There were very few times that Sunny Skies had been called into the EBE office and she could count them all, three. The first time was when she was asked to give a report to the Captain of the Royal Guard himself, Prince Valiant Heart. She hadn’t met the stallion directly until that time, but she had to admit, he was cute. But unfortunately, it did not diminish the importance of her being called in. The report she was asked to give was on her finding out that the pegasus mare known as “Daisy Cutter” was in fact Princess Starburst in disguise. They grilled her for hours and asked many questions. Everything from “Did you know that that was Princess Starburst?”, and “Did you conspire with the Princess to put her in harm’s way?” Of course the answers to all of these were no, no, and no.
The second time was when she was summoned to the office, secretly. She had entered the room and found Prince Valiant Heart in the room. The Prince had a mission for her, should she had chosen to accept it. It was to ensure that the Princess wouldn’t do something like she did again. According to the Prince, they had sent Princess Starburst to live in Ponyville for the next three months. This was obviously some sort of punishment on their part, but according to the Captain, he was doing this to protect his cousin. It was the first time she had seen him look so worried and, although she may have imagined it, guilty. Nonetheless, Sunny was chosen because she possessed a unique skill set to keep tabs on the young mare, and if she were found out, at least Princess Starburst wouldn’t feel like it was a total stranger.
And now we arrive at the third and current time. Starburst had, in a fit of rage, revealed her identity as the Fear Lantern to half of Ponyville and her friends. To be honest, Sunny might have been able to keep that hush-hush for a bit, but she didn’t think that anymore, not after what she heard, which was why this was looking more like an interrogation than just her giving a report.
Sunny was sitting in the same office. Two officials of the EBE and Captain Valiant Heart himself sat in on the questioning, making it feel like a tribunal.
“State your name.”
“Sunny Skies, Agent of the EBE, and Lieutenant in the Royal Guard.”
“Who is your handler?”
“Captain Valiant Heart, I report directly to him.”
“State the events that occurred in Ponyville during the day of the incident.”
“Yes sir. At around 1503, the broadcast was heard in Ponyville. Many gathered to the town square and listened as the…ahem…event took place. Princess Starburst was, to say the least, distraught from hearing what she heard. And that’s when she ordered her friends to back away from her. She then pointed her right hoof forward and a ring appeared around it, somehow the ring brought forth what looked like a lantern. She put the same hoof into the one of the open portals, spoke some kind of oath, and was transformed into the Fear Lantern. Princess Starburst then took off into the sky, and, from what I could assume, was heading to Maretonia.”
Sunny waited for them to ask the obvious question, but for whatever reason they decided to have her answer some questions regarding Star’s routine and daily activities. Then, the question was asked, and it was asked by none other than the Prince himself.
“Sunny Skies, did you at all suspect Princess Starburst as being the Fear Lantern?”
This was the pinnacle moment in Sunny’s career, she could either lie through her teeth or deny knowing that Star was the Fear Lantern, and she knew that Starburst would most likely back her up on that. And then there was the option of telling the truth, she could be court marshaled, bumped down to private, or face jail time for withholding valuable information to the identity of the Fear Lantern, and let’s not forget, willfully allowing a Princess of Equestria to enter a warzone on more than one occasion.
But, for some reason, be it the wing of Faust herself, or her own conscious. Something told Sunny that the truth needed to be told, so, steeling herself for what was to come, Sunny spoke, “Yes, I did suspect Princess Starburst was the Fear Lantern.”
Sunny noticed how Valiant Heart knit his brow, “For how long?”
“Going on two months now, Sir.”
“And you didn’t think to bring this up because?”
Sunny opened her mouth but stopped. Why had she kept it a secret for so long? Was it merely out of debt because she saved her life, and her mother’s life along with Cloudsdale and Stalliongrad? Or was there something more to it? Something that she knew wasn’t good, she had grown attached to the young mare, never mind a physical attraction, but she found Starburst easy to converse with, even if she was a little more uptight than usual, it was always fun to see her blush and to get her to smile.
“Because…” Sunny sighed, “Permission to speak freely sir?”
“Granted.”
“Because I believe in Star, Sir. Yes she’s young, yes she can overdo it, and yes, she can be a bit reckless. But you cannot deny that with Star wielding that ring, Equestria stands more of a chance against the Griffon Empire. She’s practically a one mare army. Despite what you may believe Captain, she is a mature mare, and has been making decisions and fighting for the lives of all her people. Just as any Royal Guard would do.”
Valiant Heart rose from his chair and walked around the table to face Sunny Skies. “And you believe that this is a good reason to withhold vital intel?! To allow a Princess of Equestria to put herself in danger!?”
“With respect, Sir, Star is a lot tougher than you think. I would think you of all ponies could see that, given that you witnessed her strength and determination in the Cloudsdale incident.”
Valiant Heart snorted. “You’re dismissed Lieutenant.”
Lance walked around her and was preparing to leave room. “I can’t believe she looked up to you.”
The alicorn stallion stopped. “What did you say, Lieutenant?”
“I didn’t stutter, Captain. I said: ‘I can’t believe she looked up to you’.” Sunny repeated, not bothering to look at the Guard Captain.
“She’s my cousin; of course she’ll looks up to me.”
“She deserves respect, Sir, which is less than what you’re showing her now. Star has worked herself into the ground, training under you, and training even more on her own. All so that she could earn her spot in the Royal Guard, to fight alongside the cousin that she looked up to and idolized, like her father, and her uncle. What right have you to take her dreams and aspirations, away from her?!”
