//------------------------------// // Chapter 3 // Story: A Taste of Her Own Medicine // by origami //------------------------------// Night soon came and everypony except for Twilight had fallen asleep. The purple alicorn would look around the campsite, making sure that there were no wayward predators that thought they could make any of the seven mares into a quick snack. Once she was satisfied there were none for the moment, she would then direct her attention to the mare she and her friends were holding prisoner. The lilac mare in question was just visible inside the tent. Her muzzle was facing out of the open flap and glaring at Twilight. It was quite clear that Starlight still begrudged her captors. Twilight let out a breath as she tried to think of ways to reach the unicorn, but none sounded like they would work too well. Something had to have happened to Starlight to make her the way she was, and for some bizarre reason, it seemed to involve cutie mars in one way or another. "Sitting bored for hours hurting that little brain of yours?" Twilight turned to the spiteful voice addressing her. Starlight looked at her with contempt. In truth, the lavender alicorn was certain the lilac mare would do any number of things to her if she was free of the magic inhibiting ring on her horn. The princess was ready to ignore her, but decided to try at least one of her ideas. "I'm perfectly fine," Twilight told Starlight, "but all this must be getting to you. I know I'd be going nuts if I couldn't use my magic." To emphasize her point, Twilight took some nearby rocks and began playing with them in her magic, making the spin around each other like ballet dancers. Starlight watched for a moment before scowling and turning away from Twilight. The alicorn smirked. Normally, she wouldn't be fond of taunting ponies in such a way, but with Starlight's attitude, it felt justified in some small way. A moment later, though, Twilight reconsidered her actions. She remembered her earlier thoughts about the unicorn having a bad experience related to cutie marks, but she was having a hard time coming up with a situation. For as long as she could remember, a pony earning their cutie mark was a cause for celebration. What could've happened to Starlight that was so bad it made her despise cutie marks altogether? Did she lose one of her parents the day she'd gotten hers? Did she feel like she'd gotten the wrong cutie mark, as though it didn't reflect on what her true passions were? Maybe the cutie mark represented something that was frowned upon where she lived and she was ostracized for it? That last one was certainly possible; the ponies back in Ponyville had shunned Zecora for her appearance. It wasn't too big of a stretch to think ponies would overreact to something like a cutie mark in something that was viewed as either taboo or dangerous and wanting to put as much distance as they could between themselves and the pony with that particular mark. Letting out a sigh, Twilight elected to put the idea on the shelf for the time being. At the moment, she had a job to do, and in what she guessed would be another hour, another one of her friends would be taking her place. Starlight Glimmer lay in the tent she'd been provided brooding. She'd refused any food and water, wishing to spite her captors. Though they had given up then, she was almost sure they would force a mouthful of water or a few bites of breakfast down her throat in the morning to ensure she stayed in good enough condition to make it back to the train and head for Canterlot. As she lay in the tent, she again went over scenarios in her mind as to how she could attempt an escape. Different thoughts went through her mind. One was to find a way to knock out one of the mares guarding her and sneak off into the night, but she dismissed it quickly, not trusting herself to be able to strike hard enough with her hoof to knock a pony unconscious for long enough. She had also thought of using a rock to knock a pony out, but dismissed that idea just as quickly. For one, she would have to use her hooves, and having to move with only two free hooves was very awkward, even in for only a step or two. Moreover, there was too high a risk she'd kill the pony she did it to. She didn't actually care about the lives of the mares; her reason for not killing them was simply not digging a deeper hole for herself than she already had. Besides that, she wanted to six of them alive so that she could enact revenge on them later. After a few more failed attempts to come up with an escape plan, Starlight resigned herself to the fact that, unless something like a random monster attack, she was stuck with the six mares that had taken her prisoner. Unable to fight back a growing fatigue, she found herself drifting off to sleep. Starlight was in her father's living room back in Sire's Hollow. She was seated at a table reading a book. Sitting across from her was a unicorn colt, his coat an orange with various patches of white painting over his form. His blue eyes were reading over his own book, looking intently at the contents. The two were reading some simple spell books, hoping to learn some things beyond the simple levitation they used everyday for things such as eating