Locked Supermarket

Chapters

The Discussion
The Introduction
The First Note
Feisty
Malfunctions
Embrace
Old Tricks
Confrontation
Escaping The Shadows
The End, For All of Us
The Note

The Discussion

Two mares, Starlight Glimmer and Trixie Lulamoon, have arrived outside of the supermarket. But before they got in, Starlight needed to discuss certain things with her friend.

"So, due to the both of us not having a lot of bits, we need to really think about what we buy and how much it costs-"

"No need to worry, Starlight." Trixie interrupted her, then took out a brown tiny sack. "I have all the bits we need right here." she opened the bag, but found nothing inside. "WHAT?!"

"What's wrong?"

"ALL MY BITS ARE GONE!" Trixie screamed.

Starlight then saw a few ponies around her giving the two mares weird looks. "Quiet down. Ponies are staring at us. And besides." Starlight's horn glowed and her magic aura grabbed the sack. "You wasted them all on peanut butter crackers."

Trixie looked away. "It was necessary. How can I live without them?"

Starlight rolled her eyes and gave the sack back to Trixie. "Which is why I said that we need to ration our bits and be careful about what we buy." she got out a sack and opened it. "I am estimating we have about 50 bits. That should be enough since the food normally costs 3 or 5 bits."

Trixie's magic aura then swiped the sack away and levitated one or two bits from the sack. "Trixie wants to ask, how did you manage to gain all of these bits?"

Starlight grabbed the sack away with her mouth. "Starlight wants to ask if we can just go to the supermarket and not continue stalling." she then walked away from her friend and headed to the entrance.

"That's not a question, Starlight." Trixie said as she followed her.

Starlight liked the jingle she heard as she walked into the store. While it may be a short melody, Starlight sometimes hummed the tune when she's not alone.

I need to know the name of that tune. Starlight thought with determination, but shook her head. The song is not important at the moment. She had a job to do: Make sure that they bought enough stuff within the budget and make sure Trixie doesn't screw up.

Speaking of Trixie... she was so caught up with the tune that she didn't notice that her friend was missing.

Annoyed, Starlight went to look for her. Eventually she found her staring at a vending machine with packets that had crackers inside them, with a peanut dip nearby.

"Stay focused." Starlight prodded Trixie with her hoof. "You've literally bought hundreds of those things already."

Trixie smacked her hoof away. "Starlight, you know that I need more of these. You never know. I may run out of them in a few days."

"Now you're being overdramatic." Impatient, Starlight caught Trixie's tail with her aura the color of aqua and dragged her away, while Trixie was screaming for the crackers.

Why Trixie likes the crackers so much, Starlight has no idea, and probably never will.

After that, Starlight looked over at the shopping list that she made and showed it to Trixie. "Of course we need the essentials." she prodded over to the fruit section, where she grabbed a few apples and strawberries, while Trixie had her eyes on a blue brush. "This will do well with Trixie's mane." she mumbled to herself.

Next, she headed over to the activities section, where she saw a few kites displayed nearby. Starlight immediately zoomed over to the kites, leaving a confused Trixie behind. Starlight looked at the prices. It was only 15 bits.

"Discount!" she said excitedly. "These things are usually expensive!"

A skeptical Trixie padded over to another pair of kites, but then she looked at the prices and was shocked to see that some of them was over 60 bits.

"Nah." Trixie said in disbelief. "A kite like cannot this be that expensive!"

"But it is." Starlight said as she padded on. "Kites are sacred."

"Uh huh..." Trixie said, weirded out. Ever since Starlight had shown her love of kites, Trixie was amazed that a former communist like her would always have a love for kites, even in her villain days. But then again she always loved peanut butter crackers in her days of villainy...

But Trixie shook the thought from her head. Being corrupted by an evil amulet was bad, but she didn't have control over its power and it possessed her, but despite that, her crimes were nowhere near as bad as Starlight's.

A bored Trixie followed Starlight around the store. She was grabbing items, checked the prices, and crossed them off on her list.

"Its going great! We just need a few more things then we can pay."

Then something caught Trixie's eye. She immediately stopped. "Wait, you're not going to stop to ask if I want anything?"

Starlight stopped too and turned to her friend. "Sorry Trixie, I've been caught up recently that I haven't ask you what you wanted." she tossed a brown sack to her friend. "According to my calculations, we only have 37 bits leftover, so I believe you should be good to go. And please don't go overboard." she said as she rolled her eyes.

"Don't worry, I won't because all Trixie needs is one thing." she said proudly.

Starlight's pink ears twitched. "And what's that?"

“All I need is-” Just then, something caught Trixie’s eye, and Starlight eventually followed her gaze.

Author's Note

Hi guys! This is my first story EVER here and of course I wanted it to be about Starlight and Trixie :D

I hope you enjoy this story :)

The Introduction

As soon as they were trapped, A new voice was heard from the speakers.

"Finally, they left." A raspy deep voice was heard. Starlight and Trixie both stood close to each other, rigid with fear.

"I've been expecting you, Starlight and Trixie." the voice began. "In case you haven't noticed you have fallen into my trap."

"Yeah, we read your lovely note so we got that part down already." Trixie said bitterly.

"Ahah, yes. I am so glad that you liked it. I am not good at poetry, admittingly." the voice humbled.

"I see that you know our past as well." Starlight stood defiantly at the speaker, assuming that the voice can see her. "And you have heard about what we can do." her horn lit up threateningly.

"Your threats mean nothing to me." the voice replied. "I can still defeat you in five seconds."

"Don't expect it to be an easy fight." she spat. "Why don't you come out, if you think I'm easy to defeat?"

"That's boring. I want to play a game with the both of you instead." it said. "There is a few notes around the supermarket. And if you follow them, you will find certain things you need to escape. If you fail five times and you don't complete the challenge until sunrise, well, that's where I annihilate one of you. Maybe that blue pony."

Trixie squeaked in fear and crawled besides her friend. Starlight felt pity for her, then felt anger rise in her again at the mysterious voice. "Touch her skin and I'll make sure you never see the light of day again."

"That's a little grim, don't you think?" The mysterious yawned, dismissing Starlight's threat. "Anywho, you now know the rules of the game so I don't think I need to say anymore. So toodles!" the speaker turned off.

Just wait until you fight me. Starlight thought bitterly. And you'll know exactly who you're messing with. She then got flashbacks of when she was fighting Twilight when she was doing her time travel scheme. Starlight recalled that Twilight couldn't beat her in a magic duel, despite being an alicorn. But even though Twilight may be more powerful than her, it shows that Starlight is not an opponent that's easy to defeat.

She turned and lended Trixie a hoof for her to get back up at her hooves.

"I don't know how you could stand up to him like that." Trixie said admittedly. "You showed no fear at all."

Starlight was surprised. She was scared to the bone, but with the hint of the stranger harming Trixie, the fear quickly died away. When it comes to someone harming her friends, fear won't stop Starlight from doing serious damage to their attackers.

"So..." Trixie said. "Do we teleport or...?"

"We can try." Starlight then disappeared with a flash. Starlight found the location in her mind, and went to teleport. But then she felt a weird jolt touch her body, and it was painful. Shocked, and hurt, she appeared back at the supermarket at the same spot.

"What happened?" Trixie said, shocked. "You usually never fail at teleporting."

"I don't." Starlight groaned. "But when I tried, something painful hit me and I couldn't do it."

Trixie lowered her head. "We can try to break the windows."

Starlight shook her head. "I don't think its worth trying. He already knew we were going to escape in other ways so he probably rigged the windows too."

Trixie looked shocked. "You don't mean-"

"Yes." Starlight nodded. "We have to play the game if we're going to get out of here."

No matter the cost.

The First Note

Trixie cautiously followed Starlight as they looked around the market for notes that the mysterious voice left behind. Trixie still shivered in fear about how the voice sounded. Scary, violent, and maybe deadly. She was thankful that Starlight was with her. She didn't have to worry about her getting hurt as long as she was around. She would set the attacker in their place.

But what if she failed? Trixie thought grimly.

The duo stopped when Starlight turned to her. "I just realized." Starlight said to the blue mare. "That there was a key along with that note."

Trixie was confused for a moment. Then she remembered that they had discovered a golden key, and they were too terrified by the event to remember it.

"I think we left it behind." Starlight said. "Let's go back."

Just then something caught Trixie's eye. A note appeared under one of the shelves. Convenient.