Lance didn’t turn to look at her; his gaze was downcast as the stallion gritted his teeth when old feelings started to re-emerge. Without saying another word, Valiant Heart left the room, leaving Sunny to be further interrogated by the remaining two officials.
Ponyville, 1 Hour Later…
Many of the townsfolk celebrated the news that High Princess Twilight Sparkle and Prince Valiant Heart were saved by the Fear Lantern, of course, they were even more happy since now they knew the identity of the famed hero, and that it was Princess Starburst herself, the daughter of the High Princess.
While many were off celebrating, others were busy contemplating. Del, Candy, Annie, T, Prism, Claire, June, and Whirlwind had gathered in at the barn at Del’s place. They didn’t feel like talking at Sugar Cube Corner, nor at Carousel Boutique, and honestly, they wanted some time to think about what they had just seen.
“I can’t believe Star’s the Fear Lantern,” said Whirlwind.
“For once…I’m stumped,” said Candy.
“To be honest, it does explain some things. Why Star wanted to know how I was able to maintain my focus while using my telekinetic magic,” said Claire.
“It also explains why she asked me about energy conservation when casting spells too. We were unknowingly helping her train with that…thing she has on her hoof,” said Annie.
“Same here, especially when it came to my maneuvering skills. But honestly, I could totally see Star as the Fear Lantern, I mean, how many other pegasi have wings that big?!” Prism explained, flaring his own for emphasis.
“Ahem.” Turquoise cleared his throat and flared his own large membrane wings.
“Well, aside from you, T, and besides, they weren’t dragon wings they were feathered wings.”
“Why didn’t she tell us, did she not trust us enough to keep her secret?” asked June.
“It might be the opposite, June,” spoke Whirlwind, “she trusts us, and cares about us enough not to tell somepony.”
“I have to agree with Whirly, I mean, from what I read in the comic books at the shop, typically, when the superhero reveals their secret identity to their friends and family, it usually doesn’t turn out so well for the friends and family.”
“I see, she kept it secret to protect us should the griffons start seeking information about the Fear Lantern,” said Claire.
“When you put it that way, it makes more sense. I mean, Star cares about us, she wouldn’t want us to be put in harm’s way. Just look how fearsome she got when she heard all that,” said Turquoise.
Prism shuddered a bit, “Yeah, her special talent is intimidation, but damn, she was crazy scary when she went Fear Lantern. I almost feel sorry for those griffons, y’know, almost.”
The whole time that this conversation took place, Del had remained silent. He just kept thinking back to Starburst’s sad face, and how powerless he felt when they heard her mother scream from getting whipped all the way in Maretonia. He wanted to comfort her, to give her strength, but in the end he couldn’t do any of these things.
“I just wish that they’d tell us something, all they keep repeating is that Maretonia is on its way to being liberated and that High Princess Twilight and Valiant Heart are alright, but they’re not saying much about what happened to Star after the fact…” Annie mentally face hoofed herself, knowing that Del was probably more worried than all of them; he had been unusually quiet since they gathered.
Just then, they heard a knock at the barn door. Everypony tensed, wondering if it was a good idea to answer it. Being the lucky one closest to the door, June walked up to it and said, “Who’s there…?”
“A friend and a boyfriend, I tend to switch between both depending on the situation.” There was flash of magical light from the other side of the door, and in an instant another flash emanated from inside the barn, revealing Prince Illusion. “Hey Claire bear.”
“Illusion,” gasped Claire.
“What are you doing here!?”
“I missed you too.”
“Lulu!”
Illusion brought up his hoof and claw up in a placating manner, “Easy, easy, I just thought I’d lighten the mood in here a little. I could feel some heavy emotions from outside.”
“Well, spit it out, why are you here?” asked Prism.
Illusion sighed; he did not bring good news. “I’ve been a fly on the wall, literally, I turned myself into a fly, and listened in on some things going on in the castle, the majority of which is concerning Starburst and her recently revealed Fear Lantern identity. First off, from what they’re saying, Star fought against one of the Wing Commanders of the Griffon Empire, Steel Wing. She received a lot of injuries, got banged up pretty bad, but she was able to put the bastard down and is back at the castle.”
Some sighs of relief could be heard all round, along with some high hooves from Turquoise and Prism, celebrating the defeat of the griffon who hurt Star’s mother. Annie looked in Del’s direction, she couldn’t see, but that didn’t mean she couldn’t sense how happy he was from knowing that Star was alright.
“Thank goodness,” said the farmer.
“Unfortunately…She’s…She’s being held in the dungeon…”
The happiness level of the room went from a solid ten to zero in the blink of an eye. All eyes were now on Illusion, some thinking that he was joking and were waiting for the punch line. But no punch line came, and the look on the Prince’s face told them that he was serious about what he had said.
”You’re lyin’…”
“Cuz…?”
“YOU’RE LYIN’!”
Golden Delicious rushed towards Illusion, using his great strength, he shoved the Prince till his back was up against the wall and pinned him there with his hoof. Prism was getting noticeably angry from hearing the news as well and would’ve done the same if Del hadn’t, but he was happy to lend a hoof.
“I’m not lying, Del…I wish I was, but I’m not,” said Illusion in a solemn tone of voice.
“Star has done nothin’ but protect Equestria and the ponies who live in it from those griffons and you’re tellin’ me that for all her trouble, they threw her in the damn dungeon!!?”
Claire, having shaken off the surprise of seeing Del act so aggressively, rushed to her bou’s side. “Del let Illusion go!”
“No, he’s lyin, or at the very least someone’s got a screw loose for doin’ this!” Del yelled.
