Our Future Of Harmony

by Radiant Eclipse

Act 1 - Chapter 2: The Convergence

~Half a year later...

“As of late, I had these obscure dreams, like long since bygone memories reaching out to me.”

It had not even been a full week since Starlight Glimmer's graduation, but she already indulged herself in her nostalgia. Staring into the most wonderful gift she had ever received, she looked at her own reflection with both self-content and disbelief. Honestly, she could not believe she was the same heliotrope unicorn that once manipulated the minds of an entire town and nearly doomed all of Equestria. Despite being forgiven and having forgiven herself, there was always a small ache of self-doubt lingering in her heart when she thought about it, making her wonder if she even deserved her wonderful new life.

Yet every time she looked at the photos of her and her dear friends adorning her mirror, all remorse faded for a feeling most wonderful; friendship. Thanks to Twilight and all the others, she had managed to make up with her past, learned to welcome every new day and person she met, and most of all learned all about the beautiful magic that was friendship. And ultimately, it was thanks to her rehabilitation that she, alongside Trixie, Discord and the changelings' new leader Thorax, could rescue everyone else from the coveting clutches of Chrysalis. Not only that, but together, they allowed the changelings to transcend their own trepidation; affection filling their holes and transforming them into gracious beings of sympathy.

The only failure which tainted this accomplishment was the fact that she could not reform Chrysalis through empathy and understanding. Corroded by her avarice to this very day, the unicorn was not afraid of Chrysalis' vengeance and only felt pity. Just like her once, she now roamed the world all alone, with a life empty except the desire for retribution. It saddened her heart to know that where Twilight had succeeded, she had failed. All she could look forward to now was, when they would meet next time which was guaranteed to occur one day, that she could rectify her mistake.

Starlight got frightened and leaped out of her chair when the sudden ringing of her alarm bell resounded within her bedroom. Immediately turning it off, she looked at the time, which was 8 in the morning. “Oh my- already awake for 3 hours.” Starlight whispered as she quietly laughed at her own malfunctioning inner clock. Ever since the graduation, she could hardly close an eye before becoming fidgety and full of zest for life like she was Pinkie Pie. Though she did not yet feel confident moving out of Twilight's castle to forge her own destiny, she couldn't deny that she was looking forward to being her most faithful graduate.

She heard someone knocking on her door, yet before she could even fully turn around, the individual responsible for the noises already pushed it open. Not even entering her room, the small dragon Spike gazed at her with a toothy, slightly frightening grin. Ignoring his rudeness for a moment, especially because his stare daunted her, she nervously smiled and waved to him. “H-hey, Spike. Good morning. Can I- help you with something?” Starlight asked him sheepishly, to which he tittered.

“I just wanted to make sure you wouldn't forget the tub of ice cream for today's picnic.” Spike reminded her, his claws already twitching from appetite.

While mildly too creepy for her taste, she indeed remembered that she owed him for retrieving one of Twilight's books she had lost. Thanks to the young rascal, no conflict had arisen between her and her mentor, and if it was lots of ice cream he wanted in return, she was happy to oblige. “With ruby-splits, correct?” Starlight made sure she was giving him exactly what he wanted.

Nodding, he pointed his talons at her before flicking them several times and exiting her view sideways.

Shaking her head as she refrained from laughing, Starlight walked over to her window and opened it to enjoy the view outside. Already this early on this beautiful spring day, the sun stood high in the radiant blue and bestowed upon the world a mild warmth. Fillies and colts fooling about, relishing their free day while the adults were brightly undergoing their assignments. Today was truly a marvelous day for a picnic, and she was without a doubt looking forward to it. The greatest elation this day brought her however was that she had helped assuring that it would happen at all.

Taking in a deep breath, Starlight Glimmer closed her window again and left her room. She had not felt too well the last few days, but for such a delightful day, she would make sure to appear well-tended.

---

After her short yet pleasant visit in Ponyville's spa, the flavorsome unicorn walked through the streets of this charming little town. Happy ponies who were thankful for her heroic deeds greeted her, sometimes effusively so. Of course, modest as heroes were, she simply nodded and remained calm, trying to not attract too much attention. The last thing she wanted to do was drag an entire caravan of ponies to the picnic.

Across country, she eventually reached the peaceful glade near Fluttershy's home at noon. There her beloved friends were already awaiting her, looking forward to a day of serenity. Coming to a halt, she smiled at all of them, who in return smiled back. Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Pinkie Pie and Spike. Trixie unfortunately could not make it today, and the princesses Celestia and Luna seemed to be missing.

“I hope you don't mind that I've brought some of my sweeties with me.” Fluttershy spoke up, surrounded by a small crowd of critters, among which Angel and Fluffy were as well.

