Prologue
Starlight Glimmer released a shuddering sigh as she pushed through the stinging rain. Her body was covered in a cloak, and the hood covered her head, but not even the thick fabric could keep her from freezing her flank off.
But it’ll all be worth it, the unicorn thought. Once…once I get there…I can start again… soon….very soon…
She grimaced when she stepped in a puddle of mud. I never liked the country…
Thunder clapped overhead, and the winds picked up. But Starlight stayed the course, and continued to push herself even further. Up ahead, she saw a darkened sign on a grassy hill.
Grunting, she trudged forward and lit up her horn. A crazed, sadistic grin slowly spread across her face as she read the wording.
Welcome to Ponyville!
BOOM!
“Whoo hoo!” Pinkie shouted, tilting her head backwards and sticking out her tongue so that she could taste the rain.
“What’s the big idea?” Rainbow Dash shouted over the winds, her wings flapping hard against the rain. “We didn’t schedule a storm for today! Not for a couple of months!”
Thunderlane shrugged defensively. “I-I-I don’t know! It just came outta nowhere!”
Cloudkicker nodded. “We can’t get rid of it! The clouds, they’re too thick to bust! We’ll only make it worse if we try!”
Rainbow drew a sharp breath. “Okay, fine. If we can’t get rid of it, we’ll just have to work with it. Help me push these clouds away from the monumental buildings. At least that way, lightning won’t strike ‘em!”
Below them, Rarity carefully maneuvered around the puddles in the ground so that her purple raincoat would stay clean. Pinkie splashed into one right next to her, drenching the unicorn with water. “Pinkie Pie!”
The party pony grinned sheepishly. “Sorry! I just love splashing in puddles, especially the really big ones what go sploosh! It’s my favorite thing to do whenever it rains, aside from catching raindrops with my tongue—like this! Aaaaah~!”
“No thank you,” Rarity muttered, using her magic to ring out her soaked rain cap. She briefly observed Pinkie Pie’s plain yellow raincoat and cap, along with her pale yellow boots. It was so bright; she had to squint in order to look at the excitable mare. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a flash of orange.
It was Applejack, clad in a lime green raincoat of her own. “Well don't this beat all!” she shouted to them. “This has got to be one of the worst storms we’ve had since our sleepover!”
“I agree,” Rarity said running a hoof down her mane. “It’s never been so horrid!”
Twilight Sparkle trotted over them with Spike right beside her, carrying a parchment and quill as usual. Twilight’s raincoat was cherry red. “Okay girls, every pony but the weather team is safe indoors. Applejack, what’s the status on Sweet Apple Acres?”
“Everythin’s all locked up and bolted down. Good thing we bucked those apples early today. My family’s all accounted for too.”
Spike jotted it down on the parchment, which jerked violently in the winds.
“And I’ve cleared away all of the large debris,” Rarity said.
“And I stopped by each and every house to make sure everypony had their emergency kits,” Pinkie Pie added proudly.
Spike grunted in irritation as he tried to write it all down without the parchment flying away.
Twilight nodded. “Okay, good. Has anypony seen—"
BOOM!
"EEEEP!” Applejack turned her head, surprised to see a trembling bush behind her.
“Oh--never mind. How are the woodland creatures, Fluttershy?”
The frightened pegasus slowly climbed out of her little bush, revealing her magenta colored raincoat. “A-All the animals are s-s-safe at my c-c-cottage,” she shivered.
“Alrighty then!” Twilight chirped. “Good work, everypony! Ponyville should still be in good shape by the time this storm passes." She knelt down to her bristling assistant and smiled. “You’ve done a wonderful job, Spike. You can go home and rest now.”
Spike grinned and expertly rolled up the list and tucked it under his arm. “You coming with, Twilight?”
“In a minute. We’ve gotta check with Rainbow Dash first and see how big this storm’s gonna get.”
“Okay. I’ll fix us some hot coca for tonight.”
Twilight grinned. “Extra marshmallows?”
“And extra whipped cream!” Spike added with a wink.
The two hugged before Spike waved at the others. “See you, guys! Oh, and say goodbye to Dash for me!”
“Be careful!” Twilight called after him.
The winds picked up dangerously and the rain came down even harder. Applejack kept a firm grip on her rain cap. After a few minutes of waiting, a rainbow colored blur eventually crossed their vision in the sky. Rainbow Dash plopped down next to them, her mane and tail hopelessly soaked. She shook her head apologetically. “It’s no use! It’s too strong! There’s no way we can handle it!”
Rarity’s eyes widened. “It’s that bad?”
Rainbow’s brow furrowed, the way it always did whenever she was genuinely worried. “Worse.”
“We’d better get inside,” Twilight said, thinking on her hooves.
