A young Starlight watched and listened as his father dryly walked him through the usual steps. He was trying his hardest to pay attention, but dad wasn't making it easy on him. Clairvoyance was reciting from the magic textbook with all the enthusiasm of a stallion going through leech therapy, and Starlight could not miss the bags under his father's eyes.
He was a seafoam green unicorn with a stringy, pale yellow mane and a cutie mark of an equine brain. This place was his study, which until now Starlight had not been allowed into. It was a cozy room, with its own fireplace and an entire wall of books just behind father's desk. A makeshift classroom that included a blackboard on wheels, a coffee table from downstairs, a couch pillow to sit on and a small stack of beginner-level spell books filled up most of the room now.
For reasons Starlight didn't quite understand, his dad had insisted on homeschooling him. Most unicorns his age were entering magic kindergarten right now, making friends and learning. Starlight had instead spent a little over a week listening to dull lectures and reading from boring old books. And it didn't help that the vast majority of them were all about health and safety while spellcasting; possibly the most boring subject in the world.
"...Alright, son. I think that's enough theory for now," Clairvoyance announced. "It's time for the moment you've most likely been waiting all this time for."
Starlight perked up instantly. Clairvoyance chuckled at his son's reaction.
"That's right. It's time for some action!"
The stallion magically lifted a quill off of his desk and floated it over to the coffee table where Starlight was sat. He let go and let it drift down to settle in front of him.
"It's very simple. All I want you to do is to try some basic levitation. See if you can lift the quill."
Starlight shot his dad an "are you serious?" look. He knew that he was five, but it was a quill, a feather, an object that was notorious for being virtually weightless. He could probably levitate it by blowing it upwards with his mouth. There was no way that he had been sitting through over a week of this stuff just so he could lift a feather around.
Clairvoyance once again read his son's expression and didn't wait for him to speak up.
"Son, don't give me that look," he snapped. "Start channeling your body's energies towards your horn, and focus on the quill there, just as we practiced."
"Daddy, this is boring! I shouldn't even be doing all this stupid learning stuff! I should be doing something fun, like everypony else is!" Starlight groaned.
Clairvoyance let out a sigh.
"Listen, Starlight, I don't mean to be too hard on you, but you need to learn discipline. You also need to know the importance of learning and knowledge. Knowledge is the key to success. Without knowledge of something as rudimentary as levitating a feather, how can you expect to accomplish anything else? How do you expect to make it in life?"
Starlight frowned as he considered this.
"Knowledge is power, Starlight. Remember this as you go through your studies, because that is where you be drawing much of it from. Whether it's power that you use to protect, to heal, to thrive, or even to strike down evil, you will want it, I'm sure. And I want what's best for you. I really do. So please, just bear with me here."
He took a moment to let his father's words sink in. After a moment, he nodded and set his sights on the quill. Just as they had practiced, he went through the motions, focusing his magical energy on the quill in front of him. A purple glow surrounded it, and he watched as it lifted into the air. Suddenly, he could almost feel the thing. It was like having another limb that he could move anywhere.
"Look, daddy! I'm doing it! I'm doing it! Look!" Starlight yelled out.
Clairvoyance gave a slow, approving nod and a light laugh.
"I see, I see. Geez, and you thought that it wouldn't be exciting. You did very well. I'm proud of you."
He trotted over to the coffee table and sat down next to it, watching the feather up close as Starlight began to twirl it around in the air.
"You'll be an excellent mage some day, just like my father, and his father before him. I can just feel it."
Starlight kept smiling as he played around with the feather. He began to move it in a figure-eight motion.
"Well, I guess that's today's class concluded. You'll have to keep practicing with that until next time, of course. Next lesson we'll probably try some heavier stuff. What are you going to do with your time now?"
"I'll keep trying magic," he replied simply.
Clairvoyance beamed at his son. As he did, he watched the figure-eight turn on its side, so that the motions of the feather instead formed an infinity symbol. His smile faltered ever so slightly, just for a second, but it quickly returned. He playfully ruffled Starlight's mane and began to usher him out of the study.
***
Starlight broke out of his trance. Instead of gasping and looking around frantically, like any normal pony in his situation would, he found that he could not gasp, move, or manipulate any body parts at all. He was still looking through his eyes, hearing with his ears, and he could feel everything that he normally felt while in control. However, control was definitely something that he did not have right now.
What in Equestria...?
He finally paid attention to the worn, wooden surface that his eyes were fixed on, unable to tear them away from looking down at it. A white plate was placed in front of him. It had some sort of reddish-brown thing covered in unidentifiable sauce placed on it, with a few greens acting as garnish. He couldn't for the life of him tell what he was looking at. Much to his disgust, there was a large mug of ale accompanying the mystery food.
Then he noticed the taste and realized that whatever was in front of him, he was midway through chewing it. It was foreign to him. His palate had never experienced anything like it, and he really couldn't think of a way to describe the flavor without anything similar to compare it to. He had by this point already deduced that Ambition had taken over while he was out, but he was almost afraid to imagine what kind of place he had dragged him to during that moment of vulnerability.
Starlight could hear a low roar of chatter and occasional obtrusive laughing in the background, along with the sound of utensils clanging against plates. There was a strong smell of salt, booze, and grease. With every passing second, the whole situation looked worse and worse.
Typical den of ruffians. I bet that monster feels right at home here.
Oh, look who finally woke up.
Starlight mentally winced as the voice of the devil himself sounded in his head.
You! What have you done to me?! I demand that you relinquish control of my body immediately! Get out of my head! Stop flooding my mind with these... these... fabrications!
Hey, hey, just calm down. You're fine. It's perfectly normal for this to happen after getting memories back, even if I am returning them gradually. You're just going to have to deal with it for a little bit longer.
This is NOT a discussion! OUT of my body, demon!
Come on, don't be so judgmental. I'm no more evil than you are. I'm only a spirit trying to achieve my goals, just like every other guy out there. I just so happen to need your body for that. Besides, I can be a pretty nice guy. I thought that I would make it up to you with a quality dinner and a nice drink. Oh, and don't worry about the age law. The guys at this bar don't seem to really give a crap! Here, have a swig!
Starlight then found himself magically lifting the frosty mug and guzzling down its amber contents against his will. It burned his throat as it went down.
To him, it was like drinking his own stomach acid, but even before ever tasting a drop of it he had never liked alcohol. He viewed it as a crutch that the stupid used to make themselves happier without having to think. Sure, when he got older he planned on partaking in wine like any proper and sophisticated pony would, but he saw that as a totally different thing from guzzling down whatever cheap booze one could get in some run-down bar.
With an involuntary turn of his head, Starlight saw that all the bar's patrons were griffons; creatures that were pretty far up there on the list of things he wanted gone. They were everything he despised. They were brutish, classless, crude, unintelligent, unmannered, and they even ate meat as if it were the most normal thing in the world. Such brutes didn't belong in a high-class, cultured city like Canterlot.
That's when the realization hit.
Oh, dear Celestia. Please tell me this food isn't what I think it is?!
Starlight's body placed the mug back onto the bar's surface and produced a satisfied "ah".
It's a venison steak. Great, isn't it?
If Starlight were in control, he would have been physically ill.
I... I can't even... I want to be sick, but I can't...