“No, of course not, but where are Celestia and Luna?” Starlight wondered briefly before Spike took a step towards her and let out a loud belch.

Shortly engulfed in green fire, a scroll appeared out of thin air and fell into his claw before he started rubbing his aching tummy. “Did I ever tell you how much I hate this?” He moanfully turned to Twilight who simply rolled her eyes amusedly. While briefly grumpy, his gaze quickly shifted to the tub of ice cream in Starlight's backpack, causing him to lick his lips. “Still totally worth it. Catch!” He shouted unconcernedly after clearing his throat, tossing the scroll over to Starlight.

It was with minor disgust that she caught it, not even wanting to know how exactly Spike's delivery service worked in detail. “Uuhm- thank you.” She uttered her appreciation with a faked grin before opening the letter and reading its contents aloud. “Dear friends. Due to a dissension between members of the senate concerning the future relationship between pineapple and pizza, Luna and I will be late for the picnic for at least half an hour. Sincerely, Celestia.”

Everyone gaped at the letter in disbelief, awkward silence ruling the glade until Rainbow Dash vocalized what everyone thought. “They're kidding us, right?” She wondered, though perpetual hush continued to reign supreme. “Besides, the answer is clearly-”

“Don't you even start.” Rarity gravely reprimanded the blue pegasus who merely took a fearful step backwards as to honor a cease-fire which started this exact second.

“Hey girls, calm down. No need to fight over something so silly.” Pinkie Pie attempted to steady down her friends little dispute with a winning smile, tightly embracing both of them, not letting go until they would reconcile each other through a hug. Eventually admitting defeat, both Rainbow Dash and Rarity hugged the other, vowing to never think about this estranging subject again. “Aunt Pinkie always at your service.”

There was brief merriment within the group, but soon many stomachs started to growl and Applejack insisted that they would finally start their picnic. “Dunno about y'all, but all this talking about food made me hungry. How about we dig in?” She suggested, group consensus immediately agreeing with her.

All eyes shifted to Starlight who promptly unpacked the big bucket of ice cream and presented it to the others. While Spike drooled over it furiously, disenchantment and confusion soon overcame the other ponies who exchanged skittish views. “Is something the matter?” Starlight asked them discomposedly.

Rainbow Dash folded her forelegs as she fluttered over the ground, wondering if her new friend was twitting them or not. “And the rest? Like some sandwiches, or a blanket to sit on?”

Starlight Glimmer did not even know what to say, as she was utterly bewildered by Rainbow Dash's words. If anything, she could only explain her own point of view. “This is mostly meant for Spike. I thought- that you-”

Complete silence once again prevailed between them, neither side understanding the other. After it became simply unbearable for Twilight, she stepped forward and showed utmost understanding to her pupil. “Just two days ago, you invited us all to this picnic while we were planing our weekends.” Twilight explained, everyone else nodding in unison as a thousand unanswered questions started raging inside Starlight's mind.

“B-but I thought that you- Twilight.” Was all she could utter, her breath becoming heavy and infrequent. How could she have possibly forgotten something so important? Although considering everything, she barely remembered anything at all about that day, except that splitting headache that had forced her to go to bed early. “I don't remember. And I was pretty sure that the picnic was your idea, Twilight. Perhaps I- didn't get enough sleep.” She admitted, her sincerity visible to everyone.

“How bizarre. I hope you won't fall ill.” Rarity showed her the same sympathy she gave all of her close friends. Visibly cheering Starlight up, the others quickly followed Rarity's example in their wish to see their saddened friend happy again.

“Don't worry about it. We just get ourselves somethin' to eat elsewhere.” Applejack downplayed the severity of their current situation, which was minimal to begin with.

“Yeah! Why don't we just go to Sugarcube Corner? We've all the goodies in the world there!” Pinkie Pie proposed blithely, a suggestion everybody approved of.

“And before that, if you don't mind, we can go to my home and pick up something healthy. I still got plenty of vegetables in my basement, and I have to bring home my little friends anyway.” Fluttershy put forth her request, something her best friends accepted without hesitation.

Spike meanwhile knelt on the ground, enmeshing the tub of ice cream and gently fondling its lid with a dreamy grin. “And I don't even know what we are complaining about. We got all we need, isn't it right- my precious.” He jabbered, quickly receiving the attention of everyone around him. He eventually noticed the perturbed gazes directed at him, his eyes shifting to Rarity who carried the most smug smirk on her lips. With a raised eyebrow, Spike shrugged without a care in the world. “What? At least when I kiss the ice cream it doesn't throw me out of its house.”

