Where Justice Is Due
"Starlight."
"...."
"I know you can hear me, Starlight. It's only been a day. Starlight!"
"Go away."
"I will. But only after I've read the list of your crimes. I realized I just shut you in here without telling you just what exactly you're guilty of. Just so you understand."
"...."
"Okay, here we go. Ahem! Starlight Glimmer, you are charged for the following crimes: the use of forbidden magic - specifically, the use of time travel, attempted murder, the deaths of thousands of ponies, wide-scale destruction to Equestria, endangerment of the Equestrian state and disrupting balance. As decreed, I hereby sentence you to--"
"W-wait a minute, what?! I never did any of that! I never killed anypony! I never destroyed anything!"
"But you did. It may have been through the actions of other dangerous individuals, but you were the cause. If you hadn't began this silly thing of revenge against me and my friends, none of what I saw would've happened. But it happened, and you're responsible. For once in your life, accept that all of this is your fault."
"...."
"Now, as I was saying. As decreed, I hereby sentence you to life imprisonment. You will remain in solitary confinement twenty-four seven. Your movements and access to magic are completely restricted. You will be monitored and punished appropriately at any attempts to evade punishment. Are there any questions?"
"...was starving me a part of this?"
"No. I just added that in there."
"...why?! This is hardly fair--"
"Fair? Fair?! You have a lot of nerve telling me about what's fair after what you've done!"
"So this is how I'm supposed to be punished?! Locked in this vault, chained to a wall and left to starve to death?! Are you seriously telling me that's what I deserve?!"
"That's exactly what I'm saying, Starlight!"
"You're a monster-- GAH--!"
"And now you're calling me a monster?! You're such a hypocrite!"
"And what are you supposed to be?! Miss Honest and Truthful?!"
"What are you talking about?"
"Twilight... I thought you were really going to help me find them. The friendships that are supposedly out there, waiting for me. You said that all I needed to do was give them a chance. What happened to that?"
"Oh, that? I just needed to find a way to talk you down. I couldn't have you tearing apart the only thing that could get me back home. I'm sure you understand."
"...I hate you so much."
"Hate me all you want. It's nothing compared to what I feel towards you right now."
"What could I have done to warrant something like this?"
"I already read off your list of crimes--"
"Oh, horseapples! You're holding me responsible for the actions of others, others that don't even exist now! You're putting me in this position for crimes that shouldn't even matter, crimes that I didn't even know about! There has to be another reason!"
"...."
"Well?! Aren't you going to tell me why you're doing this to me?!"
"....you really want to know why? I thought you would've figured that much out by now, given the reason why you caused this mess in the first place. You made my friends suffer, Starlight. They might have not known me in the timelines that I saw, but I still considered them my friends. You took away their Cutie Marks and made them go through worlds without harmony, worlds in which they had to fight so hard to survive. In every instance I saw, they were either still fighting or they had already lost. You claimed that I didn't know what it was like to lose a friend because of a Cutie Mark. But thanks to you, I've experienced that. I'm not experiencing it again, not because your friend abandoned you over something so ridiculous."
"Ridiculous?! That Cutie Mark made him--"
"The Cutie Mark didn't do anything. Did you ever consider that maybe Sunburst never liked you? That he did it for reasons outside of genuine caring for you? Maybe he felt sorry for you. Maybe he wanted someone to make him look good. I don't know. But the reason for him just up and leaving you wasn't because of his special talent being acquired. It was because he was tired of you and looking for an excuse to leave you in the dust."
"SHUT UP! You're lying, he'd never--!"
"And being the overly attached mare you are, you couldn't bring yourself to believe that he'd ever have it in him to betray you. So in return, you come to the conclusion that a Cutie Mark did it, that all Cutie Marks are evil. You robbed an entire village of ponies of their Marks, brainwashing and threatening them into believing that they'd be happy. You tried to do the same thing to us when you locked us in that cell. That experience was anything but happy for us. I could literally feel my mind and my memories slipping away while sitting in that place, listening to that droning voice of yours. I was trying so hard not to forget the times I had with Princess Celestia, my first meeting of what would be my friends, and the other good times that I had because of my Cutie Mark. I had to try then, but there was something else that I didn't have to try for. You want to know what that is?"
