospital? You look like you’re about to faint and you’re clearly hallucinating.”

“Come on Twilight, you don’t need to be so harsh. There, there, Starlight,” Fluttershy spoke softly as she patted Starlight’s back. “We just want what’s best for you.”

“N-no! NO!” Starlight threw off Fluttershy’s foreleg. “D-don’t you try to trick me again! I’m not crazy. Imma…Imma smart pony! I am!” She snarled and pointed an accusing hoof at the filly. “She’s the crazy one! Making me see things! But I’m onto her.”

“Oh dear. Little Starlight has snapped, hasn’t she?” the filly said, looking at her doll as if she expected it to answer.

“Don’t ignore me!” Starlight growled as she poked the filly in the muzzle. “I’ll expose you for who you are! You and your little doll too!”

As she poked the doll’s face, the doll lifted its head and blinked its button eyes at her. “Hey now missy. Don’t hold it against us.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “…Don’t say anything. I’m not crazy. Don’t say anything. I am NOT crazy,” she mumbled under her breath.

“Hey, am I crazy, or did that doll just talk?” Rainbow asked.

Starlight’s jaw dropped. “You heard that too?”

“You can hear him too?” the filly asked.

The doll shook its head. “If you’re confused, don’t blame me. You have no idea what we’ve been through.”

As the other ponies stared at the doll with dropped jaws, the filly giggled. “Wow. Chatty little fella, aren’t ya? Is there a string back here or…?”

The ponies jumped back as green fire consumed the doll, replacing it was a changeling. “Hi there,” he said, waving a hole-filled hoof.

“CHANGELING!” the other ponies screamed.

“Swiss cheese!” the filly cheered randomly.

The changeling frowned. “Well hey, there’s no need to be rude. Just thought I should warn you all that you should really pay more attention to your SURROUNDINGS!” At sudden shout, the changeling’s horn glowed green and he fired a blast of magic at the window, shattering the glass.

He buzzed his wings and flew outside. “For example, now might be a good time to look up. Hope you all enjoy the show!”

The ponies all stared out the window to see the sky above them. Dozens of pegasus ponies were being replaced with changelings as the sky lit up with flashes of green. Soon, the great swarming, buzzing cloud of changelings descended onto Ponyville and the screaming began.

“Come on girls!” Twilight shouted. The rest of her friends hurried after the princess, with a confused and frightened Starlight doing her best to keep up.

As the frantic ponies left her alone, the filly laughed out loud. “Nyeh, heh, he, he! Did you see the look on her face?”

The candles stored away in the box floated up; sticking together and transforming into a very impressed Discord. “I did indeed. Your manipulative mind continues to astonish us, my dear.”

“Oh you’re so sweet!” the filly said, smiling at the praise. “And how’s everyone else doing?”

Discord snapped his fingers and with a flash of light, Spike, Trixie, and another changeling appeared in the room.

The changeling saluted the filly. “Everything is in place.”

The filly grinned. “Excellent work, my boy. I think I see a celebration cake in your future!”

“The last one you baked was rather delicious,” Discord admitted.

Trixie nodded in agreement. “Could Trixie ask you for the recipe?”

“Ask Pinkie Pie. She’s the one I stole it from,” the filly giggled. “And speaking of…how’d you do Spike?”

Spike held up the jar containing Starlight Glimmer’s cutie mark. “Right here.”

The filly’s grin widened. “Spikey, my boy, I could kiss you!” She paused for a second and shrugged. “Oh, what the heck.” She grabbed Spike’s face and gave him a big kiss on the cheek. “There ya go big boy! I avoided your lips, because hey, here’s hoping for Rarispike, am I right?”

Spike blushed. “Um…uh…”

“Ooh, look at mister charmer here. Still infatuated with Miss Rarity. Would it help if I told you that the lips that just kissed you, also kissed her?”

Discord’s and Spike’s eyes bulged out. “What?!”

The filly happily shrugged. “Oh yeah. Not on the lips with her either though. It might have woken her up.”

“You kissed Rarity while she was sleeping?!” Spike asked.

“I do a lot of things to people when they’re sleeping,” the filly said with a wicked grin.

Spike shuddered. “That’s really creepy! You are really creepy”

“Oh, quit your bellyaching dragon boy. I was just joking…probably!” the filly giggled.

“Well there’s such thing as taking a joke too far,” Spike said as he stared out the window. “Among other things. Don’t you think this is a bit much?”

“As the Ingenious and Insane Filly told us, think of it as a fireworks show,” Trixie said. “This is something we can’t hold back on.”

“See? Trixie’s got the right idea. Cheer up Spikey,” the filly patted his shoulder. “Think of it this way: we’re all doing this to help your friends. Isn’t this worth it? To wake up next to Twilight and see her with a gleeful and genuine grin on her face. Isn’t that worth the cost?”

Spike sighed. “I…guess. But how is a changeling invasion going to make things better?”

“All good things come to those who are patient, dearie. See if you can help Zecora. I’ll let you know when you’re up again. Oh, and before I forget.” She pointed at the changeling. “Spike, this is Thorax. Thorax, Spike. When this is all over, you two should hang out. I have a feeling you guys would get along great.”

The filly strolled past her allies and stared out the window. Discord floated over to watch the chaos unfold. “Before we move on to the next scene of this delightful little play you’ve put on for these pony folk, I do have one question,” he said. “Why did you ask me to modify Starlight’s memories if you were just going to tell her you knew her secret the very next day?”

“To mess with her head on as many levels as possible,” the filly chuckled. Discord opened his mouth to respond, but faltered as she gave him a rather disturbing smile. “While we’re on the subject…did it ever occur to you that Starlight’s head is not the only head I’m messing with?”

Discord raised an eyebrow. “Who else?”

“Who else indeed,” the filly giggled as she leapt out the window and gracefully rolled onto the ground below. “Come along gang, we’ve waited long enough. Time to join the party.”

“How could this happen?” Starlight muttered under her breath as she followed the former Elements out of the castle.

“What’s the plan Twilight?” Applejack asked.

Twilight gulped. “I don’t know. We don’t have the Elements and we can’t use our magic without our cutie marks.”

“So we’ll fight them without magic!” Rainbow declared. “We beat these changelings before and we’ll do it again!”

“Oh, but this isn’t like before, now is it?” a smug voice hissed as the ponies ran outside and into a wall of changelings.

The ponies all took a nervous step back at the sight. They were completely surrounded by what had to have been eighty changelings. Beyond the swarm, they could see smoking holes in the buildings and numerous ponies restrained by thick changeling cocoons in the streets. Towering over them all was Queen Chrysalis, gazing at the ponies with a hungry look in her eyes.

“You,” Twilight growled.

Chrysalis smirked at her. “Me.”

“Alright you bug eyed creeps, you asked for it!” Rainbow shouted. She flew at the changeling queen and kicked her in the chest as hard as she could.

Only for the queen to laugh in her face. “Pathetic. A newly hatched could hit harder than that,” she sneered. Before any of Twilight’s friends could retaliate, Chrysalis’ horn blazed with magic power and blasted them all back with tremendous force. The attack knocked them all up against the castle walls. Before they could even gasp out in pain, seven changeling flew over to them and kept them pinned up against the wall with their hole-filled hooves.

“Hey! Let us go so we can kick your flanks!” Rainbow shouted as she punched the changeling restraining her, only for her foe to snicker at her struggles.

“Not this time. You ponies have had your fun,” Chrysalis sneered. “You may have defeated my swarm in the past but the times they are a changin.”

“Whatever it is you’re planning, you won’t get away with it!” Twilight cried.

“Oh, Twilight Sparkle,” Chrysalis chuckled as she edged closer to them. “I have been waiting for far too long to take my revenge on you.” She licked her fangs as she brushed a hoof through Twilight’s mane. “But there is one matter of business I must take care of first.” Starlight gulped as the changeling queen brought her gaze down onto her. “So you must be Starlight Glimmer. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Starlight’s horn glowed with magic, only for the equal sign on her flank to pulse and cancel out her spell. She was trapped. Unable to defend her village from a power hungry army of monsters. And all because she was afraid of what one filly could do to her. “Whatever you want from me, just take it! You don’t need to do this!” she cried. She squeezed her eyes tight as the changelings all laughed at her. “Please! What do you even want with me?”

“Isn’t it obvious, dear?” Chrysalis gave her an evil grin. “We want to thank you.”

The ponies all froze in disbelief. “What?”

“You were the one who stole all the cutie marks; all the magic and special talents of everypony in Equestria. Oh, I’m sure in your ‘perfect’ little town, you’re all as…equally weak as each other. But with all your strength stolen, well we practically conquered this village as soon as our hooves touched the ground. Everypony fought my changelings with such bravery, but without an ounce of strength to their blows. You’re all so pathetic, it’s laughable.” Chrysalis’ grin widened. “Indeed, once I’m finished taking my revenge out on Twilight Sparkle, I should have no trouble at all with her precious princely brother and his pink eyesore of a princess. I might even swing by Canterlot for a bite to eat. And once I’m done there I imagine Equestria will fall within hours. Really Starlight Glimmer, we couldn’t have done this without you.”

Starlight rapidly shook her head as she felt the eyes of every pony and every changeling on her. “No…no…”

“However…there is the matter of your protection spell. My changelings couldn’t break through any of those invisible barriers you placed around your cities to keep us non-ponies out,” Chrysalis hummed thoughtfully.

“Barriers? What barriers?” Pinkie asked.

“You might as well tell them, Miss Glimmer,” a changeling among the crowd hissed. “You won’t get another chance.”

“I…I placed invisible shields around Ponyville, Canterlot, Manehattan…around every city that accepted our philosophy,” Starlight admitted. “And I didn’t tell any of you because…because I wanted you to believe that if we were all equal, it would put an end to all conflict.”

“How?! The staff can only remove cutie marks from ponies. You shouldn’t have the kind of magic required to maintain, or even create these shields!” Twilight cried.

Queen Chrysalis yawned. “Well I’m sure you can all puzzle out the lies this mare has fed you once you are in my dungeons but I grow bored of listening to you ponies talk. So Starlight, while I am thankful that you magically crippled the entire pony race, I am still quite upset that you couldn’t welcome me into your town sooner.” Her horn began to glow a very vibrant green. “Plus there is my end of the deal to consider. I dislike the idea of being indebted to anyone, but she did bring us this far and the price for her help is quite manageable.” She lowered her horn and pressed it against Starlight’s flesh. “Watch closely now ponies.”

“What are you-” Starlight gasped out before a very violent blast of magic sent pain spiraling throughout her entire body. Starlight screamed as she felt the curse slice her like an invisible dagger. The other ponies begged for Chrysalis to stop as deep wounds were magically inflicted upon Starlight’s chest, forelegs, and throat.

Chrysalis smirked as she watched Starlight’s blood begin to ooze out of the open wounds. “Don’t worry, you’re not going to die. The curse is designed to seal up your wounds before you lose too much blood. But until my curse has taken its toll, your pain will be excruciating.”

“You monster,” Twilight growled.

“Perhaps,” Chrysalis chuckled. “But if I’m a monster, I can only imagine what sort of creature asked for this price. Now then…” Her evil grin widened as she aimed her horn at Twilight. “It’s finally time to claim what I rightfully deserve.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth, queenie!” an energetic voice shouted as Chrysalis felt a pink and white blur kick her in the side. The force of the blow threw Chrysalis’ aim off and sent her spell sailing overhead, missing Twilight completely.

“Who dares?!” Chrysalis growled, only to receive a vicious left hook to the face. The ponies and changelings all gasped in shock as the filly leapt over the dazed queen and grinned.

“Madness that felt good.” The filly grinned at the stunned ponies. “Howdy folks, what’d I miss? Ooh, ouchies.” She winced at the sight of Starlight. “I see one little pony did a terrible job shaving. Hold on a second.” Spotting a ruined curtain that had most likely been ripped out of another pony’s home, the filly picked it up off the ground and tore it into strips.

“How dare you betray me?!” Chrysalis snarled. “We had a d-”

“In a second, cheese legs,” the filly interrupted. Pushing the changeling restraining Starlight aside, she took the strips of cloth and wrapped them around Starlight’s bleeding wounds. “Sorry Starry, but it’s the best I can do for you on such short notice.”

“What?” Starlight asked, feeling confused, scared, and dizzy from blood loss all at once.

“Don’t worry sweethearts,” the filly said, flashing Twilight and her friends a smile. “I’ll get rid of Queen Meanie.” She turned to face the changeling swarm and grinned. “Hey guys. How’s your health plan?”

“Traitor! Get her!” Chrysalis roared.

“Ooh! Apparently it’s great!” the filly giggled as ten changelings swarmed towards her. Displaying the speed and agility most ponies would only recognize from Pinkie Pie, the filly dipped, ducked, and dodged every hoof that came flying toward her. She threw a few punches and kicks herself before she made it past Chrysalis’ swarm. “Boy, you guys are terrible at this!”

“You traitorous, backstabbing brat!” Chrysalis snarled. “I don’t know what you’re trying to pull but this day belongs to me! I will not let some pony upstage me!”

“Oh ho! Funny you should mention upstaging folks!” The filly stood up on her back legs and made a grand gesture as a large cloud of smoke began to form behind her. “Because there’s someone I’d love to introduce you to!”

“Rejoice Ponyville, for a hero has returned! Sing your praises and marvel at the amazing magic of the Great and Powerful Trixie!”

“Trixie?!” Twilight’s friends exclaimed as the boastful magician appeared out of the cloud of smoke.

“Yes ponies, it is I! And whilst Trixie knows we have had our disagreements in the past, know that the Great and Apologetic Trixie is here to help! With the might of Trixie’s magic, she will banish these changelings from Ponyville and restore freedom to all of Equestria!” Trixie declared as magical fireworks shot off into the air around her.

“Well would you look at this. Miss Glimmer, you appear to have missed a cutie mark!” Chrysalis sneered at the sight of Trixie. “But it doesn’t matter. You are but one pony. What can one pony do against my army?!” She cackled as the changelings hovered menacingly around Trixie.

“One pony can do many things, foolish bug queen. Why, one pony can be her own army!” Trixie declared. With a flash of light from her horn and a puff of smoke, another Trixie appeared next to her.

Chrysalis’ jaw dropped. “What?!”

“Ah, but two of Trixie won’t be enough for this act. Another! And another! And another!” Trixie declared as two more Trixie clones and then five more Trixie clones appeared in puffs of smoke. “How do you like your odds now, silly villain? Trixie knows of the battle at Canterlot. She knows that a vast majority of your army fell to a mere six ponies before Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor finally banished you. You might have an army of changelings, but Trixie has tricks for days!” With another flash of light and several clouds of smoke, another fifty Trixie clones appeared.

“I don’t care if you summon a hundred or even a thousand ponies!” Chrysalis snarled. “You can’t defeat me!”

“The Great and Powerful Trixie admires your confidence, misplaced though it may be. Indeed, perhaps my army of magicians is too much for you. Very well, watch in awe as the Great and Powerful Trixie makes TWO entire armies disappear!” Trixie charged up her horn with a powerful spell and fired it at one of her clones. The Trixie disappeared in a puff of smoke, even as the spell seemed to bounce off of her and hit another clone. Soon, the magical blast was bouncing and ricocheting off of every Trixie clone AND every changeling it came into contact with. Chrysalis screamed in outrage as all her changelings were knocked out in what was technically only one blow.

“And for my grand finale, the Great and Powerful Trixie sends you back from where you came!” She fired another blast of magic up in the air. With a flash of light, a swirling portal appeared in the sky. The changelings all hissed in protest as they felt themselves get sucked into the magical black hole.

“NOOO!” Chrysalis cried as she was dragged into the air and banished with the rest of her changelings.

With the threat neutralized, Trixie walked towards Twilight and her friends with a confident swagger in her every step. “There is no need to thank Trixie, Twilight Sparkle. She knows you would have done the same for her. Are you all okay?”

“No, we’re not.” Twilight’s eyes fell on Starlight, who felt like she was going to faint at any second. “Queen Chrysalis cast some kind of curse on Starlight! We need to get her to a hospital.”

Trixie snorted in disgust. “Oh. Her. Trixie despises what Starlight Glimmer has done to you all, but I suppose I do not wish to see her die. Help this fool get her strength back if you must. Trixie must go and free the poor ponies stuck in those slimy green cocoons.”

As Trixie walked away from them, as Rainbow and Fluttershy struggled to pick up Starlight and lift her in the air. “Dang it, I wish I still had my cutie mark,” Rainbow grumbled. “Coulda beaten those stupid changelings. Could pick Starlight up without help.”

“Rainbow Dash, now’s not the time. It’s okay Starlight, we’re going to get you to a hospital.”

Starlight Glimmer had mostly remained quiet since the curse was cast on her, terrified of how much bigger the wound on her throat would get if she tried to speak. But as her eyes frantically scanned the area around her, she coughed out a question. “The filly…where is the filly…”

Twilight might have responded to her question, but she couldn’t hear her. She shuddered and coughed up a little blood. She could hear a faint echo of another pony’s voice but at this point her body just couldn’t hold on any longer. All she could do was slip into unconsciousness and pray that she would wake up soon.

The Queen

Starlight Glimmer opened her eyes and quickly sat up. “What’s going on?” she asked, looking down at her body and noticing that she wasn’t hurt in the slightest. Eyes narrowing in realization, she groaned before glaring up at the cave ceiling. “Oh, come on! I’m done with these stupid nightmares! Haven’t I suffered enough?!” she screamed. When nobody answered her, Starlight grumbled before sitting down on the floor and began muttering to herself. “It’s just a nightmare. Just power through it.”

A few seconds later she looked up at the sound of hoof steps. She saw another Starlight Glimmer walk past her and towards a bright, golden door that appeared as the dark room they were in slowly filled with light. The other Starlight opened the giant door with her magic and entered the vault inside. Recognizing this place as the massive new cutie mark vault that Starlight built, she watched her other self walk up to a particular set of cutie marks.

The other Starlight’s horn glowed as a saddle bag appeared in a flash of light. Reaching into the bag with her telekinesis, she pulled out a dangerous artifact called the Alicorn Amulet. The other Starlight took a few deep breaths before she placed the amulet around her neck. Her horn and eyes now glowing red, the other Starlight glared up at the vault. With her magic, she pulled the cutie marks of Prince Shining Armor and Princess Twilight Sparkle out of their slots in the vault. With her amplified magic, she levitated the cutie marks onto her body, shuddering as she felt the power of the Sparkle siblings’ magic strengthen her own.

With a flash of red light, the other Starlight vanished. Distantly, Starlight Glimmer recalled this day. The invisible shields that she placed around the major cities and villages of Equestria required a lot of magic that she needed to…borrow from various sources. When she discovered the Alicorn Amulet in Zecora’s abandoned home, she created a plan to ensure that conflict with magical creatures who couldn’t be equalized would never happen. Knowing the corruption that the amulet could inflict upon its user, Starlight Glimmer would only use the amulet when it was time to recharge the various shields. Always in secret. Always in the middle of the night.

After several minutes, the other Starlight reappeared in the room. “Let’s see…Our Town, Ponyville, Canterlot, the Empire, Manehattan…ah, shoot. I always forget that Apple town.”

“Heh, heh, heh,” Starlight chuckled as she watched her past self disappear. “It’s true. I can’t even remember the name of that Apple town.”

A few more minutes passed before the other Starlight reappeared. Using her magic, she ripped off Twilight Sparkle’s and Shining Armor’s cutie marks, locking them back in the vault. She then removed the Alicorn Amulet, grumbling as she put it back in her bag. “I swear, these headaches keep getting worse.” She smiled as she stared at the vault. “Still, I’ve successfully protected Equestria for at least one more month.”

Starlight frowned as she watched her past self leave. “Huh. I remember all of this. This wasn’t a nightmare. Maybe I’m finally done with…”

She trailed off as a figure stepped out from the shadows. The filly’s gaze lingered in the direction of the past Starlight’s departure. She then turned around and grinned at the cutie mark vault. “So that’s how you did it…” She let out a dark chuckle. “One more month huh? Time to spare, my dear. Time to plan.” Starlight cringed as she felt the filly’s gaze fall on her. “And eventually, time to party.”

Starlight shuddered as the nightmare swirled around her, reminding herself that it was just a bad dream. The filly couldn’t hurt her in her own mind…could she?

Starlight opened her eyes to see that she was in a dark, rocky cave. She was lying down in the middle of a hallway, with ten changelings on either side of her and Queen Chrysalis sitting on a throne in the middle of the room. The changeling queen was lounging around on a black throne, looking rather grumpy.

“Seventy-two,” Chrysalis announced, drawing Starlight’s attention. “I can count seventy-two holes in this ceiling.” She let out a very loud and angry sigh. “When did my life get so boring? I should be ruling over everything in Equestria! Not lazing about like some…some lazy thing!” She slammed her head back on her throne and groaned so more. “I really hope something exciting happens around here soon. I don’t even care what it is.”

Both Chrysalis’ and Starlight’s ears perked up as they heard a familiar voice. “Whoa, not too grabby, pal! Buy me a candlelit dinner first, why don’t ya?”

“Huh. Perhaps someone up there does care,” Chrysalis mused as she settled back on her throne.

“Trust me, they don’t. You’re going to regret this day for the rest of your life,” Starlight informed the queen, even though she knew she couldn’t hear her.

Two changeling guards buzzed into the throne room, carrying the giggling filly between them. “Your Majesty! We caught the little trespasser! She made her way into the very heart of our hive!”

“And the two dozen guards. Made it past them too,” the filly giggled. “Seriously, your security is so full of holes I mistook it for your legs.

“Ah, yes. Our legs have holes in them. Like I haven’t heard that joke before,” Chrysalis hissed. She licked her fangs as she got off her throne and crept towards the filly. “Well, well, well, what do we have here? One lost little pony all by herself.”

“Why do bad guys feel the need to say well three times in a row?” the filly asked. “Seriously, the only reason I do it is to mock you. Or mimic you, if I find one who’s easy on the eyes.”

Chrysalis frowned at the cheerful filly. “What?”

“Oh, make no mistake dearie. You are a tall drink of water, aren’t you?” the filly said with a wink.

“Are you hitting on me?” the bewildered queen asked.

“Trust me, you’ll prefer this to the other kind of hitting I could do. Now before you get all worked up, why don’t we discuss the reasons behind my arrival. I wanted an audience, Queen Chrysie. Don’t you want to know why?”

Chrysalis frowned. “You know who I am. Why are you not cowering before me?”

The filly shrugged. “Maybe because you’re tame compared to me? I already looked in a mirror this morning. That’s as scary as it gets.”

Chrysalis snorted in dismissal. “You are a fool. Changelings, take this lunatic to the dungeons and drain her love.”

“Oh sure, queenie. I’ll just keep the knowledge of how to beat Twilight Sparkle all to myself. Wouldn’t want to interrupt your incredibly busy schedule,” the filly said with a smirk. “It’s seventy-five holes, by the way. You were off by three.”

Chrysalis frowned as the filly was carried away by the changelings only to grit her fangs and shout, “Wait! Bring her back here!”

“You fool! She’s trying to trick you!” Starlight cried. But her protests went unheard as the nightmare played out.

“So kind of you to reconsider, Your Majesty,” the filly said. “Well, I’ve issued my pleasantries, so let’s skip to the meat of this meeting.” A sneaky smirk spread across her face. “How would you like to invade Ponyville when its citizens are at their weakest AND get a second shot at Twilight Sparkle, the girl who ultimately foiled your plans to conquer Canterlot?”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened. “I’d say that sounds…delicious.” She frowned in suspicion. “It also sounds too good to be true.”

“Come now, you’re a queen. You know how negotiations work. I have something you want and you have something I want. If I just gave you the keys to Ponyville out of the goodness of my heart…well that would be far less believable, wouldn’t it?” the filly chuckled.

Chrysalis rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “Even for the right price, why would you offer to help us? You’re a pony.”

“Am I? Am I really? There’s been so much debate over what I am, even I don’t know. But if you still have difficulty believing my intentions, allow me to elaborate.” The filly shrugged off the changelings surrounding her and crept closer to Chrysalis. “You may have heard of Starlight Glimmer or you may not. You’ve been in hiding for a while now, so I can only hope that you’ve been doing more than just twiddling your hooves. Anyway, Starry is the one who has stolen the ponies’ cutie marks and consequently their magical and special talents. And yet even though the ponies are at their weakest and their love is ripe for harvesting, Starlight has protected every pony city with invisible barriers. Irritating, isn’t it? Like someone holding candy just out of your reach.”

“Tell me about it,” Chrysalis hissed in agreement.

“Of course Starlight has been keeping these shields a secret from everyone. Something to do with making the ponies think equality alone is enough to stop conflict. But you don’t care about her philosophy. No, you want to know how to destroy the shields and claim all that delicious love. Well old Starry used this fancy amulet for that, or at least she did before I stole it.”

“What?! When did you steal it? On top of you sneaking into the vault, when did you have time to steal the Alicorn Amulet?! I had it under lock and key!” Starlight screamed. “I turn my back on you for ONE second and you find something else to ruin! ARGH!”

“Bottom line queenie, I can stop Starlight from recharging the barrier. Her mind is so preoccupied these days it’ll be easy to slip that little chore out of her head. Once the shield is down, Ponyville will be ours for the taking. Without her magic, Twilight Sparkle won’t be able to protect herself and you’ll get your second shot.”

Chrysalis couldn’t stop herself from licking her fangs. “You’re teasing me little one.”

“Hold on there queenie. I can sympathize with your hunger, but don’t forget what I get out of this.”

“Name your price,” Chrysalis hissed.

“Oh don’t get all huffy now. You’ll find my terms are quite reasonable. Firstly, I’d rather not be captured and drained of my love. Without my kinder side, I’d be a right nightmare for everyone. Secondly, go easy on the ponies you don’t have a personal vendetta with. No need to take your anger out on the, a heh, heh…background ponies.” the filly chuckled.

“And lastly, the matter of Starlight Glimmer. You know how you feel about Twilight? Take that anger and amp it up to the sky. That’s how I feel about Starry.” An evil grin spread across the filly’s face. “Killing her won’t satisfy me. I want you to make Starlight suffer. I want you to make her bleed.”

Chrysalis stared at the filly with wonder. “I’ve never met anyone as bloodthirsty as me. You…you’re not like other ponies. No pony could ever be so cunning.”

“So how’s about it? I’ll help you invade Ponyville, I’ll let you capture its citizens, and I’ll give you a second shot at Twilight. You’ll let me go, you’ll avoid hurting the background ponies, and you’ll carve a nice deep wound into Starlight’s flesh. Three for three. Win-win.” The filly held out her hoof. “Do we have a deal?”

“We do,” Chrysalis declared as she eagerly shook the filly’s hoof. “How soon does our invasion begin?”

