The dull chatter of voices and boats splashing in water held her in a cradle of comfort, a subconscious paradise where troubles were nonexistent. She could see it all, the falling snow and the restless dark blue waters of the town she once called home, flowing out and gently slipping through the creases of her mind. She was at ease, delirious almost, consumed by a wave of great relief, though for what reason she couldn’t quite explain. She saw far away images and obscured faces, who she could only passively recognize. She was at peace in her dreams, caressed by a cool river of light, drifting along through an ocean of star-studded heavenly space, and carefree memories.
Starlight Glimmer was in the Canterlot palace, buried beneath the covers of a white-sheeted bed, inside a private chamber commonly occupied by visiting aristocrats. In her dreams, the sounds of crashing ocean waves and bustling streets began to grow louder, until a new memory entered her mind. The screams of ponies running for their lives, running from her.
Eventually the tormenting noise grew so loud that it pulled her awake, suddenly. Her dreams had felt so real, the transition to the conscious world was practically seamless.
Sitting up in her bed, Starlight wasn’t quite sure where she was. There was a pounding ache in her head, and she couldn’t at all recall what had happened to her during the past few days. She stretched out her stiff limbs, but didn’t move, deciding she’d be better off to stay as she was in the bed, which was admittedly comfortable.
She was alone in the room, a cozy, rustic, polished wooden bedchamber with gold trimmed furniture and an impressive miniature library in one corner. Warm afternoon sunlight shone through the window to her right, revealing stray particles of dust floating through the air.
Starlight didn’t feel any different since before she had fallen unconscious, but was somehow aware that something had changed. She concentrated on trying to remember what had happened, and slowly, the memories that were screaming at her in her dreams came trickling back.
She recalled being captured, and brought to Ponyville, and meeting who must’ve been Ruby Heart’s boss. She remembered the Queen’s Jewel, which she had read about long ago, its luminous green perfection unmistakable at sight. It was unfathomably beautiful, Starlight remembered, just as magnificent as those books had described. The jewel had spoken to her, beckoning her to release her pain and anxiety, to give up everything that held her back. She had been helpless to its influence, and soon enough she was nothing but a puppet to be controlled.
She remembered Twilight Sparkle, getting to meet her again, though under quite unfortunate circumstances. Starlight had dwelled on their eventual reunion for months, and hoped for an amicable reconciliation, only to end up trying to kill her. But she had done it, she had broken free, Starlight thought, feeling the sensation of touch and a clear mind free of the jewel’s magical corruption. It took all the strength she had though, which explained why she had blacked out. Looking around the room, she took a deep breath, coming to the conclusion that Ruby Heart and her army of savage insurrectionists must have failed in their attempt at a rebellion. If they hadn’t, she would probably be dead by now, not comfortably left alone in a regal bedchamber.
The more Starlight remembered, the more panicked she became, hoping that her friends were all safe, and, equally as important, that she still wasn’t a national fugitive. Though, being caught working alongside those monstrous insurgents certainly wouldn’t do her any favors, she thought.
But she wasn’t restrained or anything, she could easily just get up and walk away, or teleport to another location and escape before she was arrested.
Still, she stayed where she was. She was just too tired to go on yet another chase, or escape attempt, or rescue. She relaxed deep into the soft pillows, wrapped around her own inner machinations.
There was a small fire crackling in the fireplace in the wall to her right, and yet, despite previously having a slight phobia of fire, Starlight felt nothing, her eyes sinking into the deep red glow of the dancing flames.
After spending so much time in a desperate struggle to protect her friends and avoid being arrested for crimes she didn’t commit, Starlight wasn’t sure how significant her efforts ended up being at all. For all she knew, Dust Bunny and Elodea and Crestfall were all dead, Twilight and her friends still thought of her as a monster, and everypony everywhere would forever associate her with acts of destruction and terror. She wasn’t sure how much of all this was truly her fault, uncertain which choices really accomplished what she meant them to. When she had first left her old life behind, she saw it as more of a self-imposed punishment, seeing no reason why sticking around would’ve made anypony’s lives better. She would always just be the ‘other’ to Twilight and her friends, a project to be paraded and shown as proof that friendship can extend itself to even the worst ponies. If that was what her life was meant to be, then it was rather unfulfilling, not to mention mildly degrading. Starting over and beginning a new life, therefore, just seemed practical. As far as she could tell, she just wasn’t really needed, not by Twilight, not by anypony. She was purely incidental.
But now she had come full circle, her new path having led her right back to her old path. If there was truly any sort of divine organization in the universe, it seemed as though it was trying to tell her something. She was meant to be here, and even if she wasn’t needed, she was wanted.
The door to the room slowly creaked open, startling Starlight, who was still half-expecting to be arrested for something any moment now.
“You’re awake?” asked Twilight Sparkle, cautiously poking her head out through the door.
“Twilight?” Starlight said, surprised.
Twilight smiled and stepped inside, quietly closing the door behind her. She was alone, carrying a tray of tea cups in a purple aura of magic.
“How’re you feeling?” Twilight asked, sauntering over to the bed-bound Starlight. Starlight saw that the princess had sustained numerous injuries from the battle, and desperately hoped she wasn’t responsible for any of them.
“I’m alright...What’s going on? What happened?” Starlight asked, rubbing her tired eyes. Her memory was still foggy, slowly piecing itself back together in the wake of the jewel’s corruption.
Twilight took a seat in a wicker chair not too far from the bed, facing Starlight, who was in need of answers.
“You fainted, I took you back here so you could rest,” Twilight replied. She set the small tray of tea down on a nearby nightstand, magically lifting one of the cups into the air and offering it to Starlight, who politely shook her head, still a bit frazzled by the strange recent turn of events.
Twilight took a sip of her tea before she continued. She was exhausted too, after having spent the past few hours as damage control for the battle ravaged city.
“You’ve been out since yesterday,” Twilight said.
“Is everypony alright? Is the city safe?” Starlight asked.
“Those ponies are gone, once they lost the jewel they started running...There’s some damage to the city, nothing that can’t be rebuilt. We lost some royal guards, but it’s over now…”
Starlight sighed in relief and fell back down on her bed, her mind able to resettle, now knowing there was no immediate threat to face.