“DEL,” Claire growled warningly, “let him go, or I’ll make you let him go.” The stallion and dragon-pony mare stared each other down before Claire added, “Please.”
The earth pony stallion calmed himself a little and released Illusion, letting him stand on both his legs. “I’m sorry Del; I wish that wasn’t the case.”
“Why…? Do ya at least know why they did it?!”
Illusion was hesitant with this information, Del had already flown into a rage and Prism wasn’t far behind, he didn’t know how much bad news everypony could take right now. But the pleading looks for information compelled him to answer their questions, despite it being bad, it was better than them imagining the worst.
“Star’s being held for the murder of twelve Royal Guards…”
The room was deathly silent, many eyes widened, and their breath seemed to catch in their throats. It was known that Illusion was a prankster, but even he knew where to draw the line, so that’s why when he said “murder” they knew he wasn’t joking, although they wished to Faust that he was.
“That’s…That’s bullshit!” Prism yelled as he glared at Illusion. “Starburst is the last, and I mean the last pony who would do something like that! She idolizes the Royal Guard, I mean, she bucking goes all goofy and star struck around them! And you’re going to stand there and tell us that she murdered twelve of them!”
Annie huddled closer to T, shaking her head in disbelief. “No…No, Star…Star would never do something like that!”
“Illusion…Why would she do that?” asked Claire, not really sure if she wanted to know the answer of what would drive her friend to murder twelve Guards.
“From what I heard, the reason behind Aunt Twilight’s and Lance’s capture was a unicorn Royal Guard. He betrayed them, and brainwashed twelve other Royal Guards in order to help him. When the fighting was over, that same Guard thought he could take advantage of Star after fighting so long, but in the end, she killed him.”
“Good riddance,” spat Prism, “he was traitor, and helped get Star’s mom hurt! So how is that a bad thing, they would’ve executed him or put him away for life, so what!?”
“You’re right, but that’s not the issue. The issue is, after the unicorn was killed his hold on the other twelve was released, but Star…I don’t know if she was just angry or too tired and fatigued to think straight, but she flew into a rage and killed those remaining twelve…they were innocent guys…they had no control over what they were doing…”
“So…She killed innocent Guards, without realizing it?” asked June.
Illusion nodded in confirmation, and for the rest of the night, the friends were silent, their thoughts all on their friend and what fate awaited her.
Canterlot…
Starburst remembered this feeling, the soreness, the throbbing headache, the feeling like crap, it was the same way she felt after Stalliongrad, good times. Star slowly opened her sore eye lids, when they fully opened she was greeted by the sight of a stone ceiling. For a second, Star thought she was in Maretonia, she was also aware of feeling a soft bed under her, and the blankets covering her. That’s when she remembered, the memories flooding into her mind. Star attempted to bolt upright, but stopped as she yelped from the piercing dull pain emanating from her left shoulder.
“You shouldn’t move so quickly, honey. You’re wounds have healed but your body may still feel some the phantom pain from your injuries.” Starburst turned her head to the left and saw her mother standing at her bedside. “I would’ve had the doctors bring you some painkillers, but I didn’t want to overtax your body…If it hurts too much I could cast a relief spell to numb it…?”
Starburst shook her head, “It’s…It’s fine, not the worst thing I’ve ever felt.” Seeing her mother here, and added to the recent events, Star had no doubt that her mother and Lance most likely knew by now, if not from Maretonia then certainly from Ponyville. “Mom listen I –”
“I know you’re the Fear Lantern…” Twilight interrupted, “Why did you keep something like this a secret and for how long?”
It was the obvious question, and truthfully, she was tired of pretending and hiding her power from everypony. “I got the ring when I was in Stalliongrad, it helped me to beat back the griffons…I wanted to tell you…but…I was afraid you would take it away from me…after you guys and Lance banded me from joining the Royal Guard, I saw this as my chance to defend Equestria. Not as a Royal Guard, but as the Fear Lantern of Equus.”
“Star…you should’ve told us, you kept putting yourself in dangerous situations, why are you so bent on doing this to yourself!?”
“Mom…?”
Twilight sat on her haunches as her eyes began to water, “Don’t you see that you’re going to get yourself killed if you keep pushing yourself like this! And now you’re thrusting yourself into warzones, wielding some unknown power that you haven’t a clue about –!”
“Hold on,” Star narrowed her brow, “I know all about my rings power, where it comes from, what it’s powered by, I – wait?” Starburst raised her right hoof to check and see of the ring was there, but her foreleg didn’t get that far up as she felt something tug back. “What the hay?”
“Star listen…”
The young mare tried to lift her right foreleg again, but she couldn’t even get it above her head, she also noticed the distinct sound of chains rattling somewhere within the room. Feeling a slight amount of panic, Star maneuvered her foreleg from under the blanket and stared wide eyed at was on it. Her ring was gone, but in its stead, was a shackle, the chain leading all the way down to the anchor in the wall next to the bed, given just enough slack to make some adjustments. Star immediately lifted her left foreleg, wincing from the pain that still lingered but finding that her other appendage was shackled as well. Starburst began to hyperventilate.
“M-Mom, what’s going on, w-w-why am I shackled to a bed in a hospital?!”
“Because…you’re not in a hospital Star.” Twilight moved away and allowed her daughter to see the horizontal bars of the cell a few feet behind the alicorn mare. “You’re in the dungeon cells in Canterlot Castle…”
“WHAT!?” Starburst bolted upright, wincing again from the pain, but the panic of the situation more than dulled that sensation. She couldn’t rise up far however, as the shackles became taut and prevented her from going any further than a sitting position. “Why am I in a dungeon, Mom!? O-Or is this some kind of sick illusion magic…I’m a prisoner of the griffons aren’t I?!”
