The Fear
Starlight Glimmer slowly trotted into the library, feeling really woozy. “Ugh. I don’t feel so good,” she mumbled. “Twilight! Are you in here?”
She spotted Princess Twilight turned away from her, lying down on a sofa and staring at a picture in her hooves. Starlight walked over to her and cleared her throat. “Twilight?”
Twilight sighed, still staring at the picture. “I miss you,” she whispered, wiping away at the tears in her eyes.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” Starlight asked as she lightly poked her.
“Huh? Whoa, hey, I’m good!” Twilight yelped and quickly tucked the picture behind a couch cushion before smiling nervously at Starlight. “I’m fine! Nothing you need to worry about.”
“Are you sure? Twilight, whose photo was that?”
“I said I’m good!” Twilight growled, taking Starlight by surprise at the sudden hostility.
“I…I’m sorry, Twilight. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
Twilight relaxed a little. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. Um…you wanted to talk about your nightmare, right? I brought tea.”
“I hope you remembered which kind I like. The nightmare I had last night was very stressful,” Starlight said as she sat in the couch across from Twilight, accepting a cup of tea from her.
“I imagine it would be,” Twilight said as she levitated a notebook over and began to take notes. “Would you like to start from the beginning?”
Starlight nodded. “The dream started off with me waking up in a very different version of Ponyville.”
“Different how, exactly?”
“Everypony was smiling, but they were all clones of me. You were still an alicorn but you looked like me. Big Macintosh was still an earth stallion but he looked and even sounded like me. Every unicorn, pegasus, and earth pony all looked identical.”
Twilight’s nose wrinkled a little. “Yikes. That’s horrifying.”
Starlight raised an eyebrow. “Well, that part was a little weird, but that wasn’t the scary part.”
“Are you sure? I think that an entire village full of clones, all with the exact same creepy smile, would give anyone nightmares.”
“What? There was nothing wrong with their smiles.”
“Really? So you wouldn’t be scared if I did something like this?” Twilight said before she grinned at her.
Starlight immediately felt a shiver run down her spine at the sight. “Don’t do that!”
Twilight’s smile fell. “Sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”
“No…no, I think you’re right. There was something wrong with the way my clones were smiling. They were all smiling like…her.”
“Her? Uh, could you be a little more specific?” Twilight asked.
Starlight sighed and shook her head. “The filly. I’d rather not think about her right now. Anyway, I’m getting to the part where the nightmare really kicked in.” She took a deep breath.
Twilight smiled patiently. “Take your time. I’m right here for you.”
“Okay. I showed up to the dentist for a checkup I had apparently scheduled. Then she started insulting me, acting as if she was some sort of psychotic psychoanalyst. Then she pinned me down in the chair and these two snakes came in and injected me with their venom. I was completely paralyzed. I couldn’t move at all,” she whispered with a shudder.
Twilight slowly nodded. “What happened next?”
“She pulled a chainsaw out of nowhere and she…she…she cut right through me,” she whispered in a haunted tone. “She sliced my entire body until there was nothing left but a pool of my blood and my eyeballs. Somehow I was still conscious after I died in my dream. Then she leaned down…and started licking up my blood.”
Starlight shivered as she concluded her tale. “That’s when I woke up…and found that blasted filly in bed with me.”
Twilight sighed. “Well, you’ll be happy to know that I had a talk with her earlier. She promised me that she’ll be on her best behaviour.”
Starlight groaned. “I said I don’t want to talk about the filly right now. I’m convinced that I’ll never get her under control until she’s been equalized. What’s more important is where these nightmares are coming from.”
“Well, I’ve identified two main sources,” Twilight reported, levitating a book towards them. “External or internal. For external sources, we have one very strong suspect who could be behind this.” Her magic flipped through the book until it reached a picture of a dark alicorn.
“Nightmare Moon? You think she did this to me?” Starlight asked. “She would have the power of course, but she was turned back into Princess Luna, right? Luna is still recovering in Canterlot.”
“We never figured out what Nightmare Moon really is. Was she just an angry Princess Luna or some kind of evil spirit that possessed her? Maybe the spirit of Nightmare Moon has returned and you just did something to royally tick her off.”
Starlight frowned at the princess. “Wait, what do you think I did to ‘royally tick her off’?”
“Now that brings me to my second suggestion. The cause of your nightmares might be internal. Something that you’re doing to yourself.”
Starlight stood up on the couch, glaring at Twilight. “You think this is my fault?!” she growled.
Twilight shrugged. “It could be any number of things. Maybe you’re having paranoid delusions because of all the stress you’re going through. Maybe you’re feeling guilty about something.”
Starlight’s jaw dropped, torn between shock and anger at this sudden betrayal. “Twilight! How could you even say that?”
Twilight smiled patiently. “Well, you did try to brainwash every pony into giving up the things they love. You kind of deserve this.” Starlight stared at Twilight’s innocent smile with a growing sense of dread.
