“And so you see, it’s all my fault, momma,” Pearl concluded, her eyes downcast. “I was the one who pressured everypony to go outside the mountain. Please don’t punish the others. They tried to stop me, but I didn’t listen.”
“Oh, mother, we could have easily stopped her,” Sapphire said dismissively, ignoring Pearl’s look of indignation. “We went on our own accord, because we wanted to be rebellious. Pearl was just spouting off nonsense—nonsense which we could have and should have ignored. She simply didn’t know any better.”
Pearl’s sky-blue eyes lit up with anger. “What are you talking about? I did know better! Well, I didn’t at that time, but—I just—well you know what I mean!”
Sapphire rolled her eyes. “Pearl, please. You get your head stuck in the oats jar every other week and you still think that your shadow can move on its own when you’re not looking. Listening to you was more than foolish on our part, mine especially.”
Pearl jumped down from the couch. “What are you doing!? Why are you trying to cover up for me? Why do you guys always DO that?”
“Pearl—”
“NO!”
Starlight and Sapphire watched as Pearl stomped her hooves in fury. Though even in complete rage, the pink pony still managed to look strangely humorous with her teeth overly bared. “I’m so sick of you guys taking the blame when it’s ME who causes trouble! It was MY idea, and I’M the one who pressured everypony to go!”
She turned to Starlight, slapping a hoof to her own chest. “If you should punish anypony, punish ME, momma. I take all the blame!” She slapped her hoof again, but this time she winced, and gingerly pulled her injured hoof away. “Ow. Broken tree branch.” She briefly sucked on it, and Starlight sighed.
“Enough, ladies, both of you. I’m extremely disappointed in you all, but I’m not going to punish anypony. What you’ve all been through with that tiger was punishment enough.”
“But…” Pearl said. “I—”
Starlight held a hoof under her chin. “You made an unwise decision. But let it be the only one. The next time you actively disobey me, you will receive punishment.”
To Starlight’s apparent surprise, Pearl’s expression turned hopeful. “I will?”
“Er—yes, Pearl. To the fullest extent.” She held back an eyeroll as Pearl beamed. “Now go and rest. You’ve had a hard day. Be careful not to wake the others.”
Pearl nodded and walked a few paces before turning back. “Aren’t you coming, Saph?”
“In a minute,” Sapphire replied, rubbing at her foreleg. “I’m…not quite tired yet.”
Pearl raised an eyebrow but didn’t question it. “Okay.” She looked to Starlight with a gentle remorse. “I really am sorry, momma.”
Starlight nodded serenely. “I forgive you, dear. Go on to bed now.” As soon as Pearl left for the girls’ bedroom, Starlight’s gaze shifted to Sapphire, who sat with her head bowed. “You know, I feel like making some coffee. Would you care for a cup?”
Sapphire blinked several times before raising her head, her eyes wide. “Would I…. a cup of coffee? Me, drink coffee with you?”
“Yes. Would you like some?”
Sapphire repositioned herself on the couch, babbling out jumbled words before settling on a solid answer. “Y…Yes? Yes. I would.”
Starlight smiled and moved toward the kitchen. As she set the kettle on the stove, Sapphire lowered herself from the couch, not taking her eyes off her mother. “I-It’s just that coffee…well, it’s your drink, isn’t it?”
“On a day like today,” Starlight sighed, sitting at the dining room table. “A strong cup of coffee is just what I need. You too, I believe.” Using her hooves, she untied her ponytail, and let her mane fall over her shoulders. With another sigh, she leaned back in her chair and rubbed her shoulder.
Sapphire had yet to pick her jaw off the floor. She had never seen her mother this way before. Mane loose, slouched position, and offering her coffee…this was quite a day indeed.
Starlight lazily opened her eyes and gestured Sapphire over. The little unicorn obeyed, sitting on the chair beside her mother. “You’ve never let us drink coffee before,” she couldn’t help saying. “You’ve always said it was an adult’s drink.”
A subdued chuckle escaped Starlight. “Well, you’re on your way. Thirteen, my, my.” She sighed again, her eyes wandering. “You’re practically a young mare.”
Sapphire’s face fell, and her eyes fell to the table. “I haven’t been acting like one. We…I betrayed your trust.”
“Well, as I’ve said, I’m disappointed, but I’m no longer angry. You are all forgiven, Sapphire. Just let this be a lesson for you all and leave it at that.”
“Your forgiveness makes me feel worse,” Sapphire mumbled, her ears flattening against her head. “We don’t deserve a mother like you.”
Starlight gave her a leveling stare. “Let me decide what you do and don’t deserve. You made a mistake, but that doesn’t mean you girls don’t deserve my…”
Her sentence trailed off, and Sapphire looked up curiously.
