Starlight laid on the soft grass on the sunny fields behind Twilight’s castle and looked at her reflection in the water. She couldn’t believe she had just admitted all that to Twilight. She didn’t regret what she said about potentially helping reform Stygian, that was something she felt Twilight needed to hear but she just had to open her big fat mouth about how she was in love with Twilight. Why?! Why did she do that?! If their friendship wasn’t on awkward terms earlier, it certainly would now.
But Twilight pretty much said she loved me right?
Starlight shook the thought out of her head, what was she thinking? Twilight didn’t love her, she probably just had some crush on her. Starlight may have had self doubt issues from time to time, but she was aware that she was physically attractive to most ponies. Heck, at one point Spike had to flare his nostrils at somepony when he caught them staring at her butt.
Twilight just happened to be really close with Starlight and had a physical attraction. That was all it was and that’s what made the most sense to Starlight.
So why did she feel this lingering doubt that she was wrong. Thinking over all the times they spent together, could Starlight be making a miscalculation? Could Twilight really love her?
The thought almost made the unicorn smile and blush before realizing what she was doing.
“GRAH! What is wrong with me?!” Starlight furiously gripped her head before staring sternly at her reflection, “Get a grip Starlight! You know she wouldn’t love you! She’s a Princess and just a year ago you were a villain she had to tame! That’s all you are to her! Her loving you is an absolutely ludicrous and you should know that! She doesn’t love you!”
Starlight began to tear up again before furiously wiping them and sighing. She could focus on that romance crap later, right now they need to deal with the Pony Of Shadows.
Twilight probably wasn’t going to listen to her, but that wouldn’t stop her from trying one last time to talk to her about Stygian. After this whole situation was over, Starlight needed to consider how things were going to go between her and Twilight.
Suddenly she heard little footsteps running over to her and turned to see it was Spike.
“Oh good, I found you. Everypony was wondering where you went.” Spike said in relief, “I figured you were here since I know that’s where you normally go when you’re upset.”
Starlight was shocked to find out that Spike knew she was upset but she tried to keep a brave face, “It’s nice of you to be concerned but I am NOT upset. Just annoyed with how nopony’s listening to me. Nothing more.”
Spike gave a dull look, showing that he did not believe Starlight’s lie for a second so she just scoffed and said, “Let’s just go already. I’ll deal with my emotions later.”
Twilight hated to admit it, but she really was considering Starlight’s point about the Pony Of Shadows. The map usually does call her and her friends for friendship problems and this could very well be no different considering how Starswirl and the Pillars used to be friends with Stygian before he became what he was.
She also had a point about how Twilight reached a hoof to Starlight when it came to friendship but she always found Starlight and Stygian’s situations vastly different. Starlight was never really evil when it came to her motives for her twisted ideology of Equality but her actions were too extreme, Stygian genuinely became evil and wants to send the world into darkness.
Then again… she also befriended Luna and Discord and they turned out better than they used to be.
Starlight’s love confession may have surprised Twilight, but Twilight wasn’t going to deny that Starlight made some really good points and as she, her friends, Spike, Starlight, Sunburst, and the Pillars traveled to Hollow Shades while the Elements were on her and her friends, she found herself approaching Starswirl and whispering, “Are you sure Stygian can’t be helped? Starlight did bring up a good point to me earlier, the map’s called us to solve friendship problems.”
Starswirl seemed surprised by the notion and even though Twilight expected to hear him speak in a stiff tone, he surprisingly stammered a bit, “I’d like to believe you are right, but perhaps Friendship quests are not the only thing the Tree Of Harmony had in purpose for you. You said it yourself, it could very well just be leading us to the Pony Of Shadows.” He ended firmly.
Twilight was surprised to see Starswirl not speak so confidently as usual but maybe he was a bit shaken up from what Starlight said about Luna.
At last, the group had finally reached Hollow Shades and took in the abandoned land.