“I’m having another nightmare, aren’t I?”
Twilight smirked and sipped her tea. “Does that really come as a surprise? You talked to the real Twilight Sparkle about my visits a week ago. Yes ma’am, you’ve been having nightmares for seven days in a row. You’d think you’d remember something like that, but then again I have been doing a number on your noggin,” she giggled.
Starlight shivered in anger and fear. “Get out of my head!” she cried as her horn glowed.
Twilight grinned. “Make me!”
Twilight’s horn glowed too, before the princess unleashed a blinding flash of light. When the spots faded from her vision, Starlight looked around her to see that the two ponies were hovering over Cloudsdale.
“What…what are we doing here?” Starlight asked, confused and frightened beyond measure.
A different Princess Twilight, more colourful and no longer smiling, glared at her with determination, with the little dragon Spike on her back. “It’s like I told you before Starlight. We could be stuck doing this for all eternity.”
Starlight’s widened. “No. No, no, no! I beat you!”
Twilight frowned. “You can’t beat me. No matter how many times you stop the race, I’ll come back. No matter how many times you reset the clock or try to brainwash us all, I’ll get back up. What you are doing is evil, Starlight Glimmer. And evil can never be allowed to win.”
“Evil?!” Starlight screamed in blinding rage. “Cutie marks are what’s evil! I stopped heartache in all of Equestria! I created harmony!”
Twilight sighed and rolled her eyes. “Now who’s the one with the overblown ego? Cutie marks really aren’t that big of a deal. But the crimes you have committed are. I’m warning you Starlight, stop this madness now before I have to. Or before something far worse than me does.”
“SHUT UP!” Starlight screamed as her horn glowed with power. She sent a huge blast of magic rocketing toward the princess and grinned triumphantly as her attack landed.
But her grin disappeared once she heard Twilight screaming in pain.
“What did you do?!” Spike cried as Twilight continued to scream and clutch the bloody stump that used to be her left front leg. “You cut her leg off!”
Starlight’s jaw dropped in horror. “I…I didn’t mean to!” Without her permission, Starlight’s horn glowed with magic again, right before a second magical blast sliced off one of Twilight’s wings.
“STOP! PLEASE!” Spike begged.
“I-I’m trying! I can’t control it!” Starlight cried as her horn glowed again. The last magical blast connected with Twilight’s center. The alicorn princess exploded into a pile of ash, before the forces of gravity took both Spike and her remains.
“NO! No, no, no, no, no!” Starlight used her magic to dive towards the ground, hopping that at the very least saving Spike from falling would make up for the horrible act she had committed.
But when she reached the ground and stopped hovering, she was shocked to see that there was nothing there. The ground was covered with ash and the sky was filled with smoke. She spun around, searching desperately for any sign of Twilight and Spike. Eventually her eyes fell on a grave.
‘Here lies Twilight Sparkle and Spike the Dragon. Buried together, friends forever.’
Starlight collapsed on the ground. “No…”
Her ears twitched as the sound of flapping wings descended on her. She stood up and turned around to face none other than Nightmare Moon. The dark alicorn’s mouth pulled back to reveal her fangs as her pink eyes glowed with madness,
“Murderer,” she whispered.
Starlight screamed and the nightmare ended.
Starlight Glimmer bolted out of her bed, one hoof hovering over mouth as she scrambled to get out the door. As she ran down the hall, she passed by the filly who was sitting in a chair and reading a book.
The smiling filly didn’t even look up from her book as she kicked the item that had been lying next to her chair with her right back leg. “Morning Starlight. Here’s a bucket.”
Starlight didn’t have time to thank the filly before she grabbed the bucket and emptied the contents of her stomach into it.
The filly smiled and turned the page of her book. “Wow. Seven whole days of vomiting after you wake up. That’s gotta be a record!”
As Starlight moaned into her bucket, Princess Twilight walked into the hall and sighed with concern as she saw them. “Starlight, I’m really worried about you. An entire week of nightmares isn’t normal and they’re not going away like we thought they would. I know she doesn’t have any control over dreams anymore, but you need to see Princess Luna.”
“You’re right,” Starlight admitted. “I can’t keep this up. I feel like I’m going insane.”
“Mm, I’d say early stages. But it is progressing quite nicely,” the filly hummed happily.
“Shut up! Just shup up!” Starlight growled as she got off her knees and glared at the filly.
“Aw, somebody’s having a grumpy morning!” the filly giggled. “You want to try and slap an equal mark on me? I mean, we both know you’re going to fail, but it might make me feel better!”
“Listen um…little filly. We’re trying to make Starlight feel better, not you,” Twilight spoke gently.
“Well now that was uncalled for! I’ll have you know, Starlight Glimmer is not the only one having nightmares,” the filly said as hopped off her chair and walked away.
“What? Wait, what do you mean by that?” Twilight asked.