"...what?"
"It was their faces. The faces of my friends. They were tired, they were in pain and they were... lost. They were pushed to the brink, to where hope didn't exist for them. I will never forget those faces, and I will never forget the fact that you did that to them. It was a reason why I picked this punishment specifically for you, why I didn't just take you out or sentence you to Tartarus. This is something to remind you just how I felt. You cut us off from the rest of the world because of your own selfish goals. I'm just returning the favor. Here, you'll be isolated. Here, you'll lose your sense of self. Here, there'll be nobody to remember who you were. The only difference is that you're not going to be let out for me to see if you've reformed. No, I gave you that chance when I showed you the wasteland. I showed you what would happen if you kept on your path, and you were still determined to carry out this ridiculous revenge plot. Yes, I believe you botched that up real good."
"....you can't do this to me."
"On what authority? Yours? I'm the princess here, Starlight, and you're just a prisoner. A sad, broken shell of a mare."
"Word'll get out that you did this to me. Your friends will--"
"They'll what? I believe that all things considered, they hate you just as much as I do. I don't think they'll care that I've given a criminal punishment. They won't care, and neither will anypony else - especially when they know that it was a princess who did it."
"Twilight, please--"
"And you have the nerve to beg. Maybe I should muffle you, too--"
"I don't want to die! Not like this, you have to--!"
"And we didn't want to have our Cutie Marks stolen! We didn't want to have to wage a long and gruesome war with King Sombra! We didn't want to live under an oppressive rule of eternal night! We didn't want to be clowns for a spirit of chaos! But you didn't care about any of that! Why should I care about you not wanting to die?! If you didn't want to pay, you should've never committed the crime!"
"...."
"Now, if you don't have any other questions to ask, I have a life to live and you have one to lose. I hope you've taken at least a little pleasure out of this visit, because it's going to be the last time you'll be seeing anypony ever again. Goodbye, Starlight."
"Twilight, please. You can't-- don't walk out that door, i-- Can't you give me another chance? I swear, I understand! I won't do it again, I swear! I just need--"
"You need to be quiet. You're giving me a headache. Goodbye, Starlight.
"No! No, this isn't right! You can't let me die like this! Let me out! For the love of God, please let me out! TWILIGHT! TWILIGHT!!!"
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Starlight makes better points than Twilight. Twilight is the true villain in this.
While I certainly believe that starlight deserves some kind of comeupins, it shouldn't come at the cost of twisting Twilight's character into being so spiteful and vicious. I like to think that spike trys to free her and/or forces Twilight to realize how monstrous she is acting.
>>The Great Derpsby
I agree with this comment a hundred percent. Twilight seems to be abusing her powers, using her distress as an excuse to lock Starlight up. The use of illegal magic appears to be the only valid reason to put her in jail, but indirect murder and desctruction that was remedied at once? Harsh. Somepony should pull Celestia into this and see about Twilight's intentions.
On the other hoof it was a great story ;-)
I really REALLY didn't like Starlight in the finale, I don't know if I'm in the minority or majority on that one but I don't really care. Seeing Starlight get what was coming to her was actually VERY satisfying here...but did it REALLY have to be Twilight subjecting her to this? I mean, I'd be pretty pissed too if somepony tried to take away my friends and essentially destroy Equestria in the process of doing so over really petty reasoning like Starlight's but...Fuck, Twilight.
6727004
6727067
Vengeance and hurt feelings can affect a person heavily, especially when it comes to making decisions. It's very easy to say "Lock this wench up and throw away the key" when you see them commit what you see as atrocious actions. But it's much harder to say "I forgive you" in that very same vein.
This was the most PERFECT fanfic I've read. You are amazing.
6727194 Oh, stop, that's too much.
...but if you can't, then by all means, please continue.
You know, all the other princesses would pull Starlight out of that cell immediately. Besides, we don't know what exactly Discord did all those years ago, but heck, even he got a third chance, after teaming up with Tirek and getting everyone their marks stolen. I guess what I want to say is, Twilight is OOC here. Way too OOC.
