//------------------------------// // The Epilogue // Story: The Unequal // by Invinsible //------------------------------// Starlight Glimmer smiled to herself as she got up out of bed. She walked down the stairs of Princess Twilight’s castle, humming to herself as she made her way to the kitchen.  As she entered the kitchen, she reached out with her magic and grabbed bowls, spoons, plates, forks, and various ingredients to make the breakfast she was planning. “I suppose now’s as good a time as any time!” she said to herself before she teleported out of the castle. Pinkie Pie leapt out of her bed as Starlight appeared in a flash of light and bounced on top of her sheets.  “Good morning Pinkie!” “Good morning Starlight!” Pinkie giggled. The two ponies bounced across the floor as they made their way to Pinkie’s welcoming wagon.  Starlight slapped the button on the welcome wagon, causing all the horns, flags, bells, and whistles to spring out of the top.  The two ponies giggled and began to sing and dance with each other. “Morning, morning, morning! A good morning to you! Morning, morning, morning! We say, how do you do? Morning, morning, morning! We say, hip, hip hurray! Morning, morning, morning! In Ponyville today!” “Wow, Starlight!  That’s the fifth day in a row we’ve done that!” Pinkie said. Starlight shrugged and chuckled.  “I guess I’m still in a silly mood.  Anyway, I’m-” Pinkie waved her hoof and chuckled.  “I know the drill by now.  A dozen breakfast muffins, fresh out of the oven!” Pinkie pulled out a basket of muffins from under her pillow and handed them to her.  “Say hi to Twilight and Spike for me!” Starlight blinked at the muffins in surprise.  “How long were these under your pillow?” “I dunno!” Pinkie shrugged cheerfully. Starlight grinned.  “Good enough for me.  Have a good day, Pinkie,” she said before she teleported back to Twilight’s kitchen. Setting the muffins down on the table, she telekinetically grabbed a knife plus a few oranges, apples, grapes, and bananas and sliced them up into bite size pieces.  She had just finished mixing them into two bowls of oatmeal when Princess Twilight and Spike walked into the room. Twilight inhaled the sweet aroma of her breakfast and sighed happily.  “Good morning Starlight.  Fifth day in a row, huh?” “What can I say?  My good mood hasn’t gone away yet.  Plus, it feels good to do something nice for my best friends,” Starlight said, humming happily as she mixed a few tiny gems into Spike’s oatmeal. “Thanks Starlight!” Spike said in between bites of his delicious breakfast. The three of them ate their breakfast, Starlight finishing her meal before the others.  “I’ll wash the dishes when you’re done.” “Thanks Starlight, but I can do them today.  You should get out there and have some fun today,” Spike said as he licked the last few gems out of his oatmeal. “Okie dokie lokie!” Starlight chuckled.  “Thanks Spike.  You two let me know if you need anything.  Seriously, I don’t have any plans today so I’m just going to wander around town looking for something to do.” “Well don’t let us stop you!” Twilight said before she levitated a book over to the table and began reading while eating her breakfast at a leisurely pace. “Right,” Starlight said.  But instead of getting up from the table, she remained sitting as the princess and dragon continued to eat.  Spike raised an eyebrow as Starlight sat and starred at them.  He had just finished his oatmeal and Starlight hadn’t moved a muscle. “Um, Starlight?  Do you need something?” he asked. “Nope!  I’m good.  Do you need anything Spike?” she replied. “Uh, nope.  We’ll let you know if anything changes.  Um…” Spike said as he tapped his claws on the table; Starlight’s starring causing him to feel a little uneasy.  “Are you sure you don’t have plans today?” “Yep,” she confirmed.  “I have a picnic lunch planned with Trixie and Thorax tomorrow but I have no plans today!  None!  Just a lonely little day for myself!” Twilight gently placed her hoof on Starlight’s back.  “Are you feeling okay Starlight?  I don’t want to sound mean but you’ve been acting strange lately.” Starlight sheepishly rubbed the back of her neck. “No, it’s okay.  I know I’ve been acting kind of weird.  I guess I’m still trying to recover from my coma.” Twilight and Spike blinked.  “Your what?” “You know, my coma,” Starlight said. “What coma?” Spike asked. Starlight’s smile twitched.  “What…what do you mean ‘what coma’?  The coma I was in for a week.  When me, Sunburst, and Trixie were experimenting with a new spell I found.  