“I don't remember reading anything that said the Hollow Shades was like this.” Sunburst recalled to the group.
“Ohhh. The Pony of Shadows must have twisted it to his purposes.” Mistmane said sadly.
They all grouped by the well and Starswirl immediately narrowed his eyes, as he heard evil chuckling.
“He’s here.” He muttered lowly before yelling, “Stygian! Show yourself and face us!”
Evil laughter was heard as the ground beneath them suddenly began cracking and because of that, they fell through and landed underground in some rocky caverns.
“Ugh, after facing so many villains, you’d think you’d expect this.” Spike muttered to himself but only Twilight heard it.
Black mist began to swarm the ground so Starswirl immediately put up a shield around everyone in the caverns when the Pony Of Shadows finally formed into its menacing state.
“Welcome to the Well of Shade! When you turned your backs on me, I discovered this place. The darkness spoke to me of a power beyond any I could imagine, and I listened. The shadow and I became one. Soon, all of the realm will be the same. Then all ponies will feel the despair I did when you cast me out!” The Pony Of Shadows ranted furiously, much to Twilight and Starswirl’s shared concern, it was as if they were reconsidering everything they were going to do before Starswirl spoke.
“We did what we had to do. You tried to steal our powers for yourself!” Starswirl spoke defiantly but all the Pony Of Shadows glared at the heroes.
“You act as if you’re in the right don’t you?! Typical Starswirl! Vain and Prideful till the end! It was you who were selfish and now you must PAY!” The Pony Of Shadows furiously spoke before blasting the forcefield, causing it to crack.
Before it fell completely, Starlight had turned to Twilight fearfully, “Are you sure this isn’t a friendship problem?”
Twilight wasn’t sure how to answer that, she considered what Starlight had told her but also considered what Starswirl said, she wasn’t sure what to do.
“Open the portal…” Starswirl weakly commanded before the barrier finally shattered, “NOW!”
The Pillars and Twilight’s friends immediately linked hooves with each other and used the Elements and artifacts respectively to begin firing up a rainbow laser and began shoving the Pony Of Shadows into a new portal but the dark entity resisted as it tried to push him into limbo.
“No! You will not trap me again!” The Pony Of Shadows growled furiously.
Twilight gave a look of reluctance at the Pony Of Shadows before noticing something poking out of its body, a grey skinny stallion with a blue mane.
She immediately turned to Starlight in concern once she noticed this, and she had no doubt Starlight did too, “There’s a pony in there.” She spoke sadly before immediately knowing what she had to do, Twilight dove into the creature in an attempt to rescue the pony inside.
Starlight was shocked to see what Twilight was doing, she thought she was going to dismiss the presence of Stygian’s true form entirely when she saw him, even if Starlight was going to point it out to her but no, Twilight noticed it too and dove inside the Pony Of Shadows and Starlight knew why, she genuinely wanted to save him now. Starlight couldn’t believe what she just saw, especially after everything that happened.
“What is she doing in there?!” Starswirl spoke furiously but Starlight could see the concern in it, “She is going to get herself killed!”
Starlight suddenly heard a voice from the beaming light of the Pony Of Shadows body and shushed Starswirl, “Look! I hear something!”
“ I went to Ponhenge to make my own copies of the artifacts. With them, I thought I could be a Pillar, too, and stand by their side in battle. I never wanted to steal their power.” Stygian’s voice was heard from inside the dark creature, much to Starswirl’s shock, and Starlight couldn’t help but shoot a stone faced look at the wizard, however, she faltered once she heard Stygian’s voice again.
“But instead of sharing and letting me help, my friends threw me out. So I became stronger than any of them! The darkness welcomed me when no pony would, and I will do what I must to protect it!“ Stygian’s voice began deepening and Starlight couldn’t help but feel worried about what’s going on in there so she lit up her horn and began levitating towards the Pony Of Shadows and flying inside to find Twilight and Stygian arguing.
