“I see you didn’t listen, daughter of mine.”
The words were gentle though the authority they carried could be mistaken for none other. It was the Princess of Friendship long considered the Queen of Harmony, Twilight Sparkle, and she sounded disappointed. “I told you not to enter with her.”
After a drawn-out sigh from above her, Starshine felt a strange warm feeling enter her, and spread throughout her frame. She carefully attempted to move her hoof, and found it flexed quite easily. Her eyes popped open as she shakily stood up. “It’s alright, mama’s got you, take it easy; Dispel Zones can be rather nasty to magic users.”
Starshine found herself gazing into her mother’s face, while the latter held her steady with ease. “M-Mom?”
Her mother’s voice was gentle yet slightly admonishing. “Starry just relax, your magic was drained. We can talk after you recover. Here have some apple cobbler; Apple Jack’s daughter, Apple Pie is quite the cook, like her mom.”
As Starshine took a bite of the newly materialized piece of cobbler on a plate, her mom softly laid her hoof on her daughter’s shoulder as she sat beside her. “Starshine, you carry a heavy burden. Not many others can make the bold claim of having the blood of the heavens flowing through them.”
Her daughter’s chewing slowed as Twilight continued, gently booping Starshine on the nose. “That does not mean however, that you should be in such a hurry to unleash that side of you. Just because you have a dominant will, doesn’t mean you should force it on others. Redemption is earned, never given free, my daughter.”
Starshine stopped chewing and frowned. “I’m not a filly anymore, mom!”
Twilight let the abrupt tone of the young adolescent princess pass by the wayside, as she still smiling replied in her maddeningly patient way. “Then why do you insist on acting like one, Starry.”
Starshine scuffed a hoof and muttered. “I don’t, stop lecturing me.”
Twilight sat thinking for a moment as she calmly pulled her daughter in for a hug with her feathery alicorn wings. Her words carried a surprisingly amount of non-judgement, as though she could understand the situation. “You are a mare of a celestial heritage. Young and headstrong with an unlimited supply of magical aptitude. I get it; you want to flaunt your abilities, hone them and even show off your mastery-”
Angrily, Starshine shoved her mom off her, shirking from the embrace. “I’ve been doing just fine without your advice.”
Twilight gave a dry chuckle. “Oh yes, you’ve done quite amazing. Brought the souls in Tartarus closure to their stories-”
Starshine interrupted. “See? I’m doing just fine and don’t need-”
Her mom ignored the interruption and continued her thoughts. “Awoken your abilities through sin by laying with thestrals against Faust’s expressed wishes. Scarred Tirek, Sombra and Chrysalis in sadistic, even if well-meant ways. And willingly abused a young filly’s soul manipulating the now-mare to follow YOUR ideals for her true path. You’ve done quite well...haven’t you?”
“I-”
Twilight’s horn began to glow and a window hole in the space before Starshine’s eyes. “You’ve done remarkable as far as reaching your goal goes, tell me though, what about them?”
In the space the images of Chrysalis, Sombra and Tirek appeared. Starshine’s arrogant smirk vanished as her eyes beheld a grim scene. All three were crying and drinking home-stilled cider while discussing their choices in life. “W-what happened? They were so happy when I left them.”
Twilight swiftly grabbed her daughter in a hugging embrace once more. Turning her to look Twilight in the eyes, Twilight’s words were chilling in the ears of Starshine. “What happened is you gave an earthpony an apple, but never taught them how to grow an orchard.”
Her words were cold, though her tone was gentle. The old expression amongst the ponies resonated within her daughter's ears. As she lay them back and trembled, Twilight continued. “You gave them a momentary relief from their pain Starshine, but didn’t give them the tools to further succeed. All because you decided to use your magic to control and solve their issues.”
“Why does it matter?”
Twilight nodded. “Indeed. Why does it matter?”
Stunned by her mother’s words, Starshine just stayed silent as Twilight continued. The voice of the Queen of Harmony was calm yet carried a curiously playful tone. “You solved the issue. The how and why shouldn’t matter as long as you accomplished the goal. After all, your part in the situation is over with, you do have a point. But you are not the first to make that point, my daughter. Countless eons ago, a Harbinger of Chaos made that same conclusion.”
Starshine stared in awe as without so much as a glowing horn, her mother used her magic to dissolve and rebuild their surroundings. Starshine stared in amazement as brick by brick, a quaint village of ponies was built before her eyes. “Welcome to the First Equestria, Starshine. Tell me, do you see the little unicorn over there, with her mother?”
Breathing in sharply, Starshine observed none other than a young Twilight Sparkle having just got her cutie mark. She was talking to what looked like none other than Twilight Velvet, her mom, as the two began to laugh at what was being said. “M-mom, is that you?”
Twilight ruffled her alicorn wings as she watched her own past. Her voice was soothing. “It is. That is me, unmeasurable time ago. Starshine, my daughter, I want you to observe the story, my story; my past. Only the girls have seen this side of me.”
