Pony Tails

by Bluecatcinema

Reflected Glory

Starlight was sitting in the castle study, reading one of Twilight's books on magical theory. Twilight and Spike had gone to visit her old friends in Canterlot for the day. After spending some time with the others, Starlight had returned to the castle to cap off the day with some light reading, patiently waiting for her teacher and her assistant to return home.

'That Haycartes really was one heck of a conjurer...' She thought, as she finished the last chapter of the book.

The door to the study suddenly opened, and Twilight and Spike entered.

"Hey, guys." Starlight smiled. "How was Canterlot?"

"Awesome." Spike grinned. "Donut Joe still makes the best donuts around. You should come by and try them sometime."

"I think I just might." Starlight nodded.

"Personally, I find it's not the venue, but the company that makes an experience." Twilight stepped in. "It felt so good, spending time with all my old friends."

"I know the feeling." Starlight beamed, thinking of her own revived friendship with Sunburst.

"Hey Starlight, I got you a little something at the Canterlot market." Spike pulled out from his backpack a small mirror with an ornate silver frame and handle, a pink star embedded just under the glass.

"A mirror?" Starlight asked.

"Yeah, so you can see what a great friend you are." Spike beamed.

"Aww, thanks, Spike." Starlight hugged him. "I'm not the only great friend around here, you know..."

"Where did you get that mirror, Spike?" Twilight asked.

"Oh, just from this little store I found." Spike revealed. "Why do you ask?"

"No reason." Twilight shrugged. "I just feel like I've seen one like it somewhere before."

"Couldn't be." Spike countered. "The store's owner told me it was one of a kind."

"Hmm, I must've been mistaken, then." Twilight admitted. "It is a lovely gift, though."

"I'll say." Starlight agreed. "You're so thoughtful, Spike."

"Yep, that's me." Spike smirked proudly. "Mister thoughtful."

"Okay, that's enough, mister thoughtful." "Twilight chuckled. "Now, we've got just enough time for dinner, then some light reading before bed."

"Yippee..." Spike rolled his eyes.

"Sounds good to me." Starlight smiled.

Later that evening, the resident of the castles prepared to go to bed. Twilight and Starlight walked side by side down the corridors, Starlight carrying Spike's gift with her magic. Twilight boasted a smile of joy on her face.

"Well, aren't you happy?" Starlight observed. "Who'd have thought one day trip could be so good for you?"

"Well, the right kind of trip." Twilight admitted. "Don't get me wrong, I love being the Princess of Friendship, but it's always good to get a day to myself, without all those royal duties to worry about. Things were a little less complicated when I was just a regular old Unicorn."

"'Regular'?" Starlight snorted. "Weren't you Princess Celestia's personal student?"

"Okay, point taken." Twilight chuckled. "But still, I never imagined I'd become an Alicorn Princess. But Celestia did. She sent me Star Swirl's journal, knowing I'd complete his final spell, and earn my wings. That was an incredible moment. Like nothing I've ever experienced before or since..."

"I can't even imagine what that must have felt like." Starlight admitted.

"Maybe you could." Twilight admitted jokingly. "Maybe if you do well enough in your studies, you might just earn your own set of wings."

"Yeah, right." Starlight sniggered. "That's just plain crazy talk."

"Stranger things have happened." Twilight shrugged. "Like the actual birth of an Alicorn, remember? And before that, Princess Cadance was a regular old Pegasus."

"Well, I highly doubt Alicornhood is in my future." Starlight smirked.

"You never know what life might throw at you." Twilight declared. "I sure never saw any of the biggest events in my life coming. And I'm betting you didn't, either."

"You'd win that bet." Starlight nodded.

"If things had been different, you might very well have turned out like me." Twilight smiled.

"Aw, come on..." Starlight snorted.

"I mean it." Twilight declared. "You've got the magic, the brains... if you had lived in Canterlot when you were a filly, Celestia might have made you her personal student. Then maybe you would have become a Princess."

"In another lifetime, maybe." Starlight snickered. "And honestly, I think I'm better off as is."

"No argument here." Twilight smiled, as they reached the door to Starlight's bedroom. "Goodnight, Starlight."