“This is all a misunderstanding! If the Pillars knew how you felt, I'm sure they wouldn't have turned their backs on you. The shadow isn't who you really are. Let me help you be Stygian again.” Twilight tried reasoning with Stygian as darkness began to envelope him.
“Even if my friends did still care, what makes you think you have the power to help me?” Stygian said lowly before Starlight stood next to Twilight and interfered.
“Because it’s what she does.” Starlight said sternly, “I wasn't so different from you, and Twilight helped me change. If there's one pony in Equestria that can save a friendship, it's her.”
Starlight shared a smile with Twilight and after that, she began feeling warm inside again, that familiar feeling she almost forgot about having.
“I-I want to believe you…” Stygian looked convinced before the shadows began to take over again, “But the darkness will not be STOPPED!”
Twilight glared at Stygian in determination and used her magic to make a magical tether rope and pull him away from the dark atmosphere and back into the underground but unfortunately the Pony Of Shadows was refusing to let him go as Starlight found out when she levitated back to the ground with everyone else. Once she saw Twilight struggling to maintain a hold on Stygian, she immediately grew worried for her safety.
“TWILIGHT!” Starlight cried out before using her magic to wrap around the hoof Twilight didn’t use her magic to grab and began pulling along with her, it wasn’t much but Twilight had a better grip on him with Starlight’s help.
“What’s going on?!” Spike asked, clearly worried about his friends.
“The shadow won't let go of him. He wants to stop, but he can't do it alone.” Twilight told Spike and everyone else below.
“Then we must help him.” Starswirl said in determination before he and Sunburst used their magic to pull Stygian out, and soon enough the rest of the Pillars and the Elements Of Harmony helped to pull Stygian out of the Pony Of Shadows causing the dark soul to be plunged into Limbo and finally the portal closed, releasing a powerful rainbow explosion in front of them.
Once they got out of the hole, Rarity noticed that the Elements did not disappear and Fluttershy explained that it might be because they used them for healing magic and not banishing, an explanation Twilight could accept.
Twilight and Starlight then turned to see Starswirl helping Stygian out of the hole and soon Starswirl spoke to the smaller stallion, “Long ago you needed our help Stygian. But instead of listening, we turned our backs on you. Pride clouded my judgment. I owe you an apology.”
He then turned to the two mares in front of him and spoke softly, “Thank you Twilight and Starlight for helping us see the error of our ways. It seems I never accounted for the Magic of Friendship.”
“Thank you Swirl Star.” Twilight said happily, seeing as she was being praised by her idol before correcting herself, “I mean Starswirl.”
Soon Twilight and her friends’ cutie marks began glowing when Spike walked over to Starswirl with a grin, “So I guess a conversation CAN save Equestria and keep our defenses strong, huh?” Spike smirked as he gave Starlight a playful elbow jab.
“Oh yes… it appears I’ll be making a lot of apologies today, won’t I?” Starswirl smiled sheepishly when he remembered how he treated Starlight.
Maybe in another universe, Starlight would have shared Spike’s smug attitude but she couldn’t help but feel confused. She was glad to have been proven right but now she had no idea what would become of her and Twilight, especially after the confessions they made.
Twilight needs to improve her listening skills considering this whole thing could have been avoided if she asked why did starlight think it was a friendship problem and not just a villain to be defeated. But she was too busy hero worshipping to pay attention. And I hope starlight gives her a talking to about how everything could been avoided in the first place if other ponies had bothered listening to their friends. And making clear that if twilight wants unforgiving heroes over friends then that is her decision and she will be leaving for her old village.
11623247
Isn’t that a little harsh of Starlight?
11623251
No more than twilight ignoring that her hero just insulted her friend and not even trying to make things right between them. She ignored it in the show and I would hate for her to ignore it here. I want her to get through her head you don't let your heroes insult your friends no matter who they are. It good to admire people but you have to remember they are people who are flawed like everyone and you can't let them away with being rude or not nice just because they are your heroes.