Starshine turned back to the scene, her eyes wide with shock. The town had vanished, and now they stood in a dark stone laboratory. In the room stood a table. Starshine looked curiously at what looked like a small piece of parchment on it. Off to the side stood Twilight, who looked devoid of all hope; tears streaming down the young filly’s face. “Mom, what’s going on?”
“I had just visited a pony that was special to me, as she lay dying in a hospital bed, Starshine. Cursed with a sickness in her body that manifested plague cells, she was being eaten alive from the inside out. Still she smiled that ridiculous smile of hers.”
As Starshine stared in disbelief, the Twilight before her eyes, began to cast a spell. As it fizzled out, another was attempted. And another and another. Finally, Twilight lowered her head in defeat, before a determined look appeared on her face and she headed up the stone stairs. “Where are you going now, mom?”
“The library. Surely if my magic wasn’t enough, it was simply due to a lack of knowledge, right? That was my line of thought at the time. I had the power of the heavens and hells, themselves. Surely I could use them to save my friend. I just had to awaken my sleeping potential. That’s all it would take right? Little did I know just what result my magic would cause, and just what I would sacrifice to make my wish to save Pinkie, a reality.”
***
Cozy Glow sat on a seemingly random stone bench in the midst of a huge arena. Next to her sat Applejack. In front of them were Rainbow Dash and Rarity; only something was off about them. Rarity had a razor-edged skinning knife clenched between her teeth. Meanwhile Rainbow Dash, who had apparently set up a shooter’s nest in which stood a sniper rifle on a stand; lay staring down the barrel and aiming for Rarity. Both were stock still as if waiting for a signal. “And they can’t actually get hurt from this?”
“Don’t worry Sugarcube, it doesn’t hurt too long.”
“That’s not the point!”
Laughing, Applejack pulled her revolver from the holster. “Relax and just watch.”
Turning to the arena, Applejack’s warm southern accent was suddenly replaced by a booming sinister one. “Alright ya two, y’all know the wager! If Rainbow wins she don’t hav’ta wear that frilly dress Rar. And if Rar wins, ya have to immediately put on the dress she made ya, Rainbow and thank her. Combatants ready? And fight!”
What in Equestria is going on? Cozy Glow barely had had time to think before the revolver was fired in the air. The instant that the bullet left the barrel, Rarity began zigzagging her way toward Rainbow. Meanwhile the pegasus remained stock-still her eyes staring down the sight. “Hey AJ what’s your bet?”
Pinkie Pie who was carrying popcorn, from who knows where, sat down next to Applejack. “Ah say Rainbow this time Pinkie. Put meh down fer fifty bits.”
“Ha, Rarity never loses! I’ll take you up on that!”
Cozy Glow watched the whole scene as though it was a trainwreck occurring in slow motion. Rarity was crossing the field swiftly and had almost made it to melee range of Rainbow Dash, the latter of which hadn’t moved a muscle. The look on Dash’s face was abnormally focused. “That maybe Pinkie, but Rainbow has a gleam in her eyes Ah’ve only seen once before.”
It was over in the next instant. Cozy Glow glanced over at AJ and Pinkie before shifting her eyes back to reveal Rarity. Not moving on the arena floor amidst cheering from the spectators, Rarity had lost. “Wha-What happened!”
Pinkie laughed and produced a large screen. “Don’t worry I got you. They move rather quickly. Sometimes-”
Pressing a button on a strange black object in her hooves the word PLAY appeared on the screen. “We need to actually record and slow them down. Check it out.”
The images began to move on the strange screen as Rarity broke into a playful grin before dodging left at rather a fast speed. Rainbow’s eyes went wide with shock before narrowing and a sickening grin appeared on her muzzle. She grabbed her rifle and was in mid-turn bringing the barrel around to press the barrel square in the center of Rarity’s forehead as the latter was thrusting downwards to strike with her dagger. “Got ya.”
The shot went clear through Rarity as the trigger was depressed. “I win, this time.”
Cozy Glow’s eyes were wide with shock as everypony around her cheered and Pinkie paid fifty bits to AJ. “Are you all insane she needs help! Why would you shoot your friend?”
“Hey wait! Where are you- Rainbow stop her! Don’t let her touch Rarity!”
“On it!”
Cozy Glow had rushed down to the arena floor, where Rarity lay still, her head turned away from view. “Rarity can you hear me, are you-”
“Don’t touch her!”
Rainbow Dash frantically flew towards her as Cozy tapped Rarity on the shoulder. One second later she felt the most excruciating pain radiating down her spine while a roar echoed in her ears, before her world went completely dark.
***
“M-Mom What’s going on? Where are we?”
Starshine stared in disbelief at the windswept wasteland before her. Just a while ago, she had watched a younger Twilight learn how to use her divine magic to cure Pinkie of her illness. Now there were no trees, no rivers, and no life anywhere. Twilight took a deep breath and said softly. “This is Ponyville, Equestria. This was the result of awakening my Celestial magic. This my daughter, is my greatest shame. This was the moment I stole my friends futures and sealed their fates. You see, this is the difference between casting a spell and casting a miracle.”