Twilight noticed the scars on Starlight’s body, including the distinct one along her eye. After so long apart, Twilight feared that they would have both grown into different ponies, distinct from the image of the other that they had each latched onto since their separation. Twilight wondered if she herself had changed at all, and more importantly, whether Starlight was the same pony she knew before.
“I missed you,” Starlight said, catching Twilight off guard. Twilight stifled a nervous laugh, struggling to formulate her emotions into words.
Starlight was staring into space straight towards the door, Twilight sitting to her left, as if they were in a therapy session.
“Every night I was gone, I was always thinking. About you...and Spike, and Trixie...Pinkie, Rarity, Rainbow, everypony...I kept asking myself, what would they think of me now?” Starlight’s eyes fell downwards, unsure whether she wanted to know the answer. “I wanted to move on so bad, because I thought...I thought nopony wanted me here...I always just make things worse by being around, don’t I…” Starlight said, dejectedly, as if it was inarguable, “And now everypony thinks I’m a murderer..I don’t know what to do, I don’t know where I belong.”
“I want you here,” Twilight said, pleadingly.
“You have to say that, you’re the Princess of Friendship,” Starlight said, rationalizing her own self-deprecation.
Twilight laughed, though Starlight meant it to be more serious.
“What did Chrysalis do to you?” Twilight asked, hesitantly, curious as to what exactly sparked Starlight’s emotional breakdown.
“Chrysalis…” Starlight scoffed, “It was never about Chrysalis. She said all these stupid things to try and get me down, and I just had to sit there and take it. What really got to me was the isolation. And I had been feeling that for months, since the day I first came to Ponyville with you. The way ponies would look at me, I was out of place. I wanted to learn from you, and be better, but nothing I did ever seemed good enough. I thought, it’s me. I’m the problem. I had to get out,” Starlight said, wiping a single tear from her eye.
Twilight kept her composure, though was slightly unsettled by the pain emanating through Starlight’s words. The unicorn’s face was wound-up with hopelessness, a somber disgust with herself that appeared completely untreatable.
“And now I’m back, back where I started, and I'm probably going to be executed. Maybe that’s for the better.”
Twilight shook her head, unwilling to even humor Starlight’s hopelessness.
“You know, Starlight, when I decided to take you on as my pupil, it wasn’t because I pitied you. It wasn’t because I thought you were a monster who needed to be redeemed. It was because I saw something in you, something that made you different. You were always one of the first ponies I’d go to when I needed help, or when I needed somepony to depend on, or just somepony to talk to. I’m not going to let you tell yourself that you aren’t worth anything. You’re a good pony, Starlight, and I shouldn’t have to tell you that. Those friends of yours that you made? They were risking their lives for you, just because they cared about you…”
“Are they alright?” Starlight asked suddenly, realizing she wasn’t sure whether any of them were even alive.
“They’ve all been released, since apparently that Gallant Stride wasn’t who we thought he was...They’re safe, Starlight, don’t worry,” Twilight said.
Starlight was again relieved, turning over in the bed so that she was directly facing Twilight.
“I don’t want to think that I’m not worth anything. I just can’t help it...I want to be happy, but...there’s something wrong with me,” Starlight said.
“There’s nothing wrong with you, Starlight, you just let your anxiety get the better of you. Look at me,” Twilight said, waiting until Starlight made eye contact again, “You’ve been through so much, just to protect the ponies you cared about, and you didn’t give up. I care about you, Starlight, a lot, and I want you to be happy. You’ve overcome so much already, you just need to stop doubting yourself. I believe in you, but you have to believe in you too.” Twilight said.
Starlight couldn’t stop a smile from forming on her lips, thankful that Twilight hadn’t yet given up on her.
“Thanks, Twilight...I’m sorry about leaving...You have no idea how much your friendship means to me,” Starlight said.
Twilight smiled back, glad to see Starlight begin to lighten up.
“I’m sorry too, I should have communicated with you better, I had no idea what you were going through,” Twilight said.
“I was always just...holding myself back. I don’t know what it was. I never wanted to let anypony in after I lost Sunburst, and then I just...only had myself to blame for every screw-up I made. Now it’s just how I think. I just assume I’ve done something wrong. It was so hard to ignore all that humiliation, and come here with you as your pupil. I was afraid that I was going to mess up again...I wanted to change,” Starlight said.
“You have changed. You’ve come so far already, Starlight, and I’m proud of you. You’ve always got a level head when I don’t,” Twilight said, pausing for both of them to share a slight giggle at certain memories of Twilight’s famous freakouts, “And you’re a great friend, and I can’t tell you how glad I am to have you back…” Twilight said, pondering on how the loss of Starlight initiated her own slump of demotivation and crippling hopelessness.
“I know what it's like to be scared of changes. I never imagined for a second that I’d be where I am now when I was little. It’s scary, and so are all the responsibilities, and still having to make time for friends...When you left, I blamed it all on me. I thought I let you down, that I had failed you. When they told me that you were down south going on a murderous rampage, I couldn’t believe them. Everypony kept telling me to just accept it, but I couldn’t…Maybe I was just scared that I’d feel responsible for all that death and horribleness, I don’t know...All I was focused on, was doing whatever I could to get you back, and stop all that craziness. And then I find out you’ve been on an adventure of your own, and...I can’t tell you how happy I was. I thought I lost you, for good, that I’d never get a chance to get you back.”
“You’re a great teacher, Twilight, and I owe you my life,” Starlight said, firmly.
Twilight sat back in her chair, a warm smile resting on her face. At last they were reunited, without any problematic complications to interfere with a much-needed resolution.
“But Twilight...Everypony’s still going to hate me, they think I’m some monster,” Starlight said, her spirits collapsing again. As long as her name remained scourged by Chrysalis’ sinister acts of villainy, Starlight knew her chances at keeping friends in Equestria would be slim.
Though Starlight was mortified over the possibility of Chrysalis having completely ruined her life, Twilight was unwavering, seemingly aware of something that Starlight was not.
“Come on, I’ve got something to show you,” Twilight said, rising from her chair excitedly. Starlight wiped the tears from her eyes and watched Twilight eagerly make her way towards the door.
Twilight stopped right as she was reaching for the doorknob, realizing Starlight hadn’t budged from the bed.
“Well? Come on!” Twilight said, her twinkling smile persuading a baffled Starlight into climbing out of bed and catching up.
