Starlight Glimmer snarled at the giggling filly. “You!” She immediately charged towards her enemy; her entire body overflowing with rage.
But the filly’s stolen horn glowed with an intense pink light as she levitated Starlight up into the air before sending her hurtling towards the back wall. “Ooh, yeah baby,” the filly whispered, licking her lips. “Bring that anger at me.”
“Haven’t you tortured me enough?!” Starlight cried. “What do you want from me? Why are you in my life?!”
“Oh what, you’re back to your little pity party? Already? Come on Starry, there’s still so much fight left in you! Not for much longer of course, but gimme a few more swings before you drown in the eternal abyss.” The filly paused and tapped her chin. “Wait, hold up. Dropped me train of thought. Where was I going with this?”
“Just ignore her, Glim-Glam,” Starlight muttered as she tucked herself into a fetal position on the floor. “It’s probably just another bad dream.”
The filly smirked and locked the door behind her with her stolen magic. She casually strolled towards Starlight. “Caught onto that, did you? Well, look on the bright side. I promise this is the last nightmare I’ll give you. Or second to last. My mood-swings are more like hula-hoops.”
“Oh, big surprise! You’re too chicken to face me for real, so you hide behind your changelings, and your Discords, and your voodoo, zebra dream magic,” Starlight hissed.
“Chicken? Mm, I would love some chicken fingers,” the filly mumbled, licking her lips again as she stared at Starlight. “But really darling, you should know by now that it is FAR more dangerous for me to be in your mind than near your body. Bad enough that I’m sleeping next door to you, honestly.” The filly waved her hoof around and pink clouds formed underneath her, lifting her into the air. “Mm. So many pretties…”
Starlight bolted upright as more pink clouds began to fill the air, all of them filled with traumatic memories of Starlight and the filly. “I’m not going to crack, you hear me! I can withstand whatever storm of insanity you plan to infect me with!”
The filly looked down at her with a curious twinkle in her eye. “Ooh! I was hoping you’d say that!” She touched down on the floor with a VERY eager grin. She brushed her hoof along the edges of the dream, twirling a large cloud of pink smoke in her hooves until a colourful present appeared in her grasp. She held the beautifully wrapped gift out to Starlight and shook it. “Go on! Open it!”
“How stupid do you think I am? It’s probably some magic potion or amulet that’s going to blow up in my face…except this is just another nightmare; just ignore her.” Starlight shut her eyes tight and plugged her ears with her hooves. “Go away, go away, go away…”
“Come now, Starry. I have a feeling you’ll want to know what’s inside.” The filly began to rapidly shake the box. “Ooh, I wonder what’s inside?”
The filly giggled as she shook the box for several minutes until inevitably Starlight’s patience snapped. “Okay already! I’ll open your stupid present! Just shut up for like five seconds!” She yanked the gift out of the filly’s hooves and murderously ripped the package open. Her anger cooled into confusion as she stared at her gift.
“…This is a rock.”
The filly smiled. “I know! It’s a very nice rock, isn’t it? Just look at ridges and curves on it. And look at that shine! Polished to perfection, I’m proud to say.”
Starlight looked up at her in befuddlement. “This is a rock.”
“Do you like it?” the filly asked hopefully.
Starlight growled at her and threw the rock at her enemy as hard as she could…except the rock didn’t leave her hoof.
“Oh ho! It seems your subconscious sees things clearer than you do. Deep down you know the importance of a nice rock to cling to, even if I haven’t explained why yet.”
“This is a rock!” Starlight shouted. “What am I supposed to do with this?!”
“You hold onto it of course. You’re not very good at listening, are you?” the filly giggled. But there was something dark in her eyes as she began to circle Starlight.
“Why did you give me this?! What’s the point?! You want to keep your precious individuality so bad, fine! You don’t need to be equal! You don’t need to stay in our town! You don’t need to torture me! Why are you still doing all this?!”
“Anchors away, huh? Oh, you don’t know how long I’ve waited to tell this story!” the filly giggled as her smile grew wider and wider. “Hang onto that rock of yours and don’t let go darling! You’ve never been on a ride as bumpy as this one! Nyeh, ha, ha, ha, ha!”
The filly rose higher into the air, laughing madly as pink smoke began to rapidly blanket everything within the dream. Starlight braced herself as a storm of madness and darkness washed over her.
Starlight gulped as she stared at the world around her; her entire being wracked with a building sense of dread. “Where are we?”
The filly gazed up thoughtfully at the blackened sky as clouds of smoke and ash drifted by them. “The future. Or you know, a possible future.”
Starlight continued to stare at the barren wasteland around her before glaring at her enemy. “The future? Do you know how ridiculous that sounds?”
“Why’s that? I’m sure you know all about time travel,” the filly said with a wink.
“But this can’t be the future! There’s nothing here!”
“Well that’s not completely wrong. We still have some things lingering around here. Come on, let’s get into town. We’ll be out of the wind then.”
Starlight reluctantly followed the filly, knowing that the nightmare wouldn’t end until the filly allowed her to wake up. Eventually they wandered into a familiar looking village. “What are we doing in Our Town?”
The filly shot her a cold smirk. “You think is Your Town? My dear, this is Ponyville. Although, I suppose every town just has to be your town, doesn’t it?”
“What? That can’t be right. This place doesn’t look anything like Ponyville!”
“It’s been years, Starry. Things change.” The filly smirked at her. “Even when the pony on top of the pyramid is terrified of change.”
“Okay, fine. So Ponyville does a little redecorating in the future,” Starlight said, eyeing the gray buildings and boarded up windows. “I don’t know what Fluttershy was thinking, but whatever.”
“Actually, that was Rarity’s old house.”
“What? No. No, that can’t be…” Starlight shook her head. “Whatever. Why is the sky so black?”
“Ooh that would be the pollution,” the filly answered. “See, without their special talents in agriculture, the farmers of Equestria couldn’t grow any more food. Good news is, we have factories to mass produce anything you could ever want to eat or drink.” The filly smiled as she took a half-empty bottle of some black liquid and took a huge gulp. “Mm! Just as horrible as I remember? Would you like some?”
Starlight shuddered in revulsion as she eyed the bottle. “Oh, gross! No! What is that?”
“It might be apple juice. Or maybe it’s milk. Oh well, more for me!” the filly guzzled the rest of it and threw the poisoned drink away. “Where was I? Oh, bad news is, the factories spew out smoke and ash like you wouldn’t believe. Now that wouldn’t be so bad if the pegasus ponies could manipulate the weather. I even heard that some of the more brainiac unicorns had a few solutions for the ‘Equestria Warming’ problem.”
“Well, why haven’t they? And where is everypony anyway?”
“We were just on the edge of town earlier, darling. They’ll be more people around Glimmer Hall. See, there they are!”
