Starlight slowly began to open her eyes and grunted. Her vision was returning and soon she saw Trixie and Sunburst hovering over her.
“Oh good. She’s coming to.” Sunburst smiled in relief.
“Starlight! Are you okay?!” Trixie asked in panic and concern, “Did Twilight’s blast hurt you too much?!”
“Uh… Luna’s the one that blasted Starlight by accident. Twilight didn’t do it.” Applejack walked over to Trixie and reminded the showmare.
“She may as well have.” Trixie exclaimed bitterly, “It’s her fault that this is even happening!”
“I have to agree with Trixie darling. Twilight’s clearly changed for the worse.” Rarity spoke up, and Starlight soon noticed that Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash were also in the room.
“Wait… so it wasn’t a dream?” Starlight muttered to herself sadly, finally starting to let the words sink in. Twilight truly had grown darker.
“Unfortunately it wasn’t a dream. Twilight truly did turn into this new Midnight character she speaks of. She also has Celestia and Luna imprisoned as we speak.” Sunburst said sympathetically, “I’m so sorry Starlight. This is probably tough for you to hear.”
“Well if we’re being honest. Starlight’s probably the only one who Twilight still cares about.” Fluttershy said sadly before turning to the unicorn herself, “Twilight was able to overpower Luna out of pure anger and rage, and that was because Luna blasted you. She was really mad when she saw you got hurt.”
“She cares about me?” Starlight began asking in shock, “What about the rest of you?”
“She seemed emotionless when it came to us.” Pinkie Pie said with some tears in her eyes, “She spared us due to the fact we were friends for so long but she didn’t really care about any of us. Only you.”
Starlight was shocked by this new information, Twilight only cares about her now? But how, when, and why?
Meanwhile Twilight was roaming the halls of the Canterlot Dungeons and smirked, she was just about to visit the most powerful prisoners she had, the Royal Sisters.
She then spotted their cell, they had anti-magic rings over their horns so that they couldn’t use their magic. Twilight smirked once more and spoke up, “Enjoying your new retirement accommodations. I figured it was a fair trade. You controlled my future, I control where you live. It all works out.” She chuckled.
“Twilight. Why are you doing this?! Things were going so well!” Celestia asked sadly.
“As well as they could.” Twilight narrowed her eyes, “While you and Luna got to go to La La Land and spend your days in eternal peace. I had to take care of all your duties and do it all ALONE! I barely got to see anypony anymore except Spike, Tempest, and Gallus and even then, the latter two were mostly for business. If Starlight hadn’t been so thoughtful with that bracelet she gave me, I probably wouldn’t even be able to see her either.” She ranted venomously.
Luna and Celestia looked at each other with wide eyes, when Twilight put it that way, that did not sound pleasant.
“We understand your ire with us, but what about your friends?” Luna asked curiously.
Twilight scoffed, “Please. Those five hardly take a thing I say seriously anymore. Anything I stress over is basically no big deal at this point and apparently known as ‘Twilighting’. The Canterlot Wedding and the Storm King’s invasion are merely examples of this but I was struggling when I was having doubts about being leader but they just brushed them off! Only Starlight seemed to understand what I was going through.”
Celestia and Luna looked at each other solemnly and Celestia spoke up, “Starlight means a lot to you doesn’t she? Even in this new Midnight form you’re in.”
“Yeah. She really does.” Twilight smiled fondly before catching herself, she couldn’t dare show weakness in front of her prisoners.
“Which is why I eventually plan to get her back onto my side again.” Twilight said with a narrowed gaze.
“You must be mad if you think Starlight will want to take part in this.” Luna scoffed in disgust, “I know Starlight well and I know she won’t want this.”
“Oh Luna, you act as if you know Starlight more than I do.” Twilight smirked mischievously, “When she sees the improvements I’ve made to this world, she’ll be crawling back to me.”
“And how do you know this will be possible?” Celestia asked with a challenging tone to which Twilight just smirked at as she began to leave the room, “Simple. I’m not like Chrysalis, Tirek, or Cozy Glow and I doubt she’d be so willing to toss me aside.”
Celestia and Luna shared a solemn gaze as Twilight or Midnight in this case, left the hallway and soon Spike was seen at the exit of the hall.
“Twilight. We need to talk.” Spike told the now dark alicorn.
“What is it?” Twilight asked with a raised eyebrow.
“Everything. Your new form, your actions, and your hateful attitude. What’s going on Twilight? This isn’t like you.” Spike said sadly.