Oh, yeah. I forgot about that whole "pretty much everyone is a vegetarian" deal. I guess it's a good thing you're not in control then, because I intend to eat all of this. You have no idea how long it's been since I've actually felt the sensation of taste. Even if these teeth are God-awful at chewing it, I want to enjoy this while I can.
Get out. Get out, you sick, depraved MONSTER! GET OUT OF MY BODY RIGHT NOW, AND STOP DEFILING IT WITH YOUR FILTH!
Starlight mentally slammed against Ambition, imagining himself physically tackling a representation of the entity as he struggled for control.
Kid, I am the spiritual incarnation of ambition and I am many thousands of years older than you. I guarantee you that my will is stronger than yours.
GET! OUT!
Starlight summoned all the mental strength he could muster to try and once again become the dominating consciousness in the body. He could feel his hoof beginning to tremble. At the same time, he felt his eyes dart down to look at it. Ambition didn't seem to expect him to do that.
Okay. Credit where it's due. That's impressive. But don't think I'm not going to fight back!
In his mind, Starlight smiled at his minor triumph. His physical body fell off the barstool, and he began writhing about on the floor as he pushed in one direction and Ambition in the other. To the observing griffins, the struggle made him look like he was having a seizure. The establishment's bartender, a gruff-looking griffin with a mustache, moved over to near where they had been sitting and leaned over the counter, frowning at them.
"Hey, pony. You okay?" he asked with a hint of concern.
"Y-yup," Ambition answered. "Don't y-you worry about m-me. I'm d-doing just p-peachy, so j-just keep t-tending to that b-bar of y-yours."
Starlight, stop this shit right now before you get us caught.
You mean before YOU get caught! And what do you think I'm TRYING to do?!
At this point, each consciousness had about half of the body. Giving up control of a back leg, Starlight focused his efforts on the battle for his mouth and vocal chords. He seemed to succeed in ousting Ambition for a moment, and immediately put them to use.
"No! Help! This evil spirit has been possessing my b-body! C-call the Royal Guard! I implore y-you!"
The bartender tilted his head in confusion.
"Uh, what?"
Damage control time! Ambition declared as he tore control of that area away again.
"F-forget what I j-just said! Don't call the guard in here! Just i-ignore everything that I'm a-about to sa—"
NOPE.
"Please, sir, you need to call the guard immediately!"
The griffin bartender looked at Starlight as one would look at an underwater fire.
"You know, I kind of respected you for having the guts to barge into a griffin joint and chow down on meat like you did, but you need to beat it if you keep acting this crazy. You're going to scare off my customers."
Starlight didn't answer, as the battle for his body was getting too intense. He needed to keep focus. Still the twitching and spazzing continued, and still more heads turned towards them.
Fine. If you're going to be a problem, you can have another time-out.
***
A seven-year-old Starlight looked with disdain at his reflection in the hallway's mirror. He was wearing a complete tuxedo getup, which looked pretty ridiculous on somepony his age, and he was not too happy about it.
"Mommy, why do I have to wear clothes? What's the point?" he asked an equally dressed-up Scarlet, looking down at the ground. "Can I take it off? Clothes makes me feel all tight and stuffy."
His mother sighed.
"We've been over this, darling. Clothes give prestige, and no son of mine will go around looking like some clothesless bumpkin on such an occasion. Have you forgotten that some very important ponies will be joining us for this dinner tonight? Besides, your... attributes are better concealed when you are wearing these."
"But moooooom, I don't want to wear clothes, and daddy says that my body is special and perfect the way it is!" he protested.
Scarlet gave her son a glare.
"Young colt, you will wear them, and you will lis—"
They were interrupted as another pony entered the room. A unicorn with a coat like coal and a deep red mane knocked on the door to catch their attention. Scarlet was startled when she saw him, but he only smiled at her.
"Good evening, Scarlet. I thought that I'd just let myself in here. Hope you don't mind."
His voice was like silk, and Scarlet eased up significantly and returned his smile with one of her own when he spoke.
"Of course not! You just... caught me off-guard. Heh."
"Uncle Viper!" Starlight blurted out as he dashed over to the stallion and hugged one of his forelegs.
"Oh, hey there, sport! Ha, you look like you're about to eat dinner with royalty with that thing on! Seriously, Scarlet, it's just a little get together with me and the guys. You could be a bit more casual about it."
Starlight turned to look back at his mother and gave her a smug look of triumph.
"Haha... I suppose that I just can't control myself when it comes to fashion," Scarlet said with a strained smile. "So, where are the other agents on this fine evening?"
"Oh, they're probably going to leave for the restaurant pretty soon. I just decided to come over here a bit early to chat it up with my old buddy, Clairvoyance. Where is that crazy stallion?"
Viper looked around over his shoulder.
"Don't ask me. I don't where he is at least eighty percent of the time, and he still has the nerve to call me his wife," Scarlet huffed.
"No worries. I'll just give him a ring," Viper said as he closed his eyes in concentration.
His horn glowed as he cast a spell that looked like it required barely any energy, but great amounts of concentration. Seconds later, as if on cue, Clairvoyance teleported in almost right beside Viper in a flash of light. Everypony jumped back in surprise except for Viper, who just grinned at him.
"Sorry. I wasn't expecting you," Clairvoyance explained. "I was just taking care of some business."
"Come on, I thought that you were retired now. What's with all this 'business'? They're not still sending you on assignments, are they? I don't have to talk to Blue Chip and tell him my buddy's too old and frail for all this now, do I? Eh?"
He gently nudged Clairvoyance's shoulder.
"Oh, it's just something that I do in my free time," the other unicorn responded, chuckling with him.
"Ah, alright! I won't be nosy with you. I won't be that guy. But are you happy to see me or what?! I mean, it's been almost a month since we've done anything together! We should chat some. You know, about the good ol' days? Maybe junior over here can listen in and finally hear about how much of a hero you were!"
"Viper, you know that I want him out of all that," he whispered, leaning in closer. "If you want to talk about my career, then we can go to my office upstairs."
Starlight just stared at his dad as if he were made of gold.
"Wow, my daddy's a hero?!"
Clairvoyance shifted his gaze back to his son and sighed.
"No, no, I was ju—"
"Oh, you bet your dad was a hero!" Viper interrupted. "He was one of the best damn Purifiers I've ever seen, and that's saying something. He did all sorts of great stuff for Equestria. Like this one time where he single-hoofedly beat out this entire gang of these huge, ferocious minotaur thugs with just his horn and his wit. Or when he captured the boss of a massive crime syndicate. Oh, and this other time where he—"
"I THINK that's enough for the time being, Viper. He's just too young to understand the things that I did back then."
"Wow, that's so cool! What's not to understand? You beat out a bunch of bad guys! Why didn't you tell me that you were so awesome, daddy? And what are the Purifiers? Are they some sort of superhero league? Are you a superhero? What's your superhero name? What's your superpower? Ooh, ooh, can I be your sidekick?"
"No, son, it was simply an old job that I did; nothing more," Clairvoyance answered.
Scarlet had until now stayed well out of the conversation, but Starlight looked over to her, inviting her to contribute. She flickered her gaze between the two other stallions in the room.
"Well, to give my opinion on this matter, I think that our dear Starlight deserves to know," she offered. "We really do need to stop shielding him from this. Besides, you know how children are; the more forbidden something is, the more they want it."