Starlight’s insides swelled with some foreign emotions that she wasn’t quite sure how to identify yet. The smiling ponies all reminded her so much of the equalized ponies in Our Town. How had she never noticed before how…unnatural everyone looked?
“Where are the unicorns? The pegasus ponies?”
“Why, they’re all around you, dearie!”
Starlight felt another shiver go down her back as she saw a pony with scars on his back walk by. “W…what?”
“Well, you wanted everypony to be equal. And you couldn’t let earth ponies feel inferior just because unicorns and pegasus ponies had some extra appendages, now could you? Everypony needs to be treated equal. They need to be equal. So, you drew up a law that every unicorn or pegasus foal would need to have those special, extra bits…removed, to spare every pony’s feelings.”
Starlight’s jaw dropped in horror. “No. NO! I-I’d never do that!”
“Oh, don’t worry dearie, it doesn’t even hurt! The baby foals all get anaesthetic before the amputations start. See, you’re not a total monster.”
Starlight was shivering too much to see the filly’s evil grin. “W…w-what are t-those?!”
The filly’s grin grew as she saw the ponies Starlight was pointing at. “Oh, those are some of the troublemakers. See, you want everypony to be happy with their new lives, don’t you? Of course, some ponies didn’t get the memo about mandatory happiness. They just couldn’t keep smiling for twenty-four hours a day, the insensitive jerks. So, you generously donated these metal hooks to the public. Every pony on your ‘Most Wanted’ list was required by law to pay for the surgery themselves. But just look at those pearly white smiles!” The filly flashed her own teeth out. “Not as pearly white as my smile of course, but then there aren’t that many dentists around in your future.”
“You’re insane! This nightmare is insane! There are colts and fillies with hooks in their mouths! Unicorn children with their horns cut off! Flightless pegasus ponies! I would NEVER do ANY of this!”
“Well it’s not like you did all of it. I’m sure your advisors suggested a few things. Then again, the ponies up in New Glimmer-lot have never seen these mysterious advisors…oh, I’m sure they’re fine.” The filly’s ears perked up as a bell rung. “Ooh, class is starting. Better hurry Starry, don’t want to be late!”
Starlight hesitantly followed her into the schoolhouse. Unlike the Ponyville classroom she was familiar with, this classroom was arranged with all the chairs and desks forming an equal sign. A single stand in the middle of the equal sign was reserved for the teacher.
“Good morning every pony! It’s another Star-shining happy day! Just as equally happy as every day we’ve ever had and every day we will have in our Glimmer-ious future!”
The filly chuckled. “Irritatingly dense, doesn’t she? Don’t worry, it grows on you. After all, she says this every single day.”
Starlight frowned. “Who is this?”
“That’s Teacher Blossom Petals Category E.”
“…What?”
“See, a few years ago, you decided that Equestria’s naming system needed some fine tuning. So many names sounded so much cooler than others. We couldn’t have any pony with cool names like Twilight Spear, Raindrop Dash, Rose Blade, Shatter Sky, or anything like that. Originally, every pony was going to be given a number as a name except numbers are quantitated; some are greater than others. Obviously, parents couldn’t name their children Number One or Number Ten, leaving all the poor Number Seventeens or Numbers Forty-Nines feeling inferior.”
The filly gestured at all the ponies around them. “So instead, the list of names that ponies could choose from were shortened considerably. To avoid confusion, ponies are given a category based on a letter system along with their name and their job title. See it works because every letter of the alphabet is equally important as the other letters.”
“Nothing about what you just said makes any sense,” Starlight grumbled, rubbing her head in confusion.
“Don’t get hissy, missy. It’s your system.”
Rather than getting into an argument and hurting her head even more, Starlight remained silent as the teacher did roll call. Double Diamond Category G, Muffin Berry Category B, Party Greeter Category R, Train Driver Category J, and so on. The list of pony names blurred together until Starlight heard one name that stood out.
“Sunny?”
“Here.” A young filly wearing a hooded cloak said.
Starlight’s eyebrow raised. “Hey, why doesn’t she have a category?”
The filly smirked. “I see you’ve met my old friend. This version of Equestria may worship the idea of equality you created, but this tiny pony is different.”
“Different how?” Starlight asked.
“Think about her name. What’s the first thing that comes to mind?”
“Sunny…something to do with the sun.” Starlight’s eyes widened. “Is…is she related to Princess Celestia?”
The filly smiled. “What makes you think that?”
“Well you haven’t told me she isn’t. You’re avoiding the question!” Starlight said with a triumphant smirk.
“You caught onto that, did you? Good,” the filly chuckled.
“Okay class! I’m happy to announce that today is the first day of Equality Week, part one! That means after today’s lesson, you don’t have to worry about school work for a whole week!” The class clapped gently and calmly.
“Now let’s all sing our national anthem!” The class stood up and began singing. Starlight noticed that it was the same as the song she taught to her equalized ponies in Our Town. There were only a few differences in the lyrics such as replacing ‘Our Town’ with ‘Our World’. When the song was finished, the teacher spoke up again. “Okay everypony, from the beginning!”
The class and the teacher spoke in unison. “In sameness there is peace. Exceptionalism is a lie. Difference is frustration. To excel is to fail. Be your best, by never being your best. Conformity will set you free. Equality is Harmony. Friendship is Happiness. Follow Equality with Faith. Follow the Stars with faith.”
Starlight blinked in confusion and unease. “There…there’s some new stuff added. What does ‘Follow the Stars with Faith’ mean?”
“Why that’s you Glimmy. You and anypony that you have claimed as part of your inner circle are the Stars.”
“You keep talking about me as if I’m charge of this future. Like all of this is my fault,” Starlight grumbled.
“Your fault? Why Starry, it sounds like you’re not happy with what you see here,” the filly said with a grin.
“Of course I’m not happy! Sure, the school system is much more organized but look at everything else! This nightmare is insane! You put metal hooks in-”
Starlight recoiled as the filly slapped her hard across the face. The filly glared at her with a mad grin. “‘You put metal hooks’? You’re blaming me for what you see?”
“Well you created this nightmare!” Starlight growled.
The filly sighed and shook her head. “Wrong as always, Starlight. Just watch the show and try to keep the commentary down to a minimum.”
“Okay class, now that we’ve completed the day’s lesson, we’ll have time for a question from every pony. Oh, Sunny? You have a question?”
Sunny stood up from her desk and asked her question.
“A little louder Sunny. So every pony can hear you equally.”
“I just wanted to ask about Heart’s Warming.”
Blossom Petals Category E blinked in confusion. “What about Heart’s Warming?”
“I mean, the weather has been getting colder and colder lately, even with all the heat problems down at the factories. Couldn’t we celebrate Hearth's Warming at least once?”