“….my love.” Her features relaxed, and she sat up straighter. “You’re a pony, Sapphire, and ponies make mistakes.”
“You don’t make mistakes,” Sapphire said. “Not like us. Not like me.”
“Hmm. I was a teenager once too, you know.” She rested a chin on her hoof, and she smiled in faint reminiscence. “Stubborn. Rebellious…a complete outsider.”
Sapphire stared at her incredulously. “You?”
“Yes…unfortunately.” Her smile twisted into a look of distaste. “Oh, I was a dreadful thing. Wearing all black and drawing my bedroom curtains so I could always dwell in the dark. I wanted so badly to stand out from the rest. For a long time, I had convinced myself that I was better than all the other ponies in my grade. ‘Losers’, I called them. ‘Uncool’, ‘Lame’. I was…lost. Broken.”
Sapphire hung on to her every word, transfixed. “I never would have thought that you used to be that! Not in a million years! It’s…hard to even picture you as a teenager.”
Starlight chuckled. “Oh, yes. Pimples, hormones and all.”
Sapphire lightly tapped her hoof on the table. “Um…have you um…” She bit her lip. “Have you thought about boys?”
“Oh…sometimes, yes.” She turned a suspicious eye on Sapphire. “Why? Have you seen any boys when you went out?”
“Just a few glances,” Sapphire lied. The girls were careful to omit the part when they had met and interacted with the Cake twins. “They…some of them looked nice. Cute, I mean.” Sapphire’s cheeks burned at her choice of words, suddenly mortified that she was discussing this with her mother.
But Starlight simply smiled and patted Sapphire’s hoof. “You’ll get to know them in time. Right now, I want to make sure that you girls are mentally and emotionally prepared to deal with other ponies, let alone be in a relationship. A pony’s heart is special. It’s important for us to protect it.”
Sapphire nodded. “Yes, mother.”
The kettle screamed, and Starlight used her magic to turn off the stove. Sapphire watched as her mother rose from her chair and prepared the cups.
As the mugs clinked against the counter, a thought entered Sapphire’s mind. “Um…mother? My special somepony…what if…what if he doesn’t understand Equality? What if he doesn’t want to be equal with other ponies?”
Starlight raised her eyebrows but didn’t pause in her preparing. “Well, it’s like I’ve always taught you, my starling. The ponies of Equestria…most of them are blinded by cutie marks. They’ve been deceived their whole lives. I imagine it’ll be difficult for you to find a pony who will appreciate the ways of Equality, but it’s not impossible.”
Sapphire thought a moment. “I could persuade him,” she offered. “It wouldn’t be his fault, if he was taught to think that way all his life. If you changed, why couldn’t he?”
Starlight looked back at Sapphire and grinned. “I’ve taught you well.”
Sapphire sat up straight, pleased as punch. It wasn’t long before Starlight brought over two steaming cups of coffee and set them down. “You’ve always had a generous heart, Sapphire. Careful, it’s hot. I have no doubts that you’ll do well in spreading our knowledge to others.” Her eyes flickered over to the girls’ bedroom and back. “And you were very generous in taking the blame in Pearl’s stead. But you do realize that she’ll have to start taking responsibility for her actions. You girls can’t shield her all the time.”
Sapphire sighed. “Oh, I know, mother. It’s just that…it’s Pearl. So much has happened. Buttercup can’t fly, and she blames herself. The others got seriously injured, but she and I escaped with only a few scrapes and bruises.” She shook her head. “I don’t want her to carry that kind of burden. I’d much rather it be me instead of her.”
After a moment of silence, Starlight raised her cup to her lips. “Those are a young mare’s thoughts if I’m not mistaken.”
Sapphire smiled and took a ginger sip of her very first cup of coffee. Her nose wrinkled instantly.
Ew. Bitter.
“So, lemme get this straight,” Cookie Crumbles said, glaring hard over her horn-rimmed glasses. “This pony—Starlight Glimmer. She just…took you in the middle of a storm and turned you into foals? That’s where you’ve been all these years?”
An uneasy smile spread across Rarity’s face. “That’s correct.”
Hondo Flanks, her father, sat in a chair, stunned. “Why?” he rasped. His body had grown frail over the years, and his thick, bushy mustache had greyed.
“It’s…complicated. Long story short, we had a rather big hoof in destroying the system she built for her little village, and…she overreacted. Just a bit.” Rarity uttered a few slow chuckles before clearing her throat.
Hondo rubbed a foreleg across his eyes, and Cookie Crumbles uttered a strong curse word under her breath. There was another squeeze around Rarity’s neck, and she grunted.
“Sweetie, stop squeezing your sister so hard, hon,” Hondo said, giving a half-gesture.