Inside her mind, Starlight saw few potential futures that didn’t involve her being a nationally-recognized, widely despised social outcast, labeled responsible for some of the greatest tragedies to befall Equestria in recent memory. Given how grim her future was looking, she was completely befuddled by how eager and worriless Twilight seemed to be, as they exited the bedchamber into the grand white-stone hallway outside, walking right onto a spotless red carpet with gold lining.
Starlight nervously poked her head out into the hallway, hoping there weren’t any ponies nearby who would try to arrest her. The hallway was empty though, Twilight standing in the center, waving at Starlight to keep up. She was snickering to herself, finding it slightly amusing how afraid Starlight was, given what she had in store for her.
Starlight nervously followed Twilight through the hallways of the palace, sticking close beside her for protection. Still, Twilight showed no sign of fear of some impending attack on Starlight’s life. Whatever Twilight had waiting for her, it must’ve been spectacular.
Still struggling to get a grasp on her bearings, Starlight kept up behind Twilight, who was excitedly trotting down the long, elegant hallways of the Canterlot palace. She wasn’t sure where they were going, or even if she was fully out of the doghouse yet.
After a short walk, Twilight came to a stop in front of a pair of immaculate white stone gates, two royal guards standing on either side. Starlight stood nervously behind Twilight, hopeful that the guards weren’t about to arrest her. Instead of drawing their weapons at her, the guards merely smiled, throwing off Starlight from her cautiously defensive stance.
“Your name’s been cleared, Starlight,” Twilight explained, “Everypony knows what Chrysalis has done.”
“Really?! So-” Starlight started, wondering if she was really free from the high-profile accusations that had been levied against her for months now.
“I talked to Celestia and Luna, and we all set the record straight to everypony...You’ve got nothing to worry about,” Twilight said.
Starlight was close to tears, her life no longer in immediate danger for the first time in what felt like ages. She gave Twilight an unexpected hug, which Twilight accepted, laughing joyously at her friend’s intense relief.
“Oh, thank you, Twilight,” Starlight said.
“There’s more,” Twilight said, as Starlight pulled herself away.
“We also told everypony about everything that you did….and…” Twilight began, as she nodded at the guards to begin opening the doors.
Twilight stepped out of the way to let Starlight enter first, as the doors were pulled open to reveal the palace ballroom, decorated with hundreds of white clothed tables and candles, filled with hundreds of ponies, who were all caught in their own small conversations. The ballroom was huge, lit up with graceful chandeliers and tall windows. A bountiful amount of food was set on each table, thrown as a proper Canterlot banquet. She saw Princess Celestia, and Luna, and Cadance and Shining Armor, who had returned to Canterlot that morning, both equally confused as to what exactly happened while they were gone.
Starlight wasn’t sure what to make of it, until the ponies began to notice who had just walked inside. Starlight instinctively prepared herself to be subjected to an onslaught of jeers and cruelty, which made it even more of a shock when the crowd before her all rose to their hooves and burst into a triumphant applause.
Starlight was speechless, recognizing several of her old friends in the crowd, who were all beaming in her direction, clapping their hooves and vigorously cheering on her behalf.
“I...I don’t understand,” Starlight said, glancing at Twilight to explain to her what had happened.
“It’s like I said. You’re wanted,” Twilight said, smiling and putting her arm around a dumbfounded Starlight.
As the crowd settled down and returned to their celebration, Twilight led Starlight from the entrance down the steps to the main ballroom floor where the tables were, immediately being met by Rainbow Dash, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Rarity, all speaking at the same time.
“Starlight, darling! Are you alright?” Rarity asked, hopeful that Starlight was back to normal and still not hellbent on some destructive warpath.
“I’m alright, thanks,” Starlight said, still a bit overwhelmed.
“It’s so good to see you!” Pinkie Pie yelled, “What a party! The party’s for you! Do you like it?! You have to like it! It’s got to be the best party I’ve ever thrown!”
“Thanks, Pinkie, it’s good to see you too,” Starlight replied, eagerly accepting a hug from the bouncing pink earth pony.
“Sorry about kicking you,” said Rainbow, slightly embarrassed. Starlight laughed, having forgotten what exactly caused that deep pain in her ribs.
“It’s good to have you back,” said Fluttershy, nervously.
“Thanks, I missed you too!” Starlight said.
“You’ve got to be starving, when’s the last time you ate?” Applejack asked, motioning for the group to sit down at their table where the food was.
Before Starlight could go anywhere with the others, another hoof caught her from behind by the shoulder. Starlight was spun around to see Trixie, a wide smile painted on her face.
“Trixie!” Starlight said, embracing her friend tightly.
“Starlight! I thought you were dead!” Trixie said.
“Starlight?” asked another pony, Sunburst, walking past the tables to approach Starlight, who was struggling to receive so many ponies all at once. But the more ponies she saw, the more warmth she felt return to her heart.
“Sunburst! How are you?” Starlight asked, embracing her oldest friend.
“Better, now that you’re back. I’ve been worried sick all this time, you know,” Sunburst said, scratching the back of his head.
“Starlight Glimmer?”
Before Starlight could advance any real conversations with Sunburst or Trixie, another voice came booming from behind her. Starlight turned to see Princess Celestia making her way through the crowd. The alicorn had completely healed herself of all ailments sustained from the prior day’s battle, standing out as an untainted goddess in the wake of such hellish destruction.
“Princess…” Starlight said, hesitantly, backing up towards Twilight for protection.
“Oh, Starlight, you don’t have to be afraid, I understand everything now...You’re not in any trouble,” Celestia said, realizing the unicorn was probably expecting to be executed on the spot. Despite the festive aura of the room, Starlight couldn’t shake her internal fears of suddenly being arrested or put to death.
“It’s very good to see you, Starlight, we’re all very proud of you,” said Celestia.
“Please, Princess, you shouldn’t be...I shouldn’t have run away,” Starlight said, trying to humble herself.
“You did what you thought was right...And now you’ve returned back here...You made a sacrifice for your friend, you went to great lengths to save their lives, and you were able to overcome the power of the Queen’s Jewel...You’ve proven not only your great understanding of friendship, but also bravery, and determination.”
“I...Er, thank you, Princess,” Starlight said, resisting the urge to deny herself any ounce of respect.