“Well that’s not up to us, Sunny. The Stars will guide us.”
Sunny sighed and sat down again. “Right. The Stars.”
The teacher cleared her throat. “Um, Sunny? We’ve talked about wearing a hood while in class.”
“I’m sure the Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.
“Oh right, of course. Any other questions?”
The other pony’s all had questions. All about Starlight Glimmer. Starlight listened as the teacher told praised her and all the hard work she had done by building the multiple towns, and the burden of leadership that Starlight had taken to lead the equal ponies. “Okay class, remember to take your medicine before we go.”
Starlight watched as the ponies took out each took out a bottle of pills from their desk and ate two each. The only pony who didn’t take a pill was Sunny.
“Um, Sunny? You need to take your medicine.”
“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny responded
“Oh right, of course.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. “What does that mean? And what are those pills for?”
“No one knows,” the filly answered.
“What? How could anyone not know what that phrase means?”
“I was talking about the pills. It’s best not to think about it. Do too much thinking and the chances of headaches and blackouts go from fifty percent to sixty percent. And that wouldn’t be equal, now would it?”
The bell went off again and the children all filed out happily yet calmly. Sunny was the last person out, keeping her head down and her eyes on the other ponies. As she left the classroom, several colts and fillies walked up to her in a circle.
“Hey Sunny! Do you want to play Game with us?”
Sunny sighed. “I’m sorry Silver Tray but-”
“It’s Silver Tray Category H,” the colt interrupted.
“Okay. Sorry guys, I just don’t want to play Game today.”
One of the fillies held up her hoof. “But-”
“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.
“Oh right, of course.” The other fillies and colts walked away from Sunny, still smiling cheerfully at them.
Sunny sighed and made her way into town. “Never part of any crowd, because my head is stuck on some cloud. No denying I’m a funny girl.”
Starlight frowned. “I don’t understand. Why doesn’t she want to play games with the other children?”
“Not games. Just Game.”
“Huh?”
The filly shrugged. “Yeah, every other game was banned due to being too competitive. Every playground game, sports game, card game, all banned. All that’s left is just Game.”
Starlight didn’t know what to make of that. “Uh…what are the rules?”
“It’s kinda like that old game parents play with their kids to keep them quiet. Only worse. And there is one ball and one card involved.”
“…I don’t understand.”
“Nobody does.”
Starlight shook her head. “Fine, so competitive sports have been banned. I don’t see what’s wrong with that. By why does Sunny act so different from everyone else?”
“Well her parents raised her different from other children I suppose.”
Starlight scoffed. “That’s no excuse. Whether she’s related to Princess Celestia or if she’s the princess’ own daughter, she shouldn’t be treated any differently in a society of equality and harmony.”
The filly smirked. “You make it sound like you approve of this lifestyle.”
Starlight took another look around her and shuddered. “I don’t! Ponies with wings and horns cut off, pollution in the air, metal hooks in mouths! This place has serious problems! B-but I’m sure that with some work these problems could be solved.”
The filly smirked at Starlight’s nervous smile. She didn’t say anything else as they followed Sunny down the road. Eventually the reached a spot that Starlight recognized. It was where the old library had been before Tirek had destroyed it. At least, that’s what Twilight had told her. Much of the library’s remains had been cleared away, leaving nothing but a deep, dark hole in the ground. Sunny reached into the hole and pulled out a book covered in ash. She flicked through the book’s pages before snorting in disgust and throwing the book back into the pile.
“She doesn’t seem to be in a very good mood,” Starlight commented. “Doesn’t she have any friends to cheer her up?”
“Oh, she has plenty of friends,” the filly said. “But…how do I say this? They’re the kind of friends you would have Starlight. Not the kind of friends other people have.”
Starlight glared at her. “Stop trying to make me feel…like whatever it is you’re trying to make me feel like. I may be the leader of Ponyville now and apparently in the future, but I’m not any different from any other pony. The only way to be happy is if we’re all equal.”
The filly chuckled. “Sure Starry. Well, you got what you wanted. Every pony is equal.”
The next place Sunny stopped at made Starlight pause. They were staring at a giant statue of herself. The statue Starlight was rearing up with the Staff of Sameness held in her hooves. Dotted around the statue’s body were over two dozen cutie marks, making the statue look like it had the cutie pox.
“The cutie marks represent how you’ve taken on the burden of being the only one with special talents,” the filly informed her. “See, in this timeline, everybody already knows that you never gave up your cutie mark. But your brainwashing and conditioning has broken most of your followers down so far, they can’t see the hypocrisy. The only cutie mark not on that statue is your own.”
Starlight watched as Sunny gently touched the large stone circle on the bottom of the statue. Tiny images of Princess Celestia, Luna, Cadance, Twilight, and the Element bearers were on the statue. The stone circle was made to look like a circular equal sign with the ponies in the middle. Underneath that was…
Starlight shuddered in revulsion. “What are those?!”
“Oh, you know. Dragons, changelings, griffons, cows, minotaurs, goats, centaurs, diamond dogs, and donkeys. All smooshed together and in their rightful place.”
Starlight shook her head at the filly’s answer. “No! I’d…I’d never do that! I-I mean, the dragons and changelings I suppose b-but-”
“Why are you so confused, dearie? Ponies and zebras are the only creatures who can get cutie marks and the only creatures who could be equalized. Everybody else…well, it’s best not to think about what happens to the prisoners. See, with the military disbanded, you took on the duty of defending Equestria. And you have done such a job of it, haven’t you darling?”
“I don’t understand. What happened to the princesses? What happened to Twilight and my friends?”
The glare in the filly’s eyes was colder than ice. “What do you think happened, dearie?”
Sunny brushed her hoof along the image of Celestia’s mane before she sighed and kept walking. The next place she stopped at was a graveyard. Having never really visited a graveyard before, the sight made Starlight especially squeamish. That wasn’t even taking into account just how many graves there were. Sunny walked over to one of the graves and crouched down to it. She clasped her hooves together and began to whisper.
“What’s she doing now?”
“Paying her respects to those who have passed. She does this about once a month. More if she’s feeling depressed,” the filly answered. “It’s really sweet of her. I don’t think I could do the same thing if I was in her horseshoes.” She smiled and pointed at a spot in the ground. “This here is where I was buried.”
“What?” Starlight stared at the patch of dirt in confusion. “But this is the only spot with no grave.”
The filly giggled in response. Meanwhile, Sunny continued paying her respects. Some of them she spent more time with than others but she stopped and whispered at every single grave. Stepping closer to Sunny, Starlight could make out the end of what she had been saying.
“I promise you, I’m going to fix this. I’ll find someone who can help us, and I will save you. I promise.”
With that said, Sunny stood up and began walking in a different direction. Starlight’s eye widened as she realized where they were going. “Wait a second! She can’t go in there!”