“Starburst!” Twilight quickly put her hooves on her daughter’s shoulders and forced her to look her mother in the eye. “It’s me Star, this isn’t some illusion! We’re in Canterlot. And…you really are in a cell.”
Starburst looked to her shackled hooves and back to her mother in disbelief, “Why…? Why I am I chained up in a cell!? I know I didn’t tell you about the ring, and I’m sorry for disguising myself and going to Stalliongrad! But this is way too far Mom!”
“DO YOU THINK I WANT YOU IN HERE!!?” Twilight shouted, making Starburst flinch from the intensity. “Don’t you think I’d rather see you resting in your room, with all of us together!? But I can’t overlook what you did Star, as much as I want to, too many ponies saw what you did!”
“What did I do!? Tell me and I’ll apologize!” Star pleaded.
“You killed Royal Guards Star, that’s something that an apology can’t fix.”
Starburst was taken aback, yes she remembered killing Royal Guards, but they were traitors. These were the very ponies who helped the griffons capture her and Lance and took them prisoner, the very same who stood by while she was being whipped in front of populace of Bucephalus!
“You’re keeping me here because I killed traitors?! After what they did to you Mom! They disgraced the Royal Guard and trampled everything that other Royal Guards have fought and died for! They were worse than the griffons, and they deserved to die!”
Twilight couldn’t believe what she was hearing from her own daughter. “How can you talk about killing so easily…? Did what you go through at Stalliongrad change you that much or…” Twilight’s horn lit up, rising from her tucked wing was Star’s yellow power ring. “Was this thing the cause of it all?”
“My ring!”
“Answer me Starburst, was it because of this ring!? I already know this thing doesn’t work like any kind of magical item I’ve heard of or seen in my life! So where did you get it, who gave it to you!?” Twilight demanded.
Starburst snorted. “It chose me, Mom, because I have the ability to not only instill fear, but because I have a strong sense of justice. As far as where it came from, it fell from the night sky and it is the only reason I’m alive to have this conversation with you right now!”
“So it works on fear…strangely it fits your special talent, but still, you don’t know anything about it! You should’ve told us!”
“I know more than you think Mom! I had it tell me all about it, where it was made, who made it, and why they were made! But that doesn’t matter; the fact is that it chose me to be Equus’ protector, its first Fear Lantern! And really, after you, Dad, and Lance took away my dream, you could see why I was reluctant to say anything!”
Twilight’s heart grew heavy, although she thought they had made up some time ago, Starburst still harbored some resentment towards what they did. Honestly she couldn’t blame her; she’d be the same way if her parents had told her that she couldn’t study under Princess Celestia when she was a foal. But this was completely different; she was learning magic and was under the protection of Celestia herself. But Starburst, she was such a scared little thing when she was filly, and deep down, Twilight could still see that side of her. And it made her and Flash worry about the day when she was accepted.
“I’m sorry Star…We’re sorry…”
“I forgave you for that, somewhat, because I’m now part of something greater and bigger than the Royal Guard! I’ve been given the responsibility to fight for Equestria!” Star stopped for a moment, an idea forming in her head as a small smile curled upon her lips. “This could actually be a good thing.”
“You’re kidding me, right?”
Star shook her head. “No, don’t you see!? Now that ponies know that I’m the Fear Lantern, we don’t have to prance around anymore! We can take the fight to the griffons directly!”
“Star, you saw how powerful Steel Wing was.”
“I beat him!”
“Barely!”
“Point is the two us can take on the Empire together! The power of my ring and your magic, together we can end this war! Strike their capital and make Stratus rue the day he and the rest of the griffons challenged Equestria and killed so many!”
“Listen yourself Starburst, how can talk about doing all this!?”
Starburst scoffed and laughed at the notion. “Mom, do you have any idea how many griffons I’ve killed between Stalliongrad, Cloudsdale, and Maretonia combined? And besides…” Starburst looked down at her sheets, “It was either fight and kill them, or lie down and let them violate and kill me. Which one would you have rather have happened?”
The thought of somepony or anyone hurting Star in such a manner made Twilight’s blood boil and made her sick all at once.
“I fought for survival, because I realized that it was either going to be me or them, was I going to come back home, become some griffon’s slave plaything, or die, I chose to rise above my fears, and instead I wanted to be the thing that they feared! And my weapon, the instrument to make all that come true, was that ring.”
Twilight’s gaze was downcast after hearing all of this. “You’re not my Starburst…”
Star looked at her mother quizzically, “Mom?”
“The Starburst I held in my arms when she was foal, who cried and was painfully shy as a little filly, the Starburst who got injured more times than any filly her age would’ve gotten, that filly I watched grow into a brash, strong, and confident young mare…” Twilight sniffled a bit, “That Starburst wouldn’t be so quick to pass judgment on her fellow equines, traitors or not, she would’ve at least given them the benefit of a trial. Not become the judge, jury, and executioner all at once!”
“In the heat of battle that’s what I am! I dispense justice by putting fear into the enemies of Equestria! Just like I did those traitors!” Starburst roared.
“THEY WEREN’T ALL TRAITORS STARBURST!!!”
Star stared blankly at her mother. “What…what are you saying?”
“Pinpoint, the stallion who stabbed you with a spear, he used a mind control spell to brainwash those other twelve Royal Guards. They did everything he told them, they didn’t have a choice! They cried, Star, I saw one of them cry when they were putting me in chains, and I saw true sadness in his eyes, and it was reflected in his comrades. The moment you removed Pinpoint’s horn, you cut off the magic controlling them. Star, they were innocent, forced to do things they didn’t want to do! They were free for that brief moment and you…!”