“To such an extent...that I do believe you should be expecting a certain promotion to come around sooner than later,” Celestia said teasingly, gifting Twilight with a playful wink. Celestia gave Starlight a parting nod, before leaving Starlight alone with her friends, trotting over to check on some other ponies.
“Uh...Twilight? What did she mean by that?” Starlight asked, nervously.
Twilight was holding a glass of cider with her magic, coyly glancing up and down from Starlight to her drink.
“Let’s just say when I talked to Celestia and Luna, I put in the good word for you,” Twilight said, taking a sip of her glass.
“Twilight, you don’t mean…” Starlight said, her voice quivering.
“It’s bound to happen, Starlight. You’re princess material.”
Starlight’s mouth was hanging open, unable to comprehend the momentous revelation Twilight had just laid down on her. Everypony else was still nearby, equally shocked and excited by this news.
“No way!” Rainbow exclaimed, “I knew it, didn’t I tell you, Fluttershy? I told you.”
“Well done, Starlight” said Rarity, prideful of the fact that now two of her friends would be royalty.
“Twilight, I-I can’t be a princess, I can barely handle any authority at all!” Starlight said, terrified.
“Yes, you can. You’d make a great princess, Starlight...Normally it’d be a surprise, but since things are still a little crazy, I figured we’d let you know now,” Twilight said, immensely proud of how far her student had come.
“I...I don’t need that, I already have everything I’ve ever wanted. Great friends,” Starlight said, getting a rise out of the ponies gathered around her, touched by her sentiment.
“But you deserve it, Starlight. You did something nopony has ever done before...Something not even the greatest heroes of moons past have ever done...Everypony thought it was impossible to overcome the power of the Queen’s Jewel. But you did it,” Twilight said, “Your dedication to your friends, your insistence to persevere...You’ve earned it.”
“Yeah, and what about that time you saved Equestria from Queen Chrysalis? Remember that? Totally epic job,” Rainbow added.
Starlight was still extremely reluctant, but decided there wasn’t much point in protesting.
“Give it time, you’ll come around,” Twilight said, nudging Starlight with a caring hoof. Starlight smiled, glad that she still had Twilight to lean on. Being promoted to a princess was a tremendous responsibility, one that Starlight wasn’t sure she was ready for, nor exactly desiring. What she had been in pursuit of her whole life wasn’t fame or power, it was happiness. And in that moment, surrounded by her friends, who truly did care about her, she had finally found it.
Queen Chrysalis and Violet Heirloom, having resumed their fluctuating alliance, had escaped Canterlot during the withering chaos of the battle, slipping away through the wreckage back into the wild.
They had been running non-stop, trying to put as much distance between Canterlot and themselves as possible.
At last, they came to a stop, in a large field of grass, storm clouds still brewing up above them. The grass shuddered against the cool wind in soft patterns. They had reached safety, though safety was typically temporary.
Chrysalis collapsed to the grass beneath her, gasping for breath, setting the Queen’s Jewel down beside her. It was still locked inside the scepter, glowing a furious green.
Violet stopped close behind, also taking a seat on the ground, exhausted. They were both filthy from the earlier carnage, and were weary after traveling such huge distances these past weeks.
Chrysalis glared at the jewel, which was gleaming with energy and green desire. Through the endless glass-like prisms of the jewel, Chrysalis found herself unable to look away. She saw a face that resembled death, the underside of his head painted in a fiery orange. He wore a somber smile, nothing close to resembling anything peaceful. It was a pained smile, a disappointed effort that made Chrysalis uneasy.
She turned away in anger, breaking free of the jewel’s trance-inducing glow.
Chrysalis turned over to see Violet sitting nearby, staring off at Canterlot in the distance, hidden behind the clouds.
Chrysalis reached over and grabbed the jewel gently, holding it in her lap.
“It all seems so pointless from here,” Violet said, dryly. “All those ponies dying...and nothing really came out of it,” Violet said.
“Something did,” Chrysalis, raising the jewel up into the air. It was hers at last, after so many trials and so much tribulation. Her elaborate plan had finally been exacted.
Violet shrugged, still struggling to find the sense in it.
“So what are you going to do? Raise an army, try and overthrow Celestia...It’ll end up just the same as that,” Violet said, pointing at the smoking Canterlot in the distance, “And then the jewel will end up in somepony else’s hooves, and they’ll try the same thing, and so on, and so on…”
Chrysalis’s eyes shifted up from the jewel to Violet, and then back down to the jewel.
“No, I’m not doing that,” she said, firmly.
“You’re not?” Violet said, surprised to see Chrysalis finally have a change of heart.
Chrysalis’ face was warped with conflict, the responsibility of the power in her hooves beginning to sink in. She looked up at Canterlot in the distance, and she remembered all those corpses, and all that destruction. And, just like Violet had said, it had all amounted to nothing. Chrysalis wasn’t sure what she was feeling, perhaps it was pity, or, dare she say it, sympathy, but the thought of bringing about another onslaught of death and agony to innocent ponies in the same light as Cellestrous’ failed attempt made her absolutely sick to her stomach.
“I was never good,” Chrysalis said, as if she had a point to prove, “And I’ll never be good. But perhaps...perhaps I’ve done enough already…” Chrysalis said, coming to her own conclusion as she spoke.
“I’m not good either...but there’s always a chance for redemption,” Violet said, coaxingly.
Chrysalis wondered at the very notion of redemption, which seemed so far-fetched for her it might as well be played as a joke. But regardless of whether she would ever see the light, the world was in no way ready for that. And certainly, she wasn’t.
“The world’s gotten very strange, hasn’t it?” Chrysalis asked, smiling as she glared down at the jewel.
“It sure has,” Violet said, turning back to watch the dark clouds above Canterlot wrestle and walk across the sky.
She then jumped to her hooves in surprise, when she saw Chrysalis wielding the scepter, the jewel glowing an enraged green.
“Chrysalis...What are you-”
“I’ve always been my own worst enemy...I was never meant to be free,” Chrysalis said, as the jewel glowed brighter in the scepter.
“Chrysalis!” Violet yelled, believing Chrysalis to be seconds away from killing her at point blank range.
But the jewel just kept glowing brighter, and no attack came, and Violet was beginning to wonder what was taking so long. She didn’t bother putting up a defense, since the jewel’s power was too great to stand a chance against anyway.
Chrysalis stood straight with the scepter in one hoof, her horn glowing and her face warped with frustrated determination.