Sweetie Belle gave a sheepish smile and quickly slid off Rarity’s bed, though she remained close.
Even though the urge to rub at her sore neck was strong, Rarity couldn’t help grinning. She was still smarting from Sweetie Belle’s full on tackle when her family walked through the door, but she was more than willing to endure a few more pain-filled hugs from her little sister. “I still can’t get over how beautiful you are,” she cooed, tapping a hoof under Sweetie Belle’s chin. “You could easily outshine even the fairest models in Manehattan.”
Sweetie let out a feathery laugh with a snort, flipping her mane nervously. “Thank you, but…I don’t know. Maybe I could, with some work. I’m actually wanting to lose a few pounds.”
“Again with the pounds,” Cookie sighed, shaking her head. “I keep telling her she’s gorgeous, ain’t she gorgeous, Hondo?”
“Yep,” Hondo said tiredly, his eyes still dark.
“See?”
“Oh, ho ho, let’s not do this in front of Rarity.” Sweetie laughed with great emphasis and turned to her sister. “Forget all that. I’d rather talk about you. What…what you’ve been through with that mare. I mean…she made you forget everything!”
Rarity fiddled with the end of her tail. “It was…a life.”
“Yeah, a life she fabricated,” Cookie spat, shifting in her seat. “You’re my daughter. Mine. An’ she just went and took you away like it was nothin’!” With a large sniff, she pulled her purse into her lap and fished for something. “I carried you in my stomach, I gave birth to you, and I’m the one who raised you. Not some delusional tramp.”
Hondo put a hoof over his wife’s and pulled it out of her purse, entrapping it. “Honey…”
“No. Don’t tell me to calm down!” she almost shouted, though she didn’t pull her hoof away. “We thought…we buried her, an’ she knew. She knew!”
Rarity winced. “Mother, I…I’m sorry.”
Cookie closed her eyes and took a few calming breaths. “No, hon,” she said after a moment. “You’ve got nothing to be sorry about. I’m sorry for…” She waved a hoof in the air. “Mm.”
Rarity cleared her throat. “Well, um…how is school, Sweetie Belle?”
Sweetie raised an eyebrow. “School? Oh, you mean my music classes. My students are the greatest. So eager to learn, all bright-eyed and bushy tailed! You should hear them sing, Rarity. Like a choir of little angels.”
“I bet they do,” Rarity chirped, reaching down beside her bed. “Now, look what I have. I requested this from the gift shop downstairs.” She pulled out a small, plush teddy bear with a red bow-tie. “For you!”
“Oh!” Sweetie exclaimed, holding the teddy bear in her hooves. “Why, Rarity, I…I don’t know what to say. Giving me gifts at a time like this…you really are the best.” Her green eyes misted over. “I wish we could’ve gotten you more than flowers, but…the news… it was on such short notice.”
“Oh, nonsense. The flowers are lovely,” Rarity said, gesturing to the vase full of daffodils on the side table. “Besides, the teddy bear is just the tip of the icing! Your gifts will be much more extravagant for your eleventh birthday. Oh, I’m so glad I’ve returned in time for your special day. We’ll have cake and ice cream and everything!”
She reached up and stroked Sweetie’s soft curls. “We’ll even see if we can get Sapphire Shores to sing for you and your classmates. How does that sound?”
Sweetie Belle’s smile froze. “Uhm…. that’s…nice Rarity, but…” She giggled nervously. “Sapphire Shores is…is long retired and I’m turning twenty-ni…” She trailed off upon seeing the blank smile on Rarity’s face. “Sis, I’m not…we aren’t…”
She looked to her parents, but they seemed just as baffled. “I mean…”
“You’re not what, darling?”
With a soft, barely-repressed whimper, Sweetie swallowed and beamed widely. “…Thank you. I…I love my present…Rares.”
“Ooh, you’re quite welcome, Sweetie. Now you tell the rest of the Crusaders to come visit when they have the chance.”
A loud wail burst out in the hallway, making them all jump.
“Good heavens!” Cookie Crumbles gasped, holding a hoof to her heart.
“What was that?” Hondo said alertly, halfway out of his chair.
Rarity’s eyes clouded over. “That would be Rainbow Dash. Sit back down, father, it’s no concern of yours.”
“Whatever happens to any of your friends is a concern of mine,” Hondo said, but sunk back down in his chair.
“Oh, that’s sweet, but you don’t have to worry. The doctors are taking care of her. She’ll pull through…hopefully.”
Cookie Cutter sighed sharply and started digging through her purse again.
“Mom, what are you looking for?” Sweetie asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
Cookie just shook her head and pulled out a silver flask.
