Starlight woke up with a big yawn bright and early the next morning. In her own bed, under her own covers, with her own everything around her. A quick look to her wall showed her mirror with all the pictures of her friends around it. And Starlight smiled in relief. She had zero plans for the day. She wasn’t going to even think about work or the school or anything else. This was going to be a day entirely for herself and she figured the best way to spend it was going to be to take a nice walk around Ponyville and then come back to the castle to relax.
Today was a vacation.
She took an exceptionally long and decadent bubble bath that morning. Soaking in the tub and fully indulging in being back home with a day off. Honestly, she kind of wanted to spend all day in the tub but that would be a little much even for her. After still spending way too much time in it anyways she got out and dried herself off.
First thing she was going to do after waking up and freshening up was getting breakfast. The halls of the castle outside her room were quiet but she knew that Twilight and Spike were almost certainly up already.
Her suspicion was proven correct when she walked into the kitchen and found a plate of eggs and hashbrowns with a glass of orange juice sitting on the table waiting for her. And Spike on the other side of the table chowing down on a bowl of cereal.
“G’Morning,” the dragon said to her.
“Good morning,” Starlight smiled and pulled out her chair, sitting down and levitating a fork over to her plate. “Thanks for making this for me.”
“Figured you deserved to wake up to a nice breakfast,” Spike shrugged.
“What would Twilight or me do without you?” Starlight chuckled. “Speaking of-”
“She’s reading in her study. Something about law or governance or getting ready for her coronation,” Spike shrugged.
Starlight nodded and started to eat, the two of them enjoying breakfast together. When she was about halfway done with her plate she glanced up from it at him. “What are you doing today then after this?”
“Nothing. Was going to just stay here and see if Twilight needed me for anything. Like usual,” Spike answered.
Starlight smiled. “I was going to go on a walk through Ponyville today—nothing special, just walking around and maybe saying hi to a few friends. Wanna join me?”
“Sure, sounds fun!” Spike perked up. “Maybe we can visit Rarity for a bit too...”
Starlight rolled her eyes. “Well I suppose it’s been a long time since you really got to talk to her. I guess the party last night wasn’t exactly casual.”
After that the two of them finished up their meals and it was time to get going, it was still pretty early in the morning, closer to dawn than noon, but not so early that there was still going to be a chill outside. For a town like Ponyville most of its citizens were probably already up and about. They didn’t want to bother Twilight so they simply exited the castle without telling her where they were going, not like it was far or anything anyways.
Starlight sighed in contentment the moment her hooves hit the dirt and she looked up at the already bright and blue sky overhead. “It really does feel nice...”
“I know what you mean,” Spike said from beside her.
“Happy to not be lugging around Discord anymore either?” Starlight smirked.
“Uh, yeah, but don’t tell him that,” Spike said.
“I promise. I’m happy to not have anything to lug along either… metaphorically speaking,” Starlight said.
The two of them made the short walk from the castle to the interior of Ponyville, waving and smiling at any pony they saw, whether they were close friends or just acquaintances it didn’t matter. Starlight and Spike had seen a lot of different versions of them in other worlds—but it wasn’t the same as seeing the ponies they knew. It made Starlight appreciate each and every one of them, made her want to become even better friends with them. Maybe when she was really in charge of the school it would give her the opportunity.
She also had to go to Canterlot and become friends with Sassy Saddles. Couldn’t forget that.
They had no set path they were walking on, and in fact went quite in a lazy and roundabout path through town, going past Quills and Sofas, the flower shop, the spa, coming out around city hall, and pretty much just going wherever their hooves and feet took them. A couple hellos even turned into longer conversations, casual chats about nothing, small talk catching up with others. Starlight somehow felt each little encounter was contributing to the warmth welling up in her chest.
Eventually they found themselves walking close to Sugarcube Corner and Starlight got an idea.
“How’s a late morning snack sound to you, Spike? My treat,” Starlight said.
“Serious?” Spike’s eyes widened.
“Of course! I won’t tell Twilight about it either, it can be our little secret,” Starlight winked.
“Then it sounds good to me!” Spike grinned and together the two walked into Sugarcube Corner.
