Chapter 5 [Interlude] - Starlight of a Fractured Mind
Night had long since fallen when Amethyst Star arrived at the Ponyville Hospital. She could hardly believe the news when she was told that her sister had been found. For a brief moment, she felt joy and eagerness to reconnect with her sibling despite what she had done years earlier.
That moment was short-lived, however, whatever happy thoughts she enjoyed were dashed when the full account of what Starlight Glimmer had done over the last few days had come to light.
Amethyst just couldn't bring herself to believe that her sister, as stubborn as she was and even with her controversial ideology, would be capable of attempted murder. No, not her sister. The mare she grew up with would never do such a thing.
But here she was, standing on the pathway leading up to the Hospital main entrance, light from a solitary lamp post overhead casting a long shadow on the ground in front of her.
With her heart beating in her chest and taking a deep breath, Amethyst walked through the front door and up to the reception desk.
"Sweetie Belle? What are you doing here?" She asked.
"Its part of my work experience program at school, Ms. Cheerilee said that since I volunteer here already, the Hospital would work perfectly for me," Sweetie Belle explained, then cleared her throat. "How can I help you?" She asked.
"My sister..." Amethyst began, avoiding the teenaged filly's eyes. "My sister was brought in this evening, Starlight Glimmer. I'd like... Is it possible to see her?"
"Oh, uhh... give me a moment." Sweetie said after a brief pause, then left the desk and headed towards the Hospital security office.
Left alone in the eerily quiet waiting area, Amethyst walked over to one of the chairs and sat. Sweetie's reaction didn't sit right and only served to further enforce the gravity of the situation her sibling had found herself in.
After counting floor tiles, reaching forty-three, the sound of a pony sitting down across from her caught her attention.
"You're Amethyst Star, Starlight Glimmer's next of kin?" The female Pegasus in a white coat asked.
"Yes," Amethyst answered with a nod. "We're all we have, our parents died when we were young, Starlight raised me on her own."
"I'm Doctor Hartmare, I'm head of psychiatric medicine at Canterlot General." The doctor said for an introduction. "I was called in when we were notified of your sisters case. What have you been told about your sibling's condition?"
"Only what she tried to do and that she was brought here," Amethyst explained.
"I see," Dr. Hartmare said. "From what I've been told by Princess Sparkle, your sister was under the influence of a dangerous magical artifact for an unknown extended period of time. This 'amulet' had a corrupting influence that seemed to be more pronounced on your sister. It also greatly enhanced her already considerable magical abilities." She continued. "According to eyewitness accounts, and because of a previous encounter with a Miss Fluttershy some years previous, your sister apparently held her responsible for the outcome of the incident at the village where she ran her failed equality movement.
"That already present grudge may have intensified the amulet's influence. During the attack, your sister overtaxed the amulet, which lead to it shattering. With the amulet destroyed, its sudden absence of its magic fractured her mind." Doctor Hartmare finished.
"What... what does that mean?" Amethyst asked, shocked at what she'd been told.
"She has her moments of lucidity, but they're short-lived and rare. It's more common for her to have manic, violent episodes interspersed between bouts of nonsensical rambling." Hartmare answered.
"Violent? My sister isn't violent!" Amethyst said in a sudden flash of anger.
"I can understand your feelings, but when she was brought in, she had to be sedated after she attacked a nurse."
"Its just that... I can't see her being violent!" Amethyst cried.
"It's hard to hear things like that about family, but there is somepony here who wants to help, and would like to speak to you."
"Huh? Who?"
"Follow me, I'll take you to see her."
The Doctor lead Amethyst down a hallway that was darkly lit. Glancing into the rooms, she saw they were empty, save for one, that had two royal guards stationed outside its door.
When the two ponies approached, the guards tensed and stared them down.
"It is alright, they may enter." A melodic voice called from within the room.
Amethyst stood frozen in place. She knew that voice, and it only served to send her anxiety through the roof. Taking a few hesitant steps at first, she walked into the room. Her eyes were instantly drawn to her sister, strapped to the hospital bed with IV tubes in both her forelegs. Her breath caught her throat when she realized that Starlight looked emaciated, her face gaunt.
"Yes, her current condition is troubling indeed. This is what the Alicorn Amulet does when one wears it for far too long." The voice said again. Amethyst looked over her shoulder towards the darkened corner to see Princess Luna sitting in a chair drinking a cup of tea. "While it does grant the user incredible power, to does so at the cost of your health." The princess of the night explained. "It sustains you while you wear it, making consuming nourishment and drink unnecessary, but when you take it off, you are left in a state as if you had not eaten or drank anything for however long you wore it." She continued. "That fact was not publicly known, or in any tomes about the amulet, but in hindsight, perhaps it should have been. The amulet's previous bearer, Trixie Lulamoon, was briefly hospitalized, but her condition was not as severe. Perhaps it is related to the amount of magic used while wearing it... hmmm..." Luna rambled.