Sweetie swallowed hard and tried to keep her voice light. “Mom, you promised.”
The top twisted open.
“Mom.”
Cookie stood up from her chair, flask in hoof. “I don’t tell you how to live your life, Sweetie Belle,” she muttered, turning away and leaving the room.
“Hon,” Hondo called back, but he made no move to stop her. Sighing, he rubbed at his eyes.
Sweetie Belle blinked rapidly and moved away from Rarity’s bed. “Excuse me,” she squeaked, and ran out of the room, gasping quietly.
Rarity watched the whole scene with a look of incomprehension and turned to her father, who looked utterly exhausted. “Did I say something wrong?”
“No, dumplin’. When we thought you were gone, it’s just been real hard for all of us. Your sister…” He scratched at the back of his neck. “She used to have trouble sleepin’ most nights. Got so rough, she slept in our bed until she was fourteen. For a long time, she blamed herself for not tryin’ harder to get you stay inside until that storm passed.”
“Why, that’s not true at all!” Rarity exclaimed. “I was more than determined to clear the debris, I doubt anypony could have stopped me that night. I had a job to do, a responsibility to Ponyville!”
Hondo nodded absently. “She didn’t care how little she was. She punished herself…for a long while. And your mother…well, she took up a bad habit over the years. We’re tryin’ to get her to break it, but…it’s hard. Hard business.”
Rarity stared at her father with concern. “And…. what about you?”
Hondo gave a small smile. “I held down the fort.” With a grunt, he got up and moved beside Rarity. “Oh, my Rarity,” he exhaled, gently pulling her against him and planting a kiss on her temple. “Rarity, Rarity. I missed you.”
Rarity smiled in content, and curled up against her father, careful not to overwhelm his thinned frame. “Now that I remember you, I missed you too. You, mother, Sweetie…and Opal too.”
“…. Yeah. Opal.”
“I’m sorry that I don’t spend as much time with you as I ought to. Once I’m cleared to leave, I’ll be sure to cancel all meetings with my clients and we’ll take some time away. Perhaps an entire week or two. Just us, as a family.”
Hondo held her closer. “That would be great, dumplin’. That would be great.”
Starlight panted as she slogged through the swamp, her eyes glued to the sky. The further she went, the harder it was to pull her hooves out of the muck as she ran. Her mane had come loose, hanging in stringy, filthy clumps over her shoulders. Scrapes and cuts stung her legs, but she didn’t dare stop.
She swallowed hard between pants in a vain effort to soothe her burning throat.
Keep going. Keep going. Keep going.
“Smolder, wait up!”
Starlight jerked to a halt.
“You’re not trying to find her first, are ya?”
With a sharp gasp, Starlight dove into several stalks of cattails. She quietly cast a concealment spell for good measure and held her breath.
“Course not!” a second voice replied. “Like I said, we’ll split the feast fifty-fifty. Just stop being a slow-poke. This place would be perfect for hiding.”
“Yeah, for a good reason. This place is huge! She’ll take forever to find if she’s here, and it’ll be a huge waste of time if she isn’t.”
“Then we’ll split up. You go over there, and I’ll look over here.”
“Mmm…alright. Just don’t go flying off with her if you catch that unicorn.”
“Same goes for you, Blaze.”
Brief sounds of light slapping and clapping followed. “A’ight. Meet back here in ten?”
“You got it.”
Starlight continued to lay still, even long after the voices and wing beats disappeared. Crickets chirped, and dragonflies buzzed and zipped around in the humid air. Breathing thinly through her nose, Starlight eventually rose from the cattails. Her coat was now filthy beyond hope, with dirt and mud stains reaching up to her chin.
Her hoof scratched furiously at her neck as her eyes searched around hopelessly. She didn’t know a whole lot about dragons, but she couldn’t fathom why any dragon would be searching for a random unicorn, let alone two of them. No, they were looking for her, Starlight was certain.
She figured that when the news broke out, ponies would be hunting her down. What dragons had to gain from catching her, she had no idea. The relationship between ponies and dragons has been severed for years. Perhaps a large bounty had been placed on her head, and the reward was so grand, even the dragons couldn’t resist getting a piece of the action. Either way, it didn’t matter. Her window of escape was closing, and fast.
There was nowhere else to hide if the dragons truly had pitched in. Their eyes are said to be sharper than an eagle’s. Her shoulders sagged, still standing amongst the cattails.
Before her mind could begin to form her next move, a nearby rustle made her jump. A shrill terror formed in her stomach and traveled up her throat, but she bit down on her tongue, preventing a scream.
A brief glint of light shone across a glassy surface, and a figure emerged from the darkness. Starlight crouched low, but she knew she had already been seen. She was debating weather or not she should cast a spell on the figure when a voice called out her name in a hushed whisper.
