The Decision
Whether it was out of respect for Twilight, fear of retaliation by the Troublemaker Trio, or because the once blind mare looked as harmless as a butterfly, instead of placing Annie in a holding cell, they put her in a guest room, but with Royal Guards standing sentry outside her door and a few outside her window. Some were pegasi and thestrals that hovered and flew in patrolling patterns or unicorns down below, ready at a moment’s notice to fire stun spells.
Anthea was scared to say the least, more and more she was starting to understand why Starburst felt the way she did. She never had anypony look at her with such fear and aggression, even when she smiled to the Guards she was met with the stony, stoic expressions that many had when they were in a serious situation, apparently counting Annie as one. To be honest she never knew what a ponies face looked like when it was angry, but if the looks the High Princes and Princesses were anything to go off of, it wasn’t good. She wasn’t all that attentive to the murderous gaze of the griffon she fought back in Minotaurus, but now that she was coming to grips with her newly acquired vision, she was starting to link various expressions to feelings.
“Starburst…I’m starting to understand why you left, a little bit at a time.”
“I’ve come to see Anthea,” said a familiar voice outside the door.
That sounded like…
“I’m sorry Princess Nidra, but the –”
“What, ‘prisoner’, is that what you were going to say?!” Nidra snapped, cutting off the stallion.
“Um, well…maybe not ‘prisoner’ per say,” said a female Royal Guard in a placating manner.
“Oh, then I suppose all these Night and Royal Guards filling the hallway and the courtyard below are just for her protection?”
There was a round of stammering before Annie heard the alicorn thestral speak again.
“Look, either we do this the easy way and you let me in to talk to her, or we do this the hard way. Which involves you all taking an unscheduled nap on duty, do you understand me?”
There were a few murmurs outside her door before it finally opened up, revealing the Princess of Slumber and the Guards, who now looked thoroughly intimidated by the young Princess’ vague threat, unfortunately, Annie knew she might go through with that threat if she had to. The gray mare entered the room, offering her a small smile as she did so.
“Hello Annie,” said Nidra.
“Hey, Nidra,” replied Annie.
Nidra then glanced in the direction of the Guards behind her. “Close the doors, I wish to speak with her alone.”
“Um, Princess, with all due respect, it may not be wise to be alone with her while she’s wearing…that,” said the male Guard, nodding to the ring on Annie’s hoof.
The unicorn mare moved her right hoof behind her left, trying to hide the ring as if it were a shameful thing to be seen. Nidra glared at the stallion.
“I will be fine Guard, thank you. Now please shut the door and give us some privacy. And that’s an order!”
The stallion and mare Guards glanced at each other sighing in defeat. “Ten minutes,” said the mare, “and no more your Highness.”
The door shut behind Nidra, she then stuck her tongue out in the same direction at the Guards who waited behind it. She then gave a frustrated sigh as she shook her head. “Honestly, the way they’re acting, you’d think I was talking with Tirek or something. Anyway, how are you An –?”
Before Nidra could finish her sentence, the alicorn thestral found herself wrapped in a fierce hug by the unicorn mare. She was taken a little by surprise at the sudden embrace, but once her mind caught up to what was happening, Nidra gingerly wrapped one of her forelegs around Annie, returning the hug. After a minute of hugging, Annie separated herself from Nidra, sniffling as she smiled at the mare.
“S-Sorry Nidra, I just…after they had me moved to this room I got a little scared and was happy to see a friendly face. I’m sorry again, I know you don’t like ponies touching you,” said Annie.
T, Starburst, and Illusion are the exceptions to that rule, but I can tolerate you hugging me. “It’s no problem.”
Annie grinned upon hearing that, she then did something that Nidra didn’t expect. The unicorn mare started to walk around her, her eyes seemingly going over every inch of her body. And apparently Annie felt the need to push the boundary of “it’s no problem” by using her magic to gently stretch out Nidra’s wings and examine them as if she was an odd specimen. She even looked over the strands of her mane and tail, ending with Annie looking over the alicorn thestral’s face, bringing it almost uncomfortably close.
Oooooooh-kaaaaaay Annie, did we forget about personal space and boundaries during this trip? Or did that ring make your barn door swing the other way? If the latter, yay, T’s up for grabs. Oh wait…she might be thinking of…oh Faust!
Annie finally put some space between them; she then smiled happily at Nidra. “Wow, I always wondered what you looked like Nidra. But, and I’m speaking objectively mind you, you look beautiful.”