“My apologies, but I don’t feel like sharing that information. As you just said, this is better suited for Princess Loony’s ears, so we really should hurry up if we want to catch the train.”
Starlight blinked in confusion. “Wait…we?”
Very soon, Starlight, the filly, Double Diamond, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, the former Elements of Harmony, and the former Cutie Mark Crusaders were all on a train heading towards Canterlot. “And when I looked up, the fire breathing squirrel had stolen my taco. It was at that moment that I learned that if you want to catch a squirrel, all you have to do is climb a tree and act like a nut.”
Every pony, except for Starlight, chuckled as the filly continued to tell her story. Starlight just sighed and fell deeper into the seat cushion.
“Anyway, that’s the last thing I saw before the Elements zapped it all away. I never got to meet Discord in person, but I really want to!” The filly paused in her story and smiled at Starlight. “Why so glum, chum?” she asked as she hopped into the seat next to her. Starlight groaned and buried her face into the cushion. “Aw, is the poor little Starry feeling cranky?” The unicorn continued to ignore her, but the filly was undeterred. “So what kind of dream was it that finally pushed you over the edge, hmm? What convinced you that you desperately need help?”
Starlight looked up and glared at her. “You couldn’t handle it.”
The filly giggled. “Oh, I think the opposite is quite true. You haven’t even asked me what kind of demons have been torturing my own dreams!”
Twilight frowned. “She makes a good point Starlight. You’ve always shared your dreams before, at least with me. What was different about this one?”
The filly tapped her chin in cheerful thought. “She’s shared every dream before, you say? Maybe you were in it.” The filly’s eyes lit up. “Ooh! Maybe she fought you? Stole something from you? Ooh, ooh, I know! Maybe in her dream, she killed you!”
As Twilight opened her mouth to say how ridiculous that was, Starlight bolted up from the seat. “How do you know that?!”
The filly blinked in surprise before she smiled again. “I guessed right? Wow. Well, what can I say? I have a very wild…and a very accurate imagination.”
“Starlight…you killed Twilight?” Fluttershy whispered in horror.
“No! It was just a nightmare! It didn’t mean anything! I would never kill anypony!” Starlight cried.
The filly smirked playfully. “Of course you won’t, darling. But hey, now that we know what her nightmare is, who wants to hear mine?” the filly asked.
Starlight groaned. “Nobody cares about your nightmare. We’ll get Luna to fix things and that will be that.”
Fluttershy frowned. “Now Starlight, that’s not very nice. Learning more about her nightmare might make her feel better.”
“It would give us something to do,” Scootaloo muttered as she edged away from Double Diamond’s forced smile.
“Yeah. And now that we know what your nightmare was about, you don’t have to feel bad about it. I mean, we know you’d never kill Twilight or any of us!” Rainbow Dash said. The filly muttered something under her breath but Starlight couldn’t hear it.
Fluttershy smiled and gently patted the filly’s head. “It’s okay little one. You can tell us.”
The filly lifted her head up and gave her a sad smile. “Well…if you insist.” The filly sat back in her chair and got comfortable.
“In the dream I had, there was a family of five. Two earth pony farmers, both of them very proud. Very traditional. They placed a lot of importance on their family history, farm work, and serving the greater good. They had three children. The middle child was a unicorn. She was a little shy, but also very smart. Kind of like Twilight Sparkle, but not quite. She also had a lot of determination, and a rather remarkable sense of humor.
“The oldest child was a pegasus. She was bold and adventurous, but also very patient and kind. Like a mesh of Rainbow Dash and Fluttershy. She loved magic in all its forms. She liked to fly as often as she could but she also had a great appreciation for unicorn magic. She’d often get together with her sister and talk about magic for hours.
“The youngest child was also a pegasus. He was the family favourite. Oh, he was the most adorable little boy you could ever imagine. He was just a baby too; hadn’t even said his first word. But his baby talk sounded enough like his big sister’s names. They adored him. Who wouldn’t? He almost never cried, he never made a mess, and he was always laughing. He was the friendliest, nicest brother they could ask for.
“Now the parents were quite concerned about this. Three children and not one of them an earth pony? The husband said that his wife must have cheated on him. The wife promised him that they were his kids, but there was always doubt in his mind. He left the matter alone and focused on more important things, like getting them ready to help out with the chores.
“Now the three kids didn’t really like work. Oh, they still did their chores every day. They were always polite at the table and out in the fields. They were always well behaved when guests were over. But they wanted more out of life. They were ambitious, you see? And very talented I might add. The oldest child flew every day, getting faster and faster. The middle child dove into her books, her magic getting stronger as her mind became sharper. The youngest child loved to fly with his big sister, in smaller spaces of course where there was no danger of him flying away and getting lost.