“Whoa, hold on a minute Sunny!” a stallion said as he blocked Sunny’s path. “The Everfree forest is too dangerous for ponies.”
Sunny sighed. “Hi Glam Chaser Category S. How’s the wife and kid?”
“We’re having a happy life, just as equally happy as yours!” the stallion said cheerfully with a creepy grin. “Now as I was saying, you can’t go into the forest Sunny. The Rules of Equality clearly state that-”
“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny said.
The stallions hesitated. “I…I don’t know. Leader Starlight Glimmer made it very clear that-”
“The Stars will make an exception,” Sunny repeated.
“Oh r-right, of course.” The stallion nodded and walked away with a grin. “Have a happy day, and may all your days be equally happy!”
“The next pony who gets in my way will be seeing stars,” Sunny growled before she stormed her way into the Everfree forest.
“What is she thinking?! The Everfree forest is a death trap and by the looks of things it’s gotten even worse!” Starlight cried. “If I’m supposed to be in control of Equestria, why haven’t I burnt this forest to ash or something?!”
“Your magic may be strong Glim-Glam, but there are some things that just can’t be killed. Funny story about this forest, this is where Sunny and me first met! Actually…” The filly paused as her ears twitched. “Oopsie. I should probably check and make sure old Chrysalis isn’t feeling too cranky. Don’t worry though Starlight, you just keep following Sunny.” The filly gave her an evil grin. “You’re almost there.”
The filly disappeared from the nightmare. Starlight’s gaze darted all around her, feeling as if the dream world was slowly closing in on her. Nervously, she began to chase after Sunny, hoping that the quiet little kid would finally give her some answers. As they traveled through the forest, the hairs on Starlight’s back stood up. The Everfree forest was a lot thicker than she remembered. Multiple, glowing yellow monster eyes glared at them through the bushes and branches, yet even though they were being watched nothing leapt out at them. Something was keeping the monsters away.
A low hum broke the silence. Sunny’s eyes narrowed as she followed the gentle hum. The hum grew louder while creepy whispers began to fill the air. Pulling apart a few bushes, Sunny broke through the forest and wandered into a large cave. Glowing purple diamonds embedded in green cave walls. The cave looked very beautiful…or at least it had been, a long time ago. Even though light danced around them, the cave seemed to radiate a dark cloud. The darkness felt like a living creature to Starlight, closing in on her, suffocating her. At the center of the cave stood a tall tree. The tree’s bark was cracked and blackened with either age or something else.
“What do we have her?” Sunny whispered. Her eyes traveled down the trunk; a sun and moon had been carved near the base. Her gaze wandered back up to the branches. Each one had a colorful symbol that Starlight recognized as the Elements of Harmony. “No way!” Sunny exclaimed. “This tree must have belonged to the heroes of Equestria. Finally!” Sunny bowed before the tree and clasped her hooves in a prayer.
“Elements of Harmony. Princesses of Equestria. Dragon lords of the old Empires. I come before you as a humble pony and a hopeful friend. Out there is a monster known as Starlight Glimmer. Starlight has poisoned this land and enslaved its people. She hoards all the magic and power for herself; with such greed that no honourable dragon or griffon could ever match it. I seek to imprison this monster and set free the innocent and the kind. But I can’t do this alone. Please, I beg of you. Protect us. Send us the object of our liberation. Send us a hero who will give us our freedom. Please…please…”
Sunny and Starlight waited for what happened next. They waited some more. All was quiet in the cave. All except the creepy whispers that Starlight could hear, hovering by the edges of her mind.
Sunny’s face twisted into a snarl. “That’s it? Nothing? Please, I’m begging you! Help us!” When she didn’t receive an answer, she stood up. “Fine. I have other options to turn to.”
Sunny walked around the tree and picked up a strange object. It was a large eagle’s claw made of stone. The stone claw had been snapped off like it was once part of a larger statue. “Discord. They say that when the Element of Kindness faded away, you went into a blind rampage. I’m asking you to do that again. Come back to us and you can have your vengeance.”
Again nobody answered her. Starlight was starting to feel sorry for Sunny, even if she was desperately wishing for Starlight’s downfall. This was just a dream though, and Starlight couldn’t do anything to help the poor, confused girl.
Sunny lowered the claw. “If you no one else can save us…then I’ll do it!” Sunny’s glared up at the sky with blazing rage. “I will hunt Starlight Glimmer down and make her PAY for what she did! For every moment she has made us suffer, I’ll make her suffer a thousand times over! It doesn’t matter how strong they think her magic is! I’ll become stronger than her!”
Sunny stood up to her full height. “And not just her! If anyone tries to hurt us again, I’ll annihilate them! I swear on my life! I Pinkie Promise! Good will defeat evil or else I will drown evil in its own, filthy blood!”
Sunny collapsed onto the ground in a fit of restrained sobbing. Even as tears poured out of her eyes, she held her mouth shut; not allowing anyone to see the emotional cyclone whirling around inside her.
“Hi there little pony.”
Sunny leapt back on her hooves, searching wildly around for the voice. Starlight did the same thing. Even if this was just a dream, somehow that voice made it seem a lot more real. That wasn’t the kind of voice you’d hear in dreams or nightmares. Nobody would be that cruel to their own mind.
“Oh it’s okay. Don’t be scared. I’m not going to hurt you.”
“Who’s out there?! Did you follow me?!” Sunny shouted, her gaze darting around frantically. “Stop hiding!”
“As you wish.”
Sunny and Starlight blinked in astonishment as a thick cone of pink smoke floated out from within the cave. It coiled itself around the tree like a snake, waiting patiently.
“What brings you here?”
“I’m, uh…I’m looking for help,” Sunny answered.
“Oh no. How simply terrifying. Are you in danger, little one?”
“N-no.”
“You sure? I’d be happy to help you, if you want.”
“Uh, no thanks. I don’t even know who or…or what you are,” Sunny said.
“The question is not who I am. The question is who are you?”
“Uh, Sunny. My name is Sunny.”
“Just Sunny? Are you sure? Is that your only name?”
“Uh, y-yeah.”
“You can tell me. I’ll keep your secret. I’m good at keeping secrets.”
“N-no thanks. I’m sorry for disturbing your home, I’ll be leaving now.” Sunny spun around and ran for the exit…only to stop when she almost hit a solid rock wall. “Where…where’d my exit go?”
“It’s okay, my young friend. You don’t need to be afraid me. I won’t hurt you.”
“Well excuse me, but I’m having some difficulty trusting a creepy smoke monster without a face. Listen, I taste awful!” Sunny cried. “Our shower doesn’t even have hot water; like, my fur is really greasy.”
“Don’t worry Sunny. You’re not the one I want to eat. So why don’t you tell me who you are. Why you’re here.”