“How’s about forty-eight hours from now? Two days should be all the time we need to prepare our army.” The filly’s grin grew. “They won’t know what hit them.”

Chrysalis smiled at the filly. “It’s funny. You remind me of myself when I was your age.”

“Aww, how thoughtful of you to say!” the filly said with a giggle.

“I could use a pony like you at my side. Celestia had Twilight Sparkle. It’s only fair that I get a pupil of my own.”

The filly’s smile widened. “What are you saying?”

“I see potential in you, little pony. Once we conquer Ponyville, let’s take out the rest of Equestria. Together. You can help me with my invasion. And I can make you powerful. Terrifying.”

The filly gave her an evil grin. “I do love me some power. And we could learn so much from each other.” Her grin relaxed. “But let’s wait until we have our revenge, shall we? I wouldn’t want you to think less of me if I couldn’t fulfill my promises.”

“Agreed. I grow eager for our invasion.” Chrysalis buzzed over to her throne and gave her a regal wave. “Go now, and prepare our enemies for their destruction!”

“Oh, I promise you, Your Majesty, it’ll be a day to remember.” The filly bounced down the hall with a confident swagger in her step. As she strolled around the corner and out of Chrysalis’ sights, her eyes rested on a single changeling. “Hey there buddy! What’s your name?”

The changeling blinked at her. “Kevin.”

“What a lovely name!” The filly placed a hoof on Kevin and lead him into another part of the hive. With a little sleight of hand, a swinging pocket watch on a golden chain appeared in her hoof as she whispered in his ear. “Walk and talk with me Kevin. I’ve got a proposal for you…”

The nightmare shifted around Starlight Glimmer. When everything settled she blinked in surprise. She was looking at the exact same room. The people within it however…

Chrysalis and a dozen other changelings were all wincing in pain as they bandaged their wounds. “How could she betray me?! Why?! I saw such potential in that filly! Ponyville was ours within seconds! We could have ruled over Equestria! How could this happen?!” Chrysalis ranted.

“I heard you came to conquer!
I heard you want to rule the world!
But I thought of something that is better.
Something that changes all the rules!”

Chrysalis growled as she caught sight of the filly, cheerfully singing as she strolled right into the throne room. “GUARDS! SEIZE HER!” Four changelings swarmed towards the filly and grabbed her each of her limbs. But the filly didn’t seem bothered in the slightest and kept on singing.

“Why pretend we’re all the same?
When some of us shine brighter.
Now’s the chance to find my flame.
Time to prove that I’m a fighter.
Oh, me and you, you and-”

“SILENCE!” Chrysalis roared with a stomp of her hooves.

The filly blinked a few times and stared at Chrysalis. “Lady, did you just…interrupt my song?”

“You will be silent, traitor!” Chrysalis growled as she stomped towards the filly until she was face to face with her. “We had a deal!”

“I know!” the filly smiled. “And we each played our parts perfectly.”

“You denied me my revenge! You said Twilight Sparkle would be mine!” Chrysalis hissed.

“Nope! The terms of our agreement was that I would give you a second shot at Twilight. I never said you’d actually be allowed to hit her. And while I said you could conquer Ponyville, I never said for how long.” The filly smirked at Chrysalis. “Don’t feel too disappointed, queenie. I’ve outsmarted lawyers.”

“I’ve heard enough! I’ll drain your love myself!” Chrysalis snarled. She opened her mouth as energy began to flow out of the filly. But the cunning trickster smirked as she reached out and grabbed Chrysalis by the throat. The changeling queen gasped as she felt her air supply cut off. “Ack! What...”

“Funny thing about my love. Just like everything else inside me…” An evil grin spread over her face as she squeezed Chrysalis’ neck even tighter. “It’s toxic.” She let go of the queen’s neck, but before Chrysalis could recover her breath, the filly pulled her hoof back and punched Chrysalis in the face.

The filly’s chuckle had a hard edge of mockery as she shrugged off the four changelings restraining her. “You know, when I first heard about you, I thought you had potential too. An entire race of magical, shape shifting creatures, shrouded in mystery! Just think of that rich history you must have! Your complex motivations for attacking Canterlot. And all the possibilities your powers could have allowed. And what did I learn?”

She walked over to the coughing Chrysalis and stomped on her hoof. “I learned how disappointing you were. Your entire race just hatched out of tree? Boring!” She shook her head as she circled around Chrysalis. “And that’s just your origin story. I thought that you eating love might have something positive behind it, but what you do is so horribly, mind-numbingly, dull. And while your skills at disguise are impressive, it all falls apart once you start acting out of character.”

The filly laughed as Chrysalis finished coughing and sent a death glare at her. “I mean, seriously! You looked and sounded like Princess Cadance, and yet you threw it all away when you opened your fat mouth. I’ve seen school plays with better actors! The only reason you got so far was because the ponies mistook your bratty behaviour for pre-wedding jitters!”

“I will not be made to look like a fool!” Chrysalis roared. “CHANGELINGS! ATTACK THE INTRUDER!”

“Ooh, and here comes my adoring crowd!” the filly giggled as several changelings heard their queen’s summons and flew into the throne room. Soon, the filly was surrounded by a hundred changelings, all buzzing menacingly towards her. Not like it bothered her or anything. “Good ladies and gents, before you do something you’ll regret, consider this.” She turned her head, looking them all in the eyes as she spoke. “If you think you’ve seen betrayal now, I promise you, you haven’t seen anything yet! I have only shown you a GLIMPSE of the madness that lurks in my mind! But here’s a crazy thought! Why suffer from my insanity when you could enjoy every minute of it, as I do?”

She smirked at Chrysalis. “My intentions towards your queen may have been soaked in deception. But what I offered to her in trickery I offer to you in truth. I can give you a life outside of the shadows. I can give you love that will be everlasting. And the best part is, if we play our cards right, I can do it without the ponies even knowing the difference.”

“Foolish little filly. You think you can turn my changelings against me?” Chrysalis sneered at her.

The filly sneered right back. “Darling, I already have.” She giggled and added, “A few of them at least.” She turned back to the crowd and threw her hooves up. “Come on now! Flap your wings in the air! Flap them like you’re the only ones who care!” To Chrysalis’ and Starlight’s confusion, a large group of the angry changelings flew higher into the air, before touching back down in a protective circle around the filly.

“What are you doing?!” Chrysalis cried.

One changeling took a step towards her. “You may not know me, Chrysalis, but my name is Thorax. From the moment I hatched, all I’ve ever wanted was a friend. I know that you probably disagree with me, but it’s true. During our attack on Canterlot, I saw what six friends can do when they work together. I left the hive after that day. I was alone for a long time…until I met this filly. She talked to me. She listened to me. She said she could help me share love instead of steal it. And…I’d do anything to have that.”

Another changeling spoke up. “Uh, my name’s Kevin, not sure if we need to introduce ourselves or what…” Kevin shrugged. “Honestly, the whole friendship thing is really sappy. I just want love; I don’t really care where it comes from.” He frowned and pointed at Chrysalis. “What I do care about is that you’re not getting us the love we need.”

“And do these two speak for all of you?” the filly asked with a smirk. The other changelings protecting her nodded. “Well there you have it!”

Chrysalis sneered at the filly, even as her eyes burned with hatred. “So you managed to trick a few traitors. I have hundreds of changelings; I still outnumber you!”

The filly chuckled again. “Oh, that’s what you think. I’ll give you points for trying to trick the others. Crowd size can be difficult to count, especially in the heat of battle with an army of shape-shifters. But I did my homework! And with all the wounded changelings you have, the REAL number of soldiers you have remaining is exactly ONE hundred. And in those two prep days before our epic show I managed to catch the interest of forty-eight changelings.”

The filly spread her hooves out. “So you see queenie, we’re evenly matched in terms of numbers. Just how I wanted things to go between us. All of you…against all of me. Nyeh, heh, heh, heh, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed as the changelings on her side all transformed into her.

“It’s a fight you want, is it?” Chrysalis growled at the giggling filly clones. “You won’t steal my crown that easily!”

The filly glanced back at the other changelings. “Members of the audience, whether you’re on my side or hers, this is your only warning. Blood is going to be spilled tonight but it doesn’t need to be yours. Leave now or stick around if you wish. Just know that this party is going to get messy.”

“SHUT UP!” Chrysalis hissed. “CHANGELINGS! Tear these traitors apart!”

The two teams of changelings clashed into each other as the battle began. While it was difficult to tell the filly-disguised changelings apart from each other, both Starlight and Chrysalis could see the real filly waiting in the middle of the army. What bothered Starlight was that the filly was just patiently watching the chaos unfold around her. As the battle raged on, one of Chrysalis’ changelings managed to get past Kevin and Thorax before launching himself at the filly. But before the attacking changeling could even touch her, something very unexpected happened.

“Hey! Let me go you – AAIEEE!”

Starlight, Chrysalis, and all the changelings in the hive gasped as they watched the terrified changeling cry out in pain as he desperately tried to escape the filly’s grasp. “Let me go! Get her off me!”

Chrysalis’ horn glowed as she quickly levitated the changeling out of the filly’s death grip. Starlight held her hoof to her mouth as she saw the blood soaked bite mark in his neck. They all stared in horror at the filly as she licked the green blood from her lips. “Oh, yes. It has been FAR too long since I had a drink like that.”

“What in Tartarus are you?” Chrysalis whispered.

The filly shot her an evil grin. “I’m hungry.” The disguised changelings all scrambled out of the way as the filly charged towards Chrysalis’ swarm teeth first.

The swarm threw themselves at their foe in an effort to protect their queen. Starlight and the others could only watch in horror as the filly tore through their forces with monstrous savagery. She ducked under one changeling’s swing and grabbed hold of his foreleg, twisting it until it broke. One changeling tried to restrain her from behind, only to be Judo flipped onto his back before she broke his front legs. She charged at her next foe, grabbing his leg with her jaws and bit until she got another mouthful of blood. She then leapt onto the back of another changeling and slammed his head into the ground. The fight didn’t last very long. The filly was heavily outnumbered, but the changelings just weren’t prepared to fight a monster like her. She broke legs, smashed heads into the floor, squeezed windpipes, exploited weak areas, and drank blood. Any changeling fast enough to escape her reach, quickly retreated behind Chrysalis.

“Stand down! I’ll deal with this animal myself!” Chrysalis shouted as she fired a beam of green magic at the rampaging filly.

But the filly was still in battle mode and easily sidestepped the attack. “Now who said you could cancel the buffet, dearie?” She licked her lips at the sight of the queen. “Still, best to save room for the main course.”

Chrysalis panicked and rapidly shot another hex as the filly charged towards her. Just as the filly pounced, teeth aimed at her throat, the spell hit the filly in the chest and pushed her back. As the filly picked herself back up, Chrysalis hissed. “What kind of monster are you?!”

“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” the filly laughed as she grinned at Chrysalis. “My compliments to you! I haven’t had a fight like this in far too long!” She smirked and added, “Still, my endurance shouldn’t be this much of a shock. Your army is weakened from battle, starved for love, and too used to fighting civilized ponies who pull their punches. Let’s not forget how you all have holes in your legs. It was child’s play to break those.” As Chrysalis opened her mouth to retort, the filly kept on talking. “And while your magic may have knocked out Celestia before, well…there’s no brainwashed prince in shining armor to steal love from. Face it Chrysie. You’re weak.”

“Don’t you ever shut up?!” Chrysalis cried.

“Well it’s annoying you, so why should I?” The filly licked her lips as she took in the wounded changelings. “Still, we’ve both done a lot of horrible things today. I don’t want to add murder to the list. Oh Discord!”

“I can’t tell if I’m disappointed or relieved.” Discord appeared in a flash of light, holding a bucket of popcorn. “You’ve got me on the edge of my seat here.”

“What? HOW?! My throne is supposed to soak up outside magic!” Chrysalis cried.

“Maybe yesterday it could. You really underestimate what this freak of nature can do in two days,” Discord informed her.

“You charmer, you,” the filly purred. “Time to wrap this party up, I’m afraid. Patch up all these changelings, will you? The only scars I want to leave today are mental scars.”

“Thank goodness. The blood was making me nauseous.” Discord snapped his fingers and repaired all the broken bones and ripped flesh in the room.

“Excellent,” the filly said as she licked up the rest of the blood on her face. “Now then…” Chrysalis gasped as Discord snapped his fingers again, causing a pair of thick chains to restrain her. Another snap teleported the changelings who were still on Chrysalis’ side out of the room as the filly closed in on her. “Struggle all you want Chrysie. I want a taste of those cheese legs of yours.”

Thorax’s eyes widened in horror as he stepped out. “W-wait! I know Chrysalis is bad, but you don’t have to hurt her!”

“Oh, but I WANT to, dearie,” the filly chuckled, licking her lips.

“Don’t try and reason with her, traitor. A monster like her wouldn’t listen,” Chrysalis hissed.

“Don’t fear the monster that hunts you at night. Fear the monster that has a good reason to,” the filly hissed back at her.

“What are you talking about? What did I ever do to you?!”

“Isn’t it obvious?” the filly replied. “You kidnapped an innocent princess and left her to starve at the bottom of a cave. You corrupted a young soldier’s mind and the minds of three bridesmaids. You made a sweet girl like Twilight seem like a paranoid, jealous nutcase. You made her friends and mentor doubt her. You’ve attacked Equestria plus who knows how many kingdoms.”

“But what did you do to me personally? You interrupted my singing.” She frowned at Chrysalis’ dropped jaw. “Hey, I might have the mind of a demon, but I’ve got the voice of an angel. How dare you stop the world from hearing my beautiful voice?!”

“That’s it?” Chrysalis weakly asked.

“Oh no. There’s one, last, teeny, tiny thing.” She stomped her hoof down on the fallen queen’s head. “If you had been successful…Shiny and Cadance wouldn’t have gotten married. And little Princess Sweetheart, would have never been born.”

Chrysalis’ eyes widened with fear as she took in the unforgiving rage that blazed in the filly’s eyes. “My subjects!” she called out to the changelings who had switched sides. “Please, don’t abandon me! Your queen needs you!” The last spot of hope died for her when all her changelings could do was shiver with fear.

“She does indeed.” With a swipe of her hoof, the black crown was ripped of Chrysalis’ head and placed upon the filly’s. Chrysalis cringed as a blood stained smile grinned down at her. “Long. Live. The New Queen.”

Starlight shuddered as the nightmare shifted again, the swirling colours drowning out Chrysalis’ screams.

Starlight anxiously watched the rest of the nightmare play out. The filly sat on a small pink throne, passing out folders of information out to the changelings who switched sides. “Thorax, I think you’d be best in the Crystal Empire. Kevin, your mission starts in Ponyville. Did everyone get a…oh no, you didn’t? Here you go sweetie, what’s your name? Lily? Lilac? Okay, how does Canterlot sound?”

Discord raised an eyebrow as he watched her work. “How does this help us defeat Starlight?”

“It doesn’t. This is just a side project.”

“Discretely replacing nobles with changelings and taking over high society circles is a side project to you?” Discord thought for a few moments and chuckled. “Well, I guess everyone needs a hobby.”

“See? You get me. If only the former queen shared your charming personality,” the filly sighed. She grinned as she spotted a familiar zebra enter the hive. “Zecora! Finally, it’s been too long since I saw you last.”

Zecora took a long look at the psychopathic filly. “The former queen has been contained. As it was with previous enemies, you showed no restraint. While I was happy to offer you my aid, I find that my courage around you is starting to fade. The vengeful spirit’s wrath is a horror to see. Please pardon this zebra, as I excuse myself and flee.”

As Zecora turned tail and walked away, the filly waved to her. “Kay then! We’ll hang out some other time. Thanks for all your help!” She sighed. “There goes the wisest person I’ve met on this planet.”

Discord crossed his arms. “What, you’re an alien now?”

The filly shrugged. “How should I know? Okay everyone, you’ve got your assignments! Memorize your roles and a few days from now, when Starlight Glimmer has her mental breakdown, I’ll come back and we can start rehearsal. And hey, thanks again for putting up with my insanity. I know I’ve asked a lot out of you but things will get better if we all do our best. In the meantime, get on out there! Have fun! Climb a tree, eat cake, and all that jazz!”

The filly smiled as the changelings wandered off. Trixie and Spike walked into the room, past the changelings. “We have successfully captured the rest of the hive.” Trixie said.

“Awesome!” the filly cheered. “And speaking of awesome, bravo! My dear, that was quite the show!”

Trixie blushed at the praise. “It was nothing for the Great and Powerful Trixie. Really, you were the one who planned most of Trixie’s show.”

“You got my message across alright. A single pony turning herself into an army. Sometimes we need to believe in more than friendship or equality. When a smile is turned upside down, sometimes people need to believe in their own power,” the filly said.

“That sounds kind of like a friendship lesson,” Spike remarked.

“Oh friendship is important, my boy. But so is individuality. You need to learn how to have confidence in yourself, not just your friends. If everyone is firing on all cylinders, well so much the better then. But back to Trixie’s praise party! While it was my idea, the execution was all you, darling! Sure, we could have used a spell to make clones, but nothing beats the classics! Amazing what one can do with smoke and mirrors.”

Trixie smiled sheepishly. “Well, smoke, mirrors, and a few other secrets that Trixie cooked up all by herself.”

“Ooh! Do tell.”

“Sorry little filly. A magician never reveals her tricks.”

“Oh but she can. There’s great risk but even greater reward if you can tell them all your secret and STILL leave everyone in awe and disbelief.”

Trixie raised an eyebrow. “Um, okay. Whatever you say. Shall we turn our focus back on Starlight again?”

“She HAS been the focus of our little horror show. I think we’re all eager to see what you’ll do next,” Discord said to the filly.

“I suppose so.” The filly smirked and looked at where Starlight was watching. “Do you hear that Starry? I’m all out of distractions. I can now focus my attention and work on making our relationship more…intimate.”

Spike raised an eyebrow. “Who are you talking to?”

“Starlight Glimmer. Or rather, I will once I’m in range for the potion to work again. Oh, but you weren’t there for that, were you?” The filly chuckled as Starlight gulped uneasily. “See, a while ago I borrowed a copy of Botanical Legends from Princess Twilight. A book full of rare plants just waiting to be ground up into potion ingredients. I found a few flowers and roots that when mixed together can make all sorts of dizzy spells and sleeping potions. I was even lucky enough to find some of Princess Luna’s old fur in Rarity’s boutique. Mix it all together with a few special ingredients, and I created an improved version of a home remedy as old as it is powerful. A special little drink that can give one pony complete control over another pony’s dreams. Parents used to give it to their children to calm their nightmares; back in the day when Luna wasn’t there to battle their fears for them. Her fur just gave it an extra oomph! Of course the potion had terrible side effects that stopped ponies from using it…insanity, being the major one. Not like that’s a problem for me!”

The filly stood up and walked towards Starlight. “I slipped some of this potion into a special cider. It was tricky convincing her to drink it. I had to give it to every pony so that she wouldn’t suspect anything.”

“Wait…you poisoned everyone in Ponyville?” Spike asked.

“Poison is such a strong word. Once I took the other potion, it wasn’t too hard to shift through the dream doors and focus on Starlight.” The filly paused and giggled. “Okay, that’s a lie. I had a killer headache for the first few days. If I wasn’t crazy already, that potion would have left me in a coma! Props to Luna, it’s harder to dream walk than you’d think.”

The filly smirked at Starlight again. “Once I blocked out those other minds though, it was child’s play. I’ve been conjuring up all sorts of nightmares to twist Starlight’s mind until it snaps like a twig! But with any great legend, there’s some truth sprinkled in. Sometimes I’ll let her take a look at what I do when she’s not watching me or I’m away from Ponyville. But those dreams, I make sure to keep forgettable so that she doesn’t catch on too soon. Until today. Ponyville is still recovering, old Chrysie is losing her mind in the dungeons, and Starry herself is lying on a hospital bed. Once I’m close to Starlight again, I’ll give her my memories of this day plus a few other funny little thoughts, just to show her how utterly screwed she is. This spot right here is where Starlight is going to be watching us. Say hello everyone!”

Discord frowned at Starlight. “So she can hear us? Hmm.” He tapped his chin thoughtfully. “And you’re choosing today of all days to let her know just how far you’re willing to go.” An evil grin stretched across his face. “Which means…”

“Oh ho, ho, ho! Starlight Glimmer…” Discord’s eyes glowed red as he grinned at her. “If this filly treats you the same way as Chrysalis…I’m going to enjoy what happens next…”

Starlight Glimmer groaned and sat up in her bed. She cried out in pain and opened her eyes wide in shock. She was lying in a hospital bed with several bandages on her and an IV line. Her eyes frantically darted around the room, looking for help. “Hello? Is anypony there?”

“Miss Glimmer!” she saw Nurse Redheart enter her room, looking pretty relieved. “You’re awake. We were getting worried we might need to move you to intensive care.”

At first Starlight thought this might be another nightmare. But the pain she was under confirmed that her nightmare was all too real. “What happened? How did I get here? The last thing I remember was Discord talking to Twilight about…about…” Starlight’s eyes widened. “How could I forget? What did that freak do to my mind?!”

“Miss Glimmer, please calm down! You lost a lot of blood when the changelings attacked. You’ve been asleep for several hours.”

“What?!” Starlight exclaimed. “There were changelings?! What else did I miss?! Did the blasted filly invite Nightmare Moon and Tirek over for a tea party over my comatose body?! Can’t any of you idiots do anything right?!”

Redheart cringed as Starlight raged on. “Um, perhaps those questions can wait a while. You really need to-”

“Oh shut up!” Starlight snapped. “Just…just shut up.” She grumbled as she tried to remember what exactly had happened to her. “The…the changelings! Chrysalis! Discord! The…the filly! What did she…”

“Starlight, please! Stop struggling. The blood transfusion was successful but you still need to rest.”

“Blood…blood transfusion?” Starlight asked.

“Well of course. We couldn’t just leave you like that, though it wasn’t easy to fill you back up. We don’t have a lot of samples that match your blood type. Fortunately, one brave, generous little filly was happy to donate. We didn’t think she would have enough, but then she reminded us of those medical tests we did when she first came here, including some blood samples that were still in storage.”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “Oh no…”

“Oh I think that’s her now!” Redheart smiled as she heard a knock on the door. “She had to pick up some things for a friend but she hurried back here when you showed signs of waking up an hour ago.”

“Please…no…”

The door opened and the creepiest grin Starlight had ever seen walked into the room. “Starlight! Oh, we were so worried about you!” Redheart smiled as the filly stood by the side of the bed and gently hugged Starlight. “I’m just grateful I was there when you needed me.”

“No…”

“So, how are you feeling, blood buddy? Ooh, isn’t this exciting to think about! Right now, there’s a teeny little piece of me inside you. Like a tiny little filly just…wriggling about under your skin. I feel like this experience will really bring us together! No matter how far we go now, we’ll always be together…or at least until my blood cells die out in a few months,” the filly giggled.

“Anyway, I don’t want to disturb you any longer. A big girl like you needs her rest, yes sir! Just brought you a get-well-soon present! Whelp, get well soon Starry!”

With glazed eyes, Starlight watched the filly skip away. Her face was blank. Her mind was blank. She felt cold and itchy all over. Looking back at the package the filly left on the table, she cautiously pulled the cover off. She stared at the glass jar containing her cutie mark.

“Can I get you anything else, Starlight Glimmer?” she distantly heard Redheart ask. Starlight stared at the nurse for several seconds. Slowly, a smile spread on Starlight’s face.

“He. Aheh. Heh, heh, heh.”

“Starlight? Are you okay?”

“He, he, he. Aha, ha, ha. Hoo, aha, ha, ha! Aha, ha, ha, ha!”

Starlight’s evil grin widened as she slammed her hoof on the table. “That fool.” She laughed as she knocked the jar off the table. The glass shattered on the floor and she laughed some more as she felt her cutie mark, her bright colours, and her magic return to here. “That crazy fool! Aha, ha, ha!”

Redheart took a step back. “Starlight?! What’s-”

“SLEEP!” Starlight snarled as she fired a beam of magic at the nurse. Poor Redheart was snoring before she hit the floor.

“All that hesitation. All that time spent playing nice! Well I’m through playing games with you brat! I’m wiping that grin off your face and putting an equal sign on your flank!” Starlight’s horn glowed as she laughed some more. “I will not stop! I will not rest! I don’t care who I have to crush to get to you! This! Ends! Now!”

Aha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha, ha!”

The Hallucinations

Starlight Glimmer’s ear twitched as she heard someone knocking at the door. “Hello? Anybody in there? Open up!”

Starlight lowered the bottle from her mouth. “Do you think I should let her in?”

Star Breeze, the friendly little breezie who called this barn her home, smiled and waved dismissively. “Ah, I wouldn’t worry about it lass. Ye still haven’t finished your antitoxin, the little lassie can wait a minute.”

Another breezie shook his head. “Hmm, I don’t know about that lass. Sure, this might be our home away from home, but this still be her property.”

“Ugh, don’t get me started on pony property, Light Breeze. Hey, Miss Glimmer, did we ever tell ye about the-”

“About Mrs. Capricorn’s garden? I remember that!” Starlight said with a smile.

“Starlight?” she heard Apple Pony say. Starlight looked up as Apple Pony opened the barn door and Smiled at her. “Starlight? What in the hay are you doing here?”

“Hey! That’s pretty funny!” Starlight giggled. “What in the hay am I doing sitting in a pile of hay! Good one!”

Apple Pony blinked a few times as Starlight took another sip of her medicine. “Starlight? Are you okay?”

“Ugh! ‘Are you okay, Starlight?’ Don’t ye just get sick of that question?” Star Breeze. “Honestly, when was the last time ye put this silly pony in the Equalization House?”

“Do you know what would be better? Put her little sister in the house! A family that learns together, grows together!” Light Breeze said.

“Starlight, everybody’s really worried about you. Here, let me help you-”

“That won’t be necessary. Thank you for your concern, Apple Pony, but I’m fine. Really!” Starlight said.

Apple Pony raised an eyebrow as she watched Starlight take another sip of medicine. “Starlight, where did you even get that? I thought you banned all Antitoxin beverages.”

“A ban on antitoxin? This mare really is a few apples short of a pie, ain’t she?” Star Breeze muttered.

Starlight rolled her eyes. “There’s no need for insults.”

Apple Pony blinked in confusion. “What? Starlight, what are you talking about?”

“Oh! Maybe she just wants to know why the hospital sent you here to get more!” Light Breeze said.

“Well clearly, I had to get more when the hospital ran out! I got as much antitoxin medicine I could find, but this infection just won’t DIE, you know? Then I remembered that you had some medicine stored away. I didn’t ask because I knew you wouldn’t mind, dearie. It’s the neighbourly thing to do.” Starlight said and took another drink.

