//------------------------------// // Ch 8: Pebbles in the Ocean // Story: Equal Measures // by Coyotek4 //------------------------------// [ONE WEEK LATER] As the party winds down, Starlight finally has time to process everything that happened over the past week. She looks around the room and reflects upon the recent events. “BEST. SURPRISE PARTY. EVER!!!” Starlight’s gaze focuses on Pinkie Pie blowing a horn right into Fluttershy’s ear, causing her to squeal and jump in terror. Applejack walks over to admonish her exuberant friend. “Pinkie Pie, you do realize that Twilight’s the one bein’ surprised, right?” “Oopsie. Sorry, Fluttershy. I’m just so excited for Twilight to come through those doors.” “Well, Spike went to meet her at the train station. They should be back soon, and Rainbow Dash is keepin’ watch for us. When she comes in and gives the signal, we dim the lights.” “Okie-dokie!” Pinkie bounces a couple more times in anticipation, then turns to Starlight. “So how was Canterlot? Did Trixie wow the crowds with her magic? Did she remove anypony’s mouths?” She frowns before concluding: “Oh, I hope Trixie didn’t remove anypony’s mouths.” “Trixie was incredible,” Starlight assures Pinkie and the others. “Princess Celestia enjoyed her act so much, she asked Trixie to stick around for an additional week.” “Rainbow Dash and I caught her performance a couple days ago,” Fluttershy adds. “She really was incredible. And Angel got into her act, too. He really enjoyed being a part of it all.” “Can’t believe I’m sayin’ this, but I’ve never been happier for her. She’s come a long way from the first time we got to know her.” “She’s not the only one, Applejack,” Starlight remarks, the burdens from a week ago long-since lifted. “You certainly look more content today than durin’ that last party. Shoot, last week you were wound up tighter than a cuckoo clock running at double-speed.” “I do feel better now, thank you,” Starlight replies before turning away and allowing herself a slight gulp. She notices Pinkie bounce towards the hallway doors, then walks over to the refreshment table. She sees Rarity staring down at a cream pie. “Rarity, that pie looks simply mouth-watering.” “Well, don’t get too attached.” Rarity’s reply catches Starlight by surprise. “What do you mean by that?” “Starlight,” Rarity admits, “I carry myself with a sense of propriety at all times. It’s what makes me the pony I am today, and I will always abide by my own code of conduct. Nevertheless …” her eyes squint as a mischievous grin spreads over her face, “some actions simply must come with consequences. And I’m a firm believer in letting the punishment fit the grime.” “ ‘Grime’? Rarity, you’re not going to—“ “Oh, Pinkie Pie!” As Rarity calls out to Pinkie Pie to draw her attention, she levitates the pie and hurls it directly at her. Instantaneously, Pinkie’s tail twitches and she instinctively ducks. The pie sails just above her head, just as the door to the Cutie Map room opens. “Twilight’s comi—“ Before Rainbow Dash can finish, she is caught full-force by the flying pie. The blow knocks her head-over-hooves out of the air and onto the floor, her face and mane slathered with cream and pie filling. Rarity immediately rushes to the doorway, pleading forgiveness. “Ohnonono! Rainbow Dash, I am sooo sorry. I didn’t mean for you to … I was trying to … Pinkie was …” Rarity reaches the pie-covered pegasus, pauses, attempts to keep her composure … and then bursts out laughing as she falls to the floor. The others eye Rarity for a moment, before a chuckle causes them to turn around and find Starlight follow her fellow unicorn’s lead. The merriment of the situation spreads to the others, until even Rainbow Dash is laughing at the attack. Moments later, Twilight and Spike turn a corner and inspect the scene. “Awww,” Spike grouses, “did they start the party without us?” Twilight turns to Spike, then back to the others. Guess this is another one of those moments where I just ‘had to be there’. “Thanks again for helping me and Spike clean up, but really, this celebration was for you; you really shouldn’t be lifting a hoof now.” Starlight’s comment elicits a chuckle from Twilight. “Very cute, Starlight. Although, somepony is going to have to fill me in about why Rainbow Dash was on the hallway floor covered with cream pie.” Spike grumbles. “Waste of a perfectly good pie, if you ask me.” “Well, I can’t really be certain about the pie,” Starlight admits, “but I can tell you, it’s been a strange week for me.” “Well do tell,” Twilight urges. “I’d love to know.” “Do you want the long or short version.” “Start with the short.” “Well …” Starlight ponders for a moment before continuing: “Either Chrysalis returned to Ponyville in an effort to reprogram me to serve her whims, leading me to believe that I had replaced our friends’ cutie marks with equal signs again and causing me to flee from the village and entomb myself in a cave only to be rescued because Discord turned the countryside into Pinkie’s fantasy candy world, or the evil within me is fighting to escape and I’m not certain if I should be here anymore although Trixie convinced me to talk to you about it either way … but the thing about Pinkie’s candy world is true in either case. Oh, and I now have part of Chrysalis’s old throne in my room but I can still cast magic in its vicinity.” Twilight and Spike both gape at Starlight, desperately trying to process this new information. “On second thought,” Twilight decides, “maybe give us the long story.” “… and if Trixie didn’t give me a good kick in the flank, I might still be out somewhere in Equestria, alone, wondering what to do. But in the end, I accompanied Trixie to Canterlot and took in her first couple shows. And I should be thrilled! Trixie was great, we had wonderful conversations in between performances, and I’ve had