"Princess... Dr. Hartmare said..." Amethyst began, unable to meet Luna's eyes with her own, the shame she felt for her sisters actions preventing her from doing so. "She said you wanted to speak to me."
"I did, little one," Luna answered, crossing the room towards the anxious pony. Taking hoof, she placed it under Amethyst's chin and gently lifted it. "There is no shame to be felt here. You have done nothing wrong, and your sister, while her motivations for using the amulet are suspect, her actions while wearing it in my opinion were not her own."
Before Luna could continue, a groan from the bed drew both of their attentions, and Amethyst quickly rushed to her sister's side.
"Glimmy? I'm here." Amethyst said, using her sister's childhood nickname. Starlight hated the name, but she only let her sister use it. It did get a response out of her, however.
"Amee?" Starlight said through the haze of sedation. "Wha... where am I?"
"You're in the Hospital. The Doctors are trying to make you well again. I've missed you so much." Amethyst told her, fighting back tears and taking her sister's hoof in hers.
"The hospital? How'd I get here---Get me out of here you RUNT!" Starlight screamed suddenly, getting right up in Amethyst's face, straining against her restraints. For an instant, her eyes flashed an ethereal green and red. "You were always a disappointment, you know that?! Mom and Dad didn't get sick, they killed themselves because they couldn't bare having you for a child! You couldn't do anything right! You didn't even get your cutie-mark till you were a teenager and that was after they died! They were always ashamed of you! I was always ashamed of you! YOU WERE NOTHING BUT A BURDEN! NOW GET ME OUT OF HERE SO I can... squeeze... the life fro.." Starlight said, her voice trailing off as the sedatives being administered by Dr. Hartmare who had injected them into her IV the moment she snapped.
Amethyst, who backpedaled away from her sister in abject horror, was a shaking mess, unable to move or say anything until Luna put a reassuring hoof on the frightened mare's shoulder. Looking up towards Luna, Amethyst saw the look of determination in her eyes as she stared at the still form of Starlight.
"I believe some dark magic is at work here." Luna said, looking at the still form of Starlight Glimmer. "I have attempted to journey into her dreams to see what assistance I can provide, but I have been unable to find my way." She continued, lowering her head to Amethyst's level. "But with your help, we may find success."
"What?" Amethyst said, totally confused by the princess' statement. "How can I help you?"
Luna closed her eyes and smiled at the distraught pony in front of her.
"We can both venture into your sister's dream and do what we can for her," Luna explained without even skipping a beat. "Just like how I let all of Ponyville share a dream when my tantabus escaped, so shall you and I share a dream with your sister... Although I'm afraid it will be more of a nightmare." Luna finished with a grim tone.
Amethyst pondered for a moment, then smiled and shook her head in agreement.
Then her world started to glow white and slipped out from under her.
"Come on Glimmy! Let me have a turn!" Amethyst shouted up at her older sister who was busy playing with the schoolyard tetherball.
"Amee, you're too small for this toy. Go play on the jungle gym." Starlight told her younger sister.
Amethyst, downtrodden, started towards the jungle gym as fast as her tiny filly legs could take her. Something's not right here... Amethyst thought, stopping just short of her destination.
"You're right about that." Princess Luna said to her, also in the form of a filly, sitting down next to her. "We're reliving a memory, hers or yours, I'm not sure."
"I think I remember this. This is the day..." Amethyst said, trying to hold back tears. "This is the day before my parents died." She told Luna, as much a revelation to herself as it was for the Princess.
Luna and Amethyst watched Starlight play with the tetherball more until an Earth Pony, not much older than Starlight come up and talk to her. A look of distress crossed her sister's face before she started towards the jungle gym.
"Amee, Mom and Dad aren't going to be home tonight, you're going to stay at the Cakes tonight, so go there now, they know you're coming." The young Starlight explained.
"Aww... Do I have too?" Amethyst found herself saying, out of her control. "I'm a big filly now, I can stay home alone with you!" She pleaded.
"Not this time, run along now, ok!" Starlight said ruffling Amethyst's mane with her hoof, then she headed off to her home.
Amethyst, now a grown mare, stood there and watched her sister slowly trot off into the distance. A nagging feeling of dread filled the back of her mind. Sensing the change in emotion in her companion, Luna walked up next to her.
"What is it?" The Princess asked.
"I don't know. Something is telling me that I need to go after her. Like I have to see something." She explained, then started after her sister, her hoofs carrying her along the once familiar path home.
Stopping in front of her old family home, Amethyst took a breath in and opened the door with her magic then walked in.