Don’t you remember that?” Twilight placed a hoof on her shoulder, her voice dripping with concern.  “Starlight, as far as I know, you’ve never been in a coma.” Starlight gulped and backed away from her friends.  “That’s…no!  No, I was in a coma!” Spike held his claws out placatingly.  “Hey Starlight, it’s okay.  Whatever’s going on with you right now, we’re here to help.” “I was in a coma!” Starlight restated firmly. “If you say so.  But most ponies would be happy to learn they’ve never been in a coma.” Starlight grit her teeth in frightened frustration.  “You don’t understand!” “Then help us understand,” Twilight said softly.  “Why is it so important the you were in a coma for a week?” “Because a week-long nightmare is the only explanation!” Twilight gave her a gentle smile. “A nightmare?  Don’t worry Starlight.  We’ll send a letter to Princess Luna and she can-” “She couldn’t save me from that monster!” Starlight cried.  She collapsed onto the floor and hugged herself tightly.  “You don’t understand!  It was the worst experience of my entire life!” “Whoa!  Starlight calm down!” Spike cried as he and a startled Twilight held onto her.  “It can’t have been that bad!” “Yes!  Yes, it was!” Starlight sobbed.  “Worse than the equal signs, worse than the time travel, worse than the changelings taking you away from me, worse than Nightmare Moon and Daybreaker!  Every second of that coma dream I was being stalked and hunted!  A monster wearing the face of a filly, an evil genius, twisted and insane, s-she wouldn’t leave me alone!  And she was the good guy!  I did h-horrible things and she h-hurt me, but I deserved it! Twilight I don’t want to be alone again!” “Starlight, Starlight!  It’s okay!  We’re here for you!”  Twilight glanced at her dragon friend.  “Spike send letters to all of Starlight’s friends.  This nightmare must have been really traumatic if it’s causing a reaction like this.” “Right.  Can you grab a quill and paper though?  I don’t think we should leave her all by herself.”  As Twilight telekinetically grabbed all the things she’d need to send a dozen letters, Spike gently patted the crying mare on the back.  “It’s okay Starlight.  It was just a bad dream.” “No…if I wasn’t in a coma, then it wasn’t a dream.  Which means…which means…” In another world, two young women were sitting on a park bench.  They frowned at the page of the book they were reading. Dear Sunset Shimmer Please come to Equestria as soon as possible.  I’m terribly sorry to disrupt any plans you might have but our friend Starlight Glimmer is currently recovering from what appears to be a very intense nightmare.  She described her dream as a world in which me and my friends failed to reform her and she conquered Equestria, only to be stalked by a monster that she describes as- Starlight here. Sunset, other Twilight, whoever is reading this, don’t.  Please don’t get involved.  I’m fine.  Nothing is wrong.  I just learned something a little disturbing but I’m fine now. Honestly, the nightmare was healthy for me.  I’m a better person now than I was then. Princess Twilight is already calling over Thorax and Trixie and Sunburst and Discord and I’m fine.  I don’t need help.  I’m not the same pony who stole every pony’s cutie marks and tried to rewrite time.  I just need to bury this into the back of my brain and get on with my life. She said if I do that, I’ll be happy again.  She commands my smile and I will obey Her will. That was creepy.  Ignore that last line. Starlight Glimmer Sunset glanced at the human version of Twilight Sparkle.  “So, what do you think?” Twilight shrugged and gave her a sheepish smile.  “She said she doesn’t want help.” “But it sounds like she seriously needs help.” Twilight sighed.  “You’re right.  You probably should go over to Equestria and see what’s wrong.  But at the same time, we have school soon.  They may have shut down Canterlot High but Principal Celestia already told us that it should be open again in time for afternoon classes.” Sunset frowned in thought.  “Why was the school shut down again?” “She and Vice Principal Luna just said it was an emergency and didn’t really elaborate on that.”  Twilight frowned at Starlight’s message again.  “Come to think of it, it’s weird that you’d get a disturbing message from Equestria on the same day that something unusual happens to Canterlot High.  To make matters worse, we don’t even know what either of these situations could mean.” Sunset sighed.  “Maybe we should meet up with the others at lunch and see what they think of all this.” “Good idea.  