Then a loud cracking noise made Violet jump, and she realized what Chrysalis was doing.
Focusing her magic from the jewel into the jewel itself, Chrysalis was effectively rupturing it from the inside, bursting it apart at the edges with its uncontestable power.
Violet shielded her eyes, when a few more cracks in the jewel led to an all out fiery green explosion, the jewel being broken into at least a hundred shards, sprinkling through the air into the grass. At the tip of the scepter was a smoking black broken hinge, and Chrysalis herself was worn out from the intensity of the experience.
She threw the scepter at the ground in disgust, and wiped her arm of the searing hot green embers that had soared out from the now-destroyed core of the jewel.
Violet lowered her arm and saw that the jewel had been thoroughly destroyed, her mouth hanging open in shock.
“You...You destroyed it?!” Violet exclaimed.
Chrysalis scoffed, as if there was any other route worth taking.
“The only way to destroy the jewel was with the jewel...now it won’t cause anypony any trouble...Or more importantly, me any trouble.”
“But...I could’ve-”
“It wasn’t meant to be found, not by you, or me, or Cellestrous, or Twilight Sparkle...some power is just too much for anypony to handle.”
Violet supposed she was correct, though couldn’t help but feel disappointed with the loss of one of Equestria’s most valuable treasures.
“Then I guess that’s it then? The end of our partnership?” Violet asked, unsure whether at the end of things, she could be able to consider Chrysalis a friend.
“All too brief,” Chrysalis said, smiling.
They stood where they were in silence, struggling with how to say goodbye.
“Maybe we’ll cross paths again someday,” Violet suggested.
“Maybe,” said Chrysalis, though she doubted it.
Violet nodded, her eyes wandering across the landscape beyond.
“I think you did the right thing,” Violet said.
Chrysalis had thought so too, but didn’t say it, deciding it wasn’t her place to claim credit for moral righteousness.
“Good luck,” she said, giving a small, longing wave to Violet, who waved her off back.
As Chrysalis walked off into the distance, Violet watched from the top of that grassy hill. It would likely be the last time she ever saw the changeling. And from that hill, Violet wondered to herself, whether it was possible that one day Chrysalis would ever truly come around. The world didn’t want her now, and it probably never would. But nothing would ever be gained from making no effort. Once Chrysalis had disappeared over the hills into the west, Violet too turned around and began trotting off in the other direction, ready for a new, hopefully less life-threatening adventure.
Days of traveling westward took Chrysalis into the mountains, cold and bleak rocky ridges that hung overhead like a grim entrance to hell. Here she would find only emptiness and lonesomeness, but luckily that was precisely what she was in pursuit of.
She took refuge in a long-abandoned cave along one of the cold grey cliffs, high up in the air. She climbed inside and curled up on the hard, unforgivingly numbing rocky ground, ignoring the howling wind outside and the tremendous sense of emptiness in her heart. She was miserable, and alone.
Through the jewel she had seen every future she could have ever conceived, and in every one she was just as destitute and dissatisfied as she was already. She had known it since the start, but now it was certain that she was predestined to fail, and predestined to be discontent. Her life had been wasted by hatred, and at last, she could see herself clearly for what she was. But only from the damp, unsettlingly freezing cave high up in the mountains could she come to this understanding, and to that point, she saw no reason to leave. Her reign of terror was over now, and certainly it should never have started. Now the only pony left to torment was herself, her conscience finally having been discovered, but to her own misery.
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash were walking together down a spiraling stone staircase, down from the illustrious palace banquet. They had slipped away before the festivities had died down, seeking to attend some unresolved problems left over from yesterday’s chaotic mess.
While Twilight had been busy stuck in her fight with Starlight, Rainbow had committed herself to a rather important task: rounding up all of the ponies who were under a similar brainwashing spell. She had found a total of six ponies, incapacitating them each and dragging them to be locked up in an empty Canterlot store, to prevent them from running off or stirring up anymore havoc.
“This isn’t good,” said Twilight, worried that those poor ponies would be stuck in tormenting psychological bondage for the rest of their days. The power of the jewel was thought to be unbreakable, with the significant exception of Starlight forcing herself free.
“Don’t you have a book or something that explains how to deal with this?” Rainbow asked, hopeful. She felt partially responsible for those ponies, as it had been her job to make sure nopony was left behind during Ponyville’s evacuation.
“No, there’s no knowable way to counter the spell, I don’t know how we’re going to-” Twilight said, before cutting herself off, as the duo approached the Canterlot store where Rainbow had stowed the ponies. They both came to a sudden halt, thrown for a loop.
All of the brainwashed ponies had been freed from the locked building, sitting outside among the wreckage left over from the siege. There were some royal guards nearby as well, though to Twilight’s distress, they seemed completely carefree.
“Hey! What’s going on?! Those ponies are dangerous!” Twilight yelled at one of the guards, who was taken aback by her forcefulness.
“Princess, sorry, uh, we came here to guard them like you asked, but they seemed alright, so we let them out...”
“Alright?” Twilight stammered, struggling to see how that was possible.
“Twilight?” said Rainbow, who was standing beside Lyra Heartstrings, who seemed absolutely confused as to where she was and what was happening.
“Um, Princess Twilight? What’s going on?” Lyra asked.
Twilight was dangerously close to casting a spell to petrify Lyra, until she noticed the lack of green luster in the unicorn’s eyes. She lowered her guard, and noticed the other five brainwashed ponies had all also been freed somehow.
“But...How?” Twilight asked, glancing at Rainbow, who also had no answer.
“Sorry about throwing you into a wall,” Rainbow muttered to Lyra, apologetically.
“You threw me into a wall?” Lyra asked, having no recollection of said occurrence.
Twilight turned away from the others to concentrate. The last pony to have possession of the jewel, according to Dust Bunny at least, was Queen Chrysalis and her accomplice, Violet, who Twilight wished she had been more careful with upon their initial meeting.
Twilight couldn’t help but consider the unlikely possibility that Chrysalis had done some kind of act of goodwill. Whoever held the jewel controlled its power, after all, and would absolutely be able to break the brainwashing spell on those innocent Ponyville ponies. But such an act was far from typical considering Chrysalis’ nature. As much as Twilight couldn’t understand it, she had a strange feeling that Chrysalis had indeed done something good for once in her life, whether that be freeing all these ponies or destroying the jewel entirely. She decided she’d prefer not to know exactly, and more so that she never had to cross paths with Chrysalis ever again.