“Starlight stop!” Apple Pony said as she very rudely pulled the medicine away. “You shouldn’t be Curing in your condition!”

“Now that was just rude!” Star Breeze shouted. “Hey, you wanna go, tough mare?!”

Light Breeze held his sister back. “Now hold on, darling. Self-medication is always a tricky road to travel. She’s just concerned about our sweet little Starlight.”

“I guess you’re right,” Starlight sighed as she stood up.

“Hey there, easy now,” Star Breeze said as Apple Pony helped her up. “Your hooves are probably asleep; you were sitting down for a while there, lassie.”

“Don’t worry, I’m up,” Starlight said as she removed the pajamas on her hooves.

“Starlight, you shouldn’t be Taking Off Pajamas there. The Apple Pie might open up and then there’d be a real mess.”

“Did you find her?” Starlight smiled as she saw Big Red and Bow Girl walk into the barn.

“Hello there my little ponies!” Starlight said as she waved cheerfully with Star Breeze and Light Breeze. “It’s a beautiful day this morning, isn’t it?”

Without waiting for an answer, Starlight levitated herself up and flew past the Apple family. She touched down outside and gazed up at the clouds. She chuckled as she watched blackened soot equal signs slowly drifted past, like leaves gently flowing down a river.

“Whoa! How’d you do that?” Bow Girl asked.

“He, he! Silly little earth pony! It’s like she’s never seen magic before,” Light Breeze chuckled.

“Now, now, it’s not right to laugh. It’s not Bow Girl’s fault that she’s an uneducated mud pony,” Star Breeze said. “She’s just woke up on the wrong side of the bed this morning, ye know how it is.”

“I’m sorry if I interrupted your morning routine everypony,” Starlight said.

“Oi, ye could never be a bother to us, lassie!” Light Breeze and Star Breeze said.

“Listen um, Miss Glimmer?” Bow Girl asked. “You look really tired. I was talking to Sweet Voice and Scooter Kid and they said Purple Book wanted-”

“I think what my Slapstick wanted to say was…why don’t we help you Find The Filly? The Doctor Worm should know what’s wrong with HER,” Apple Pony said gently.

“Oi, ye don’t need these lazy farmers. We’ll help ye, lass!” Star Breeze said.

“Thank you for the offer, but I can get back to my search on my own. Thank you,” Starlight said.

She frowned as Apple Pony dashed in front of her. Her pink eyes narrowed as her rainbow wings flapped in agitation. “Sugarcube, I insist I help you Find The Filly.”

“Why? I can find The Filly on my own,” Starlight said.

“Starlight, you’re not feeling well and you Won’t Feel Well Until You Catch Her. The Hench Gorillas said that you need to recover from what happened with the Parasites, not go running off to catch The Bane Of Harmony.”

“Apple Pony, I know you’re concerned about me, but I do this for the safety of Equestria,” Starlight said with noble purpose.

“Holy cow, look at you!” Starlight spun around to face The Filly. “You’ve really lost it, haven’t you? Several dozen apples short of a pie. Ooh, it’s everything I could have hoped for!” The Filly giggled as she scooped up popcorn with her long, snakelike tongue.

“Gotcha!” Starlight shouted triumphantly as she tackled The Filly. But The Filly easily drifted away from Starlight.

“He, he, he! Time for Hide and Seek. Come and seek me, Starry!” The Filly cheered as she flapped her blood-soaked, bat wings and flew away.

“You’re not getting away, traitor! I am the best at Hide and Seek!” Starlight shouted heroically as she ran levitated herself with her awesome magic and flew towards The Filly.

“Starlight?” She looked over her shoulder to see Darling and Scooter Kid. “Sweet Sun Princess, are you okay?”

“Thank you for your concern Darling, but I’m fine. I just need to find The Filly. She’s very good at Hide and Seek.”

“Um, Darling?” Scooter K-K-Sweet Voice spoke up and twirled her hoof around her head. “I think Starlight has finally Realized She Is the Hide And Seek Queen. Shouldn’t we take her to the Filly So She Can Be Punished?”

“Oh, you girls know where The Filly is?” Starlight asked.

“Now Starlight, please listen to us!” Darling said. “You need to let us take you to The Fashion Pony. We Have Cloaks This Month.”

“Can I Play Hide And Seek With You?” Sweet Voice said.

“Of course, darling,” Starlight said as she lifted the giggling unicorn into the air.

“Starlight! Put her down! She hasn’t done anything Today, Because She Is A Lazy Filly!”

“Um, yeah! I’m a Lazy Filly Who Needs To Play House!”

“Well okay then.” Starlight turned towards the Fun Time Happy House, but stopped when D-d-D-Rarity blocked her path.

“Starlight, please, let her go,” Rarity pleaded, as strawberry sauce spilled out of her pink eyes.

“Now Rare it Darling, let me make this clear. Some pony is going into that house today. It can be Sweet Voice or The Filly. What’s it going to be?”

“Hey Starlight, look at me!” The Filly said as she waved at Starlight. “I’m crowd surfing!”

Starlight glared at The Filly as two stallions in distress carried her on a throne of candy coated spikes. “There you are!”

She leapt at The Filly and gasped as The Filly split into multiple copies of herself.

“Whoa! Miss Glimmer, are you alright? Why’d you go and smash that fragile G-g-G Filly? Don’t you know that She will cut you?”

“Why don’t we take this party somewhere private, hey Starry?” The Filly asked innocently, her scorpion tail twisting behind her. “Follow me now!”

Starlight gasped for breath as she galloped after The Filly. She was so close. So close she could almost reach and grab her neck...

“Oh Starlight! Are you okay?”

Starlight growled as yet another distraction interrupted her heroic quest. “What do you want Shut-Up Fly?”

Shut-Up Fly cowardly cringed at Starlight’s completely reasonable tone. “N-nothing. I just asked you how your day was going.”

“For the last time, I’m fine! I just have to grab that aggravating Filly and throw her in…what’s that?”

Shut-Up Fly smiled. “Oh, it’s the most wonderful-est thing ever! Dragon Sidekick came back to us! He ran off to see Purple Book before we could really reconnect. But look! He brought my friend back! Isn’t he just the cutest little bunny you’ve ever seen?”

Starlight snorted at the rabbit. “Adorable. Now if you don’t mind getting out of my way, I need to-”

“We meet at long last, vile witch.”

Starlight blinked several times before she take a closer look at the rabbit, who was now wearing a black and red cape.

“I couldn’t help but notice you cowering in fear of me! Continue to do so, as this is the proper action when faced with the dark lord of kick flank and chewing vegetables.”

“Uh…”

“As it is custom, I shall introduce myself. I am the Count Angelus von Bunniculus. I have allowed my loyal thrall Fluttershy the honour of shortening my name to Angel Bunny. You have not earned this honour, nor the privilege to bask in my presence. This grave transgression can only be resolved by the shedding of your blood upon my afternoon salad.”

“…Mommy, Sunburst enchanted my doll again…” Starlight mumbled.

“Ah, so it is madness. Not an uncommon reaction to my presence. Perhaps a bedtime story shall bring you to your senses, fractured though they may be.” Angelus von Bunniculus cleared his throat. “Once upon a time, there was a village filled with a Bunny Lord and his many thralls. But one day, a vile witch dared to think that she could brainwash and enslave the Bunny Lord’s loyal servants. So the Bunny Lord summoned a mighty pink and white dragoness to vanquish the evil enchantress.”

As Angelus von Bunniculus talked, he took out a purple coloured carrot. “First, the dragoness bit off the witch’s horn, so that her witchcraft could never be used to harm another.” He bit the top of the carrot off. “Then she bit off the witch’s legs, so that she would not escape justice.” He bit off the bottom of the carrot next. “Once the dragoness knew that the witch could not escape…she savoured her meal. Peeling away at the despicable…yet delicious flesh…”

Angelus slowly sank his teeth into the carrot and pulled upward. Starlight watched as the purple carrot was peeled into pieces; watched as the flesh began to bleed and rot; watched as all her carefully laid plans were stripped away until there wasn’t a shred of hope left for Starlight, only the roaring madness in an endless field of grass and blood and laughter, make it stop, make it stop, make it…

“Starlight! Starlight, snap out of it!” Shut-Up Fly said as she shook Starlight awake.

“What the…hey! What did you do to me?!” Starlight snapped at the pegasus. She glared up at the grass and said, “And who told the weather team to put mud in the sky? I specifically asked for spaghetti sundae…” Starlight trailed off. She blinked several times and shook her head. “Something is very wrong.”

“I’ll say. Starlight, I don’t normally do this kind of thing but I refuse to keep quiet anymore. I’m taking you to a hospital. Now let’s go and…”

“Oh Starry!” Starlight snarled as she saw The Filly, cheerfully waving from the door of a public restroom. “I just wanted to remind you about your appointment! With my obvious trap! That you’re going to fall into like a dummy!”

“Ah ha! Got you now!” Starlight cheered as she chased The Filly into the bathroom. She grinned as she finally cornered the floating Filly, hovering over the sink.

“Ah ha, got you now. Congratulations Starlight. You caught up with your own reflection.”

“What are you talking about?” Starlight asked.

“What are you talking about, Starry? I’d say it’s pretty obvious.”

“Nothing is ever that simple with you.”

“Of course, nothing is ever that simple with you. I need to explain the joke as always.”

“Hey! Stop copying me!” Starlight calmly asked.

“Lady, this is a mirror. This is kind of what they do,” The Filly said.

“I…” Starlight scratched her head. “I don’t understand.”

“There, there, it’s okay Starry. I’ve been where you are now. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to the Wide World of Hallucinations.”

“What?” Starlight asked as she carefully removed the pajamas on her hoof.

“You’re afraid, dearie. You’re so afraid that you’ve scared yourself out of your mind. That would have to be the case if I’m the one you see in the mirror now.” The Filly giggled at her. “Look at you. Twitching all over the place, jumping at shadows, and scratching yourself silly.”

“What? I’m not scratching myself. That would be unladylike! I’m just having trouble removing my pajamas. My…” Starlight trailed off as she looked at her bare hooves, which were looking really red.

“My insanity is contagious, darling. It spreads like wildfire,” The Filly whispered in her ear. “You’ve got a case of bad blood, and you’re desperately trying to scratch it out.”

“No…No, I’m…I’m uh…” Starlight stammered.

“That wasn’t antitoxin or some Cure All medicine you were drinking Starlight.”

Starlight paled. “Then what was I drinking?”

The Filly gave her a nasty grin. “That’s for me to know and you to imagine. It’s time to face facts Starry. You’ve lost your mind. The only way to get it back now is with my help.”

“Why would I want your help?! You insane, diseased, hyperactive, chocolate drinking, lunatic!” Starlight growled as her horn glowed with power.

“You know this is still a mirror, right? Oh, what am I saying? I’m inside your head, of course you don’t remember that. Well allow me to remind you, I’m not the real filly. I’m a part of you, darling. And as a part of you, I have your best interests at heart. You want this nightmare to end? Find the real filly.”

“There’s…there’s a…” Starlight’s eyes widened. “There’s a book I can use to find you.”

“Aw, see? It’s not hopeless after all! Come on Starry, let’s see a happy smile.”

Starlight ignored the giggling in her mind and ran out of the bathroom. She froze in her tracks as she encountered a crowd of pink eyed ponies. There was Apple Pony, Darling, Sweet Voice, Grown Up Enemy, Purple Book, and Shut-Up Fly, along with her friends Double Diamond and Muffin Girl.

“You really think it’s that simple, silly filly,” Grown Up Enemy asked, as she brushed her chocolate cake filled mane away.

“You can’t run from yourself, darling,” Shut Up Fly said. “Believe me, we’ve tried.”

“You could just give these people their magic back. Things would go so much smoother,” Sweet Voice said.

“Tune out the voices, Starlight Glimmer,” Purple Book said. Her pink eyes glowed brighter than the others. “There’s something in my castle. It could help you.”

“If you’re going to threaten my family for our own safety, you’ll have to go through us,” Apple Pony said, as the pink in her eyes slowly changed to green.

“Get out of my head!” Starlight shouted as she fired a bubble of telekinetic energy, knocking back all her enemies. She levitated herself and flew to the castle as fast as she could.

She teleported into the library and took several deep breaths. “Okay, Starlight. You’ve got this.”

“No you don’t,” The Filly said as appeared in a puff of pink smoke, lazily flipping through a book.

“Quiet,” Starlight grumbled at what she knew to be a hallucination. “I just need a spell to get everything back under control.”

“Oh sure, because when has that ever backfired?” The Filly giggled. “You’re just delightful, ya know that Miss Mental Meltdown?”

“I SAID QUIET!” Starlight snapped.

“Watching Starry, melting down! Do da, do da!” The Filly sang.

“Argh! How can you still be so annoying when you’re in my own mind!” Starlight grumbled for a few seconds before an evil smile formed on her face. “My mind…that’s what it is. It’s all a matter of the mind. Yes…”

“Ooh, sounds like you’ve captured a particularly devious idea. I approve.” The Filly chuckled. “Well, while you take the bait and fall into my trap for the twelfth time, I’ll be over here making out with your boyfriend.”

“Jokes on her, I don’t have a boyfriend,” Starlight chuckled. She levitated several books down and flipped through, giggling to herself as she worked. “I know just the thing to bend these lesser minds to my will. Fiducia Compelus…oh, that’s not good enough. Ooh…maybe Cogeria…if I combined the two! And just a hint of Persuadere. Ooh, this will be spectacular.”

“Mm, speaking of spectacular, I can see why you’re so passionate about Sunburst here.”

“Wait, WHAT?!” Starlight spun around to see The Filly, kissing Sunburst.

The two ponies kissed with escalating passion. Eventually, Sunburst broke away from The Filly. “Hey, aren’t I a little too old for you?”

The Filly shrugged. “What can I say? I like boys with a sense of maturity. Opposites attract and all that. Plus, I just find redheads so irresistible. Your mane is like fire. And blood.”

Sunburst gulped as The Filly licked her lips. “Okay, you’re starting to creep me out. I really think I’m too old for you.”

“Hey, you’re a hallucination. What do you care?”

Sunburst smiled. “Oh. Good point. Back to kissing.”

Starlight felt her blood boil as the two went back at it. “I see what you’re trying to do. Well your distractions won’t work anymore. I know the real Sunburst would never do that!”

“Well of course you know. That’s the best part.” Sunburst disappeared as The Filly crept closer to her. “You know that you’re just talking to thin air. You know this is a trap. You know that I’m tricking you. Lying to you. Manipulating you. And you have no way of stopping me. No way out of this trap.”

“I do now!” Starlight grinned as she held the book up. “Once I cast this spell, you’ll have no choice but to obey my every command. You’ll become equal and my life will go back to the way it should be.” She let out a crazed laugh. “Who knows. Maybe I’ll cast this spell on every pony in Equestria. Just to be sure you don’t have a contingency plan.”

The Filly returned Starlight’s evil grin with one of her own. “Not bad Starlight. Overpowering my brilliant strategy with your brute magical strength. That could almost work. But you’re forgetting something.”

Starlight frowned. “What’s that?”

“I just told you. You know what I’m doing to you. I guess you just haven’t wrapped your mind around the extend of how much I’ve lied to you.”

“What are you babbling about, you blasted…” Starlight trailed off as something clouded her vision. Black and white spots, lazily floating around her. Like letters in alphabet soup. Exactly like letters in…

Starlight’s eyes widened as she looked at her books and saw the words for the spells float off the pages.

“Oh, I’ll bet a mind control spell would put quite a whammy on me…but are you sure that’s the real spell?”

“You…you’re just trying to trick me! I know this is the real Fidelio Compelus. No…the…the Fiducia Calculator. Cog…cogs on wheat toast…the…” Starlight trailed off as she tried to read the book.

“It’s probably for the best. After all, how can you control the minds of others…when you can’t even control your own?”

Starlight gulped. Her hallucination was right. Mind control spells could be found in almost any library but that’s only because so few ponies had the magical strength to cast them. There was no danger of giving a weapon to hundreds of people when only two of them would ever know how to use it.

“Still, I think I’ll go and encourage you to use it. Whether the spell works or not…I’m sure it’ll be very entertaining.”

As The Filly laughed, Starlight frantically pondered her next move. The Filly was right. Casting the spell was a bad idea…unless that’s what she wanted…unless she knew that she’d figure it out…which meant that she’d…”

“That’s what makes my plan even better!” The Filly giggled. “Do you fall into my trap? Or do you fall into my other trap? I’m actually forcing you to choose how you’re going to torture yourself!”

“No…no…there has to be another way…” Starlight muttered, choking on a sob.

“There probably is. And there will a third trap, waiting for you.”

“You’re lying.”

“Of course, I am. But are you willing to risk your very soul on that?”

Starlight stared at the glowing pink eyes of The Filly and teleported the castle, hoping to end the nightmare. No matter the cost.

Starlight quickly zipped past another group of ponies who were looking in the opposite direction. She faded back into the shadows as she evaded the people of Ponyville. Starlight wasn’t even sure how she was doing it or what spells she was using but as long as it got the job done she didn’t care. She couldn’t trust anyone in Ponyville until the filly was under her control. Once that was done, nobody would ever be able to defy her.

…Starlight swore she heard someone laugh at her, but dismissed it as another hallucination.

Unless…that’s what the hallucination wanted her to think.

A huge grin sprouted on Starlight’s face as she finally caught sight of the thing that she had been searching for all day. “AHA!” She rushed out of the shadows and barged into a local bakery where two ponies were talking to each other. “I FINALLY got you!”

Annoying Rainbow stared at her in shock while the filly stared at her with growing amusement. “Starlight? Yeesh, you don’t look so good.”

“She looks perfect to me!” the filly said

“Okay seriously squirt, not the best time. Starlight, you look even worse than Pinkie Pie did that one time she thought we forgot her birthday. And trust me, it was WAY worse than what it sounds like,” Annoying Rainbow frowned. “Now the only reason I haven’t kicked your flank is because you look like you’re gonna pass out, so you’d better listen to-”

“GET LOST!” Starlight shouted as she grabbed Annoying Rainbow with her magic and sent her flying out the window. She locked the doors and shut the windows with her magic before turning to the filly. “At last. At long, long, last. We’re finally alone.”

The filly grinned. “Indeed we are. I’ve been dreaming of this moment.”

“Oh no, little nameless one. This isn’t like last time. I’m in control now. A little Fiducia Compellus mixed with some Corgeia and Persuadio, and you’ll be all mine!” Starlight let out a dark chuckle as her horn glowed with power.

The filly’s eyes widened. “Oh no! W-what are you going to do to me?!”

If Starlight hadn’t been so enraged, she might have picked up on the very sudden mood change. “Oh ho! I’ve finally got you scared, do I?”

“P-please, Starlight! You don’t need to do this!” the filly cried very loudly as she hid her face from Starlight.

“YES! Yes I do!” Starlight laughed. “Finally! I’ve finally got you afraid of me! And now, I’ll make sure you NEVER defy my orders, ever again! He, he, he!”

Her horn glowed with even more power as she got ready to cast her spell. “Alright, you nameless freak of nature! Time to make you equal once and for all!”

“Starlight, please! Don’t hit me – OW!” the filly cried as she slammed her own face into a table.

That particular action shocked Starlight out of her anger for just a moment. “Huh? W-what are you doing?”

The filly ran into the bakery’s kitchen, crying loudly. “P-please Starlight! I promise I’ll put the mark on! Just please don’t hurt – OW!” she shouted as slammed her face into a drawer.

“What are you doing, you diseased lunatic!” Starlight growled as she ran into the room…and almost into something much deadlier.

Starlight’s eyes widened as she felt the tip of a very large knife brush up against her throat. She froze in fear as she stared at the filly holding the knife up to her. An evil grin and angry pink eyes gazed up at her, staring straight into her soul.

“Be careful what you wish for, Mommy.” The filly hissed before she spun the knife around in her hoof and stabbed herself in the flank.

Starlight's jaw dropped as the filly screamed in pain. “OW! LET ME GO!” She pulled the knife out of the bloody cut only to stab herself yet again in the flank. “OWWW! STOP! PLEASE I’M BEGGING YOU!”

Before the filly could hurt herself any further, Starlight yanked the blood soaked knife out of her hooves with her magic. “Have you lost your mind?!”

Rainbow Dash burst into the room wearing a scowl on her face. “Hey! What’s the big idea-AIEE!”

Starlight spun around to face Rainbow; her mind still too overwhelmed to do much beyond that. But the filly was ten steps ahead of her, as always. She dove behind Rainbow Dash and hugged her tightly, tears welling up in her eyes.

“Rainbow Dash! You’ve gotta help me! Starry’s finally lost it! She s-said if she couldn’t make me e-equal with her magic, she…s-she’d…”

Starlight gulped as her mind processed the sobbing filly, the furious Rainbow, and the blood-soaked knife that she was still foolishly levitating. “S-she’s lying! Rainbow, y-you need to-”

Rainbow swung her hoof at Starlight, punching her hard in the face. And while the loss of her cutie mark prevented Rainbow from flying fast, her body was still that of an athlete. As Starlight laid sprawled and dizzied on the floor, Rainbow grabbed the filly’s hoof and galloped out of Sugarcube Corner. “RUN FOR IT, KID!”

Starlight groaned as she pushed herself to get back on her hooves as quick as she could. If she didn’t hurry, the filly would spread her lie to everyone in Ponyville. Fighting through the pain, she galloped out of Sugarcube Corner. Not too far away from the bakery, the former Element bearers, their friends, and a large crowd of other ponies were gathered around the filly.

“You poor, poor thing,” Fluttershy whispered as she wrapped bandages around the filly’s flank. “I can’t believe Starlight would do something so horrible.”

“I do,” Applejack grumbled. “Starlight’s been acting nuttier than a squirrel’s breakfast for days now and she hates this kid. I reckon it was only a matter of time.”

“As do I,” Rarity growled. “You didn’t see the way she threatened Sweetie Belle. I shudder to think of what would have happened if you hadn’t been there Rainbow.” Sweetie nodded and hugged her sister a little tighter.

“She’s got a point. Thanks for saving my hay-bacon, RD,” the filly said, managing a weak smile.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m awesome. Is she gonna be alright Fluttershy?” Rainbow urgently asked.

“I stopped the bleeding as much as I could. I’m surprised you were able to run away.”

“Hey! Hey guys, it’s Starlight!” a stallion in the crowd shouted, pointing and glaring at her. The other ponies turned and gave her a look so frosty it could have frozen the sun.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, Starlight,” Applejack growled at her. “Apple Bloom get behind me.”

“Listen everypony,” Starlight said, trying her hardest to keep her tone friendly. She knew that even one wrong word would condemn her in the eyes of the village. She had to say exactly the right thing. Something that was so much harder to do with the filly staring at her. Even though she wasn’t smiling for once, the way her mouth twitched and her eyes narrowed…Starlight could practically feel her senses threatening to snap once again. Exerting the last of her willpower, she buried her impending mental breakdown and forced herself to look sympathetic. “It wasn’t what it looked like.”

“Really?!” Rainbow snapped. “Because it looked like you were carving an equal sign into a kid’s flank, you sicko!”

“That’s a lie!” Starlight cried, her eyes twitching with suppressed anger. “She cut herself and made it look like I…”

“Are you kidding me?!” Rainbow shouted.

“What sort of idiots do you take us for?!” Rarity cried.

“Everyone, settle down,” Twilight said, her voice radiating with authority. “You’re only giving her the attention she wants.” She glared at the crazed unicorn. “Starlight, I am very disappointed in you.”

“Oh, shut up!” Starlight snarled, her horn glowing furiously. “You don’t get to pass judgement on me, Sparkle!”

“Careful, Twily! She’s still got her magic!” the filly cried with concern. Starlight grit her teeth ever more. Concern! As if that freak of nature cared about anyone other than herself!

“Starlight…how could you?” she heard Double Diamond say. She turned to the group of ponies in the crowd that she recognized the most. Sugar Belle, Party Favor, and all the other friends she had made in Her Town. Her heart ached for the simple days even as her mind continued to snap.

“How could I?! How could any of you keep falling for this monster’s act!”

“She’s not the one who stole our cutie marks! You took away our special talents; saying that they were evil! But you’re the one who’s evil!” Party Favor shouted.

“You lied to us!” Sugar Belle cried.

“You want the truth, do you?!” Starlight snarled. “Fine! Here it is! Yes, I kept my cutie mark even as I took yours! My magic is the only thing strong enough in Equestria to do it! The staff of sameness is just a piece of wood! THERE! Every lie I’ve ever told! Everything else I said was true! I created equality in your miserable lives! I united all of Equestria together in harmony!”

“You stole power from everyone! You treated us like servants! And for the past week or so, you’ve been terrorizing the only filly brave enough to stand up against you!” a pony in the crowd shouted. Starlight didn’t know who said it and at this point she had stopped caring.

“Brave enough to stand against me?! How can you all be so stupid! Everything is all her fault! The changelings, Discord, Spoiled Rich being attacked, that dead rat on the door, the Crystal Heart freaking out! It’s all her fault! I’m the victim here!”

“Starlight, that’s enough ! You’ve terrorized us for too long!” Twilight said sternly.

With great effort, Starlight tried to pull her rage back. “Please, Twilight, she’s lying to you! She hurt herself to frame me! She’s the monster, not me! Twilight, she-”

“QUIET!” Twilight shouted, stomping her hoof. Her wings unfurled as she declared, “That’s Princess Twilight Sparkle to you!”

Pinkie gasped. “Oh snap! Twilight’s calling rank!”

“Starlight Glimmer, as a princess of Equestria I am stripping you of all the power that Equestria has given you. You’re not fit to live peacefully in our home, much less govern it! Me and the other princesses are taking back everything you stole and giving it back to the people! As for you, you will face justice for your crimes!”

A crazed smile violently tugged on Starlight’s face. “He, he, he! Oh, is that so, darling! And how are you going to do that, Twily dearie!” Her horn glowed with power. “I’m the only one who still has her magic! I’m in charge here! All I have to do is cast the Fiducia Compelus and soon, none of you will be able to disobey me! Once I’ve set things back to normal, I’ll throw that blasted filly in a cell to ROT!” She giggled madly. “And then all my problems will be solved. He, he, he!”

Her horn shot out a huge ball of magical energy. The crowd gasped and Starlight grinned as the ball of magic expanded, flashed…and fizzled out.

“W…what? N-no. No, no, no!” Starlight cried. She tried casting the spell again, only for it to fizzle out. “I…I know the right words! Why can’t I cast this spell?! Anypony with half a brain could cast this spell!”

“Well I think you just answered your own question, Starry,” the filly mumbled.

The death glare Starlight sent could have melted icebergs. “I’LL DESTROY YOU!” She fired a powerful blast of offensive magic at the filly, not caring in the slightest who else she might hurt.