We should probably get going,” Twilight said as she stood up from the park bench.  “What time is it now?” Sunset pulled out her cellphone but frowned at the blank screen.  “Shoot.  I forgot to charge my phone last night.” “That’s okay.  Lemme just check mine.” Twilight said as she placed her backpack on the bench and began to dig through it as Sunset stood up. “Um, excuse me.  Are you Sunset Shimmer?” The two girls turned around to see the newcomer.  She looked like she was a year younger than they were.  She wore a dark green shirt with jeans and a backpack that had a shooting star logo.  As she felt their gaze fall on her, the new girl nervously combed her red hair with her fingers, straightening the single blue streak that was dyed into it.  “Sorry, my hair’s not messy, is it?” “Uh, no, it looks fine.  You said you were looking for me?” Sunset asked.  “I’m Sunset Shimmer. This is my friend Twilight Sparkle.” The other girl chuckled.  “Well as you can guess I already knew that.  My name is Sunrise Glim…Glider!  Sunrise Glider.  But you can call me Sunny.” Sunset smiled.  “Cool.  Your name is kinda like mine.  Is there something I can help you with?” Sunny chuckled and shrugged.  “Not really.  I’m just kind of a fan.  Princess Twilight has talked a lot about you.  I’m from Equestria too!” Twilight gasped.  “You are?  Oh my gosh, I have so many questions!” “Twilight, you’ve already asked me plenty of questions about Equestria,” Sunset reminded her. “Not about that.  I meant her behaviour.  You must have crossed over recently and yet you’re displaying a remarkable level of comfortableness with your human body.  When Starlight Glimmer came here earlier I remember thinking how unfamiliar she was with being a human.” “Good point,” Sunset said, still staring at Sunny.  “I totally thought you were a human.” Sunny blushed and waved their praise off.  “Heh, thanks.  Everything here is so different from the way things are back home, but I’m having a lot of fun!  It’s a lot easier to pick things up with these hands.  There’s so many new sights and sounds.  And the level of technology you have is incredible!”  Her smile grew wider as she began to gush excitedly.  “And have you two played these video games?  Sweet Celestia, I love human video games!  Way better than the ones we had back home!” Sunset chuckled.  “Well I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying yourself, Sunny.  So what brings you here? Doing a bit of sightseeing?” Sunny shifted the weight of her backpack onto her right shoulder.  “Something like that. I’m kind of leaving home for a little bit.  I’m here on a sort of exploratory journey on Princess Luna’s orders.  She was curious about this world and asked me document as much as I can about the area. I was originally planning to enroll at Canterlot High to learn more about this world from you, but I’ve decided against that.  I don’t want you to think I’m stalking you or anything.” Sunset waved off her concern. “Hey, it’s no problem.  I wasn’t thinking that.  I’d be happy to trade contact info with you…wait, do you have a cellphone?  You said you’ve played human video games but I don’t want to make any assumptions.” “Oh no!”  Twilight cried as she looked up from her phone.  “Starlight I just checked the time!  It’s already past noon!  We’re going to be TARDY!” Sunny blinked at Twilight’s minor freak out.  “Audible gasp,” she said semi-sarcastically. “I thought Canterlot High was closed this morning.  I’m sure they’ll understand if you’re a little late.” “Nonetheless, we should probably get going. Hold on Sunny, I can just write my phone number down on your hand and you can give me a call after school.  I’d love to hang out with you but I can’t be late for school.”  Sunset said as she frantically dug into her backpack, pulled out a pen, and began writing on Sunny’s outstretched hand. “No problem, Miss Shimmer.  Before you – hey!  Wait!” she cried as the girls almost left but quickly turned around again.  “Before you leave, let me know if you run into my friend!” “Your friend?  You came with another pony?” Sunset asked. “Not exactly.  She’s more of a human than I am, but at the same time she’s not like a human at all.” Sunny sighed.  “You’ll…you’ll know when you see her.” “Okay, yeah, we’ll look for her!” Twilight said impatiently.  “Sunset let’s go!”  She pulled Sunset by the arm and practically dragged her out of the park. “Whoa!  Twilight, you don’t need to pull me, I can run just fine!  