Starburst shook her head slowly, her eyes widening as the full weight of what she had done bore down on her. “I…I…I killed innocent Royal Guards…I killed them…! No…Oh dear Faust!” The young mare had tears falling from her eyes, she had robbed those ponies of their lives in her anger, taken away somepony’s husband, father, brother, friend, uncle, she did that and now their families would never seem them again. “I’m sorry…I’m so sorry Mom…”
Twilight wanted to badly to hug her daughter and tell her everything was going to be alright. But it wasn’t, there was no getting around that Starburst murdered innocent Royal Guards, not after Lance, and the crew of the Avalon saw all that. Twilight then looked at the ring that floated in her magical grasp, scowling at the yellow object.
“This thing…It’s turned you into something you’re not. It has to be the ring…” Twilight rose up and started to walk towards the door of the cell.
“Wait,” Star called out, “Where are you going with my ring!?”
“This ring, it’s bad for you, it’s turned you into something you’re not Starburst. I’m going to lock it away where it can never hurt you.”
“NO! Mom please, the ring is a part of me, I’m sorry for what I’ve done and I promise I’ll do whatever I have to, to make it right! Just don’t take it away from me, please don’t…not again, you, Dad, and Lance banned me from joining the Royal Guard, being a Fear Lantern is all I have left Mom, please don’t!”
Twilight kept her back turned to her daughter, not wanting to show how painful it was to hear Star speak with such desperation and sorrow, it felt like she was ripping away another dream from her all over again. But she had to think, if this ring was the real reason to why she was the way she was now, then maybe her actions were just because of the rings influence. As gut wrenchingly painful as this was, Twilight had to do it for her daughter’s sake.
“I’m sorry Star, but…you won’t be seeing this ring again.”
Starburst lowered her head, her bangs covering most of her face as she wept, taking in raspy breathes as she tried to remain strong in her mother’s presence. “I hate you…”
Twilight’s heart felt like it had been pierced with a knife and twisted. She almost broke down right there in the cell. The Guard on the other end opened the door and Twilight left the cell. She then turned to the Guard and spoke in a shaky voice, “P-Please look after her…Contact me if there’s something wrong, no matter what it is, no…no matter what I’m doing, you come and get me or High Prince Flash Sentry. If she’s in pain contact a doctor immediately, that’s an order.”
“Of course your majesty.”
Twilight then began to walk down the long hallway of the dungeon, hearing the sobbing cries of her daughter echo through the stone corridor, and knowing that she was the direct cause made her motherly instincts stab at her heart.
“I’m sorry Star…”
Starburst had lost track of how much time had passed by since the dam of emotions broke open. She hated crying, especially while there was a Royal Guard not ten feet away from her, it reminded her of when she was filly, always a crybaby, hiding behind her father’s wings or her mother’s forelegs. Left in the silence of the dungeon, Star’s mind wandered to different things.
She thought of her little brother, Nighty. Although they had there spats and fought like cats and dogs sometimes, she still cared about him and she knew he did too. Star didn’t know what he would think of her when Nighty found out, if they told him. But he’s a smart colt…He’ll figure it out soon…Star imagined the disgusted face he would make when her little brother realized what she had done, it made her heart ache more.
Soon her thoughts wandered further, to her friends back in Ponyville. Even now she was cursing herself for being so reckless when she transformed in front the entire town. One pony in particular occupied her thoughts, among all the others, one stallion. Del…She couldn’t forget the look on his face, confusion, shock, a bit awestruck, and, maybe disappointment. Maybe that was why she felt compelled to say she was sorry before leaving, because she had kept this secret even from the stallion whom she now regarded as her coltfriend. Well…That, and because I cut our date short…I’m so going to have to make it up to him…If he even wants to talk to me after they find out what I did.
Star started to wonder if the ring had chosen the wrong mare to wield its power. Her drive to fight off the griffons and instill fear in them, to bring justice to the wicked Emperor Stratus and his merry band of killers, was that so wrong? She just lost control, and really, anypony would after hearing your own mother being whipped and screaming in pain. Anypony would kill the one responsible.
The young mare started to hear hoofsteps echoing from the hallway, she assumed it was another Guard coming to relieve the one currently outside her cell. The steps got closer and Star turned her body so that she was staring at the wall, one Guard knowing that she had bawled was enough, she wasn’t about to let a second see her in such a state.
“Hey Star.”
Starburst’s ears perked up at the sound of the familiar voice. She slowly glanced over her shoulder and saw that Lance was standing outside her cell. A mixture of emotions filled Starburst, happiness from seeing her favorite cousin, anger for barring her from entering the Academy, a modicum of respect, and predominately, shame. No doubt he was here for his own answers as to why Star had kept this secret from them, and honestly she was in no mood to go through the same thing with Lance as she did her mother.
“Hey,” she responded.
Starburst heard the metal clanking of the door unlocking, and creaking of it opening. She also heard more hoofsteps as Lance entered the cell. There was silence between the two cousins, neither one had spoken since the incident at Stalliongrad, and right now the tension in the air was thick.
“Lance…I really don’t feel like talking right now…If you want to know what I was thinking, or how I got the ring, you can ask my Mom…” There was a slight hint of disdain and resentment when she said “mom”, she didn’t mean for it come out like that, but with how she was feeling, Star didn’t care.
“I know how you got it, Sunny told me.”