You know, when I first signed up on this side, I expected to find a lot more kid-friendly stories, because Friendship is Magic? I do enjoy some dark stuff every now and again, but a lot of those dark stories on this side just completely go against what this show is all about.
Sorry, I guess a metaphorical dam broke here.
6727094
The thing is, that's all revenge, not justice. That's why I like to think that spike would try to intervene because he would probably be more clearheaded and innocent. Likewise I cannot believe that the princesses or her friends would approve of Twilight's actions. Even Twilight herself, if she has any resemblance to her cannon self, would come to regret her decisions.
6727230 And what makes you think that they do? What makes you think she won't?
6727203
You are a fabulous individual who is well shappen and very attractive.
But in all seriousness, you have perfectly encapsulated everything I've felt should have been done and said to Starlight. It was perfect. And this is funny, coming from someone who doesn't believe in the death penalty. But this really is the fate she deserved. Taking away someones freedom and self identity, and crimes against Time and space. These are both irredeemable. And People can argue, "Twilight is the villain!" But tell me, if you were enslaved and forced to give up your identity and free will. Or subjected to watching everyone you ever loved be broken beyond repair. Would you HONESTLY, say you would forgive the one causing it? And don't give me some nihilistic tween answer about how "Free will is evil!" or "I don't have anyone to love!" Because In all honesty every person in existence would say "That's too far." Yes it shows your the better man with forgiveness. And it's easier to punish people for there crimes. But look at Starlight. Look at her motivation! She is actually insane! She decided "My friend left me. So I will wipe out all free thinking in Equestria." Sane people don't jump to conclusions like that! And then of course you can argue, "She didn't know what she was doing." No. I'm just going to stop you right there. She knew exactly what she was doing. When she was in the town she literally treated free will and free thinking as negatives. She outright said it. When Twilight showed her the wasteland she was so ready to walk that path. She didn't deserve a slap on the wrist she deserved to be sent straight to Tartarus.
6727230 Thinking about the subject a little more, I am starting to actually see Twilight doing this, given what Starlight did to her. Starlight quite literally sent her into several different versions of what may as well be Hell. Keeping that in mind, Twilight doing this is actually looking to me like it wouldn't be THAT far off due to what Starlight put her through for such petty reasoning. This is actually looking to be a lot more believable than the actual ending to the finale, which is REALLY scary.
Now, my opinion is full of intense and unabashed bias, as I have used these characters in the past, so keep that in mind when you watch what is essentially my reaction to this story.
Oh, Jon Jafari, you lovable scamp you.
The people below me, and most likely the future people above me, have already explained why I feel this way. Though, I have a very odd reason why I dislike it.
Not once did Twilight or Starlight even attempt to hit a Stunner.
To be honest, I'd have been fine with a Stun Gun, but whatever. The thing is, with a title like that comes expectations. You didn't meet any of them. And when it's 2 AM, those expectations get weird.
I'll probably delete this tomorrow, so don't worry.
Good luck on your next venture though.
6727401 Oh, how much this post made me laugh. Gotta love JonTron. But thanks for your opinion and encouragement.
6727253
Starving to death in a cold dungeon cell? Is that honestly what you think she deserves? Even the most horrible criminals today get a lethal injection or the electric chair. I can see why Twilight would be so pissed, but I would think she'd be rational enough to allow her a quick painless death.
Remember that she was just a small markless foal at the time. Children are affected by minor incidents in bigger ways then we might think at first. A child getting scolded for trying to steal from the cookie jar may not seem like much to us, but to the child it can scare them into avoiding a life of crime, or not shoplifting or something similar later down in their lives. I shall also mention that there was a big empty spot between her friend leaving her and and forming her equality town. That one incident could have just been a seed of doubt that she allowed to grow and fester.
She was in denial. She had just been shown that her version of a 'happy ending' was nothing more then a desolate wasteland. She didn't want to accept that Twilight was the reason Equestria was still peaceful.
