The Quickverse Chronicles

by Quick Fix

He Can See You Now (Starlight Glimmer)

Author's Note:

Alright, this really is the last piece I have completed outside my current main project. The Quickverse Chronicles is on hiatus for now until my writing time opens up for side stories again.

Of equal importance, this piece serves as a sort of epilogue for Heart and Mind so, expect heavy spoilers for that story.

Canterlot Dungeons
August 16th, Year 23 under the Four Princesses

---

On the surface, Canterlot was a shining beacon of hope for ponykind. A white and gold jewel at the heart of the world. Those that knew the city a little better though, also knew that it was a stronghold. A place to keep those that would interfere with the harmony of the land, but not dangerous enough to be consigned to Tartarus for their crimes, were kept where they could do no harm to anypony. Equestria as a whole had a relatively low crime rate and had been free from war for millennia, so the dungeons that lay below the great castle were typically only used for more serious crimes.

The first level of the dungeons were the most used, yet the most lightly guarded. Local criminals were typically held here until the Royal Guard were able to deal with them, though occasionally they were used for more savoury purposes like accommodation during extreme influxes of ponies into the capital. The second level was where things were taken seriously, a constant guard presence keeping watch on those who's crimes were serious enough to warrant trial by high judges or even one of the princesses. Many ponies were unaware that there even was a third level, but there was indeed such a thing, a holding ground for ponies that presented an outright threat to Equestria. It was only compromised of two rooms, a checkpoint manned by Royal Guard elites and Equestria Defence Force soldiers, and a sixty square foot room beyond that. Fifty-five square feet of it were encased in a cyan field of magic that could only be passed through from the outside, ensuring no way for any pony entering to leave by their own will.

Such a level of security was rarely needed, but a time had come again where it was in use. Only one pony sat within the confinement of the 'cell' at present.

Starlight Glimmer.

She'd been here for at least four months now and it hadn't taken long to learn enough to know that she wasn't going to break out in a hurry. The field around her had been modified through some incredibly advanced magic from the princesses to receive an extra charge by her own inherent magic. The more she used at a time, the stronger it would become. The guards had made it clear from the start that charging up an attempt to teleport or use offensive magic would overload the field with unpleasant and potentially lethal consequences. How it had glowed and flared in response to even low level magic was enough to convince her they weren't bluffing. The beating she had taken from Peace Walker and Sunset Shimmer meant she currently wasn't strong enough to try and escape either way, leaving her to find other means of passing the time. The 'cell' was large enough for exercise but she spent most of her time thinking instead.

She was used to it, she'd spent the better part of twenty years in much worse conditions, doing nothing but thinking. Those former thoughts had been nothing but the machinations of a twisted mind though, filled with burning hatred, irrational jealousy and an obsession with upholding a petty desire to be proven right. All that time she had thought about why she had tried to take over Equestria, only now she was finally putting time into thinking about the how. Even if she had succeeded in the original, if blatantly crazy, plan of starving a population touching on hundreds of thousands into revolution and subjecting each of them to equalification in the aftermath had worked, there was still one little detail. There would always be one pony who would not only bring her plans down no matter what, but held such influence over her that the mere mention of them had snapped her back to reality.

Sunburst. In the entirety of those isolated decades, Starlight had never even given so much as a thought to what her fillyhood friend would think of her grand plans. Now that she had though, she realised that she had never given any thought to if she could really bring herself to make him join her cause. The old, more evil Starlight Glimmer probably would have done it without even recognising him, completely forgetting the reason she started down that path in the first place. This more rational side of her knew that she wouldn't have been able to go through with it, though that just left an extra sense of regret, about how...How pointless all her efforts had been. Dozens of ponies subjected to her brainwashing, some getting even worse than that, who knew how many lives ruined. And for what? Nothing of benefit to anypony, in short.

Her thoughts were interrupted by the sound of activity coming from the checkpoint. She looked over toward in surprise, her body telling her it was too early to them to be bringing her food and the fact she had been allowed a hoofball for a few hours yesterday meant they probably weren't giving her some other entertainment so soon. Even as she watched, the connecting gate opened and a unicorn stepped into the room, one she didn't recognise from her usual rota of guards. He was bronze coloured, his long flowing mane silver with a white trim on the edge near his face. His hazel eyes kept watching Starlight as he stepped aside, the angle leaving his cutie mark out of sight. His horn glowed white and her eyes widened slightly as his own paled at the same time. She'd never seen magic have that effect on a pony before.

The second unicorn that entered the room managed to draw her attention as soon as he stepped in, recognising him on the spot. Orange coated with cream coloured markings on his hooves and the bridge of his muzzle, eyes a blue-green mix, a deep red with pale orange streaks adorning his mane, tail and a small goatee. His cutie mark was the most recognisable feature though, an orange sun surrounded by blue stars with a group of yellow rays emerging from the lower quarter. Starlight's ears folded back sadly, she hadn't wanted this moment to come this way but it had been forced on her now. She swallowed her nerves and refocused on the moment. For better or worse, she was finally seeing her old friend, formerly only friend.

"Su-Sunburst?" Starlight asked quietly, half hoping that she was about to be proven wrong.

"Hello, Starlight." Sunburst replied as he stepped closer to the magic field. While he was remaining civil, the wary look in his eye and tone of voice indicated that he was at least somewhat aware of what she had done. Starlight thought for a moment before stepping up to the field herself, trying to ignore how it glowed slightly brighter in proximity to its power source.

"It's, been a long time."

