//------------------------------// // Chapter 4 - The Forgotten Filly // Story: Starlight's Dream Therapy // by Yosh-E-O //------------------------------// “Good evening, Starlight,” greeted Luna. Starlight found herself walking along the night sky as the Princess of the Night stood before her. “A dream?” she asked. “Yes,” replied Luna as her royal-blue mane flowed elegantly against the night sky. “This time things are going to be a bit different.” “Different?” asked Starlight. “What do you mean?” FWOOM Starlight watched as Luna brought a door up from the invisible floor they were standing on. “Tonight’s session will consist of a chain of memories,” stated the princess. “I shall endow you with the ability to enter and exit these memories as you see fit.” “I don’t understand,” stated Starlight. KA-CLICK The door opened as Luna spoke. “You will,” she assured. “You need only say, ‘I’m ready’ to leave a memory. This will return you here where, upon feeling prepared, you will say, ‘I’m ready’ for the next memory’s door to appear before you.” Starlight felt a sense of anxiety pour over her. “So I’m on my own this time?” she asked. “Yes,” replied Luna. “And no.” “…,” Starlight didn’t like the cryptic answer she was given. “Now I must bid you farewell,” stated Luna. “There are other ponies who need my aid on this night.” FWOOM KA-CLICK Starlight watched as Luna lifted another door from the invisible floor, opened it, and walked inside. FWOOSH! The door Luna had gone through vanished leaving behind only the one she had brought up for Starlight. “Okay…,” gasped the periwinkle-colored Unicorn. “Here goes.” *** Starlight heard the sound of cheering as she stepped into a very familiar looking room. “This…?” she gasped while feeling her stomach turn. “…Sunburst…” It didn’t take long for Starlight Glimmer to notice her distraught self as a filly gazing out towards her colt friend who was being celebrated for having just acquired his cutie mark. “No…,” trembled Starlight as she could only watch her younger self look with dread as Sunburst was lead away by the other ponies. “Go after him! Don’t let him go!” Filly Starlight didn’t move. However, the atmosphere in the room definitely changed. “What the…?” wondered the observing Unicorn as she felt herself growing sick. Everything felt cold. It also felt like her heart had been removed from her chest due to how empty she felt on the inside “She needs me,” she coughed. “I have to fix this.” Starlight Glimmer tried to approach her distraught, filly self. However, the closer she got the sicker she felt. “Ungh,” she choked upon feeling pain pulse throughout her entire torso. It was overwhelming. What made it worse is how she couldn’t bring herself to move another step. She wanted to talk to her filly self, but felt an immense urge to vomit each time she even attempted to open her mouth. “All I can do is watch?” she wondered with horror. “There’s nothing I can do?” *** Filly Starlight didn’t move for about ten minutes. Each second of this time felt like an eternity to adult Starlight who could only watch as they both cried from the pain, hurt, and immense loneliness they were apparently sharing. “What is the point in this?” she wondered. “If I can’t do anything why did Luna send me here?” Starlight then remembered how the princess told her how to escape from the memories she was being exposed to. “I’m, ready,” she choked. FWOO Everything went dark before Starlight found herself lying upon the invisible floor in the night sky. Her body feeling less traumatized and more like itself. “I remember,” she said while thinking back on that day. “However, there’s more to what happened that day then my disliking of cutie marks.” The periwinkle-colored Unicorn thought for a moment. She had an idea what may be coming next, but knew she needed to see it through. “I’m ready,” she stated. FWOOM KA-CLICK! Starlight watched as another door flew up in front of her and opened itself towards an unknown destination. “Okay…,” she said with a deep breath. “Here goes.” *** The new location was hauntingly familiar. “This…,” she said with disbelief. “It’s my old room.” Starlight gazed about her old room. The coloring was a bit faded. There were pictures on the walls, but they were very difficult to make out. “All I need to do is get my cutie mark,” stated her filly self while reading a book off in a corner of the room. “Get my cutie mark and I’ll get to be with Sunburst again.” Starlight felt such a strong sensation of anger, loneliness, and pain surge through her body. It wasn’t long before she fell to the floor from a headache that grew in intensity with every passing second. “Argh!” she groaned while finding it hard to even open her eyes due to the degree of discomfort that was throbbing through her head. “Why?” FWOO The room disappeared to reveal a classroom. Starlight felt able to open her eyes and noticed how the classroom seemed even duller in color than her bedroom did. She also took notice of how all the other students appeared to be black-and-grey. The only ponies that looked even close to how they should were her filly self and the teacher. “…Well done, Starlight!” commented the instructor. “You’ve definitely been paying attention to your magical studies.” SHING! The entire classroom grew quiet upon Starlight Glimmer acquiring her cutie mark. “Starlight!” cheered the instructor. “You just got your cutie mark!” There was cheering and clapping throughout the classroom. However, adult Starlight couldn’t help but feel a sinking sensation in her stomach. “Something isn’t right,” she said. “This doesn’t seem-” FWOO Adult Starlight now saw herself back in what she believed to be her home. The place looked like a tornado had gone through it and the mare and stallion in front of her foal self were almost as dark as shadows. “…No,” said the mare. “We don’t have the bits to send you away to Celestia’s School for Gifted Unicorns.” “But…,” pleaded filly Starlight. “You heard your mom,” stated the stallion. “The answer is ‘no’.” Filly Starlight dropped the letter of recommendation she was holding in her mouth and ran for her room. “NO!” cried adult Starlight. “YOU KEPT ME FROM MY FRIEND!” FWOO Starlight found herself back in her room. It wasn’t long until her body was filled with intense rage, frustration, and an unmatched disliking of her cutie mark. “What’s the point,” sniffled filly Starlight. “No pony cares about me. No pony cares about what I can do.” Filly Starlight took a moment to stare at her cutie mark. “I hate you!” she cried. “I want you gone!” Adult Starlight suddenly recalled what was about to happen next. “No!” she called. “Don’t do it, Starlight!” FWOO Starlight’s fears were realized when she noticed the scene change to where she ran away from home. “I don’t need any pony!” her filly self growled. “All I need to do is get this pointless cutie mark off of me so I can be the no pony I’ve always been!” “Starlight!” cried her adult self. “That’s not true! You are some pony!” *** The scene did not change as Starlight Glimmer could only watch her younger self disappear off into the distance. The world around them growing colder and duller the further apart they became. “I’m scared,” said a foal version of Starlight as she wrapped herself around the adult Unicorn. Starlight was surprised to see her foal self again. She could certainly feel the fear coming from her. “Don’t you worry,” she stated. “I’m going to make things right.” “Promise?” the foal asked with the deepest of blue eyes. Starlight scooped up the foal and placed her upon her back. “I promise,” she replied. The area around them was nearly pitch-black. It was certainly scaring her foal self as the little one closed her eyes, wrapped her hooves around Starlight’s neck, and started to whimper. “I’m ready,” said Starlight. FWOO Starlight felt as if she fell through the ground as the darkness was quickly replaced by the night sky with the invisible floor.