food and brushing their teeth. Having grown bored, Starlight closed her book and looked at the colt. "Hey, Sunny," she said to him, "let's take a break from this and play a game." The unicorn colt looked up from his book. "What kind of-" Before he could finish, Starlight jumped up onto the table and tapped him on the nose. "You're it!" she shouted at him as she quickly darted out of the room. Sunny then grinned as he sprung up and chased after her. "No fair!" he called out as he gave chase. The two unicorns ran all over the house, going from room to room, with Starlight dodging the colt's attempts to tag her back. Soon enough, they made their way back to the living room. Starlight came round the table, but then she stopped when she didn't hear Sunny chasing after her. She looked back over to the door way and gasped. Standing by the door was Sunny. He looked at her with contempt, and then turned to the door to leave. As he did so, he turned his flanks towards her, and gave Starlight a look at the cutie mark now adorning them; a sun with rays and sparkles coming off of it. "Sunny?" she called out to the colt, sounding unsure of herself and a little bit afraid. The colt stopped and looked back at her in disgust. "Why would I wanna play with a blank flank like you?" he said snidely as he opened the door and walked out of it. "Sunny! Wait!" Starlight called out after him. She made an attempt to chase him, but found her hooves bound to the floor. She struggled to get herself free, but could not get her hooves to come off the floor. It was as if they were fused into the floor as part of some spell. As she frantically tried to get her hooves loose, she heard a noise behind her. Looking back, she saw a large stack of books toppling over, the fall carrying it in her direction. Terror shot through the mare as she tried even more desperately to free herself from whatever was holding her in place. She paused when she saw a shadow grow and darken over her. She turned and let out a scream as the stack of books landed on top of her. Starlight suddenly awoke, adrenaline pumping, sweating profusely, and gasping for air. Realizing that it was a nightmare and she was now awake, she took a few moments to breathe in and out to calm her rapid heartbeat. Once she had calmed down enough, she reflected on her nightmare. It was one she'd had her whole life, though the details of it were a bit exaggerated from what had actually happened. Of course, exaggerations on fears is the modus operandi of nightmares. "Goodness!" The soft voice caught Starlight off guard, and she turned to face the pony it belonged to. Standing above her was Fluttershy, or at least that was how the other six addressed her. The mare had apparently switched places with Twilight sometime while she was asleep. The pegasus was looking at her with concern. "What?" Starlight asked her curtly. "Umm..." Fluttershy began before pausing with uncertainty. "You were having a nightmare." "So?" the lilac mare replied, visibly displaying annoyance. "It, umm, it didn't look good" was all the nervous pegasus could get out. "When has a nightmare ever been good?" Starlight said more than asked, the annoyance clear in her voice as she turned away from Fluttershy, making an attempt to ignore the mare. Nothing was said for a few moments, but Fluttershy again tried to broach the issue. "You know, sometimes talking about things can help us feel better" she offered weakly. Starlight turned around and shot Fluttershy a glare. "And sometimes it reopens old wounds, so maybe we shouldn't even bother! Especially in the middle of the damn night!" Fluttershy flinched back at the mare's aggressive retort, but soon enough found her resolve. "Bottling up feelings doesn't do anypony any good." "Yeah, well, nopony actually cares" Starlight spat back as she attempted to ignore the buttery pegasus watching over her. "That's not true!" Fluttershy said as she lightly stomped her hoof. "I care!" Starlight turned to sneer at her. "Oh, you really care? Well, you certainly care enough to rip away my village I worked so hard to build! You care enough to turn my ponies against me! You care enough to take me prisoner and march me across a desert so I can get on a train and get taken before the princesses!" "Yeah, you sure do care alright!" Fluttershy had nothing to say, responding with a sigh and shaking her head. Satisfied that she wouldn't be pestered by the yellow pegasus anymore, Starlight again lay still as she again drifted off to sleep. Starlight was inside a library now, a few years older. Books were flying off of shelves, chasing her this way and that. The filly cried out as she dodged this way and that, desperate for an escape. Rounding another bookshelf, Starlight finds herself in an impromptu reading pit; a few pillows sat around a small table. The books that seemed to be chasing her now vanished as the library appeared calm. Approaching cautiously, Starlight eyed the table and was shocked by what she saw there. In the middle of the table was a yearbook. More specifically, it was a yearbook for Sire's Hollow Elementary. Upon getting closer, Starlight lit her horn and took the yearbook in her magic and opened it. The yearbook was how she remembered all of them being. First