"Goodnight, Twilight." Starlight nodded.

Starlight entered her room, and prepared for bed. She placed the mirror on her bedside dresser.

"Me, an Alicorn Princess." She snorted, still amused by the sheer ridiculousness of the notion. "I would just loooove to see that..."

As Starlight climbed under the covers, she failed to notice the star on the mirror glow a faint pink. Instead, she drifted off to sleep...

When her eyes opened once more, Starlight found herself standing in the map room.

"What the...?" She frowned. "...Was I sleepwalking?"

"Good morning, Starlight." Twilight smiled, as she entered the room. "Did you sleep well?"

"...Yeah, I guess I did." Starlight nodded, still confused. "But I think something odd happened."

"Odd how?" Twilight asked, as she walked up to Starlight.

"Odd like..." Starlight trailed off as she realized something. Twilight had always been slightly taller than her. But at the moment, she was shorter than Starlight. "Odd like you being shorter than me all of a sudden."

"'All of a sudden'?" Twilight tilted her head quizzically. "You've always been taller than me."

"No I have-" Starlight trailed off when she noticed something else different about Twilight: Her wings were gone. "What happened to your wings?"

"What do you mean 'what happened to my wings'?" Twilight frowned. "You're the one with wings, remember?"

"What?" Starlight looked at her sides, and saw to her shock that she indeed had wings. "Wh-where did these come from?"

"What are you talking about?" Twilight asked. "You've had them for at least as long as I've known you. Way back when we first met, and you and the others freed my village from my equality obsession."

"What?!" Starlight gaped, more confused than ever. "No, you came to my village, and stopped my plans. Then I came back for revenge, you talked me down, and I became your student in the ways of friendship."

"Me? Teach you?" Twilight chuckled. "You're the Princess of Friendship, not me."

"No, I'm not." Starlight spluttered. "That's you."

"Me?" Twilight chuckled. "I beg to differ. It's not my Cutie Mark on that throne over there."

Starlight glanced over at the map table, and saw that the throne that should have been adorned with Twilight's Cutie Mark had her own upon it instead.

'What is going on here?' Starlight thought. 'This isn't right. None of it is...'

The doors to the room opened, and the others entered.

"Mornin', gals." Applejack smiled.

"And a funarrific morning it is!" Pinkie admitted.

"I hope we weren't interrupting one of your lessons, darling." Rarity smiled at Twilight.

"No lesson." Twilight shook her head. "But Starlight is acting a little funny today."

"What's up, fearless leader?" Rainbow asked Starlight.

"You guys too?" Starlight groaned.

"What's wrong, Starlight?" Fluttershy frowned.

"What's wrong?" Starlight declared. "Everything's wrong! I wake up this morning, and suddenly, Twilight's my pupil!"

"...Yeah, just like every morning since we took her in." Rainbow snarked.

"You feeling okay, Star?" Spike asked. "Did you hit your head or something?"

"I'm beginning to wish I did." Starlight sighed. "But this doesn't feel like a concussion setting in..."

"That's good." Spike smiled. "Because we've got a pretty full agenda today. First, you have to send a letter to Yakyakistan about the upcoming friendship summit, then you've got a meeting with Mayor Mare..."

Starlight tuned out of Spike's list, as she become more and more frantic.

'This can't be real.' She thought. 'It can't. I am not a Princess...'

"Starlight, are you okay?" Fluttershy asked.

"No offense darling, but you look a little out of sorts." Rarity added.

"What's up?" Applejack asked. "Not gettin' enough sleep?"

"Are you working too hard?" Fluttershy fretted.

"Too many cupcakes for breakfast?" Pinkie asked.

"Only you eat cupcakes for breakfast, Pinkie." Rainbow rolled her eyes.

"Excuse me, everypony." Starlight said suddenly. "I... I need some air!"

Starlight rushed out of the map room and toward the castle balcony.

"Time to put these things to good use." She opened her wings and leapt off the balcony.

As Starlight went into freefall, she started flapping her wings, intent on getting some altitude. Unfortunately, it proved harder than she thought. Try as she might, she couldn't get her wings to flap in synch.