But as soon as the words left her mouth, a strong gust of wind swooped over them, so powerful, that it knocked each pony off her hooves. “WHOA!” Pinkie gasped. “That was huge!”
“My outfit! Riddled with mud!” Rarity wailed.
Rainbow Dash spat something out and scowled. “Give me a break! You’re not the one with a mouthful of dirt!”
Applejack was the first to recover, already standing upright. “On your hooves, everypony! We’re gonna have to make a break for it!”
Everypony rose quickly and ran blindly through the unforgiving storm. The only thing clearly visible was the occasional silhouette of trees and houses and the pounding rain, which now stung like fire on their faces.
C-r-rac-k!
Fluttershy gave a cry of warning. A large tree came toppling down towards them. Some yelled out in surprise as they dodged, the oak tree missing them by that much. Rainbow Dash gritted her teeth as the ground shook beneath them when the tree made contact with the ground.
“I-Is everypony okay?” she heard Twilight shout.
“I’m alright!” Rarity called back.
“Same here!”
“I-I’m okay…”
“I’m good!”
“Fit as a fiddle!”
Rainbow was pretty sure she heard Twilight say something else, but her voice died out in the wind. “WHAT?” she screamed. But all she could hear was the thunder, wind, and lightning.
“Dashie!”
Rainbow’s ears perked up in attention. “P-Pinkie Pie?” Her head whipped around until she spotted a pink and yellow blur ten feet away. Relief flooded through her now that she spotted one of her friends safe and sound. “Pinkie, come here!”
Pinkie galloped over to her, soaked from top to bottom. She leaned against Rainbow and looked up at her with a wobbly smile as she shivered. “Y-Y-You okay?”
Rainbow wrapped a wing around her and gave her a cocky grin. “I’m still here, aren’t I? What did Twilight say just now?”
Pinkie Pie sniffled. “I dunno. All I heard her say was “Town Hall”.
Rainbow Dash frowned and looked ahead. She could just barely make out the building’s faint outline in the distance. “Well, she’s lost her marbles if she thinks we’re gonna get that far. I can barely see it now!”
“Aw, c-come on, Rainbow! Where’s your s-sense of adventure? Whaddaya say! Last one to Town Hall’s a moldy carrot!”
The pegasus gazed at Town Hall once again and turned to Pinkie with a grin. “You’re on!”
“Winning only brings the worst ego filt conceit….”
Both mares jumped. “Who-who said that?” Rainbow demanded.
“…Maybe that was only the wind?” Pinkie asked after a while.
Rainbow Dash frowned. “I doubt it. I think we’re being watched.”
“You mean we have a stalker? Oooh! That’s so cool!”
“What?! No it’s not! It’s creepy!” Rainbow raised her head. “You hear that, bub? It’s creepy! So why don’t you turn tail while you have the chance—or pony up and show yourself!”
“Friend or foe?” Pinkie called out as Rainbow sneaked over to a nearby bush. It rustled slightly; Rainbow smirked victoriously and pulled the leaves back.
“Gotch—wh…what…”
Rainbow felt a knot in her stomach as she watched a unicorn’s supercharged magic grow and form into a threatening ball just above her horn. The pony opened her eyes and locked gazes with Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie, a chilling smile creeping across her face. Rainbow only had the time to shift her panicked gaze to her friend. “PINKIE, RU—"
BOOM!
“….Did you hear that?” Fluttershy whispered, peeking out the window.
Rarity was busy gathering extra blankets and health kits that she had stored in her break room. Her horn was the only source of light in the pitch black boutique, due to the storm cutting the power out. “Hear what, darling?”
“I…I thought I heard a foal crying.”
Rarity couldn’t help but chuckle. “A foal? Out there, in this wretched storm?”
“Well…at least I think it was a foal. I could’ve sworn I heard somepony crying…”
Rarity looked up and nodded towards the window. “It might’ve been those branches, dear. It might sound like crying when they scrape together like that.”
Fluttershy looked up at the colliding tree branches swaying in the wind and frowned. “Oh.”
“Now let’s stop thinking about creaking tree branches and start thinking about how to find our friends. Here you are…” Rarity levitated her saddlebag filled with neatly folded blankets onto Fluttershy’s back. “Now all we need a flashlight helmet for you and and an extra umbrella, just in case. I think I might have those in my room…” The unicorn turned and started up the stairs, the bright light fading away as she reached the top.
“R-Rarity…”
“You know, it’s awfully lucky we both managed to find my boutique, Fluttershy!” Rarity called over her shoulder. Rarity’s aura disappeared upstairs, leaving Fluttershy alone in a blanket of darkness. Her eyes darted around nervously as the noises of the storm grew louder outside. Fluttershy took a few calming breaths to calm her pounding heart.