"He's seven for Celestia's sake!" he thundered at both of them. "Can't he just live in ignorance for a bit longer? The rest of Equestria does!"
"Okay! Okay! I'm sorry!" Viper responded, sitting down and holding up his forehooves in surrender. "He's your kid. It's not my place to decide what he should know. We can just go talk about this stuff in your office if you want."
"That would be great."
As the two stallions started to make their way up towards the study, Starlight wanted nothing more than to follow them. He waited until his mom left to go groom herself some more, and then went off in pursuit.
Once he reached the door to the office, which was locked shut, he heard voices and laughter from the other side. He could pretty easily make out what they were saying, but it mostly just them reminiscing about the "good ol' days" they mentioned. He couldn't really make much sense of what they were talking about, but he still listened in with mild interest. It wasn't until they started talking about him when he really started to pay attention, and pressed his ear right up against the door.
"I actually wanted to ask you about something."
"Well, ask away then."
"It's about Starlight... I know that you might be heavily against this, but I really think that it would be in your and his best interests—"
"No. Just no. I told you to keep him out of this. I'm not going to let you indoctrinate him into becoming some killer."
"Hey, hey, just hear me out. I only want what's best for him, just like you do. He's obviously a talented young colt. I mean, he's seven years old, and he can do how many spells now? Five? That's way more than either of us had at that age! Face it, he's going to be an expert magic specialist for somepony, and there's no way that some government department is not going to snatch him up as soon as they can.
"And honestly? It might as well be the Purifiers. Those deformities of his? Our people wouldn't care. I mean, you've seen the HQ recently, right? We have way bigger freaks working as our Celestia-damned janitors, let alone the field agents, science team, upper management, and don't even get me started on the Director!"
"Were you going somewhere with this?"
"Yeah! I'm just saying, if anypony is likely to give him a good chance, it's the Purifiers. He'll have room to reach his full potential while still being free of prejudice. And you can hardly say that of a lot of the other departments, right? I mean, would you rather he get sucked up by the fanatics in the Royal Guard, or those vultures from the Magical Regulation Commission?"
"Viper..."
"Or worse, what if he ends up an enforcer for the Church of the Holy Sun?"
"Viper—"
"I mean, I respect all religions and all, but damn, there's crazy, and then there's those guys."
"Viper! I appreciate your good intentions, but the answer is still no. He can live a perfectly normal, happy life without joining an organization devoted to killing ponies. I don't want him to become some pawn like I did!"
Starlight pulled his ear away from the door with surprise.
"Clairvoyance, you know that we only kill to save more lives."
"Oh, I'm not talking about that. I'm talking about how you wipe ponies' 'tainted' memories."
"But that's not killing them, it's only purifying them!"
"It's wrong! You're destroying who they truly are, which, in my opinion, counts as killing!"
"The only thing that they could have truly been was a threat to this country! Damn. I mean, you're still my friend, and I can accept a few differences of opinion, but don't be like that. Don't forget all the good we did and act like it was all for nothing. I know it got a little dark there at times, but you and me? We saved ponies. We made a difference."
Starlight could hear his father sigh.
"I guess..."
"And hey, you keep quiet about all that too, especially at dinner tonight. You know that I'd never think you're some kind of traitor, but if the bosses ever heard you talking about what we do like that, like you were some kind of Descendant..."
"I know..."
"Particularly if it were the Director. That little 'retired' checkbox on your page might mean to the rest of us that you contributed years of loyal service, but to the Director, it just means that you went from 'asset' to 'liability'. If he thought you were guilty of something, he wouldn't hesitate. Just sayin'."
"You're right... It was for the greater good. It's... it's just that I feel so guilty sometimes for what I did back then. I don't want my son to have to go through the same thing."
There was a brief silence.
"We were the heroes, Clair. The good guys. We kept this country from falling apart. If you don't want to go through with it and get your son involved though, then I completely understand. I was just throwing it out there. Besides, I'm sure he could get in at CSGU if he wanted. Kid like that has a world of other options."
"Heh. I bet he could. He hasn't been joking around with his studies. I'm so proud of the colt. In fact, sometimes I—"
Starlight felt the sneeze coming, but was unable to stop it. The talking behind the door immediately ceased.
There was a moment of quiet as Starlight stood there nervously, hoping it hadn't actually been noticed, even though he knew it was in vain. Seconds later, the door was surrounded by a green glow and slowly swung open. Inside, he could see his father sitting behind the desk at the back of the room, and Uncle Viper standing just to the side of it. Without needing to be told, he stepped inside and approached the desk. The door shut behind him.
Starlight cringed in expectancy of punishment. Instead, Clairvoyance addressed him calmly, only asking a simple question.
"How much did you hear?"
"J-just some parts where you were talking about how you were a superhero, and some stuff about you not liking being a superhero or something. An-and some stuff about me."
In the background, the trio could hear Scarlet calling out.
"Starlight! Where are you? It's nearly time to go!"
Clairvoyance sighed.
"We're going to have a talk after dinner," he said solemnly. "Don't worry, you're not in trouble."
"Come on," Viper added. "We'd best be getting to the restaurant now."
***
Starlight's head impacted the paved surface of the sidewalk outside of the bar. A pony walking past glanced down at his sprawled body, but just passed it off as another crazy drunk getting into trouble, and continued on without comment or concern.
"And stay out!" called a griffin somewhere behind him.
Starlight groaned loudly into the cobblestone, and began to push himself up onto his hooves again. It was in that brief moment that he registered that he was back in control again. Before he could seize the opportunity though, Ambition resumed his iron grip.
Christ! That couldn't have been more than forty seconds you were gone in that flashback! Did you somehow skip some of it? Because you're not supposed to be able to do that.
The unicorn struggled against him again, once more seeming to regain control. He used it to lean down and place his horn to the pavement. Starlight began hobbling along, the tip of his horn scraping against the stone and leaving a long, white mark behind him as he walked. He visibly winced from the pain it caused him, and he could almost feel his horn getting blunter with every second he abused it in this way, but Ambition's control did seem to wane.
I'm not hard-wired into this body like you are, kid. All this that you're doing isn't going to hurt me. You can try self-harm all you want, but any time you do, I can just let up control and kick back for a bit.
"That... is precisely... the point... you MORON!" Starlight shouted aloud.
Further ahead, the other pony looked back in concern. When he saw that Starlight was up from the gutter and walking in his direction, he quickened his pace and disappeared around a street corner.
He moved at a snail's pace like this, but Starlight didn't plan to let up. He kept his head to the ground as he moved along, but still looked upwards and to the sides for any clue of where he was. He had landed on a sidewalk that lined a wall of several commercial buildings, which a nearby sign named as Emerald Boulevard. That was a fairly major road, and if followed long enough this way it eventually passed right through his neighborhood. Ambition had probably come down here in the other direction to reach the griffin bar in the first place, considering Starlight had been possessed not far from his home.
The night had also matured since that initial encounter and the subsequent black-outs. The stars were now out. From the looks of it, he would have guessed it was around ten o'clock now. For a brief moment, he felt guilty that his mother probably didn't have dinner tonight because of him, but then reminded himself that it wasn't his fault that some crazy spirit that looked like it came straight from the deepest pits of Tartarus had come to steal his body so that it could overthrow the government.
Nevertheless, he had a destination to reach now.