“You’re just gonna eat me,” Sunny said nervously.
“If that was the case, wouldn’t prolonging this conversation keep me from eating you?”
“I…I guess that’s a good point,” Sunny admitted.
“I can be very persuasive. So…who are you? Why are you really here?”
Sunny sighed. Her face twisted into a grimace as she fought with herself over the decision she was about to make. Finally, she made up her mind and flung her cloak off, looking the smoke creature right in its non-existent face. Taking in her appearance, Starlight thought she looked familiar. Her coat was a very pale orange. Her mane was pulled into a tight bun and her tail had a tattered ribbon tied to it. Her mane and tail were both red with a single streak of blue. Her eyes were purple, just like Starlight’s.
“My birth name is Sunrise Glimmer,” Sunny said.
“What?!” Starlight exclaimed. “I…I have a daughter?” Her mouth twitched into a timid, hopeful smile.
“He, he, he, he. So, Starlight is your mommy?”
Sunny stomped her hoof. “That mare is NOT my mom,” she snarled.
Starlight’s jaw dropped. She backed away from Sunny, sinking down to her haunches.
“Ooh. Such raw emotion. I can feel your anger. It’s okay, sweetheart. We’re the only ones here. Tell me how you feel.”
Sunny growled. “My dad used to tell me how amazing and sweet my mom was. If that’s the case, then Starlight Glimmer killed my mom years before I was born.”
“She hurt you, didn’t she? It’s okay, sweetheart. Let it all out.”
“Starlight has stolen everything from us. All our special talents. Our magic. Our food, our homes, our lives.”
“I was wondering about that. Your parents are both unicorns, right? What happened to your horn?”
Sunny snarled. “What do you think happened to it?!”
“Good. Keep it ambiguous. Maybe your mother cut your horn off. Or maybe you were just born an earth pony. It keeps the story mysterious and entertaining.”
“This isn’t some story! I’m a-”
“Hush now, little one. No spoilers.”
“You’re not taking this seriously!”
“What good has taking things seriously ever done for you? You should learn to smile more, sweetheart.”
“What, and end up like one of Starlight’s puppets? No thanks. I’d rather spend the rest of my life frowning than be stuck with one of her creepy grins.”
“Why not a creepy grin of your own? Why not let her see you the way you see her?”
Sunny narrowed her eyes. “What are you trying to say?”
“You came here looking for help. I can help you.”
Sunny snorted. “Oh really? Where were you five minutes ago?”
“I needed to see if you had what it takes to accept my help. When you swore your life to destroying evil, when you let your raw emotions out for the heavens to see, I heard you. You’re stronger than all the other ponies.”
“Stronger? Look at me!” Sunny pointed at the equal sign on her flank, glaring at it with murderous hate. “Does this look like the cutie mark of someone strong? Someone different? My mom wanted me to end up a heartless, soulless witch like her! She told me that I’d grow up to continue her legacy; ripping away cutie marks and stealing ponies’ lives!”
“Contrary to what Starry thinks, cutie marks aren’t special. You are. You have the power to change your future. To change the fate of everyone around you. Together, we can give them peace and freedom.”
Sunny hesitated. “Let’s say…I’m interested. What are you suggesting?”
“A new perspective. A new drive. New talents and new ambitions. I will help you train yourself. I’ll make you stronger and smarter. I’ll help you reach your true potential. Then, I will help you defeat Starlight and save the ponies of Equestria.”
“That’s not enough. I want to help every creature in the world, not just ponies. And if another villain shows up, I want the strength to defeat them too!”
“Good! I can practically taste your ambition. Your hunger for justice, for vengeance, for freedom. It seems we’re both making the right choice.”
Sunny’s eyes had a hungry look in them. “What’s the catch?”
“Let’s say we win, and we set all the innocent creatures free. Give them back their special talent and their magic. What do you want to do with Starlight? Imprison her? Banish her?”
Sunny snarled. “I want to kill her.”
“No.”
“What? Oh come on! Don’t try and act like you’re too good for it! Look at you, floating and whispering like a smoky, demon snake! I may be falling for your act, but I still know it's an act!”
“You think I’m evil? Like Starlight? I will admit that I’m a monster, but I’m a necessary monster. I hunt only the guilty. I’m not going to stoop to their level.”
“Fine, whatever. You’re not evil, or at least not as bad as her. But she deserves it!”
“Death is too permanent. The dead can’t feel fear. She deserves to feel the pain she has inflicted on you and on others. Besides, she may be useful to us alive. Why terminate someone, when you can transform them? Make her into something new, just like I will do to you.”
“Which brings us back to the catch. What are you going to do to me?”
“I’ll become one with you, of course.”
“What, like you’ll possess me?”
“Of course not, sweetheart. I’ll merge with you. I’ll share with you. Everything that I am will be yours. I am chaos…destruction…madness…and insanity. But I am also happiness…justice…creation…and imagination. You get everything, darling. The sweet and the sour. That’s the catch.”
“So, we’ll become one being. I…guess that’s okay. What…what do I have to do? Sign something? Shake your…um…”
“Sunny, you wound me. I’m not some cliché demon trying to steal your soul. I want to be your friend.”
Sunny took on a dazed look. “Friend…”
“I’m offering you a chance to become more than a pony.”
Her eyes filled with hunger. “More than a pony…can…can we do it?”
“You, my wonderful, darling, sweetheart…you can be whatever you want to be. Be a hero to the innocent and kind. And be a monster to guilty and the wicked. Entire planents will gaze up at you in fear. They’ll be so afraid of us that they’ll never hurt each other again.”
“You…you are rather persuasive,” Sunny said, letting out a chuckle.
“See? Look how pretty that smile of yours is. Come here sweetheart. Give me a hug.”
Two large arms with dripping claws formed from the smoke cloud. Sunny smiled and walked towards the spirit’s embrace, quietly singing to herself. “Imagine all I could learn by setting us free. And now saving the world depends on me. But…our victory is what I really want to see…”
Sunny’s whispers faded into mumbles as she fell into the warm embrace. The second she did so, all the pink mist and smoke swirled around her and poured into her mouth. Sunny coughed and hacked violently until the creature was completely inside her.
“Up! Think I swallowed something!” Sunny coughed as she fell to the ground. Her body began to twitch and spasm. “Oh. Ooh ho, ho, ho. That…he, he, he. That tickles! That really…aha, ha, ha!”
The equal sign on Sunny’s flank began to glow red. It hissed and sizzled. “Ouch! Oh, that…ha, ha, ha…that stings!” The equal sign continued to burn until it melted off her body and splashed onto the ground. Sunny was a blank flank.
“It’s…it’s gone. Ha, ha, ha! It’s finally gone! Freedom! Free…he, he, he, he!”