"Dad! I'm home!" Amethyst could her sister call out from another room then followed where it was coming from.
In here, Starlight, dinner's ready." A male voice called out in response.
"Where's Mom?" Starlight asked, sitting down at the dinner table.
Amethyst stood in the doorway and watched the scene unfold, spellbound.
"She's... She's sleeping, I made dinner tonight." A Unicorn stallion with an alabaster coat and dark blue mane answered as he placed a plate down in front of Starlight. "Where's your sister? I thought she was with you at the park." He asked, his voice taking on a slight, nervous edge.
"The Cakes asked if she wanted to stay over for dinner, I thought it would be ok."
"Too late now, I guess, you should have asked, though." He answered, the nervousness leaving his voice, but the edge remained. "I really wish you would have asked. Now, eat your dinner."
Starlight started to lift a fork full of her food but stopped short to sniff it, which caused her to recoil.
"What's wrong? My cooking not good enough?" He asked. Amethyst now noticed that he had not taken a bite of his dinner.
"It's not that... It smells funny." Starlight said, worry creeping into her voice. "Where's Mom, Dad?"
"She's sleeping. Now eat your dinner." He said forcefully.
A sudden impulse flooded into Amethysts mind as she raced up the stairs faster than what should be possible until she found herself in front of her parents bedroom. With her heart pounded in her chest as she opened the door slowly with her foreleg.
On her parents bed lay her mother. A river of crimson flowed from her chest from where a knife protruded. In an instant, a lifetime of memories, every tale, explanation, lie, and half-truth came flooding to Amethyst's mind.
"My Mother was murdered. He killed her." Amethyst said, her voice hardly registering above a whisper. "I guess I always knew... but I didn't want too..."
"STAY AWAY FROM ME!" Starlight screamed before a loud crash and a hard thud reverberated throughout the house which broke Amethyst out of the self-revelation she was enthralled by. As fast as she raced to her parents room, she found herself once again at the doorway to the dining room.
The table had been upturned and her father was lying on the floor by the wall, his neck at a sickening angle with her sister standing over him, her eyes white and her horn glowing a light green. She was seething.
"Glimmy?" Amethyst called out, but it went unheard.
From her father's body, a formless black mist rose and enveloped her sister, whose head turned to face her, her glowing white eyes now glowing an unnatural red and green.
"Whats wrong, runt? Don't you want to hate him too now that you know!?" Her sister's voice asked. "Is that fear I smell? I think it is!" 'Starlight' said. "I haven't had genuine fear in ages..." The being that controlled her sister told her before pacing towards her menacingly.
"STOP WHERE YOU ARE!" Luna called out before casting a beam of blinding white light at whatever was controlling her sister. Starlight collapsed to the floor, but the black, shapeless form remained where she once stood.
"No! I won't let you stop me! Not this time! Ahhhhhhh" A menacing voice called out before the shapeless cloud disappeared in the blinding light of Luna's magic.
Then we woke up.
"That was unexpected," Princess Luna told Dr. Hartmare, as they both looked at the two sisters talking amongst themselves. "You could have told me her parents were murdered."
"I didn't know, not until you ventured into the dream. The record was sealed by the court, I didn't get the file till then." The Doctor explained. "But what you told me fits with the official record. A co-worker of the patient's mother, an alcoholic, told her that she hadn't shown up for work again, Starlight went home to find her father serving food, acting odd. The smell of the food, which was poisoned, put Starlight on edge. When he found out that her sister wouldn't be home for the night, her father attacked her, and Starlight acted in self-defense and threw him against the wall. A neighbour hearing the noise came in and found him dead. Town guards found the mother, stabbed to death in her sleep." She explained with a mono-tone. "Apparently, the Father had lost his job and the house was going to be foreclosed, and his wife's alcoholism pushed him over the edge and he murdered his wife and tried to poison his children and himself."
"And Starlight Glimmer chose to tell her sister that they died of a sudden illness," Luna said rhetorically.
"Due to the nature of the incident and the age of the children involved, it was kept out of the news much as possible. The children were placed in foster care in Canterlot where they remained in an orphanage until they each aged out of the system." Dr. Hartmare explained further. "So, what was it?" she asked.
"A fragment of an old enemy, the first bearer of the Alicorn Amulet," Luna said. "I believe that the last of it, with no amulet and no host to control, is finally gone from this world."
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Crystal echos meth.
6356702
Should be 'they', I think?
Pesky evil soul fragments... I thought we'd sprayed for those!
Sorry to hear about the rough time you've had. I hope things perk up for you soon!
6357677
Luna: "We did. But somepony forgot that one has to spray again in a few years to kill the hatching eggs. ALWAYS remember the spray doesn't get the eggs left behind!
"