"Whoa... okay..." She gulped, as she wobbled comically in mid-air. "I can do this..."

As she finished that sentence, Starlight flew through a cloud.

"Peh! Peh!" She spit out the fluff that had gotten into her mouth. Distracted, she forgot to flap her wings, and she tumbled downwards.

"Yikes!" She yelped. She tried to steady herself, but still had trouble. "Oh, forget this!"

Starlight snapped her wings shut and lit up her horn. Her sudden descent stopped as her body was encased in her own magical aura.

"That's better." Starlight sighed in relief, having more faith in her self-levitation spell than her newfound wings. "Not that it helps me figure out what's going on..." She thought about her situation for a moment. "Is this some kind of dream? It must be. But why would I dream of any of this? Maybe Discord's playing some kind of tasteless prank. But it doesn't seem very funny..."

Starlight lowered herself to the ground.

"Whatever this is, there's got to be a way out." She told herself. "I just have to find it."

"Good morning, Princess Starlight." Mrs Cake approached Starlight, bowing to her.

"Um... morning." Starlight said awkwardly.

"Princess Starlight." Mr Cake bowed to her. "Always good to see you, your highness."

"Thanks..." Starlight cringed.

"All hail Princess Starlight!" Cheerilee declared, as every nearby pony bowed down.

'Okay, now this is really getting weird.' Starlight thought. 'I don't remember them treating Twilight with anything close to this kind of adulation...'

"Excuse me." She smiled weakly. "I have to go. Urgent... royal... business."

"We love you, Princess Starlight!" Daisy called.

"Eeyup!" Big MacIntosh agreed.

With no other option, Starlight returned to the castle. As she passed through the entrance, she found the others waiting for her.

"What was that all about?" Spike frowned. "You do realize this is gonna mess up the schedule, right?"

"I don't have a schedule!" Starlight yelled, exasperated. "Because I'm not a Princess!"

"Coulda fooled me." Applejack pointed out her wings.

"This isn't who I am." Starlight countered. "This is... some kind of fantasy, an illusion!"

"It looks pretty real to me." Rainbow noted.

"Well, it's not." Starlight scowled. "I refuse to believe this. And I refuse to play along for another second."

The others' expressions all darkened.

"So you're just going to ignore all your responsibilities?" Twilight frowned. "That's a fine lesson to teach your student... if I even am that anymore."

"You never were." Starlight insisted.

"You think you can just give up being a Princess?" Rarity snarled. "That's not how it works, missy."

"You have a duty to the ponies of Equestria." Applejack glowered. "An obligation."

"You can't just turn your back on that obligation." Fluttershy declared, in a more menacing tone than Starlight had ever heard her use.

"What kind of mean, rotten party pooper does that?" Pinkie spat, her usual smile replaced by a venomous sneer.

"Yeah, ever heard of a little thing called 'loyalty'?" Rainbow added.

"I... I didn't..." Starlight stepped back, unnerved by their malice.

"And what about me?" Spike asked. "Your own assistant. You gonna turn your back on me, too?"

"O-of course not." Starlight found herself saying, as she was backing against a wall by them advancing on her. "No matter what's going on, you guys are all my friends. I'd never leave you."

"But you'll leave who you are?" Twilight asked angrily. "This is your destiny, Starlight."

"You can't escape it." Spike added.

"So why not just embrace it?" Applejack urged.

"I can't." Starlight shook her head. "I won't..."

"You act like you have a choice." Rarity hissed.

"You're staying right here." Rainbow added.

"You're doing what you were meant to do." Fluttershy snarled.

"No givesies-backsies here." Pinkie smiled wickedly. "We'll make you be the Princess if we have to..."

"No... stay back!" In her distress, Starlight utilized her expanding forcefield spell, sending the others flying. It took only a second for her to realize what she'd done. "Oh no! I'm sorry! I didn't mean-"

Starlight's words died in her throat as the others stood up. Their bodies were covered in cracks, and their eyes were like glass.

"You shouldn't have done that, Starlight." Twilight said, her voice devoid of emotion.