Elodea hadn’t left Lance Crestfall’s side once since she first found him critically wounded by the city’s central plaza after a messy final showdown against his traitorous commander, Gallant Stride. She was with him when a patrol passed through and dumped in on a stretcher, with him when he was hauled back to the palace to be treated, and with him through the entirety of his minor medical operation to repair the injury.
It was only after he had been summoned to the palace throne room when she was forced to leave him, waiting impatiently outside the heavy throne room doors.
Crestfall, still spent from his tiresome experiences in battle and the pain of his newest injury, sauntered inside the throne room through the magnificent front doors, slightly wary of returning to the same room where he was previously betrayed and arrested.
Along either side of the long carpet that stretched from the doorway to the Princesses’ thrones at the other end were rows of royal guards, standing at full attention. Crestfall was in disbelief at the treatment he was being given, considering these ponies were making quite a strong effort to kill him just yesterday.
He saw Princess Celestia and Princess Luna sitting on their thrones at the end of the room, and, instinctively by his training, he knelt down to show them their due respect.
“Lance Crestfall. Come here, please,” said Luna, her voice thundering through the hall.
Crestfall begrudgingly rose back up to his hooves. If anything, this was degrading, to obediently remain in the service of those who were but seconds away from sentencing him to die, unjustly. Yet he complied, if only to make this all go a bit quicker.
He slowly made his way down the carpet path towards the princesses, the guards lined up on either side of him as he went, holding their spears up in the air, formally.
Crestfall arrived before the princesses, who were seated above on their sparkling thrones.
“Lance Crestfall...On behalf of the ponies of Equestria, I greatly owe you an apology,” Luna said.
Crestfall stared at her, his face worn from the exhaustion of the past weeks. He saw Celestia and Luna, who were flawless in appearance, as looking down on him, as a rugged peasant, and it fostered in him great resentment, though he tried his best to hide it. He was still loyal to the princesses, though he certainly wasn’t happy to be.
“We were presented with false evidence...And in the tumultuousness of recent events, we might have acted...rashly,” Celestia said, continuing after Luna.
Crestfall glanced between the two princesses, unsure what they really wanted from him.
“Your friends have attested to your valor in battle, and dedication to what you thought was right,” Luna said, “It is my honor, then, to present you with a long overdue promotion, to Captain,” she said, triumphantly.
The guards behind him broke into an excited applause, startling Crestfall, who wasn’t expecting any kind of attempted reconciliation from ponies as prideful as Celestia and Luna.
“Your service to Equestria has not gone unnoticed, we do hope you’ll accept,” Celestia said, noticing Crestfall’s slight hesitation.
Crestfall lowered his head, biting his lip in frustration. He wasn’t prepared for this turn of events, though it didn't change his mind from the conclusion he had already been set on. With the new fulfillment and happiness he had found in Elodea, and a small but significant disillusionment with the military, Crestfall had decided that his once desperate pursuit of fame, recognition, stature, and wealth would never amount to anything of true value. He had discovered happiness through much simpler means, through a pony who he had found to bring out the best in him. Medals and a higher rank would never be equally sufficient, especially coming from the ponies whose sting of betrayal still flowed through his veins.
“I’m very gracious for the opportunity, your highnesses...But I’d like to decline,”
The applause behind him came to an awkward end, as Luna and Celestia shared a look of confusion.
“Promotions of this sort have rarely been more deserved than in your case, Captain, it would do us all a great honor to see you receive your dues,” Luna said. She had already been reluctant to go through with the execution when Crestfall was thought to be guilty, now that he was proven innocent, there was an even greater burden on her heart. Balancing her political obligations and responsibilities with her moral compass was always difficult, but when it came down to playing with ponies’ lives, Luna wasn’t sure how she let herself be so careless. She had to admit she was mildly intimidated by Celestia’s influence, but still, she felt regret over not voicing her hesitations as much as she should have.
“I appreciate the offer, really, but….I’d actually like to request discharge, actually.”
Luna was hoping he wouldn’t say that.
“We made a mistake. A grave mistake, surely. Please let us do what we can to rectify it,” Luna said.
“By all means, rectify it, and discharge me. I have no hatred towards you, your highnesses. You still have my loyalty. But there’s no place for me here anymore.”
Crestfall wasn’t sure he felt much respect for the princesses anymore, though his training told him otherwise. The ponies he had devoted his life to had all completely betrayed him, as he saw it, so there was little point in him sticking by them any longer.
Luna sighed, supposing he was correct to some degree. They had turned their backs on him, after all, it was a bit of a stretch to ask for his forgiveness in exchange for a slightly higher pay grade.
“Very well then. I do hope you’ll one day return to the service, we need ponies like you,” Luna said.
Crestfall couldn’t help but crack his smile, as he loosened his respectful demeanor.
“You sure didn’t yesterday,” he said, giving them a parting bow, and then turning to head back the way he came.
Passing through the rows of soldiers a second time, he saw they too felt a bit ashamed for their own participation in the attempted execution. Crestfall felt barely any regret as he trotted out from the throne room doors, finding himself outside in the carpeted white hallway once again, Elodea nearby.
“What happened?” she asked, joining him as they walked down the hall. She was unsure whether he had still gone through with his decision to quit, as he had confided in her.
“Let’s get a move-on, shall we?” Crestfall said, grabbing his duffel bag of belongings that he had left outside with one hoof, and holding Elodea’s hoof with the other.
Elodea smiled, delighted that there was now little holding them back from pursuing a new life together.
As they strolled through the tremendous halls of the palace, Crestfall wondered briefly if he might ever miss the grandeur and excitement of serving his nation, though, as he had already been convinced, the majority of that grandeur was an illusion. Behind that facade of royalty and flawlessness were ponies just as capable of making mistakes and being deceived as anypony else. It was just a shame that he was the one to get thrown under the bus, he thought.
“Crestfall!”
Crestfall stopped in his tracks at the sound of a pony calling out his name from behind. He turned to see Spice, Pink Mist, and Slick Sleeve, all running up to him, shocked by the news they had just heard.
“Is it true?” Spice stammered, hoping the contrary.
“Is what true?” Crestfall asked.