A splotch of white appeared on her fur. More and more splotches of white appeared on her hooves and face, rapidly spreading all over her body until there wasn’t a hint of orange left. Her mane and tail uncurled themselves out of the prim and proper styles and began to turn bright pink, chasing out the red and blue. The filly laughed and laughed until she stopped laughing. She remained on the ground for two minutes, completely silent.
“How do I feel? Oh sweetheart…I…feel…ALIVE.” The filly jumped up, her purple eyes turning bright pink.
“Ooh. Everything is so…tingly now. I feel electric! Like lightning is surging through me! Oh baby, and the power! The absolute power! He, he, he! Wow, is that what I sound like? I’m like a mini-Nightmare Moon. No, no, wait, like Discord. What a character!”
“What’s this?” The room filled with more smoke, taking on the form of Starlight Glimmer. “Ooh…hello, dearie. How I have dreamed of this moment…” The filly lunged at Starlight Glimmer like a shark. But as she bit into the soft flesh, something unexpected happened.
“Candy! Chocolate!” the filly gasped happily. Instead of blood, milk chocolate poured out the gaping wound in Starlight’s neck. It splashed onto the ground and the filly hungrily began to lick it up. The image of Starlight faded away and the filly looked up. “More! I want more!”
More pink smoke swirled around her. Images of Nightmare Moon, Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, Sombra, and Starlight Glimmer. “Oh, I get it now! I’m hallucinating!” the filly giggled. “But perhaps you didn’t understand the extent of my command. You know, I read once about some magical corruption and a pool that could turn anyone evil, until they were cured. When I said more…I meant more! Give me everything you got!”
More smoke swirled around. Twilight, Rainbow, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie, and Applejack. Spike. Celestia. Cadance. Shining. Apple Bloom. Sweetie. Scootaloo. Diamond Tiara. More ponies and other creatures appeared, all with blood red, angry eyes.
“That’s it. This is what I want the world to see. Everything bad thing that could happen…failing. Every villain that could rise…falling. All of you against me…and all of you powerless against me.” The filly let out a crazed giggle and lunged at the hallucinations teeth first.
Nightmare Moon blasted the filly, knocking her out of the sky. “Aw, little Lulu’s got some fight in her! Sorry, Moonie!” She charged towards Nightmare Moon with blinding speed and punched her in the chest plate. Her hoof tore through Nightmare Moon’s armor and plunged deep into her chest. “But there can only be ONE nightmare in Equestria! And that nightmare will be ME!”
She yanked Luna’s form out of Nightmare Moon and tossed her to safety. “Look away Luna. Things are gonna get messy!” She then sank her teeth into the hollow Nightmare Moon and drank up the flowing milk chocolate.
She grabbed the discarded pieces of armor and giggled. “This is mine and those are mine and…ooh, look who else is mine!” She grinned as the heavily muscled Tirek came stomping towards her. “If it isn’t the Jolly Red Giant! In a minute you’re gonna from Tirek to T-Wrecked!”
She lunged at him next, striking his arms and legs with precision and energy. However most of her attacks just bounced off his magically charged muscles. Tirek chuckled darkly and leaned down, opening his mouth to drain your magic.
“You’re biting off more than you can chew, buddy. You want my magic so bad?” The filly grinned and jumped inside Tirek’s mouth, grabbing his giant tongue in a death-grip. “Then you can choke on it!”
Tirek gagged and clawed at his throat as the filly jumped downward, scratching his esophagus with her hard hooves and sharp teeth. He clutched at his stomach as the mad filly attacked him from the inside. Eventually his chest burst open in a shower of gummy worms and licorice intestines. The filly came dancing out, covered in chocolate and laughing like a maniac.
“More! I want more!” The filly grinned as the changelings took one look at her and ran screaming. “Yes! Fly away, you spineless worms! Fly away in fear of me, he, he, he!”
“Now, a little closer to home,” she growled as she focused on the ponies. She charged at them, taking down several ponies with one or two hits. “Say goodnight, Nightmare Twilight. Say goodbye, Fluttershy! Applejack? More like Apple-crack!”
She kicked her enemies so hard, they slammed into the cave walls. She twisted their bones so much, their limbs snapped off in a shower of chocolate. Even though they were just chocolate-filled hallucinations, even if she was just fighting thin air, anyone who could see the filly would see her as an unstoppable death machine. When she had dismantled most of her opponents she grinned up at the hallucination Discord next. “Sorry pal, but there’s only room for one master of chaos.”
Yet before she could sink her teeth into Discord, she was caught completely off guard as he snapped his fingers and transformed her into a platypus.
“Wait…what?” She shook herself into a filly and frowned. “Lemme try that again.” She sidestepped Discord’s next attack but was then blasted into a large cage. “Okay, the voices in my head are telling me something. Take ten guys.”
The hallucinations disappeared into swirling pink smoke as the filly argued with herself. “What’s the big deal about Discord? I beat Tirek and the others, didn’t I? What’s that supposed to mean? We saw us out there! We were mopping the floor with those thugs! Well…okay, there wasn’t any mopping involved. Although a chocolate-mania fest may be required by how much of a mess we’ve left…oh, you think you’re clever!”
She scoffed and paced back and forth. “Please, Discord is not a god! He’s not the big deal you think he is! I don’t care if he can warp reality! He’s just a powerful wizard! They’re all just wizards! And we’re losing focus here! Tirek beat him and old Starry beat every pony! She needs to suffer for what she did!”
The filly looked up with wide eyes. “Yes…yes, I see it now. Those idiots back home worship her even more than Celestia. Can’t have that. It’s not enough to destroy her…we need to annihilate the evil inside her. We need to crush her influence completely, leaving nothing behind for some delusional follower to latch onto. A plan like this requires…oh. Oh, ho, ho, ho! Now that is one complicated plan! Ooh, but such a juicy one! It’s all coming together.” Numbers and letters floated in the sky as the filly continued to converse with her inner voices. “How long? But she’s had too much time already! Time…time, rhyme, lime, vine, slime, sublime…oh! Well, alrighty then!”
The filly left the cave and the hallucinations faded around as several far more dangerous ideas took their place. Meanwhile, Starlight Glimmer sat off to the side. If she was in a better mood she might complain about how her own nightmare had forgotten about her. Instead, Starlight just felt…empty.
“No…”
The nightmare swirled around Starlight again, the violent movement having a much greater effect on Starlight than it usually did. Her entire body felt like it was made of dust that could be blown away by a gust of wind. She thought her situation was hopeless before but now…she didn’t think it could get any worse. Her nightmare was happy to prove her wrong.
The filly was perched on top of a high cliff overlooking the former Ponyville. She looked bigger than she did before. Her mane was longer and tied back so it wouldn’t get in her eyes. She was wearing unusual armor. It almost looked futuristic. Standing next to the crouching filly were two intimidating creatures. A large changeling and a teenage dragon, both wearing similar armor to what the filly was wearing.