As the bell rang, Starlight glanced over at Spike. “We can visit Rarity after. And Fluttershy and Applejack too. Rainbow Dash might be a little tougher but I’m sure we’ll see her out somewhere.”
“Got it—gonna be a fun day,” Spike said.
“You’ve got that right. After everything we’ve been through? I don’t think there’s anything that could bring me down,” Starlight said as she walked up to the counter where Pinkie Pie was working, getting the displays just right.
“Hi, Pinkie! Two cupcakes!” Starlight ordered.
“Hey there, Starlight! Hey there, Spike! They’ll be coming right up,” Pinkie saluted and reached for some cupcakes, getting two pristine looking ones on a tray and holding them out for Starlight. “There you go!”
“Thanks, they look as great as always,” Starlight smiled.
“You’re welcome!” Pinkie Pie smiled and then tilted her head, bringing a hoof up to her chin. “Huh, no hat anymore?”
Starlight frowned in confusion at Pinkie’s odd question. “What?”
“Well I’m just curious—when you were here earlier this morning you had a hat on. Didn’t like it?” Pinkie asked.
“Pinkie, what are you talking about? I was never here earlier this morning,” Starlight said.
“Uh oh...” Spike grimaced and looked up at Starlight. “What if it wasn’t you?”
Starlight’s pupils shrank. “Uh oh.”
“Ohhhhh,” Pinkie Pie tapped her chin. “That makes sense now. It was like another version of you like those other two from yesterday? That explains why she acted like she didn’t know me, and why she was saying all that confusing stuff, and why she told me that when I saw you next I should tell you that she’s waiting for you in the Everfree Forest.”
“Ugh!” Starlight dragged a hoof down her face. “Pinkie—you should’ve started with that!”
“Sorry,” Pinkie Pie shrugged.
Starlight rolled her eyes and started running for the door. “Look, can you just tell Twilight about this? And go find Fluttershy so you can tell Discord about it too? There shouldn’t be another me here right now.” She pulled open the door. “Come on, Spike! If there’s another me here there’s no telling what could happen. She could be up to anything!”
“Right!” Spike shouted in agreement and ran with her—the two of them barreling out of Sugarcube Corner and running straight for the Everfree.
As soon as the front door closed, the back door leading deeper into the kitchen opened up and another Starlight Glimmer with a pink beanie hat walked out.
“Great job, Pinkie, thanks for helping me out,” the other Starlight said.
“You got it! Told you Starlight was coming by soon,” Pinkie Pie smiled and giggled. “What are you going to do next? I’m always up to help out with a prank!”
“Prank. Right,” Starlight smirked. “It’s okay though, Pinkie, you’ve done more than enough already. But I promise that she’s going to have an absolute blast when she realizes what’s going on. You’ll all have a big laugh. I’m going to head out now but… I’ll see you again soon.”
“Okey-dokey-lokey!” Pinkie said. “Have fun!”
“I certainly will,” Starlight said as she walked out of Sugarcube Corner and started heading back towards Twilight’s Castle. She chuckled to herself, a malevolent grin on her face. “Things really are just as that weird guy said on this side of the mirror… and that means that other thing he told me about must be hidden inside the castle where he said too. Perfect. Absolutely perfect. If I can’t do anything back home then at least I can make my dream world appear here.”
Starlight and Spike ran together into the forest, gnarled trees and vines around them, spooky eyes following along.
“How—why is there another version of you here?” Spike asked, breathing heavily.
“I think it’s a parting gift from Harlequin Rainbow,” Starlight furrowed her brow. “Now I understand what he meant...”
“Huh?” Spike said.
“When we were fighting, he said something about us not having a happy ending even if we beat him. I didn’t really get it at the time, but now I think this might be what he was talking about. At some point he must’ve contacted another version of me—since he had no trouble traveling through dimensions like Discord and the rest of us. And he must’ve told her about this world or done something with her to get her to come here,” Starlight explained.
“And if it’s another you then she might be as bad as Glimmer used to be...” Spike gulped.
“That’s right, she could have some sort of nefarious goal in mind or maybe just be as messed in the head as I used to be,” Starlight sighed.
“Why would that Harlequin guy do this anyways? What’s the point?” Spike asked.