You had better not be planning on telling on me to the Royal Guard, because if you are, you're making a huge mistake. It will not end well for either of us.
"Oh-ho! I know!" Starlight responded with a manic grin. "That's why we're not going to the Guard! I know exactly how to deal with you!"
You're not gonna try suicide, are you? Because that'll just kill you. It won't harm me. And I'll still eat your soul.
"Nothing quite so cowardly," Starlight responded smugly.
I was kidding about the soul-eating, by the way.
"I know."
It was a joke.
"I know. It wasn't funny."
Starlight continued his trudge along the street, making sure to never cease the painful horn grind for even a moment.
Look, this could be a whole lot easier on both of us if you just stopped being selfish with your body, and let me do what I need to do. Come on! It's a win-win!
"How could that possibly be even close to a win for me?!"
You get the pleasure of helping me overthrow the government.
"I would never be a part of such anarchy!"
But you're a teenager! Whatever happened to "fight the power" and "fuck the police"? Isn't that what your generation are made of?
"My generation are drunkards and fools, and the ponies who indulge in that mentality are even worse than the rest! Now shut up!"
My God, you're really going to make me spell it out, aren't you? Look at the damn memories, Starlight. Do you seriously not see where I'm going with all this?
"The only place you're going is down, you vile creature!"
Though Ambition was not in control of the mouth right now, Starlight could hear him sigh.
Okay. I thought you intellectual types liked subtlety, but if I REALLY have to beat you over the head with it, let's go deeper.
***
Starlight closed the doors to his bedroom and at long last threw off his uncomfortable tuxedo. He looked over to his bed, where a book was already waiting for him. Jumping up onto his mattress, he magically grabbed the book and opened it to a page that had previously been bookmarked. As he tried to continue with the latest of his favourite fantasy series though, Starlight's reading was interrupted by the sound of a knock on his door.
Without waiting for permission to enter, Clairvoyance opened the door and poked his head inside.
"Starlight, I think it's time we had that talk I mentioned."
Starlight's father strode into the room and closed the door behind him. Reluctantly, he lowered the book and sat up. Though he wasn't sure what their talk was going to be about, he assumed that he was likely in trouble for spying, despite the earlier assurances. Dad wasn't carrying himself like that though. He didn't seem angry. In fact, if anything, he seemed a little sad to Starlight.
Clairvoyance sat down right beside Starlight's bed, and took a moment to gather himself, as if trying to find the right words.
"Son, it's very important that you understand what I did for a living. And it's even more important that you know why it was wrong."
"Why?" Starlight asked, furrowing his brow.
"Equestria is veiled in darkness, my boy. We need to bring it back into the light."
"Is this about that superhero league that you used to be a part of? 'Cause I'm really sorry for listening in on you and Uncle Viper."
Clairvoyance paused again.
"Yes, it's about them. But Starlight, they aren't superheroes. They might try to act that way, but they're all really just villains. They're the bad guys; our enemies, and the enemies of all free people."
"B-but isn't Uncle Viper one of them?"
The older unicorn slowly nodded. Starlight gasped.
"Does he know?! What if they get him?!"
"Yes. He knows."
That stopped Starlight's panicking for the moment, but confusion took its place. He sat still, trying to process that for a moment.
"But he... but Uncle Viper is so nice..." he muttered. "Are... are you really sure the Purifiers are so evil? I mean... what do they do?"
His father looked away from him.
"They think that they have the right to control and manipulate the entire country and all its people, right down to the very memories that we hold dear. They say that they're 'purifying' everything, but really they're just molding the world into what they want it to be. If they decide that you're a bad guy, then they'll come for you when you least expect it. They'll use their magic to tear open your mind, and they'll take away everything that makes you you.
"It's meant to be a more ethical alternative to just killing them. If you ask me though, it's so much worse. Ponies deserve free will. In fact, not just ponies. All races. Griffins, zebra, whatever. The point is, the ability to make our own choices, to have that freedom and to not have the will of organizations like the Purifiers forced on us, is the most basic right of any Equestrian citizen. And despite what most ponies on the street think, we don't have that right. We're lied to, Starlight."
He looked down at his hooves.
"But... they only do that to bad guys, right?"
Starlight looked up again as Clairvoyance turned to face him again. He looked so tired.
"That's what they say. But they have a pretty broad definition of who the bad guys are. It's not just ponies who hurt other ponies that they do this to. Even just causing problems for the government is enough. I've known them to memory wipe journalists who they just thought were being too nosy. Take them away, make them disappear, make all their friends and family forget they were ever there. And that's what the Purifiers do, Starlight. It's sick, and no just government would allow a group like them to exist."
"So... if the Purifiers are the bad guys, then how come you were one? You aren't a bad guy."
"Understand, I wasn't the same then as I am now. I joined of my own free will and justified everything that I did by claiming that it was for the greater good of Equestria. Just like they tell themselves, and they tell us. I wanted to do my patriotic duty, but I only succeeded in being part of the force that oppresses this country. Thankfully, a friend of mine helped me to see the light, so I quit."
It hadn't escaped Clairvoyance's notice that his son had scooted away from him a little bit.
"What happened next?" he asked with some trepidation.
Clairvoyance quickly looked behind him at the bedroom door.
"What I'm about to tell you, you must not tell anypony else, or even mention around anypony besides me and your mother. Not even your uncle. If the Purifiers found this out, our whole family would be in grave danger. Do you hear me?"
Starlight nodded.
"Good. Well, okay. There is a group out there devoted to destroying the Purifiers and putting a stop to all this horribleness. They want Equestria to really have the freedom it thinks it does. They're called the Descendants. I joined up with them years before you were born, and I am still currently a part of it. I send them reports on Purifier activity which I learn about through my interactions with agents that I used to work with. Agents like your Uncle Viper. Basically, I'm a spy."
The young colt began to come closer to Clairvoyance again. He smiled slightly as he saw that.
"So the Descendants are the good guys?"
He again paused before answering.
"Sure. I guess you could say that. More importantly, they're our only hope, and we can never let the Purifiers get to them. That especially means that Viper can never learn that I'm a part of all that. He's a good stallion at heart, but son... you can't trust him. He's like me when I first started out. He fully believes in what the Purifiers are doing, and he thinks he's helping Equestria this way. I don't know what he'd do if he found out, but I'm willing to bet that he'd choose them over us."
"But can't you try to get him to stop, like how your friend helped you?"
"I do try, Starlight. I try every time I see him. But it isn't easy to change a pony's entire belief system."
"When I was listening to you talking in the office, he said he wanted me to be a Purifier," Starlight said. "I don't have to be, do I?"
Clairvoyance smiled and patted him on the head.
"No. You don't. The Purifiers have a special academy where they train their agents. Viper wanted to send you there at the end of the summer, but I've already arranged for you to attend Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns instead. Assuming you pass your entrance exam of course, but I don't think you'll have trouble with that. You'll stay there for a few years, safe and sound, and maybe when you're old enough you can be a Descendant too. You'll need to study and work hard there though. You remember what I said about knowledge, right?"
"Mhmm. Knowledge is power."
"Excellent. Never forget that."
***
Starlight awoke to find himself still walking in the same direction he had been before, only now without his horn scraping against the ground. Rather than resume what he was doing, he instead broke into a gallop down the street. Well, a slightly fast limp, at any rate.