Nidra felt her face heat up, “Oh…well, thank you I guess – Wait minute! What do you mean ‘you look beautiful’?!”
Annie playfully bonked her head with her left hoof. “I forgot to mention that this ring made it so I can see clearly for the first time in my life. I can see everything, and when I saw you with my own eyes for the first time, I wanted to see every detail –” Annie’s face grew red. “Not that I meant every detail I meant that I wanted to get a good look at you! Wait. No. That sounded wrong too…I just – Ugh, why is this so awkward?!”
Nidra was in a bit of stupor of confusion and embarrassment from Annie’s words. She then shook her head and brought her attention back to the spazzing unicorn. “It’s alright, I get it, and you can stop now.”
Annie sighed, “I don’t know if this being able to see is temporary or permanent. If it’s not, I want to burn the image of everypony I know into my mind, every vivid detail, every little quirk, scar, or stand of hair, so if it does go, I’ll never have to wonder what my friends look like.”
Nidra felt a lump form in her throat upon hearing those words. She calls me a friend, and goes so far as to not forget what I look like. And yet I act the way I do around her Turquoise…
Ha, don’t look at it that way. Now it’s fair game, she can see, you can see, now she doesn’t have that “Oh woe was me, I’m a cute little blind mare” shtick anymore. Hey, she might even break up with T if she gets a load of him for the time, seeing what her coltfriend really looks like might be a shocker for her.
Ugh, you’re still here?! I thought I silenced that ring and this annoying voice?!
Can’t silence what lies in your heart, I’ve always been a part of you, that weird light from the ring just allowed my voice to be heard clearer.
Oh lovely, I’m going insane. Well then “non-existent-voice-in-my-head” could you shut up for five minutes while I try and console Annie through this mess?! Since I may or may not be finding myself in the same boat it would be good to have somepony else on my side.
Fine, be a nice girl. I’ll be waiting when you’re ready to talk.
Fat chance of that happening.
Meanwhile…
Twilight had just gotten through reporting on the events that occurred in Minotaurus, a mixture of embarrassment and shame washed over Twilight when she had to recount her episode to not just her husband, but her former mentor and her best friend in magic, and their husbands as well. She could see the looks of pity they were giving her, she didn’t like it. She hated feeling like she was a weak and helpless filly when she was this nearly all-powerful wielder of magic. The mood changed again when Twilight spoke of the appearance of the ring, and the information that it showed Annie earlier that day.
Currently the Royals all sat in silence at the round table, contemplating what their next move should be. Anthea was not Starburst, if asked she would most likely give up the ring. But there was the unknown; none of them had a clue as to what adverse effects removing the ring would have on the unicorn mare. It was clearly different from Starburst’s ring, of that they were in agreement. So the question became: If it is different, does that mean that it behaves differently when removed?
Would removing the ring kill Annie? Would it take away her sight, something that the young mare had never had since the day of her birth? Would it make her go crazy and make Annie fight tooth and hoof to keep it on? There were too many variables, too many negative possibilities in removing the ring. They knew next to nothing about them, and now that a second has appeared, the need to research and study these mysterious, otherworldly objects was sorely needed. But that was another matter, but just as importantly linked to the bigger one.
“Should we take up the King’s offer and investigate the Gates of Volkan and the Long Road? And if so, should we allow young Anthea to accompany Twilight aboard the Avalon?” asked Luna.
“I still say we should remove the ring, between the five us, our combined magic should prevent any supposed ‘adverse effects’,” said Discord, making air quotes with his claw and paw.
“The odds are fifty-fifty, either something bad will happen or nothing will happen. When it comes to Anthea’s safety, I’d rather have the odds more in our favor.” Twilight shot back.
“Oh dear Twilight, you of all ponies should know that taking risks when it comes to these sorts of things is just part of life, once in a while you gotta roll the dice.” Discord shook his right paw and tossed a pair of dice on the table, both coming up as one and one. “Damn, snake eyes!”
The purple alicorn mare slammed her hoof on the table, “This isn’t a joke Discord! I will not risk hurting her or doing something that could have unforeseen consequences to her wellbeing down the road!”
“Someone’s a little testy. But I suppose nopony here wants a repeat of –”
“Discord, that is enough,” said Celestia in a warning tone.
“Getting back to the matter at hoof,” said Flash, trying to steer the conversation back to the topic, “we need to give King Fist an answer soon.”