Trixie grabbed the note with her magic and read it aloud to her friend.

You have found the first note of the night, and that brings me great delight.

I recall a key that you left behind, well don't look for it because its now mine.

For the pony who is bad at threats, you will soon leave behind a little debt.

The other note that you will seek is where all the blood leaks.

Hurry now before its too late, and you soon need to find eight.

Trixie's heart almost stopped when he saw the word "blood" in the note.

"Ponies have been m-m-murdered here?" Trixie quivered.

Starlight stood in silence, comprehending of what was in the note. "So we need to find eight notes and we can get out of here?"

"Seems so." Trixie said, still quivering.

Starlight grabbed the note and read it again. "What does it mean by 'you will soon leave behind a little debt.'?" Trixie saw the concern in Starlight's eyes. "Is he saying I might do something bad?"

"You? Do something bad? Pfft." Trixie scoffed. "He's calling his bluff, and if was so smart he should back off."

But Starlight wasn't convinced. "We just need to be wary." then her eyes narrowed. "If he even has the gut to face us."

Trixie was once again amazed by how brave her friend sounded, but she could tell that Starlight was terrified too. And was actually really terrified of the fiend. But as long as we're together, we will defeat him once and for all.

The duo then encountered a metal door with only a tiny window at the top. Trixie felt nervous, but Starlight was content to be here, for some reason.

"Why are we here?" Trixie asked.

"I think I figured it out. 'Where all the blood leaks'. I believe he is talking about the kitchen, where animals are slaughtered for meat, and we better pray to Celestia that we find no pony bodies in there.

Starlight magically broke the lock for the door and swung it open, letting out a blast of cold air. "I wish you told me you were gonna do that!" Trixie shivered.

"We don't have time to be cautious." Starlight looked outside. "The night may be young but I want to get out of here as soon as possible." she walked inside. Trixie hesitantly followed her.

Starlight looked inside the freezers and saw a collection of meats hanging from hooks. The two tried not to throw up. But then they saw another note was crammed in inside. Starlight levitated the note and had to pull the paper so it wouldn't stick. She eventually got it, but was still unsettled with the meat and dried blood on it.

"Let's get out of here." Starlight shivered. The two mares left the room and slammed the door shut. Just then Trixie looked at her side and saw a shadowy figure down the isle. It was staring at them with bright white eyes and with a big grin. Trixie freaked out and nudged Starlight vigorously.

"What?" Starlight looked at Trixie with confusion and nervousness.

"I saw him." Trixie pointed down the isle. "He was right there and-" Trixie turned her head and the figure was gone. Just then they heard a low whisper that sent chills through the two mares.

I'm coming.

Author's Note

To all of those who are wondering, yes, meat is canon in this universe. And don't ask why ponies buy the meat ;-;

Feisty

I'm coming.

The ghostly whisper went through Starlight's ear chillingly. It was impossible for her to not be unnerved by the message, but Trixie took it far worse.

She even got to the ground and hugged Starlight's leg, which almost made her lose her balance.

"Trixie wants to go home." Trixie whispered. "I wish we were at my wagon, or Twilight's castle. With peanut butter crackers." she was on the verge of tears.

Starlight pitied her even more. She had never seen Trixie this scared. She wasn't even this scared when she joined Starlight and the others to defeat Queen Chrysalis.

"We'll be fine as long as we're together." Starlight soothed. "Maybe when we get out of here then we can have a peanut butter cracker marathon. How's that?"

Trixie still wasn't convinced, but let go of Starlight's leg and straightened herself up.

"Trixie." Starlight began. "I'm so sorry that you're going through with this." she said regretfully. "I didn't know that this would happen to us." she looked away, ashamed.

Trixie looked at her friend. "How can anyone expect this to happen to us?" she asked.

Starlight shrugged. "I guess we're the lucky ones."

Starlight then took out the note they found in the kitchen and read it. With Trixie reading at her side. But what they read shocked them both.

Its coming. Run and flee. Its the only way you will find number 3.

Starlight and Trixie looked at each other. "Who's coming?" they said at the same time.

Just then the speakers suddenly turned on.

"Hello again my beautiful mares. I hope you are enjoying the game."

"You again." Trixie's tone was covered with hate.

"Yes it's me, your favorite host of the show." he said with joy. "And a host loves to give its guests some challenges!" he cleared his throat.

"I hope that you enjoy playing with a creature that I found." he said. Then it was silent again.

Just then a door next to them started banging loudly.

Starlight stepped back and lit up her horn, ready for a fight. But Trixie did something else. She ran to the door and barricaded it with her body.

"Trixie are you mad?" Starlight couldn't believe what she was seeing.

"You don't know what's in there." Trixie panted. "We don't know what that lunatic has planned us."

"But he said that we need to face the creature to get the third note. That might be it!" Why wasn't Trixie seeing the facts?

"You think I don't know that-" she suddenly stopped when the door swung open and slammed Trixie to the wall.

"Trixie!"

"Ow." Trixie said as she regained consciousness. She shook her head and turned to the monster, which had a white bear head and a body that had the colors and a stinger of a hornet. It let out a deafening roar.

"Bugbear!" she yelped and ran off.

"Dammit, Trixie!" Starlight said with annoyance.

She turned and saw the bugbear about to attack her. She quickly teleported away from the beast before it could harm her, and respawned where Trixie was running away.

"What was up with the 'Dammit, Trixie' response I got?" Trixie looked annoyed as she stopped running. "What else was I supposed to do? Let it chew me up like a toy?"

A roar was heard in the distance as it sounded like the creature was getting closer.

"Well I suppose I should thank you for ditching me." Starlight shot back.

The conversation was interrupted as the bugbear poked its head through one of the shelves that were besides the two. Luckily, Starlight and Trixie managed to dodge the killer bite.

"How do we defeat this thing?" Trixie said to her, not taking her eyes off the creature that was thrashing wildly. "And where is the note? Did that bastard lie to us?"

This is like the supermarket from Tartarus.

"What we need to work on is defeating it." Starlight said to Trixie. But how.

Once again the bugbear charged at them, but this time it charged with its stinger.

Starlight was tired of running.

She shot a powerful beam at the creature, and it flew backwards and crashed into the of the shelves. It just made it even more angry.

"Don't like that, huh?" Starlight said with a smug smile.

Trixie crawled behind the bugbear to shoot the beam at its back. But instead she found a note that was taped on the bugbear's skin.

"I found the note!"

"You did?"

Just when Starlight got distracted, the vicious bugbear flew at Starlight and grabbed her with one of its four arms and threw her across the room.

However, Starlight levitated herself before she hit the ground. "That all you got?"

The bugbear roared defiantly at the purple mare, but was taken aback as it suddenly felt weight on its back. Trixie launched herself at its back and held onto the bugbear's shoulders and grabbed the note with her mouth.

"Trixie could use some assistance!" Trixie wailed.

"On it."

Starlight put herself onto the ground and cast a magical lasso and roped down one of the bugbear's legs. The bugbear noticed the rope and tried to break it free, but its mouth burned as it touched it. Starlight peered at the bugbear's side to see Trixie still struggling. Then she heard something rip.

"Um, Starlight?"

"What did you do?"

Trixie showed the ripped paper. "What do you think?"

Seizing the chance, the bugbear charged at Starlight and finally stabbed her with its stinger. Starlight felt a burst of pain as the bugbear stabbed her arm. And she was shoved to the wall.

"No!" Trixie heaved upwards and pulled the bugbear's eyelids back. Causing it to heave itself backwards, and accidentally snapping it's stinger right off.

Starlight opened her eyes slightly to see the bugbear wrestling with Trixie. While the stinger is no longer in use at the moment, it can still hurt her with its claws.

Starlight narrowed her eyes and pulled off the stinger with her magic. She slowly got to her feet and with all the energy she had, she charged up a beam and blasted it towards the bugbear. The bugbear turned back to see the sudden light, but it was too late. It hit the creature and it crashed into one of the walls, and fell on top of a pyramid of cans.

This time, it didn't get up.

A few moments later, her vision blacked out.

Author's Note

The more notes they find, the harder the challenges are going to be. And a bugbear attack is just the beginning.

And of course, to build up tension, some of the chapters will be longer.

Malfunctions

Author's Note

Apologies for the hiatus. Laziness has overcome me and I didn't have the motivation to write this story recently. But now I am back at it again, and hopefully will continue to be at it for a while.