Star immediately sat up and turned to her cousin. “Sunny Skies!? What did you do to her!? Lance, it wasn’t her fault, she had nothing to do with me being the Fear Lantern!”
“Calm down Star. I haven’t done anything beyond questioning her.”
The young mare relaxed a bit, after everything that has happened, the last thing she wanted was for something to happen to Sunny as a result of her keeping her secret. Star then looked directly at Lance for the first time months, besides the time she talked to him as Fear Lantern in Cloudsdale. That was a different circumstance. She wanted to know, no, Star needed to know the answer to a question she had been meaning to ask him ever since she was in Ponyville.
“Lance…why did you ban me?”
“You know why.”
“You could’ve suspended me from joining for a few years, or even make me do the suckiest assignments and jobs that a cadet can do, I would’ve accepted both…But why did you ban me when you know my dream was to join the Royal Guard!?”
“………”
“Damn it all Lance, answer me! I deserve that much from my own family don’t I!?” Star yelled as she glared at her cousin with watery eyes.
“Because you’re too reckless! You’re so eager to prove that you belong in the Guard, you drive yourself into the ground, and train like there’s no tomorrow,” said Lance.
“Aren’t those the kind of traits you want in a new recruit!? Out of all the Royal Guards, you know you could count on me in any situation! We could’ve been the best of the best!”
“Star, I was behind you joining the Royal Guard! But when I saw you like that…after Stalliongrad, your wing broken, body bruised up, and blood coming out of your mouth…It scared me, really scared me.” Lance shook a bit, trying to stave off some of his growing sadness for this whole situation.
“Lance…I didn’t…”
“When I heard about what Aunt Twilight and Uncle Flash said about you joining, you weren’t the only one angry Star! Yes I went through some rough patches because of my royal status while in the Academy, yes I had to work twice as hard to earn the respect of the other Guards and to become Captain! But that didn’t mean you were going to go through the same thing! You had twice the determination, and twice the grit to blow through the Academy!”
“And you’re just telling me this now!? If that’s how you felt then why?!”
“Because everything that would make you such a great Royal Guard are the same things that will get you killed quick! And despite all of us telling you differently, you still continue! That’s why I did it, that’s why, as much as I hated it; I knew it was the only way to keep you safe!”
Starburst scoffed in disbelief, “And you thought the best way was to crush my dreams!?”
Lance went silent, he knew all this when he made the decision. Still, that didn’t mean he liked it, he didn’t like it all, but like he said, it had to be done, to keep Star from getting herself killed. And yet, despite his best efforts, Starburst still managed to put herself in harm’s way not once, but twice. And now, Star was in trouble.
“I’m sorry…”
“Sorry isn’t good enough Valiant!” Starburst yelled. “Why did you even come here!?”
“……I came here to tell you what’s probably going happen to you Star. You killed twelve Guards, that’s not going to go away.”
I don’t need to be reminded…
“You’re mom, Aunt Twilight; she’s talking with Celestia and Luna, along with Discord, Supernova, and your dad. They’re thinking of keeping you in here for while…”
Starburst stared at her cousin incredulously. “They’re not…They’re not actually considering…?”
“Star, you’re not yourself, you’ve become something else. Something dangerous, whether you realize it or not, and right now, time away from the war and battlefield, might be better –”
“Get out…”
“Star?”
“GET OUT!!! I DON’T EVER WANT TO SEE YOU AGAIN VALIANT HEART!!!” Starburst screamed as even more tears flowed down her cheeks.
There wasn’t anything else left to be said. With a heavy heart, and a stabbing pain in his chest, Lance left the cell. He hated seeing Starburst sad, even when she was a little filly, he hated seeing her sad, and did whatever he could to see her smile. But now, he was the one to cause her sadness. When the alicorn stallion made it further down the hall, he slammed his right hoof into the wall, making a sizeable crater as his own tears flowed from his eyes.
Starburst hadn’t cried this much since she was a little filly, which only made this miserable day even more miserable, or night, she couldn’t tell what with there being no windows in the dungeon. The only thing that kept her prison lit were a series of light stones set up in each cell and along the hallways of the dungeon. She figured she ought to get used to it, at the rate her situation was going, her cell would soon become her new home.
I lost my ring…my dreams…my family is against me…and on top of all that I’m a murderer…Maybe I was better of letting those griffons do whatever it was they were going to do…violate me, kill me, both… if I knew this was what was waiting at the end of it all, I would’ve just given up…
Starburst brought up her right hoof and stared at the spot where her power ring once resided, a sort of phantom feeling was present, like it was still there even though it clearly wasn’t. Star attributed this to the many times she had the ring cloaked and knew it was there by the feeling of it on her hoof as she went about her day. Now it was really gone, and in its place was an iron shackle.
The sound of hooves started to echo in the dungeon, no doubt a changing of the Guard, or maybe it was another visitor. Starburst wasn’t sure if she could take one more pony coming to visit her, no matter who it was.
“It’s not time for a shift change,” said the Guard.
“Yeah, but I thought you could use the rest, you look a little sleepy.”
I know that voice!
“I’m fine; you can come back in a few hours if you want, just clear it with the Captain.”
“Actually, that’s not part of my plan.”
Suddenly the clanking of armor, along with the sound of grunts could be heard behind Starburst. She quickly turned around in time to watch as the Royal Guard who was standing sentry at her cell fell to the floor. And by the hooves of none other than Sunny Skies herself.
“SUNNY!”
“S’up Star,” she replied.
“What are you doing!?”