no reoccurrences of ‘evil’ Starlight, or of Chrysalis, or anything else like that. I came back a couple days ago, cleaned up the mess left in the Cutie Map room, and still no ill effects. And yet … I still can’t shake the thought that there’s a part of me, still lurking, waiting for a more opportune time to strike. So Twilight … what do you think?” Twilight leans back on a sofa, clopping her forehooves together while processing Starlight’s tale. Spike sits next to Twilight, waiting for her to offer her thoughts first. “Spike,” Twlight starts, “you were here for all this. What do you think?” “Oh. Actually, Twilight, I only saw firstclaw the paint on the chairs and the walls of the Cutie Map room. Everything else, I heard through Rarity and the others. And from what I heard, from both her and Starlight, both explanations seem plausible … and I don’t like thinking about either one being the ‘real’ one.” “Well I don’t have all the answers either,” Twilight informs Starlight, “but I’ll offer my thoughts all the same. Take from them whatever you wish.” “Go on.” “First and foremost, I’m glad you are here with us, still in Ponyville. There can be no better place for you than with your friends. And that’s true no matter what the truth is.” Starlight shakes her head. “That can’t be true. Not if I really did just imagine Chrysalis this whole time; I’m a threat to you and everypony else.” “There could be some risk, sure, but friendship is worth fighting for. And from what you’ve told me, you yourself will fight for what’s right just as much as we will. But there’s more … and it’s why I believe that it really was Chrysalis, and not just your imagination.” “What ‘more’ do you have in mind?” “The necklace. Starlight, can you grab it and bring it here?” Starlight nods her head and runs off. Minutes later, she returns with the necklace around her neck. Twilight attempts to levitate the necklace off of Starlight, but fails to do so. “It certainly seems like the real thing. Starlight, can you …” Starlight’s horn glows as the necklace levitates above her body, hovers in the air for a number of seconds, then is set down onto the table for Twilight to more closely examine. “Simply remarkable,” Twlight says to no one in particular, her gaze fixated on the obsidian. “I can only imagine how strong this force was when her throne was still intact.” She looks up and re-addresses Starlight. “Would it be OK for me to hold on to this for further analysis?” “You can keep it,” Starlight brusquely admits. “All that necklace does is remind me of what I’ve become. The only reason I even kept it around was to show you.” “What do you mean by ‘what you’ve become’?” Spike innocently asks. “Let’s assume for the moment that this was all Chrysalis’s work, and that she dropped this necklace when leaving me right before my rescue. For all my efforts at getting her to change, she’s the same evil, selfish, power-hungry changeling that she always was.” Starlight points to the necklace as she continues: “And now I share her ability to use magic in the presence of this unnatural substance.” “But that’s a good thing, right?” “NO, Spike, it’s not! It’s just more proof that I’m coming around to her perspective. That I can still be evil, selfish, and power-hungry. Don’t you see? She’s breaking me down.” “That’s not how I see this,” Twilight flatly states. “Oh? Then what do you see?” Starlight asks. “You say she’s breaking you down. I say you’re wearing her down.” Starlight again shakes her head in disagreement. “She hasn’t changed.” “Hasn’t she? Starlight, Chrysalis has lost everything dear to her, has nothing on her mind but vengeance … and you still gave her your hoof in friendship, in spite of all she put you through. And when she saw that you were unwilling to go alone with her plans, she could have lashed out … but instead, she held her ground. Starlight, I think you have reached her … or at least, some part of her that she doesn’t want to believe still exists.” “But what about the necklace?” “You say the necklace is proof of you turning evil. I say it’s proof that you’re breaking down her defenses. This necklace, which can otherwise block all Equestrian magic … even from one as powerful as Discord … is allowing your magic to pass through. Just like, perhaps only subconsciously, Chrysalis is letting your words and actions pass through to her.” Starlight takes in her mentor’s words. “She certainly doesn’t seem any different.” “Old habits can be the hardest to break, particularly ones that have existed for hundreds of moons. It’s just like pebbles in the ocean; given enough time, even the roughest of edges are worn smooth.” Starlight contemplates the analogy as Twilight concludes: “I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of Chrysalis. And I’m sure that she will still harbor ill will towards all of us, and particularly you, Starlight. But I’m also sure that you will never stop fighting for the good within her … and that one day, you’ll win that battle.” Starlight glances at a clock, noticing the lateness of the hour. “We probably should turn in now. But thank you for your insights. And thank you for being here for me, no matter what. I do feel better now, knowing that I’ll have support for whatever challenges I may face … even if those challenges come from within.” Starlight embraces Twilight. As they hug, Starlight suddenly perceives a vibration. “What’s going on …” Starlight releases her grip on Twilight and turns to her flank. She notices her cutie mark glowing and pulsating. “Oh wow,” Twilight excitedly states. “You’re being summoned by the Cutie Map.” She inspects her own flank, noticing the same. “Looks like both of us. We gotta see where we’re heading. So, are you ready for this?” The adrenaline from the anticipation keeps Starlight awake and alert. She slyly smiles as she responds: “Let’s do this!”