Honestly I do not know the symptoms for a bugbear sting, but since its lower body is literally a hornet, and hornets are venomous, so I just searched up how to deal with hornet stings. ;-;

If you see anything that you think is wrong, like a grammar error or something, please let me know. I want to improve as much as I can!

Malfunctions

After a few moments, Trixie slightly opened her eyes to look at the aftermath. To her left, she saw the bugbear still lying on the cans, lifeless. Trixie was lucky that she ducked in time, or else she would've been hit too.

Trixie has some good dodging skills. She thought proudly to herself.

However, when she looked at her right, she gasped when she saw Starlight on the ground. She was not moving.

"Starlight!"

Trixie galloped her way to her friend. She noticed that Starlight's arm had a huge red mark and a thin trail of blood was coming off it. Trixie looked at her in panic. But she noticed that her sides were heaving.

Trixie sighed in relief. She was alive. But for how long?

Trixie assumed that Starlight got stung by the bugbear. And according to rumors, bugbear stings are venomous, and ponies rarely die to a bugbear's stinger symptoms. But the chances are low but not zero...

Determined, Trixie, with her magic, dragged her friend to a nearby drinking fountain and placed her injured hoof inside the sink. Grabbing some soap and a loofa from the shelves, she quickly washed her arm as fast as she could.

Next, she grabbed a bag filled with ice from a nearby container, poured some of the ice in a bag, and set it on Starlight's arm when she put her down to the floor.

Trixie has doubts that it was going to work, but it was all that she could think off. Since she didn't find anything on the shelves that helped with bugbear stings.

Then she looked at the clock that was above them.

2:00 AM

Trixie felt nervous that time was ticking. They need to find the rest of the notes fast.

She walked up to the bugbear and grabbed the note with her magic. When she opened it up, it said:

There is two.

Find the clue.

"You're rhymes are getting weirder and weirder, well, not that they weren't weird in the first place." Trixie muttered to herself. And what did he mean by toys?

Just then they heard footsteps nearby. Trixie whipped her head at the direction the sound was coming from. "Who's there?" she called out.

To her surprise, the footsteps came from a toy robot that appeared around the corner. It was walking as if someone had wound it up. It turned its square head to stare at Trixie with its round red eyes.

"I have come for you." it said in a robotic monotone voice. "I have come."

"Come?" she said in confusion. "Trixie doesn't understand."

"Leave her." the robot said after a few moments later.

Trixie lowered her ears. The thought of leaving Starlight alone would kill her. "And why would I do that?"

"Who wouldn't?" This time, it came from another robot, who appeared on one of the shelves.

Trixie started to get more nervous. "She's my best friend. A friend that I never had for a long time." she admitted.

"Oh, yes." the first robot said as it got closer, although Trixie noticed that its voice got deeper. "She was your first friend since... the day that you ruled over Ponyville and almost banished Twilight."

"How did you know that?" Trixie was startled that a toy robot would know about her misdeeds she made in the past.

“We all know.” another robot nearby replied. “Everyone knows.”

Trixie felt like she wants to curl up in a ball, but she shook her head, as realization had hit her. "I see what you're trying to do." she stared at the ceiling. "You want to scare me off with robots by telling me about my past.”

She looked up to see the robots all peering down on her. “You’re gonna have to try a lot harder than that.”

"H-H-Harder, eh?" one of the robots glitched. "A-A-A-As you w-w-wish."

The robots started leaving the area, and when Trixie followed their direction, they vanished.

Just then she heard a groan behind her. Trixie turned and saw Starlight open up her eyes.

"Starlight!" Trixie rushed up to her and gave her a hug. "You're ok!"

However, Starlight gave her a cold glare and pushed her away harshly.

Trixie looked at her, confused by her friend’s behavior. "Starlight? Are you ok?" she reached out her hoof, but Starlight smacked it away.

"You have some nerve talking to me." Starlight said bitterly. "Not after what you did."

"What are you talking about?" Trixie kept trying to talk to Starlight's face but she kept moving away.

"You forgot?" Starlight said with some surprise in her tone, but quickly turned to anger. "How could you forget?"

Trixie was more confused than ever.

"Is it about me deserting you to the bugbear?" Trixie asked, although she was uncertain that was the problem. "I said I was sorry, and we defeated the bugbear together, so that has to make up for something, right?"

Starlight narrowed her eyes with rage and her horn lit up. Trixie backed away into a corner, accidentally trapping herself in front of an enraged Starlight.

"You did forget! I swear you should be start being called the Great and Clueless Trixie." Starlight spat. "You better be playing dumb and admit what you did. Or else I would do serious damage on you." she blasted her magic on a teddy bear, which burned to smithereens.

Trixie was really scared now. Starlight wouldn't really hurt her, would she?

No. Trixie realized. That's not the real Starlight.

Trixie managed to stand up and stare directly at Starlight's gaze. "You can stop this game now."

"What game?" Starlight said in an angry tone, although her eyes were nervous.

"You're not my actual friend. The real Starlight would never hurt me. And besides," Trixie kicked Starlight in the face and before she recovered, she grabbed her arm with her aura. "What kind of hornet sting heals so quickly?"

Angry, Starlight kicked Trixie in the stomach and tossed her away. Trixie was caught off-guard by the kick and kept coughing.

"I've had enough of you." The fake Starlight blasted a beam at Trixie, but she quickly dodged it.

Trixie looked at her in terror. Her magic wasn’t as strong as Starlight’s, and maybe the fake Starlight has shared the same raw abilites as her counterpart.

Time to find out for sure.

“You can’t hurt me!” Trixie taunted. “You’re not real!”

Just then Starlight blasted a powerful beam near her arm. Luckily, she dodged the attack, but she felt a burn on her arm. She looked to see that even though she dodged, only a part of her arm was caught in the attack.

“I assure you.” Starlight blew on her horn when it started smoking. “I am very real.”

After a moment of hesitation, Trixie immediately ran away from her.

Trixie galloped blindly through the halls, thinking of a way to stop the fake Starlight. She looked back in horror to see that that she was right behind her.

“Going somewhere?” Starlight lit up her horn and blasted a shelf in front of her, causing it to fall down to the ground, along with many others.

Trixie immediately stopped and looked in horror at the fallen shelves. She looked around for another way of escape, but she was trapped. There was only one way out.

“Oh, be that way.” Trixie muttered.

After hearing some hoofsteps, she turned to see the fake Starlight slowly walked up to her, although something was different... her usual bang was gone and was replaced with a bowl-cut looking style.

“Why’d you change your look?” Trixie asked, confused.

“What do you mean? I always looked like this. Well, on the inside anyway.”

“I’m not following.”

The fake Starlight gave her a blank stare.

“Am I missing something or...?”

Starlight sighed. “Nevermind. Anyways...”

As she said that, her horn suddenly lit up in a bright light, and aimed at Trixie.

“Say goodbye.” Starlight sneered.

Trixie scanned the area nervously for something to defend her with. But she found none.

She closed her eyes and started shivering in defeat. This was it. She was done.

Just then, the fake Starlight noticed something behind her and took her eyes off Trixie.

Trixie opened her eyes and followed her gaze. It was hard to see, but Trixie sighed with relief when she saw a pony stand at the start of the hall.

“Mind telling me who that is?” Starlight called out to Trixie.

“Are you blind?” the fake Starlight answered instead. “I am you.”

Starlight flinched. “You’re not.”

“I am.” The fake Starlight left Trixie alone and slowly walked to her real counterpart. What is she playing...

“Don’t spew hollow words at me.” Starlight said to her.

“Hollow? How can they be hollow if they are true.” The fake Starlight started to walk around her, like a predator trapping prey. “Look at me, do I look familiar?”

“Yeah, you look exactly like me. Except... back when I was evil.” she lowered her ears in shame.

“Exactly! You are one smart cookie.” Starlight sneered. “And you still are this.”

Before the real Starlight could speak, she continued.

“Even though you became Twilight’s student... you still did some... bad things... like for example: mind controlling the rest of Twilight’s friends for, a very dumb thing really. And leading a dangerous creature to a innocent Changeling hive, when all they are trying to do is lead it away.”

Starlight bit her lip, cringing at the mention of the things she did in the past, but still looked at the fake with a determined look. “So? That doesn’t make me evil.”