Twilight quelled her anger, putting on her mask of calm to continue the discussions. “Although I don’t understand why King Fist needs Anthea to be present? The Avalon alone is more than well equipped to deal with a small fleet of griffon airships. Due to the linear workings of the mountain range, and the turbulent winds at higher altitudes, the Long Road will make it impossible for a fleet to attack the Avalon. So long as we keep them forward of the ship’s firepower will be more than enough.”
“But,” Luna interjected, “it’s been proven that a ring wielder has power enough to fell dozens of warships. It’s this fact might be the reasoning behind King Fist’s request. He must believe that if the griffons see another ring bearer that they would give up and retreat.”
“Even so, I will not allow Anthea to be put in that kind danger.” Twilight added.
“You know we could just create a duplicate out of magic, the king will never tell the difference,” said Discord.
“If we did, and if he was able, then we’d lose what trust he gives us,” said Celestia.
“Excuse me, but I believe we are missing the obvious elephant in the room.” Nova waited till all eyes were on him. “What is the decision of the young mare in question, Anthea?”
All in the room were silent, now that they had stopped to think about it, none of them really knew what the young mare wanted to do since this affected her the most. Taking the silence as an acknowledgment that his fellow Royals didn’t think this part through, the thestral Prince took the reins of the conversation.
“Let us think for a moment, and I’m sorry Flash, Twilight, but when Starburst offered to help us while in the dungeon, she reacted desperately when the choice of wielding the ring was taken from her. Correct?”
Twilight nodded shamefully.
“While I doubt that young Anthea would become overtly violent if this did come to pass, we must not overlook the element of choice here. It was her choice to accept the ring’s power and save you Twilight, and for Starburst, she chose to accept her ring’s power to save, not only her life, but the lives of others. I don’t think the rings coerced them into being worn; otherwise they would’ve just slapped themselves onto anypony and not have taken the time to find a right bearer. So, in keeping with this, I say we let Anthea choose.”
Twilight’s jaw hung open at the suggestion of such a thing. Celestia seemed to ponder Nova’s words, finding a nugget of truth in them. Luna was on the fence, though she saw the logic in her husband’s train of thought, there was still the fear of the unknown, and the consequences of such a choice.
“Y-Y-You can’t be serious?! She shouldn’t even be in the middle of this! I…”
“Twilight,” said Flash, “we need to think about this. After what happened with…with Star, most of the public’s been on edge about Fear Lanterns. If this Star Sapphire thing can work for us, then we should give Anthea a chance, like Nova said, ‘let her make the decision’.”
Twilight didn’t like this in the slightest. She knew Anthea, she wasn’t a fighter! The biggest difference between Anthea and Starburst was that the latter had been training herself to be a Royal Guard, learning their fighting techniques and tactics, which, admittedly, is probably part of the reason why Starburst was so adept at combat with the alien object. And now, these assembled ponies are thinking of putting her in the middle of danger.
The only silver lining is that Anthea may choose to forgo the ultimatum of bringing the unicorn mare to Minotaurus, but the downside would be angering the King of Minotaurus and possibly losing an alliance. Although if she did say yes, it would mean Anthea would be thrust into the battlefield, and potentially get killed…
Nidra had left after the ten minutes the Royal Guards allowed her. She was sad to see her go, but Annie didn’t want to get Nidra in trouble with her mother, or the other Royals. The last thing anypony needed was a repeat of the “Starburst Escape”, lest they incur the wrath of Captain Valiant Heart, and there was little doubt that he’d be as forgiving if a needless loss of life happened again.
So here Annie sat, staring out the window at the night sky, at High Princess Luna’s crescent moon and beautiful stars. The unicorn mare sighed sadly, yet she didn’t let it get her down too much. Being able to see the night, and all it had to offer and not being afraid of it was welcoming. Just then, Annie heard a clicking of the door locks and stood up quickly to face the door. The one entering, to her relief, was her teacher, Twilight Sparkle. But her expression was grim, her horn alight as she levitated a scroll next to her.
“Princess, what’s wrong?” asked Annie.
Twilight looked up to the young mare; she then averted her eyes as she sighed ruefully. She then levitated the scroll between them, “Do you know what this is?”
Upon further inspection, Annie was able to make out that it was the same scroll that High Princess Luna showed her mentor upon their arrival. Annie nodded a yes.
“The King of Minotaurus, he’s going to allow us to patrol the Long Road, via the Gates of Volkan…”
Annie’s face lit up upon hearing the good news. “Princess that’s great news!”
