This time bubble returned all three to the city of Canterlot, on that fateful day in which Shining Armor got his cutie mark, and his life changed forever.
As soon as the time bubble had vanished, Starlight shouted out. "Hey, dragon, catch!" And tossed the scroll towards Spike with little additional fanfare. Then, she turned to Shining and bitterly said. "Well, what are you waiting for? Go ahead, knock the living tar out of me, drag me to Princess Celestia kicking and screaming, and get your standing ovation already. You said it yourself, I'm a monster."
But Shining shook his head. "No, I won't do it, Starlight! It doesn't have to be this way."
Starlight would hear none of it, she just rolled her eyes. "Oh, what? Now you hesitate? Is it because picking on a defenseless mare is too hard for you, even after all I've said and done? Spare me your fake sense of pity, I told you I need none of it! Or do I have to threaten your little sister again in order to get you to say it was justified?"
Shining struggled to control his anger, barely containing the bit of dark magic that started to seep out from his horn. "Starlight, please, this doesn't have to end with you locked away or destroyed. I see now, that you're not a monster, not yet."
"Don't presume you know what it's like to be me!" Starlight hissed! "You've always had someone you could turn to for help when you needed it most, but back when Sunburst left me I had no one! And we both know what happened as a result! Now enough of your games, I thought you wanted to end this or was I mistaken?"
"Starlight," Shining began in a somber tone of voice. "You're not a monster, a monster wouldn't feel regret or concern for what their actions might cause. A monster would think they've done nothing wrong. But you're teetering on the brink of becoming one, you're all but staring into the abyss, waiting for it to stare back and for you to blink. I can help you come back to the light, it's not too late to turn things around. There's always new opportunities to make friends."
Starlight struggled to hold back tears. "I thought Sunburst and I were friends, the best of friends in fact. I thought we'd both go on to accomplish great things. But you saw how that turned out, he got his cutie mark before I did, and the next thing I knew he was gone."
"So, try again and make some new friends!" Shining encouraged, flying towards Starlight. "Just because you had one bad experience, doesn't mean you should turn your back on the magic of friendship. Take it from a pony who once thought he didn't need friendship in his life, it's not something you can just do without."
"Yeah, I mean look at all that he's accomplished because he has friends," Spike commented. "He's even married and soon to be a daddy. And that means I'm gonna be a nephew!"
With his thoughts now turning to Cadence, Shining added. "Speaking of which," Looking Starlight square in the eyes, he told her. "Cadence and I started out as just friends, and for the longest time we barely even saw each other. But it grew into something greater, and look where we are now. Maybe you and Sunburst won't be exactly the same, but I'm sure that at the least you two could easily patch up your friendship and start anew."
"But, what if we don't? What if all these years of separation have left us too apart to reconnect?" Starlight asked with a noticeable hint of worry.
"You don't know that's the case, and you won't until you try," Shining pleaded. "Starlight, please, think about this! About what you're doing now, about where you're headed! Is this really what you want the most in your life?! Do you want revenge, or friendship? This may be your last chance to save yourself from going down a dark path, but you have to be the one to take it. You have to be the one to make that first step. I can't force you to decide."
Starlight seemed to hesitate for quite a few minutes, and both Shining and Spike became rather worried that she might reject their offer and run away again. But at last, after a great deal of lip quivering, Starlight hung her head and sighed. "I... guess taking you up on your offer is better than the alternative. You really think Sunburst will forgive me when he finds out what I've done?"
"It's not my place to say, Starlight," Shining replied, as he landed and pulled Starlight close. "That's for him to decide, just as it's for you to decide when you want to tell him. I can't promise it'll be easy, but I'll do my best to be there for you and put in a good word when you have to defend yourself. Now come on, it's time to stop dwelling on the past. No matter how much you try to change it, the wounds will never heal. Let me show you a better way, as Princess Celestia once did for me."
Starlight reluctantly accepted Shining's hoof in friendship, and for a moment no words were said. The unicorn just looked at the alicorn, and let her tears fall without hesitation. "All my life, all I've ever wanted to do was cry, but I forced myself to be strong," She thought to herself. "And that led me to take out my anger on others and impose my will on the innocent. Is it really possible for me to change after all of that?" But she didn't have the courage to express those thoughts aloud.
"Okay, now that we've got that taken care of, just how do we get back to our own timeline?" Spike wondered, interrupting the moment. "I'm pretty sure it's dangerous to stay here in the past for too long."
"You're right, Spike," Shining nodded, as he gently surrounded the scroll with his magic and pulled it towards him. "I think it's time we all went home," But when he tried to light up his horn and cast the spell, he only managed to produce a few sparks. He tried, and tried, and tried again, but nothing happened. "Darn it! I thought my magic would've recovered by now!" He complained. "I don't have enough strength to cast the spell and take us back to the present, looks like we're stuck here for the time being."
But Starlight quickly grabbed the scroll and lit up her own horn! "Here, let me help you with that!" She offered. "It's the least I can do after what you've already done for me. Besides, I got us into this mess, so I might as well get us out of it." And in a matter of seconds, another time bubble opened up. And all three standing below it were sucked up into it and disappeared, just as there was a tremendous blast of violet-pink colored magic!