“But how long will it last?” The fake Starlight stopped and stared at her with a sneer. “How long before you mess up? How long before you go back to being evil?”

She then put her hoof onto the real Starlight’s chest. “We are magical. We have talents that most likely can compete with Twilight’s! Why spend around in that lazy town of Ponyvile, when you have magic that could give you some... authority.”

“What kind of authority?” Starlight asked nervously.

“One that will be greater than the Princesses themselves!” the fake Starlight roared. “However, the only way to do that, is get rid of anything that stands in our way. Like this!” she started to blast magic and levitated her to the air.

Starlight winced in pain, but then went through agony when she felt something pull from her body. It was her cutie mark.

“No!” Trixie screamed. She had to do something to help her friend. She whirled her head around, looking for something useful. But then she spotted something underneath the items.

Grinning evilly, she set the real Starlight down, with her cutie mark in her grasp.

“Thanks, twin!” the evil Starlight laughed. “Now you’re powerless and you cannot stop me.”

“Damn you.” muttered Starlight as she got up. “What even are you?”

Surprise flickered in Starlight’s eyes, but then blinked it away and replacing it with a smug look.

“You want to know, do you? Well, in case you didn’t notice, I am-”

Just then Trixie reached up to the fake Starlight and smacked her head with a bat. She stumbled over to the side and crashed into one of the shelves.

“Hah!” Trixie laughed.

She turned to see a bright light, and she saw Starlight with her cutie mark again.

“Thank you.” Starlight sighed. “Now I know how the others felt.”

“No worries.” Trixie winked, then looked back at the fake Starlight, which twitched violently and sent out yellow sparks.

“Is that... a robot?” Trixie squinted at it.

“Well, it didn’t sound and look like it.” Starlight said. “It acted almost like a normal pony.”

“Well, I don’t care.” Trixie said as she kept violently beating up the fake Starlight with the bat. Even Starlight felt uncomfortable and backed away.

Starlight noticed something in the rubble. “Stop!”

“What?” Trixie said as she set the bat down.

Starlight reached inside the fake Starlight’s destroyed body and came out with a crumbled note.

“You went crazy that you didn’t even think that something might be inside.” Starlight sighed.

“What? We can still read it, and plus I was too scared that the thing was going to come alive.” Trixie turned her head to look at the body.

It disappeared.

Embrace

"It's gone!" Trixie gasped in horror.

"What's gone?" Starlight turned to Trixie's direction and noticed that the damaged body had vanished without a trace.

"How did it disappear? We heard no noise from it whatsoever." Starlight said in deep thought.

"Who cares? We need to go find it now." Trixie grabbed the same baseball bat and made her way to the entrance.

"We're not beating anything." Starlight said as she used her aura to take the bat away from her. "Besides, lets focus more on what this note says instead of my evil me."

"You're no fun." Trixie muttered.

"Well, in case you didn't notice, its almost 3 o'clock, and this is the fourth note, and we only have three hours left until sunrise." Starlight pointed out. "So can you please stop goofing around so we can get on with this already?"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "Thanks for reminding Trixie of our awaiting doom."

Before they read the note, they heard the speakers turn on.

“Oh no.” Starlight whispered.

“Oh yes.” The shadowy voice replied. “Miss me?”

“Barely.” Trixie spat.

“Hah, good.” The voice said in amusement.

“What do you want?” Starlight glared at the speakers.

“Entertainment, and I have to say, seeing your faces has brought me great joy. Did you enjoy my new toy?”

“The Starlight one...?” Trixie looked at her friend with a puzzled look. “He made the Starlight clone?”

“Even with your voices lowered I can still hear you loud and clear.” The voice interrupted. “And yes, the fake was made by me, although I was disappointed that all of you broke through. But seeing the blue pony’s face is... priceless.”

“You know what else would be priceless?” Trixie’s horn glowed and sent out a fiery beam at the speaker, causing it to burst into flames. “Now you can’t hear us now!”

“Trixie, calm down!” Starlight pulled her away.

Then she heard the fire alarms go off.

“Seriously.” The voice groaned in another speaker.

The alarms suddenly turned off.

"Idiots." The voice said, unamused. “Oh, and in case you were wondering, the fire ponies won’t be alerted by the alarms, so don’t even think that anyone will come to save you now thanks to that blue pony’s attempt. Which, by the way, I will be looking forward to playing with her”

Starlight whisked her head to look at the speaker. "Don't you dare. I'll make sure you never see the light of day if you do." She opened her mouth to continue, but the pain in her leg cut her off. “And you’ll pay for what you did to me.” She finished with gritted teeth.

“Aw, I’m so scared of an injured pony.” The voice mocked. Then he cleared his throat. “Anyway, since I want heads rolling as fast as possible, I decided to speed up the process. You guys just need two notes left.”

“Two?” Trixie almost laughed. “Why did you change it-” Trixie suddenly stopped when Starlight glared at her.

“I mean- yay!” Trixie stammered.

“Oh yes, it may seem like good news right now, but trust me, it’ll be the gravest news you would ever hear.” The voice said with an eerie deeper pitch.

The speakers were turned off.

“For once he did us a favor.” Trixie muttered under her breath.

“But why?” Starlight asked in suspicion. “Why would he decrease the number of notes that we need to get? He’s doing something suspicious.”

“What else is new?” Trixie rolled her eyes.

“We just need to keep our guard up, that's all.” Starlight pushed on.

“Well, I have no idea why we’re standing around doing nothing when we could easily open up this note and try our best to follow its directions.” Trixie then grabbed the note from Starlight’s aura and opened it.

“You didn’t need to do that, you know.”

“Shush!” Trixie continued reading it.

...

Moments later, Trixie gave the note to Trixie with a freaked-out expression.

“What now?” Starlight groaned, and then she read the note.

The past is the past, or so they say.

But that will be different according to my way.

“With every note we get, the confusion rises.” Trixie said afterwards.

Starlight still kept reading, trying to decipher the clue.

“Ok, I think all of this would be ok if we just stick together-”

Just then a bright white light flashed in between the mares, causing them to have temporarily blindness.

“Starlight? Are you there?!” Trixie wailed.

No answer.

The darkness seemed to finally die away in Starlight’s vision. Starlight got up in a sitting position and rubbed her eyes, and after a few moments, her vision was clear again.

When her vision cleared, she noticed that she was surrounded by sand and dead trees everywhere.

Although it looked too familiar...

Well, deserts always look the same. Starlight thought, but not that kind of familiar.

Then she realized something.

“Trixie!” Starlight called out. “Where are you?”

No answer, with only the gust of wind being the only reply.

Why do we always get separated? She thought with sorrow.

Just then, she heard distant greetings behind her.

Is someone here with me? Starlight thought, confused. She got up and turned around, and her heart almost stopped at what she saw: her old village.

She peered her eyes to see that the ponies that resided in the village had the same wide fake expressions she made them do when she was a dictator. But what was interesting was that among the group, was the Mane 6, and they were about to be greeted by Double Diamond and Party Favor.

I traveled back in time? Starlight thought, although her confusion turned into annoyance. Great, more reminders about my past. She was getting tired of being reminded of her past every few minutes. But something told her that despite her displeasure, she had to know why she was stuck in the past.

Trying her best to be sneaky, she hid behind a house near the entrance to the village, somehow not being noticed by the ponies. She then perked one of her ears up, and she could faintly hear Double Diamond, Party Favor, and the rest of the Mane 6, but they were still audible for Starlight to tell what's going on.

“Well, you’ve certainly come to the right place for friendship.” Party Favor said to the group, most likely a reply to a sentence or question that she didn’t hear.

“What brings you to town?” Double Diamond butted in.

“We’re not entirely sure.” Twilight replied to the two stallions with a hint of uncertainty in her voice.

“I see.” Diamond said, without any change in his cheery attitude. “Well, all are welcome here in our little village. I’m Double Diamond.” he introduced himself as he put his white hoof on his chest; then he pointed at his friend. “And this is Party Favor.”

They both gave them weird smiles, which made the Mane Six look uncomfortable.

“And you all have your own unique cutie marks.” Double Diamond stared at their flanks creepily, with Pinkie being the only one covering it with her tail.

Starlight shuddered. She had forgotten how creepy Double Diamond was back then. She remembered that even back when she ruled this village, Diamond still creeped her out a little.

After a few moments, Double Diamond and Party Favor turned out and walked towards Starlight’s old house. “Perhaps you care to meet our founder: Starlight Glimmer.”