“And I think that’s my cue.” With a flash of light, Discord appeared and snagged Starlight’s spell out of thin air. He crumbled it up into a tiny ball and tossed it with his tail. His eyes widened as the spell detonated safely away from the crowd. “Oh dear. Don’t know what you just broke, but it sounded expensive.”

“Discord!” Fluttershy cried happily. Many of the other ponies cheered as Discord smiled at them.

Starlight glared at the chaos spirit and charged her horn to fire another spell, only to gasp as it disappeared with a pop. Discord rolled her horn around in the talons with a smirk. “Yes, I do believe we’re done with that. Now, what to do with such a dreadfully dangerous toy.” He tapped his chin in thought before his eyes lit up. “Ooh! I know just the thing.”

“Hey! Give that back! Give m-mmm!” Starlight’s eyes widened as her mouth was literally zipped shut. Starlight could only watch in horror as Discord teleport over to the crowd of ponies and attached her horn to the filly’s head. She didn’t know if it was Discord’s magic, or the filly’s cursed nature but she could almost hear the colour being sucked out of her horn as it turned just as white as the filly.

“Wow! I’ve always wanted to try my luck with magic! Thanks buddy!” the new unicorn filly said with a cheerful smile. Her grin widened as Discord snapped his fingers again, causing the bandages and the cuts to disappear leaving her flank completely healed.

Starlight unzipped her mouth and scowled at her. “Buddy?! As if a monster like you could ever make friends with anyone, you blasted, diseased, delusional, pile of – gerk!”

Starlight gasped as she was lifted into the air by her neck. With another flash of light, Discord had donned a strange black costume with a long cape and a weird helmet. “I find your lack of friendship…disturbing.”

He flicked the weird helmet off his head and glanced at Twilight. “Well, I’ve got her by the throat. Quite literally, I may add! What are your orders, princess?”

“Orders?” Twilight asked.

“You were about to punish Starlight for her crimes before she so rudely interrupted you. What are you thinking? Imprisonment? Banishment? A little of both? I don’t normally recommend being turned to stone, but if anyone deserves it, it’s her.”

“Discord, let her go please. She can’t breathe,” Twilight said.

“Don’t be like that Sparkle. After all the pain and suffering she’s caused you? Come on Princess Twilight.” He shot an evil grin at Starlight. “Give her a taste of what Tirek got.”

“He’s right,” Fluttershy said, shooting a glare at Starlight.

“Fluttershy?” Rainbow, Twilight, Applejack, Pinkie, and Rarity asked.

“Girls, she’s willing to hurt an innocent filly. A child. She’s not going to stop unless we make her,” Fluttershy declared with a stomp of her hoof. “I don’t know what we should do. So…in the meantime, let’s lock her up in the Equalization house.”

Discord’s grin stretched even wider. “A taste of her own medicine? Ooh, how deliciously ironic! I like this side of you Fluttershy. When it’s not directed at me of course.”

“NO! You can’t do this to me!” Starlight cried.

“You’re not the boss of us, Starry. We can do whatever we want,” the filly declared, standing tall and proud.

Discord leaned in close to Starlight. “Just between us, and just because I know it’ll freak you out,” His eyes briefly flashed white and pink. “Have fun, Starry.”

His eyes changed back to yellow and red before he thrust his claw out, magically pushing Starlight across town until she was flung into the Equalization House. “NO! No, no, no!” she cried as the door locked behind her. She pounded at the door with her hooves. She scratched, clawed, threatened, begged, and pleaded for over two hours. Eventually all her exhaustion came crashing down on her as she collapsed onto the floor, letting out a huge wail.

“It’s not fair! It was her fault! How could they do this to me! After everything…everything I…” Starlight sighed and rolled onto her back, staring at the ceiling as she fell into despair. As she stared at the ceiling, she heard a harsh whispering in her ear.

“No…”

Starlight whimpered as words began to appear on the walls, floor, and ceiling. Or maybe they had been there before and she just hadn’t noticed them.

NO HOPE. NO ESCAPE. ONLY PAIN. WRONG. LOSER. WEAKLING. NOT LIKE SUNBURST. MARKLESS. EVERYPONY HATES. HELPLESS. I’M SORRY MOMMY. NOT SPECIAL ENOUGH. ALONE.

Starlight shuddered. They were just words, and yet they were scrawled all over the place. It felt like they were hammering into her skull. Although, there was one phrase that made her pause. It reminded her of what the filly said right before she…

“No. Don’t ever think about it. That filly is insane. She has redefined insane. She’s just making up any kind of lie she can think of to drive me crazy. I’m not crazy, I won’t give up, I’m not crazy, I won’t give up…”

“I was almost hoping you wouldn’t. That part comes at the end of our story. And what a story it’s been, eh Starry?”

Starlight spun around to face the door as it closed behind her adversary. The filly stood there with a manic smile and a white horn glowing with power.

“The grand finale is finally upon us Starlight Glimmer. And I promise you, by the end of this show you’ll have such a smile on your face! Neh, heh, he, he. Aha, ha, ha! Bwa, ha, ha, ha!”

The Legacy

Starlight Glimmer snarled at the giggling filly. “You!” She immediately charged towards her enemy; her entire body overflowing with rage.

But the filly’s stolen horn glowed with an intense pink light as she levitated Starlight up into the air before sending her hurtling towards the back wall. “Ooh, yeah baby,” the filly whispered, licking her lips. “Bring that anger at me.”

“Haven’t you tortured me enough?!” Starlight cried. “What do you want from me? Why are you in my life?!”

“Oh what, you’re back to your little pity party? Already? Come on Starry, there’s still so much fight left in you! Not for much longer of course, but gimme a few more swings before you drown in the eternal abyss.” The filly paused and tapped her chin. “Wait, hold up. Dropped me train of thought. Where was I going with this?”

“Just ignore her, Glim-Glam,” Starlight muttered as she tucked herself into a fetal position on the floor. “It’s probably just another bad dream.”

The filly smirked and locked the door behind her with her stolen magic. She casually strolled towards Starlight. “Caught onto that, did you? Well, look on the bright side. I promise this is the last nightmare I’ll give you. Or second to last. My mood-swings are more like hula-hoops.”

“Oh, big surprise! You’re too chicken to face me for real, so you hide behind your changelings, and your Discords, and your voodoo, zebra dream magic,” Starlight hissed.

“Chicken? Mm, I would love some chicken fingers,” the filly mumbled, licking her lips again as she stared at Starlight. “But really darling, you should know by now that it is FAR more dangerous for me to be in your mind than near your body. Bad enough that I’m sleeping next door to you, honestly.” The filly waved her hoof around and pink clouds formed underneath her, lifting her into the air. “Mm. So many pretties…”

Starlight bolted upright as more pink clouds began to fill the air, all of them filled with traumatic memories of Starlight and the filly. “I’m not going to crack, you hear me! I can withstand whatever storm of insanity you plan to infect me with!”

The filly looked down at her with a curious twinkle in her eye. “Ooh! I was hoping you’d say that!” She touched down on the floor with a VERY eager grin. She brushed her hoof along the edges of the dream, twirling a large cloud of pink smoke in her hooves until a colourful present appeared in her grasp. She held the beautifully wrapped gift out to Starlight and shook it. “Go on! Open it!”

“How stupid do you think I am? It’s probably some magic potion or amulet that’s going to blow up in my face…except this is just another nightmare; just ignore her.” Starlight shut her eyes tight and plugged her ears with her hooves. “Go away, go away, go away…”

“Come now, Starry. I have a feeling you’ll want to know what’s inside.” The filly began to rapidly shake the box. “Ooh, I wonder what’s inside?”

The filly giggled as she shook the box for several minutes until inevitably Starlight’s patience snapped. “Okay already! I’ll open your stupid present! Just shut up for like five seconds!” She yanked the gift out of the filly’s hooves and murderously ripped the package open. Her anger cooled into confusion as she stared at her gift.

“…This is a rock.”

The filly smiled. “I know! It’s a very nice rock, isn’t it? Just look at ridges and curves on it. And look at that shine! Polished to perfection, I’m proud to say.”

Starlight looked up at her in befuddlement. “This is a rock.”

“Do you like it?” the filly asked hopefully.

Starlight growled at her and threw the rock at her enemy as hard as she could…except the rock didn’t leave her hoof.

“Oh ho! It seems your subconscious sees things clearer than you do. Deep down you know the importance of a nice rock to cling to, even if I haven’t explained why yet.”

“This is a rock!” Starlight shouted. “What am I supposed to do with this?!”

“You hold onto it of course. You’re not very good at listening, are you?” the filly giggled. But there was something dark in her eyes as she began to circle Starlight.

“Why did you give me this?! What’s the point?! You want to keep your precious individuality so bad, fine! You don’t need to be equal! You don’t need to stay in our town! You don’t need to torture me! Why are you still doing all this?!”

“Anchors away, huh? Oh, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to tell this story!” the filly giggled as her smile grew wider and wider. “Hang onto that rock of yours and don’t let go darling! You’ve never been on a ride as bumpy as this one! Nyeh, ha, ha, ha, ha!”

The filly rose higher into the air, laughing madly as pink smoke began to rapidly blanket everything within the dream. Starlight braced herself as a storm of madness and darkness washed over her.

Starlight gulped as she stared at the world around her; her entire being wracked with a building sense of dread. “Where are we?”

The filly gazed up thoughtfully at the blackened sky as clouds of smoke and ash drifted by them. “The future. Or you know, a possible future.”

Starlight continued to stare at the barren wasteland around her before glaring at her enemy. “The future? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”

“Why’s that? I’m sure you know all about time travel,” the filly said with a wink.

“But this can’t be the future! There’s nothing here!”

“Well that’s not completely wrong. We still have some things lingering around here. Come on, let’s get into town. We’ll be out of the wind then.”

Starlight reluctantly followed the filly, knowing that the nightmare wouldn’t end until the filly allowed her to wake up. Eventually they wandered into a familiar looking village. “What are we doing in Our Town?”

The filly shot her a cold smirk. “You think is Your Town? My dear, this is Ponyville. Although, I suppose every town just has to be your town, doesn’t it?”

“What? That can’t be right. This place doesn’t look anything like Ponyville!”

“It’s been years, Starry. Things change.” The filly smirked at her. “Even when the pony on top of the pyramid is terrified of change.”

“Okay, fine. So Ponyville does a little redecorating in the future,” Starlight said, eyeing the gray buildings and boarded up windows. “I don’t know what Fluttershy was thinking, but whatever.”

“Actually, that was Rarity’s old house.”

“What? No. No, that can’t be…” Starlight shook her head. “Whatever. Why is the sky so black?”

“Ooh that would be the pollution,” the filly answered. “See, without their special talents in agriculture, the farmers of Equestria couldn’t grow any more food. Good news is, we have factories to mass produce anything you could ever want to eat or drink.” The filly smiled as she took a half-empty bottle of some black liquid and took a huge gulp. “Mm! Just as horrible as I remember? Would you like some?”

Starlight shuddered in revulsion as she eyed the bottle. “Oh, gross! No! What is that?”

“It might be apple juice. Or maybe it’s milk. Oh well, more for me!” the filly guzzled the rest of it and threw the poisoned drink away. “Where was I? Oh, bad news is, the factories spew out smoke and ash like you wouldn’t believe. Now that wouldn’t be so bad if the pegasus ponies could manipulate the weather. I even heard that some of the more brainiac unicorns had a few solutions for the ‘Equestria Warming’ problem.”

“Well, why haven’t they? And where is everypony anyway?”

“We were just on the edge of town earlier, darling. They’ll be more people around Glimmer Hall. See, there they are!”

Starlight’s insides swelled with some foreign emotions that she wasn’t quite sure how to identify yet. The smiling ponies all reminded her so much of the equalized ponies in Our Town. How had she never noticed before how…unnatural everyone looked?

“Where are the unicorns? The pegasus ponies?”

“Why, they’re all around you, dearie!”

Starlight felt another shiver go down her back as she saw a pony with scars on his back walk by. “W…what?”

“Well, you wanted everypony to be equal. And you couldn’t let earth ponies feel inferior just because unicorns and pegasus ponies had some extra appendages, now could you? Everypony needs to be treated equal. They need to be equal. So, you drew up a law that every unicorn or pegasus foal would need to have those special, extra bits…removed, to spare every pony’s feelings.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped in horror. “No. NO! I-I’d never do that!”

“Oh, don’t worry dearie, it doesn’t even hurt! The baby foals all get anaesthetic before the amputations start. See, you’re not a total monster.”

Starlight was shivering too much to see the filly’s evil grin. “W…w-what are t-those?!”

The filly’s grin grew as she saw the ponies Starlight was pointing at. “Oh, those are some of the troublemakers. See, you want everypony to be happy with their new lives, don’t you? Of course, some ponies didn’t get the memo about mandatory happiness. They just couldn’t keep smiling for twenty-four hours a day, the insensitive jerks. So, you generously donated these metal hooks to the public. Every pony on your ‘Most Wanted’ list was required by law to pay for the surgery themselves. But just look at those pearly white smiles!” The filly flashed her own teeth out. “Not as pearly white as my smile of course, but then there aren’t that many dentists around in your future.”

“You’re insane! This nightmare is insane! There are colts and fillies with hooks in their mouths! Unicorn children with their horns cut off! Flightless pegasus ponies! I would NEVER do ANY of this!”

“Well it’s not like you did all of it. I’m sure your advisors suggested a few things. Then again, the ponies up in New Glimmer-lot have never seen these mysterious advisors…oh, I’m sure they’re fine.” The filly’s ears perked up as a bell rung. “Ooh, class is starting. Better hurry Starry, don’t want to be late!”

Starlight hesitantly followed her into the schoolhouse. Unlike the Ponyville classroom she was familiar with, this classroom was arranged with all the chairs and desks forming an equal sign. A single stand in the middle of the equal sign was reserved for the teacher.

“Good morning every pony! It’s another Star-shining happy day! Just as equally happy as every day we’ve ever had and every day we will have in our Glimmer-ious future!”

The filly chuckled. “Irritatingly dense, doesn’t she? Don’t worry, it grows on you. After all, she says this every single day.”

Starlight frowned. “Who is this?”

“That’s Teacher Blossom Petals Category E.”

“…What?”

“See, a few years ago, you decided that Equestria’s naming system needed some fine tuning. So many names sounded so much cooler than others. We couldn’t have any pony with cool names like Twilight Spear, Raindrop Dash, Rose Blade, Shatter Sky, or anything like that. Originally, every pony was going to be given a number as a name except numbers are quantitated; some are greater than others. Obviously, parents couldn’t name their children Number One or Number Ten, leaving all the poor Number Seventeens or Numbers Forty-Nines feeling inferior.”

The filly gestured at all the ponies around them. “So instead, the list of names that ponies could choose from were shortened considerably. To avoid confusion, ponies are given a category based on a letter system along with their name and their job title. See it works because every letter of the alphabet is equally important as the other letters.”

“Nothing about what you just said makes any sense,” Starlight grumbled, rubbing her head in confusion.

“Don’t get hissy, missy. It’s your system.”

Rather than getting into an argument and hurting her head even more, Starlight remained silent as the teacher did roll call. Double Diamond Category G, Muffin Berry Category B, Party Greeter Category R, Train Driver Category J, and so on. The list of pony names blurred together until Starlight heard one name that stood out.

“Sunny?”

“Here.” A young filly wearing a hooded cloak said.

Starlight’s eyebrow raised. “Hey, why doesn’t she have a category?”

The filly smirked. “I see you’ve met my old friend. This version of Equestria may worship the idea of equality you created, but this tiny pony is different.”

“Different how?” Starlight asked.

“Think about her name. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?”

“Sunny…something to do with the sun.” Starlight’s eyes widened. “Is…is she related to Princess Celestia?”

The filly smiled. “What makes you think that?”

“Well you haven’t told me she isn’t. You’re avoiding the question!” Starlight said with a triumphant smirk.

“You caught onto that, did you? Good,” the filly chuckled.

“Okay class! I’m happy to announce that today is the first day of Equality Week, part one! That means after today’s lesson, you don’t have to worry about school work for a whole week!” The class clapped gently and calmly.

“Now let’s all sing our national anthem!” The class stood up and began singing. Starlight noticed that it was the same as the song she taught to her equalized ponies in Our Town. There were only a few differences in the lyrics such as replacing ‘Our Town’ with ‘Our World’. When the song was finished, the teacher spoke up again. “Okay everypony, from the beginning!”

The class and the teacher spoke in unison. “In sameness there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best, by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Equality is Harmony. Friendship is Happiness. Follow Equality with Faith. Follow the Stars with faith.”

Starlight blinked in confusion and unease. “There…there’s some new stuff added. What does ‘Follow the Stars with Faith’ mean?”

“Why that’s you Glimmy. You and anypony that you have claimed as part of your inner circle are the Stars.”

“You keep talking about me as if I’m charge of this future. Like all of this is my fault,” Starlight grumbled.

“Your fault? Why Starry, it sounds like you’re not happy with what you see here,” the filly said with a grin.

“Of course I’m not happy! Sure, the school system is much more organized but look at everything else! This nightmare is insane! You put metal hooks in-”

Starlight recoiled as the filly slapped her hard across the face. The filly glared at her with a mad grin. “‘You put metal hooks’? You’re blaming me for what you see?”

“Well you created this nightmare!” Starlight growled.

The filly sighed and shook her head. “Wrong as always, Starlight. Just watch the show and try to keep the commentary down to a minimum.”

“Okay class, now that we’ve completed the day’s lesson, we’ll have time for a question from every pony. Oh, Sunny? You have a question?”

Sunny stood up from her desk and asked her question.

“A little louder Sunny. So every pony can hear you equally.”

“I just wanted to ask about Heart’s Warming.”

Blossom Petals Category E blinked in confusion. “What about Heart’s Warming?”

“I mean, the weather has been getting colder and colder lately, even with all the heat problems down at the factories. Couldn’t we celebrate Hearth's Warming at least once?”

“Well that’s not up to us, Sunny. The Stars will guide us.”

Sunny sighed and sat down again. “Right. The Stars.”

The teacher cleared her throat. “Um, Sunny? We’ve talked about wearing a hood while in class.”

“I’m sure the Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.

“Oh right, of course. Any other questions?”

The other pony’s all had questions. All about Starlight Glimmer. Starlight listened as the teacher told praised her and all the hard work she had done by building the multiple towns, and the burden of leadership that Starlight had taken to lead the equal ponies. “Okay class, remember to take your medicine before we go.”

Starlight watched as the ponies took out each took out a bottle of pills from their desk and ate two each. The only pony who didn’t take a pill was Sunny.

“Um, Sunny? You need to take your medicine.”

“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny responded

“Oh right, of course.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean? And what are those pills for?”

“No one knows,” the filly answered.

“What? How could anyone not know what that phrase means?”

“I was talking about the pills. It’s best not to think about it. Do too much thinking and the chances of headaches and blackouts go from fifty percent to sixty percent. And that wouldn’t be equal, now would it?”

The bell went off again and the children all filed out happily yet calmly. Sunny was the last person out, keeping her head down and her eyes on the other ponies. As she left the classroom, several colts and fillies walked up to her in a circle.

“Hey Sunny! Do you want to play Game with us?”

Sunny sighed. “I’m sorry Silver Tray but-”

“It’s Silver Tray Category H,” the colt interrupted.

“Okay. Sorry guys, I just don’t want to play Game today.”

One of the fillies held up her hoof. “But-”

“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.

“Oh right, of course.” The other fillies and colts walked away from Sunny, still smiling cheerfully at them.

Sunny sighed and made her way into town. “Never part of any crowd, because my head is stuck on some cloud. No denying I’m a funny girl.”

Starlight frowned. “I don’t understand. Why doesn’t she want to play games with the other children?”

“Not games. Just Game.”

“Huh?”

The filly shrugged. “Yeah, every other game was banned due to being too competitive. Every playground game, sports game, card game, all banned. All that’s left is just Game.”

Starlight didn’t know what to make of that. “Uh…what are the rules?”

“It’s kinda like that old game parents play with their kids to keep them quiet. Only worse. And there is one ball and one card involved.”

“…I don’t understand.”

“Nobody does.”

Starlight shook her head. “Fine, so competitive sports have been banned. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. By why does Sunny act so different from everyone else?”

“Well her parents raised her different from other children I suppose.”

Starlight scoffed. “That’s no excuse. Whether she’s related to Princess Celestia or if she’s the princess’ own daughter, she shouldn’t be treated any differently in a society of equality and harmony.”

The filly smirked. “You make it sound like you approve of this lifestyle.”

Starlight took another look around her and shuddered. “I don’t! Ponies with wings and horns cut off, pollution in the air, metal hooks in mouths! This place has serious problems! B-but I’m sure that with some work these problems could be solved.”

The filly smirked at Starlight’s nervous smile. She didn’t say anything else as they followed Sunny down the road. Eventually the reached a spot that Starlight recognized. It was where the old library had been before Tirek had destroyed it. At least, that’s what Twilight had told her. Much of the library’s remains had been cleared away, leaving nothing but a deep, dark hole in the ground. Sunny reached into the hole and pulled out a book covered in ash. She flicked through the book’s pages before snorting in disgust and throwing the book back into the pile.

“She doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood,” Starlight commented. “Doesn’t she have any friends to cheer her up?”

“Oh, she has plenty of friends,” the filly said. “But…how do I say this? They’re the kind of friends you would have Starlight. Not the kind of friends other people have.”

Starlight glared at her. “Stop trying to make me feel…like whatever it is you’re trying to make me feel like. I may be the leader of Ponyville now and apparently in the future, but I’m not any different from any other pony. The only way to be happy is if we’re all equal.”

The filly chuckled. “Sure Starry. Well, you got what you wanted. Every pony is equal.”

The next place Sunny stopped at made Starlight pause. They were staring at a giant statue of herself. The statue Starlight was rearing up with the Staff of Sameness held in her hooves. Dotted around the statue’s body were over two dozen cutie marks, making the statue look like it had the cutie pox.

“The cutie marks represent how you’ve taken on the burden of being the only one with special talents,” the filly informed her. “See, in this timeline, everybody already knows that you never gave up your cutie mark. But your brainwashing and conditioning has broken most of your followers down so far, they can’t see the hypocrisy. The only cutie mark not on that statue is your own.”

Starlight watched as Sunny gently touched the large stone circle on the bottom of the statue. Tiny images of Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and the Element bearers were on the statue. The stone circle was made to look like a circular equal sign with the ponies in the middle. Underneath that was…

Starlight shuddered in revulsion. “What are those?!”

“Oh, you know. Dragons, changelings, griffons, cows, minotaurs, goats, centaurs, diamond dogs, and donkeys. All smooshed together and in their rightful place.”

Starlight shook her head at the filly’s answer. “No! I’d…I’d never do that! I-I mean, the dragons and changelings I suppose b-but-”

“Why are you so confused, dearie? Ponies and zebras are the only creatures who can get cutie marks and the only creatures who could be equalized. Everybody else…well, it’s best not to think about what happens to the prisoners. See, with the military disbanded, you took on the duty of defending Equestria. And you have done such a job of it, haven’t you darling?”

“I don’t understand. What happened to the princesses? What happened to Twilight and my friends?”

The glare in the filly’s eyes was colder than ice. “What do you think happened, dearie?”

Sunny brushed her hoof along the image of Celestia’s mane before she sighed and kept walking. The next place she stopped at was a graveyard. Having never really visited a graveyard before, the sight made Starlight especially squeamish. That wasn’t even taking into account just how many graves there were. Sunny walked over to one of the graves and crouched down to it. She clasped her hooves together and began to whisper.

“What’s she doing now?”

“Paying her respects to those who have passed. She does this about once a month. More if she’s feeling depressed,” the filly answered. “It’s really sweet of her. I don’t think I could do the same thing if I was in her horseshoes.” She smiled and pointed at a spot in the ground. “This here is where I was buried.”

“What?” Starlight stared at the patch of dirt in confusion. “But this is the only spot with no grave.”

The filly giggled in response. Meanwhile, Sunny continued paying her respects. Some of them she spent more time with than others but she stopped and whispered at every single grave. Stepping closer to Sunny, Starlight could make out the end of what she had been saying.

“I promise you, I’m going to fix this. I’ll find someone who can help us, and I will save you. I promise.”

With that said, Sunny stood up and began walking in a different direction. Starlight’s eye widened as she realized where they were going. “Wait a second! She can’t go in there!”

“Whoa, hold on a minute Sunny!” a stallion said as he blocked Sunny’s path. “The Everfree forest is too dangerous for ponies.”

Sunny sighed. “Hi Glam Chaser Category S. How’s the wife and kid?”

“We’re having a happy life, just as equally happy as yours!” the stallion said cheerfully with a creepy grin. “Now as I was saying, you can’t go into the forest Sunny. The Rules of Equality clearly state that-”

“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.

The stallions hesitated. “I…I don’t know. Leader Starlight Glimmer made it very clear that-”
“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny repeated.

“Oh r-right, of course.” The stallion nodded and walked away with a grin. “Have a happy day, and may all your days be equally happy!”

“The next pony who gets in my way will be seeing stars,” Sunny growled before she stormed her way into the Everfree forest.

“What is she thinking?! The Everfree forest is a death trap and by the looks of things it’s gotten even worse!” Starlight cried. “If I’m supposed to be in control of Equestria, why haven’t I burnt this forest to ash or something?!”

“Your magic may be strong Glim-Glam, but there are some things that just can’t be killed. Funny story about this forest, this is where Sunny and me first met! Actually…” The filly paused as her ears twitched. “Oopsie. I should probably check and make sure old Chrysalis isn’t feeling too cranky. Don’t worry though Starlight, you just keep following Sunny.” The filly gave her an evil grin. “You’re almost there.”

The filly disappeared from the nightmare. Starlight’s gaze darted all around her, feeling as if the dream world was slowly closing in on her. Nervously, she began to chase after Sunny, hoping that the quiet little kid would finally give her some answers. As they traveled through the forest, the hairs on Starlight’s back stood up. The Everfree forest was a lot thicker than she remembered. Multiple, glowing yellow monster eyes glared at them through the bushes and branches, yet even though they were being watched nothing leapt out at them. Something was keeping the monsters away.

A low hum broke the silence. Sunny’s eyes narrowed as she followed the gentle hum. The hum grew louder while creepy whispers began to fill the air. Pulling apart a few bushes, Sunny broke through the forest and wandered into a large cave. Glowing purple diamonds embedded in green cave walls. The cave looked very beautiful…or at least it had been, a long time ago. Even though light danced around them, the cave seemed to radiate a dark cloud. The darkness felt like a living creature to Starlight, closing in on her, suffocating her. At the center of the cave stood a tall tree. The tree’s bark was cracked and blackened with either age or something else.