“He’s a sore loser, Spike. You saw it as plain as I did. If he had to lose then he wanted to at least make sure we wouldn’t win. It’s just pure spite, I’m willing to bet on it,” Starlight frowned.
“If he thought that whatever she wanted to do was bad enough to give Equestria a bad ending then things really can’t be good,” Spike said.
Starlight nodded. “Which is why we need to find her and stop her immediately. I don’t know why she called us out to the Everfree, if it’s a trap she has something else coming, but we’ll get her. Hopefully we can just talk things out with her. I really, really, don’t want to have to fight another version of me again.”
“I hope so too… when Glimmer was evil she was, uh, pretty nasty,” Spike scrunched up his face in remembrance.
“Even if we can’t just talk things out, after everything else we’ve been through, after what we just saved the world from, I doubt this can be worse at least,” Starlight said.
Twilight Sparkle was busy studying in her library—practically oblivious to the entire world around her—when she heard a very familiar and friendly voice call out to her. Though strangely, the way it spoke, the strange questioning tone, was unusual. There was an off-putting timbre to the voice that she hadn’t heard since the very first time she had met the mare who owned it. It spoke volumes of how familiar Twilight was with her friends that she, even subconsciously, registered all of this.
“Twilight Sparkle?” Starlight Glimmer said to her from the doorway.
“Starlight?” Twilight said as she stood up and turned around, looking at her smiling friend standing there. The smile that was on Twilight’s own face froze up in a split second and dropped as she realized a few things.
She was wearing a hat that Twilight had never, ever, seen Starlight Glimmer wear.
She had a glint in her eyes that Twilight had not seen in years.
She was not the Starlight Glimmer that Twilight Sparkle called a friend.
And she was wearing Grogar’s Bell around her neck.
“From what I’ve heard, this castle would probably be the safest place in Equestria to keep dangerous things like this. So long as someone doesn’t know exactly where it’s hidden,” the other Starlight smiled.
Twilight felt a bead of sweat start to drip down the side of her head. “Where are you from? And what do you want with that?”
“I’m from the other side of the mirror—from a world not quite so magical. Being a unicorn is kind of an interesting treat, I must say,” Starlight smirked. “And this? This Bell is just a tool to help me create the perfect world.”
Grogar’s Bell started to glow and before Twilight could do anything a beam of arcane magic came from it and hit her, draining her entirely of her magic and powers. Twilight groaned in discomfort and collapsed to the floor as all her Alicorn magic was sucked up into the Bell. She hadn’t felt so weak in a long time, it was worse than when her Cutie Mark was stolen. Her vision was blurry and her head spinning, as she saw hooves walk up to her and the other Starlight standing over her now, mockingly grinning at her.
“Thank you for your contribution. Now I just need the others.”
Starlight and Spike were searching all throughout the Everfree but hadn’t found anything or anyone yet. It was starting to make Starlight frantic and the idea of a trap became more prominent in her head.
“Darn it, where is she, Spike?” Starlight asked, knowing he didn’t know.
“I don’t know, why would she even call us out here specifically anyways?” Spike shrugged. “We’ve checked the castle ruins, we checked the cave of the Tree of Harmony, we’ve checked everywhere important… why didn’t she tell Pinkie Pie where she was going to wait for us or just sit somewhere easy to find?”
“I don’t know either! It’s frustrating!” Starlight grumbled in annoyance.
Spike shook his head, a look of worry on his face. “No, Starlight, seriously. Why would she do any of this? What if she’s not actually in the Everfree at all? Like what if this isn’t a trap, but a trick?”
Starlight stopped. And slowly went pale. “If she wanted me here… then the only reason for that could be so she could move around Ponyville without potentially running into me, or anyone getting suspicious about two Starlight’s being around. S-She must actually be up to something in Ponyville, not here! We have to get back right now!”
The two of them started running back out of the Everfree, even more frantic and worried than before. It was bad enough knowing another her was here but now she was up to something in Ponyville.
They had to find her.
Unfortunately, the closer they got to Ponyville they realized that would actually be an easy task for all the wrong reasons.
The screams of terror would probably lead them right to her.
“That’s not good,” Spike blanched as a high-pitched shriek that sounded distinctly like Cheerilee rang from the direction of town.