So far, I liked that. I can't explain why, but seeing this strict,fierce side of Twilight /once in a blue moon/ is a pleasure for me. I don't honestly think I would have had same will power to forget Starlight like Twilight did in the episode, yet life sentence is way too much. I would've just taken her magic away and put a guard to look after her if I were Twilight and let her be.
Remember people, it's just my opinion and IT'S JUST A FANFIC!
Uhh, dear author of this, keep up the good work anyways, I enjoyed it!
It's all because I am fascinated by talented dictators XD
6727684
Ha! To be perfectly honest. Kinda forgot, about the starving bit.
And she was carrying out these actions... As an adult. So either someone has a bad case of Peter Pan Syndrome or something is not clicking. And lets be honest, here it's far worse then that. She's uses her childhood as justification for every bad thing she does. She goes through life committing atrocity after atrocity and all she can say is, "But my childhood!" If she really wanted to solve her little conundrum she would have used her spell to stop her friend from leaving. "She can't do that!" Yes she could. When I was a kid, my dad would get drunk and beat me. He beat me to the point I still have scars and harassed me calling me nothing as I was on the ground beaten. But I shrugged it off, I said "Look I can either take this fiery hate inside me because of my past and end up becoming the abuser or I can live my life to the fullest." And You can say "But wait! That's what Twilight did in canon! She forgave!" No. I didn't forgive him. And he got the punishment for beating a child and his family. Abuse is a circle, he was beat by his father so he decided "I can beat my child because my life was soooo hard." And that's what Starlight is.
Funny how you use my comment about how she outright says "Freewill is bad" alongside as well. Yes, I can admit she was in denial, her happy ending was crumbling before her, but that doesn't justify anything. Let me ask you something, if a person screams fire in a movie theater and a little kid gets trembled in the panic are you going to sit there and say "No he didn't know what he was doing. He deserves a slap on the wrist." No. And I'm only guessing your not depraved; so let me inquire further. I'm guessing you will say " They do deserve punishment, but I wouldn't send them to jail for life just for that!" No you wouldn't and I wouldn't either. But Starlight's didn't just do that, she brainwashed people, literally mentally raped people, twisting them into things they are not. Made them live by fear. This some fucking 1984 shit. And again she came to the conclusion, "My friend left me. So I shall wipe free will off of Equestria." The last person in my life who had a jump in conclusion like that, who was in fact a spiting image of the realistic version of Starlight, I sent to jail. You want to know what she did? She had a good friend of mine raped because my friend didn't follow her rules. Her justification? "My sister died so I have to control everyone." Now would you say that person deserved a slap on the wrist and me saying to them, "All you need is friendship!" People need to be punished. No it doesn't need to be this terrible a punishment. And I'll give you that. But there needs to be some punishment.
this is for all of those people think twi is the bad guy well people if star succeeded with her revenge a lot of horrific things could happend because of her lets see internal night that could lead to a ice age, power mad centar, the in body ment of chaos, war parsite love suckers, all demons from hell let loose and heaven for bid a clash that leads to the total destruction of life it self so twi right about this
How many of these thumbs down were from people who were just upset for their precious Starlight?
That was brutal...... it was awesome I loved it
To be fair she would have ended the world.
But. I like the punishment in "step-right-in-and-start-again" more ^^
Good Story though
(Also you forgot to skin her alive o.o)
6727779
Do you know what the legal purpose of punishment is? It's not to repay the offender for their actions, or to make everything even. It's to help discourage said actions from happening in the future, by them or others. Punishing Starlight fulfills neither of these purposes, because she had repented and would never consider doing that again, and because her crimes aren't known to more than a small number of ponies.
If a punishment doesn't fulfill either criteria, then it's revenge, instead. In real life, it's impossible to tell whether someone has truly repented and would never repeat their actions if forgiven, which is why effective legal systems in the real world cannot make exceptions when doling out sentences. However, this is a land of pastel ponies, where it is often easy to see whether someone has changed, or would repeat their crimes.
Punishing Starlight would only serve to satisfy Twilight's, Spike's, or her former town's grudges, except that they don't have any (as far as we saw for the town, at least), so it wouldn't do even that. That means than the only thing punishing her would do would be to satisfy the watcher's desire for revenge.