Sunny started to search the Guard’s armor, “Oh, possibly ruining my career as a Royal Guard and agent of the EBE, while also aiding and abiding a prisoner, and facilitating a jailbreak in that order – Aha!”
The light-yellow mare produced a ring with keys, it only took her a few seconds to figure out which one belonged to Star’s cell. Sunny opened the door and rushed to the young mare’s side, searching through the keys for the right one to her shackles.
“Sunny you need to stop right now!”
“Look, I’m not that desperate that I’d take advantage of a mare while she was chained to a bed.” Sunny looked to Star, “No matter how cute they are.”
“This isn’t time for one of your dirty jokes – I get enough of that from Anthea – so stop now and leave! I’m not worth this Sunny!”
“That’s where we disagree Star,” Sunny found the right key and proceeded to free Starburst, “you are worth it, all of it!”
“Why, because I’m a Princess!? Because I’m the Fear Lantern!?”
“One: because yes you are a Princess, two: because you are the Fear Lantern. But it also because I know that you’re the only one who will be able to see Equestria through all of this, you’re our only trump card against the griffons and you give many ponies hope! And…” Sunny undid the last shackle and smiled to the mare. “And, also, because you’re my friend Star, and I think what they’re doing is wrong. So, are you going to argue with me, are we going to get your ring back and get the buck out of here!?”
Starburst looked to Sunny and then the open cell door. Should she run, at this point they’re already about to label her a murderer and they were going to keep her in this cell like a caged bird. Well, it’s time to spread my wings and fly.
“Do you know where they’re keeping my ring?”
“In a vault up a couple of floors from here, it’s one of many different vaults were they keep magical items that are off limits to pretty much everypony.”
“I hope you know a way to get there without being seen?”
“Weeeellllllllll~”
30 Minutes Later…
“THIS IS SOME ESCAPE PLAN SUNNY, I’M REALLY LOVING THIS!!!”
Starburst was currently engaged with a Royal Guard, while Sunny was taking on a couple of her own.
“So sue me, you want to get the ring back or not!?”
One of the Nocturne Night Guards flew at Sunny, she easily dodged his swooping attack, but nearly fell victim to the unicorn Night Guard as he fired some stun spells at her. Sunny back flipped, using her wings to give her extra power for the left off. With amazing speed Sunny dodged each of the bolts of magical energy, appearing right before the unicorn Guard. Sunny then went into series of pinpointed strikes on the stallion’s body, hitting his neck, foreleg, and any exposed area. Before he knew what hit him, the unicorn stallion fell to the ground from Sunny’s nerve attack.
Starburst was faring just as well, the unicorn Guard didn’t want to hurt the Princess, and that worked to Star’s advantage. The unicorn fired one stun spell after the other, but using the same tactics that she used during her fight with Steel Wing, Starburst swayed and danced around his attacks, totally confusing the Guard, finding it hard to aim his next blast. Star glided towards him, and dropkicked the stallion with her hind leg, and with the same swiftness, struck him across the jaw sending him smacking against the wall and out cold.
Sunny whistled as she saw Starburst fight, seeing just how much she had improved in such a short period from when she first met her, it was astonishing. Especially, using the same grace and skill, she leaped up, somersaulted in midair, and coldcocked the Nocturne Night Guard, driving him down to terra firma. She ended all this while landing softly back to the ground, barely showing any signs of fatigue.
“Damn, that’s hot Star!”
The young mare blushed but still held her serious expression, “Yeah, yeah, let’s hurry already!
Starburst and Sunny continued to make quick work of any Royal Guard that they happened to come across, taking them down quickly and as silently as possible. Sunny knew the vault would be guarded, but with her and Starburst together she figured they could handle the rest. Soon the two mares made it to the vault, and just as Sunny predicted, there were Guards standing sentry outside it. Two unicorn Night Guards, two Nocturne Night Guards, and…You got to be kidding me!?
Out of the four Night Guards, there were three that Starburst immediately recognized. A pegasus stallion with a rusty red coat and wings, and grayish blue eyes, known for his recklessness and quick temper, Hot Head. The second was a handsome unicorn stallion, with a purple coat, and dreamy lavender eyes, a stallion known as a real pretty boy and charmer of mares, Lucky Star. The last one was a earth pony mare, she had a dark yellow coat and an orange mane, with intelligent green eyes, known for being snarky and rebellious, her name was Amber Lily.
“I seriously don’t get why we have to guard this particular vault,” grumbled Hot Head.
“Can’t be helped, whatever’s inside is probably something really valuable or really dangerous, or both,” said Amber.
“Consider it an acknowledgement of our abilities, they picked us to head the Guard detail here among all the others, when you think about it, it’s kind of a great honor in a way,” said Lucky.
Hot Head contemplated this for a moment as a proud grin appeared on his face. “Heh, I guess you’re right Lucky!”
The other Night Guards rolled their eyes at how easily he was played. Neither of them knew why they had increased security at this vault, but knew that it had to be something important to warrant bringing in those three.
Starburst face hoofed herself, she did not want to end up fighting Anthea’s friends. Sunny looked down to her friend and the apprehensiveness on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
“Those are friends of Annie’s, I don’t want to have to fight them…”
Sunny didn’t want to add this to the growing list of things that were going wrong in this young mare’s life, and thankfully, she thought of a way that could help.
“Hit me.”
“Excuse me?”
“Punch me in the face as hard as you can,” said Sunny.
“…Okay, you’ve definitely lost it, but alright.”
Starburst spun around and punched Sunny right in the face, sending the mare sprawling onto the floor. She grunted inwardly as her face erupted with pain, glaring a bit at Starburst.