He was doing his best to ignore the vivid flashbacks that haunted him. His only thoughts were getting back home and resisting Ambition. Still he told himself that the dawning memories were false, and that they were just Ambition's tricks. His pace became faster, and he began to take notice of his surroundings once more, looking around at the neon-drenched street and the various street lamps, whose spotlights he was constantly passing in and out of.
Even during all that was going on in his head, he still couldn't help but appreciate the sight of Canterlot at night time. The glows of the signs and street lamps illuminated the city in a warm artificial light. To some, they probably seemed like trivial things, but to him they represented how much ponykind had progressed from the days of tribes fighting each other in the mud. He loved progress, and even though he might of not thought much of the ponies that made up the society he lived in, he still wanted to see it advance, grow, and maybe someday rule the stars.
That, and the lights were just pretty. He almost saw it now; what the other ponies all liked so much about going out on the town at this time of night. As this demon continued to mess with his mind, conjuring up these images seemingly for no reason other than to hound him to suicide, he began to wonder if he'd wasted his life.
You know, I can't help but hear you keep telling yourself that I'm just making all this up. For real though, I couldn't make it up if I tried. These are your memories, alright? All I did was unlock them.
"You're lying! I think I would remember having a father!" Starlight shouted.
As he went along the street, he noticed a mare leaning against a wall of what looked like a bar up ahead. She'd been outside smoking, but he had caught her attention with his rebuttal to Ambition. At the risk of looking like a schizophrenic, he decided to keep their interactions in his mind for now, and he gave her an awkward smile as he passed. She just looked slightly creeped out by the scabs and the legs.
Come on, haven't you been paying attention? The Purifiers wiped your "impure" memories. You should be thanking me for bringing them back again!
But there's no way that these "Purifiers" actually exist! Starlight mentally snapped at him. We have fair and wise rulers! They wouldn't let anypony do such things.
I remind you that one of those "fair and wise rulers" almost killed every living thing on this planet because she was jealous. I know; I was there.
It wasn't her fault! Luna was possessed by an evil entity! She's no more to blame for that than I am for the act of barbarism you committed in that griffin establishment!
Ugh. It's always the same excuse. Just blame Nightmare! Listen, unlike you, I actually knew the guy you're being so quick to judge. Yeah, he was a huge dick, but you're VASTLY overestimating him. You think it's easy to control an alicorn princess? It's not. Look how much trouble I'm having with you, and you're just some scabby loser with an attitude problem.
Starlight outwardly growled at that.
The fact is, Luna didn't have to go and fuse with him like she did. In the end, it was her choice. You can blame the big bad spirit all you want, but if it wasn't a willing partnership then Nightmare would have accomplished precisely nothing.
I'll stick to official history books for my information, thank you very much. You're obviously just trying to turn me against my own rulers, which will not work. I'm not some idiotic peasant, and I have no desire to lead some pointless, sentiment-fueled revolution!
You'll think different when you remember everything clearly. And while you're busy doing that, you could let me take over for a bit. I know it must be hard to deal with all these oh so mind-blowing memories AND keep in control of that body of yours. How about you share the load?
I'll never give in to you, demon!
Fine. Delay it all you want. I'm actually a pretty patient guy.
***
Starlight trotted back down the steps that led up to Celestia's School for Gifted Unicorns. He had just passed his entrance exam with flying colors, and couldn't wait to get home and tell his parents. A scroll bound in a red ribbon floated just in front of him, and he was beaming. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the world was beautiful.
"Hey, Starlight! Wait up!"
Further up the steps, a familiar black unicorn rushed down towards the young colt. Starlight stopped as instructed, waiting for Viper to catch up with him.
"I know you're eager to get back home, sport, but your parents won't be off for another hour yet! Slow it down a bit!"
"I know, Uncle Viper! But I passed! I got in the school! I want to show them!"
Viper gave a small chuckle.
"Yeah, but we've got all the time in the world, don't we? You'll still see them later. For now though, I was thinking that since you did so well, you deserve a reward. I thought that I'd take you to get some ice cream, if you're up for it?"
The already huge grin on Starlight's face became even wider.
"Yes, yes, yes! Let's go right now!"
"Ha! I knew you would! Come on. I know a place just down the street."
The eager colt happily followed Viper down and onto the streets of Canterlot, and the duo made their way towards the promised ice cream parlor. Two blocks down, they stopped on a street corner in front of a building with a sign above its doors that read "Dairy Princess". A little bell rang as they swung open the glass door and stepped inside.
The parlor wasn't very crowded, with only a few ponies scattered about on different tables enjoying their treats. The walls were decorated with murals of various different dairy desserts. Right beside the cash register was a glass display that housed a plethora of different ice cream flavors.
Starlight rushed straight over to the display and started to ask for samples. After trying nearly every flavor, he settled on getting a couple of scoops of their new kumquat flavor. Viper just settled for a small cup of vanilla. He soon paid for their frozen desserts, and the two found a small table with their own respective pillow cushions to sit on.
"So, Starlight, you can really do some magic, huh? I guess you have your father to thank for that. He was always a nut for that kind of stuff. The proctors at your exam really went on about you."
"Yeah, but all they really asked me to do was simple stuff like levitate things, illumination spells, and a few basic elemental spells," Starlight replied as he scarfed down his ice cream. "I really didn't do anything too awesome."
"Oh, don't be so modest! You did great! Keep scoring high like that and you'll get into the Purifiers like it'll be a public school."
Starlight stopped eating and started to fidget around with his spoon.
"Hey, what's the matter?"
"Nothing, I'm just nervous about... school."
"Oh, you can't fool me. It's what your dad keeps saying, isn't it?"
Starlight's eyes widened.
"Come on, don't look so surprised. I know your dad's probably been giving you that same rhetoric about how morally wrong it all is every night since he told you about what we do. No disrespect to the stallion, he's a great guy and all, but believe me when I say that he really has the wrong idea with the Purifiers. For an ex-agent, he's a bit of a bleeding heart. It's really not as bad as he might make it seem."
Starlight responded with an unsure grumble and shook his head slightly.
"Ah, I shouldn't bring up such a serious topic here. You're years away from times like that. You should enjoy your childhood while you still can. It's really not like you HAVE to go to the academy to be one of us. If you decide to join up later, the doors will always be open. And if you don't, you don't have to. Now cheer up! That ice cream isn't going to finish itself!"
***
Exhaustion was beginning to set in as Starlight kept up his rough journey. Fortunately, Ambition seemed to be going the same way that he was, and they were already leaving the more brightly-lit area of Canterlot and reentering the residential zone. He was still holding out against the spirit's advances, but the emerging memories were becoming difficult to deal with for their vividness.
They didn't play out like a movie would, as they had when Ambition first started, but instead felt like he was really experiencing it all. Just like an actual memory of something he had really experienced. He wouldn't even admit to himself, but he knew in the back of his mind that Ambition was right; the memories were his. It was all true. With each one that resurfaced, he could feel himself getting weaker and weaker.
What do you even hope to accomplish by going home, anyways?
It seemed that Ambition could read his thoughts. Unsurprising, given that he was in his head, but Starlight had until now hoped that he could not.
Well, for your information, demon, I'm counting on my mother to help me.
Oh, so you're more of a momma's boy type.
I am not a momma's boy!