was a letter from the principal wishing the students moving on to high school good luck and those remaining behind well wishes for their next school year. After that was photographs of the teachers and other staff, and then there were the individual students. Just past those were the photographs of all the school club groups, such as a buckball team and singing choir. However, as Starlight turned one page, she gasped. On a single page was a blown up picture of Sunny, a large smile on his face and cutie mark visible on his flank. Below the picture was a letter of well wishing from the principal: To our dear friend Sunburst, You have exceeded all of our expectations and have proven yourself to be very capable of magic. We wish you well as you transfer from our school to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. We hope you will make all of Sire's Hollow Proud. Spared Rod Principal of Sire's Hollow Elementary Starlight remembered this yearbook well. She had gotten it because of this specific page. It was her last memento of Sunny before he left for Canterlot and Celestia's school. The memory caused tears to form in her eyes. "You're a failure, Starlight." The lilac mare's eyes shot back open as she looked around for the familiar voice but to no avail. "You can't do anything right." Again, her eyes darted around, looking every direction conceivable yet still coming up empty. "It was all your fault." Realization dawns on her as she looks down at the yearbook. Sunny's picture is moving, and the young colt is shaking his head. "How could you let them do that to you?" he chastised her. "You let those six mares just come right into your town and rip it away from you." Starlight looked at the picture, at first confused, but then with anger. "It wasn't my fault!" she spat at the photograph. "Those mares were the ones that ruined everything!" "No, Starlight" Sunny says while shaking his head. "You did." "I did not!" she retorts. "Of course you did" Sunburst says calmly. "You always find a way to screw it up. It's just like that day when you had to pull that book. Because of your poor judgment, I was sent away. It's all your fault, Starlight!" "No it isn't!" she screams back at Sunny as she fires a beam at the yearbook, blasting it apart and setting the pieces aflame. "Yes it is Starlight" Sunny continues to taunt her, his voice now coming from almost everywhere at once. "It's all your fault, and now you'll pay the ultimate price for it." "SHUT UP!" Starlight screams as she begins blasting bookshelves left and right, creating a rain made of burning books and pieces of burning wood. "It's all your fault" Sunny continues taunting. "You failed your village, and they turned on you, just like me!" Starlight hears the voice coming from one direction now. Looking up, she sees Sunny standing a few feet from her. His horn glows and a blast knocks the wind out of her. Gasping for breath, she tries to stand up, but finds it extremely difficult. "You failed Starlight," Sunny continues taunting, "and now I have to clean up the mess." Sunny's horn ignites again, and suddenly the table and pillows are swallowed by a maelstrom made of quicksand. Starlight is caught in it and quickly pulled towards the center. Starlight cries out for help, but Sunny looks on in disappointment. "Goodbye, Starlight" he says with a forlorn tone as he turns and walks away. "NOOOO!!!!!" Starlight yells as she's sucked down by the quicksand. Starlight wakes up again, gasping for air and covered in a bit of sweat. Her heart is racing a mile a minute, and for just a moment, the lilac mare thinks she might be on the verge of a heart attack. As before, she takes the time to calm down her heart, eventually slowing the organ down to a much more comfortable pace. "Y'all was havin' a nightmare again." At first, Starlight is confused, but quickly she scowls as she directs her attention to the pony addressing her. Sure enough, it's the orange earth pony wearing a hat. Applejack, if she remembers correctly. "Not that I really care all that much" the farm pony adds as she looks away into the darkness of night surrounding them. Starlight's frown deepens. "Just leave me alone" she spits at Applejack before trying to fall asleep again. "Why'd y'all do it?" Starlight snaps back up and glares at Applejack. The farm mare looks at her while chewing on a piece of wheat stalk she found from somewhere. "What made ya wanna start that village?" Applejack asks again. "None of your business!" Starlight spits back. Applejack ignores the intended jab. "I can understand wantin' ta start a town," the earth pony continues, "but I don't get the whole takin' cutie marks thing." "What's to understand?!" Starlight spits at her. "We didn't like cutie marks! They did nothing but cause strife. When everypony back in my village all had the same mark, things were better!" "But y'all kept yours" Applejack points out. "I had to!" counters Starlight. "Somepony needed to be able to perform the spell, and since I was the main founder of the village, I decided it should be me!" "And there was no other reason besides that?" Applejack's question was one she didn't have an answer readily available for. Caught off guard, she let out a huff and turned away