“But the parents were mad at their kids. They kept yelling at them to stop playing around and get back to work. ‘Don’t you know how important our family is to Equestria? We need to feed the people! We can’t spend our lives thinking only of ourselves. Stop being so selfish.’ And the kids would stop playing and help out around the house. But the second they started playing and learning again, the parents would just get angry again.
“One day, a very important unicorn came into town. The parents didn’t like outsiders, but they really appreciated the unicorn’s message. She said they need to work harder and make more food. She said your kids may be smart but they can’t leave home. ‘They would never last in a college or a special school for gifted ponies. They spend too much time improving talents that they will never have.’ The parents agree with the unicorn; they don’t like their kids playing with all this magic. Personally, I thought the unicorn was annoying but it’s not like they could hear me in the dream.
“So they sit down with their kids and say they need to work more. The kids argue that they just want to have fun and learn new things. The parents get really angry. They throw out the middle child’s books and the youngest child’s toys. The kids say it’s not fair and they’re being mean. The mother answers, ‘that’s life.’
“So the work increases, and the kids do the best they can. They no longer go out to play when they’re done their chores. They just go to their rooms to catch up on their rest. Most of the time, they sit and talk with each other. The baby still can’t talk, but his sisters pretend that he can and they involve him in their conversations. But the parents still think they’re just being lazy, and playing too much when they’re not working.
“One night, the parents become really mad. The maddest they’ve ever been. Maybe mommy and daddy decided to drink too much hard cider. Or maybe they never drank alcohol in their entire lives. But either way, they’re sick of their kids. They don’t like not having earth pony farmers for kids. It’s untraditional, they say. They put up with it before because they worked hard, but they’re not working hard enough now.
“So, on this one night, they lose it. Daddy grabs his two daughters and pins them down. Mommy gets a knife from the kitchen. The youngest child starts crying. He almost never cries, but when he does it’s very loud. Loudest cry you ever heard. Daddy tells mommy to shut him up.
“Now, I didn’t see what happened next, but the mother took the baby into another room. The crying stopped. I didn’t hear or see the baby in my dream after that.
“So the mother comes back and gives the father the knife. She grabs the unicorn by the horn and holds her down. The middle child wasn’t talented enough in magic yet to teleport or even blast anything. She cried out, don’t do this! They didn’t listen. So daddy goes, and slices the wings off the oldest child. Feathers and blood go flying. She looks more like an earth pony now.
“Then daddy gives mommy the knife. She’s very skilled with it; knows exactly where to cut. Too high up, and the horn is too tough. Too far down, and she’s cutting brains instead of skin. So she gets the spot just right and cuts the horn off the middle child. She looks like an earth pony now too.
“So the parents go to sleep, convinced that their kids will do their jobs and not play around anymore. Now the oldest child, she’s smart. She understands that her parents are evil and stupid and she won’t put up with it. She wants to run away with her sister, but the middle child says she needs to do something first.
“The next morning, the parents wake up. They’re tied to their beds. The middle child is hovering above them with the knife. They took away her pride and joy. So she does the same to them. She stabs them, over and over, in all eight legs. The parents will never leave their beds again.
“But the kids aren’t murderers. They go next door and meet up with a friend. He says he’ll look after their parents. So his family feeds them, keeps them clean, and look after their farm. The parents still keep their proud tradition. But they don’t have their pride anymore. They don’t have their strong legs that they used to pick fruit and push carts. They don’t have what made them special anymore.
“The kids run away, off into the sunset. And that’s when I woke up.”
The filly finished her story and smiled sadly at them. Everybody in the room stared at the filly in horror and concern, their eyes wide and jaws dropped.
“…I’m never falling asleep again,” Sweetie Belle mumbled as she gave Rarity a tight hug.
“Y…your parents loved you, Apple Bloom. Never forget, your parents loved you. And if you decided you didn’t want to farm, we’d understand. Nothing wrong with wanting to have fun. Nope. No,” Applejack said as she rocked back and forth, holding Apple Bloom tightly.
“Oh, you poor thing!” Fluttershy cried as she hugged the filly. “I’m so sorry!” Several other ponies including, Party Favor, Sugar Belle, Twilight, Pinkie, Rainbow, and Scootaloo all tried to join in on the hug.
“Now why would any of you feel sorry?” the filly cheerfully asked as she stepped out of the hug. “It was just a nightmare. And it’s not like any of you were the parents. Or you know…the annoying unicorn.” She looked out the window as the train stopped and said, “Oh look, we’re finally here. Took long enough.”
The ponies collected their luggage and got off the train, still very shaken by the story. After they had left, Starlight took the filly aside to talk to her alone. “Listen little one. This isn’t easy for me to say but…I’m sorry. I should have taken your feelings into consideration.”
The filly rolled her eyes. “You really should. Could you get your hoof off me?”
Starlight removed her hoof, feeling a little hurt as the filly shrugged her off. “I…I know we haven’t become friends yet, but I’m trying to be nice to you here!”