Hey, I don't blame you for being one. I mean, you are kind of a snobby deformed freak. Who else are you going to be friends with?
What?! I-I'm... Take that back!
I'm just being frank here. You're a pretentious ass, and you look like a science experiment that went horribly wrong. I'd have thought that being so hideously ugly would make it kind of difficult to foster such a massive superiority complex, but you proved me wrong!
I don't have a superiority complex!
Oh, you do. I don't even need to look at that many memories to tell that. Just today's alone are enough.
Do you have any respect for privacy at all?
It's nothing personal. I just needed to know more about your life, so I could better impersonate you when I inevitably take over your body. But hey, not everything I saw in here was that bad. I saw all these crazy goals of yours like wanting the be an immortal bigshot. That's great. I can relate to that kind of stuff.
Like you would understand my plans. All you probably want is power.
Yes, exactly. Though I think it's rather foolish to tell the spiritual incarnate of ambition that he's unable understand your ambitions. Yours are simple. I can see a lust for power, fame, fortune, and some sort of vague notion of societal progress. In a lot of ways, we're very alike. If you'd stop fighting me, I could be your best friend in the whole wide world.
Don't ever use any sort of comparison between me and you. I'm a law-abiding, mannered, sophisticated, contributor to society, and you're just... you're just evil!
Oh, goodness, I'm so offended! Listen here, kid. Morality is a lie. There's no such thing as heroes and villains, and even if there were, you still wouldn't be a hero. You're far too unlikable for that.
You obviously don't get how life works, but rather than waste my time listening to you and trying to teach you how things really are, I think I'm going to do more important things with my thoughts.
Like thinking of how to defeat me? Because I've got bad news for you, Starlight. The reason you're not having a tougher time fighting me for control is because I'm honestly not trying right now. You're going to the same place I was headed anyway.
I'm not listening!
Now you're just being childish. Let me put you in another nice flashback. Take a quick break. I'll walk us the rest of the way home.
Starlight caught sight of his street. He was about to complete the last leg of his miserable journey. Yet, he couldn't feel at all happy about it. Ambition really had been walking his body towards home during all the black-outs, just like he said. The demon clearly wanted him to go there, and Starlight was leading this monster right to his mother. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed it earlier. Stupid.
He almost cried out as he began to fall back into another memory.
***
Starlight walked into the spacious foyer of their home with a big smile on his face. He turned to look back out the front door, and waved goodbye to Viper at the end of the garden path. Clairvoyance also waved and smiled. The black unicorn returned their gesture, and then began to walk away. As the door closed, Starlight noticed the smile disappear from his father's face.
"So what did the two of you do this time?" he asked frankly.
"We went to the movies and saw the new Iron Mare. He got me popcorn, soda, and all this candy. It was awesome!"
"He's been taking you out every week since that entrance exam, I've noticed."
"Yeah, because he's super nice, and he says he thinks I deserve it."
Clairvoyance sighed.
"Son, listen to me. The only reason Viper acts like that is because he wants to use you. He might have of not flat-out stated it yet, but he wants you in the Purifiers, and as harmless as this whole thing seems, he knows that by winning you over, you're more likely to join. It would be better if you just stayed away from him for a bit."
"Why would I stay away from him, though?"
"Not all the time! Just... you know. It doesn't help to get to close when he's a part of what we're trying to fight. I don't want you to get tangled up with his business with the Purifiers, and I certainly don't want him to do anything to you if you did get involved. Viper's a good stallion and a good friend, but he just blindly follows whatever the higher-ups tell him to do. If one of his superiors told him to kill you, he would do it."
"He wouldn't!"
"Oh, but he would. He would do it happily if it meant contributing to the 'greater good'. I've seen him do atrocious things in the name of that stupid notion. I've seen myself do even more... But you don't need to know all those details. All you need to know is that you should trust me, and keep away from him for a bit. I'm not saying to cut him off completely. That would look suspicious. But some distance would help."
"Okay. If you say so, dad."
"That's what I like to hear."
***
Starlight burst through the threshold of the door, still struggling to keep his body balanced and Ambition at bay. He tried to call out for his mother, but all that came out was a strange, convoluted moan. It at least still seemed to work to some effect, as Scarlet came rushing down the stairs to meet her suffering son.
"Starlight, darling, what is the meaning of this?!"
"T-there's... mo-ster... he-help..."
He could feel Ambition allocating every bit of influence that he had left to obstructing the functionality of his vocal chords. Before, in the bar, he'd been able to force control for a brief moment by putting his all into holding that one specific area. Now though, Ambition was doing the same. Almost the entire rest of the body was Starlight's, but the hostile spirit was determined to not let him speak the truth.
Why do you have to be such a problem?
"Dearie, stop talking like you're being possessed and tell me what's going on."
Tears began falling down Starlight's cheek as he desperately tried to tell her.
"I-I... a-aaaa!"
Please, why can't you just stop?!
Why? So you can tell the world where I am? I'm kind of trying to lay low here. I've done well enough so far, and I'm not going to let you ruin that.
"You must be terribly ill to be talking in such a manner," Scarlet deduced. "Don't worry, darling! I'll get a doctor right away. You can just go up to your room and rest."
Starlight's mother rushed out the door, leaving him all alone with the monster. Having a medical professional look at his condition was better than nothing, but it didn't bring much comfort. Hopelessness began to consume Starlight. He continued to just stand there crying, staring out the front door at the darkness of his garden. Mother had forgotten to lock it when she bolted out. He was almost on autopilot when he magically closed it again.
Shhhhh... time for bed....
He almost didn't resist this time as Ambition took over the motor functions again. Against his will, he felt himself hobbling up the stairs and down the hallway, occasionally tripping over the clutter of his untidy home until he reached his room, which, in contrast, was actually fairly spiffy.
Stepping into the familiar nest of books, scrolls, and other assorted documents normally gave him a positive psychological effect. He often felt better in a room which he spent a lot of time in. He knew where every book he owned was, the ideal times for reading with the natural light that came through his two windows, and even how many floorboards made up the surface of the room.
None of it was helping right now.
Why do you need me?! he mentally screamed. Why couldn't you take ANYPONY else?! I'm worthless to you! I'm not cooperative! I've got all these physical problems! There are plenty of magically stronger unicorns in Canterlot! Please, I'm begging you! Just find somepony else! I'll never breathe a word about you to anypony! Or you can just erase all my memories of you! You're in my head, so you can do that, right?! I'd be happy to forget all about this! Just please, let me go!
No. It has to be you, Ambition coldly replied. It was always about you. Those Purifier fucks need to die. I'm fighting a war here, Starlight, and you're my weapon.
Starlight climbed right on top of his made-up bed and slipped under its warm covers. Despite it all, he kept crying and shivering. He had lost. All he could do was to make himself comfortable and wait out the storm.
At some point, he must have fallen asleep. He didn't know at what point occurred, but his dreams were a strange cascade of random images and out of context sentences, most of them spoken by strange ponies whose voices were only slightly familiar. That word kept repeating though. Again and again.
Purifiers, Purifiers, Purifiers, PURIFIERS.
Eventually, Starlight was shaken awake by a white-coated, red-maned unicorn stallion with a lab coat and stethoscope. He was still in his room. The lights were on. His mother was leaning against the doorframe, for once seeming very concerned for her son. The doctor did as well, a slight crease on his brow as he focused on his patient.