“S…Starlight?”
Starlight’s heart stopped. Hovering in silent shock, her eyes lifted to the figure. “Sunburst,” she whispered haltingly.
Sunburst’s eyes widened further upon realization. “Starlight…STARL—!”
Starlight was on him in seconds, clamping a hoof over his mouth. “Don’t,” she hissed frantically, keeping her voice as soft as possible. “There are dragons nearby.”
Sunburst grew even more alarmed. “Drmmph-mmph!?”
“Shut up,” she squeaked. “Please!”
“Hey Blaze, any luck?”
Starlight promptly dragged a flailing Sunburst into an underbrush. Once they were properly hidden, Sunburst shrugged Starlight off. “What are you doing here?” he whispered through clenched teeth.
“Shhh!”
“No, no ‘shh’! You are in a Tartarus amount of trouble!”
Starlight gulped weakly. “What have you heard?”
Sunburst wheezed and laughed at the same time. “What have I heard? We’re near one of the darkest parts of Equestria, and even I’ve heard talk about what you’ve done to those poor mares! I didn’t want to believe it, but seeing you hiding and skulking about like this just confirmed it.”
“Sunburst…”
Two raspy voices lingered in the distance. “Sunburst, hide me, please.”
Sunburst drew in a shocked, angry breath. “Absolutely no—”
“No, you have to, don’t you see!? You’re my only hope—”
“Hope? There is no hope for you here, you’re a wanted mare! And I could be charged with harboring a fugitive!”
“Sunburst, please. Please. I have nowhere else to go. Please...”
Sunburst pressed his lips together, his eyes bright with fury as the gears turned in his head. He glared at her for a long moment before letting out a semi-quiet groan. “Follow me,” he finally muttered, turning away from her.
Nodding dumbly, Starlight followed Sunburst through a number of twists and turns, ducking under branches and avoiding odd little creatures that blinked their eyes at them. The voices of the dragons soon faded, but Starlight refused to let her guard down. It was possible that Sunburst was simply leading her into a trap of some kind, but she had little options. If she were to be turned in by anyone, she’d rather it be Sunburst. Just the thought of being in the clutches of a ferocious dragon made her legs shake.
Before long, Sunburst and Starlight slipped under the leaves of a weeping willow tree and came upon a small clearing with a pile of logs thrown together in the center. A few knickknacks and belongings were placed none too neatly on the ground beside the logs. A pot here, a book there.
Sunburst moved quickly over to retrieve something from the pile while Starlight lifted her eyes to the sky. The trees were so thick here, only the faintest bit of moonlight streamed in from between the leaves. Too thick for the dragons to see through, unless they thought to burn the trees down.
“Um…Sunburst?”
There was no reply.
Starlight ran a hoof along the grass. “Sunburst, where are we, exactly? I, um...when I ran from the guards, I…I just ran and teleported, back and forth. I didn’t really know where I was going. I just had to get away.”
Sunburst snorted. “Well, you got away alright. But you might wanna escape to freedom, you’re going the wrong way. This is Hayseed Swamp, not too far from the Badlands. If you don’t want to run into trouble, you’d be wise not to go any further. Hungry?” He threw an oversized leaf on the ground and spilled a few berries on top of it. “Sorry I couldn’t provide warmer food,” he almost sneered. “But since we’re being hunted by dragons now, making a fire would undoubtedly draw some unwanted attention toward ourselves.”
Starlight watched him sadly but nodded. “Thank you.”
“Hmmph.”
She waked over to her meal and slowly sat down. Her muscles burned and ached, but she ignored it. Sunburst scuttled around camp, muttering under his breath and making fussy adjustments. “Would have loved to make some nice, hot porridge for myself tonight, but noooo.”
Quiet sounds of the swamp filled the air. And with it, light sobbing. Sunburst jerked around to see Starlight suddenly curled in a ball, weeping. “There’s no use crying about it,” he said with the shake of his head. “After all those years of plotting and scheming, you had to have known this day would come.”
Small, breathy gasps escaped Starlight as she wept. “My daughters,” she managed before collapsing back into uncontrollable sobbing.
Rough hooves grabbed her shoulders and spun her around. “What is the matter with you!?” Sunburst hissed. “They were never yours to begin with. You took them away from six other families and made them think they were dead.”
“But they were mine!” Starlight said in an almost pleading tone. Tears slipped down her face. “They were. Moonlight, Sunshine, Prism…Sapphire, Buttercup, Pearl. They’re…they’re gone now.” Her bottom lip quivered, and her breathing came in quick, ragged bursts as the reality finally hit her. “They’re gone. My starlings, they’re…and they all hate me…”
“And for good reason. Whatever feelings they might have felt toward you was based on lies. And what would you care?” Sunburst glanced back at Starlight’s tear-stained face, and she pitifully wiped at her nose. “Stars above,” he muttered, digging inside one of his personal belongings and pulling out a hanky. “Here.”