“And why are you being nice now, dearie?” the filly said with a smirk.
“Because your nightmare was horrible!”
“It had a happy ending, unlike yours. You killed Twilight and Spike in your dream, huh?” The filly’s pink eyes flashed dangerously in the light. “I’m watching you, little missy.”
“B-but that was just a nightmare! It wasn’t real! I’d never kill anypony!”
“And why should I believe you? Why should I believe you even found my nightmare scary? Isn’t cutting off body parts your thing?”
Starlight’s jaw dropped. “What…what are you implying?!”
The filly slowly circled Starlight. “You want everyone to be exactly the same. The same lack of skill. But pegasus ponies can still fly. Unicorns can still cast spells, no matter how weak they are. If you want to equalize every pony, you would have to take everything – and I mean everything – away from them.”
“I would never cut off a pony’s body part!” Starlight screamed in disgust, outrage, and fear.
“Oh Starry…you already have. Or did you forget all the cutie marks you’ve stolen?”
“But that’s…that’s not the same! It’s just a mark that traps a pony with false promises of being better than everypony else!”
“Oh yes, can’t forget how much better the Wonderbolts are than everyone else,” the filly said with some slight sarcasm. “Or how helpful they are during a dragon attack. Will you be removing their wings next?”
“NO! What kind of monster do you think I am?!” Starlight cried.
“You’re Starlight Glimmer. The unicorn who tried to steal from, brainwash, and conquer all of Equestria,” the filly stated simply.
As the filly grabbed her bag, realization struck the stunned Starlight’s head. “You honestly think that about me. That’s why you won’t accept equality. That’s why you take every opportunity to rebel against me. You…you actually think I’m a monster.”
“Is that remorse I detect?” the filly asked hopefully.
“Please I…I want to help you. Equality has done so much good for us.”
The filly smirked and shook her head. “Sorry Starry, but I don’t believe you.”
“Please, l-let me make it up to you. I don’t want to fight you anymore.”
“Wonderful!” the filly grinned. “Give every pony their cutie marks back, put the princesses back in power, and we can all let bygones be bygones.”
“Aren’t you listening to me? We need equality!” Starlight growled, her anger clouding over her concern for the filly.
“Yeesh, fine grumpy pants. Didn’t expect that to work yet anyway. Well if you want to make it up to me, the first step forward is letting me talk to Celestia and Luna. Alone. With nobody spying on me either. Don’t worry, I’ll mention your dreams to them.”
“Why do you want to talk to them alone?” Starlight asked.
The filly giggled. “My reasons are my own, honey.”
“…Fine. Go ahead. I’ll be outside with the others.”
The filly grinned and walked away from her.
“The princesses will see you now. Try not to agitate them,” the guards told the filly. He closed the door behind her and walked away.
The filly turned around to face the queen sized bed and smiled. Lying under the covers, the two royal sisters were hugging each other and looking curiously at her. “Celly! Loony! Such an honour to finally meet you two face to face. You’re both looking…” Her smile became a little strained. “Well, you’re both a rather lovely shade of death. Um, crazy question, but what happened to you?”
Luna weakly smiled. “My sister and I apologise that we are not able to greet you properly, little pony. We’re feeling a little under the weather, that’s all.”
“You’re sick? Sweetheart, you’re both immortal. You don’t get sick.”
Celestia weakly smiled. “Well, ever since we have both given up our cutie marks to support Starlight Glimmer in her noble quest for equality, I’m afraid that we don’t have the same level of magic that we did before. However, Starlight assured us that this was only temporary. I’m sure we’ll recover soon…” She trailed off as she suddenly released a series of violent coughs.
As Luna patted her sister’s back, the filly’s eyes began to twitch. “Oh dear. Well…this explains why I didn’t see much of Granny Smith. Or any elderly ponies outside a senior center.” Her voice sounded detached as she absentmindedly paced around the room. “Course that means this is even worse than I thought.” She paused next to a table by the sister’s bed and stared at a glass bottle containing several pills.
“There, there Celestia. All better,” Luna said as Celestia stopped coughing. “Now, what did you want to discuss little one?”
The filly didn’t say anything to them for a full minute. She then reached out for the glass bottle and threw it at the wall, glaring furiously at nothing in particular.
“The seas of chaos bubble in my name. The madness builds to set evil aflame.”
Celestia and Luna both sat up in shock. “Are you alright?” Celestia asked.
The filly turned back around to face them with a big smile. “Don’t mind me, sweetheart. I’m just building a fire.”
Luna’s brow furrowed with worry. “Little one…why would you say something like that? You should not invoke things you do not understand.”
“I understand more than you think, my darling princess of darkness. But enough about me.” The filly leapt onto the bed and bounced around on the mattress before she settled down. “Let’s talk about you. Now what in the world could have caused such intelligent mares like yourselves to listen to Starlight Glimmer’s obviously evil plan? Those didn’t look like stupid pills, but maybe I didn’t check the label.”