"Please, son, I need your attention. You need to answer some questions for me."
"Doc... pl-ea... he-hel... m-mon-er!" Starlight practically gargled out, still sounding like he was speaking something closer to gibberish than actual language.
The doctor shook his head.
"You were right, Ms. Kadabra. He really doesn't sound too well. Okay, Starlight. If you can understand me, just hold still and let me run some diagnostic procedures on you. This shouldn't hurt too bad."
"Neyghhhh... m-mons... h-hell—"
This brief moment of consciousness didn't last long.
***
A thirteen-year-old Starlight stood behind the door, confused. He hadn't even known that Viper was here today, yet when he'd come through the front door, back home from school, he'd heard their voices in the kitchen. Apparently, neither of them had heard him coming in, and they were just continuing their conversation. Rather than barging in and interrupting, the curious stallion sat just beside the door and listened in.
Perhaps eavesdropping wasn't the most honorable of practices, but it had been how he learned of his father's former occupation in the first place. Stopping and listening sometimes yielded great returns.
"...I worry about him sometimes, Viper. I've had so many sleepless nights over what he's doing and what he could be up to, that..."
"Hey, it's okay. I know. That stubborn stallion never answers me when I ask him about how he spends his free time. I've worried too, sometimes. So what is it then? Who are these friends of his that you're so worried about? My old pal isn't in the mafia or anything, is he? Heh."
"Clairvoyance's friends are... well, they're not the mafia, goodness no, but they're not nice ponies. We don't have them around here like we have you, of course. I'd never allow such a thing. He does spent a lot of time with them though, and sometimes I just think... they're a lot more trouble than they're worth."
"You know, Scarlet, it doesn't help when you tiptoe around the issue. It's all well and good asking me for advice, but I can't help if I don't know who we're even talking about. Who are these guys, and what's so bad about them?"
"Viper, you're Clair's friend, aren't you?"
"Yeah..."
"And you're my friend too, right?"
"Of course I am. You, Clair, Starlight, you know I love all you guys like you were my own family."
"It's just that I want to feel like I can trust you with this, because it's... well it's a pretty big secret, and Clair would kill me if he knew I was about to tell you. You can't tell anypony this."
Behind the door, Starlight's eyes slowly widened and he began to back away from the door.
No way. She isn't going to tell him...
"Well, obviously I can't make any promises, but like I said, I'm your friend. If you can't trust your friends, who can you trust, right?"
Scarlet sighed.
"Clairvoyance works for the Descendants."
Starlight could only hear what was going on in that room, but he could still feel the mood change. The air became tense, and when Viper's voice returned, the casual demeanor and warmth seemed to fly straight out the window, replaced with absolute stone-cold seriousness.
"What?"
"He's... been a part of them for years, Viper. Ever since I was pregnant with Starlight and he first left the agency. I mean, I was always sort of on the fence about the whole thing anyway, so I supported him when he said he had to 'take a stand' against it all, but I did feel bad we had to be so false whenever you came around, and... those Descendants... they're not nice ponies either, Viper. Their little revolutionary war was way beyond me. I just wanted to be there for Clairvoyance. But they wanted to involve me too, and... for all the horror stories I've heard about what you've done and what the Purifiers have done, they're really not saints themselves. In fact, they even..."
Scarlet seemed to be trying to say something more, but instead made a strange noise. Starlight had until then just sat and listened in horror as she spilled all their secrets, but now he recognized the sound. She was sobbing. His mother was in tears. Viper remained quiet throughout.
After almost a minute, though it seemed like hours, he broke the silence.
"I see."
There was the sound of hooves clopping on the kitchen floor.
"W-wait! You're not going to harm him, are you?! You two are friends, right?! All I want you to do is convince him to quit it all! The Descendants... it's too dangerous for him, Viper! For all of us! If the rest of the Purifiers caught him at this, they'd... You can make him stop before it comes to that, can't you?!"
"I can't promise you anything."
"B-but what about me and Starlight? You can't possibly think of doing anything to the colt! He's only thirteen, and he needs his father, and he looks up to you so much even if he does agree with Clair!"
Viper sighed.
"Like I said, I can't promise you anything."
"At least tell me if I'm ever going to see my husband again?!"
"That's up to my superiors... I-I... need to leave. You've made a good decision in telling me this. I'll need to inform the rest of the Purifiers of this, but I'll do what I can for Clairvoyance. This information will help Equestria become a better place, I promise you."
"No! Plea—"
The popping sound of a teleportation spell interrupted her pleas. The sound of sobs followed shortly afterwards. No longer needing to stay concealed, Starlight pushed open the door and inched his way into the kitchen. Hunched over the wooden table in the center, Scarlet had her face buried in her hooves. She slowly looked up at him, mascara running down her face from the tears.
Neither of them said anything. Starlight simply walked over, took a seat next to her, and pulled her into a hug.
***
The doctor curiously looked over the spasming body of Starlight, and took a worn-out breath.
"Hmm, all the readings were normal, which is strange because of the bizarre condition this young stallion seems to be in."
"Yes, this is rather perplexing... Would you mind monitoring him for the rest of the night? It looks like the poor dear could explode at any second."
"That's what you called me out here for, ma'am. Don't worry. I'll take care of him to the best of my ability."
Scarlet gave the stallion an appreciative smile.
"Thank you ever so much. You've no idea how much this means to me."
"Oh, it's nothing. Now, you should go get some rest as well, Ms. Kadabra. It's pretty late now."
"Gladly. Thanks again for being such a gentlecolt, Dr. Scope."
"You're welcome. Goodnight, Ms. Kadabra."
Scarlet promptly left the room, leaving only the doctor. In his bed, a near-delirious Starlight looked up at the other stallion through blurred vision and tried to call out to him. In his addled mental state, he begged for his father to come and help him and pleaded for his uncle to show him mercy. Outwardly though, all the doctor could hear was more gibberish from pony obviously not of sound mind.
And in the depths of his brain, Starlight heard the echoing chuckle of Ambition.
Oh, Starlight... I think I'm beginning to sense some acknowledgement of the truth in this awful little mind of yours. You know what happened now, don't you? This is what I meant before when I said that you were dead. Who you are now is a laughable parody of what you were meant to be. I am going to kill you, Starlight Hocus Kadabra, and I'm going build a war machine out of your pieces.
***
Clairvoyance and Starlight sat close together, barricaded inside the dark, musty basement. The older stallion was merely grim, his eyes pointed to the ceiling and his ears twitching with even the slightest sound above them. His son on the other hoof was trembling uncontrollably, held in his forehooves. Neither of them had spoken for a long time, but the silence weighed on them.
"Son, there's no need to be so panicked. It will all be alright," Clairvoyance whispered, finally breaking it.
"No it won't!" Starlight retorted in a somewhat louder voice. "We're the most wanted targets of the most powerful organization in all of Equestria! This cannot possibly be alright! They've already taken mother, and soon they're going to take us too! We're just waiting for our deaths here, dad!"
Clairvoyance let out a quiet sigh.
"Yes, you're right. Not everything is okay, but our situation isn't as bad as you think. They will most likely not kill us. I'm almost certain that their mission will be to capture us and wipe our memories of 'impurities'. They might be tyrannical, but they're not bloodthirsty."
"But you always said that purification is basically death anyway!"