Starlight pitifully accepted the hanky and blew half-heartedly.
“You should know, no matter how far you run, they’ll catch you eventually. They have every bit of firepower after you, and its only been a day.”
“I do,” Starlight said with a weak nod. She paused, looking down at her berries. “I guess the girls’ families are coming to see them now, aren’t they?”
“Don’t you hear what I’m saying? You’re looking at a lifetime in the dungeons—possibly a death penalty!”
“There hasn’t been a pony tried with death in the last five decades or so,” Starlight said, though she looked uncertain.
“Well, they might make an exception for you.”
Starlight brushed away her tears and scowled. “Well if you hate me that much, why don’t you just go ahead and throw me on the Castle’s doorstep? I bet you could get a load of money for it!” She erupted in a series of tear-filled coughs, and she covered her mouth with the hanky.
Sunburst glared at her but sighed heavily. “I don’t hate you.” With small hesitation, he turned to one of his duffle bags and levitated a bottle of peroxide, a bag full of cotton balls, and a box of bandages into the air. “Misery loves company, I suppose.”
Starlight’s aura encased the medical supplies and gave a grateful nod. As she slowly set to work on her injuries, she glanced over at him at the corner of her eye. “What are you doing here?” she asked softly. “I figured you’d be in some sort of castle or teaching magic to a bunch of unicorns somewhere. How did you get in a place like this?”
Sunburst looked at her, and she could immediately see the pain reflected in his pale blue eyes. Now clearly wasn’t the time. Shutting her mouth, Starlight focused back on the peroxide.
With weighed down steps, Sunburst plopped down across from Starlight, lifting a canteen to his lips. Now they had settled down, Starlight was able to take in Sunburst’s appearance. His bright orange mane had small streaks of grey in it, as did his long, thin beard. His eyes were shielded with round spectacles, but they didn’t cover up the bags that settled under his eyes.
His usually pristine hooves were cracked and rough. She couldn’t see what the rest of his body looked like, for his torn, dark brown cloak concealed him from neck to hoof.
This only spiked Starlight’s curiosity even further, but she decided to hold off questions for now. The unicorn held back a hiss as the medicine came in contact with one of her cuts.
“I don’t need to know why you did what you did,” Sunburst said, staring out into the distance. “Frankly, there’s nothing the heroes of Equestria could have done to deserve that. But you’re going to have to figure out you plan to do next. You can’t stay here, and neither can I.”
Starlight paused, and gave him a long, hard look. “You’re running too, aren’t you?”
Sunburst simply took another sip out of his canteen.
With a sigh, Starlight resumed in her self-mending. “I was just trying to make it a better world. An age-old truth that has been long forgotten by our generation. A truth that everypony, young or old, rich or poor, royal or subject is equal. I really did want to help ponies. And with that came sacrifices!”
She sniffled and suppressed a sob in her throat. “I meant to hurt them too, but in the end, I gave them a gift! I made them see, and they were good. They were so good. They’re still good…. They’re still mine…maybe? I don’t know…”
Sunburst put away his canteen and dragged over a beaten-up looking pillow with his magic. “Just…stay the night of you need too, Starlight. I’m tired, and I just…I just want to rest. I’ve lost enough rest staying up with you. Alright?”
Starlight gazed at him as he began to lay down. “Aren’t you afraid that I might hurt you?”
Sunburst removed his spectacles. “At this point, Star, it wouldn’t matter much of you did. Goodnight.”
Sunburst rested his head and closed his eyes, but he stayed up listening to Starlight’s soft sobbing throughout the night.
Good. You keep talking to her like that Sunburst. Don't let her double standard BS fool you.
Also I don't think she LOVED them like a mother. She loved them because deep down it was the only way to beat them. She couldn't JUST be mean or cruel. That'd prove their point. By screwing with their minds and being a 'good' mother she proves her point better.
well shit I kinda feel bad for glim glam now
I'm curious as to what Sunburst is running from.
I vote leave it as is with what Starlight called Pinkie. As for Starlight I think she in the end will end up taking her own life off camera. She has done many things for her own self interests and she as beyond harmed six mares for her own ego. I think over the years she came to actually love them but now that they know the truth and their old memories have surfaced she is experiencing just what she put all those families through. I am upset that Sunburst is doing what he is doing but I get the feeling that he will be the key to her redemption.
Nah, just leave as is. I feel like at this point the readers just gotta roll with it.