“What do we have her?” Sunny whispered. Her eyes traveled down the trunk; a sun and moon had been carved near the base. Her gaze wandered back up to the branches. Each one had a colorful symbol that Starlight recognized as the Elements of Harmony. “No way!” Sunny exclaimed. “This tree must have belonged to the heroes of Equestria. Finally!” Sunny bowed before the tree and clasped her hooves in a prayer.

“Elements of Harmony. Princesses of Equestria. Dragon lords of the old Empires. I come before you as a humble pony and a hopeful friend. Out there is a monster known as Starlight Glimmer. Starlight has poisoned this land and enslaved its people. She hoards all the magic and power for herself; with such greed that no honourable dragon or griffon could ever match it. I seek to imprison this monster and set free the innocent and the kind. But I can’t do this alone. Please, I beg of you. Protect us. Send us the object of our liberation. Send us a hero who will give us our freedom. Please…please…”

Sunny and Starlight waited for what happened next. They waited some more. All was quiet in the cave. All except the creepy whispers that Starlight could hear, hovering by the edges of her mind.

Sunny’s face twisted into a snarl. “That’s it? Nothing? Please, I’m begging you! Help us!” When she didn’t receive an answer, she stood up. “Fine. I have other options to turn to.”

Sunny walked around the tree and picked up a strange object. It was a large eagle’s claw made of stone. The stone claw had been snapped off like it was once part of a larger statue. “Discord. They say that when the Element of Kindness faded away, you went into a blind rampage. I’m asking you to do that again. Come back to us and you can have your vengeance.”

Again nobody answered her. Starlight was starting to feel sorry for Sunny, even if she was desperately wishing for Starlight’s downfall. This was just a dream though, and Starlight couldn’t do anything to help the poor, confused girl.

Sunny lowered the claw. “If you no one else can save us…then I’ll do it!” Sunny’s glared up at the sky with blazing rage. “I will hunt Starlight Glimmer down and make her PAY for what she did! For every moment she has made us suffer, I’ll make her suffer a thousand times over! It doesn’t matter how strong they think her magic is! I’ll become stronger than her!”

Sunny stood up to her full height. “And not just her! If anyone tries to hurt us again, I’ll annihilate them! I swear on my life! I Pinkie Promise! Good will defeat evil or else I will drown evil in its own, filthy blood!”

Sunny collapsed onto the ground in a fit of restrained sobbing. Even as tears poured out of her eyes, she held her mouth shut; not allowing anyone to see the emotional cyclone whirling around inside her.

“Hi there little pony.”

Sunny leapt back on her hooves, searching wildly around for the voice. Starlight did the same thing. Even if this was just a dream, somehow that voice made it seem a lot more real. That wasn’t the kind of voice you’d hear in dreams or nightmares. Nobody would be that cruel to their own mind.

“Oh it’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.”

“Who’s out there?! Did you follow me?!” Sunny shouted, her gaze darting around frantically. “Stop hiding!”

“As you wish.”

Sunny and Starlight blinked in astonishment as a thick cone of pink smoke floated out from within the cave. It coiled itself around the tree like a snake, waiting patiently.

“What brings you here?”

“I’m, uh…I’m looking for help,” Sunny answered.

“Oh no. How simply terrifying. Are you in danger, little one?”

“N-no.”

“You sure? I’d be happy to help you, if you want.”

“Uh, no thanks. I don’t even know who or…or what you are,” Sunny said.

“The question is not who I am. The question is who are you?”

“Uh, Sunny. My name is Sunny.”

“Just Sunny? Are you sure? Is that your only name?”

“Uh, y-yeah.”

“You can tell me. I’ll keep your secret. I’m good at keeping secrets.”

“N-no thanks. I’m sorry for disturbing your home, I’ll be leaving now.” Sunny spun around and ran for the exit…only to stop when she almost hit a solid rock wall. “Where…where’d my exit go?”

“It’s okay, my young friend. You don’t need to be afraid me. I won’t hurt you.”

“Well excuse me, but I’m having some difficulty trusting a creepy smoke monster without a face. Listen, I taste awful!” Sunny cried. “Our shower doesn’t even have hot water; like, my fur is really greasy.”

“Don’t worry Sunny. You’re not the one I want to eat. So why don’t you tell me who you are. Why you’re here.”

“You’re just gonna eat me,” Sunny said nervously.

“If that was the case, wouldn’t prolonging this conversation keep me from eating you?”

“I…I guess that’s a good point,” Sunny admitted.

“I can be very persuasive. So…who are you? Why are you really here?”

Sunny sighed. Her face twisted into a grimace as she fought with herself over the decision she was about to make. Finally, she made up her mind and flung her cloak off, looking the smoke creature right in its non-existent face. Taking in her appearance, Starlight thought she looked familiar. Her coat was a very pale orange. Her mane was pulled into a tight bun and her tail had a tattered ribbon tied to it. Her mane and tail were both red with a single streak of blue. Her eyes were purple, just like Starlight’s.

“My birth name is Sunrise Glimmer,” Sunny said.

“What?!” Starlight exclaimed. “I…I have a daughter?” Her mouth twitched into a timid, hopeful smile.

“He, he, he, he. So, Starlight is your mommy?”

Sunny stomped her hoof. “That mare is NOT my mom,” she snarled.

Starlight’s jaw dropped. She backed away from Sunny, sinking down to her haunches.

“Ooh. Such raw emotion. I can feel your anger. It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re the only ones here. Tell me how you feel.”

Sunny growled. “My dad used to tell me how amazing and sweet my mom was. If that’s the case, then Starlight Glimmer killed my mom years before I was born.”

“She hurt you, didn’t she? It’s okay, sweetheart. Let it all out.”

“Starlight has stolen everything from us. All our special talents. Our magic. Our food, our homes, our lives.”

“I was wondering about that. Your parents are both unicorns, right? What happened to your horn?”

Sunny snarled. “What do you think happened to it?!”

“Good. Keep it ambiguous. Maybe your mother cut your horn off. Or maybe you were just born an earth pony. It keeps the story mysterious and entertaining.”

“This isn’t some story! I’m a-”

“Hush now, little one. No spoilers.”

“You’re not taking this seriously!”

“What good has taking things seriously ever done for you? You should learn to smile more, sweetheart.”

“What, and end up like one of Starlight’s puppets? No thanks. I’d rather spend the rest of my life frowning than be stuck with one of her creepy grins.”

“Why not a creepy grin of your own? Why not let her see you the way you see her?”

Sunny narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to say?”

“You came here looking for help. I can help you.”

Sunny snorted. “Oh really? Where were you five minutes ago?”

“I needed to see if you had what it takes to accept my help. When you swore your life to destroying evil, when you let your raw emotions out for the heavens to see, I heard you. You’re stronger than all the other ponies.”

“Stronger? Look at me!” Sunny pointed at the equal sign on her flank, glaring at it with murderous hate. “Does this look like the cutie mark of someone strong? Someone different? My mom wanted me to end up a heartless, soulless witch like her! She told me that I’d grow up to continue her legacy; ripping away cutie marks and stealing ponies’ lives!”

“Contrary to what Starry thinks, cutie marks aren’t special. You are. You have the power to change your future. To change the fate of everyone around you. Together, we can give them peace and freedom.”

Sunny hesitated. “Let’s say…I’m interested. What are you suggesting?”

“A new perspective. A new drive. New talents and new ambitions. I will help you train yourself. I’ll make you stronger and smarter. I’ll help you reach your true potential. Then, I will help you defeat Starlight and save the ponies of Equestria.”

“That’s not enough. I want to help every creature in the world, not just ponies. And if another villain shows up, I want the strength to defeat them too!”

“Good! I can practically taste your ambition. Your hunger for justice, for vengeance, for freedom. It seems we’re both making the right choice.”

Sunny’s eyes had a hungry look in them. “What’s the catch?”

“Let’s say we win, and we set all the innocent creatures free. Give them back their special talent and their magic. What do you want to do with Starlight? Imprison her? Banish her?”

Sunny snarled. “I want to kill her.”

“No.”

“What? Oh come on! Don’t try and act like you’re too good for it! Look at you, floating and whispering like a smoky, demon snake! I may be falling for your act, but I still know it's an act!”

“You think I’m evil? Like Starlight? I will admit that I’m a monster, but I’m a necessary monster. I hunt only the guilty. I’m not going to stoop to their level.”

“Fine, whatever. You’re not evil, or at least not as bad as her. But she deserves it!”

“Death is too permanent. The dead can’t feel fear. She deserves to feel the pain she has inflicted on you and on others. Besides, she may be useful to us alive. Why terminate someone, when you can transform them? Make her into something new, just like I will do to you.”

“Which brings us back to the catch. What are you going to do to me?”

“I’ll become one with you, of course.”

“What, like you’ll possess me?”

“Of course not, sweetheart. I’ll merge with you. I’ll share with you. Everything that I am will be yours. I am chaos…destruction…madness…and insanity. But I am also happiness…justice…creation…and imagination. You get everything, darling. The sweet and the sour. That’s the catch.”

“So, we’ll become one being. I…guess that’s okay. What…what do I have to do? Sign something? Shake your…um…”

“Sunny, you wound me. I’m not some cliché demon trying to steal your soul. I want to be your friend.”

Sunny took on a dazed look. “Friend…”

“I’m offering you a chance to become more than a pony.”

Her eyes filled with hunger. “More than a pony…can…can we do it?”

“You, my wonderful, darling, sweetheart…you can be whatever you want to be. Be a hero to the innocent and kind. And be a monster to guilty and the wicked. Entire planents will gaze up at you in fear. They’ll be so afraid of us that they’ll never hurt each other again.”

“You…you are rather persuasive,” Sunny said, letting out a chuckle.

“See? Look how pretty that smile of yours is. Come here sweetheart. Give me a hug.”

Two large arms with dripping claws formed from the smoke cloud. Sunny smiled and walked towards the spirit’s embrace, quietly singing to herself. “Imagine all I could learn by setting us free. And now saving the world depends on me. But…our victory is what I really want to see…”

Sunny’s whispers faded into mumbles as she fell into the warm embrace. The second she did so, all the pink mist and smoke swirled around her and poured into her mouth. Sunny coughed and hacked violently until the creature was completely inside her.

“Up! Think I swallowed something!” Sunny coughed as she fell to the ground. Her body began to twitch and spasm. “Oh. Ooh ho, ho, ho. That…he, he, he. That tickles! That really…aha, ha, ha!”

The equal sign on Sunny’s flank began to glow red. It hissed and sizzled. “Ouch! Oh, that…ha, ha, ha…that stings!” The equal sign continued to burn until it melted off her body and splashed onto the ground. Sunny was a blank flank.

“It’s…it’s gone. Ha, ha, ha! It’s finally gone! Freedom! Free…he, he, he, he!”

A splotch of white appeared on her fur. More and more splotches of white appeared on her hooves and face, rapidly spreading all over her body until there wasn’t a hint of orange left. Her mane and tail uncurled themselves out of the prim and proper styles and began to turn bright pink, chasing out the red and blue. The filly laughed and laughed until she stopped laughing. She remained on the ground for two minutes, completely silent.

“How do I feel? Oh sweetheart…I…feel…ALIVE.” The filly jumped up, her purple eyes turning bright pink.

“Ooh. Everything is so…tingly now. I feel electric! Like lightning is surging through me! Oh baby, and the power! The absolute power! He, he, he! Wow, is that what I sound like? I’m like a mini-Nightmare Moon. No, no, wait, like Discord. What a character!”

“What’s this?” The room filled with more smoke, taking on the form of Starlight Glimmer. “Ooh…hello, dearie. How I have dreamed of this moment…” The filly lunged at Starlight Glimmer like a shark. But as she bit into the soft flesh, something unexpected happened.

“Candy! Chocolate!” the filly gasped happily. Instead of blood, milk chocolate poured out the gaping wound in Starlight’s neck. It splashed onto the ground and the filly hungrily began to lick it up. The image of Starlight faded away and the filly looked up. “More! I want more!”

More pink smoke swirled around her. Images of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, and Starlight Glimmer. “Oh, I get it now! I’m hallucinating!” the filly giggled. “But perhaps you didn’t understand the extent of my command. You know, I read once about some magical corruption and a pool that could turn anyone evil, until they were cured. When I said more…I meant more! Give me everything you got!”

More smoke swirled around. Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack. Spike. Celestia. Cadance. Shining. Apple Bloom. Sweetie. Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara. More ponies and other creatures appeared, all with blood red, angry eyes.

“That’s it. This is what I want the world to see. Everything bad thing that could happen…failing. Every villain that could rise…falling. All of you against me…and all of you powerless against me.” The filly let out a crazed giggle and lunged at the hallucinations teeth first.

Nightmare Moon blasted the filly, knocking her out of the sky. “Aw, little Lulu’s got some fight in her! Sorry, Moonie!” She charged towards Nightmare Moon with blinding speed and punched her in the chest plate. Her hoof tore through Nightmare Moon’s armor and plunged deep into her chest. “But there can only be ONE nightmare in Equestria! And that nightmare will be ME!”

She yanked Luna’s form out of Nightmare Moon and tossed her to safety. “Look away Luna. Things are gonna get messy!” She then sank her teeth into the hollow Nightmare Moon and drank up the flowing milk chocolate.

She grabbed the discarded pieces of armor and giggled. “This is mine and those are mine and…ooh, look who else is mine!” She grinned as the heavily muscled Tirek came stomping towards her. “If it isn’t the Jolly Red Giant! In a minute you’re gonna from Tirek to T-Wrecked!”

She lunged at him next, striking his arms and legs with precision and energy. However most of her attacks just bounced off his magically charged muscles. Tirek chuckled darkly and leaned down, opening his mouth to drain your magic.

“You’re biting off more than you can chew, buddy. You want my magic so bad?” The filly grinned and jumped inside Tirek’s mouth, grabbing his giant tongue in a death-grip. “Then you can choke on it!”

Tirek gagged and clawed at his throat as the filly jumped downward, scratching his esophagus with her hard hooves and sharp teeth. He clutched at his stomach as the mad filly attacked him from the inside. Eventually his chest burst open in a shower of gummy worms and licorice intestines. The filly came dancing out, covered in chocolate and laughing like a maniac.

“More! I want more!” The filly grinned as the changelings took one look at her and ran screaming. “Yes! Fly away, you spineless worms! Fly away in fear of me, he, he, he!”

“Now, a little closer to home,” she growled as she focused on the ponies. She charged at them, taking down several ponies with one or two hits. “Say goodnight, Nightmare Twilight. Say goodbye, Fluttershy! Applejack? More like Apple-crack!”

She kicked her enemies so hard, they slammed into the cave walls. She twisted their bones so much, their limbs snapped off in a shower of chocolate. Even though they were just chocolate-filled hallucinations, even if she was just fighting thin air, anyone who could see the filly would see her as an unstoppable death machine. When she had dismantled most of her opponents she grinned up at the hallucination Discord next. “Sorry pal, but there’s only room for one master of chaos.”

Yet before she could sink her teeth into Discord, she was caught completely off guard as he snapped his fingers and transformed her into a platypus.

“Wait…what?” She shook herself into a filly and frowned. “Lemme try that again.” She sidestepped Discord’s next attack but was then blasted into a large cage. “Okay, the voices in my head are telling me something. Take ten guys.”

The hallucinations disappeared into swirling pink smoke as the filly argued with herself. “What’s the big deal about Discord? I beat Tirek and the others, didn’t I? What’s that supposed to mean? We saw us out there! We were mopping the floor with those thugs! Well…okay, there wasn’t any mopping involved. Although a chocolate-mania fest may be required by how much of a mess we’ve left…oh, you think you’re clever!”

She scoffed and paced back and forth. “Please, Discord is not a god! He’s not the big deal you think he is! I don’t care if he can warp reality! He’s just a powerful wizard! They’re all just wizards! And we’re losing focus here! Tirek beat him and old Starry beat every pony! She needs to suffer for what she did!”

The filly looked up with wide eyes. “Yes…yes, I see it now. Those idiots back home worship her even more than Celestia. Can’t have that. It’s not enough to destroy her…we need to annihilate the evil inside her. We need to crush her influence completely, leaving nothing behind for some delusional follower to latch onto. A plan like this requires…oh. Oh, ho, ho, ho! Now that is one complicated plan! Ooh, but such a juicy one! It’s all coming together.” Numbers and letters floated in the sky as the filly continued to converse with her inner voices. “How long? But she’s had too much time already! Time…time, rhyme, lime, vine, slime, sublime…oh! Well, alrighty then!”

The filly left the cave and the hallucinations faded around as several far more dangerous ideas took their place. Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer sat off to the side. If she was in a better mood she might complain about how her own nightmare had forgotten about her. Instead, Starlight just felt…empty.

“No…”

The nightmare swirled around Starlight again, the violent movement having a much greater effect on Starlight than it usually did. Her entire body felt like it was made of dust that could be blown away by a gust of wind. She thought her situation was hopeless before but now…she didn’t think it could get any worse. Her nightmare was happy to prove her wrong.

The filly was perched on top of a high cliff overlooking the former Ponyville. She looked bigger than she did before. Her mane was longer and tied back so it wouldn’t get in her eyes. She was wearing unusual armor. It almost looked futuristic. Standing next to the crouching filly were two intimidating creatures. A large changeling and a teenage dragon, both wearing similar armor to what the filly was wearing.

“How much longer?” the changeling hissed.

“Patience, my dear. The show’s about to begin. Ooh, here she comes now.”

The dragon growled. “We can’t see her from up here!”

“Oh, my apologies. Let me tinker with this for a bit.” The filly pulled out a crystal that Starlight hadn’t noticed before. She poked and prodded the crystal in a delicate, seven step pattern. The crystal glowed and released a bubble of magical energy. It floated closer to the dragon, the changeling, and Starlight, allowing them to see what the filly was spying on. “Now don’t come crying to me if you can’t hear her. Not my fault if Glim-Glam can’t set up a decent sound system.”

Through the bubble, Starlight was shocked to see a much older version of herself walk up to a microphone. The older Starlight had grown wings, but they looked pretty fake. Real alicorns didn’t have gray hair or wrinkles on their faces. The older Starlight was wearing regalia, though it was all themed around equality. An equal sign on both her crown and necklace. She looked up at the large crowd of ponies she was addressing, which looked like a faded sea of color from where the dragon and changeling were standing.

“My equal ponies. We are gathered here today, on the first morning of the third Sun-uary, to mourn for the loss of Sunrise Glimmer. It has always been my burden to be the only pony who still has special talents. It is my blessing and my curse that I have the magic needed to lead our great nation while you…all of you…the ordinary citizens are free from a life of being different. You are free to be just the same as everypony around you. I alone have made the sacrifice necessary to care for you; to keep our cities in harmony and equality. When I was young…”

“Listen to her,” the filly snorted. “She creates an entire month to mourn for her daughter and yet every speech is me, me, me.”

“Wait, really?” the dragon asked.

“Funny story. She actually got rid of every other month and pushed the entire year into one month on the calendar. Glimmer-cember, which is eleven weeks long with a hundred and eleven days of non-stop work. And only eleven days of holiday, made to look like an equal sign on our calendar. Then she added Sun-uary to mourn her daughter, which is a month with only eleven days in it.”

The dragon stared at her in disbelief. “I may not understand pony math but…that sounds wrong and stupid.”

“That’s because even a dragon who can’t count past a thousand is still better than a pony who can’t count past herself.”

“Quiet. I think she’s moving on,” the changeling hissed.

“Sunrise Glimmer was to be my heir; for I am not immortal. These are not the wings of an alicorn princess, my friends. Merely a symbol of the heavy burden of a crown. But Sunrise Glimmer was strong in many ways. She would have carried this burden with pride and ushered in a new age of equality, just as happy as the last one. We didn’t know my daughter for very long but she will always live on in our equally heavy hearts. However…I am afraid, I have news equally as heartbreaking.”

The filly raised an eyebrow. “This is new.”

“Ever since the first Sun-uary when our search parties were unsuccessful at finding any sign of our daughter or her corpse, the Stars have had to alter our plans. My family knew that there must be an heir. So, my loyal husband Sunburst Glimmer and I have been trying to conceive a foal. For a while, it seemed that our labors had borne fruit. I was with child. However…an incident occurred. We do not know what our child would have been but his or her sacrifice was…”

The bubble evaporated as the crystal conjuring it was shattered. They could still hear the older Starlight’s voice but the temperature had grown too chilly to ignore. The filly was holding the crushed crystal in her right hoof, the shards cutting into her flesh. As blood began to drip from her hoof she looked up at the dragon and changeling.

The two monster took a step back. “Um…m-my queen?”

“Uh, boss lady? You all right?” the dragon asked.

“Burn everything.”

“But…my queen, your orders were to-”

The filly’s glare could have frozen Tartarus. “BURN. EVE-RY-THING.”

The dragon and changeling both knelt before her. “As you command, dread queen.” They stood up again and the dragon shouted behind them. “You heard the boss lady! ATTACK!”

Hundreds of green flashes went off behind them as the rocks on the cliff all transformed into changelings. As they launched themselves into the sky, a second army of dragons flew after them. One short flight over and soon the entire village was engulfed in fire. The filly began storming down the cliff, pushing everything and everyone unlucky enough to get in her way. Because no matter how boiling her rage was at the moment she had ordered her army to only terrify the ponies, not kill them.

No, there was only one pony she wanted to punish. The filly stomped up to the older Starlight who was busy firing spells at the monsters in the sky. The older Starlight flinched as she received a sharp jab in the stomach. “Not now!”

“Oh Starry. I’m home,” the filly hissed.

“Little filly, go find your parents! We’re under attack and my magic can only-”

The older Starlight gasped as the filly’s hooves wrapped tightly around her throat. She slammed the older mare onto the stage and flipped on top of her body. Her back legs wrapped around Starlight’s throat too as her front hooves forced Starlight to look up.

“You are going to watch this.”

“W…what?” the older Starlight gasped. As the ponies’ screams were drowned out by roars and hisses; as the village crumbled into ashes, the High Leader of equality watched in horror. “Whatever you hope to gain changeling-”

“Changeling? Why Starry, the irony is crushing!” the filly giggled as her hooves continued to squeeze Starlight’s throat. “You’ve forgotten me? And after all the trouble you went to dedicating this month to me!”

“Get off me, you monster! I’m not going to let destroy everything I’ve-”

“The sun rises on a smile, my starling.”

Starlight froze as the filly uttered that sentence. “You…the only pony who heard that…what have you done to my daughter?!” Starlight blasted the laughing filly off of her and pointed her glowing horn at the filly. “Answer me!”

“Ha, ha, ha! You’re so good with magic, Starry! Why don’t you make me?! He, he, he!”

“I will!” Starlight screamed as her magic engulfed the filly. “You will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!” she commanded. Her magic faded and she cried again, “Now where is my daughter?!”

“Hi mom.”

Starlight gasped as the filly transformed. Her white coat erupted into patches of colour that drained the white away. Her pink mane and tail shifted as red and blue took their place. Pink eyes turned purple and the smile was replaced with a scowl.

“S…Sunrise,” the older mare cried. “M…my sun-blessed starling. You’re alive!”

Sunny snorted as Starlight gave her a hug that wasn’t returned. “That’s debatable.”

“Sunrise Glimmer, where have you-”

Sunny threw the mare off her and hissed. “My name is not Glimmer. And it’s not Sunny either. I will never be your starling.”

“W…what?”

“All I ever wanted from you was to be a better person. But you’ve made it impossible. We came to this village, hoping to undo the damage you did to these people. Maybe we planned to burn a few buildings, but we never wanted to hurt anyone. Now...now, you’ve signed this timeline's death warrant. How many starlings came before me, huh? Did you sacrifice them too?!” Sunny stomped on Starlight’s hoof, causing her to scream in pain.

“S-Sunrise! Please! What’s happened to you?!”

“Are you even paying attention?! I brought an entire army to burn down your village and you won’t even ask me why?!”

“I’ve heard enough from you!” Starlight growled. “Stop possessing my starling, filthy demon! My daughter loved me and she’d never do any of this!”

Sunny scowled. “You delusional pile of pond scum.”

“Quiet, you filthy unequal! I demand you give me my heir back!”

Sunny’s scowl morphed into a smile. The white fur and pink hair overtook her body again as she transformed. “It’s too late, Glimmer. Sunny belongs to me now. But don’t worry…you’ll be with her again soon.” The filly’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “You see, I am a spirit. I have possessed your daughter’s body and soon the rest of my army will break through the seal your pony princesses placed on us. Then all of Equestria will be ours.”

“Seal? What seal?!”

“Oh, the seal that the Elements of Harmony created. On the day they were returned to that sparkly tree, the power of our prison began to weaken. My army will break free any day now! I was merely a scout.” The filly grinned. “And the best part is, once we have possessed someone, we’re bonded for life! We will overwhelm your world and take your bodies as our puppets!”

“Ponykind will never surrender to unequal abominations like you! Harmony, equality, and friendship can conquer anything!” Starlight declared.

“Please,” the filly snorted. “You can’t turn back time on our day of victory! You have lost!”

Starlight shot her an evil grin. “That’s what you think!” Her horn glowed brightly as she knocked the filly off her body and flew into the air.

The filly chuckled as she watched Starlight fly away. “That’s exactly what I think, you gullible old fool.” She began galloping after Starlight as the village was reduced to ashes behind them. “You can run Starlight, but you’ll never run far enough!”

Soon the older Starlight reached a broken crystal table, lying in the middle of nowhere. She summoned a tattered and torn scroll with her magic and fired a spell onto the table. A spinning dome of temporal magic appeared in the air above her as she floated into it. “Just one more journey to the past. Just one more mistake to correct. My starling will never die and neither shall equality.”

“SURPRISE!” the filly screamed as she launched herself at Starlight and knocked her out of the time spell with a spinning kick.

“Augh! You…you…unequal!” Starlight cried. “Filthy, chaotic, divergence in the natural order!”

“If you’re worried about natural order, I’ve got you covered on that,” the filly said with a chuckle. “But you’re the one who cast this spell and I can’t have you following me. So it is with a tremendous amount of glee that I do this…”

Starlight growled. “Get your filthy hooves off me you – AAAHHH!”

Starlight screamed in pain as the filly picked up a large rock and smashed it onto her front hooves. She then grabbed the sobbing Starlight’s horn and smashed her head into the ground.

“There we go! At the very least, that’ll slow you down. Although really, if you still want to chase me after all this, you’re even crazier than I am!” the filly chuckled.

“You…you monster! You crippled me!” Starlight cried.

“Please, you’re not crippled. Why, your legs’ll be good as new soon! We just have to give them some time.” The filly shot her an evil grin before she jumped into the time dome and disappeared. She flew through a swirling blue stream of time and space, laughing madly all the way.