“…But only under one condition…the King has asked that you, Anthea, accompany me and the Avalon on the patrol run. Otherwise, he will not allow us to enter the Gates, or Minotaurus.”
“W-What…?” asked Annie in a stunned state.
“He believes that the power of your ring will be useful in keeping any and all Griffon Empire resistance from entering or attempting to enter the Long Road. The High Princes and Princesses have come to an agreement that, while this is a matter of state, this decision is ultimately your own Anthea. In other words, we’re giving you the decision if you want to do this or not.”
Annie’s head was starting to spin; the Princess was giving her an important decision, one that could impact not just her, but other Equestrians. To fight or not to fight, those were her options, and both had somewhat bad outcomes, one more than the other. Twilight seemed to catch on to her apprentice’s worry, the mare’s eyes were shaky, her breathing shallow, and her body swayed slightly to and fro.
Twilight moved closer to Anthea and gently placed a hoof on the young mare’s shoulder. “Listen to me Annie; you don’t have to do this.”
The pink unicorn looked up at her mentor with wide eyes, “B-But…Princess, if I don’t then…then Minotaurus…the King –!”
“We can figure something out. All that matters to me is your safety. Annie, I don’t want to put you in the middle of this! What you heard and saw at Minotaurus, it was barely a sample of what you would see out there. Take what you saw and magnify it times a thousand, that’s what you would be in for! So please Anthea, I won’t fault you for saying no, nopony will. But this has to be your decision.”
Was it alright to say no? Could she be that selfish? Was it selfish to think about your own safety, your life? Annie remembered the fighting at Minotaurus, the sounds, smells, and feelings she had during that brief period of time…could she really face all that again?
The Princess already said that nopony would blame me...but…if I don’t…
Annie’s eyes drifted down to the ring that was on her hoof. Her worry and fear suddenly started to melt away as she thought about the moment when the ring appeared to her.
“You have that potential, Anthea of Equestria, to protect those whom you love…”
That’s right, Annie thought, I accepted this ring…and its power. I chose to be a Star Sapphire…
“Honestly Annie…You can’t really stop me…”
That’s right…that was other reason. This ring’s power can help me bring back a friend. Anthea then looked to the alicorn mare before her. And reunite a family. If Starburst can go through everything she does and still fight for Equestria, how can I do any less!
Twilight started to notice a change in Annie’s eyes, she recognized the look. It was one of determination and reinforced resolve. A pit formed in Twilight’s stomach, she knew the answer before she even spoke.
“Princess…I-I want to help! I’ll go with you to Minotaurus again!”
Twilight’s head lowered as she backed away a few inches. “Please Anthea…I urge you to reconsider.”
“Princess I’m sure that this is the right thing to do,” said Annie.
“Would you please…please reconsider…?”
Annie looked at Twilight in confusion, sure it was a big decision but she was thinking clearly and this was what she wanted, what she believed in her heart of hearts was something that needed to be done.
“Princess, I want to go.”
“BUT I DON’T WANT YOU TO!” Twilight finally looked up at Annie; her eyes were watery as a distressed expression was plastered on her face. “Don’t you understand Anthea?! You could be killed out there, we don’t know what that ring is capable of or if it will do something to you!”
[I assure you, I am not a threat to my bearer. All my functions are working perfectly.]
“YOU STAY OUT OF THIS!” Twilight yelled at the ring, earning a few sparks of violet-pink light flying from the ring.
Annie hadn’t seen her mentor like this, it was almost disconcerting. “Princess, I know you’re worried for my safety, I really do understand. But if we work this out together; we can learn about the ring’s power and protect Equestria together.”
“I WON’T – I CAN’T LET YOU DO THAT STARBURST –!!!”
Twilight gasped, she fell onto her rear and clasped her hooves over her mouth in surprise. It was then that all was made clear to Annie and to Twilight as well. She was comparing Annie to Starburst, and it made Twilight sick. Annie wasn’t her daughter; she was her protégé, her apprentice. This was not some second chance and somehow she lost perspective of that. Twilight began to cry a little, looking away from Annie in shame.
“I’m sorry Annie…I-I didn’t mean to…I…please forgive me…”
“Oh Princess…” Annie moved closer to her teacher and smiled gently. “I miss Star too, a lot really. If I could have, I would’ve stopped her. Not a day goes by when I wish I could’ve tried harder, despite the fact that she had that ring. I want to understand what she’s going through, I want to fight alongside you and the Avalon. To prove that Starburst isn’t the scary pony those stupid rumors make her out to be! Although…yes, I am scared…but, I don’t feel as scared knowing that you will be there beside me…if you will, Princess.”