I cannot wait to see the Cake Twins recognize Pinkie from that one lone adventure.
Man... I don't think I realized till now just how long 18 years is...
Right, this Rarity never went through the character growth of accepting Sweetie wasn't a baby anymore.
Cookie Crumble's rage is 100% logical and understandable and justified.
Got so rough, she slept in our bed until she was fourteen.
0-0 Take that girl to therapy!
Better question, what the Hell is Sunburst doing there?
And I'm stunned Starlight could even FIND Sunburst, the guy wasn't known for standing out, and would be even less now. And it's clear Starlight never tried to contact or find him again in all those years... I'm surprised she'd try to find him now.
And what would you care?”
Same reason with Our Town. Ironically her lie THERE was a necessary evil!!!
8947387
She did love them like a mother. It's cleary obvious.
8947718
Just like how some cult leaders love children like a father.
You know, a lot of people forget that Starlight wasn't gaining anything from lying about her cutie mark. She lived the same way as everypony else. She ate the same foods. Her house wasn't better than everyony elses and her furniture was just as plain as everypony elses. Her hairstyle was the same as theirs. The only benefit she was getting was what she thought was friendship. There was no malice in any of it. She wasn't living better than anypony. She wasn't making them do anything for her. They were living their own lives and not actally being forced to do labour or anything. Heck, she wasn't even showing off her powers.
Despite still having her cutie mark, she still lowered herself to how everypony else was. She wasn't lording herself over them.
She literally wasn't gaining anything from the situation. This whole 'more equal than others' crap would mean more if she was actually living better than everypony else.
People try to call this enslavement, but this is not slavery by any definition I have ever read.
Well Rose could be easy to remember for Pinkie.
I like it that starlight had a real bond with them, I mean that she likes them so much, it doesn't change what she did or how wrong this is in a way, but this is a story where I want her to manage to get a good ending. I also kind of hope that in one way or another they still haev a connection, she and her kids.
I don't know why, I can totally understand those who somehow only grew to hate Starlight here, but I can't stop to want a bittersweet or good ending for her. I mean something where they maybe make her go to a psychiatrist and one of them at first is still seatching the contact with Starlight.
I can't explain it so good, but to me it is interessting to have this happening no matter how bad she maybe was here, probably because of the psychological topic that could be part of the story.
8947721
I agree with him, she grew to love them more than what you are trying to say.
8947718
I agree with you
8947729
that sounds actually right, at least I think I want to see it like that too.
8947875
Yet if she really loved them she'd tell them or show them what their old families were like. Or done SOMETHING to show she regretted her actions. But what did she do? Try and imprint her own ideals on them and shred away any chance of individuality they had. That's not love. I don't know what it's called but it's NOT love.
8947879
it is not really that simple for someone in this situation i believe and of course she still has her own believes, I still call it love
instead of white or black i see it grey
8947893
Oh wait I remember the name of it. It's called STOCKHOLM SYNDROME. AKA it's only because of CIRCUMSTANCE and not really love.
8947901
it's okay angry dash, you really seems angry about it actually , but you won't simply change my opinion on it like that. We are already at least two who can believe it.
8947919
Just I can't believe there's folks who'd defend her for doing this. And yes there IS a world of difference between what she's doing here compared to the season finale. There after doing all her shit she's actually regretful and hated her actions after seeing what they did, AKA she didn't fully understand what she did. HERE HOWEVER? Where did she show ANY regret? I want you to show me back to a chapter where she actually considered giving them back to their families or showed she at least hated herself for doing this.
Every time I read a chapter I’m emotionally drained for the rest of the day. Thank you for that. I do have a question (and forgive me if this has been asked before) but Pinkie Pie and Rainbow were really sick before they regained their memories. Is that fixed now or is there still a magical buildup in them?
8948197
I wasn't talking about her regretting something. In my opinion she might still think she is right, but I also still believe she can love them for whatever reason that love started. I believe it only depens on if you can believe it or not which you can't while I do believe it.
I think Pearl is fine for Pinkie. I did get mixed up a few times in the reread but it's not a show stopper.
I'd like to know what Sunburst has been through these past 18 years, cause I'd think back then Sunburst wouldn't even tangle with Starlight at all. Wouldn't turn her in, but wouldn't help either.
8948272
Yep, the elements healed them so they're all good in the buildup department. Sorry for draining you T.T
Well, at least I didn't start crying, I guess? I love this though, seems to be setting up for a long haul or sequel! Btw, I would suggest leaving Pearl's name as it is, but Rose might cause less confusion.
I think what I like most about this story is that it's all about examining the consequences of something like this. And let's be clear: what Starlight does in this story is psychologically shattering to everyone involved, including herself. She started out doing this solely for vengeance, but ends up as emotionally damaged as the Mane 6. She's also now torn between her misguided sense of self-righteousness and whatever motherly feelings she developed for her "daughters".