Soon enough, the filly fell out of the time stream and smiled eagerly at her surroundings. “What a quaint little village!” She stood up and bounced into town with a cheerful spring in her step. “Excuse me mister!”

A brown coated unicorn with sandy hair smiled at the cute little filly. “Well aren’t you adorable!”

The filly giggled. “Aw, you’re just saying that.”

“Did your family just move her, little one? What’s your name?”

“Oh my name is a secret!” the filly said with a wink. “Speaking of names have you ever heard of Starlight Glimmer?”

The stallion scratched his chin in thought. “um…can’t say that I have.”

“Delightful,” the filly said. “Well you have a wonderful day, my good sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make!”

“Aw, that’s nice. Are you throwing a party for someone?”

The filly chuckled. “The greatest party pony-kind has ever seen. A party so gigantic, it’ll rock the foundations of the very planet!”

“Neat! Maybe you could invite my son?”

“I’m sure an invitation can be arranged.” The filly chuckled evilly as the nightmare faded around her.

Starlight blinked in surprise at the envelope the filly gave her. “Excuse me for leaving you in the middle of the story. Though I can see you didn’t miss my presence. Amazing how spellbound a dream can make you, isn’t it?”

The trembling, traumatized Starlight managed to regain slight control of herself and backed away from her. “N-not true! That’s a lie! You’re a l-liar!”

“Oh? What have I lied to you about this time, darling?”

“T-that d-dream! Not real! I’m…I’m not like that! Imma nice pony! And y-you, and S-S-Sunrise! I d-don’t know what you are b-but you’re not from the future and you’re not my…my…”

“Go on. Say it. I dare you,” the filly hissed with a twisted grin.

“You…you’re not my daughter. I don’t have any children.”

The filly happily shrugged. “That’s true enough I suppose. Really, this whole thing is open to interpretation. Oh, but I see you haven’t let go of the rock yet.”

Starlight frowned at the rock that was still in her hooves. It had gotten bigger since the nightmare started. While she was looking down, she noticed a small lake under her hooves. Somehow the entire nightmare’s floor had filled up with water to the point where it brushed up against her belly.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not,” the filly sang.

“What?” Starlight mumbled in confusion.

“I suppose there’s evidence to support either. If I was your emotionally abused daughter it makes sense why I would hate you enough to make a storm of Windigos droll. On the other hoof, it makes sense why I couldn’t be your daughter. After all…”

The filly gave her an evil grin. “How could Sunburst learn to love a monster like you? How could any stallion tolerate you enough to take care of their offspring?”

“Sunburst was my friend! He cared about me! I…I’m sure that if I had been a little braver I could have asked him to be my special-”

“Nyeh, heh, he, he!” The filly laughed. “Delusional as always my dear! But even if Sunburst didn’t hate your cutie-mark stealing guts you’d have a hard time breaking out of here! Then again…oh, why not? I’m feeling generous!”

The filly eyed the envelope she was still holding before cheerfully slamming it onto Starlight’s face, knocking her out of the dream.

Starlight woke up feeling much the same way she felt every time she woke up now. Confused, frightened, angry, and nauseated. Frowning at the object hanging in her view, she reached up to her face and discovered something unexpected. Her horn was back. She quickly cast a mirror spell and examined her reflection. It was the same purple colour it had always been. Not a spot of white on it. At least…she hoped so. She levitated the letter that had been hanging on her face and read the message.

You’re invited! Who: everyone. When: Right now! Where: the cutie mark vault.

Starlight’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. She galloped towards the exit and blasted the door off its hinges with her magic. “No, no, no, No, NO, NO, NO!”

The Finale

“He, he, he, he…ha, ha, ha, ha…aha, he, he, he…”

Deep within the secret cutie mark vault that Starlight had stored thousands of special talents, laughter could be heard from behind the stage. The gathered mares, stallions, colts, and fillies exchanged glances as they waited. Discord and a strange little filly had built a huge stage with big red curtains in front of the vault. It was all done for the sake of theatrics, but the ponies found they couldn’t say no to the filly’s playful smile. Half an hour later though, the ponies were getting tired of waiting for the show to begin. But the return of their special talents would have to wait until whoever was backstage stopped laughing like a hyena.

“Eh, he, he, he, he!”

The Element bearers and Spike all cautiously watched the filly as she continued to stare at the red curtains. Her smile was as wide as her bloodshot eyes and her entire body was shaking from both her creepy giggling and the multiple twitches that were dancing all over her.

“Yeah, she’s been like that for over twenty minutes now,” Spike told his friends.

“Poor kid,” Rainbow Dash sighed. “What Starlight did to her really messed her up.”

Twilight fidgeted a little. “We shouldn’t say things like ‘messed up’ when we’re talking to her. I don’t want to make assumptions, but I think she’s had…mental health problems long before she met Starlight.”

Spike frowned. He reached over to the filly and tapped her on the shoulder. “Hey. Uh, you okay?”

The filly slowly spun her head around to stare at Spike with a big creepy smile. “I’ve been waiting for you…”

Spike’s eyes widened as he bolted out of the room. “Spike! What’s gotten into you?” Twilight shouted after him.

“I’ve read enough horror stories to know where this is going!”

“Spike! I told you not to read those books until you turned-”

The startled Twilight jumped as she felt the filly’s hoof rest on her wings. “He has been such a nervous Nelly lately, hasn’t he?”

Rainbow raised an eyebrow at the filly. “Um, are you feeling okay, kid? Spike told us you’ve just been staring at nothing for like twenty minutes.”

“Bet it feels even longer than that, eh Pinkie?” The filly giggled as Pinkie titled her head in confusion. “She knows what I’m talking about! He, he, he!”

Rarity cleared her throat. “Well, yes. Anyway, I for one wish to thank you for taking the bullet, as it were. If you hadn’t exposed Starlight for what she is, we may have never even realized she would go so far as to harm a child to get what she wants. Every pony in Equestria will soon have their cutie marks back. It’s taken us all far to long to see past Starlight Glimmer’s web of lies but you have shown us the truth. You’ve sacrificed so much to help us see Starlight as the heartless creature she really is, so it’s fitting that this ceremony be your time to shine, darling.”

The filly’s grinning face settled into a more relaxed smile. “You flatter me, dearies.” Her eyes lit up as her creepy smile returned. “Ooh! There’s another thought! He, he, he, he!”

“Heh, some pony’s got a case of the giggles. What’s on your mind?” Pinkie asked.

“Oh, all number of things Pinkie.” The filly’s eyes narrowed as she stared at a corner of the room. “Cut off one head and two more take its place, eh? Not if I burn the stumps! He, he, he, he!”

“Um, are you talking about a hydra?” Fluttershy asked. “Because you really shouldn’t be-”

But the filly interrupted her with another chuckle. “A pretty good guess, Flutter-butter! Don’t read too deeply into my insider jokes, though. I’m just making plans for after I leave Equestria.”

“Wait, back up! What are you doing?” a wide-eyed Rainbow asked.

The filly smiled. “You have all been very patient with me. I appreciate what you girls have done to protect this strange little pony planet. But sadly, this world has no place in it for a freak like me. Once Starlight Glimmer isn’t a problem, I’ll shuffle off this stage and move onto the next show.”

“Now hold on darling. After Starlight has finally left us all alone, on the day we finally reclaim our special talents, our dreams and aspirations, our destiny!” Rarity said dramatically before she coughed delicately at the odd looks her friends were giving her. “…You’re just going to leave?”

“Trust me Rarity, if I don’t have to be in Equestria, it’s a good thing. I only stick around a place if the bad guys still need blowing up.”

“Uh…blowing up?” Applejack asked with a raised eyebrow. “Sugarcube, you’ve been saying a lot of weird things lately…you wanna explain any of that?”

The filly grinned. “I was hoping you’d ask me that. You see, before we really light this party up, there are things I want to get off my back. Or rather, your backs.” The filly bowed her head and said, “First of all, I’m sorry for nailing that smiling, dead rat to the door.”

“WHAT!” the ponies all exclaimed.

“W-what you are saying?!” Twilight asked.

“Exactly what it sounds like. That dead rat that showed up on the front door of Starlight’s Brainwash Fun-Times House? The one I was sent to when I first arrived? Who else did you really think it was?”

Rainbow frowned at her. “Look kid, are you trying to make a joke? Because it’s not funny.”

“Funny is a matter of perspective, Dashie. You guessed right about the Timberwolves though. Once I found a pack of hungry wolves I scared them off and stole their dinner. After that it was simple enough to nail the rat and my message to the door before sneaking back into the hut that I so easily escaped from.” The filly chuckled. “Oh ho, your security is terrible, sweethearts.”

“But…why?!” Fluttershy cried.

“Now see, this is why I’m finally saying sorry. Fluttershy, sweet little Fluttershy, I never meant to hurt you. And don’t you remember how I helped you give that poor rat a decent burial? His final farewell party? It was never my intention to hurt you or the rat, my friends. Just Starlight.”

“Kid, if you’re telling the truth, then you hurt a whole lot of ponies with that stunt,” Applejack warned her.

“Oh, that stunt couldn’t hurt you. It served as a reminder that you could be hurt. Starlight had you all believing that no special talents meant no conflict and therefore no danger. But once you saw my…encouragement for you all to start genuinely smiling, well things got pretty dangerous pretty fast, didn’t they?”

“Oh, don’t give me that look, Miss Pie. You’re the smile expert Pinkie. In your heart, you know I’m right.” She reached up and brushed her hoof along Pinkie’s cheek, causing the older pony to jump back.

“While I’m at it, sorry for hypnotising you Fluttershy.”

“What?! You tried to brainwash Fluttershy?!” Rainbow shouted.

“Hypnotise, dearie. There’s a big difference. To put Flutters under my spell, I had to get her permission first. Little lady didn’t think a goofy kid like me could pull it off. I also couldn’t get her to do something that she would strongly disagree with. So really Fluttershy, deep down in your heart…you never had a problem when I played mind games with you, now do you?”

Fluttershy hid behind her mane. “M…maybe. But I don’t even remember half the time you hypnotised me. How do I know you didn’t make me do something awful?!”

“Now Fluttershy, sweetheart, I was only after Starlight. Where’s the fun in torturing someone as innocent as you?”

“Fun?!” Twilight asked, her eyes beginning to narrow.

“I suppose I should keep going. Oh yes! I’m sorry for breaking into Diamond Tiara’s house and ripping off her mom’s fur and hair. Well, actually no, I’m not,” the filly giggled.

“WHAT!” the ponies all exclaimed.

“Hey, two for two!” the filly cheered.

Twilight stared at her in horror. “But…but how? Why?”

“Oh, the how was easy. You’d be surprised at the kind of chemistry cookbooks that Zecora left behind in her hut. Now, saying that it was child’s play to create sleeping potions feels a little cliché, but then I did mix up those smoke bombs during recess.”

“After I heard Spoiled Brat, I mean Rich, torment her daughter like that, I just couldn’t help myself! So, late at night I threw my special little remedies through the window to make sure everyone stayed asleep while I broke in. I already chugged a dozen bottles of energy drinks to keep myself awake and after I had tied Spoiled Rich to her bed I shoved another bottle down her throat. And when she woke up, that’s when the fun really began, he, he, he…”

“But…how could you even think about shaving off a mare’s fur? Her hair?! Her pride and joy?!” Rarity cried.

“Pride and joy? Rarity darling, take a look through the curtain.” She walked over to the middle of the stage and pulled the curtain back a little and pointed. “Right here. Tell me what you see.”

Rarity cautiously followed the filly and looked at where she was pointing. “I see the Rich family.”

“So, do I, darling. I see them happy. Spoiled Rich was acting like a materialistic, kid-hating witch. So, I served up a dozen helpings of humble pie, and look at her now! She’s being a better pony for her family…” The evil grin returned to the filly’s face. “Because she knows what will happen if she ticks me off again.”

“Now listen here missy!” Applejack shouted. “None of that makes up for the rat or you shaving off her fur!”

“Sure. I ‘shaved off’ her fur. Let’s go with that,” the filly chuckled. “It’s probably better if you don’t know all the details. Just a head’s up though, candy coloured pony fur doesn’t taste as good as it looks.”

Applejack grabbed the filly’s ear. “The hay is wrong with you?! You think this is some kinda joke?! What you’re doing is wrong!” she cried.

The filly chuckled and shrugged her way out of Applejack’s grip. “Is that all you have to say, Jackie? I’ve done far worse than that. I’ve poisoned Starlight’s dreams, corrupted the Crystal Heart with my own insanity, and heck, I still haven’t played any of my wilder cards yet!”

Twilight glared at the filly. “You know we can’t let you get away with all this.”

“Oh sweetheart, sure you can! And do you know why?” A dangerous glint entered the filly’s eye. “I’m done censoring myself for your sake. I’m not gonna lie anymore. I’m insane. I’m an evil genius. I’m a bloodthirsty psychopath. But you know something funny? Even though I’m far more dangerous than any creature on this planet, Starlight Glimmer is a far more evil than I am. My target in this whole psychological game was Starlight. Ponyville and the Crystal Empire got a little caught in the crossfire, and I am sorry about that. But the damage I’ve done to your homes will fade over time. Not so much if I had stayed out of Starlight’s way.”

The filly’s face twisted into an unsettling scowl. “That egotistical, jealous, control freak of a unicorn wanted to destroy what made us all special. What made us all happy. You six may have been able to beat all your other enemies with the magic of friendship, but Starlight came the closest to winning. I may be the high queen of insanity, but a world where the bad guys win?!” The filly swung her hoof down, smashing a gaping hole in the wooden stage floor beneath them. She glared up at them. “Not happening sweethearts! Never, ever, EVER!”

The ponies all stared at the fuming filly. None of them knew how to react to her any more. Pinkie cleared her throat and bravely spoke up. “Even if Starlight was being a bully, you shouldn’t have done all those things just to torment her.”

“Pinkie’s right. Two wrongs don’t make a right,” Twilight said.

"But three rights make a left!" the filly giggled. "If you have a problem with my methods, next time defeat the villain before I step in."

“We’re being serious little one. This really isn’t something a filly like you should be doing,” Fluttershy said.

“Filly? Girls, I’m a teenager,” the filly told them.

“…Say what?” Pinkie asked.

“What, I never told you? I’m like sixteen years old.” The filly paused and scratched her chin. "Or was it fifteen? Seventeen? Somewhere around there."

“But…but you look the same age as my sister!” Applejack exclaimed.

“It’s called being short for my age. Thank you for pointing that out, you overly judgemental apple kicker!” the filly said with a giggle.

“Uh, hey guys?” They turned around to see Spike approaching the group. “The crowd’s getting pretty impatient out there. What’s going on?”

“Just the last little build up before the finale. Shall we get started?” the filly chuckled as she and Spike walked towards the curtain.

“Wait just a minute! Why would you confess everything you’ve done now? Why would you tell us all this?” Rarity asked.

“I truly am sorry if I have ever hurt you, dearies. But we just have different ways of fighting evil. You six are heroes. I’m the villain’s villain. Friendship would have never worked between us in the long run. May you remember me as the innocent filly you thought I was instead of the monster I am. Because after tonight that’s all I’ll be to you…

“A memory.”

The filly and Spike walked out through the curtains and away from the Element bearers. On stage, the filly smiled and waved to the cheering crowd.

“I’m sorry you and the girls aren’t friends anymore. But I’m glad you finally told them the truth,” Spike said to the filly. “So, what now? Do you give a big speech to the crowd before you smash the cutie mark vault open and give every pony their special talents back?”

The filly smirked at him. “Oh, you would think that, wouldn’t you…Starry?”

Spike’s eyes widened in surprise as the filly grabbed him by the chin and ripped his head off his shoulders. Spike disappeared in cloud of smoke and Starlight Glimmer was left behind gasping for breath and shivering with fear. “W-what?! WHAT?! What was that?!”

“Aw, poor little Starry. You’re really losing it, aren’t you?”

“What is this?!” Starlight screamed. “Another nightmare?!”

“Nope! You’re wide awake, dearie. And experiencing quite a hallucination, I must say. Oh, just look at you! White as a sheet! In fact…even whiter than that, I’d say.”

The filly lifted Starlight’s left foreleg for her to see. Starlight’s eyes widened in horror as a splotch of white began to spread over her pink coat of fur. “What are you doing to me?!”

The filly grinned. “Relax dearie, this is just a visual metaphor. You won’t be getting my lovely complexion just yet. Still, you’re coming along nicely. With every passing hour you’re becoming more like me.”

“I’ll never be like you!” Starlight hissed.

“You sure, dearie? You’ve got my evil glare down perfectly! Now all we need to work on is your SMILE.”

Starlight’s glare intensified as the filly’s eyes seemed to glow with pure malevolence. “You won’t get away with this.”

“Starry, haven’t you figured it out? Even though it’s the theatrical thing to do, do you really think I’d free their cutie marks, after my speech? Just so you could interrupt me? I got away with it five minutes ago.”

The filly grinned and pointed at something over her shoulder. The hallucination melted away and Starlight found herself standing in a field of grass, all alone, with a fair bit of droll on her chin. She wiped the droll away and almost screamed as she saw several dots of light shooting into the sky. Off in the distance, cutie marks were being released from the cutie mark vault. Starlight was too late to stop it.

“No. No, no, no, no, NO, NO, NO!” she screamed as she levitated herself and rocketed toward the vault at air speeds that would have made Spitfire proud.

Meanwhile, the filly looked up at the cheering crowd of once more colourful ponies. Being the closest to the vault, they were the first group to get their special talents back. Cutie marks were still zipping out of the vault and to the far corners of Equestria to reach the ponies were too bedridden to make it. But looking at the crowd of smiling faces, the filly felt that any pony around Granny Smith’s age no longer had to worry about that.

“You feel that everyone?! Don’t you just feel alive?!” the filly shouted. Her grin widened as the ponies cheered louder. Behind her on the stage, the Element bearers and the Princesses of Equestria stared uneasily at the filly. Soon though, none of that would matter. “Well folks, now would be the perfect time for a speech, but I think you’ve all heard enough outta this chatterbox. I’ll turn the microphone over to Princesses Sun and Moon soon enough. One last bit of advice from your old friend. When the world pushes you down, get back up. Fight for what you believe in, and fight dirty. Confront life. Embrace life!”

“No, no, no, no, no!” Starlight continued to scream as she flew closer and closer to the vault.

The filly grinned at the rapidly approaching light in the sky. “And when opportunity comes flying towards you, go for its FREAKING throat!”

The filly jumped in the air and grinned as Starlight tackled her. “Hi honey!” she managed to get out before she and Starlight crashed into the now empty vault.

“Starlight! What are you doing?!” Twilight cried.

Starlight glared down at the filly who was lying on the floor, practically laughing her lungs out. “I’m going to end her. End you all!” Her horn glowed with furious power but before she could incinerate the filly, Twilight blasted Starlight several feet away.

“YOU! Filthy traitor!” Starlight roared. “I’ve lost everything! Because of her! Because of you!” She fired a huge beam of magic at Twilight. The reawakened princess of magic and friendship teleported out of the way and fired a spell at Starlight.

“Starlight, stop this! It’s over!” Twilight cried as Starlight levitated herself in the air.

“Yes! Yes it is!” Starlight let out a crazed laugh. “And it’s all your fault! Everything! Everything burns!”

Twilight and Starlight both fired beams of magic that collided with each other. But the enraged Starlight’s magic was the stronger of the two, slowly pushing Twilight’s magic back.

Starlight’s face twisted into a creepy grin. “Yes! YES! My cutie mark! My magic! MINE!”

“That’s quite enough.” Starlight glanced behind her to see Princess Celestia’s horn glow. Starlight quickly canceled her spell and surrounded herself in a magical shield. She cringed as the beams of magic coming from Celestia and Twilight collided with and compressed her shield.

“Your tyranny ends today, Starlight Glimmer!” Princess Luna shouted as she fired a beam of magic at the shield too.

Starlight cried out in pain. She was more powerful than a magical alicorn princess, fair enough. Two was pushing the limit. But three alicorns at once? Her composure was cracking faster than her shield. She gulped as Princess Cadance and Prince Shining Armor fired their own spells at her shield. Too much. It was all too much. Starlight’s shield shattered like glass. She screamed in pain as she was zapped by five of the most powerful spell casters in Equestria all at once. She collapsed onto the stage floor and prayed for the day to be over.

In her blurry vision, she could see the filly standing over her. “We doing a barbeque? Something smells yummy! He, he, he!”

The filly’s hoof hovered over her head. But all Starlight could see was red. She teleported up into the air and cast a murderous glare at the ponies below her. “You’ll regret this! You’ll see! You will ALL regret this!”

With her last burst of strength, Starlight Glimmer teleported herself all the way to the Everfree forest. She crawled over to a moss-covered rock, buried her head against it, and groaned.

How many hours had passed, Starlight didn’t care anymore. Night had fallen over the Everfree, but she didn’t care. Monsters would probably come out to eat her, but she didn’t care. The mossy rock that she had been groaning into was covered in her blood, sweat, and tears. How could she care anymore?

Slowly, she pushed herself off the rock and crawled over to a puddle of water. Her reflection was murky but she could still see what she needed to. Her pale face, disheveled mane and tail, her puffy red eyes, and her cutie mark. She glared at her cutie mark for about a minute before she lowered her head to the puddle.

“Here lies everything
My plans all broken beyond repair
My heart’s drenched in despair
So hail to the queen
This is my final scene…”

Starlight shakily got back up on her hooves and walked deeper into the forest.

“Thought I had gotten ahead
Thought that equality had a voice
That harmony was my choice
But now my world is dead
And my mind is filled with dread…”

In another part of the forest, getting closer and closer to Starlight, an angry presence joined in the song.

“It’s a brand new day
And the moon is high
All the ponies are singing
That you’re gonna die
How I hesitated
Now I wonder why
It’s a brand new day
And your soul is mine!”

Starlight’s entire body jerked as she heard the filly’s singing getting closer. “No…leave me alone!” She fired a blast of magic into the forest and broke into a gallop far away from where she heard the voice.

But her desperate flee for survival was halted as a large rock sailed through the air and smacked into Starlight’s side, knocking her into a tree as she cried out in pain.

“Now the nightmare’s real
Now the Chaos Queen is here
To make you quake with fear
To make the whole world kneel
And I’ll make you feel …”

“DIE, FILTHY DEMON!” Starlight roared as she fired a colossal blast of magic in the direction of the song. Five trees lit up on fire from her spell, causing Starlight to grin madly. “That’s right! Burn! BURN!”

She spun around to set another tree on fire only to get knocked on her flank by a blunt instrument smashing her in the face.

“OW! What the-”

The filly emerged from the shadows and grinned at Starlight. The filly was wearing a dark green combat vest and a lumpy backpack that was emitting glowing, magical fumes. Her face was covered in black and red paint that made her look like a nightmarish clown.

“Everything.” The filly finished the song, twirling a baseball bat around in her hooves.

Starlight struggled to get back up, but the filly swung the baseball bat again and struck Starlight at the base of her horn.

Starlight screamed in pain again before she glared up at the filly. “YOU!”

The filly giggled and spun the bat around in her hoof. “See the important thing to do is strike at the head first. Victim gets all fuzzy. With a curse-flinging witch, you get the added bonus of confusing them so much she can’t even cast a simple sparkler.”

“Why are you following me?! What more do you want! You’ve taken everything from me!” Starlight cried.

The filly smiled at her. “Not quite. I’ve broken your mind. Now I think I’m gonna break your body.”

“You sick, insane, unnatural monster,” Starlight snarled. “I’m DONE playing around. Time to show you what I’m made of.”

The filly’s smirk turned cold. “You hurt my friends Starry. The only things you’re made of are bones that break and blood that spills.”

“SHUT UP!” Starlight roared as she blasted the filly up against a tree.

“Bah, ha, ha!” the filly laughed as she kicked herself off the tree and swung the bat at Starlight again.

Starlight teleported out of the way and ripped the baseball bat out of the filly’s hooves. The filly laughed as Starlight brought the bat down on her and dodged out of the way. “That’s it Starry! Keep fighting! I want this moment to last!”

“Hold still!” Starlight growled as she telekinetically swung the bat again. The filly grinned and grabbed the bat in mid-swing, snapping the wood in two with her bare hooves. Starlight screamed in outrage before she fired a curse at the filly, encasing her in solid crystal.

Starlight growled at the frozen filly. “HA! How do you like that?” But the large crack forming on the crystal made her swallow her words. Starlight ran deeper into the forest as the crystal continued to fall apart. Not even a minute had passed before she glanced behind her to see the filly hot on her hooves. “Doesn’t anything stop you!” she yelled as she fired another magic blast.

“What do you think, dearie?!” the filly called back as she side stepped the attack and kept running. “Run to the ends of the earth! Hide in the darkest shadows! Fight me with everything you’ve got!” The evil grin on her face widened. “The more you try to fight me, the stronger I become!”

Starlight growled. She stopped her retreat and telekinetically slammed the filly against a rock. But the filly didn’t let her bruises bother her. She used the rock to propel herself towards Starlight and lunged at her. She shoved Starlight onto the ground and took a big bite out of her neck.

“AAHH!” Starlight screamed in pain. But the filly wouldn’t relent. She raised her hoof and punched Starlight in the face over and over. By the seventh punch, Starlight’s vision was getting blurry. She couldn’t last any longer. She might have had the advantage when it came to magic but this filly was a beast. A savage, unstoppable monster. Stars above, this thing was going to kill her. She had to get away! She hurriedly blasted the giggling monster off her. She tried to gather enough magic for a teleport, but it seemed she had spent the last of her energy. Instead she struggled to get back on her hooves and run.

“You’ve lasted longer than most, I’ll give you that. But I’ve got another surprise for stubborn idiots like you,” the filly chuckled as she reached into her bag again. “When people won’t listen to reason, sometimes I really need to HAMMER the point home.”

Starlight cried out in pain as the filly whipped out a large hammer and smashed it down. Her leg let out a sickening crack as the hammer crushed her bones. Sweet Celestia, the demon had broken her leg! She was gonna die! “No! No, no, no, no!” Starlight cried as she frantically crawled across the ground, searching for something, ANYTHING, to get her out of there!

“Try not to sound too surprised Starlight. You knew this was going to end this way.” Starlight shuddered as she heard the monster’s ice cold whisper.

“Stop…please…” Starlight whimpered as the filly forcibly rolled her over until she was lying on her back. The filly stepped on her chest and placed her hoof over Starlight’s throat as she leaned in closer.

“No Starlight. That’s the idea. I’ll never stop. I’m the thing that gives nightmares their nightmares. I’m the reason that evil wakes up screaming in the dead of night. I’m the demon that lurks in the corners of every darkened mind. I’m your guilty conscience, baby. You know what you did Starlight, and I’ll eat your soul for it.”