Twilight looked up to the young mare, “Of course, I promise, I’ll do everything I can to help you. I…I won’t make the same mistakes again…”
Anthea sighed happily; knowing that she wouldn’t be going through this alone was a comfort. “Before we start getting underway, I kinda want to go back to Ponyville…Oh boy, what will my Mom say…?”
Twilight winced upon thinking about Fluttershy’s reaction to such news. “I have a vivid idea of how she will react…”
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Will starburst return at some point?
Nice chapter. I knew Twilight was going to react like that. Now I wonder how Fluttershy is going to react. I hope she is with Bulk in this story. That would be sweet if Anthea was helping her mom get a boyfriend. We still have to see what happens with Nidra uses the ring and what it entails. I can't wait to see the epic fights coming up. Great chapter again.
5056774
One can only wonder.
5056806
Thank you, again!
5056774 I think she will make an appearance, but her actual return as one of the main characters in the last or second to last story of this series. Sorry, I don't think Star is wanting to talk just yet.
Why are they putting Twilight in charge of a mission with a high potential for combat? Given the importance of what they're doing and her performance to date, someone more qualified should probably be in charge of the actual mission.
5058131 Yes, quite strange isn't it?
5058185
That would also explain the lack of any security designed to detect Pretender infiltrators.
Given the Orange Light's love of playing 'Identity Theft', I think Nidra is going to have some real fun.
Looks like Nidra is battling her own inner demons, this should prove interesting...
i wonder who will get the red ring?
5062595
Prism Bolt seems to have enough of a temper to trigger the necessary freak out. Especially since, iirc, he's in the guard now and is going to be seeing Griffon work first hoof.
I do hope Red is one of the next colors. The Red Corps, post Brightest Day and Krona's death, is my favorite of the primary 7.
5062777 i say yellow is since you can feed off of other peoples fears
5062785
Red gets anger and blood as secondary power sources. As well as the ability to instill and control anger.
Think about what that'd do in the middle of a battle. Fill the Griffons with berserk rage and direct that anger at their fellow griffons.
5062813 i could see that as something that would work on most like nox, but lets not forget that it also depends on the will of the person you instill that emotin on and i wonder if starburst will make any apperances in this part of the series
5062834
Probably. And I expect we'll get a Lantern of all 7 primaries in order to deal with Nox. Though I'm surprised at his restraint. Blackest Night went straight for the zombie apocalypse.
5063155 i still wonder what nox gets out of all this
5065328
Nox is wearing a black power ring and lost his willpower roll to control it. He's pretty much Nekron's butt monkey now.
So, do you plan to bring Starburst back, and if so, can we make her a GREEN LANTERN?
or 
?
Also, who do you think should be a BLUE LANTERN,
5093249 Sorry, she is a Fear Lantern, the ring has chosen! But...stranger things have been known to occur when it comes to the power of the Emotional Spectrum. And I've already planned out who gets what ring, so you and everyone else can expect more Next Gen Lanterns.
5068011 Not necessarily. If we recall, Black Hand still retained all his senses, intellect, and willpower long after the Blackest Night when Nekron was defeated. And even during, he was regarded as the black light's Entity of Death, where as Nekron could arguably be considered the very embodiment of darkness and death itself.
5093798 Okay, but, do you intend on Star reuniting with her family and having her and Twilight reconciling?
Once again Twilight proves she isn't fit to be making national decisions when it comes to this war. And if Annie lets Twilight know the Sinestro Corps backstory, it's just going to prejudice her and the other Royals against Star.
Canonically, the yellow and green rings were the least manipulative of their bearers. It was the people wearing them that made the Sinestro Corps a bunch of monsters. I will point out for those not in the know that the 2814 yellow ring considered Batman as a bearer at one point...
Unfortunately...Twilight isn't totally unjustified in fearing Annie getting manipulated by the violet ring. While it's been very much toned down from the murderous stalker prototype Sapphires, and the mordern corps has been known to forcibly convert new recruits, even from other corps.
And then just wait until Nidra finally puts on her avarice ring... ...And come to think of it, that REALLY begs a question of WHY there are other orange rings? Larfleeze wouldn't even accept Luthor as a temp orange lantern during Blackest Night. No way would he willingly share power with an entire corps (one that ISN'T made up of his stolen soul greed constructs anyway)...