"What... what's happened to you?" Starlight quivered.

"That's nothing you need to concern yourself with." Spike said, his voice lacking just as much emotion as Twilight's.

"Now, why don't you fall in line like a good little Princess?" Rainbow declared, as they once again advanced on her.

"No, no, no..." Starlight shook her head.

Suddenly, a white tear appeared in the wall beside Starlight, and the Alicorn Twilight emerged from it.

"Twilight?" Starlight gasped.

"Starlight, I-" Twilight stopped for a moment as she beheld Starlight's new look. "None of this is real. I'm here to get you out of here."

"She's not going anywhere." Applejack droned.

"Oh yes, she is!" Twilight blasted Applejack, causing her to shatter to glass, then proceeded to do the same to the others. The entire castle started cracking apart in response. "Come on, Starlight!"

Without hesitation, Starlight followed Twilight through the tear. A blinding flash filled her eyes, and the next thing she knew, she was back in her bedroom, the dark of night clearly visible through the window. And she saw, to her relief, that she was back to being a Unicorn again.

"Are you okay?" Twilight asked her student.

"I think so." Starlight nodded, a little shaken by the experience. "...What just happened?"

"That just happened." Twilight pointed to the mirror, which now had cracks in both the glass and the star.

"The mirror Spike got me?" Starlight asked.

"That's no ordinary mirror." Twilight frowned. "I thought it looked familiar, so I did a little research. It's really the Mirror of Fantasy, a cursed object that traps pony in an illusion of their desires, then drains their magic. I really should suggest to Princess Celestia that she keeps a closer eye on what ponies sell in Canterlot..."

"But why would it make me think I was a Princess?" Starlight asked. "Why- Oh, wait. Before I went to bed, I jokingly said that I'd 'love' to be a Princess. It must have thought I meant it."

"And it trapped you inside itself, thinking it was giving you what you wanted." Twilight declared.

"Then... why would it have my fake friends turn on me?" Starlight frowned.

"If a victim starts to find fault in the fantasy, the mirror does everything it can to keep them in." Twilight stated.

"No kidding." Starlight grimaced.

"Just count yourself lucky you have so much magic." Twilight smiled. "Any other pony would have been completely drained by the time I figured out how to get in there. But with all your power, the mirror barely even got started. Fortunately, the curse was broken when I pulled you out, so all the stolen power went back where it belongs."

"I'm just glad I'm out of there." Starlight sighed. "This whole thing just proves that being a Princess is not for me. Between all the responsibilities and ponies fawning over me, not to mention the physical changes... Did you have trouble flying the first time too?"

"Maybe a little." Twilight admitted. "Guess being a Princess isn't for everypony."

"Especially not me." Starlight grinned. "I think it's best that you stay the only Alicorn in this castle."

"If you say so." Twilight nodded.

Starlight yawned.

"I'd better get back to bed." She sighed. "It's been an exhausting night."

"And I'll just take this." Twilight lifted up the cracked mirror with her magic. "And dispose of it once and for all. Just to be safe."

"I hope Spike doesn't mind." Starlight declared. "Poor little guy isn't going to like hearing what his gift almost did to me."

"It was an honest mistake." Twilight said fairly. "And with every mistake, we learn a little more."

"Well, if there's one thing I've learned from this experience, it's to be more careful what I say when I'm thinking aloud." Starlight remarked. "You never know if an enchanted mirror might be listening..."

"So true." Twilight chuckled. "Goodnight again, Starlight."

"Goodnight again, Twilight." Starlight smiled.

After Twilight left the room, Starlight climbed back under her bedcovers, secure in the knowledge that she would wake up as a Unicorn, just as she always had been, and always would be.

Comments

[Sky Blazer]

If Supernatural teaches anything, it's that you can't simply get rid of cursed objects by conventional means. Twilight will need to do more than just dispose of the mirror, if some other pony finds it and they get trapped within, it's over for them.

[redmar]

7529266
She should feed it to the Smooze that way it can't cause any more harm.

[Sky Blazer]

8577860
The objects are able to escape from places that aren't Curse Boxes, marked with special runes, that keep the object's black magic contained within.