She wasn’t a fan of the dark, not at all. And even though she knew Rarity was just upstairs, she felt more alone than ever.
Cr-ee-e-k
The pegasus jumped and whirled around. “H-Hello? R-Rarity? I-Is that you?” A few more moments of silence followed by the occasional clap of lightning greeted her ears. Fluttershy closed her eyes and breathed a sigh of relief, until she felt a hoof on her shoulder.
Fluttershy jumped and screamed until she saw Rarity beside her with a flashlight helmet on her head. “Good heavens, Fluttershy!” the unicorn gasped, holding a hoof to her chest. “You almost gave me a heart attack!”
Fluttershy's eyebrows furrowed and her lower lip curled into a pout. “I almost gave you a heart attack? You were the one sneaking around!”
“Sneaking around?” Rarity repeated with a snort. “Didn’t you hear me coming?”
“Yes—well—maybe, but—"
“Join in our utopia, come out of the dark…”
Fluttershy’s blood went cold, and Rarity turned around with a puzzled frown. “What—" Her sentence was cut off at the sight of a blinding blue light.
BOOM!
“It’s really comin' down out there,” Applejack observed, gazing out of one of Town Hall’s windows.
Twilight paced back and forth a few feet away looking ticked off. “’Meet us at Town Hall,’ I said. I said that three times. But do they listen? No! Now they’re probably lost in that horrible storm!” She stopped short and turned to her farm bound friend. “We have to go back out there. There’s no telling what kind of danger they could be in!”
Applejack gave a firm nod and replaced her half-dry rain cap back on her head. “Though, I have to say, Twilight,” she grunted, pushing the door open. “Finding them in this storm’ll be like findin’ a needle…in a…haystack?”
The two ponies stood in shock at the sight before them. Ponyville was as still as a photograph. Broken-off tree branches, flowers and debris scattered the ground, and the houses and buildings were finally visible, for the rain had stopped.
Drops of water ripping off leaves and the occasional sounds of frogs and crickets in the distance sounded eerie compared to the sounds thunder, wind, and lightning that had mysteriously vanished. “Uh…did the storm just…pass?” Applejack asked in disbelief. “But it was gettin’ worse just a second ago!”
“That is strange,” Twilight said, looking up at the starry sky above. “I thought Rainbow Dash said they couldn’t control it. And I don’t see any pegasi up there, do you?”
“Nope. But I ‘spose I won't complain about it, if it means finding our friends.” Twilight looked at Applejack, the moonlight breaking through the farm pony’s mane. “I’m not one to look a gift horse in the mouth!”
Twilight laughed lightly. “No, I can’t say you are. And neither am I. How about we go check where the tree fell and work our way up from there?”
“That sounds…” Applejack trailed off her sentence, her mouth hanging wide open.
Twilight quirked an eyebrow. “What?” She followed Applejack’s shocked gaze and gasped. There, about fifteen feet away, sat a large woven basket, filled with four sleeping foals. Two pegasi, a unicorn, and an earth pony. An adult unicorn stood next to the basket, her magic illuminating her smirking face.
“G-Girls?!” Twilight squeaked.
Starlight held a hoof to her lips. “Shhhh. We mustn’t wake them.”
Applejack refrained herself from lunging at the ex-mayor, her emerald eyes blazing with fury. “What did you do to them!?”
Starlight cackled at the mares’ distress. “Oh! Oh, the looks on your faces! Now I know, this will be worth my while!”
Twilight fixed her nemesis with a glare, knowing she had the upper hoof in the situation. “What do you want, Starlight?”
“What do I want? Twilight, Twilight, Twilight….” Starlight clicked her tongue while slowly shaking her head. “I thought you were smarter than that. I want revenge, of course. But I’m here mostly for justice. I’m here to right all of the wrongs you’ve caused me.”
“The only pony that did any wrong was you,” Applejack muttered, glancing at the basket. “We did what we had to do. You can’t force ponies to have the same cutie mark. You just can’t.”
Starlight gripped the basket with her magic, making Twilight and Applejack tense where they stood. The pink unicorn gave them a look of warning. “Don’t…interrupt me.” When the two stayed silent, Starlight continued. “So I found my way out of the caves, and began to do research on you. And I began to watch all of you….study you.” Starlight grinned upon Twilight’s confused expression.
“Remember that lunch you had at Canterlot with all of your dear old friends? For a Princess, you should really be more aware of your surroundings.”
Twilight’s eyes widened at the memory. She’s been right under our noses this whole time?
“Let them go, Starlight,” Twilight said, fighting to keep her voice steady. “Let them go, and I’ll go with you instead. You’ll still have me!”
“Twilight, no!” Applejack hissed.