“How much longer?” the changeling hissed.
“Patience, my dear. The show’s about to begin. Ooh, here she comes now.”
The dragon growled. “We can’t see her from up here!”
“Oh, my apologies. Let me tinker with this for a bit.” The filly pulled out a crystal that Starlight hadn’t noticed before. She poked and prodded the crystal in a delicate, seven step pattern. The crystal glowed and released a bubble of magical energy. It floated closer to the dragon, the changeling, and Starlight, allowing them to see what the filly was spying on. “Now don’t come crying to me if you can’t hear her. Not my fault if Glim-Glam can’t set up a decent sound system.”
Through the bubble, Starlight was shocked to see a much older version of herself walk up to a microphone. The older Starlight had grown wings, but they looked pretty fake. Real alicorns didn’t have gray hair or wrinkles on their faces. The older Starlight was wearing regalia, though it was all themed around equality. An equal sign on both her crown and necklace. She looked up at the large crowd of ponies she was addressing, which looked like a faded sea of color from where the dragon and changeling were standing.
“My equal ponies. We are gathered here today, on the first morning of the third Sun-uary, to mourn for the loss of Sunrise Glimmer. It has always been my burden to be the only pony who still has special talents. It is my blessing and my curse that I have the magic needed to lead our great nation while you…all of you…the ordinary citizens are free from a life of being different. You are free to be just the same as everypony around you. I alone have made the sacrifice necessary to care for you; to keep our cities in harmony and equality. When I was young…”
“Listen to her,” the filly snorted. “She creates an entire month to mourn for her daughter and yet every speech is me, me, me.”
“Wait, really?” the dragon asked.
“Funny story. She actually got rid of every other month and pushed the entire year into one month on the calendar. Glimmer-cember, which is eleven weeks long with a hundred and eleven days of non-stop work. And only eleven days of holiday, made to look like an equal sign on our calendar. Then she added Sun-uary to mourn her daughter, which is a month with only eleven days in it.”
The dragon stared at her in disbelief. “I may not understand pony math but…that sounds wrong and stupid.”
“That’s because even a dragon who can’t count past a thousand is still better than a pony who can’t count past herself.”
“Quiet. I think she’s moving on,” the changeling hissed.
“Sunrise Glimmer was to be my heir; for I am not immortal. These are not the wings of an alicorn princess, my friends. Merely a symbol of the heavy burden of a crown. But Sunrise Glimmer was strong in many ways. She would have carried this burden with pride and ushered in a new age of equality, just as happy as the last one. We didn’t know my daughter for very long but she will always live on in our equally heavy hearts. However…I am afraid, I have news equally as heartbreaking.”
The filly raised an eyebrow. “This is new.”
“Ever since the first Sun-uary when our search parties were unsuccessful at finding any sign of our daughter or her corpse, the Stars have had to alter our plans. My family knew that there must be an heir. So, my loyal husband Sunburst Glimmer and I have been trying to conceive a foal. For a while, it seemed that our labors had borne fruit. I was with child. However…an incident occurred. We do not know what our child would have been but his or her sacrifice was…”
The bubble evaporated as the crystal conjuring it was shattered. They could still hear the older Starlight’s voice but the temperature had grown too chilly to ignore. The filly was holding the crushed crystal in her right hoof, the shards cutting into her flesh. As blood began to drip from her hoof she looked up at the dragon and changeling.
The two monster took a step back. “Um…m-my queen?”
“Uh, boss lady? You all right?” the dragon asked.
“Burn everything.”
“But…my queen, your orders were to-”
The filly’s glare could have frozen Tartarus. “BURN. EVE-RY-THING.”
The dragon and changeling both knelt before her. “As you command, dread queen.” They stood up again and the dragon shouted behind them. “You heard the boss lady! ATTACK!”
Hundreds of green flashes went off behind them as the rocks on the cliff all transformed into changelings. As they launched themselves into the sky, a second army of dragons flew after them. One short flight over and soon the entire village was engulfed in fire. The filly began storming down the cliff, pushing everything and everyone unlucky enough to get in her way. Because no matter how boiling her rage was at the moment she had ordered her army to only terrify the ponies, not kill them.
No, there was only one pony she wanted to punish. The filly stomped up to the older Starlight who was busy firing spells at the monsters in the sky. The older Starlight flinched as she received a sharp jab in the stomach. “Not now!”
“Oh Starry. I’m home,” the filly hissed.
“Little filly, go find your parents! We’re under attack and my magic can only-”
The older Starlight gasped as the filly’s hooves wrapped tightly around her throat. She slammed the older mare onto the stage and flipped on top of her body. Her back legs wrapped around Starlight’s throat too as her front hooves forced Starlight to look up.
“You are going to watch this.”
“W…what?” the older Starlight gasped. As the ponies’ screams were drowned out by roars and hisses; as the village crumbled into ashes, the High Leader of equality watched in horror. “Whatever you hope to gain changeling-”
“Changeling? Why Starry, the irony is crushing!” the filly giggled as her hooves continued to squeeze Starlight’s throat. “You’ve forgotten me? And after all the trouble you went to dedicating this month to me!”
“Get off me, you monster! I’m not going to let destroy everything I’ve-”
“The sun rises on a smile, my starling.”
Starlight froze as the filly uttered that sentence. “You…the only pony who heard that…what have you done to my daughter?!” Starlight blasted the laughing filly off of her and pointed her glowing horn at the filly. “Answer me!”
“Ha, ha, ha! You’re so good with magic, Starry! Why don’t you make me?! He, he, he!”
“I will!” Starlight screamed as her magic engulfed the filly. “You will speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth!” she commanded. Her magic faded and she cried again, “Now where is my daughter?!”
“Hi mom.”
Starlight gasped as the filly transformed. Her white coat erupted into patches of colour that drained the white away. Her pink mane and tail shifted as red and blue took their place. Pink eyes turned purple and the smile was replaced with a scowl.
“S…Sunrise,” the older mare cried. “M…my sun-blessed starling. You’re alive!”
Sunny snorted as Starlight gave her a hug that wasn’t returned. “That’s debatable.”
“Sunrise Glimmer, where have you-”
Sunny threw the mare off her and hissed. “My name is not Glimmer. And it’s not Sunny either. I will never be your starling.”
“W…what?”
“All I ever wanted from you was to be a better person. But you’ve made it impossible. We came to this village, hoping to undo the damage you did to these people. Maybe we planned to burn a few buildings, but we never wanted to hurt anyone. Now...now, you’ve signed this timeline's death warrant. How many starlings came before me, huh? Did you sacrifice them too?!” Sunny stomped on Starlight’s hoof, causing her to scream in pain.