Starlight gasped as she saw a knife glinting in the dark.

“The only way you can fight your guilt is to surrender to it. But you’re too proud to do that, aren’t you dearie?” The filly licked her lips. “If it makes you feel better, you’re gonna taste delicious.”

“No! No, no, no, no! Stop! STOP! STOP, PLEASE!” Starlight screamed as the knife drew closer and closer. As the knife scratched at the skin of her throat she shut her eyes tight. “I’m sorry! I’M SORRY, I’M SORRY!”

She continued to cower under her own crippling pain and paralysing fear. But when she couldn’t feel the knife any more, she hesitantly opened her eyes again.

The filly was staring at her. There was no evil grin or crazed smile. She stared at Starlight with quiet curiosity. She dropped the knife and pulled out another item from her bag. A needle with glowing green liquid in it that she promptly injected into Starlight’s leg. But instead of crying out in agony Starlight let out a gasp as the pain from her existing injuries faded away.

“What are you sorry for?” the filly asked.

"W...what?" Starlight whimpered.

"I asked what you’re sorry for. Three strikes and you’re out, so answer the question before I ask again, dearie."

Starlight gulped and answered. “Everything. I’m sorry I didn’t tell Sunburst how I felt. I’m sorry I ran away from home. I’m sorry I stole cutie marks. I’m sorry I forced ponies to give up what made them happy. I’m sorry I converted Princess Twilight and her friends into my stupid cult. I’m sorry I dethroned the princesses. Most of all I’m sorry for the way I treated everyone.”

The filly smiled at her, without a trace of mischief or malice. “Oh Starlight, that’s all I ever wanted to hear from you.”

“W…what?” the stunned unicorn asked. “You...you’re not going to kill me?”

“Now where would be the fun in that, sweetheart?” Sweetheart. It was the one word the filly had never called her. She called everyone darling, or dearie, or any other kind of strange, flamboyant, condescending nickname. She only called a pony sweetheart if she liked them.

The filly pulled out a wet washcloth out of her backpack and began to clean up Starlight’s bloody cuts. “Here, let’s tidy ourselves up a bit. Then we’ll see what we can do about that broken leg.”

Starlight’s eyes widened further. As she watched the filly tend to her wounds, a relieved smile made its way onto her face. “At last…thank you. The nightmare is…finally over…” she sighed and leaned her head back against the ground.

“Not quite over yet, sweetheart. I’d say we have about two more chapters of our little story to go.”

“W…what?” Starlight asked. Her heart started pounding as the filly grinned at her. “NO! Please, I’m begging you! Don’t hurt me! I’ll do anything!”

The bright pink eyes lit up with glee. “Anything?”

“Anything! Please, just don’t hurt me anymore!” Starlight pleaded.

“I’m glad we could come to an agreement then, sweetie.”

Starlight sighed in relief before she nearly choked on the vial of glowing purple liquid that the filly shoved into her mouth. As she was forced to drink the magic potion, her vision began to fade.

What…now? Starlight thought to herself. As if the filly could read her mind, she got her answer.

“Now, you take a nap.”

The End

“Ugh…” Starlight Glimmer groaned as she came to. “Stop knocking me out. Please?”

“Oh, very well. Last time.”

Starlight picked herself off the ground and stood up. She and the filly were inside an incredibly dark cavern. One that looked somewhat familiar to her. “Where have you taken me?”

The filly chuckled. “Come now dearie, you remember this place. Right now we’re in the middle of the elaborate cave maze that you fled into after Princess Twilight and her friends reclaimed their cutie marks and kicked you out of Your Town.”

Starlight sighed. “Thanks for reminding me about the third worst day of my life.”

The filly tilted her head. “Only third?”

“The second was the day Sunburst got his cutie mark. Can you guess the first?” Starlight asked with a half-lidded glare.

“The day you met me?” the filly asked with a smile.

“Nailed it,” Starlight sighed.

The filly giggled cheerfully before she asked, “But what about after that?”

“As far as I’m concerned that day has been going on for months. And it still hasn’t ended.” Starlight stared at the filly with a hollow look in her eyes. “Why won’t today end?”

The filly chuckled. “Well my dear, we’re almost there. Now look around and tell me what you see.”

Starlight sighed and did as she was told. “We’re in a huge, dark cave. I can’t make out any distinctive details.”

“What about me? What about you?”

Starlight stared at her. “You’ve got your mane in pigtails again. You washed off that creepy makeup.”

“And yourself?”

Starlight spun in a slow circle as she examined herself. “I look about the same. My injuries from our fight seem to have healed. My cutie mark is exposed on one side but I still have a fake equal sign on the other side of my flank.”

The filly smirked. “Why, yes. You could almost say you look the same as when you first entered these caves.”

Starlight frowned tiredly. “What are you implying this time?”

The filly giggled and gestured around her. “Consider this cave, a visual symbol of your many possible futures. You’re at a crossroads, dearie. Dozens of ways to escape, but only one option is better than your current situation. This is our final game, Starlight. Choose wisely and you can live a happy life. Choose poorly and you’ll belong to me.” The filly’s evil grin widened. “Forever.”

Starlight gulped. “N-now hold on a minute! I need to know the rules of the game before I play!”

The filly smiled. “You know what, since I’m feeling generous I’ll let you decide on the rules. You can’t make it too easy for yourself though. Pick something that you want to achieve and if I agree, the game can begin!”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “You’re letting me pick the rules? This…feels like a trap.”

The filly giggled. “I couldn’t trap you anymore if I tried. At this point you are lower than rock bottom, dearie. Let me help you. First rule is that I won’t physically hurt you and you won’t physically hurt me. Does that sound fair?”

“Ok. Second rule, you can’t hurt me emotionally, psychologically, or-”

“Nope.” The filly said with a grin. “Try again.”

“You already said I’m lower than rock bottom!” Starlight cried.

“And yet I’m still going easy on you.”

“Going easy on me?!”

“Compared to other bad guys I’ve met, you’re not that evil. And I didn’t punish you nearly as bad as them.” The filly smirked at her. “Trust me darling, you’d rather not know.”

“Fine…” Starlight sighed. “Can’t I just pick a tunnel and you’ll tell me if it’s the right way?”

The filly rolled her eyes. “Dull.”

Starlight frowned. “Alright, give me a minute. Something I want to achieve…hmm.” She scratched her head in thought. “So if I win, you’ll let me go?” The filly nodded. “Well that’s one thing I want to achieve, but you said I can’t just pick a tunnel…what else do I want?”

Starlight’s eyes widened. “I’ll never get a chance like this again. Okay. The game will be figuring out just what kind of creature you really are.”

The filly giggled. “Seriously?”

Starlight frowned. “Well what else can I-”

The filly held up a hoof, interrupting her. “I wasn’t saying no, dearie. I just find it funny that you still haven’t guessed right yet.”

“Well I’ve got nothing else to lose,” Starlight sighed. “So, if I guess right, you’ll let me go.”

The filly smirked. “Take as many guesses as you want. You’ll need them.”

Starlight’s eyes narrowed. “How suspiciously generous of you. If I guess right, you need to tell me if I was right.”

“If I want to lie, you can’t stop me. That’s as honest as I ever get, dearie.”

Starlight sighed. “Fine.”

The filly grinned and raised her right hoof in the air. “Aschente!”

Starlight gave the filly an odd look. “Ash…tent…what?”

The filly lowered her hoof and sighed dramatically. “A word that comes from a better world, my friend. In my humble opinion, anyway. I might be good at solving my problems with violence but I do wish there were more creative options.” The filly shook her head and chuckled. “Don’t mind me darling, I’m just babbling nonsense again. Go ahead.”

“Okay,” Starlight sighed. “I didn’t want to say this out loud, but it looks like I don’t have much of a choice anymore. You’re…you’re my d…daughter. From the future.” She winced a little. “There, I said it. I honestly don’t know what happened to you in the future beyond what you showed me in that one nightmare, but I am so sorry if I ever hurt you.”

The filly smirked at her. “Sorry dearie. You’re wrong.”

Starlight blinked at her. She readjusted her footing on the ground and said, “What?”

The filly’s smirk grew. “I’m not your daughter. I made the whole story up.”

“But…but…no! No, you showed me that nightmare! That…that couldn’t have-”

Starlight stopped as she felt a headache building up. Something wasn’t right. The filly pointed at the floor and giggled. “I see you’ve let go of that rock I gave you.”

Starlight followed the filly’s hoof and saw that her front hooves were resting on a rock that definitely wasn’t there before. Cracks were forming on the rock as it slowly sunk into the ground before disappearing completely.

“What’s going on? What’s happening?!” Starlight asked as she felt the cave rumble.

“I suggest you take a deep breath. And hold it.”

The filly chuckled as she disappeared into the darkness. Five seconds later, a tidal wave of inky, black water came rushing into the cave. Starlight let out a terrified cry and tried to teleport away. Gazing up at her horn and realizing that it wasn’t even glowing, she desperately tried to escape the incoming flood. But all she could do was follow the filly’s advice as gallons upon gallons of water rammed into her like a freight train.

Starlight never really thought she would have to worry about drowning. She learned how to swim at around the same age as most colts and fillies, but after her swimming lessons she lost interest. And yet her she was getting tossed and turned in roaring waves of black water. Being the intelligent unicorn that she was, she tried to swim upwards in the direction she hoped would lead her to fresh air. But the water was so dark that she couldn’t even see her own hooves in front of her face.

Eventually her hooves touched something and quite suddenly, the water began to drain out of the cave. She gasped in a lungful of air as the water flowed out of sight. Her shocked gaze spun around the cave, noting how completely dry everything was. Her hooves were resting on another rock and the filly’s hooves were right next to her.

The filly chuckled and let go of the rock. “Well that was fun.”

“What…how…that…” Starlight groaned and pressed her hooves to her temples. Taking several seconds to calm down, she sighed and said, “That was just another trick of yours, wasn’t it?”

The filly stared up at the cavern ceiling in contemplation. “By now it should be obvious that you are not my first enemy. No, I faced evil earlier than you and even greater than you. Many of the arrogant thugs and dictators liked the sound of their own voice even more than I like the sound of my own. Would you like to hear what this one guy said?

“He said, 'there can be no true despair without hope'. Honestly, that’s just stupid. It can hurt something awful when your hopes aren’t fulfilled but being optimistic doesn’t make you miserable. Hope is stronger than despair. But the trick is, hope is an emotion for heroes. Bad guys can have hope but hope can never be used to do bad things.

“To manipulate you into fixing your mistake, I needed to push you into a spot where your mind can’t escape even if your body can. To the point where my memory will haunt you even if I’m miles away. That is why I told you a killing joke.”

The filly smiled at her. “Do you know what a killing joke is?”

Starlight eyed her warily. “What?”

“A killing joke is something I’ve seen in literature very rarely. Perhaps two or three times. It’s when you have a character with no origin story, who gives you multiple choices for a possible origin story, but none of which are truly believable. A killing joke is the one choice that makes the most sense. The one that your audience clings to the most even when there’s a good chance that it’s just another lie.

“This entire time I have been a mystery to you. You don’t know my name and you didn’t know why I was hunting you. You tried to fight me, but you couldn’t even guess what I was going to do next. I’m unknown, unpredictable, and unequal. When you heard Discord’s story about the Curse-Breaker and my own story about a daughter from the future who was possessed by the Curse-Breaker…”

The filly raised her hooves in the air and grinned. “It all made sense! Here was a reason for why I hated you! Here was a reason for how I could perform trickery, manipulation, and magic that no other pony could! You had an answer!”

The filly smirked and lowered her hooves back to the ground. “And if you lose that answer, you’ll have lost everything. The stories I gave you are a rock that you cling to for safety in the middle of your punishment. A raging storm is over your head. A roaring ocean of dark water surrounds you; hiding hideous sea monsters. You know that the only way to escape is to let go of the rock. But you also know that if you let go of my story, you’re going to drown in a never-ending sea of insanity.”

“That is my final nail in your coffin. You want my name? You want to know what I am? Well, I’m not going to tell you.”

Starlight’s jaw dropped as she stared at the filly’s creepy grin. “No…that’s…no! NO! Come on! After everything you’ve done to me, don’t I deserve to know the truth!”

The filly shrugged. “Would it really change anything if you knew who I was?”

“YES! Do you have any idea how infuriating that is?! Ponies are herd creatures! We’re not used to not knowing who somepony is! A cutie mark is a summary of that pony’s talents; their personality! We can just look at their flank and get a good idea of who they are as a pony! Even if they’re a blank flank, at least we still have their name! Even when I stole cutie marks I still let every pony keep their names, otherwise we would have lost our minds!”

She jabbed her hoof at the filly. “But YOU! No cutie mark, no name, no friends, no family history, everything about you is just…unnatural! Something like you, CAN’T be a pony!”

“Well look at you, defending cutie marks,” the filly giggled. “I take it that special talents aren’t evil anymore?”

“Fine, I admit it! I was wrong! I already said I was sorry! What more do you want from me?!” Starlight cried.

The filly shrugged. “Give me a minute. I’m still coming up with ideas.”

“Please, just tell me who you really are! No more games! No more lies! Tell me, and I’ll do anything you want me to!”

The filly smirked. “You’ve already made that promise.”

“ARGH!” Starlight cried. “At least let me guess! You let other ponies guess, didn’t you?! Are we even still playing that other game? I’m…” She clutched her head in pain. “I’m so confused…”

The filly sat up against the wall and sighed. “Oh, why not? Take your best guess. You’ll still never get it.”

“Okay. Okay,” Starlight sighed. “Better. Thank you. I can do this. Now…you’re not my daughter from the future.”

“I suppose in some alternate reality I could have been, but no. We’re not related in anyway,” the filly said.

“And that curse story Discord made up is wrong,” Starlight said.

“Actually, he was telling the truth.” The filly smirked at Starlight’s baffled look. “A monster to hunt all other monsters? A curse designed to destroy all other curses? The Curse-Ender is real, dearie. I played a part in its creation. It’s as much a part of me as your horn is a part of you.” She winked and added, “But that’s not the whole story.”

Starlight blinked. It seemed as if the filly was being honest. “So…are you Discord? Are you related to him?”

“I consider myself a queen of chaos. But no, I’m not Discord and he’s not my dad, my uncle, cousin, or anything like that.”

“Were you a part of Nightmare Moon?” Starlight guessed.

“I know how to manipulate the nightmares of others. And I do have plenty of experience with multiple, darker personalities. Other than that, no relation.”

“Are you a changeling?”

“Nope.”

Starlight scratched her head in thought. “I feel like the answer is right there…but…I can’t…”

An evil grin stretched across the filly’s face. “Have you ever considered that this was all your doing? From the very beginning?”

Starlight sighed. “I know what I did was horrible. You don’t need to rub it in anymore.”

“Why do you feel the need to rub it in?” Starlight raised an eyebrow at her and the filly giggled. “Haven’t you ever wondered how I could know so much about you? Your friend? Your plan? All your darkest secrets?”

“You stalked me,” Starlight answered flatly.

“You’re not acknowledging the other option. Here you are, in the very same caves that you escaped into when Princess Twilight and her friends chased you out of town. All the ponies in your village know the truth about you. How does that make you feel? Angry? Afraid? Remorseful? Guilty?”

“All of the above,” Starlight sighed. “Where are you going with this now?”

“Perhaps while you were escaping, you hit your head on something. Maybe when you feel asleep, your subconscious mind was able to process all the dreadful things that have happened. Maybe you’re thinking to yourself…do I deserve this?”

As a very disturbing thought entered Starlight’s head, the filly leaned in close and whispered in her ear. “Have you considered the possibility that you’re all alone. That from the beginning, you were alone. That in these dark caves, a mare is trying to defend herself from an angry mob that doesn’t exist? What if there was no monster? What if the only crazy pony in here, is you? What if it was just you?”

“No…no, don’t you dare!” Starlight cried as she jabbed her hoof at the filly. “Don’t you dare! Don’t even think that!”

“I’m not saying it’s true. But I’m not saying it’s not true either.”

“It’s NOT true! It is the worst lie you could ever come up with and I refuse to even consider it!”

“Why not? It’s possible.”

“NO it’s not!” Starlight screamed. “You are real! What you did to me was real! I know what you’re implying but you’re not just a hallucination! You’re an abomination, not just my guilty conscious! So don’t even try to think about it! I did not imagine you! I did not torture myself!”

The filly chuckled. “Looks like I finally hit a roadblock in your mind. Don’t worry dearie, I’m just teasing you again.”

“Please stop. Just…I give up. I already give up. I’ll do anything you want me to. Just please stop torturing me…” Starlight cried as she collapsed onto the ground.

“Aww. It’s okay sweetie. Up you get,” the filly cooed as she pulled Starlight back up. “Tell me Starlight, are you ready for this to be over? Are you ready to redeem yourself? To get a chance at a happier life.”

Starlight sniffled and nodded. “Yes.”

The filly smiled innocently at her. “Since I am a vain, arrogant little psychopath, do you think you can show me a little more respect?”

Starlight sighed and knelt before the filly. “Yes, my…queen.”

“Ooh. What a nice feeling,” the filly giggled. “Your queen is satisfied. Rise, my loyal subject.” Once Starlight was back up, the filly pulled out a scroll. “Do you recognize this, Starry? It’s old Star Swirl’s famous time travel spell. The one you made such improvements to, yet so many mistakes. What I want you to do is use this spell, travel back in time to your battle with Twilight in the past, and…this is the important part…”

“Let. The good guys. Win,” the filly said, gently tapping Starlight on the head with the scroll with each word. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, my queen. Anything else?” Starlight asked.

The filly shrugged. “Not really. I leave the details of what you’re going to say and how you’re going to convince Twilight that you want to be a better person. Ooh, you know what? Make it seem like it was her idea. See if you can manipulate events so that she’s the one who makes the offer of friendship first!”

Starlight sighed. “As you wish, my queen.” Her horn glowed as she prepared to cast the spell but then dimmed as a thought occurred to her. “Wait, so…that’s your plan? You want me to go back in time and just…erase all of this?”

The filly hummed to herself laid back against the cave wall. “I’m not erasing anything. I’m just putting things back the way they’re supposed to be. Like cleaning up your room after a wild party.”

Starlight frowned. “But…what about all the work you put into this? The steps you took to get Equestria to see that I was wrong? You freed ever pony’s cutie marks. You put the princesses back in control. Equestria will be the same as it was before I tried to conquer it. Why do you need to change the timeline?”

The filly smiled. “As a kindness to you, sweetie. Twilight and her friends will move on with their lives but they could never accept you after this. If we erase some of the nastier things you’ve done, you’ll have a chance at redemption and a chance to be their friend. Wouldn’t your life be so much easier if you had a friend?”

“That seems unusually generous for you,” Starlight remarked.

The filly giggled. “I only act like a bloodthirsty monster around the folks who deserve it. I’m actually a pretty nice gal once you get to know me. Besides, I need to fix the other hiccups too. I unintentionally hurt a couple of ponies who didn’t deserve it. So once we fix your life, I won’t need to enter the picture and all that stuff with the rat, Spoiled Rich, making ponies go crazy with the Crystal Heart; that’ll all be wiped clean.”

Starlight blinked. “That’s…that’s it? You really think you can just send me back in time and everything will fix itself?”

“Of course!” the filly said cheerfully. A dangerous glint filled her eyes. “Why wouldn’t it? You’re not planning on messing up the timeline behind my back even further, are you?”

“No, that’s not what I’m saying. It’s just…I don’t think it’ll be that easy.”

The filly tilted her head to the side. “I’m…not following you.”

Starlight sighed. “Look, I’ve messed around with time already. We can’t just hit the reset button and make everything happy again. Real life doesn’t work like that.”

The filly stared at Starlight. She blinked once. Twice.

CRACK

Starlight gasped and stepped back as the filly’s neck snapped in two. She collapsed onto the floor, dead as can be…only for an identical filly to slither out of the darkness behind her. She stepped on her former self, causing it to burst into pink smoke and flow into her body. Starlight shivered as the smoke was absorbed through the invisible pores of the violently twitching girl before her.

“Would you care to repeat that, dearie? I know you said something else but to me, it sounded like you said ‘Please kill me’. But that can’t be the case, right d-dearie?”

“F-forgive me, my queen!” Starlight cried, hastily bowing before the filly. “I spoke without thinking.”

“W-well, you’re just a dumb g-grown up, a corrupt p-politician, and a t-thief all in one. Speaking without thinking is natural for you f-freaks. He, he, AHA, he!” The filly let out a deranged giggle. “B-but don’t think you can just s-sweep your mean comment away. W-what were you saying, sweetie?”

“I…I just don’t think time travel will solve everything. There are too many factors. I promise you that I’ll fix what I can, b-but we need to think realistically, my queen.”

“Realistically. Real world. You’re a unicorn. I am chaos and vengeance incarnate. How is any of this realistic? What makes you think problems will be solved by thinking realistically.” The filly shook her head. “L-lady. You don’t know even what’s real and what isn’t. None of you pathetic normals do.”

“Um…” Starlight took another step back. “I think I may have upset you and I am really sorry about whatever I said. Look, let’s just forget it and move on.” She offered a hopeful yet terrified smile. “P-please?”

“No.” The filly growled. “You’re going to finish your thought and I’m going to tear it apart. Just like every evil thing I’ve come across. I want to hear…”

The filly’s glare faded as she took a step back. She spoke in a much gentler voice, “No. This…we’re going too far. We’ve done what we needed to. I don’t need to know…”

The filly’s scowl returned as she stepped closer to Starlight. “No. We want to hear her. We want to know what this is really about.”

The filly thrust her hoof out and a rolling ball of pink smoke puffed out of her skin and landed in Starlight’s face. Starlight tried to cough and push the smoke out of her lungs, but as her vision turned red all she could think about was…was…

“Oh, come on! I’m forced to remember everything you did to me, but all the other ponies you hurt, their pain and suffering just gets erased? Like it never happened? How is that fair?”

“Fair…” the filly growled. The blood vessels in her eyes grew a bit. “The things I did to the innocent ponies are minor compared to what I did to you. In any case, it won’t matter anymore. I’m sorry for what I did to them and time travel will make sure they never meet me anyway.”

“But either way, I still have to remember how you tortured me?”

The filly hissed. “Yesss. Because what you did was evil.”

“And what about you, huh?” Starlight growled. “How is it that I get punished but you get off without any consequences? At the very least, you’re just as evil as I am!”

The blood vessels in her eyes burst. Far more than blood vessels should burst. The filly stared at Starlight with blood falling out her eyes and crawling down her face. “Take that back, Starlight Glimmer. You are making a big mistake, dearie.”

“You know what? You want to punish me so bad for what I did? Fine! But you deserve it too! After everything you did to Equestria, you need to be punished too!”

“WHAT.”

The anger within Starlight began to fade away as she finally saw what was happening right in front of her. The filly’s body was twitching so much it looked like it was vibrating. Along her white fur, bulging veins were growing larger on her. Glowing green, red, gold, pink, and black veins were pulsing on her legs, her chest, and her face. Blood was dripping out of her eyes and mouth and pink smoke was spewing out of her ears and hooves.

“Uh oh,” Starlight mumbled. “Um, you okay there?”

“GGRRR.”

“L-listen to me, okay? F-forget about what I was just saying. M-maybe you just need to put in a small time out or something? I-I really shouldn't be that hard on you, uh kiddo. Okay? I don’t know what you’re doing but…” Starlight gulped. “If this is your idea of punishing yourself, please stop. This really doesn’t look healthy…you don’t look healthy!”

Behind the filly, Starlight saw blurry, ghost-like figures appear within the cave. A stallion and a mare, cowering in fear as another stallion wielding a knife growled at them. “Hand it over lady! Your money of your life!”

“How about your money AND your life?!” the filly snarled. She lunged at the mugger and swiped his knife away, jamming it in his eye. Starlight forced herself not to throw up as she saw the blood gush out of the mugger’s face.

To her left side, Starlight could see more figures. A small colt cowering in front of a large dragoness, licking her lips at him. “I’ve always wanted to eat pony!”

“Funny, I always want to eat thugs like you!” The filly snarled again. She tackled the dragoness from behind and ripped her scaly tail right off her body with her sharp teeth.

“You will all be frozen!” Nightmare Moon declared. “My night will last forever!”

“NO! Just your nightmares!” the filly growled. From her back, a swirling tentacle of pink smoke rose up and sliced Nightmare Moon in half.

“I am your king! Your are my slaves!” Sombra screamed from behind them.

“NOT your slave! Not now, not ever again!” The filly screamed. More pink smoke erupted out of her hoof, forming a lasso that wrapped around Sombra’s throat and ripped his head off.

“Friends are just a myth! Love doesn’t exist!” Queen Chrysalis shouted.

The filly roared as another tentacle of pink smoke impaled the changeling queen.

“You’re too stupid to think for yourself!” A voice shouted in the cave, only to be silenced by a gigantic, smoky hammer.

“You’re too naïve to see how greedy they are!” another voice roared, only to be smashed into the ceiling by a second pink hammer.

“There is no hope!” “Life sucks and then you die!” “That’s just the real world! You can’t change anything!” “Dumb kid!” “Stupid girl!” “Egghead nerd!” “The world will end!” “Your dreams will die!” “Your kind isn’t welcome here!” “The world would be better without us!”

More and more voices screamed out. Starlight shuddered at all the wrath and hatred that was pouring down on them. She watched in horror as the filly’s tentacles continued to grow and lash out, destroying every form of evil it came across. The filly…wasn’t a filly anymore. There was nothing pony about the creature screaming in front of her. It just kept growing and growing, bigger than a house, bigger than a castle, more hideous than her worse nightmares...

Starlight had once read about the Dragon Lord Torch. By now, the creature had grown even larger than him. A writhing, slithering, crawling mass of tentacles, hooves, horns, blood-filled eyes, skeletal wings, and screaming fangs, all covered in churning pink smoke. It was like standing right at the edge of an erupting volcano. The cave shook with every lash of the tentacles as they impaled, crushed, bisected, and eradicated everything they came into contact with.

Starlight horror filled eyes began to fill with tears as she realized something. “No…wait! Stop! Don’t do this to yourself!”

Her magic glowed as she levitated herself up to the top of the creature. “Please! You don’t need to do this!”

“SSSSSKKKKKKRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!”

“Please! I know you’re in pain right now! I know that it hurts! You feel as if life has no more meaning, but it does! You feel like nobody loves you, but they do! You feel like you’ll never see hope or happiness in this world! But there is hope! There is something worth living for! All those voices you heard, they are wrong! There’s so many beautiful, wonderful things out there!”

Starlight tried to grab one of the tentacles but recoiled as she felt her flesh begin to melt at the slightest touch. “You don’t need to lash out anymore! Please, don’t do what I did! You may be a dangerous monster but there is more to you than just that! You are better than me! What about all the times you said you would never hurt an innocent? Show me that’s true!”