"It has..." He looked away for a second before sighing and looking straight back at her. "Starlight, I...I'm sorry, but they told me what happened before I arrived here. Conspiracy to overthrow the throne, detaining ponies against their will, three different varieties of assault...I-I-I just can't believe it. I know things were a little strained the last time we saw other but to go so far down such a dark path...What happened to you?"

He was clearly trying his best to be civil but there was no hiding the confusion and disappointment in his voice. Starlight sat down and looked at the floor, trying to figure out how she was going to explain this. This wasn't like when she'd been exposed at her first village all those years ago. Even if she wasn't trying to outwit anypony this time, there was no way to try and put a positive spin on what she'd done . Hundreds of possible reactions and answers were making themselves known inside her head and she could only focus on one, the one that explained everything she had done for the last two decades. She did her best to sound completely honest as she found her voice.

"I made a bad decision...Followed by a lot of worse decisions."

"I see." Sunburst kept watching her, the other pony stepping closer to them, his horn still glowing all the while.

"Yeah. I...In short, I blamed your cutie mark for everything, started a Tartarus-bent crusade to rid Equestria of them, got defeated by the Elements of Harmony and lost my mind to my obsession. The details are kind of fuzzy to me after so much, but apparently that was followed by messing with time itself, spending a long time in a dungeon and then trying again after I got out."

"Oh..." Sunburst shifted in place, running a hoof against his goatee as he processed just what she'd done, the kind of magic that would take. "That's, impressive, in a warped way."

"Yeah..." She slowly looked up, finally pushing herself to make eye contact with him. To her surprise, he didn't look angry or saddened at what she'd done. He looked...Lost, like he was trying to comprehend why this had happened more than anything. That look hurt her more than any of the others could have, feeling like her only friend was looking at her like she was a complete stranger.

Starlight sat down again, starting to feel the emotions of everything she'd gone through starting to pile up on her. Sadness, frustration, anger, guilt, regret, those were the most prominent among the conflicting feelings inside her. Her vision blurred slightly as her body fought to stay focused, it took a few moments for her to realise that it wasn't just blurring from the crushing sense that everything she had ever done had only served to take away everything that truly mattered to her, but from tears starting to well up as she remembered the exact moment that had brought her madness to an end.

---

"So, assuming in a hypothetical and totally impossible scenario, you would also do this to...Sunburst?"

"...How do you know his name?" Starlight stepped back, a small flux of magic building around her horn. Pinkie Pie eyed it warily but even she could tell from the tone of voice, stance and look in her eye that Starlight had been thrown off guard by the question.

"Twilight was just about willing to tell me about his part in your history. You didn't want to deal with the fact that 'everypony' includes him, but you can see it. How do you think he would react if he could see you now?"

---

That question had just been answered.

Sunburst could see her now, and his reaction had hurt her more than anything else in the world could.

"I'm...I'm sorry." She said quietly. Sunburst blinked in surprise and stepped closer, almost putting his nose to the field.

"Starlight...?"

"I'm sorry, for what I was...What I am." She finished, voice still subdued and choking up slightly. She looked down again and felt a few tears run down her muzzle and drip to the floor, unable to contain her emotions any longer. Sunburst stood in place for a moment, trying to find the right words until he felt a hoof on his shoulder. The other unicorn had come over and tapped him gently, motioning that they needed to go as the glow round his horn faded and his eyes returned to their normal colour.

"I ah, I'm sorry too, Starlight. I wish it hadn't come to this. If I'm allowed, I'll try to see you again..." Sunburst finally said, Starlight merely trying to hold back a sob in response. The two stallions silently moved back and headed through the checkpoint. The walk was silent as they made their way back to the level above, where none other than Princess Celestia was waiting for them.

"I hoped to let you keep going longer but, I couldn't read anymore." The brown unicorn said, his voice tired but carrying a sense of optimism.

"I, understand...Sir," Sunburst replied. "Do you prefer your military or nobility title?"

"Just Aurora is fine. Thank you for agreeing to help though."

"Indeed, you may have helped your old friend more than you know." Celestia added. Sunburst nodded, deep in thought as he bowed to the princess and continued on his way out of the dungeons.

"He's a good pony, really means a lot to her." Aurora commented, looking back toward the stairs that led to Starlight's 'cell'.

"I know. But I wish to know if it helped. What did you sense in Starlight Glimmer?" Celestia asked, waiting as Aurora closed his eyes and focused.

"At first, bitterness, loathing, surprise. When they started talking, shame, honesty...Regret, guilt. Then they started coming all at once, everything too fast and intense for me to read them. The thing is, every bit of it was directed at herself. There wasn't any anger in her soul anymore, just...I suppose I'd call it a desire to feel peace again."

Aurora opened his eyes and looked up at the princess, waiting for her response. Celestia nodded and closed her eyes, her expression unreadable for several seconds before she looked back down at him and opened them again, smiling slightly.

"Do you think this means what I hope it does?" She asked. Aurora cracked a small smile of his own and nodded.

"Yes, your highness. It means there is still hope for her."

Comments

[Comickook]

Not much I can say other than great job on this chapter. The flashback and the exchange between Starlight and Sunburst were quite well done. Excellent balance between thought-provoking and heart-warming without being completely unrealistic. :-D

[Quick Fix]

7787425 That's a relief to hear, I basically rewrote half of this piece during editing so the fact it still holds up is a welcome boost. I'm glad it worked too, I'll admit I've become quite a Starlight fan in the time since I wrote Unrelenting Conviction.