The Abyssal Requiem

While everypony was asleep, Starlight was suddenly woken up by a strange noise in the castle. Getting out of her bed, Starlight moved towards the door and opened it. Slowly creeping her head out, Starlight whispers,

“Flurry Heart…?”

She leaves her room and walks around the hallway to see where she is. But as she kept moving, she suddenly started hearing these eerie whispers inside the castle. Starlight, sweating profusely and starting to hyperventilate, kept moving throughout until she made it towards the stained glass mirror hall.

“Is anypony here…?” Starlight asked, starting to feel scared.

But as she looked around, she noticed the stained glass mirrors. Instead of showing the victories and accomplishments that the Mane Six delivered, they depicted the events of the Abyssal Invasion. From being banished by Twilight and her friends while Discord was watching in the shadows, to encountering Spike as the Abyss, to fighting Midnight Sparkle, to witnessing the Royal Sisters in their corrupted forms, all the way over to destroying the Malachite Crystal Heart, killing both the Creature and Spike in the process.

“It should’ve been you…” a voice whispered.

Starlight frantically turned around to the sound of that familiar voice.

“You knew all along, didn’t you…?” another voice whispered.

“She always did keep secrets, after all.” a third voice said.

“No…” Starlight whimpered.

“Oh yes, Starlight… we are very much alive.” this voice said as she lit her horn up.

Starlight looks up and sees the moving Ooze-covered corpses of Midnight Sparkle and her zombified friends, Daybreaker, Nightmare Moon, and every other pony that was killed in the Crystal Empire Raid, let alone the Abyssal Invasion. Starlight tried running away, but she was now cornered by the creatures that were purged by the Abyss during its death. But as she slowly backs away, she accidentally bumps into someone. She turns around and, to her horror, sees that it is none other than a zombified Spike possessed by the Abyss.

“Spike…?” Starlight said, starting to tear up.

“Why did you do it…?” Spike whimpered before being overwhelmed by the Abyss.

Just before Starlight could say something, the Abyss wraps everyone up in its Ooze-y grasp and says as the corpses on its body moaned and screamed,

“You are a poison to your kind…” the Abyss said as it bared its fangs while everybody else watched in glee.

It swooped down and bit Starlight whole, crunching her in its maw as she slowly lost her life in the jaws of the Abyss.

. . .

Immediately springing out of her bed, Starlight was dripping with sweat, hyperventilating in terror, and her heart pounded like a drum. She turned her lamp on before frantically looked around the room before checking her body for bite marks. Luckily for Starlight, it was only a horrible nightmare. But she couldn’t shake the feeling of the experiences she went through. It was like she was stuck in a loop. She reached for a glass of water on her drawer and downed it before catching her breath. But as she collected her thoughts, she suddenly remembered something.

“Oh no…!” Starlight said to herself as she dashed out of her room.

Running out of the castle, she ran through Canterlot all the way over to the outskirts. She ran for what seemed to be a good 15-20 minutes. Having run a good distance, she notices the cave where she buried Spike and she immediately stops. Slowly breathing with uncertainty, she walks towards the cave and enters it. It was filled with bright, vibrant crystals and they showed Starlight’s reflection while walking. Five minutes later, she sees the statue of the Royal Sisters fighting the Abyss, the same location where Spike’s body is buried.

“Spike…?’ Starlight whispered.

She moves ever closer and sees that the grave is untouched and non-violated.

“Thank Celestia…” Starlight said as tears of relief poured out.

She stumbles towards Spike’s tombstone and hugs it as tightly as she could with no hesitation of letting go.

“I’m so sorry… you have no idea how lonely it is without you… it’s all my fault.” Starlight blubbered while hugging his tombstone.

“No, it’s not.” a voice said.

Hearing this startled out of her sad state. Starlight slowly turns around and sees that it is none other than Tempest. The latter approaches the former and hugs her along with the tombstone. She could see how much Starlight was hurting and Tempest would have it no other way.

“You did what you had to do to kill the Abyss. Nopony could have done it.” Tempest said, attempting to comfort her mourning friend.

“You could have.” Starlight said while crying.

Tempest was hit hard by Starlight’s truth, but it didn’t matter to her right now and she continued to comfort her while she cried. But their moment of tenderness was interrupted by another voice.

“It’s late out here.” this voice said.

They both turn around and see Sunset walking inside the cave. She approached the grave and looked at the statue. Then Sunset said,

“I understand that we have lost everyone dear to us. And there is nothing we can do to reverse the damage that has been done to us. But we are not living in the past. You need to let this go to rest.”

“Like it’s any easier for you.” Starlight said.

“We don’t know if he was possessed, Starlight. Even if he wasn’t faking it, there would be nothing we could do for him. Besides, you gave him what was a mercy kill. Nopony could-” Sunset said before being shoved into a wall by Starlight.

“You never say that here. We’re not sure if he was possessed or not, but he has ears. And I will not allow you to speak about Spike like this while we’re inside this cave.” Starlight said in an angry tone.

Tempest gets up and pulls Starlight away from Sunset. Then Tempest says,

“We have all lost who we loved and there is nothing we can do to bring them back. Especially not our closest friends. But there is a time and a place for everything, Sunset. And whether he was possessed or not, Spike or any other creature will not be disrespected while we’re in here.” Tempest proclaimed.

“What would your friends back in the human world say if you mentioned such things in front of them? Do you think they would be happy to know that you have been talking trash about Spike? Or would they be happy to know that you’ve become no different from the higher-ups?” Starlight asked.

“Leave my friends out of this, Starlight! What we have planned for Canterlot is bigger than us and we have no time to argue over who deserved to die or not! If we stray further from that, it will not end well!” Sunset said in a firm tone.

“Well, I’m sorry to say that not everypony shares the same viewpoint as you, Sunset! If you really cared about what we went through together, we wouldn't be having this conversation! Would we?” Starlight countered.

But before the argument could continue any further, there were suddenly lights flashed directly at them. They look forward and see that it was none other than Shining Armor accompanied by the Canterlot guards.

“It’s late, girls. Nopony is supposed to be wandering off at this time of the night. Come along!” Shining Armor shouted in an irritated tone.

Having no other choice, the trio conceded and proceeded walking back with the guard unit. But while they were heading back, Sunset said to Starlight,

“I understand that you don’t want to forget him, Starlight. But this foolishness needs to end. If you keep holding onto that, you’re gonna hate yourself forever.”

“Maybe, but that’s better than pretending he never existed.” Starlight rebuked before facing forward.

Tempest kept quiet after hearing their brief argument, but it weighed on her really hard after that night. Hearing them bicker brought her back to when Grubber was still alive and it hurt her so much to see her friends fight each other. But when they made it back to the castle, they were greeted by an irritated Cadance. After listening to an hour of a disciplinary lecture, they each returned to their rooms with a lot still weighing hard on their minds. But they let that all slide for the night as they proceeded to head back to sleep.