“S-Sunrise! Please! What’s happened to you?!”
“Are you even paying attention?! I brought an entire army to burn down your village and you won’t even ask me why?!”
“I’ve heard enough from you!” Starlight growled. “Stop possessing my starling, filthy demon! My daughter loved me and she’d never do any of this!”
Sunny scowled. “You delusional pile of pond scum.”
“Quiet, you filthy unequal! I demand you give me my heir back!”
Sunny’s scowl morphed into a smile. The white fur and pink hair overtook her body again as she transformed. “It’s too late, Glimmer. Sunny belongs to me now. But don’t worry…you’ll be with her again soon.” The filly’s eyes twinkled with mischief. “You see, I am a spirit. I have possessed your daughter’s body and soon the rest of my army will break through the seal your pony princesses placed on us. Then all of Equestria will be ours.”
“Seal? What seal?!”
“Oh, the seal that the Elements of Harmony created. On the day they were returned to that sparkly tree, the power of our prison began to weaken. My army will break free any day now! I was merely a scout.” The filly grinned. “And the best part is, once we have possessed someone, we’re bonded for life! We will overwhelm your world and take your bodies as our puppets!”
“Ponykind will never surrender to unequal abominations like you! Harmony, equality, and friendship can conquer anything!” Starlight declared.
“Please,” the filly snorted. “You can’t turn back time on our day of victory! You have lost!”
Starlight shot her an evil grin. “That’s what you think!” Her horn glowed brightly as she knocked the filly off her body and flew into the air.
The filly chuckled as she watched Starlight fly away. “That’s exactly what I think, you gullible old fool.” She began galloping after Starlight as the village was reduced to ashes behind them. “You can run Starlight, but you’ll never run far enough!”
Soon the older Starlight reached a broken crystal table, lying in the middle of nowhere. She summoned a tattered and torn scroll with her magic and fired a spell onto the table. A spinning dome of temporal magic appeared in the air above her as she floated into it. “Just one more journey to the past. Just one more mistake to correct. My starling will never die and neither shall equality.”
“SURPRISE!” the filly screamed as she launched herself at Starlight and knocked her out of the time spell with a spinning kick.
“Augh! You…you…unequal!” Starlight cried. “Filthy, chaotic, divergence in the natural order!”
“If you’re worried about natural order, I’ve got you covered on that,” the filly said with a chuckle. “But you’re the one who cast this spell and I can’t have you following me. So it is with a tremendous amount of glee that I do this…”
Starlight growled. “Get your filthy hooves off me you – AAAHHH!”
Starlight screamed in pain as the filly picked up a large rock and smashed it onto her front hooves. She then grabbed the sobbing Starlight’s horn and smashed her head into the ground.
“There we go! At the very least, that’ll slow you down. Although really, if you still want to chase me after all this, you’re even crazier than I am!” the filly chuckled.
“You…you monster! You crippled me!” Starlight cried.
“Please, you’re not crippled. Why, your legs’ll be good as new soon! We just have to give them some time.” The filly shot her an evil grin before she jumped into the time dome and disappeared. She flew through a swirling blue stream of time and space, laughing madly all the way.
Soon enough, the filly fell out of the time stream and smiled eagerly at her surroundings. “What a quaint little village!” She stood up and bounced into town with a cheerful spring in her step. “Excuse me mister!”
A brown coated unicorn with sandy hair smiled at the cute little filly. “Well aren’t you adorable!”
The filly giggled. “Aw, you’re just saying that.”
“Did your family just move her, little one? What’s your name?”
“Oh my name is a secret!” the filly said with a wink. “Speaking of names have you ever heard of Starlight Glimmer?”
The stallion scratched his chin in thought. “um…can’t say that I have.”
“Delightful,” the filly said. “Well you have a wonderful day, my good sir. If you’ll excuse me, I have preparations to make!”
“Aw, that’s nice. Are you throwing a party for someone?”
The filly chuckled. “The greatest party pony-kind has ever seen. A party so gigantic, it’ll rock the foundations of the very planet!”
“Neat! Maybe you could invite my son?”
“I’m sure an invitation can be arranged.” The filly chuckled evilly as the nightmare faded around her.
Starlight blinked in surprise at the envelope the filly gave her. “Excuse me for leaving you in the middle of the story. Though I can see you didn’t miss my presence. Amazing how spellbound a dream can make you, isn’t it?”
The trembling, traumatized Starlight managed to regain slight control of herself and backed away from her. “N-not true! That’s a lie! You’re a l-liar!”
“Oh? What have I lied to you about this time, darling?”
“T-that d-dream! Not real! I’m…I’m not like that! Imma nice pony! And y-you, and S-S-Sunrise! I d-don’t know what you are b-but you’re not from the future and you’re not my…my…”
“Go on. Say it. I dare you,” the filly hissed with a twisted grin.
“You…you’re not my daughter. I don’t have any children.”
The filly happily shrugged. “That’s true enough I suppose. Really, this whole thing is open to interpretation. Oh, but I see you haven’t let go of the rock yet.”
Starlight frowned at the rock that was still in her hooves. It had gotten bigger since the nightmare started. While she was looking down, she noticed a small lake under her hooves. Somehow the entire nightmare’s floor had filled up with water to the point where it brushed up against her belly.
“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not,” the filly sang.
“What?” Starlight mumbled in confusion.
“I suppose there’s evidence to support either. If I was your emotionally abused daughter it makes sense why I would hate you enough to make a storm of Windigos droll. On the other hoof, it makes sense why I couldn’t be your daughter. After all…”
The filly gave her an evil grin. “How could Sunburst learn to love a monster like you? How could any stallion tolerate you enough to take care of their offspring?”
“Sunburst was my friend! He cared about me! I…I’m sure that if I had been a little braver I could have asked him to be my special-”
“Nyeh, heh, he, he!” The filly laughed. “Delusional as always my dear! But even if Sunburst didn’t hate your cutie-mark stealing guts you’d have a hard time breaking out of here! Then again…oh, why not? I’m feeling generous!”
The filly eyed the envelope she was still holding before cheerfully slamming it onto Starlight’s face, knocking her out of the dream.
Starlight woke up feeling much the same way she felt every time she woke up now. Confused, frightened, angry, and nauseated. Frowning at the object hanging in her view, she reached up to her face and discovered something unexpected. Her horn was back. She quickly cast a mirror spell and examined her reflection. It was the same purple colour it had always been. Not a spot of white on it. At least…she hoped so. She levitated the letter that had been hanging on her face and read the message.
You’re invited! Who: everyone. When: Right now! Where: the cutie mark vault.
Starlight’s eyes nearly popped out of her skull. She galloped towards the exit and blasted the door off its hinges with her magic. “No, no, no, No, NO, NO, NO!”