“Oh Spike.” Twilight smirked as she led Spike away from the prison chambers and to the halls of Canterlot, “You see, my fate was controlled by Celestia and Luna when they decided to make me the ruler of all Equestria. Taking me away from basically everything I care about, and my friends just…” Twilight looked a little hurt before making it with rage, “didn’t care.” She finished bitterly.
“I’m sure they cared Twilight. They just wanted you to pursue your destiny.” Spike said with a reassuring smile.
“My destiny this and that, blah blah blah.” Twilight rolled her eyes, “Destiny is supposed to make you feel happy, not unhappy. And for the record, I am not happy.”
“Okay… I get that, but why turn into this Midnight form? You knew it would scare every creature.” Spike said sadly.
“Because old Twilight always gave into the public’s demands, but now that I’m Midnight, I’ll show that I’m no longer some pushover.” Twilight said angrily.
“But you’re acting like some dictator. You’re basically turning into another Starlight when she was evil.” Spike said with an annoyed look before Twilight began speaking up again, “Not true. I will make sure to listen to other ponies so I’m not a complete dictator but my rule will be much stern than it used to be. I call the shots, not some upper class snobs.”
“You’re scaring me Twilight. This isn’t the you I remember.” Spike spoke with a sad tone.
“If you want to leave, I won’t stop you but either way, I’ll still hold a place in my heart for you.” Twilight told the dragon.
Spike sighed before speaking, “No. I doubt I’ll be leaving. I can’t let you go through this alone, I’ll stick by you, even if I question your methods.”
“If that pleases you.” Twilight said with a small smile before walking off.
Spike just sighed sadly, he was going to miss his best friend.
We then see Tempest and Gallus at their sleeping chambers in the guard bedroom as Tempest began to speak, “Any reason why we could not restrain Twilight or Midnight in this case ourselves back in the Gala?”
“I told you Tempest, she’s too powerful. We can’t defeat her by brute force. We have to make her see the light on her own terms.” Gallus said with a roll of his eyes.
“It would help if she wasn’t so bitter right now.” Tempest sighed solemnly.
“She’ll mellow out eventually. I have faith in her, she was my Headmare at one point.” Gallus smiled reassuringly, “For now, we need to leave her be. If we stepped out of line, she’d probably have put us in the dungeons like she did with the princesses.”
Tempest sighed, Gallus was correct in that sense.
We then see Sunburst was sleeping in his bedroom in the castle that Starlight gave him, suddenly he heard a knock on the door and woke up to see it was Starlight.
“Starlight? Everything okay?” Sunburst asked in worry.
“Actually Sunburst. I’m not sure.” Starlight sighed sadly, “I have no idea how to stop Twilight, she’s basically unstoppable at this point.”
“Well, I could always contact Cadence and Shining Armor. They have the whole Crystal Empire guard on their side so maybe they can…” Sunburst tried to suggest but Starlight interrupted, “What good will that do? Twilight will just get even more angry and probably take over the Crystal Empire too.”
“Wow… it really does seem like we’re in a pickle here.” Sunburst said sadly.
“I did think of a way that we could free the Royal Sisters.” Starlight told her closest friend, “But you won’t like it.”
Sunburst began to grow curious so he spoke up, “What is it?” He asked with a raised eyebrow.
“You did say that Twilight only seemed to care about me right?” Starlight began to answer as she spoke up, “Well my plan was to trade the sisters for… my loyalty.” She gulped.
“What?” Sunburst asked incredulously, “Starlight, you can’t do that. You can’t give yourself up to Twilight in that state. We have no idea what she’ll do.”
“If she still cares about me like you all said, I know she won’t hurt me.” Starlight said confidently.
“And how do you know that?” Sunburst asked as his hooves began to shake.
“Because…” Starlight sighed before speaking, “Midnight or no, the real Twilight is in there. I know she is. My decision to do this will likely be risky but it’s the only way to make sure Equestria doesn’t plunge into a dystopia.”
“Starlight… just wait till the morning to think about this. I’m not sure if you should go through with this.” Sunburst said in a concerned tone.
“Of course.” Starlight replied solemnly before leaving the room.
Sunburst soon went back to his bed and sighed to himself, he really hoped Starlight wasn’t going to do something she’d regret.
As Starlight walked back to her room, she thought about what Sunburst said. The risk was definitely big, but Starlight knew a semblance of Twilight was in there, she just knew she had to help her somehow.