“Great, they’re here to see the menace now.” Starlight sighed. She despised being here. Especially on a timeline that she would rather not reminisce about.

Then she suddenly had the feeling like she was being watched. She looked around, wildly, praying to Celestia that the residents didn’t discover her. But she soon found out as she looked at her old house’s window, she saw that her past self was staring at her through the window, with her eyes a mixture of shock and anger. Then, as she saw Double Diamond and Party Favor getting close to her house, she quickly closed the curtains and seemingly trotted away.

“Wow, PERFECT. Now my evil self knows about my existence. Just peachy!” she said under her breath. Just so she didn’t get caught again, she turned herself invisible and spied through the windows of her old house.

By the time she got there, her past self had already greeted Twilight and the others with a facade, although she had to look outside the window a few times, and Starlight felt chilled to the bone. Even though she was invisible, it was almost like she could see her still.

Can she?

No, impossible.

Twilight seemed to notice this too. “Is everything ok?”

Starlight was startled by Twilight’s question. “Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” She laughed nervously.

“Is anyone outside? Applejack turned to the window that she was staring at.

Starlight ignored Applejack’s question and tried her best to put on a smile. “Well, I hope you enjoy your visit to our tiny town. We’re all quite fond of it.”

Then she exited out of the house, and she teleported away with her magic.

Am I messing up my past? Starlight was more confused about why this was happening. She assumed that past characters would not see their future selves, but it seems to be a different story. And I don’t even know what I’m supposed to do.

Just then, she heard a magical blast behind her, and her horn and mouth were covered by hooves, and she was teleported away.

After she was teleported, the pony finally let go of Starlight. Starlight was breathing heavily.

“Mind telling me who you are?” Starlight looked up to see her past self, looking down at her with narrowed eyes, and her horn was glowing.

“I’m you. From the future.” Starlight said nervously.

“Do you really think I’ll believe in time travel?” Past Starlight scoffed. “And besides, that's impossible. You can’t possibly be the real me. You don’t even look like me.”

“Um, hello? Lilac coat? Purple mane with aqua streak in it? A cutie mark that resembles a glimmer? Yeah, I’m pretty sure I’m you.” Starlight couldn’t believe how stupid her past self sounded, although it could just be due to disbelief. And she couldn’t exactly blame her.

“Sure, you got my appearance right, except for my mane. Why isn’t it straight like mine?” she pointed at the top of her head. “And my cutie mark is an equal sign. Not that.” she said while she was looking at her cutie mark, with a tint of hatred in her voice.

“You’re not fooling anyone, especially me.” Starlight said, unamused. “That cutie mark is a fake and you know it."

"Prove it." Past Starlight said, while letting out a smirk smile.

"Fine." Starlight teleported to her old house, grabbed a bucket of water that was in her bedroom, then came back to the spot and dumped the bucket on top of her past self.

"Hey!" Past Starlight exclaimed.

"Told you." Starlight said as she pointed at her real cutie mark, while her black paint was washing away.

Past Starlight gave her a death glare. "So what if its fake?"

Starlight put a hoof on her shoulder. "Your life is not better like this. Get rid of your hatred of cutie marks, believe me. Your life will be so much better."

"Seriously?" Past Starlight had to hold in her laughter. "You cannot be serious. I'm not going to let an impersonator tell me what to do."

"Just, don't." Was this why Starlight was here? To persuade her past self to not continue her tyranny? And even if this was the case, why did the mysterious voice care so much about her and her past?

"You can't make me." Past Starlight snickered.

Starlight sighed. Seems like there was one way to do it.

"Fine, I won't persuade you by listening, but I'll try to persuade you by seeing."

"What are you talking about."

Just then Starlight's horn glowed and used her magic as a camera, and showed her footage of her defeat when her cutie mark was exposed to the citizens; and also showed her being defeated by snow because of said citizens. And she also showed her taking on Twilight and kept messing up young Rainbow Dash's efforts to win the race. Which led to disaster, and the barren wasteland that was once Equestria, all because of her doing.

"This is what you would do if you continued down this path." Starlight explained to her past self.

She was speechless.

"And this is what your life will be like if you take this advice." She then showed clips of her being reunited with Sunburst, and plus making new friends, like Trixie and Maud. And how she was happier around other ponies, and of course, Twilight and the Mane 6. "Your life could be so much happier."

Starlight looked to see that her past self was about to cry, but she held back the tears and still glared at her. "How do I know that you're not making this up?"

"Look at me. I'm a much happier mare now. I even have a new mane style for Celestia's sake."

Starlight looked relieved when her past self was finally starting to take her words seriously. "Even if I did change, how will I tell the rest of the village? And what if their cutie marks take them away from me? Just like Sunburst."

Starlight was in deep thought. "I can't say for sure as to how the townspeople will react. But as for that last part, trust me when I say, cutie marks will never take them away."

Past Starlight still looked skeptical.

Starlight put a hoof on Starlight's chest. "I promise."

Old Tricks

Trixie slowly opened her eyes. She was dazed from the bright light, which seemed to fade away now.

Trixie stood up and finally got to her bearings. She looked around. It was night still, but she was outside the market. But instead, was in a dark and gloomy town. And it was raining too, and Trixie did not like to get her mane wet.

"This place is creepy. Reminds me of something from my past." Trixie shivered. "Do you agree, Starlight? Not the part of this being your past."

No response.

"Strlight? Are you there? This isn't funny!" Trixie called out.

Still nothing.

"WHY DO WE ALWAYS GET SEPARATED?!" Trixie yelled at air.

She then saw something black catch her eye, making her anger fade away, but instead replaced with suspicion.

She followed to where it went away, and turned to a corner and saw it again, but she saw it in time to see that it was a black cloak.

"Starlight, I swear to Celestia if this is a joke..." Trixie muttered, although she was doubting that it was her.

Following the hoofsteps of the cloak, it suddenly stopped. Trixie caught up to it, finally. She saw it staring at the window, and with a small evil chuckle, it ran off.

Trixie, confused, looked at the window too, just to see what it was laughing about. She looked at it, and saw a desk with a pony nearby. And nearby that pony was a few old books.

And the Alicorn Amulet.

Trixie suddenly realized what was going on, and who the cloak was. "Not again!"

She saw that the cloak was already near the door, almost about to open it.

Remembering the teleportation spell that Starlight taught her, she disappeared in a flash and appeared next to the pony, who let out a startled welp.

"Get away from the door!" Trixie instantly tackled the pony and sent it crashing to a few barrels near the back alley.

Just to see if her suspicions were true and didn't make a stupid mistake, she grabbed the hood with her magic and revealed the pony. She was correct.

"What in the name of Celestia was that?" Past Trixie exclaimed angrily, but then stopped in shock when she saw her future self. "Y-Y-You're me!"

"That's right. And I'm stopping you from making a terrible mistake." Trixie answered, trying her best to hide the shock that she was back in the past, and saw her old self again.

"What mistake?" Past Trixie hauled herself up.

"Of you getting that amulet."

"What's wrong with that?" Past Trixie still stared at it through the side of the building. "Could you imagine me with that much power?"

"I can." Trixie said, unamused. "And its not a good memory to have. Me and Starlight learned the hard way."

Past Trixie looked at her confused. "Starlight? Who's that?"

"Twilight's former pupil-" Trixie said but immediately stopped herself, knowing her past self she should've have said that.

"Twilight has her own pupil? Since when?"

"Um..." Trixie stammered, instantly regretting her decision.

"You're hiding something from me." Trixie walked up to her threateningly. "When did Twilight get the permission to have a pupil? Unless she teaches her how to be a dumb spoiled unicorn like her."

"Uhhh yeah that's exactly what it is!" Trixie said, trying to play along. "She's teaching her how to organize and uh... learn new magic!" What do I even say about this?

Past Trixie looked unconvinced. "She's a princess in the future, isn't she?"

Trixie stopped making eye contact. "Maybe...?" she said awkwardly.

"I knew it! I will not let Twilight shine in Ponyvile while the Great and Powerful Trixie gets shunned away like dirt. I'm going to get that amulet whether you like it or not."

Past Trixie headed for the door.

"You can't!" Trixie blocked her way.

But Trixie shoved her away and entered the door, rain dripping on the wooden floors. Trixie immediately rushed in after.