Celestia smiled patiently. “Ah. You are confused about how equality shall benefit us. I’ll admit that we didn’t see it at first either. But Equestria is at peace. A team of fifty unicorns have been chosen to raise and lower the sun and moon. Crime around Equestria has been erased. A life without differences is a life without conflict. Once you accept that you will never be better than anypony else, then you will know peace.”
The filly smirked. “Golly gee, where have I heard that nonsense before?” She sighed and said, “I really don’t want to do this; you’re both such nice people, but you really need a wake-up slap.”
“My little pony, equality has given us more happiness than you've ever known. This is what’s best for Equestria,” Celestia said confidently.
The filly gave her an icy-cold smile. “…How many more friends will you lose? How many lives will be destroyed in the pursuit of what you think is best for Equestria? When you fought Sombra you didn’t think of your surroundings and because of your short sidedness an entire empire of ponies was lost to the sands of time. When you put more priority over your royal duties instead of your own baby sister you lost her to darkness and to a thousand years of isolation. When you failed to properly mentor Sunset Shimmer you lost her to her own hunger for power, and she still hasn’t come back. And now you are slowly losing Twilight Sparkle, your greatest student. Only this time, you’re losing all of Equestria with her.”
Celestia cringed with every sentence the filly uttered. She tried to sink under the covers as she felt the filly’s accusations sting her like frostbite. But Luna would not let her sister’s good name be tarnished. “BE SILENT!” she shouted. Without any magic her Royal Canterlot Voice was a lot weaker, but she liked to think it might be a little effective. “How dare you speak that way to my sister?! You do not know the torture she has suffered through!”
“I know that you caused some of it. You were supposed to fight against evil and protect the ponies from the monsters that lurk in the midnight. And yet Nightmare Moon was the product of everything you fear; everything you fought against. Jealousy. Violence. Madness. Darkness. Loneliness. Helplessness. All that remained of your legacy, for thousands of years, were some shattered Elements and a broken heart.”
Both sister had tears in their eyes, but Luna still struggled to glare at the filly. “Is that all you came here to do? To mock us? To throw our failures in our face?”
Immediately, the filly’s cold smile softened. “Oh dear. I went too far, didn’t I? Oh sweetheart, that wasn’t my intention at all. I actually respect you both quite a lot. You have both done a wonderful job at ruling Equestria. And you wanna know what’s funny? Nightmare Moon wasn’t that bad! If you hadn’t turned into her, Twilight Sparkle would have never found the Elements of Harmony! Without Nightmare Moon, there would be no Nightmare Night! Really, you turning into her was a good thing! The only people that Nightmare truly hurt…was the two of you. She separated two loving sisters for a thousand years. It breaks my heart just thinking about it,” the filly held her hoof over her chest and smiled sadly.
“I just wanted to point out that you both made some mistakes. That’s okay, everyone makes mistakes! The problem you two have is that you’re always pushing ponies away, even when you try to make friends. You don’t want them to be dependent on you; you want them to be smart enough to solve their problems without your help. I can respect that. But it doesn’t always work, does it? The ponies respect you but they also put you up on a pedestal. It’s hard to be friends with someone you practically worship. Not impossible, just hard. But by not getting more involved with your subjects and your friends, I’m afraid you’re both making another mistake.
“Starlight Glimmer may think that her fake equality is helping Equestria, but it’s not. Real equality is about accepting differences, not locking them up behind a talent-suppressing curse. Crime hasn’t disappeared, it’s just taking advantage of the lack of law enforcement to hide better. That’s all just short term. In the long term, this fake equality is going to lead Equestria into the same place that Nightmare Moon’s eternal night would lead it. Starlight Glimmer is going to push you all into an early grave unless somebody stops her. And you can’t see any of that because you’re not asking your friends the right questions.”
By now the tears had dried out of the sisters eyes and they were now regarding the filly with much more caution. “There is far more to you than meets the eye, my little pony,” Celestia said. “Who are you?”
The filly smiled. “Well, I’ve been trying to keep that a surprise. But if you can keep a secret, I think I can show you this much.” The filly walked over to where her bag was propped up against the wall. She dug around inside it until she grabbed a piece of paper. She hopped back up onto the bed and showed it to them. Luna took the paper with her hooves, her eyes narrowed in confusion.
“This? This is but a drawing of an old pony’s tale.”
“Well ain’t that a coincidence? They said the same thing about you, didn’t they?” the filly giggled.
“I remember this,” Celestia said as she examined the paper. “But I haven’t this since…since before Discord’s time.”
“Actually, I think you’ll find the image first appeared during Discord’s time. But it’s an easy mistake to make. Speaking of, do either of you know where he went?” the filly batted her eyelashes innocently.
“What do you have to do with the spirit of chaos?” Luna asked.