There wasn’t smoke, there wasn’t any fire, but Ponyville was still in a mass panic. Something had happened to scare the citizens of Ponyville. Although to be fair it didn’t take much for that to happen. When Starlight and Spike finally reached the edge of the Everfree again and came out into town they saw a few ponies running around—shooting either confused and/or scared looks at Starlight when they noticed her—and more importantly saw Applejack and Rainbow Dash lying on the ground in the middle of town.
“Applejack! Rainbow Dash!” Spike yelled and flew over to them, Starlight right behind.
“What happened?!” Starlight asked as she leaned down to check on them.
Rainbow Dash rolled over onto her back and groaned. “Ugh… I feel awful.”
“It was you… another you,” Applejack breathed heavily and sat up, much more helpfully saying than Rainbow Dash. “And she had Grogar’s Bell with her. She used it to take our magic before we even knew what was going on. S-She said we were the last ones...”
“Uh oh. She must have taken the magic from every Element of Harmony!” Spike shouted and his eyes widened. “Twilight! She’s in danger too!”
“We’re all in danger,” Starlight frowned and looked towards the castle.
Applejack stood up and pulled Rainbow Dash with her. “I-I aint sure how much help we’ll be like this but we’ll come with you… she was heading back towards Twilight’s castle.”
“We should go find Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Rarity too, the same thing had to have happened to them,” Rainbow Dash said.
Just then—Discord flashed into existence right next to them all.
“Gah!” Spike jumped in fright.
Starlight though had a much happier reaction. “Discord! Thank Celestia, did Pinkie Pie or Fluttershy tell you what’s going on?”
“What? No,” Discord frowned at her and looked at them and the panicking Ponyville in confusion. “I felt a strange fluctuation in magic here and thought something might be happening again.” His eyebrows shot up. “Wait—did something happen to Fluttershy?”
“There’s another me here, Discord!” Starlight told him. “It sounds like she took the magic from everyone but I don’t know why!”
“And she has Grogar’s Bell!” Spike yelled.
Discord blinked and even he looked a little worried now. “That’s bad.” He narrowed his eyes in the direction of Twilight’s castle. “I can sense something wrong going on over there. Applejack? Rainbow Dash? Be a couple of dears and go make sure Fluttershy is alright, along with Pinkie Pie and Rarity. Starlight, Spike and I will attempt to save the world—again—in the meantime.”
Before Starlight could say anything else, Discord snapped his fingers and the three of them were teleported into Twilight’s castle, right outside the room with the Cutie Map.
“She’s inside,” Discord frowned.
Starlight pulled open the doors and the three of them skidded to a halt before the map. Sitting in Twilight’s seat, in a manner that really gave Starlight a sense of Deja Vu, was another version of her she hadn’t seen before. It was almost like looking in a mirror, even moreso than the other Starlight Glimmer’s she had met recently, this one looked exactly like her aside from the hat she wore. The same hat Starlight remembered having when she traveled through the mirror to the human world. At least that told her exactly where this Starlight was from.
There was no time to really dwell on that though—the three of them froze up as they saw Grogar’s Bell glowing with immense magical power as it levitated above the map. And Twilight Sparkle was tied up and leaning against her chair.
“Everyone, stop her!” Twilight shouted.
“There is no stopping this,” the “human” Starlight grinned. “I just wanted to meet myself first before I started this world’s new beginning.”
Starlight gulped. “What new beginning?”
“Since you’re me you should understand. I’m making the world a better place. A happier place. A more equal place. So now watch as I create utopia, a perfect dream world that can exist nowhere else!” The human Starlight said as she gathered all her magic into her horn and fired it into Grogar’s Bell. The Bell reacted strongly, the yellow and black magic from it mixing with Starlight’s, crackling energy shooting from it and filling up the room. A monochrome rainbow then shot down at the Cutie Map and a bulging orb of magic began to spread out, close to exploding. “Equality—to every corner of the world!”
The magic, in a dull grey wave that would eventually spread over the entire world and more, erupted and washed over every creature in the room.
Twilight’s mind went blank.
Starlight’s mind went blank.
Spike’s mind went blank.
And right before Discord’s mind went blank he reached down and tapped Spike on the head.