"Reconsider my words." Trixie begged to her past self. "This isn't the way."

"Of course it is." Past Trixie still ignored her pleading face. "I want to beat Twilight at something. You felt it, you were just like me before."

"I was, but it was out of blind jealousy!"

"Whatever. Just leave me alone before the pony comes back and sees the two of us. And I'll return outside with a sparkly new decoration." Past Trixie put her hooves on the counter, waiting for the pony to appear from behind.

"Are you kidding me?" Trixie stared at her, dumbfounded. There was no way she was going to let her past self commit the same crime she did in the past.

"I'll have to make you then." Trixie looked at the amulet and sighed. There was no way that she was going to do this. But she felt like she had too.

Trixie immediately jumped onto the counter, grabbed the amulet from the jar, and rushed outside.

"Hey! Come back!" Past Trixie and the pony who just arrived yelled as she ran off.

"I don't usually steal but this is for your own good!" Trixie looked at the amulet and sighed. She knew the dangers now, but she wasn't going to do anything evil with it. She immediately put it on, and felt the raw alicorn magic go through her veins.

"That felt good." Trixie sighed, she remembered this feeling. Even if she did use it for bad, she'd never forgotten the feel of wearing it again. She then turned to Past Trixie, who stared at her defiantly. The pony near her looked extremely angry.

"Thief!" He yelled.

"I don't care, this is all in the past anyway." Trixie remarked. When the pony stared at her confused, she turned to Past Trixie.

"And now for you." Her horn glowed an unusual blood red, grabbed her past self, and disappeared with her.

Trixie teleported with Past Trixie in the forest. Far, far away from the town. She was amazed at how much power she had when it came to teleporting now. She couldn't go twice as far with her normal magic.

"WOW! Just great!" Past Trixie still stared at her angrily. "Now you wear it. And I can't force you to take it off."

"You're right, you can't. So suck it." Trixie said, snarky. "But anyways, I won't use it for long anyways."

"Then why did you wear it in the first place? And WHY DID YOU TAKE TRIXIE WITH YOU DEEP INTO THE WOODS?!"

"So no one can interrupt." Trixie replied. She looked at the amulet. "This can make me do anything, huh?"

"No, what do you think?" she responded sarcastically.

Trixie ignored the remark. "I wore it to show you something."

"Show me what?"

"What the future will be like when you did use it for revenge." Trixie's horn glowed and placed it on top of her forehead. She struggled for a moment, but was forced to give in.

She was now inside her mind, watching as she saw herself do horrible things to Twilight and her friends, and eventually, herself.

"No one can stop you now. No one will dare disobey your orders. Ponyvile will be nothing but a playground for you to play in"

But I don't want to rule over Ponyville. I just wanted Twilight out of the way.

"Not rule over Ponyville? NONSENSE! This stupid and carefree town is yours now. Twilight won't be here to stop you, and you even have banners of yourself all around the town. And you're having second thoughts now?"

I am, this wasn't what I wanted.

"Well, too bad. You're stuck with me now. And I won't let you go anytime soon. YOU NEED ME."

"I DON'T. Although, I might need you when Twilight comes back with a much more powerful amulet."

Now you see how I can be useful? I knew you would come around eventually.

She then entered inside the Town Hall, and caused more chaos for Twilight's friends.

Then two figures of Trixe stood there, watching the whole time.

"So this is what it will be like?" Past Trixie stared on as she saw herself forced Applejack to smash apples with her hooves. "I... I didn't want this."

"We both didn't." Trixie said more calmly. "And we caused so much mayhem. Its almost unforgivable."

She turned her head. "How long did this go on?"

Trixie stared into the distance. "Not long. Maybe a day or two after, Twilight made a return with another amulet."

Her horn glowed and showed her past self the scene where Twilight did another magic duel with Trixie, although Twilight kept beating Trixie's magical feats this time. She saw that she was enraged that Twilight "beated" her in magic once more, causing her to take off the amulet, and forcibly grabbed the one Twilight wore.

However, Twilight's magic tricks were all but an illusion, and the amulet she used was a fake one. She was outsmarted so easily. And in case she didn't retaliate, Rainbow Dash and Zecora placed the corrupted Alicorn Amulet in the chest, in a place where it won't be found ever again.

"She's a smart one." Past Trixie stared at the scene.

"Yes, and its really annoying." Trixie joked. "But she forgave us in the end."

She now played the scene where Twilight stared down at a apologetic Trixie, and after giving her the puppy eyes, Twilight caved in, and let out a small smile.

"And we eventually gained our first friend." Trixie looked at her past self when the scene ended.

"And that is...?"

Trixie tried playing the scene where she encountered Starlight at the spa, but the alicorn amulet was starting to corrupt her.

Sorry to ruin the fun, but I'm tired of this now.

"Are you ok?" Past Trixie stared at her, worry showing in her eyes.

"No!" Trixie replied in pain. "I'd forgotten how tedious this thing can be sometimes."

Before the amulet had the chance, Trixie immediately took off the amulet and slammed it onto the ground.

Past Trixie was relieved that her past self was alright, and stared down at the amulet. "So, now that you showed me all those... things. What now?"

"Well." Trixie said after a few moments. "Its your choice. You can either discard my advice and completely ignored the scenes that I showed you and continue with your revenge plan." she stopped and placed a hoof on Past Trixie's neck. "Or you could take my advice, and try again."

"Try again? At what?"

Trixie chuckled. "At having a better future."

Past Trixie dropped her ears. "I don't know how."

Trixie got up and stared at the horizons. "I think I know the answer." she took out a hoof in front of her friend.

She stared at it, and when she touched her hoof, a similar bright light appeared.

"What the-" They both said before they were both engulfed by light, and Trixie once again couldn't see anything like the first time.

She woke up with a gasp.

Author's Note

Shorter chapter, ik, but the climax is coming so I'm trying my best to build it up :twilightsheepish:

Confrontation

"I did THIS?"

"And you said you didn't believe in time travel."

"W-W-Well, I didn't until now."

Starlight and her past self looked down from a cloud as she saw herself kept messing up Rainbow Dash's race, which led to the Rainboom never happening, and the Mane 6 never meeting each other ever again.

"And it turns out that these attempts cause Equestria to turn into a barren wasteland with no signs of life?"

Starlight shuddered when she remembered that part of the story. "Yes..."

Past Starlight looked on in thought. "Wow, my reason for hating cutie marks sounds pretty stupid right now if I were to do this."

"Did you even send a letter to him?" she asked.

Past Starlight's ears flattened. "Of course I did. But then again I still don't know if Sunburst ever learned to open a letter."

Both future and past Starlight both laughed.

"Well, I'm glad you showed me this. Now I have a different-"

Just then a ball of bright light appeared in between them.

"Not again!" Starlight sighed.

"What do you mean not again-"

The light brightened even more, causing Starlight to black out.

Starlight opened her eyes, letting a cry of surprise.

"Starlight! You're awake!" Trixie galloped over and hugged her best friend.

"Awake?" Starlight was confused by Trixie's words and gently pushed her away. "You mean I've been asleep this whole time?"

"Seems so." Trixie shrugged. "And what do you mean, 'the whole time'? Didn't you just see darkness?"

"No." Starlight answered, a little shocked by her question. "I was back at my old village, and I encountered my evil self. No, I couldn't be asleep. It felt too real."

Now it was Trixie's turn to be shocked by her friend's words. "I encountered my evil self too."

"You did?" Starlight couldn't believe their ears. They both dreamed about encountering their past selves?

"I think we both did." Trixie replied, but simply shrugged. "But Trixie doesn't care. At least now we are together again."

"And together you shall." The speakers said as they turned on. The voice was more annoyed than with its usual snarky tone.

"Oh great! Your stupid self had to ruin the moment!" Trixie yelled at it.

"What moment?"

Trixie rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"

"Look out."

Trixie and Starlight both turned and saw that the sun was starting to come up.

"Sunrise." Starlight breathed out. They were too late.

"Sunrise indeed! Ah, I knew that you would fail." The voice said, there was no denying the joy that was caked in it. "Now, its time to pay the price. But first, I want to show you something."

Just then Starlight and Trixie were both suddenly surrounded by shelves that moved on their own. The ones behind them came by and shoved them in a dark room with the door being open.

The door slammed shut.

Trixie immediately went to the door handle and kept trying to move it. "It's locked! Could you teleport us out of here?"