We’re not going to be late!” “You don’t understand!  I can’t be tardy!” Twilight cried as they ran down the street, weaving around the people on the sidewalk. “We’re not going to be tardy!  Even if we are, the school was closed due to a still unclarified emergency.  Principal Celestia will understand!” “I’m still not taking that chance!”  Twilight’s eyes widened as she spotted a back alley that cut through a string of buildings.  “Come on, through here!” Sunset screeched to a halt before the back alley.  “Whoa.  A shortcut through a dark alley?  Twilight we both know that’s a bad idea for like a hundred different reasons.” “It’s the middle of the day and I can see the other side!  Now come on!” Sunset followed her crazy friend, if only to prevent what she just knew was going to happen.  Sure enough, as they were halfway through the dark alley… *Click* “Don’t move.  Don’t scream.” The two girls froze in their tracks as a man wearing a gray, dirty hoodie that hid his face, stepped out the shadows and pointed a gun at them.  “Now I don’t want any trouble, ladies.  Give me all of your valuables and we all walk away nice and quiet.  Even one of you scream though, I put a bullet in both of you.  Don’t make this any noisier than it has to be.” Sunset gulped as she and Twilight shook with fear.  What were they going to do?  She had the power to read minds by touching people but grabbing this man would be a really dumb idea and it was pretty obvious what he was thinking of.  Twilight’s magic was more useful in this situation but was it faster than a bullet?  The man might not have hurt them yet but the fact remained that this very dangerous mugger could change his mind at any second.  With their lives flashing before their eyes and the mugger’s patience running out, Sunset and Twilight frantically tried to think of what to do… “Police!  Hands in the air!” The mugger snarled and spun around.  “I’m not going back you dumb – GAH!” *BANG* Twilight and Sunset shut their eyes and screamed, backing up against the wall.  They opened their eyes; fearing whatever horrible scene awaited their senses…only to find that things went better than expected. The mugger was face down on the ground and the gun he had been wielding was in the hands of their rescuer.  “Heh, heh, heh!  Oh, this feeling never gets old!  Hey, you two kids alright?” Sunset’s jaw dropped as she took in their savior’s appearance. She was just a kid! A girl around the same age as they were.  She was even wearing a Crystal Prep uniform.  “Oh my gosh, that was so scary!”  Twilight cried.  “You saved our lives!” The other girl chuckled.  “It was my pleasure, dearie.  Oh, but listen to us jibber-jabber!  Shouldn’t one of you be calling the police right now?  For party’s sakes, you’re smarter than this Twily!” “Oh!  R-right!” Twilight stammered as she reached for her phone.  “Thank you so much!  Is he unconscious?  Oh my gosh, I hope that bullet didn’t hit anyone!” As Twilight called 911 and told them what happened, Sunset starred at the other girl.  There was something unnerving about the situation.  She was far too cheerful for someone who stopped an attempted mugging and she was taking too much enjoyment in jamming her heeled shoe into the mugger’s neck. The girl’s Crystal Prep uniform was torn in a couple of places and dotted with green and black stains.  Her skin was unnaturally pale.  So pale that sunlight must have been too afraid to touch her.  Her long hair stood out, not only for its pink colour, but also from the streaks of blood that dripped down from the top of her head.  The girl stared at Sunset with glowing pink eyes and a smile that sent shivers down her soul. Time slowed to a crawl and the world seemed to fade around her.  The mugger, Twilight, the alley, the sun, everything felt less and less important until there was only her and…the thing that looked like a human but couldn’t possibly be a human. “Who…are you?” “Nye heh, heh, he, he,” the girl chuckled sinisterly.  She held out her pale hand to Sunset, her painted nails dripping with blood.  “Why don’t you look and see?” Sunset gulped and hesitantly reached out to grab the girl’s hand.  Her eyes shone with white light as she saw into the girl’s memories. “Okay.  Okay,” Twilight said with shaky breath as she hung up the phone.  “The police will be here soon.  Thank you again for saving our lives.  Should…should we wait until the police get here?  