11623264
It might also help down the line when Starlight has to help Celestia and Luna, considering how much Twilight idolizes Celestia. She even freaked out when Starlight suggested that the Princess are like normal ponies.
I wish we had more villains like stygian.
11623274
Yeah I really wanted to tell her off for putting more pressure on starlight who is trying and has just begun to work on the problem. Expecting it to be solved in no time flat and talking about nightmare moon happening again was making it harder not better and spying on her when she is supposed to be doing something besides spying and plus unless you are keeping an eye on your neighbors to make sure that they don't start a war on you you shouldn't spy on people. It's not nice.
11623281
Agreed. By spying on Starlight, Twilight was pretty much admitting that she didn't have faith in Starlight's abilities.
What...
Anywho, I am curious as to how the relationship between Starlight and Twilight would work out in the end
great chapter
11623366
Just a cute tidbit of Starlight’s little buddy defending her from a pervert.
11623588
Oh alright
I am definitely looking forward to what is to come.
11623897
Thoughts on what’s happening between TwiStar?
11623931
Well it is definitely something that needs to be addressed now that the episode is over. I do hope Starlight is completely transparent about her feelings regarding how Twilight seemed to just disregard her opinions in favor of Starswirl. I'm going to admit, Starswirl was a major league jerk for a good portion of the episode.
11623969
What do you mean about transparent?
11623973
Telling her exactly how she feels.
11623264
To be kinda fair, while it doesn't make it right what Twilight did, Starlight herself did a similar thing to Twilight in canon when Starswirl was busting Twilight's chops and shutting her down, even once the rest of the mane 6 had enough of it and stepped in.
Note that Starlight did not say a thing in Twilight's defense here. That wasn't on my mind the first time I read this story, so I didn't mention it when I commented soon after it first came out.
11624940
She wasn't even in the room! I saw every hero but starlight in that room. Check the episode and tell where is starlight when twilight is being insulted. Because earlier she tried to stop twilight but miss I don't listen well didn't give her any mind and if she had taken the time to think she could adapt the spell so the world was never at risk.
11624940
Ehhhhhhhhh, it’s not like Starlight wasn’t there for Twilight at all. She did comfort her after Starswirl shut her out the first time. And honestly, what Twilight did was worse in the long run.
11624964
Go to 4:36 and you will see Starlight behind Twilight and coming into the throne room with her, and is when the part of the scene I copied the lines from happened. I had to double it myself before I left my comment to be sure.
11624967
True. It was really just that one scene I bought up when Starlight stayed out of it even when the rest of the mane 6 directly stepped in, but it wasn't meant to say Starlight wasn't supporting Twilight at all.
11624974
And that’s compared to multiple scenes where Twilight wasn’t supporting Starlight and practically enabling Starswirl.
11624974
True she didn't speak up but considering everytime she spoke up she got dismissed because twilight refused to listen to anything but her own point of view and that girl really needs a huge dose of self confidence she might have felt like it wasn't worth it. And star swirl shutting her down and twilight refusing to really listen to another point of view she must have summon her courage just to try to get twilight to listen one more time only for starswirl to shut her down for the 3rd time with a insulting comment about villains
Can you please add the next chapter soon
11638652
How come you want it so bad? I mean, I plan to make it, I just gotta figure out how to properly conclude it. It all depends on whether I want Twilight to be rejected or not.
11638655
It's a good story why wouldn't I want to read the whole story that so far is pretty good. In fact it might be better than other version of this story in her corner.
https://youtu.be/PONh5NKo_WU
With the themes and title and whatnot I had really high hopes for this fic. Reading this chapter I must say...
https://youtu.be/Drw39IypXYw
Instead of getting comeuppance for Starswirl we get literally a rehash of the episode.
Guess I'll read the last chapter.