As she entered her room, she saw the mirror in her room that Twilight gave her and looked at her reflection.
”I may not know what comes next for you, but whatever it is, I promise I’ll always be there for you.”
She remembered those words Twilight said to her, and true to her word, she always had been.
It was time Starlight returned the favor.
We then cut to the morning when Sunburst was still yawning as he woke up, he decided to check Starlight’s room to see if she was doing okay, after their last talk, he had to make sure.
“Starlight… are you awake?” Sunburst asked curiously before noticing a note on her bed, but no Starlight.
“Oh no!” Sunburst said in realization before levitating and then reading the note she had written and began pacing around, “Oh no! She actually went through with it!”
We then see Starlight herself was at the castle entrance and soon knocked on the door.
Gallus soon opened the door and was surprised to see Starlight.
“Starlight? What are you doing here?” Gallus asked in shock.
“I need to talk with Twi-“ Starlight began before catching herself, “Midnight. Have you seen her?”
“She’s in her throne room. I’ll lead you to her.” Gallus told the unicorn before letting her in, as Starlight looked around at the castle, she noticed the walls were very dark shade of purple.
“You noticed the new decor I see.” Gallus spoke up, “Twilight wanted to change the decor around this place, so she magically painted the walls.”
“I see.” Starlight said nervously.
We then see Gallus open the doors to the throne room and soon Starlight began to enter.
“Tread lightly around her.” Gallus whispered softly before leaving.
“T-Twilight?” Starlight asked curiously before Twilight herself looked in surprise at this new arrival but then smirked.
“Well well, came to visit I see.” Twilight said with a laidback smirk.
“Yep. I also came to talk with you about the princesses being imprisoned.” Starlight told the alicorn.
“Ugh. This again. I already had to hear Spike complaining about it yesterday.” Twilight groaned.
“Look Twilight. I understand you’re upset with them They did kinda drop you into this position but I feel they don’t deserve this amount of punishment or any really.” Starlight said seriously.
“Of course you’d say that.” Twilight scoffed before flying over to pat Starlight’s head with a smile, “You’ve always been a bit soft since reforming.”
“Look Twilight, I came to request for their release. I doubt you’ll do it by your own volition given your current state so I came to make a deal.” Starlight told the alicorn sternly.
“Hmm,” Twilight said thoughtfully before smirking, “You know what, I might as well hear you out. I trust you enough not to swindle me.” She gave Starlight a raised eyebrow with her grin.
“I decided that in exchange for the release of Celestia and Luna, you’ll…” Starlight hesitated a bit before gulping, “You’ll get me in their place.”
“Sorry Starlight, but I actually like you.” Twilight rolled her eyes, “I don’t want you as my prisoner.”
“No. I basically mean… I’ll be by your side. You seem to want me around more than the others if your actions in the Gala were any consolation.” Starlight clarified, getting Twilight’s attention.
“I’m listening.” Twilight smirked, clearly liking this deal so far.
“I’ll stay with you and be loyal as possible. I’ll help you rule in a way, you didn’t want to be alone so… now is your chance.” Starlight closed her eyes and frowned, accepting this potential fate.
Twilight just gave a giddy grin, she was already going to try and sway Starlight into her corner, if she was to take this deal, it would be much easier to do so.
“Okay Starlight, I will give some ground rules for you and me though. I can’t force you to do anything that makes you too uncomfortable and you can’t leave this castle unless you have me or any other guard supervising you.” Twilight explained with a soft smile.
“And seeing my friends…” Starlight looked away nervously.
“It depends on how trustworthy they prove to be. At this time, you won’t be allowed to see them but that can always change.” Twilight patted her friend on the back with a reassuring smirk.
“Okay… I guess we have a deal then.” Starlight frowned solemnly, she didn’t really like this deal but it was for the best.
“STARLIGHT!” Trixie’s voice was heard as Starlight and Twilight turned to see Trixie, Sunburst, and the rest of the Mane 5 running into the throne room much to Twilight’s anger.
“What do you all think you’re doing here?!” Twilight asked furiously.
“We came to stop Starlight from making this deal!” Applejack said sternly.
“We can’t trust she’ll be safe with the way you’re acting.” Trixie said with a glare towards Twilight.
“Why didn’t you stop them?” Twilight asked Gallus angrily as he also entered, a bit disheveled.