I’m not comfortable being here even if you knocked him out but I don’t want to leave you alone, but we’re late for school, but I school that important, but of course it’s important, but I’ve never really been in this situation before so…” she said, babbling out of fear. “AAAHHH!” Sunset screamed as she let go of the girl’s arm and backed up against the wall. “Sunset?!” Twilight cried. Sunset sank to her knees and brought her hands up in surrender.  “Please, Midnight Sparkle was an accident!  Twilight doesn’t have an evil bone in her body, don’t hurt her!” “W-what?” Twilight stammered glancing back and forth between the two girls. “I’m sorry about making those teenagers zombies, I’m sorry I stole from royalty, and I’m so sorry that I bullied all those kids!  I promise I’ll never be evil ever again!” The girl smiled at them.  “Oh, Shimmy Sham, Twily Wily!  I believe you.  You’ve both been such good little girls; you don’t have to worry about me.”  She turned her gaze on the man beneath her foot.  “It’s this thug who should be begging for his life.  Seriously kids, you don’t have to worry about me. The police will be here soon and they’ll take this man off our hands. Easy peasy!” Sunset nodded her head, stood up, and grabbed Twilight’s hand.  “Let’s go.” “W-wait!  What’s going on here?!” Twilight cried. “Well, you two are fleeing for your lives and I’m about to traumatize this idiot mugger by infecting him with magical nightmares and non-stop hallucinations.  By the time the police get here, he won’t put up much of a fight,” the girl said cheerfully. Before Twilight could ask any questions, another voice piped up.  “Yeesh, I leave you alone for ten minutes and you’ve already captured another criminal,”  Sunny said as she walked into the alley. “Sunrise?  What...what the heck is going on here?!” Twilight shouted. Sunny sighed.  “Well, I’ve asked my friend here to mentor me in the ways of magical dimension-jumping vigilantism.  I know you both have questions but to make a long story short, I’m friends with a monster from a horror movie and you should really start running now.” “She’s right about running away, darlings.  What’s I’m about to do isn’t exactly family friendly.” Twilight watched in shock as the girl held up her hand, causing the gun she held in her grip to float in midair.  With a flash of pink light, the gun turned into a wicked looking knife. “Twilight, run!” Sunset cried as she pulled her friend out of the alley. “Whoa, wait!  Shouldn’t we do something about them?!” Twilight cried as they ran. As they two girls fled, Sunny turned around to face her friend.  “What’s the next step?” “Isn’t that a wonderful question?” the girl purred as she held her knife up to the reawakened mugger.  “Rise and shine, sleepy head.”  The evil grin on her face widened.  “When you get to jail, tell your buddies that I’m coming for them next.  Ooh!”  She twirled the knife around in her hand and tapped her chin with it.  “On second thought…Sunny, take his shirt off.” As Sunny rolled the man’s hoodie up, the man grumbled.  “What…what are you doing ya crazy b-AAHH!” The girl chuckled as she pulled the knife out of his bleeding hand.  “I don’t approve of swear words, young man.  To answer your question, I’m relieving you of my previous request. You don’t need to tell your friends anything.”  She brought the knife closer to him as she whispered, “I’ll write the message myself.” Late at night, Starlight Glimmer sat in a hospital bed, reading the journal that Princess Twilight had given her.  “She was real?  She was telling the truth about Sunrise?” She hugged the book to her chest.  “But then I really had a daughter.  Will have.  Future daughter.”  She sighed and shook her head.  “Why didn’t she tell me?  And if she was really Sunny…but if they’re too different ponies… “Who or what is the filly?” “Thinking fondly of me, sicky Star?” Starlight dropped the journal and starred wide eyed at the shadow in the corner of her room, the lights in her room flickering and dimming. “Hey there, sweetheart.  Heard you had a rough day. Just wanted to give you some get well soon presents.”  A small box of chocolates tied to a floating balloon drifted towards her. Starlight accepted the gift, while trying to remain as calm as possible.  Without making any sudden movements she asked, “W…w-why are y-you here?” “This is goodbye Starlight Glimmer.  Hopefully, you’ll never have to hear from me again.  Before I go hunting for more bad guys, I just wanted to tell you that I forgive you.  It’s all water under the bridge.  There’s just one last thing I would like you to do…” Starlight gulped.  “Yes?  W-what is it?”