"No." Starlight said to her friend. She saw a white pair of eyes stare at her from the distance. She stood her ground. "I'm done running."

She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her leg, but held her tongue, trying her best not to let the pain show. She had almost forgotten about the hornet sting, which did go away. Mostly.

The shadowy pony walked up to Starlight and met her gaze. Trixie was shivering right behind Starlight. Starlight glared at him with narrow eyes.

"I've heard about you, Starlight Glimmer. More about you than your friend. At least I know your name, while she's... forgettable."

Trixie glared at the shadow pony.

The pony started to walk away. "But unfortunately, no one remembers me either. Back when I was alive." He said the last word in a deep voice.

Starlight and Trixie both stared at each other.

"Alive?" They both said at the same time.

"Hard to believe, I know." The figure continued. "But its true."

He turned his head to the mares, and showed a tiny smriky smile when he saw the two of them both angry, scared, at least for Trixie, and confused at the same time.

"Now, remind me again." He padded towards Starlight, who still stood her ground, daring not to move, despite her every instinct telling her to at least back up. "I recall you enslaving a town, and almost destroyed the timeline, correct?"

Starlight's horn dangerously glowed. "Don't come near me."

"Yeah, keep it glowing." The figure ignored her. He then turned to Trixie, who was tugging on Starlight's hind leg. "And you told a lie to everyone in Ponyvile, saying that you were Great and Powerful but you couldn't defeat an Ursa Minor? And now you came back to the town with a corrupted amulet as revenge?"

"Why do you care?" Trixie finally spoke up, but her voice was still quivering.

"I care a lot when it comes to 'reformation'." He said mockingly. He turned to Starlight again. "And, correct me if I'm wrong, your crimes were ten times worse than Trixie when it comes to comparison. Is it not?"

Starlight's gaze lightened for a moment when the question was asked. "Well, when you say it like that..." she shaked her head and gave him a suspicious stare. "Why are you even asking us these questions?"

He ignored the last part. "But then Twilight forgave you while she didn't forgive Trixie, which her crimes were more tolerable than your crimes. At least her crimes didn't almost destroy the entirety of Equestria."

Starlight's gaze slowly softened and was in deep thought. Her ears were downward and her magic started to dim.

"I'm finally getting to you, now." The figure smirked. "I knew you weren't really that strong."

"That's enough!" Trixie stepped in front of her friend. "We both know that what we did in the past was wrong, and we may not deserve to be forgiven. But," she turned towards her friend. "Even so, we try our best to improve our lives, and that we can change for the better. Whether Twilight forgives us or not."

"They don't change." The figure shoved Trixie away. "They never do." He said the last words in a deep angry voice.

Starlight flinched. He never saw him this angry. But Trixie still glared at him. "But they can. With the power of-"

"ENOUGH!" The shadowy figure forcefully shoved Starlight and Trixie to the wall with its shadowy powers. He ran up and stared at both of them, suddenly enraged.

"No villain ever truly reformed! No villain learns the power of "friendship" or whatever cheesy thing you guys say. I learned for myself that is a false claim. That's how I lost my life and wound up here in this supermarket!" The shadowy figure let out mists from his eyes. Were those tears?

"I gave a criminal a chance. We had a great friendship. But then here, in this very supermarket, betrayed me. He hid me. No one knew that I died. I was just a tiny rumor and no one cared." he said in rage. "He's probably still alive, living a free life. TO THIS DAY."

Starlight and Trixie looked at each other with concerned looks. Was this the reason that he tortured them? He just hated villains who had been reformed?

"Now," the voice calmed down, and had a icy edge in his tone. "Unlike him, I won't let you leave. Alive."

"You're going to have a hard time killing us!" Trixie spat. The concern she had to the pony instantly gone.

The pony glared at her. "Oh yes, Starlight here will be a hard one. But you're not, but I'll save the easy pickings for last."

The shadow pony grabbed Trixie with its shadow magic, and shoved her up to the ceiling, which was somehow very, very far.

Trixie slammed her head on the ceiling and came tumbling down. Starlight instantly grabbed her with her magic, and placed her at the right corner.

"Thank you for saving her. The fall would've killed her too, but whatever works."

Starlight turned her head towards him. Anger raged in her eyes.

The pony was confused. "Aren't you going to feel sorry for me?"

"Not when you just made an attempt to kill my friend." Starlight stared defiantly at the shadowy pony, who she felt bad for for a brief moment. "I'm sorry of what you had to go through, but I won't let you harm me or Trixie without leaving some serious marks on you."

The shadow pony then transformed into a solid pony figure. Its eyes were dark red and its cutie mark was a skull symbol. He almost looked emo.

"Same could be said for you."

They both glared down at each other as both of their horns began to glow.

Author's Note

Yup that's the villian's reasons for being evil. I thought hard about the reason of why he was doing those actions. But this is the best I can come up with.
:trollestia:

Escaping The Shadows

Quick as lightning, the shadow pony cast a spell on Starlight, which made her levitate into the air, and attempted to slam her to the wall. But Starlight quickly stopped herself with her magic, did a flip so the wall touched her four hooves. She leaped into the air and shooted a bright magic beam at the pony.

It quickly dodged, but as soon as he recovered, Starlight quickly got to the ground and punched the pony in the face, and kicked his front hooves, causing him to fall to the ground headfirst.

Starlight stood over him. "Wow, this is easier than I-"

She was quickly interrupted when something grabbed her leg. She turned and saw a shadowy tentacle grip her tightly, and quickly tossed her aside. She didn't hit any walls, but was hurt by the bruises she received as she rolled onto the hard floor.

"Stopping me is going to be harder than you think." The shadow pony loomed over Starlight. "Sound familiar?"

"I'm done playing your games." Starlight spat. She stood up and faced the figure. She had to fight through the injection that was jabbing at her arm, but she quickly discarded it.

"Not until I get what I want." With a screech, the tentacles rose from the ground and rushed towards the mare. She quickly teleported, trying her best to get away from them. She got to a high position and zapped the tentacles with a magic beam, but the more she destroyed, the more tentacles sprouted.

"I'm playing you like a toy." The shadow pony sneered.

He quickly grabbed her and was about to slam her to the ground, Starlight quickly teleported away and reappeared right behind him.

Snarling, the shadow pony's horn finally glowed and shot a magic beam that was the color of blood red. She quickly dodged, but the pain from the injection made her lose her footing and she tripped clumsily on the ground.

"Pathetic." The pony continued to ramble on. "You manage to have powers that are almost equal to Princess Twilight, yet you can't even defeat me."

"At least she played fair." Starlight whipped her head to face him. "I bet you can't even beat me without those tentacles saving you."

"Wanna bet?"

The tentacles instantly disappeared, and the shadow lifted his horn. "I would usually decline something like that. But I want to play with you further before your timely death." he looked towards the corner. "Just like your friend."

Starlight turned to his direction. Trixie hasn't even moved yet since she head her head on the wall.

"Trixie?" Starlight stared at the mare in horror.

"Its a shame really." The pony continued. "I guess I broke a precious, but annoying toy before you. Its disappointing, but at least its just you and me."

Starlight still haven't moved. Starlight felt anger and hatred rise towards the pony, but her body still remained still.

Seizing the chance, the pony grabbed Starlight by her neck and tossed her over at the side. She didn't even attempt to retaliate as she landed. She looked up and just stared at him.

"You monster." she whispered.

"Thank you." The pony bowed his head. "But that's hypocritical coming from you."

The anger finally started coming back. She slowly got to her feet and her horn glowed brightly. "Say that again." she threatened.

His expression quickly changed, and a single tentacle rose from the ground, and grabbed Starlight. The tentacle pushed deep into her throat, making her choke.

"I said it once, I'll say it twice." The pony said in a deep voice. "No villain is ever truly reformed."

He pushed the tentacle harder. "Why should you and your friend deserve to live a happy life, while mine was taken away?"

He stopped with a chuckle. "Once you're gone, I'll make sure any reformed villain who dares shop in this crappy supermarket, I'll torture them too, like just how I did to you two."

Starlight stopped choking a lot due to her hooves pushing away the tentacle, but she knew that unless she did something, she would not last much longer. She panicked and tried kicking him away, but he was too far.

Suddenly, she looked at the side. She saw a shadow loom behind the pony.

Starlight's ears lifted in confusion. Is that...?