The filly grinned. “Oh sweetheart…chaos is my past, my present, and my future. But it doesn’t need to be yours. Now I understand that Starlight did a number on your noggins, but whatever ideas she’s tried to brainwash you with, you can fight it off! Believe in harmony the way you did before! And for now, you don’t even have to do that much. Sit back and let me take care of the problem. You have some experience, I’m sure. I’ll alert you when Starlight Glimmer is no longer a threat to everyone and that’s when you swoop in and help friendship flourish once more.”
Celestia and Luna frowned as they carefully considered her words. Eventually, Celestia asked, “What do you want, little one?”
The filly winked at her. “Oh, nothing you’ll miss, I’m sure. Just a few things from your library. A few trinkets from some of those shiny, magical vaults you have. You won’t even realize it’s gone,” she said as her smile grew so large it swallowed up the sky.
Starlight woke up with a start and shook the playing cards off her face. “What? Huh?”
“Oh, you’re awake. Did you have a nice dream?” Fluttershy asked as she smiled at her. The other ponies in the room were all occupying their time, reading books or playing non-competitive card games with each other.
“I feel asleep?” Starlight asked, feeling woozy.
“Yep. About ten minutes ago. We thought about waking you up but you weren’t thrashing or crying like the last three times so we thought maybe the nightmares were gone and you could catch up on your sleep,” Pinkie said. She laid out her cards on the table and smiled at Sugar Belle, the mare she’d been playing with. “I have no idea what game we’re playing.”
“Are the nightmares gone?” Twilight asked hesitantly.
“I…don’t know. I don’t remember what this dream was about,” Starlight admitted, one hoof clutching her aching head. “I think…the princesses were there. And I was there...no, wait…” She scratched her head and sighed.
“Are you feeling okay?” Fluttershy asked.
“Not really. I thought I could tolerate the filly’s rebellious attitude, sneaky attitude, and inane chattering. But knowing now that she did all that as a sort of coping mechanism…to know that she’s actually afraid of me...it doesn’t sit right with me.”
“Aw, you’re not that bad Starry. I’m sure she’s not that scared of you,” Pinkie smiled cheerfully, giving her poofy mane a little shake. “Actually, I don’t think she’s afraid of anything.”
Starlight’s eyes narrowed as she tapped her chin in thought. “Afraid…fear…”
“Ooh, I know that look,” Double Diamond said with a big, twitchy smile. “You have a plan, Starlight Glimmer. You always know what to do.”
“Yes…I think I do. Princess Twilight, we’re going to be visiting your brother and Princess Cadance next, correct? They have a baby filly that we are going to deliver equality’s blessing onto.”
Twilight’s smile became very forced. She gulped a little and said, “Y-yes. I-I’m sure she’ll love it.”
“And the Crystal Empire…King Sombra left behind a few of his old relics, didn’t he? I remember you mentioned a door that leads to your worst fears.”
Twilight’s smile faded and her eyes widened. “Y…yes. But Starlight, why would you want to use that?”
“I need to show her that equality can help her overcome her fears. To do that, I need to know what the filly is afraid of,” Starlight muttered, fierce determination building in her eyes.
“What she fears more than anything.”
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:D Me thinks I know who that little filly is.
Shouldn't there be an OC tag, for the filly?
7054297 Really? Who is she?
7054371 Just think about the fandom and Discord, you should have your answer.
Ah, Starlight. It's going to get worse.
Much worse.
Ah, nothing like a good old Flowey laugh.
Now, thinking on this, I believe there's a way to have stopped Starlight's whole equality scheme in its tracks and force her to face reality in about a day or two. All it would take is to literally throw any of the villains the series has introduced at her and Equestria in general, and Starlight would rapidly become acquainted with how screwed they all are without their special talents and the magic that comes with it.
I mean, if we compare how powerful/capable the villains MLP has shown us up to this point, literally any of them could barge in and take over/kill everything. Tirek? He Wins at even a tenth of his power we saw in the canon series (which is probably all he could get in this depowered Equestria), and god help them if he found the cutie mark vault. Chrysalis? She and her changeling army overrun Equestria. Sombra? He takes his crystal heart and creates a brainwashed army on top of having large arsenal of dark magic to throw at Starlight Glimmer. Discord? He gives everyone their cutie marks back because ponies without their inner magic and special talent are boring and whips up a good old fashioned storm of chaos. Nightmare Moon? Okay, she facehooves at the stupidity Equestria has fallen in her absence, gives everyone their cutie marks back because she isn't that stupid and becomes the hero she always thought she was in the eyes of her ponies (sure they get eternal night which is a debatable "gift" in return, but it's still better than life without their special talents). Demon Sunset Shimmer? Yeah, Starlight might be able to fight her a bit, but keep in mind I don't think either Twilight or Starlight was truly fighting with killing intent in their fight-Twilight wanted to get past Starlight more than anything else and Starlight was stalling for time the entire fight. Sunset Shimmer in her demon form, on the other hand, straight up tried to murder a completely defenseless (as far as she knew) Princess Twilight Sparkle just because she could with a pretty damn powerful fireball. Hell, I'm pretty sure Alicorn Amulet empowered Trixie could give Starlight a run for her money.