“You don’t even bother to ask why I asked you to punch me?!”
“Consider it payback for all those little dirty jokes you kept getting me with, now we’re even.”
“Oh, ho, ho, I’m sooo getting you back for this as soon we’re safe.”
Sunny came stumbling out of the corridor and collapsed in front of the entrance to the vault. All seven Guards rushed to Sunny’s side and adopted a fighting stance as if anticipating an attack.
“What happened to you!?” asked Amber.
“Princess S-Starburst…she escaped…I…I tried to stop her but…she’s so strong for a little mare…”
“Where is she now,” asked unicorn Night Guard.
“Down the hall, to the right…I don’t know where exactly she was heading but…”
“That’s fine, you three, stay here and tend to her, the rest you, let’s move!”
The Night Guard swiftly exited the room and went down the way that Sunny Skies specified. Hot Head helped the mare get back onto her hooves, who wobbled a bit back and forth.
“Do you need anything Miss? Maybe we should take you to the infirmary,” suggested Lucky
“No…actually…” Sunny, with her great swiftness, struck the neck mana point of all three ponies in rapid succession. “I’m feeling better now.”
Hot Head, Lucky, and Amber all fell to the ground, paralyzed from the neck down as they struggled to move. Sunny struck another point at the base of Lucky’s horn, he went cross eyed for a moment and felt a strange dizziness, but it quickly wore off. He prepared to launch a stun spell at the mare, but every time he reached for his magic, his horn wouldn’t light.
“W-W-What did you do to my magic!?” asked Lucky in a panic.
“Don’t worry, the paralysis will wear off on its own in a couple of hours, and as far as you’re concerned, I blocked the mana point which helps facilitate magic flow to your horn, you won’t be able to cast any spells for the same amount time.”
Sunny then whistled. Signaling Starburst to enter from the opposite direction the Guards went down.
“Princess Starburst!” Hot Head exclaimed.
There was a slight look of shame on Starburst’s face, but she couldn’t afford to let that stop her, she needed to retrieve her ring. Ignoring the paralyzed trio, Sunny and Starburst walked up to the door. When Sunny said it was a vault, she did not lie. It was made of steel and had multiple spells cast upon it to keep any unauthorized removals from within. It was also warded to repel all types of physical and magical intrusion.
“What are you doing!? Whatever it is you want from in there, you won’t be able to get it without a unicorn opening it for you,” said Lucky.
“He has a point Star, we can’t get in unless I reconnect his mana flow, and by then he’ll probably knock us out with a spell before we can get that far.”
Starburst knew they were in a bind, so close and yet so far, her companion and weapon were stuck behind this giant vault door and she hadn’t the means to enter, it was times like this Star wished she was born a unicorn. That would’ve solved a few issues growing up with Mom…Wait. Starburst concentrated, reaching out with her mind. Even standing right here, she could feel something calling out to her.
“My ring…”
“Star?”
“I…I think I can get it.”
“Then hurry and try!”
Starburst raised her right hoof and pointed it at the vault door. She closed her eyes and pictured the ring in her mind’s eye, seeing the yellow glow of its light of Fear. Shining like a lone star in the night sky, begging to be noticed. Starburst noticed, and she mentally reached out for the light. She began feeling a tugging sensation, as if she were physically pulling at something, drawing it to her. She reached out further and further until finally, “I got it!”
[Ring Recall Protocol initiated.] A voice echoed from within the vault.
Sunny watched as Starburst continued to keep her foreleg extended, while she held her gaze at the vault door. Suddenly, something ghostly phased through the door. The older mare’s jaw drop as she witnessed Starburst’s ring fly right out of the vault like a specter and zip right to her, fitting itself over her hoof as it became solid.
[Recall complete. Hello Starburst.]
“Hey ring good to see you again. I need a power level check.”
[Power levels are less than 1.5%.]
Starburst winced when she heard the number. “Is there enough to get the power battery?”
[Power levels are sufficient, be warned, after retrieval, power levels will drop to zero once complete. Recommend immediate recharge upon retrieval.]
“Got it.”
“I’ll stand guard at the entrance, hurry and recharge that thing.”
Sunny did just that, keeping an eye on the halls in both directions. Starburst pointed her hoof to an empty corner of the room and prepared to open the pocket dimension to get her power battery.
“You need to stop this Starburst,” said Amber, “before this goes any farther.”
“We’re already past that Amber Lily,” replied Star.
“Princess, you don’t need to do this! Surrender now and I promise you we’ll back you up, we’ll say you were coerced into this, that the ring made you go insane or something.” Lucky appealed.
“That’s not the case, I’m thinking clearly. I’ll defend Equestria, but my way, following my own sense of justice. You can think me a villain if you want, so long as a few know what I’m trying to accomplish and appreciate my efforts, and that my friends will stand by me,” Star looked to Sunny and smiled, “that’s all I can ask.”
“So that’s it!? You’re just going to become a criminal! Do you know how many ponies you’re going to hurt!? Annie, your mom and dad, your little brother, and everypony else who cares about you in Ponyville, do they mean anything to you!”
“……Tell my little brother that I’m sorry, and…and that I love him. And tell my friends I’ll miss them…”
The ring shot out a beam and punched a hole in space, reaching into the void, the yellow lantern power battery floated out of the pocket dimension and landed before Starburst. The rings glow quickly went out, becoming dimmer and dull. Star readied herself, taking one last look at the three ponies who had expressions that spoke, “Don’t do it.”
With a long sigh, Starburst placed her hoof into the portal, “In Blackest Day, In Brightest Night…”