Well deserved.
Maybe she shouldn't starve to death, though. Let her live out the rest of her life like that. THAT is a greater punishment. Otherwise, Twilight should just execute her.
6728045
http://www.fimfiction.net/story/304019/reformed
6728070
You know that fanfiction often not always follow what could happen in the show, right?
6727921
Probably not as many as those who were pissed at vengeful, lying, murdering Twilight Sparkle.
6728102
Probably not. Just thought it would be fun to show an alternate future contrary to what you think.
Very well written and thought out. All though the Nightmare Moon timeline didn't look that bad. I mean the castle was open publicly, that must mean she's running a stable government, best timeline confirmed. Maybe using Tirek would've been better.
For a decision that seems to be thought out, Twilight is... being rather petty, all things considered.
If it were me, I`d turn the magic on Starlight instead. Chuck her out into a reality where her defining moment doesn`t happen. Where Sunburst does not leave her, for example - and it turns out to be so much worse.
6728061 You have no idea why prison and laws were created do you?
6726979 Ditto
6727004 Again I agree. This seems too much of a twist on Twilight's character who had to agree on giving Fluttershy lifelong trauma due to bullying in order to maintain order in the time space continuum.
6727253 Morality when dealing with alternative timelines is the worst thing you can do to yourself. Even Twilight herself as I said above made Fluttershy a bully victim and gave her lifelong trauma to restore order to the time space continuum.
What happened in the other timeliness is inconsequential.
6727712 It is a fanfic. But this doesn't mean criticism has to be abandoned. None deserves whitewashing for bad writing. None deserves easy absolution from their sins so easily. Imho Luna after the Tantabus should see a psychiatrist yet all the Luna fanboys out there will forgive her (same with Discord being forgiven for litteraly TREASON) because "best pony".
This fic is getting likes because few people like Starlight Glimmer and it's getting dislikes because of the vengeful twisted Twilight.
Welcome to the Internet, where liking a character can affect how OOC they are to the eyes of the audience. Have a nice day.
6727779 Its funny how you hypocritically forget Twilight did the very same thing you accuse Starlight.
She brainwashed an entire town with the "Want it need it" spell, shattered biological food chain by changing the eating habbits of Parasprites and Vampire Fruit Bats, and attempted to brainwash-reform Discord. She also used Dark Magic and Time Travelling the last of which was for convenience.
Think about that for a second. About how she received no punishment for this. Nor did Luna get punished for the Tantabus or whatever. Nor Discord for being a traitor.
Hypocrisy much? Inconsistency much?
6728157 In terms of the first part of your comment I'm gonna refer you to my earlier comment about how Starlight basically sent Twilight through several different versions of basically Hell. Punishing one that would not only do that, but would also strip ponies of their free will and brainwash them into thinking being themselves is bad, and was completely willing to continue change the past, even after seeing the results is not being petty. Ruining the planet over a friend moving away is petty.
I'm not going to act like Twilight's acting like a saint here, no far from it. But Starlight Glimmer is a HORRIBLE pony.
As for the second part, that actually does sound pretty interesting. Maybe someone will make a fic of that sometime or something.
6728318
There's also a market for heroes acting like horrible, despicable beings and still getting cheered on by the readers.
I remember a story where the opening chapter had Spike tear open Twilight's cheek with his claws, maiming her, leaving her crying in a pool of her own blood, threatening to kill her if she dared follow him even if just to apologise. The reason for this? She'd been a little short with him. And he was supposed to be seen as the Good Guy.
That story got over 600 upvotes.
6728318
Ha! Good on you. I completely forgot about that! I guess all this arguing can really show that this universe is based on many different laws and ideals, to foreign to try to compare to it to our society. And it's a bit narcissistic to compare character actions to the ones we hold up. I value, free will and respect for the rules of Time and Space over all; my philosophy is that of Existentialism, with a bit of respect for the universe thrown in. But the characters and Equestria in general in the show seem to have a weird amalgamation of deterministic, fatalistic and Confucius belief. So holding said values up to that of said society is like comparing an apple with a truck. There just to different to really create fair results.
You beat me at my own game.