I don't know how this can end for her. I honestly hope that she doesn't have to die, because I pity Starlight more than hate her, even after everything she did.
8963089
I figured as much. You described the dread pretty damn accurately.
Welp now I'm officially caught up. I've read the comments and have seen that most people seem to want Starlight's head on a pike -- admittedly for good reason -- I've read through the story so far and have seen the tearful reunions, I understand that what Starlight did is unforgivable,but you know what?
I'm still on Starlight's side on this one.
I can't help it. When I connect with a character in a story, I'm the type of person that really connects with them. I try to imagine what they're thinking and try to put myself in their shoes (or hooves as it were). I fully commit to being one hundred percent behind the character or characters if there's multiple, no matter how good or bad their choices are.
That was the case with Starlight and the mane six as a family. And now that it's over I can't just say 'screw Starlight, she can burn in Tartarus' because I connected with her as a character right from the beginning. Hell, with all this heat on her now, it's only making me root for Starlight even more.
Disagree if you'd like but that's just how I am when it comes to this kind of thing.
8964302
Thanks for your comments I hoped this kind of divide would happen in this story, because it really is a tragic thing on both ends.
8963531 I agree with you and I think It is a bit the same for me, while I can't deny it was something bad she did, I also can't forget what it maybe means to her. I find it totally interessting and want to see a acceptable ending for her where she maybe also get's the chance to get better psychologically and isn't exactly forced to anything or blamed for everything if you know what I mean.
This is my own way to describe it, but I kind of mean the same as you.
oopps wrong comment, but you will figure out which one I meant
THERE'S A LOT I'D LIKE TO SAY ABOUT THIS FIC, BUT I'LL PROBABLY WAIT FOR THE ENDING.
MEANWHILE, I'D LIKE TO POINT OUT A FEW URGENT THINGS...
I think changing Pearl into a different name could be a good idea (I did mistake Pinkie for Rarity a few times), but it's really up to you.
However, I spare my criticism on another plot hole of this story: the forbidden book.
There's a lot I would like to ask/point out about it because it was a plot twist both good and bad.
TL,DR: It was good because it enhanced Starlight POV and was a really good fuel for her revolution, and it did it's purpose marvelously.
It was bad because, with such a good resource, all the years she spent with the little mane 6 were quite... useless.
I'm not saying she didn't have a reason for doing so, I'm saying she could have done everything she did a lot sooner. She didn't have to wait for her daughters to grow up for her goal, she spent all that time only for her revenge. A revenge she could have pursued while changing the country.
The real problem here is: we don't know what Starlight had been doing aside parenting, nor how and when she got that book. Now, I understand that it would take more scenes to explain that, but I think it's needed a scene of Starlight finding the book, Starlight discovering the contents of the book, and Starlight deciding to teach said contents to her daughters to pursue her plans.
Unfortunately, this was more a missing part then the actual plot hole I mentioned.
The plot hole is this:
Celestia and Luna forbid the book and its knowledge, for unknown reasons, despite it could do so much good for everypony.
Now, when you mentioned what ponies could learn from the book I thought that it could have been forbidden for two reasons:
1)Its content was dark magic, and it had terrible drawbacks for the user such as an early demise (which proved to be the case)
2)Its content was used by so many evil ponies that the Princesses decided such corrupted the minds and souls with greed and pride (this reason would have been arguable, but understandable)
Whichever the case, the Princesses do not tell why they didn't allow anypony to read this book.
And that means a lot because they had to say at least reason 1 or 2. Or any other reason.
However, if they had excused their actions with reason 2 I could have accepted the outcome. It was a practical reason, driven by experience, that had a foundation in the past but it would have been unfair to every pony else in a modern time. So, a well-intended and smart move, but flawed in the long term.
But, if they did explain reason 1, then things should have been different. Nothing some editing can't fix, but at least one or two chapter should be re-edited.
I'm sorry for pointing out only what I didn't like because I liked this story a lot.
I think this could be your best work so far, and I hope to see an update soon.
Hope this helped. If not, get a determined Dash reminding you to be awesome
8999491
Thank you for this, this was a well thought out criticism, and don't worry, I will rectify this. I was worried about that as well, but I think with a bit of reconstruction and future chapters, things will be explained properly. Thank you for liking this fic and enjoying it, means a lot! I'm working on the next chapter, and things will catapult from there. It's pretty long, but I plan for it to be out soon.
Thanks again!
8964302
So is it that you want Starlight's original plan to succeed or that you at least want her to find some Redemption along the way and have a happy ending with the Mane Six?