//------------------------------// // Starlight's Wrath // Story: The Lost Flower // by Silver Letter //------------------------------// Twilight’s body was convulsing when she woke as if it was still trying to fight off a powerful magic. She began to feel her body again and something cool touching her brow. A soft hush filtered through her strained groans and the familiarity of it calmed her. When she could open her eyes, a yellow blur turned into the smiling face of Fluttershy. Fluttershy kept wiping Twilight’s face. “Welcome, Twilight.” “Where am I? Where is Starlight?!” Fluttershy shushed her then put a hoof on her chest. “Don’t get up. Starlight is well. You can see her later after you’ve eaten something.” Twilight looked around at the familiar room. “This is your cottage. Did that mean we defeated that mare? You’re okay now, Fluttershy?” “No…that’s not right. You….we’re…in the dream world,” she said sadly. She wrung out the rag and laid it against a bowl. Twilight turned stiff. Her tongue felt numb and the world around her blinked in and out of existence. Fluttershy left her there to rest for a time even though Twilight couldn’t sleep. It wasn’t real sleep anyway. Her real self was still sleeping and she had no idea if she was okay or not in the real world. But despite her weakness, she imagined herself up and moving around again as healthy as she ever was. In an instant, she felt her strength return as swiftly as blood returning to a limb that was formerly asleep. Fluttershy was mildly surprised to see her enter the kitchen. She put down a mixing bowl. “Fluttershy, is Starlight around?” Twilight asked, her voice fraught with concern. “I don’t know. She left as soon as she could to find Rarity but she said she would be back soon.” Twilight sat down. She plopped her heavy head in her hooves. “I don’t know what to do.” She stared at her distorted image in the reflection of a spoon. “About what, Twilight?” “Getting out of here. Dealing with that mare.” Fluttershy continued to mix something like a heavy dough. “What mare?” “The one with the gem,” Twilight said flatly. “Oh, I see,” Fluttershy said. “We see her around now in town. She calls herself Floral Powder.” Twilight hated even a smidgen of ignorance. Being confronted with knowledge she didn’t know was like being drenched in icy water. She got up and paced around, her mental weariness taking a backseat. “That totally makes sense. She’s not a unicorn but she has this bond with her magical crystal that allows her to create this powder. She called it exactly that: Floral powder. It must be her special talent! And we’re in the dream world so I can only assume that it has properties of some kind relating to dreams.” “Twilight, remember when we were in the dream world before and we were able to create whatever we wanted?” Fluttershy said. “Yes, I do remember. This is the same place.” “Well…we can’t anymore. Rarity and I tried for so long but nothing worked.” “That’s so odd,” Twilight said. The door of the cottage opened and Starlight came in. She hurried into the kitchen. “Twilight. I had a feeling you were awake so I teleported back here.” Just seeing her friend made Twilight smile. “How did you know? And you teleported here from where?” “Town.” “You could feel that I was awake even that far? How was that possible?” “This is the dream world, Twilight. We can make things happen if we wanted even if they don’t make sense in our world.” Just hearing the logical contradiction nearly broke Twilight’s brain. The two of them were the only exceptions to the rule. Twilight had no idea why it was possible for them and them alone to manipulate things in the dream world when everypony else was at the mercy of it. Then again, it could be good or so she rationalized. If this Floral Powder was in the dream world with them then confronting her may be their ticket out. Starlight said that she saw Floral near town hall, talking to random ponies. From what was overheard, she liked to learn about each pony’s story: where they came from, their favorite things in life, the meaning of their marks. She kept prattling on to those who would listen about what lay beyond the physical, all the things they couldn’t see or feel or even describe using only the words of ponies. Even with her friendly attitude unlike most crazy ponies preaching philosophy, some ponies looked at her as if she had lost it. Many scarcely realized that they were even part of a dream at all. The transition from the waking world was so seamless like the colors of the rainbow. The two unicorns teleported instantly to town square. It was bright out and ponies were taking advantage of the good weather to go shopping or do other things. Twilight saw many of her friends and acquaintances from town. Davenport stood outside, cleaning the windows of his shop, Quills and Sofas. Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon walked the mane avenue, window shopping. Lyra, Sweetie, and Twist ate at a café. The world looked identical to her own. She was even drawn to the beauty of the castle, despite it being a doppelganger of her real home. Suddenly, a loudspeaker attached to the town hall building blared from above. “CITIZENS OF PONYVILLE, WE ARE HAVING A SHORT DAY TODAY. PRINCESS CELESTIA AND LUNA THANK YOU FOR YOUR UNDERSTANDING.” Ponies, confused as they were, followed the fake royal edict, and funneled into their homes and businesses. “What is going on?” Starlight said. “That sounded like…” They watched as the sun fell behind the clouds like a dropped yo-yo. The air turned chilly as the moon replaced it, turning the sky into a silver haze. Then, a mare flew over the building and landed near them. It was Floral Powder, only in this world, a long horn stood straight from her head and two wings as flexible and strong as Rainbow Dash’s were folded against her sides. “We meet again,” Floral’s soft voice uttered. She was expecting them. “You need to end this…this insanity! What made you think that it was right to imprison us not to mention so many innocent ponies in this dream world?” Twilight said. Floral was somehow taken aback by Twilight’s anger. “Oh, I’m sorry…you think this is an imprisonment?” she said, raising a delicate hoof to her chest. “I did all I could. I am taking you, the princess of friendship, on a great journey. You will see where a dream can take you. There is no limit. Instead of a world plagued by disaster, you can live in a place of beauty and serenity where flowers stream from the hills and music is in the hearts of everyone. All you have to do is be reborn.” “Are you saying that I must die!?” Twilight objected. A horrific chill was felt in her heart and her face was twisted in a scowl. She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. The idea of a pony resigning herself to die like this clashed with her scientific understanding of life more harshly than two continents crashing together. The mare had to be absolutely crazy. “That is not going to happen!” Starlight interjected firmly. If Twilight was cold then Starlight was fire, her eyes brimming with anger. “We belong in our world, not in your twisted view of it. I know that more than anypony. We all must be allowed to follow our own path!” “We all must follow the path of life. But there are right and wrong paths to take,” Floral continued unabated. “Death will bring you to your new dream. Dreams are where we are reborn and the real world where we die. I died and soon, you shall too.” Twilight had enough of her. Using her powers in the dream world, she made strips of land open up around Floral and encapsulate her like a flower. Out of sight, but not out of mind. “Do you have a plan, Twilight?” Starlight said. “No, I don’t but maybe this will give us some time.” Starlight gazed upwards at the stars. “Can we possibly escape this dream world by breaking through it?” “I doubt it. Only Princess Luna could go back and forth. We would need her but she probably won’t come near this mare as long as she has her powers.” “Then we’ll have to find another way,” Starlight said, her mind focused and determined. Then, the walls of that shell melted as if they were made of ice. Floral’s new horn radiated with pink energy. She giggled in amusement like a foal. “I have the same powers in this dream world, princess. It is a silly trifle that I will enjoy for now until my next life. I hope you enjoy yours too because you’ll never be freed by your princess of the night. You’ll be going to your next life too in the coming days and when you do, there will be no more painful memories there. Doesn’t that sound beautiful?” The dreadful meaning of her words carried on such a peaceful sounding voice. It was a contradiction that could paralyze. A vein bulged in Starlight’s neck. “I will stop you even if I have to kill you again!” Twilight was almost scared as Starlight flew seemingly out of control. Her fury threw another bolt of fire through the air at top speed. With a flick of Floral’s hoof, a shield made of glowing energy in the shape of an umbrella appeared, splitting it in two and sending them blasting through town hall behind her. Starlight was shocked but quickly regained her composure. “Twilight, go to her side! Let’s attack from two directions at once!” “Oh, that’s no fun!” Floral said. She floated in the air. At the tip of her horn, a point of swirling dark matter manifested, growing larger than her own body. It was propelled as fast as from a cannon towards Starlight, who couldn’t see it coming. It coated her body and with her trapped inside, bounced along the ground, skipping the roofs of houses and lakes. Floral laughed, flicking her head back so that strands of her hair fell over her face. She was just having a ball in the dream world. “How do you like my shade comet?” Her body was violently pummeled by Twilight’s energy beam until she was left in a smoking crater. She stepped out and looked upward at the floating Alicorn. “Is that the best your imagination can do?” she mocked with a cute smirk on her face. Twilight only had enough time to scoff at her in return before a grand piano crashed on her head. She was spitting keys in no time on the ground. “Floral!” A furious Starlight returned as if by slingshot, carried by wings of her own. “Ah, now that’s the spirit!” Floral said. Her voice was cut short as Starlight enveloped her in a block of crystal. Even as Twilight got out of the piano, she could see that it was in vain. A giant floating nail was slammed by a giant hammer, cracking the crystal in two and freeing her. “Are you okay, Twilight?” Starlight said, glancing at the Alicorn’s matted