He sighed again, and closed his eyes.
"I know."
Starlight bowed his head.
"What will happen to us afterwards?"
"They'll probably allow you and Scarlet to live something close to your current life. Well, that's until they recruit you once you graduate. For me, I fear it will be worse. They'll probably rewrite my memories to make me think that I'm a completely different pony. They'll erase every bit of evidence that I ever existed. They'll allow me to live, but the pony I was will die and be forgotten, and some new stallion with my body will go and live a new life somewhere out there.
"I don't know what kind of life. Depends on the agent who catches us and the officer who reassigns me. If we get a true believer like Viper, I might live a happy life with a new family somewhere, so they can pat themselves on the back for serving the greater good and reassure themselves that they didn't just murder me. Then again, we might get somepony vengeful, or one of the sadists, and I could be shipped off to one of the colonies to mine coal for the rest of my life. Pretty much the only thing I can say for sure is that my years of service would have earned me a purification instead of a simple death."
"And I'll just forget all about you and our time together?"
"Sadly, yes. They'll take away your memory of everything you knew about me. Maybe some of what I taught you will bleed through, but for the most part, you'll only remember being raised by your mother. I couldn't really say what kind of stallion you'd have grown into without me, but... you'll be different, Starlight."
"I don't want to be, though!"
Clairvoyance hugged him tighter.
"They're not going to do to you what they will to me. You'll still be you, Starlight. Just a different you. But when they try to change you, just focus really hard. Try to remember everything that I taught you, and maybe, just maybe, those lessons will stick."
Their talk was interrupted by some heavy knocking on the basement door, which they had barricaded from their side.
"Open up or we're blasting through!" a gruff voice sounded from the other side.
At that moment, Starlight felt his stomach turn.
"Looks like our time is up," Clairvoyance muttered.
"I'm scared, dad."
"So am I, son. So am I."
***
Starlight looked around his cozy lamp-lit room from his bed. He was no longer wriggling around like a fish on land. No more memories were resurfacing. Even Ambition had stopped vying for control of his body, and he could barely even feel the dark spirit's presence anymore.
He hadn't felt so relieved in years. He scrambled as fast as he could, falling out of his bed and landing on his back on the carpet. Then he began laughing. He laughed like a maniac, holding his stomach and turning over onto his side so that his cackling was muffled by the carpet. The tears streamed down his face once again, but it was no longer out of despair as it was before. Now he cried just because he was laughing so hard. His mind was finally clear again.
Looks like you've finally finished the exciting finale of your memories. So are you starting to get it now?
The laughing wound down. What had began as an uncontrolled giggling began to descend into a pained wailing.
"WHHHHHHHY?!" he screamed out. "Why can't you just GO AWAY?!"
Starlight had been so certain that this monster had been gone. He could almost physically feel the sudden lack of pressure over his brain. Yet Ambition was still there. How could he still be there?
That wonderful feeling you're experiencing isn't me going away. That's just what it feels like when all the memory locks are gone. I bet you never even noticed that fog looming over you all these years, but that's what the Purifiers and their memory spells do to you.
"I don't care..." Starlight murmured. "Please, just either let me die, or let me go..."
Okay, well, just hear me out. I think we got off on the wrong foot here. Maybe trying to take over your body by force was kind of a dick move on my part, but I tend to stick out in my natural form and I needed a hiding place. So let me reintroduce myself. My name is Ambition, and I'm honestly not here just to try and steal your body. In fact, I want to help you.
"You're just saying that because you failed to control me..." the unicorn bitterly responded.
I do admit, your resistance has forced me to adapt my plans a bit, but my goals are unchanged.
"And what are your goals?"
Well, let's start with the basics. Those memories I've been showing you are real. Clairvoyance really was your father, and he was a stand-up guy who I had a lot of respect for. That "friend" he mentioned, who set him on the right path and got him to join the Descendants, was me. I know the guy who runs the organization too. Dude named Bastion. Me and him are pals.
Starlight raised an eyebrow and looked up at his own forehead, where presumably Ambition was located.
"You and him are what?"
Nevermind. Point is, your dear old dad was doing spy work for them, and he was gonna help me and the others bring down the Purifiers, who I have grievances with for various reasons that I don't want to go into right now. Scarlet then went full bitch mode and screwed up all our plans, as you saw, and this unfortunately led to the whole deal collapsing. Clairvoyance is gone, you and your mother had your brains scooped out, and I have only just arrived to fix it all. You're welcome, by the way.
"But why?! What good does telling me do?! I'm still useless to you!"
Au contraire, my friend. You see, your father is alive. This is a very good thing for me, because if we want to get the ball rolling with destroying the Purifiers, we need to get him back. Fortunately, as I have demonstrated with you, I can restore memories. What's more, I know where he is. All I need is a willing agent whose body I can stow away in for the journey. This is your father I want to rescue here, so we share a common interest. And whether you know it or not, you were born to fight Purifiers. I can use a guy like you, and I want us to partner up.
Starlight clutched his head and stood up, pulling himself off the floor. He looked around his room. The curtains were drawn, but he could tell by the lack of light from the other side that it was still dark out. Wondering where the doctor from earlier disappeared to, he stepped back over to his bed and lay down on it. He opened his mouth to speak again, but then remembered that his mother and the doctor were probably still in the house somewhere, even if he couldn't see them.
Instead, he replied mentally.
This sounds incredibly dangerous, Ambition. I do want to help, but if everything that you and my new memories have told me about the Purifiers is true, then surely they'll see this coming? What will they do to me if I'm caught helping you?
Oh, don't be like that. What else are you going to do? Just sit here, live your fake life, and wait until they come along to brainwash you into becoming one of them? Because if you say no when they approach you, that's what they'll do.
Well...
You've got one alternative: help your father, and carry on his wishes. Otherwise you're going to be a Purifier whether you like it or not. There are precisely two sides in this conflict, Starlight. Pick one.
Starlight stared up at his ceiling.
Fine, he relented. But we play this smart! We do it my way! The school term concludes tomorrow. I'm not going anywhere until I've finished all my business and made excuses for where I'll be for the next few days. And once we've found my dad and he's him again, you go with him to the Descendants to do your thing, and let me go back to my own life. I want no part in this civil war business, and I'd much rather just lie low and let the rest of you deal with it.
That's disappointing, but fair. Very well. I'll respect your choices on this matter. We'll see if you keep to them though. Once you see your long lost father again, I think you'll feel differently about leaving him again so soon. Because I meant what I said before, Starlight; this isn't who you're meant to be. I think I may just be able to bring out the old you again before all this is over.
"Hmph."
With that, Ambition went quiet. Though he didn't see or feel the spirit leave his mind, this time his presence really did seem to lift. Finally feeling like he was alone in his own head again, the unicorn began to drift off into a deep, restful sleep. The horrors of the day were behind him, and tomorrow promised to be at least marginally better, even if his whole world had been shattered.
Questions plagued him as he began to sink into unconsciousness though. He realized that he'd just made a proverbial deal with the devil, and he still didn't even know exactly what Ambition was. Certainly he knew that his new "passenger" was some kind of spirit-y thing, but that told him almost nothing. He remembered his earlier claims that he once knew the spirit that possessed Princess Luna. Did that mean that they were from the same "pantheon"? Perhaps related, even?
What was he getting into here?