from the mare that served as her current warden. "If I had ta guess," Applejack continues, "I'd say y'all had some kinda real bad experience when ya was a filly. I think it made ya afraid of cutie marks." "I'm not afraid of cutie marks!" Starlight said as she wheeled around to face Applejack. "Maybe not the marks themselves," Applejack counters, "but what they represent." "I had that talk as a filly too!" Starlight retorts. "They're a representation of a special talent possessed by that pony. A physical representation of something they're really good at!" "Not at all what I meant" the earth pony counters back. She then stands up and walks over to a tent. It's Fluttershy's, as noted by the mark of three butterflies on the outside of it. "You know what her cutie mark means?" Applejack turns and asks Starlight. "She's a good butterfly catcher?" Starlight sarcastically answers. "It represents her gentle nature" Applejack corrects. "Fluttershy got this after she calmed a whole mess a critters down after our friend Rainbow made her first Sonic Rainboom. Ever since that day, that filly has been workin' with all the critters in the forest to get 'em to live peacefully." "Yeah, I'm sure the wolves are the more eager to be friends with the rabbits" Starlight said disingenuously. "I said get along, not make friends" Applejack answers. "She has a cottage outside of Ponyville so the critters that come to see her aren't scared off by the ponies in town. Her home is a sort of animal hospital, and the critters go there to get patched up an' recover." "Big woop" Starlight responds. "She's an unlicensed wildlife vet." "She's a great help to a great many critters, including my dog Winona" Applejack tells Starlight with a much sterner tone than before. "I don't really care" Starlight says as she turns back over. "Besides, it don't matter. You six are taking me to Canterlot so they can toss me in the dungeons, so why even bother talking?" "Because if we can convince you of what you did wrong and get ya to apologize," Applejack answers, "then maybe y'all don't have to see the princesses and possibly go to the dungeons." Starlight rolls back over and looks at Applejack with a glare. "At least I won't have you six trying to shove your misguided morals down my neck." Starlight again rolls away from Applejack, doing her best to get to sleep and hoping the mare keeping watch of her has finally taken the hint. Though there is silence for some time, Applejack has yet to cease from her attempts to sway the stubborn unicorn. "Ah might not know it the way you do," she begins, "but ah know what it's like to lose somethin' I loved a great deal." Starlight does her best to ignore the pony, hoping that her laying still will make Applejack think she's asleep again. "I was just a filly when my ma an' pa died. My little sister Applebloom had been born for only a few months, and my older brother Big Macintosh was only a few years from being a stallion." "We never did hear a clear cut answer as to what happened. We had ideas, though. Maybe they got sick from somethin'. Maybe there was some kinda accident. Maybe somepony held a grudge and killed 'em. Hay, when the changelings attack Canterlot, we even started to think maybe them varmints had stolen them away and had 'em holed up in whatever cave or hive they live in." "Honestly, it don't really matter what happened to 'em, because they ain't here now, and nothing I or anypony can do will change it." "Oh, please!" Starlight once again rolled over to look at Applejack, the glare from earlier present again and perhaps even stronger. "You lost your mommy and daddy as a filly. Big deal! There's ponies out there that lost parents as foals. I should know since I lost my mom as one too!" "I lost a village I spent years building. I lost ponies I considered friends. I lost the life I dreamed of since I was a little filly, and all because of you and your friends!" "So don't give me a sob story to try and get me to suddenly change my mind. It's not gonna work." Starlight took the time to see the hurt on Applejack's face. "Good" she thought to herself. "Maybe now I'll get some damn peace and quiet." As she tried to settle in, she could hear some sniffling behind her. "Oh, did I make the little farmer mare cry?" she thought snidely with a smile. She then heard hoofsteps that she assumed was Applejack going to another tent. She could hear a conversation going on, but couldn't make out all of it. "My turn already? Wait, what's wrong AJ?" "..." "Oh, AJ!" "..." "Get some shut eye. I'll keep watch of her." "D-Don't do nothin' foolish, y-ya hear?" "C'mon AJ, it's me. When have I ever done anything foolish?" "..." "Okay, fine. I Pinkie Promise I won't. Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye. There, now catch some Zzzs." Starlight hears nothing for a few seconds, then she hears hoofsteps approach from behind her. "I really wish Twilight had let me go ahead and get the guards here sooner," the raspy voice of the blue pegasus said to her, "because it's gonna be real hard for me to keep the Pinkie Promise I just made." Starlight just rolls her eyes as she stays in place, once again making an effort to fall asleep as Rainbow Dash takes up her position as sentry for the night.