MLP: The Second Chapter

Starlight chased Midnight all across Equestria. With every town she came to, new information became available. Some of the ponies in Horn Alley who hadn't fallen for Midnight's deceit told Starlight of a strange brown foal with wild ideas who had come through there. Yet other ponies in Fillydelphia, Baltimare, and Las Pegasus told her that Midnight had been in their towns as well. With every hoof step taken, Starlight felt that her pursuit was coming close to an end.

Six weeks after leaving Ponyville, having tracked Midnight all throughout the country, she arrived in Maneford. She asked at the local general store where she might find a small brown filly. The shop keeper, who had been one of the ponies to be duped by Midnight's message, attacked Starlight. He screamed gibberish at her about how their mother was going to save all of them, and about how soon all the rich and intelligent ponies of the country were going to drown in pools of their own blood.

Starlight fought him off and ran from the store. Now, she knew she was in trouble. If Midnight's message had gone this far this quickly, then there wasn't any way to tell which ponies she could and couldn't trust. The entire country had all of a sudden become a hotbed for disloyalty and deceit. Equestria was falling to Midnight, even though a good majority of them didn't know it yet.

She ran up the road, her hooves churning dust as they went. I've gotta find a trustworthy pony! But who? She asked herself. She continued running until a pair of hooves reached out and grabbed her. They pulled her into a small building and a mysterious voice commanded her to be silent. So, she did. Once the hooves dropped her, she got up and looked around. She appeared to be in a house of some kind. Candles burned. A clock ticked by the window.

"Um…hello?" Starlight called cautiously, "is anypony there?"

At this, a middle aged mare stepped forth from the darkness. Four foals crept forward as well. "Hail to the great mothers, Celestia and Luna, and their kin, Cadance and Twilight," the mare said. Starlight didn't know what to think. Was she back in vision, or was this reality? So, she went with it. "Um, yes, hail to Celestia, Luna, Cadance, and Twilight. Look, I really don't know what's going on. I got attacked by…"

"Yes," the mare said, "I have been shown by Princess Luna in a dream that you were in town. I have also been tasked with providing you the shelter and resources you may need to bring Midnight to justice."

Now Starlight was really confused. Luna had shown this mare in a dream that she was in town? How on Earth did Luna know she was there? "Excuse me, miss, but…how did Luna know I was here?"

"Princess Luna's powers are beyond a mere pony's. Yes, 'tis true she cannot see the dreams of other creatures. But…she can see the dreams of a pony, and she has walked in your dreams ever since you left Ponyville. Now, Starlight Glimmer, she has told me of your coming. So I have been sitting by my door, every day for the past week, waiting for you. When you came, I praised Princess Luna for telling me so."

"You…praised her?"

"Ah, yes. Luna is definitely worthy of my thanks."

"I think there's a difference between praising and thanking."

"Is there? For what is praise, but magnified thanks?"

With these cryptic words, the mare walked around the room, lighting more candles as she did. Starlight's mouth fell open. There was paraphernalia regarding the princesses scattered all around the room! Yet, it seemed to be very organized. "I don't understand…who are you?"

"My name is Spirit, and these are my children: Sun, Moon, Love, and Friendship."

For the first time, Starlight could see the young fillies in a full light. She gasped. The filly named Sun looked exactly like Princess Celestia, Moon looked like Luna, Love looked like Cadance, and Friendship…looked exactly like Twilight. The four of them smiled up at Starlight. "Welcome, Starlight," Sun said as she bowed low, "your journey has brought you far. It has been a tiring one, but one that had to be taken. Your devotion and love for this land and your friends is admirable. We all owe you a debt."

"You don't owe me anything. All I did was…"

Then Moon put her hoof up and Starlight quieted. She didn't know why, but she felt like these four fillies were wiser than all of her friends put together. The young one opened her mouth. "The dark prophecy with which you have been laden shall come to pass," she said in a voice smooth as silk, "but the story may yet have a happy ending."

"What?" Starlight asked, "OK, now I know I'm dreaming. There's no way you could have possible known that!"

"Correct," Love said, "you are dreaming. After the shopkeeper attacked you, you were thrown on the ground and injured yourself heavily. You're in the Maneford hospital, in a bit of a coma. But that's not why we're here. We're here to commend you. We are the four princesses."

"WHAT?!" Starlight screamed, then turned to Friendship. "Twilight…is that you?"

The filly nodded her small head. "Yes, I am Twilight. I embody true friendship, and I and my fellow princesses have been granted the honor of walking in your dream in order to deliver these messages."

"But…I thought that your faith in the prophecy was flimsy."

Again, the filly nodded. "It was at first, but now I see just how dangerous my foal can be."

"But…I…I still don't understand," Starlight stammered, "why come to me in a dream as fillies?"

"It's Equestrian legend," Sun stated, "While we are princesses in the waking world, in here, we are the four fillies of old, born of the Equestrian spirit. It is our mother, and because of that, we help to guide this land."

"The four pillars of the Equestrian spirit: Sun, Moon, Love, and Friendship. That's what we embody," Moon said, "and this mare here is our mother, the Spirit of Equestria."

"It's the spirit that was put in from the beginning of our nation, on that first Hearth's Warming so long ago," Love said.

"And it's that same spirit that guides our hoof steps today, as we attempt to lead Equestria towards a brighter future," Friendship finished.

Starlight stopped and bowed low before the fillies. They showed such grace and wisdom. These were the ponies she had been searching for on her entire journey. She only wished they had visited her sooner. Still, though, she had one final question. "Spirit?" She asked the mare, "why do you worship the princesses?"

Spirit shook her head. "I don't worship them, I merely thank them, for keeping the Equestrian spirit alive. In these dark times, the fire of the four must burn brightly. Remember that, Starlight, as you face down Equestria's darkest hour. If that fire continues to burn, then the citizens of our land will never stop fighting."

Suddenly, the world shifted and began falling apart. The building crumbled around Starlight. She moved to avoid the rifts and tried to grab the fillies and their mother, but to no avail. They fell into the darkness. "NO!" She cried, "please! NO! NO!" She had so many more questions to ask them. She had so much more she wanted to learn from them.

She found herself standing amongst the stars. She wept bitterly at the loss. What could this vision mean? She asked herself, why was I shown this? Suddenly, Princess Luna flew out of the moon. She put a comforting hoof around Starlight's quivering shoulder and allowed her to cry freely. "Dear Starlight," the princess said, "you have been shown this for a reason. Those four fillies represent myself and my fellow princesses. But Midnight is bearing down upon Equestria. If you do not return to Ponyville immediately, there could be dire consequences."

With that, Luna faded away into the darkness and Starlight was left alone. She threw her head back and wailed to the stars. "WHY?! WHY HAVE I BEEN GIVEN THESE TASKS?! WHAT AM I TO EQUESTRIA?! I'M JUST A GUIDANCE COUNSELOR!" With that scream, she awakened from her comatose state to find herself in the Maneford hospital. She wiped the sweat from her brow and lay back on her pillow. Through the rest of the night, the memory of the dream coursed through her mind. She didn't know why she had been given this mission, nor what kind of fate lay ahead for Equestria. After all, she was just a guidance counselor. In the darkness, she felt all alone, and she felt that Equestria's doom had been sealed.