She was quickly interrupted when the pony shoved the tentacle one last time. His eyes suddenly glowed dark red and he had a malicious white grin.

"Say goodnight, STARBRI-"

With a battle cry, the shadow tackled onto the pony's back, and bit its neck hard. The tentacle under Starlight finally disappeared and she let out deep breathes as she kept coughing.

She gazed upward to see a blue pony grab the shadow pony by the neck, and covered his horn with her hooves.

"Trixie! You're alive!" Starlight breathed happily.

"Get off of me you fool!" The pony screeched.

Ignoring his outburst, Trixie quickly opened the room's door that led to outside.

"Starlight!" Trixie let go of the shadow pony's neck. "Push him-"

She was interrupted when the shadow pony finally had control and quickly slapped her away. The pony gave her a death glare, to which Trixie only smugly smiled.

"YOU PEST!" The pony screeched at the blue pony. "I almost had her you-"

He was interrupted when he looked above Trixie. His expression suddenly turned to pure horror. "THE LIGHT! NO!"

Trixie quickly nodded at Starlight, and after processing, she finally got the hint. As the pony rubbed his eyes, Starlight quickly rushed up behind him and bucked him out of the room, causing him to crash into some shelves.

"NO!" The pony's ears lowered in fear, and instantly booked it to the door.

While they had the chance, they both slammed the doors shut and locked it.

"LET ME IN. NOW." The pony begged. Fear and anger filled his voice.

"And why should we?" Trixie answered loudly, trying to make her voice clear from outside.

"The shadows!" The pony screeched in desperate pain as he scanned the room for any kind of darkness, but the sunlight blocked every corner.

As he looked around, he saw that the shelves, ones from his own illusion, were starting to fade away.

"I NEED DARKNESS! YOU MUST LET ME IN!"

"After what you did to us this entire night? Oh no. You are not going to talk your way out of this one."

"PLEASE I'M BEGGING YOU!" The pony screamed in pain as the sunlight started to beam through his pony, leaving brand new holes.

Starlight and Trixie both looked at each other.

"Uhm... uhm... I'M SORRY!" the pony yelled nervously. "I was just kidding from earlier. I don't actually hate villains. In fact, all of this was a joke. I greatly admire the both of you! But for the love of Celestia, PLEASE LET ME IN!"

"Should we?" Trixie looked at Starlight with a smug look. "Didn't Twilight teach us to forgive other villains who did wrong and are repenting for it?"

Starlight nodded. "Yeah, and we wouldn't want Twilight to think we're bad ponies."

Trixie giggled, obviously laughing about what's to come next. "Oh, she wouldn't."

"HURRY UP PLEASE! I'M LITERALLY DYING." The pony screamed in pure agony.

"Do you promise not to commit wrongdoings ever again?" Starlight asked.

"YES!"

Starlight and Trixie nodded.

"Alright, but remember that we spared you." As Trixie said that, she opened the door. As soon as she did that, the pony bolted right in, along with malicious laughter.

"IDIOTS! You lost your chance to rid me forever, and now-" He quickly stopped when he realized that the room was lit up with the light up on the ceiling. Soon, his body quickly turned misty.

"You were saying?" Trixie looked at him with a smug expression. "Hurry up before you die from the light."

With a screech of raw pain, the pony looked at the two ponies with pure hatred, and finally, after a few moments, the body evaporated into smoke.

"It's like you said." Starlight stared at the ground where the villain once laid. "No villain deserves redemption."

Author's Note

I hate writing battle scenes.

But yeah that's officially the end of the shadow pony's reign for good. Sorry if this looked rushed, but I felt like that this is the perfect way to end his terror for good.

The End, For All of Us

It had been weeks since Starlight and Trixie's night at the haunted supermarket. After Trixie went home to take a long nap, Starlight told a worried Twilight, who noticed the injection on her leg, about the events that took place at the supermarket. And of course, Twilight freaked out over it. Even though the shadow was gone, they did not take any chances.

After reporting to Celestia and Luna, due to its past of a murderer happening there, and the threat of the shadow possibly coming back, they ordered the restaurant to be shut down and immediately destroyed. And they also planned construction for the new, but smaller supermarket to be built on the same spot where the old supermarket was. Starting tomorrow.

For old times sake, Starlight, with her arm tied with bandages, walked up to the construction site. All the building materials were there already, and all that it is needed is ponies and construction machines.

She heard hoofsteps behind her. She turned and saw Trixie arriving at the place too.

"You come here too?" She asked.

Starlight nodded. "Might as well do it now before construction starts, and dust starts flying everywhere."

Chuckling, Trixie sat next to the lilac pony.

"What a time we spent here, huh?" Trixie reminisced.

"A weird time for sure." she responded.

Starlight then stared at the ground. Something came into her mind. "I can't believe it."

"Believe what?"

"That a actual murder happened here. And on a nice pony too."

"You can't be serious." Trixie looked aghast. "There is no way a shadow like him would ever be nice in real life. Or else he would have passed on peacefully."

"Fair point, but maybe in a different time, he was very different. Similar to how I was a nice filly before my hatred of cutie marks consumed me."

Trixie still looked doubtful. "I guess. But I assume that anyone who dares to harm Trixie and her friend are immediately bad in my book."

Starlight chuckled for a bit. She now turned her head to the construction site, with Trixie looking at it too. "I can't believe that a new supermarket will be here. It may be only one night, but we shared memories, plus he pushed us to the very brink. And he proved one thing."

"I agree. Having a smaller supermarket will be weird, but we'll get used to it. But," Trixie looked at her confused. "What do you mean 'he proved one thing'?"

Starlight thought for a moment with a sigh, and gave Trixie a warm smile. "That no matter what happens." she quickly wrapped a hoof around Trixie's neck. "With the power of friendship, we can face anything."

Trixie chuckled back. "Even an angry spirt?"

"Even that." She responded with a smile.

As th two continued to stare at the site, Starlight looked up at the cloudy sky. Even though what he did was wrong, Starlight still felt bad for the pony. Even if he was willing to shed Starlight and Trixie's blood.

Rage corrupted you, like how I did. She said to the cloudy skies in her mind. I hope you found peace. Just like the rest of us.

"What are you thinking about?" Trixie question interrupted Starlight's condolences in her mind.

She sighed, but she grinned a tiny bit. "Thinking about a lost soul."

Afterwards, after gazing at the construction for a moment, Starlight walked away from the site. Then Trixie followed her. It was time to leave the place behind. For the final time.

Author's Note

Its official. My first fanfic ever created on this site is finally finished. Thank you guys so much for the support and encouragement. I greatly appreciate it, like a lot.

And thank you for following Starlight and Trixie's adventures in the dark and spooky supermarket. It means a lot that you guys read through my hard work. I'm very happy with how it turned out.

Now the story can finally be at rest 👋

The Note

Trixie and Starlight walked their way through the isle and reached where the vegetables were. Trixie crouched and looked at the side of the black container.

"Trixie, this is stupid." Starlight said, exasperated. "Can we just go and pay already? Or else I might leave you here-" she stopped when her friend levitated a golden key and a note. She then gave her a smug look. "Treasure." she said as she opened up the paper, then looked at Starlight with worry. "Um, Starlight, you might want to read this."

Confused, Starlight levitated the paper and read what it said.

Never before have I've seen a sight so fulfilling, a duo of the reformed in my building.

Still tough and strong, even when a princess proved them wrong.

"Our Town, Our Town." A lyric that rings in my ears. And the possession of an amulet that was once so dear.

I'd rather talk, but now its time to stalk.

When the night starts to show, thats when the game flows.

Follow the notes and listen to my rhymes, or else you will have a terrible time.

Starlight and Trixie looked at each other with horrified looks.

"That might be a note for a different group of ponies." Trixie said in a panic. "That can't be us, right?"

"You know as well as I do of who that note was targeted too." Starlight said grimly. "We have to get out of here before it gets dark."

Trixie looked afar at one of the giant windows. "Its sunset. We better hurry."

Just then a voice was heard from the speakers.

"The store will be closing in 3 seconds."

"That's just super!" Trixie huffed. "Now we're stuck here, and we have to listen to this weird stalker and his notes, which will lead to our impending doom."

"Well, I'm not staying here and do what he says." Starlight said. "If he thinks he can trap us in here, he has another thing coming."

Just then they both heard the supermarket doors close and heard the staff of the mart lock the door, forgetting that they left behind two ponies.