Though funny you bring up the "Twilight used time travel before." One could argue it was better because she created a stable time loop. But she did try to make a paradox, which was really just as bad.
Though you are in the "Twilight is the villain camp." I can't really say the same. One says that it isn't justice. It's revenge. Yeah. It is, I would like to see Starlight burn to be honest, but not out of some duty or justice or mortality. Or some other nonexistent charge that people use to bring order into the randomness people call the universe. It's merely me being selfish and visualizing every terrible person I've had to put down in my life. Because she holds many qualities of them. I don't see Starlight. I see my father, I see the person who hurt my loved ones, I see my rapist, I see my friends rapist, I see the coward who tried to brainwash my loved ones, etc.
It's purely selfish, and very unhealthy.
So bravo.
I know when I'm beat.
Good on you man.
6728375 Yea well I understand but before you go please understand this. Doing evil out of hate for evil only perpetuates the cycle. Trials are postponed often so that people have the time to calm down before administering punishment.
Trials and laws exist to regulate punishment without interference of emotions.
But... Even I can admit that justice doesn't always cut it, and it doesn't always satisfy us. Which is why Lady Justice is depicted blind with a scale and sword.
Just like my avatar.
6728365 Yea well... The audience is sometimes stupid. Is this the one where Spike goes to the dragons and forms a gang or something?
6728441
The very same. You know about it?
6728510 I've heard of it through Rage Reviews. The TV tropes pafe it has doesn't really help it's reputation either. This is coming from someone who sorta dislikes the reasons people watch Rage Reviews.
6728523
The TVTropes page is much, much too generous, trust me. That one was probably written by fans more than anything. And, well, it's a good idea to keep in mind that even TVTropes is only people in the end; even it's not immune to bias.
6728543 I guess... Never was really interested in Spike.
Judging by the title, I thought Starlight's ultimate punishment would be beeing turned to stone for, say, 1000 years minimum. That punishment would seem more likely in Equestria than letting her rot away in a dungeon.
6728326
My point about pettiness is not "Twilight should forgive and forget", but rather "For an offense so great, the punishment is surprisingly uninspired".
6728731 Yeah as others have said before me, the punishment could've been better than just starving to death. At least put her in Tartarus or something.
Has the setting of MLP moved to Texas?
Cold justice.im loving it!
*Thumbs-up*
What can I say? After watching those episodes... while it gave nice fanfic-fodder, it just showed how crazy and dangerous Starlight Glimmer was and the ending she got felt completely undeserved! I know it's a kid's show but good God! They could have showed her doing community service or something with the promise of a brighter future after it was over!
After trusting Twilight like that, she kinda deserved it XD
Have an up-vote my friend. This was a particularly good story that actually shows values that I like MLP characters to believe in.
Forgiving ponies, but only when they deserve it. While I agree that Twilight was a bit harsh in her punishment, I can't actually find myself to blame her. Especially when you consider the suffering Starlight caused Twi.
She saw her friends living in absolute misery.
She saw her friends maimed and suffering incredible injuries.
She saw her friends acting so completely against their natures.
Not to mention everything else Starlight did, just because some foal in her youth up and left her. I could actually feel sorry and be on Starlight's side if she actually had a justifiable reason for her actions. (Something like losing a loved one as a result of one of Twilight's battles.)
Also, Twilight's reasons for locking Starlight up was mostly because of the suffering she saw HER FRIENDS going through. That would have been extremely painful, and emotionally traumatic for Twilight. So I fully support Twi in her actions.
camo.derpicdn.net/ab0fa4c49fc911117530c3c5f4f0530b69880974?url=http%3A%2F%2Fcdn.meme.am%2Finstances%2F500x%2F55926488.jpg
You know, I never got why some people are so adamantly opposed to Starlight getting any sort of redemption. What kind of message is that to send?
"There you are, kids! If someone is mean to you, they can NEVER EVER EVER CHANGE. You must hate them and refuse to examine their motives, because they’re mean!"
But no one came
I demaned a sequel where Celestia and Luna are informed of Twilight imprisoning Starlight and strip Twilight of her position and banish her from Equestria!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!