“You’re trying to get out?” Slick asked.
“That’s right,” Crestfall said. The other three soldiers, who had all also been freed and pardoned of all alleged crimes, collectively produced a groan of disappointment.
“You can’t!” Pink said, distressed.
“You know they’re making me a sergeant? A real sergeant?!” Spice said, excitedly, “Don’t you want to be there with me?” she asked, hopeful he would change his mind for her sake.
“I think I’ve had enough of that, is all. You three’ll do nicely though, thanks for all the help,” Crestfall said.
“It was good while it lasted,” Slick said.
“Yep,” Elodea replied.
“Where’re you gonna go?” Spice asked.
Crestfall glanced at Elodea, as neither were quite sure.
“I don’t know...Somewhere warm, and friendly. I never could stand cold Vanhoover nights,” Crestfall said.
“Good luck, Crestfall, wherever you’re going,” Spice said, wrapping her arms around him for a parting embrace.
Slick gave him a formal handshake, though Crestfall could see the pegasus was definitely affected by his decision to leave.
Pink was last, giving him a tight hug, trying to avoid crying.
“You’ll be fine, kiddo,” Crestfall said, as Pink struggled to pull herself away from him.
Crestfall smiled at the trio of soldiers. Should he never return, it would bring him no pain to know that those three would be his lasting legacy.
With a final nod of appreciation, Crestfall picked up his things once again and walked off down the hall with Elodea right beside him, walking away from the life he had devoted so many years of his life to.
At the end of one palace hall, Crestfall and Elodea found themselves at the seat of a balcony, perched high above the grassy wonderland that lay beneath, with flowing rivers and brightly colored flowers.
The sun was beginning to set, dark clouds overhead making way for rays of orange light to claw their way through the sky. Elodea approached the white stone railing, appreciating the view, while Crestfall stayed back, digging into his duffel bag to retrieve something.
“The cops raided that warehouse in Vanhoover, the one we tried to break into...they found some stuff those bastards left behind,” Crestfall said, pulling out what he had been looking for. “These belong to you?”
Elodea pulled herself away from the stunning view to see Crestfall, bent on one knee, revealing a moss-green colored record player with both hooves, holding it up for her to see. Elodea, shocked and touched by the memories of her very own record player, approached the device in disbelief.
“That’s….that’s mine,”
“Had a feeling,” Crestfall said, smiling from ear to ear.
He handed it over to her, as she inspected it to make sure the same old dents and scratches were where they were supposed to be.
“When I had nothing, I had this...I thought I lost it for good,” Elodea said,
“Well...How about we go get some stuff to play on it?” Crestfall offered.
Elodea turned to him, still frazzled by the surprise of her old beloved possession finding its way back to her.
She grabbed a hold of him and planted another kiss right on his lips, blood rushing to her head with thoughts of getting to start a new life with somepony, perhaps even a family. Crestfall held her tightly, together swaying against the breeze, neither certain where they’d be taken next. But wherever that was, they’d surely be together.
Twilight Sparkle and Rainbow Dash returned to the banquet to find most ponies had left already. Even Starlight, the guest of honor, had been carried off by Trixie and Sunburst to somewhere else in the palace, to continue celebrating her return.
Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Applejack, and Fluttershy had stuck around, unsure where Twilight and Rainbow had run off to.
“Where’ve you been?” Applejack asked, as Twilight and Rainbow snuck back inside through one of the side doors to the ballroom. The tables were still strewn about, plates with scraps of food littered across them, a classic afterparty mess.
“Just tidying up something,” Twilight said. Those brainwashed ponies were her very last obstacle to deal with, so now she had little to worry about.
“We’re going to head back to Ponyville tomorrow, Twilight, is that alright?” Rarity asked, worried about how much destruction of their beloved town they’d have to repair.
“I’ll be right behind you, I’ve still got some things to work out with Princess Celestia,” Twilight replied.
“You should rest too, Twilight, you haven’t slowed down at all,” Applejack suggested.
Twilight sighed and nodded, though there was still too much work to be done to take it easy quite yet. Above all else, she was thankful she still had her friends to keep her sane.
“Hey, um...Look, I know I let myself fall into a sort of funk...I’m sorry about that. I was so distant from all of you, it was terrible. I lost sight of myself, and I should’ve been able to let go when I needed to...But it’s all going to be alright, now that Starlight’s back,” Twilight said.
“You don’t have to be sorry, Twilight, we know you were upset, you had every right to be,” Rainbow said, saddened to see Twilight be so hard on herself.
“I’m just glad I’ve got you all,” Twilight said, receiving an appreciative smile from each of her friends.
“And we’re glad to have you as a friend, Twilight,” Fluttershy said.
“Twilight?”
Before Twilight could go on about her deep admiration for her friends’ undying support, Princess Celestia’s voice called out to her from behind.
Twilight spun around, to see not just Celestia, but Luna as well, approaching her. The ballroom was now completely empty, save for those eight ponies.
“We’ll see you later, Twilight,” said Applejack, slowly backing away with the others, assuming Celestia and Luna wanted to talk to Twilight in private.
Twilight had assumed the same thing, though couldn’t help but feel stressed by the loss of her friends to depend on.
As soon as the other five had left out the door, Celestia took a deep sigh, exhausted and anxious after a terribly bizarre week.
“Twilight, I wanted to apologize to you, again,” Celestia said.
“Princess, it’s all over now, we’ve won!” Twilight exclaimed, seeing no reason to peddle anymore conflict between each other any longer.
Celestia was in a rarely experienced state of self-doubt, having made a series of wrong calls that nearly resulted in the death of an innocent pony and the utter destruction of Equestria. Luna was faring barely any better.
“You’ve proven yourself yet again, Twilight, as being capable of leading Equestria in its darkest days,” Celestia said.
“Princess...Everything that I know, I’ve learned from you! My only goal is to help others in whatever way I can,” Twilight said.
Celestia smiled down at her former student, now posing a considerable challenge to Celestia’s own competency as ruler. Celestia felt no jealousy or anything like that, only pride. What mattered to her was Equestria being in safe hooves, after all.
“Take care of your friends, Twilight. I’m not sure Equestria would be the same without you,” Celestia said.