“I’m sorry Princess, but they overpowered me.” Gallus said remoresefully, truthfully he actually let them pass, they at least deserved a chance to say goodbye to Starlight. He had overheard the deal from out in the hallway.
“Ugh fine.” Twilight grunted angrily, “I guess I’ll have to get you out of here myself.” Her horn began to glow before Starlight stood in front of her, “Wait! Let me say goodbye to them first. I’m not sure if I’ll see them again for a long time, just let me speak with them.”
Twilight groaned but she somewhat understood Starlight’s point of view.
“Fine. Make it quick.” Twilight said simply as she stopped flaring her horn.
Starlight turned to all her friends standing in front of her, when Pinkie Pie ran up and grabbed her front hooves, “Starlight! Why are you doing this?!”
“Because it’s the right thing to do. It’s the only way to protect Celestia and Luna.” Starlight sighed sadly before turning to the rest of the group, “Listen. All seven of you have been big parts of my life for a good while now and thanks to you I’ve become a much better pony than I used to.”
Twilight scoffed at that claim, she found it absolutely ludicrous, in her eyes, she was the one who taught Starlight friendship, not them.
“Either way, it’s my turn to repay the favor. I’ll miss you all, but I know this is for the greater good.” Starlight sighed as tears began to form.
Trixie couldn’t handle the sappiness anymore and immediately embraced Starlight which encouraged the rest of her friends to do the same, Starlight cherished that hug, she wasn’t sure how long it would be before she ever saw them again.
Once they parted ways, Twilight had decided to speak up, “Alright then. Now that you’ve said your goodbyes. Let’s seal the deal.”
Twilight soon puts a metal ring around Starlight’s horn which Starlight was confused by.
“It’s a ring that limits your magic. You can still use magic but you won’t be at full power like you used to.” Twilight explained.
“Okay then.” Starlight looked to the ground sadly.
Soon Twilight lit up her horn and suddenly Celestia and Luna were in the throne room next to Starlight’s friends.
“Twilight… what’s going on?” Celestia was the first to recover from the shock of being teleported.
“Starlight made the deal to let you go in exchange for her undying loyalty.” Twilight said with a stern frown before it grew into a smirk, “I told you she’d be by my side once again.”
Starlight teared up a bit hearing this, she felt like some prize hearing Twilight say that about her. Like a toy.
“You’ll still have your magic limited but at least now you’ll be able to use it.” Twilight explained to the Royal Sisters who were shocked by what Starlight had just done for them.
“I bid you both goodbye, as to all of you. My new companion and I need to adjust to this arrangement.” Twilight smirked before using her horn to envelope everyone except her, Starlight, and Gallus and teleported them away.
“Where’d you take them?” Starlight sniffed.
“Relax. They’re in Ponyville.” Twilight rubbed her hoof on Starlight’s mane reassuringly but it felt so weird to the unicorn, she was unsure how to feel, “But either way, I’m glad you’re here Starlight. I needed somepony I could count on.” She smiled as she embraced Starlight though in all honesty, Starlight didn’t really feel comforted by this hug as she usually would. She did feel some sort of comfort seeing Gallus give her a sympathetic look, at least she wouldn’t be completely alone.
We then see the Mane 5, the Royal Sisters, Trixie, and Sunburst teleport back at Twilight’s castle.
“Starlight!” Trixie cried out in horror as she began to try running out the door, but Fluttershy tackled her before she could get far.
“Let me go! I have to save my best friend!” Trixie shook furiously as Fluttershy struggled to maintain her grip.
“Trixie, we can’t go back there. We have no way of defeating Twilight.” Applejack said sternly.
“We can try!” Trixie glared at the farmer.
“And fail. If we anger Twilight anymore, she’ll probably kick our flanks and who knows what’ll happen after that.” Applejack added, “We gotta think rationally here. We need to find a way to get Twilight back to normal and subsequently get Starlight back.”
Celestia and Luna shared a knowing look at each other, having seen how much Starlight means to Twilight.
“Perhaps Starlight may be the key to doing just that.” Luna told the group, much to their confusion.
“Twilight has made it perfectly clear that she cares a lot about Starlight. She will perhaps help Twilight recover from her fall from grace.” Celestia clarified.
“Are you sure that’s possible?” Rarity asked curiously.
“I say the chances are pretty likely.” Sunburst admitted with a fond smile, he knew Starlight pretty well, if anypony could get through to Twilight in this state, Starlight could definitely be able to.