Basically, every single one of these scenarios ends with Starlight standing up to the villain, getting curb stomped and then everyone getting their powers back (barring Tirek: he'd probably take their magic beforehand).
Still, loving this so far, and look forward to more.
7054371 It's kind of obvious though, I could be wrong. It's likely Discord who has shape shifted. The nightmares seems like something he'd do plus Discord's name has been mentioned a few times and he hasn't mentioned to have been equalized/brainwashed by Starlight. And even if she tried, she'd probably fail.
7054486 I don't know, seems a little too obvious to me.
I'm thinking her name is Physco Path
Wait..... SON OF A BITCH SCREWBALL?!
7054370 Not really, because her identity hasn't been revealed. When we get to that point in the story the tags might adjust accordingly, but that depends on the writer's decision. A mystery can easily be ruined by tags, and a lot of people play it safe on that front.
... She's one of the most primal forces in the world, something that governs both the animal and human world, isn't she? Something that's existed since beyond time forgotten, to the point of something being a legend of a legend. The word is at the tip of my tongue, but I can't.. freakin' ... remember it... It's not FEAR, but it's something there...
Can we get a picture of the filly? Or would that ruin the surprise?
Well, there goes my theory about her being either Queen Chrysalis or Zecora. I MUST KNOW MORE.
What if she's... something Starlight accidentally unleashed when she was messing with time? Dream Twilight said she needed to stop before She or something worse had to stop her. The kind of entities that notice when your messing with the time stream are not the kind of things you want angry with you. Could this be.. what made Starlight do her heel face turn? Being shown these events? her own spiral into villainy and the thing that would destroy her if she went down that path? Maybe Starlight changed to "easily" because she was actually traumatized by some temporally transcendent being?
7054517 Perhaps, I admit it is too. But again, Discord's name keeps being dropped and he's nowhere to be seen. I mean I just have a hunch, I could turn out entirely wrong but that's okay.
From ancient times... possible shapeshifter or magic user...
Pluma or Katrina?
Nah. I'm pretty sure the filly is one of a couple things.
1. She may be the Elements of Harmony, compiled into some kind of composite being with trace elements of the Mane 6 (and possibly Celestia and Luna). She certainly has some of Rarity's season one verbal tics.
2. She might be the spirit of Equestria itself. It would make a lot of sense. The planet must have some connection with it's magical inhabitants. If things have gotten this bad, maybe she decided to step up and put an end to this here and now.
3. She might be from an alternate future where Starlight's 'equality' psychosis was a much darker thing. It would explain how detailed that dream is.
4. She might be the essence of every pony whose cutie mark has been locked up in that vault, given sentience and a singular cutie mark that cannot be removed. However, since she is the distilled essence of everypony out there, this would include some royally disturbed individuals, and this would explain the moments of apparent psychotic breaks she's had.
Screwball.
I'm guessing Screwball.
I wonder what would happen if the filly told Starlight all the things that were wrong with her "equality" all at once.
i just saw season 6 episode 1 starlight meeting her childhood friend who lives in the empire? and how powerful baby flurry heart means alot of personal drama for starlight! i wonder how the crystal heart is doing since it powered by emotions or is it dull and somewhat keeping the snow storms away.
Great story, but shouldn't this have an alternate universe tag?
7054859 Could be.
Update soon?
Something tells me discord and the filly are connected.
pls I need more story to consume.
7055424 I am calling it right now, she is either a balance god, a vengeance demon, or related to Discord blood wise.
7055405 IT'S SCREWBALL!
Think about it! She's asking where Discord is, and she even says she is chaos of the past present and future. It's gotta be Screwball! Discord's daughter!
7225264 It's Discord's daughter. It's Screwball!
She claims to be chaos of the past present and future. She asks where Discord has gotten to. And she's clearly insane. I'm telling you now that I believe it is Screwball, and what a friggin' twist that will be if it is!
7226043 Flip it around, she said chaos is her past, present, and, future. Not that she is chaos' past, present, and future
Hm....... is she Discord is she something else?
Whatever the case I'd be less scared if I wasn't listening to this,
We know who our Friends are and you are not one of them.
Starlight you are digging yourself deeper, and deeper darling.
I really want to know her name. But, the filly is well on her path to undoing Starlight's empire of lies. Starlight here must be really absorbed into herself to not realize what she's done to Equestria. I just wonder how Starlight has forced everyone to believe in her Equality delusion, and she can't be present everywhere at once to stave off rebellion. I wonder what the filly's dream means? Seems to have something to do with "an eye for an eye". Let's see if Starlight enjoys that happening to her.