mane. “I’m fine. Alicorns like me are robust. You wouldn’t believe what we can sustain.” Twilight’s method of fighting was very similar to how she liked to experiment on things. If one tactic didn’t work, just pick another and don’t ever give up. Results are sure to follow a mind assured of future success. With Starlight’s attempt to imprison her a failure, she would have to pick another way and another after that if she had to. She had to think on her hooves. Pick something Floral wouldn’t expect even though she seemed to have the ability to think ahead of them, to see their moves before they made them. If the mare wasn’t lying and she really was dead then there could be no qualms about what they had to do. Twilight summoned the Smooze, a giant sentient blob of green goo which fell from the sky. Upon landing, the thing spread out like pancake syrup, coating the entire area in thick gel. Floral couldn’t move her hooves or body at all, a perfect target for a spear made of lightning cast by Starlight’s hooves. Floral was even faster than they expected. She blew out subzero winds from her lungs, turning the Smooze into ice and the spear into something no stronger than peanut brittle. Twilight was freezing but she quickly dissipated the cold and brought her own heat in the form of twirling lights of the sun, moon and the colors of the Crystal Heart. As they flew in her horn, Twilight had the power of all Alicorns once again. She embraced the rush of power, the kind that utterly demolished the defenses of the pink gem. Smoke was everywhere. They could see the casualties of her power. The town hall was obliterated and the shock wave shattered windows, walls and power lines. Twilight gazed at the destruction, her heart sinking. Her body also began to falter and she coughed. It was as if the power of this dream world was affecting her mind even though by all accounts, nothing was real. She didn’t have the power of the Alicorns. It just looked that way. An uncertainty grew in her mind. Why was her body weakening? Floral stumbled out. There wasn’t a scratch on her body but they caught her tail rejuvenating, stretching to its normal length. There wasn’t going to be an end to it; not like that. Starlight refused to accept it. As Twilight watched, unable to intervene, Floral was hacked repeatedly until the remaining grass looked like they were meant to be red. When Starlight backed away, stumbling as if doing an interpretive dance, she could only pant and glare at Floral and her many fresh pockets of exposed flesh. Starlight dropped the axe and her gaze was strained. She had tried to kill Floral so violently as if she could reach out and destroy herself in kind because if she didn’t then that part of her that still could have joined Floral might yet be real. But it couldn’t be. She was as helpless to destroy Floral as she could break her own past. The grass themselves rose and entered the mare’s wounds, stitching them up and closing them. The blood evaporated. She rose as if from a nap. “If I were mortal, you two could have killed me a dozen times over,” she said as if quoting a mundane fact. “Doesn’t this mean we’re immortal too if we’re in the dream world?” Twilight said. “Not at all,” Floral said. “Your body is alive but unfortunately, not well. Because nobody can help you as long as my crystal shines. They’ll come here. Every hour that passes, you grow weaker. You’ll die soon enough or perhaps things can end for you now? After all, if you are severed from your body, you’ll be a flower adrift, finding a new world. It happened to me and I hope you embrace such a wonderful thing.” Floral Powder made everything they had destroyed rebuild itself. In a confusing reversal of time, town hall came back to life, its splintered foundations rising and flags flying high once more. Houses all around were restored, surely with their cowering occupants hiding in the basements, wondering what had now befallen their sweet little town. Starlight’s anger had reached its apex and had failed her. Now she only wondered what she could yet do to stop Floral Powder. She had promised herself that she would never take friendship for granted again. When she was taken in by Twilight, she knew things would change for the better. She would find a life where she wouldn’t have to be so furious all the time since even in the town of equals, it was rare that she was truly happy. In this small town, she would live side by side with another magic user, herself an equal in the magic artes but a student in what really mattered. She couldn’t care less about Floral’s philosophy, and now that the shoe was on the other hoof, she could see first hoof how backwards she was. But two things hadn’t changed. One, her cutie mark still shone strong, no matter how much she feared ever using her powers again. And second, she knew that she may one day be driven to use it again. In the face of this dead mare, she didn’t know what other choice she had left. Floral must have thought she had the two of them defeated but even she didn’t realize what was yet to come. Starlight focused something forbidden in her mind. Her heart felt as heavy as stone as she focused. The target was the pink gem but not the one around Floral’s neck. In an instant like tearing a bandage, off came the dead mare’s cutie mark.