Twilight smiled humbly as the princesses each gave her a bow of due respect, before turning to leave the ballroom. As much as Twilight cared deeply for Celestia and Luna, her reservations about their occasionally questionable pompous attitudes were difficult to quell. But she held off from giving herself the sole credit for saving Equestria from an attempted rebellion. Ponies, as she saw it, could come together to solve any problem, if they only learned to work together. And should her responsibility be to facilitate that, then so be it. As long as she was able to preserve justice and peace in her beloved land, then she was content. Being a leader meant forgoing her fears for the benefit of clear mindedness, to make the right decisions and act with integrity and fairness. As much as that was a struggle for Twilight, who was especially prone to fits of anxiety, it was her calling. The title of ‘princess’ didn’t make her infallible, and it had nothing to do with being idolized. To be a princess meant being devoted to a single cause, to be the hero that ponies everywhere needed.
Sitting atop a high-seated balcony extending out of a palace spire, Dust Bunny had spent the past hour watching the sun descend below the horizon, lowering itself through feathery grey clouds, its orange light glittering over the darkened fields of grass in the distance, which were freshly watered from the recent rain.
To be young was to be eager, to chase jobs and positions and titles that appeared alluring on the surface level. Dust has been entitled, or such was her own opinion, as the slightly snobbish know-it-all kid growing up, constantly looking down on her parents for being out of touch with her grand aspirations to be wealthy, respected and beloved. Typical opinions for a rebellious teenager to have, but Dust took a particularly long time growing out of that mindset. Not until she herself was stuck in a poor-paying job with slow hope of growth in life did she realize that not every dream could be met exactly as she’d envisioned.
In the months she had spent on this adventure, from Windward’s salty boat with rotten produce to Elodea’s dingy apartment, from her exhilarating first train ride to the glimmering city of Canterlot, Dust had felt as though she had finally grown up, finally experienced the things she had to experience to gain a proper perspective on the world around her. She had grown up in a bubble, used to the same old snowy wooden walkways and restless blue seas, and nothing else.
The world had never felt larger, now that she had seen so much of it in a short while, and she was well ready to see some more. She remembered watching sunsets back in her hometown, nearly everyday since she was little, all the way up to when she was an adult. But at that moment, on the top balcony of that Canterlot palace spire, the sunset was like something brand new. A distant challenge, a mysterious entity calling out to her to explore what lay beyond that horizon.
“Hey.”
Dust Bunny spun around suddenly at the sound of a familiar voice.
Starlight Glimmer was standing in the doorway behind her, which led into the spire stairway that descended below.
The two ponies shared a brief moment of silence, staring at the other, unsure what to say after having gone through so much on behalf of the other.
Starlight broke into an effervescent grin, as she let out some tears of happiness, as did Dust Bunny, running up to each other, meeting in the middle in a warm embrace.
“Sorry I’m a little late,” Starlight said, a tight smile unable to leave her face.
Dust laughed and backed away, sighing and leaning back on the railing of the balcony. The wind was cool against her back, a subtle breeze even for so high up in the air.
Starlight sat down on the floor of the balcony, leaning against the wall of the spire, smiling to herself as she recalled all of the pleasant memories she had with Dust Bunny and Jackpot back when she lived in that old seaside town.
“You regret it?” Starlight asked, her smile slowly dropping.
“What?” Dust asked, confused by the question.
Starlight remembered that boat ride, how peaceful the world seemed to be in the middle of that quiet moonlit ocean. She wanted that moment back, before everything went to madness, and yet, she couldn’t deny she was finally feeling truly at peace for the first time in perhaps her entire life. Jackpot’s tragic death was still harrowing, and yet, she finally felt able to move on, to keep his spirit alive inside her heart. Still, she couldn’t help but wonder what could have been.
“I never wanted you to come with me...Or Jackpot...I wanted to get you both to safety, and away from me...Maybe Jackpot wouldn’t have died, maybe you would’ve been safe, and free from all this...Do you regret coming with me?”
Dust had been wondering the same thing as of late. She had never felt such satisfaction as when she stuck that arrow through Ruby Heart’s head. It was ponies like her, Ruby Heart, who fueled all of this insanity and evil that cost Jackpot his life and Dust her innocence. To put the blame on anypony but those ponies was ludicrous, as Dust thought.
“No, of course I don’t. Of course I wish Jackpot was here...But we can’t change that now...I’ve still got you, and you’ve still got me. We’re alive. Who knows where I’ll go next? What I’ll see, what I’ll do? No matter what, we’ll always be friends,” Dust said, matter-of-factly.
Starlight smiled and nodded, relieved that Dust had survived this whole ordeal, and seemed to have come out of it more optimistic than before.
“There you are,” said somepony trotting up the steps of the spire out into the balcony. It was Elodea, quickly followed by Lance Crestfall, both worn from battle damage.
“El!” Dust said, excitedly running up to hug Elodea, who received her with open arms. Elodea’s greatest fear was losing Dust Bunny, though, by somewhat miraculous means, they had both made it out in one piece. For once, Elodea didn’t have to save her skin.
“You stuck around, huh?” Starlight asked Crestfall, standing up to greet him. The last time she had seen the stallion, he was unconscious in the storage closet of that warehouse.
“Nearly died for you, you know,” Crestfall said, smiling.
“So you’re not trying to arrest me anymore?” Starlight asked, jokingly.
“Couldn’t if I wanted to, I’m out of the service,” Crestfall said.
“Well...Then I guess we can be friends now,” Starlight posited.
“Looks like we are, Glimmer,” Crestfall said, grinning.
Starlight sat back down, and, alongside the other three, all took a longing stare at the dusk horizon, the sky painted with streaks of orange and yellow., beneath lingering dark rain clouds.
“What do you think about a trip? Us, I mean?” Elodea suggested.
“That sounds fun, where?” Dust asked.
“I’d like a beach, a beach sounds nice,” Crestfall said.
While the other three debated on their preference for a vacation destination, Starlight stayed focused on the sun. On that horizon was a new future, one where she could finally see her happiness manifested. With the friends she cared so deeply for, and her own sense of renewed purpose, she was at last satisfied with herself. The hatred and contempt for her own failures and personality had now subsided. It all seemed so benign. There was little to complain about now, and even less to blame on herself. She was free, free from all of the doubts and insecurities that had weighed her back from reaching the doors to effective progress. Those doors were now wide open, and, with her friends by her side, she was finally ready to step right through them.