“YOU…”

Starlight felt a shudder roll over her. A massive cloud of pink smoke billowed out of the creature and washed over the angry, hate-filled voices. It drowned everything evil that it touched. It utterly obliterated all that stood in its way. A thousand, glowing eyes stared down at Starlight and declared,

“…INNOCENT.”

Starlight gasped as the pink smoke giant folded in on itself. She levitated herself down to the ground as the monster got smaller and smaller, shedding its layers of pink smoke until the cave was clear again. Starlight’s hooves touched the ground and she stared at the filly hugging herself on the floor.

“Hey…it’s okay, little one,” Starlight whispered. The filly glared up at her with tears in her eyes. And for just one second, Starlight didn’t see an enemy. She saw a much younger, heartbroken version of herself. Starlight took a deep breath and gently hugged the filly. “It’s okay.”

“Do you really think I haven’t been punished? Do you think I’m not being punished right now? I don’t like feeling vulnerable, Starlight, but there’s no helping it now. Even a broken clock can be right once or twice a day. Even a deranged lunatic like me has moments of sanity and clarity. I may smile and giggle a lot but being insane really isn’t as fun as it looks. Do you know what it feels like when you know there’s something abnormal with your mind? To know that the world hates you and tells you that you don’t belong?”

Starlight sighed. “No. I don’t.”

“It hurts. But it’s not the only thing that hurts.” The filly wrapped her limbs around herself. “It feels like someone has set me on fire. I feel like my flesh is being burnt off. If I don’t laugh at myself, I’m genuinely afraid I might kill myself.”

Starlight squeezed her eyes tight as they threatened to fill with tears. “Stop. Please don’t talk like that. Please,” Starlight begged her.

“But it hurts so much. Even if you’re a good person Starlight Glimmer, there are too many who aren’t. Muggers, and murderers, and monsters. Corrupt politicians, cruel dictators, greedy business owners. Sexists, racists, species-ists, and all other kinds of -ists.”

Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Are these people all in Equestria?”

“My mind and heart are ever expanding. I try my best to protect people, Starlight Glimmer. Whether they’re ponies or not. I’ve seen and done more than you can imagine.” She wiped another tear away. “Why can’t I just use an easy solution to solve the problem, Starlight?”

Starlight shrugged. “Maybe you can. But is it really worth blowing up if the solution is a little more complicated?”

“Yes,” the filly hissed. “The entire freaking multiverse would be so much better if we were all kinder people. If we were all nice, all the time, so many problems could be solved. But even though there are so many good people there are still a pack of evil idiots who are too stupid to be nice. ...Why are people stupid?” The filly looked up at her.

“I don’t know, little one. But watching Twilight and her friends…even watching how you smile when you’re with them…it gets better.” Starlight adjusted her position on the floor and asked, “Do you have any friends outside of Ponyville?”

“Not many. But yes. I…I miss them,” the filly sighed.

“What are they like?”

“I won’t tell you Their names. We like being mysterious. But They…They’re so much better than me. The way ponies see alicorns…I see Them as even better.” The filly chuckled. “They check up on me sometimes. They saved my life on countless occasions. They even offer to break this curse I’m under, and let me live a happier life. Every time I seem Them. But I chose to be this way. If I can protect good people and punish the bad guys, it’ll all be worth it someday.”

Starlight sighed. “Do you really think that’s the best solution?”

The filly shrugged. “It’s what I’m good at. You could say it’s my special talent. Heh, heh. You know, I do have a cutie mark but I had to cover it up. The last pony I showed it to took one look at it and turned crazy for an entire week. Good times. Point is, I only do things my way when there’s no better option. If the heroes can save the day before I get there, it’s better for everyone. But if they can’t do it, I’m NOT just going to sit on the sidelines and let the villains win.” She drew a circle on the floor with her hoof. “I just need something. Some way to just…stop evil. Everywhere and forever.”

“Hard to believe that a chaotic beast like you wants world peace. But you know, maybe you’ll get what you want some day in the future.”

The filly looked up at her with big eyes. “But I want it now!”

Starlight chuckled. “Canterlot wasn’t built in a day.”

“But it can be! Lots of stuff can be built in a day!” The filly stomped her hoof on the ground. “I want stupid evil people to stop being stupid and evil! I want world peace! I want it, I want it, I want it!”

As she watched the filly stomp all over the cave, occasionally coughing out a small cloud of pink smoke, Starlight made a decision. She had found a new rock and she wasn’t letting go of it no matter what. In that moment, she figured out the filly’s true origin, whether it was true or not. On the outside, the filly was an unstoppable, uncontrollable chaos monster that would one day destroy evil in its entirety. But deep down inside, she was just a little kid in far too much pain.

Starlight smiled at the filly. “I don’t even know your name, but if you don’t want to tell me…I’m okay with that. You changed my life and I think it can be for the better this time.” She sighed. “I want you to know that I forgive you, for everything you have ever done to me.”

She looked back at Starlight and smiled. “If you promise not to do anything evil again, I can return the favor. I forgive you, sweetheart.”

Starlight grinned. Her horn lit up with power as she summoned Star Swirl’s time travel spell to her side. She unrolled the scroll and said, “Enough arguing then. Tell me how to save the world, my queen. How can your loyal subject serve you?”

The filly looked up at the cave ceiling and chuckled.

“You don’t know what it's like to lose a friend”

“I don’t know what you went through! But I do know you can’t do this! I've seen where this leads, and so have you!”

“I thought Sunburst and I were the same. But we turned out different, and it tore our friendship apart!”

“So try again! And if something that you can’t control happens, work through it together!”

“How do I know they won’t all end the same way?”

“I guess it's up to you to make sure they don't.”

The filly looked back at her and smiled. “You know what? You’re a smart girl. You’ll figure out what to say. If there’s one more piece of advice I can give you it’s this. Believe in your friends, but don’t ever stop believing in yourself either. Your own power is worth more than you might think. Now get on outta here, you crazy kid!”

Starlight chuckled before she glanced up. She squinted and shielded her eyes at the glowing ceiling. “Time to go.”

The filly giggled. “Time indeed.”

Starlight chuckled and waved goodbye before she floated up into the time travel spell and disappeared. The filly sighed to herself as she walked through the cave, found a door, and opened it.

On the other side a million eyes stared at her. Tyrants and dictators, evil queens and wicked witches. Dark lords and cruel serpents. Dark cults and angry mobs. Thugs, crooks, bullies, and worse. Armies of demons and legions of hungry undead. All the evil in existence stared at her…and took several steps back.

“No. There is no escape.”

The filly chuckled as she stood up on her back legs. Wings grew out her back as tentacles and talons began to sprout along her rapidly changing arms. Eight eyes blossomed on her face and surrounded her ever-expanding smile. Her claws flexed and a deadly whip appeared in a roll of pink fire.

“Even in the worst of times, I’ll never give up. Even through the worst of my pain, life is just too dang fun to ignore.”

She grabbed the whip and cracked it; sending thousands of villains screaming in retreat as they crawled back under the rocks they came from.

“Now…who’s next?”

The Epilogue

Starlight Glimmer smiled to herself as she got up out of bed. She walked down the stairs of Princess Twilight’s castle, humming to herself as she made her way to the kitchen. As she entered the kitchen, she reached out with her magic and grabbed bowls, spoons, plates, forks, and various ingredients to make the breakfast she was planning.

“I suppose now’s as good a time as any time!” she said to herself before she teleported out of the castle.

Pinkie Pie leapt out of her bed as Starlight appeared in a flash of light and bounced on top of her sheets. “Good morning Pinkie!”

“Good morning Starlight!” Pinkie giggled.

The two ponies bounced across the floor as they made their way to Pinkie’s welcoming wagon. Starlight slapped the button on the welcome wagon, causing all the horns, flags, bells, and whistles to spring out of the top. The two ponies giggled and began to sing and dance with each other.

“Morning, morning, morning!
A good morning to you!
Morning, morning, morning!
We say, how do you do?
Morning, morning, morning!
We say, hip, hip hurray!
Morning, morning, morning!
In Ponyville today!”

“Wow, Starlight! That’s the fifth day in a row we’ve done that!” Pinkie said.

Starlight shrugged and chuckled. “I guess I’m still in a silly mood. Anyway, I’m-”

Pinkie waved her hoof and chuckled. “I know the drill by now. A dozen breakfast muffins, fresh out of the oven!” Pinkie pulled out a basket of muffins from under her pillow and handed them to her. “Say hi to Twilight and Spike for me!”

Starlight blinked at the muffins in surprise. “How long were these under your pillow?”

“I dunno!” Pinkie shrugged cheerfully.

Starlight grinned. “Good enough for me. Have a good day, Pinkie,” she said before she teleported back to Twilight’s kitchen.

Setting the muffins down on the table, she telekinetically grabbed a knife plus a few oranges, apples, grapes, and bananas and sliced them up into bite size pieces. She had just finished mixing them into two bowls of oatmeal when Princess Twilight and Spike walked into the room.

Twilight inhaled the sweet aroma of her breakfast and sighed happily. “Good morning Starlight. Fifth day in a row, huh?”

“What can I say? My good mood hasn’t gone away yet. Plus, it feels good to do something nice for my best friends,” Starlight said, humming happily as she mixed a few tiny gems into Spike’s oatmeal.

“Thanks Starlight!” Spike said in between bites of his delicious breakfast.

The three of them ate their breakfast, Starlight finishing her meal before the others. “I’ll wash the dishes when you’re done.”

“Thanks Starlight, but I can do them today. You should get out there and have some fun today,” Spike said as he licked the last few gems out of his oatmeal.

“Okie dokie lokie!” Starlight chuckled. “Thanks Spike. You two let me know if you need anything. Seriously, I don’t have any plans today so I’m just going to wander around town looking for something to do.”

“Well don’t let us stop you!” Twilight said before she levitated a book over to the table and began reading while eating her breakfast at a leisurely pace.

“Right,” Starlight said. But instead of getting up from the table, she remained sitting as the princess and dragon continued to eat. Spike raised an eyebrow as Starlight sat and starred at them. He had just finished his oatmeal and Starlight hadn’t moved a muscle.

“Um, Starlight? Do you need something?” he asked.

“Nope! I’m good. Do you need anything Spike?” she replied.

“Uh, nope. We’ll let you know if anything changes. Um…” Spike said as he tapped his claws on the table; Starlight’s starring causing him to feel a little uneasy. “Are you sure you don’t have plans today?”

“Yep,” she confirmed. “I have a picnic lunch planned with Trixie and Thorax tomorrow but I have no plans today! None! Just a lonely little day for myself!”

Twilight gently placed her hoof on Starlight’s back. “Are you feeling okay Starlight? I don’t want to sound mean but you’ve been acting strange lately.”

Starlight sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “No, it’s okay. I know I’ve been acting kind of weird. I guess I’m still trying to recover from my coma.”

Twilight and Spike blinked. “Your what?”

“You know, my coma,” Starlight said.

“What coma?” Spike asked.

Starlight’s smile twitched. “What…what do you mean ‘what coma’? The coma I was in for a week. When me, Sunburst, and Trixie were experimenting with a new spell I found. Don’t you remember that?”

Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder, her voice dripping with concern. “Starlight, as far as I know, you’ve never been in a coma.”

Starlight gulped and backed away from her friends. “That’s…no! No, I was in a coma!”

Spike held his claws out placatingly. “Hey Starlight, it’s okay. Whatever’s going on with you right now, we’re here to help.”

“I was in a coma!” Starlight restated firmly.

“If you say so. But most ponies would be happy to learn they’ve never been in a coma.”

Starlight grit her teeth in frightened frustration. “You don’t understand!”

“Then help us understand,” Twilight said softly. “Why is it so important the you were in a coma for a week?”

“Because a week-long nightmare is the only explanation!”

Twilight gave her a gentle smile. “A nightmare? Don’t worry Starlight. We’ll send a letter to Princess Luna and she can-”

“She couldn’t save me from that monster!” Starlight cried. She collapsed onto the floor and hugged herself tightly. “You don’t understand! It was the worst experience of my entire life!”

“Whoa! Starlight calm down!” Spike cried as he and a startled Twilight held onto her. “It can’t have been that bad!”

“Yes! Yes, it was!” Starlight sobbed. “Worse than the equal signs, worse than the time travel, worse than the changelings taking you away from me, worse than Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker! Every second of that coma dream I was being stalked and hunted! A monster wearing the face of a filly, an evil genius, twisted and insane, s-she wouldn’t leave me alone! And she was the good guy! I did h-horrible things and she h-hurt me, but I deserved it! Twilight I don’t want to be alone again!”

“Starlight, Starlight! It’s okay! We’re here for you!” Twilight glanced at her dragon friend. “Spike send letters to all of Starlight’s friends. This nightmare must have been really traumatic if it’s causing a reaction like this.”

“Right. Can you grab a quill and paper though? I don’t think we should leave her all by herself.” As Twilight telekinetically grabbed all the things she’d need to send a dozen letters, Spike gently patted the crying mare on the back. “It’s okay Starlight. It was just a bad dream.”

“No…if I wasn’t in a coma, then it wasn’t a dream. Which means…which means…”

In another world, two young women were sitting on a park bench. They frowned at the page of the book they were reading.

Dear Sunset Shimmer

Please come to Equestria as soon as possible. I’m terribly sorry to disrupt any plans you might have but our friend Starlight Glimmer is currently recovering from what appears to be a very intense nightmare. She described her dream as a world in which me and my friends failed to reform her and she conquered Equestria, only to be stalked by a monster that she describes as-

Starlight here.

Sunset, other Twilight, whoever is reading this, don’t. Please don’t get involved. I’m fine. Nothing is wrong. I just learned something a little disturbing but I’m fine now.

Honestly, the nightmare was healthy for me. I’m a better person now than I was then.

Princess Twilight is already calling over Thorax and Trixie and Sunburst and Discord and I’m fine. I don’t need help. I’m not the same pony who stole every pony’s cutie marks and tried to rewrite time. I just need to bury this into the back of my brain and get on with my life.

~~She said if I do that, I’ll be happy again. She commands my smile and I will obey Her will.~~

That was creepy. Ignore that last line.

Starlight Glimmer

Sunset glanced at the human version of Twilight Sparkle. “So, what do you think?”

Twilight shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile. “She said she doesn’t want help.”

“But it sounds like she seriously needs help.”

Twilight sighed. “You’re right. You probably should go over to Equestria and see what’s wrong. But at the same time, we have school soon. They may have shut down Canterlot High but Principal Celestia already told us that it should be open again in time for afternoon classes.”

Sunset frowned in thought. “Why was the school shut down again?”

“She and Vice Principal Luna just said it was an emergency and didn’t really elaborate on that.” Twilight frowned at Starlight’s message again. “Come to think of it, it’s weird that you’d get a disturbing message from Equestria on the same day that something unusual happens to Canterlot High. To make matters worse, we don’t even know what either of these situations could mean.”

Sunset sighed. “Maybe we should meet up with the others at lunch and see what they think of all this.”

“Good idea. We should probably get going,” Twilight said as she stood up from the park bench. “What time is it now?”

Sunset pulled out her cellphone but frowned at the blank screen. “Shoot. I forgot to charge my phone last night.”

“That’s okay. Lemme just check mine.” Twilight said as she placed her backpack on the bench and began to dig through it as Sunset stood up.

“Um, excuse me. Are you Sunset Shimmer?”

The two girls turned around to see the newcomer. She looked like she was a year younger than they were. She wore a dark green shirt with jeans and a backpack that had a shooting star logo. As she felt their gaze fall on her, the new girl nervously combed her red hair with her fingers, straightening the single blue streak that was dyed into it. “Sorry, my hair’s not messy, is it?”

“Uh, no, it looks fine. You said you were looking for me?” Sunset asked. “I’m Sunset Shimmer. This is my friend Twilight Sparkle.”

The other girl chuckled. “Well as you can guess I already knew that. My name is Sunrise Glim…Glider! Sunrise Glider. But you can call me Sunny.”

Sunset smiled. “Cool. Your name is kinda like mine. Is there something I can help you with?”

Sunny chuckled and shrugged. “Not really. I’m just kind of a fan. Princess Twilight has talked a lot about you. I’m from Equestria too!”

Twilight gasped. “You are? Oh my gosh, I have so many questions!”

“Twilight, you’ve already asked me plenty of questions about Equestria,” Sunset reminded her.

“Not about that. I meant her behaviour. You must have crossed over recently and yet you’re displaying a remarkable level of comfortableness with your human body. When Starlight Glimmer came here earlier I remember thinking how unfamiliar she was with being a human.”

“Good point,” Sunset said, still staring at Sunny. “I totally thought you were a human.”

Sunny blushed and waved their praise off. “Heh, thanks. Everything here is so different from the way things are back home, but I’m having a lot of fun! It’s a lot easier to pick things up with these hands. There’s so many new sights and sounds. And the level of technology you have is incredible!” Her smile grew wider as she began to gush excitedly. “And have you two played these video games? Sweet Celestia, I love human video games! Way better than the ones we had back home!”

Sunset chuckled. “Well I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself, Sunny. So what brings you here? Doing a bit of sightseeing?”

Sunny shifted the weight of her backpack onto her right shoulder. “Something like that. I’m kind of leaving home for a little bit. I’m here on a sort of exploratory journey on Princess Luna’s orders. She was curious about this world and asked me document as much as I can about the area. I was originally planning to enroll at Canterlot High to learn more about this world from you, but I’ve decided against that. I don’t want you to think I’m stalking you or anything.”

Sunset waved off her concern. “Hey, it’s no problem. I wasn’t thinking that. I’d be happy to trade contact info with you…wait, do you have a cellphone? You said you’ve played human video games but I don’t want to make any assumptions.”

“Oh no!” Twilight cried as she looked up from her phone. “Starlight I just checked the time! It’s already past noon! We’re going to be TARDY!”

Sunny blinked at Twilight’s minor freak out. “Audible gasp,” she said semi-sarcastically. “I thought Canterlot High was closed this morning. I’m sure they’ll understand if you’re a little late.”

“Nonetheless, we should probably get going. Hold on Sunny, I can just write my phone number down on your hand and you can give me a call after school. I’d love to hang out with you but I can’t be late for school.” Sunset said as she frantically dug into her backpack, pulled out a pen, and began writing on Sunny’s outstretched hand.

“No problem, Miss Shimmer. Before you – hey! Wait!” she cried as the girls almost left but quickly turned around again. “Before you leave, let me know if you run into my friend!”

“Your friend? You came with another pony?” Sunset asked.

“Not exactly. She’s more of a human than I am, but at the same time she’s not like a human at all.” Sunny sighed. “You’ll…you’ll know when you see her.”

“Okay, yeah, we’ll look for her!” Twilight said impatiently. “Sunset let’s go!” She pulled Sunset by the arm and practically dragged her out of the park.

“Whoa! Twilight, you don’t need to pull me, I can run just fine! We’re not going to be late!”

“You don’t understand! I can’t be tardy!” Twilight cried as they ran down the street, weaving around the people on the sidewalk.

“We’re not going to be tardy! Even if we are, the school was closed due to a still unclarified emergency. Principal Celestia will understand!”

“I’m still not taking that chance!” Twilight’s eyes widened as she spotted a back alley that cut through a string of buildings. “Come on, through here!”

Sunset screeched to a halt before the back alley. “Whoa. A shortcut through a dark alley? Twilight we both know that’s a bad idea for like a hundred different reasons.”

“It’s the middle of the day and I can see the other side! Now come on!”

Sunset followed her crazy friend, if only to prevent what she just knew was going to happen. Sure enough, as they were halfway through the dark alley…

*Click*

“Don’t move. Don’t scream.”

The two girls froze in their tracks as a man wearing a gray, dirty hoodie that hid his face, stepped out the shadows and pointed a gun at them. “Now I don’t want any trouble, ladies. Give me all of your valuables and we all walk away nice and quiet. Even one of you scream though, I put a bullet in both of you. Don’t make this any noisier than it has to be.”

Sunset gulped as she and Twilight shook with fear. What were they going to do? She had the power to read minds by touching people but grabbing this man would be a really dumb idea and it was pretty obvious what he was thinking of. Twilight’s magic was more useful in this situation but was it faster than a bullet? The man might not have hurt them yet but the fact remained that this very dangerous mugger could change his mind at any second. With their lives flashing before their eyes and the mugger’s patience running out, Sunset and Twilight frantically tried to think of what to do…

“Police! Hands in the air!”

The mugger snarled and spun around. “I’m not going back you dumb – GAH!”

*BANG*

Twilight and Sunset shut their eyes and screamed, backing up against the wall. They opened their eyes; fearing whatever horrible scene awaited their senses…only to find that things went better than expected.

The mugger was face down on the ground and the gun he had been wielding was in the hands of their rescuer. “Heh, heh, heh! Oh, this feeling never gets old! Hey, you two kids alright?”

Sunset’s jaw dropped as she took in their savior’s appearance. She was just a kid! A girl around the same age as they were. She was even wearing a Crystal Prep uniform. “Oh my gosh, that was so scary!” Twilight cried. “You saved our lives!”

The other girl chuckled. “It was my pleasure, dearie. Oh, but listen to us jibber-jabber! Shouldn’t one of you be calling the police right now? For party’s sakes, you’re smarter than this Twily!”

“Oh! R-right!” Twilight stammered as she reached for her phone. “Thank you so much! Is he unconscious? Oh my gosh, I hope that bullet didn’t hit anyone!”

As Twilight called 911 and told them what happened, Sunset starred at the other girl. There was something unnerving about the situation. She was far too cheerful for someone who stopped an attempted mugging and she was taking too much enjoyment in jamming her heeled shoe into the mugger’s neck.

The girl’s Crystal Prep uniform was torn in a couple of places and dotted with green and black stains. Her skin was unnaturally pale. So pale that sunlight must have been too afraid to touch her. Her long hair stood out, not only for its pink colour, but also from the streaks of blood that dripped down from the top of her head. The girl stared at Sunset with glowing pink eyes and a smile that sent shivers down her soul.

Time slowed to a crawl and the world seemed to fade around her. The mugger, Twilight, the alley, the sun, everything felt less and less important until there was only her and…the thing that looked like a human but couldn’t possibly be a human.

“Who…are you?”

“Nye heh, heh, he, he,” the girl chuckled sinisterly. She held out her pale hand to Sunset, her painted nails dripping with blood. “Why don’t you look and see?” Sunset gulped and hesitantly reached out to grab the girl’s hand. Her eyes shone with white light as she saw into the girl’s memories.

“Okay. Okay,” Twilight said with shaky breath as she hung up the phone. “The police will be here soon. Thank you again for saving our lives. Should…should we wait until the police get here? I’m not comfortable being here even if you knocked him out but I don’t want to leave you alone, but we’re late for school, but I school that important, but of course it’s important, but I’ve never really been in this situation before so…” she said, babbling out of fear.

“AAAHHH!” Sunset screamed as she let go of the girl’s arm and backed up against the wall.

“Sunset?!” Twilight cried.

Sunset sank to her knees and brought her hands up in surrender. “Please, Midnight Sparkle was an accident! Twilight doesn’t have an evil bone in her body, don’t hurt her!”

“W-what?” Twilight stammered glancing back and forth between the two girls.

“I’m sorry about making those teenagers zombies, I’m sorry I stole from royalty, and I’m so sorry that I bullied all those kids! I promise I’ll never be evil ever again!”

The girl smiled at them. “Oh, Shimmy Sham, Twily Wily! I believe you. You’ve both been such good little girls; you don’t have to worry about me.” She turned her gaze on the man beneath her foot. “It’s this thug who should be begging for his life. Seriously kids, you don’t have to worry about me. The police will be here soon and they’ll take this man off our hands. Easy peasy!”

Sunset nodded her head, stood up, and grabbed Twilight’s hand. “Let’s go.”

“W-wait! What’s going on here?!” Twilight cried.

“Well, you two are fleeing for your lives and I’m about to traumatize this idiot mugger by infecting him with magical nightmares and non-stop hallucinations. By the time the police get here, he won’t put up much of a fight,” the girl said cheerfully.

Before Twilight could ask any questions, another voice piped up. “Yeesh, I leave you alone for ten minutes and you’ve already captured another criminal,” Sunny said as she walked into the alley.

“Sunrise? What...what the heck is going on here?!” Twilight shouted.

Sunny sighed. “Well, I’ve asked my friend here to mentor me in the ways of magical dimension-jumping vigilantism. I know you both have questions but to make a long story short, I’m friends with a monster from a horror movie and you should really start running now.”

“She’s right about running away, darlings. What’s I’m about to do isn’t exactly family friendly.”

Twilight watched in shock as the girl held up her hand, causing the gun she held in her grip to float in midair. With a flash of pink light, the gun turned into a wicked looking knife.

“Twilight, run!” Sunset cried as she pulled her friend out of the alley.

“Whoa, wait! Shouldn’t we do something about them?!” Twilight cried as they ran.

As they two girls fled, Sunny turned around to face her friend. “What’s the next step?”

“Isn’t that a wonderful question?” the girl purred as she held her knife up to the reawakened mugger. “Rise and shine, sleepy head.” The evil grin on her face widened. “When you get to jail, tell your buddies that I’m coming for them next. Ooh!” She twirled the knife around in her hand and tapped her chin with it. “On second thought…Sunny, take his shirt off.”

As Sunny rolled the man’s hoodie up, the man grumbled. “What…what are you doing ya crazy b-AAHH!”

The girl chuckled as she pulled the knife out of his bleeding hand. “I don’t approve of swear words, young man. To answer your question, I’m relieving you of my previous request. You don’t need to tell your friends anything.” She brought the knife closer to him as she whispered, “I’ll write the message myself.”

Late at night, Starlight Glimmer sat in a hospital bed, reading the journal that Princess Twilight had given her. “She was real? She was telling the truth about Sunrise?”

She hugged the book to her chest. “But then I really had a daughter. Will have. Future daughter.” She sighed and shook her head. “Why didn’t she tell me? And if she was really Sunny…but if they’re too different ponies…

“Who or what is the filly?”

“Thinking fondly of me, sicky Star?”

Starlight dropped the journal and starred wide eyed at the shadow in the corner of her room, the lights in her room flickering and dimming.

“Hey there, sweetheart. Heard you had a rough day. Just wanted to give you some get well soon presents.” A small box of chocolates tied to a floating balloon drifted towards her.

Starlight accepted the gift, while trying to remain as calm as possible. Without making any sudden movements she asked, “W…w-why are y-you here?”

“This is goodbye Starlight Glimmer. Hopefully, you’ll never have to hear from me again. Before I go hunting for more bad guys, I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you. It’s all water under the bridge. There’s just one last thing I would like you to do…”

Starlight gulped. “Yes? W-what is it?”