Peals of laughter pervaded the glade with exhilaration for a long, joyful moment. It only ceased when they heard a thunk and loud noises of shallow breathing. Turning to its source, their eyes widened with dread as they saw Starlight Glimmer staring towards the ground with a hollow expression, her legs close to giving in. “Starlight!” The others shouted, rushing over to her and surrounding their afflicted friend.

“Starlight, what is wrong?” Twilight anxiously asked her friend.

Her weak gaze meeting that of her mentor, Starlight found her world contorting without even moving a single muscle. Shapes and colors, all shifted towards an incomprehensible mess as even the sounds around her were almost completely silenced by her rapid heartbeat. “I- don't know. It- it's this- headache.” Starlight muttered, feeling her body become numb, stark and stiff. She stood at the brink of blacking out, reality fading in and out of her consciousness for several seconds, until her own strength could no longer support her and her eyes finally remained closed.

Her friends honestly did not know what to do for her and could only watch with concern as they feared their intervention would only worsen Starlight's condition. Suddenly jerking her head towards the sky, Starlight cried a breathless yelp. Her concerned friends flinched, struck with terror as a turquoise blaze of raw magic engulfed Starlight's horn before rising as an erratic beam towards the treetops.

“Starlight, snap out of it!” Twilight yelled at her former student as she grabbed her shoulders, all in vain. Fluttershy's critters stampeded as sparks kettled every pony and Spike closer to Starlight. Within a single blink of an eye, a translucent sphere formed itself around the caged group, and no matter what they tried to shatter it, be it through punches or magic projectiles, it remained intact.

Slowly, spots of reality around the imprisoned tore apart, releasing unstable elemental forces that gnawed at their bodies. Twilight turned her head back to Starlight and, losing all hesitation from exacerbating her delirious friend, she gave her a good shaking. “Starlight, stop-”

Yet before she could even finish yelling her order, a glaring flash swallowed the entire sphere and the individuals within. Immediately fading away, it left nothing but a thin, pulsatile rift.

Comments

[Jake Shadow Wings]

Interesting, very interesting. I’m curious to see where you take this and I like how we switched POV’s without to much trouble. I like your portrayal of Starlight to a point, though I think I prefer when things focus on Twilight over Starlight. Despite my preference good story and will be looking for more.

[Radiant Eclipse]

8212820
Oh thank you so much for the nice comment! Yes, the main POV’s will be Starlight and Twilight, with a noticeable higher focus on our beloved alicorn princess ^^ I am glad you are looking forward to more, as more chapters are already written and will be published semi-regularly. (I hope for Tuesday and Saturday releases)

Despite everything, I noticed you say you liked Starlight’s portrayal ‘to a point’. Could you give me more insight so perhaps I can improve?

In any case, thank you once again, and if you want to kindly help me out share the story with your friends ^^

[Jake Shadow Wings]

8212838

I haven’t watched much of season Six, so I don’t know how her character has developed from the mad mare at the end of season five and the unsure student at the beginning of Season Six, thus I don’t know how much she’s grown period. That said I feel as though you portray her as a strong character who’s having a little bit of a problem. Though that said I can see how you portray starlight being how she is in the later parts of season six and into season seven. I guess I’m just having trouble relating starlight who hypnotized Twilight’s friends to the starlight who only had to give Spike ice cream for finding Twilight’s books so it’s more me than you. Honestly I have no problem with how you portray her, as I said, but I do feel as if I don’t know as much about this starlight so I’ll have to read and get to know her. So don’t worry you probably portrayed Starlight spot on, I just can’t reconcile the old starlight with yours. Hope that explained it, even if I kind of rambled and repeated myself.

[Radiant Eclipse]

8212906
Oh no I totally understand where you are coming from, Jake. Without spoiling anything, Starlight had a similar growth as Fluttershy throughout the first 2-3 seasons. Once overtaken by her shortcomings she made up with her past and build friendships for the future, though she is still a bit in self-doubt. I suppose the latter will change once she truly leaves Twilight’s wing to prove herself to the world. Which totally not coincidental is one of the themes of this fanfiction ^^

(Besides, the Spike part was more for comedic relief anyway, just to keep it somewhat light like the show ^^)

[Jake Shadow Wings]

8212945
Ah, should have figured. Also the comedic relief worked in my own opinion. It was just kind of cute and adorable. Well I’m curious to see how you progress her growth and hope that it keep up with the content so far and is enjoyable as such, I’ll probably comment on every chapter.

[Radiant Eclipse]

8212954
(Sorry, I just hate not replying to comments! ^^)

Glad it worked, at least for you, because its very diffuclt to write instead of show like in cartoons. Thanks for the support and I am looking forward to each and every comment!