“Please, A.J.,” Twilight whispered back. She didn’t know how Starlight had managed to turn her friends back to foals or why...nopony could do those spells! Not even her! but if Applejack could get them to Princess Celestia, she might be able to change them back.
“They’ve done nothing to you….please!”
Starlight snorted. “Nothing, huh? Quite the contrary.” Her grin faded into a distasteful frown as she looked down at the sleeping foals. “Observe. Rarity and Rainbow Dash’s attitudes made my villagers think they could stand up to me! They’ve never back talked, they never rebelled, never gave me any sass until they opened their mouths!
"Pinkie Pie questioned and insulted my ethics since she first stepped hoof in my town! And Fluttershy… Dear Fluttershy… she betrayed me. You may be my primary target, Twilight Sparkle, but your friends deserve every bit of punishment you’re going to get, including Applejack.”
Twilight stepped back and unconsciously raised a protective wing in front of Applejack. “…Punishment?”
The aura from Starlight’s horn grew brighter. “If you had no problem taking everything I’ve worked for away from me,” Starlight said with a dark smile, “Then you shouldn’t have a problem spending your lives helping me restore it.”
Twilight didn’t feel the force of magic striking her. Instead, she saw images. Flashing images of her life, going backwards.
Tantabus, meeting Starlight, her fight with Tirek, the Tree of Harmony, her friends in the human world, her Princess Transformation, The mirror pool, Trixie’s return, The Crystal Empire, Her brother’s wedding, trying to stop time, Discord, her first Gala, Pinkie sense, moving a Dragon from his cave, Nightmare Moon, the Elements of Harmony, meeting her friends, meeting Princess Celestia, her Canterlot friends, her cutie mark, Spike, Cadence, Shining Armor, Dad, Mom….blank.
Starlight smiled victoriously as she leaned down and scooped up baby Twilight Sparkle and rocked her. “Don’t worry, Twilight. I’ll teach you about what it means to have the same talent as everypony else. You’ll be much happier, I promise.” She gently placed the tiny purple unicorn in the basket with the others.
Then she turned to the last foal on the ground, cooing softly. Starlight chuckled and picked her up. “And you, Applejack…I’ll be the mother you never had.” The foal looked up at her with curious eyes; then she playfully stuck her tongue out.
The older pony smiled wryly. “And I’ll teach you how to be a lady too.” She picked up the basket with her magic and let Applejack ride on her back as she took the exiting path. “You’re a bit rough around the edges for me.”
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yup starlight was in amending fences
thanks to the writer for the amazing episode and i find starlight have some sort a twist look alike character type
Gotta be honest... I thought that the "BANG"s meant that Starlight was murdering them so that she could then mother 6 new children who can be the elements and use them to control Equestria, Legend of Korra style. I must say, I approve of this concept much more. Good use of suspense, a nice pacing, showing rather than telling. Can't wait to read more! Good job.
“My outfit! Riddled with mud!” Rarity wailed.
Hmm . . . very interesting start. I have yet to read a story featuring Starlight, so this is a first for me. I think this should be pretty good.
While the 'mane six get taken down so easily' but is kinda cliche, I can't help but be drawn to the premise.
How much will Glimmer change the mane six, and how much will they change her? How will she kept their presence unknown for the decades it'll take her plan to work? From the Princesses, from Shining Armor, from Spike, and other ponies will be looking for the mane six?
I imagine her giving them new names, colors and mane styles just to keep any pony from recognizing them.
Nice start, it happened rather sudden, but it sounded like some of those classic comic series, or old kid horror movies, i don´t know but the storm, and everything else made me remember something.
Awesome! Finally able to comment on this awesome story! I have a feeling that in addition to Sad, perhaps the Dark tag may even be added on later. The Mane Six regain their identities slowly, and Starlight Glimmer scoffs "If I cannot raise you to believe in equality; then I shall make you think of equality and only equality"
This is an intriguing start.
best one so far love story so many things just happened now she got them all. all within her character this one thing I wonder why she didn't do this. think she need time spell age spell wow even better idea.
Me likey!
Knock knock, guess who's here?
You want to raise the Mane 6? Good luck. You'll need it.
Glorious... Simply glorious...
oh god. . .that sent shivers down my spine mostly with how she spoke of fluttershy
Hrm, if she's used an irreversible form of this spell, and I'm sure she has; then starlight has, philosophically speaking, committed murder six times over.
"Filt"
Filled? Maybe?
Wait, what? Wouldn't Princess Celestia find out eventually? Discord will be pissed when he discovers what happened to his friend, Fluttershy.
Oh, and there's also Cadence and Shining Armour; Starlight, you just racked up a lot of enemies.
Spike and Princess Luna too.
You said “friends in the human world “ twice
9035255
Merci!
9035255
To be fair. She did go to the human world twice inbetween important equestrian events I think.