• Published 21st Jul 2020
  • 8,440 Views, 95 Comments

Judgment Day - CategoricalGrant



Starlight Glimmer finally learns the identity of her long-lost mother. It's somepony she knows very well.

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Salvation

Starlight Glimmer trots into Ponyville Castle’s library, her face knotted in concern. “Hey, Twilight...can I talk to you for a minute?”

The Princess of Friendship looks up from the scrolls laid out in front of her. “Of course, Starlight! I’m always here to help a friend.”

Starlight trots over and takes a seat on a nearby reading couch. “It’s about my Dad. I’m really worried about him. As you know, he’s in town for the weekend.”

“Is he still coming over for dinner tomorrow?” Twilight asks hopefully.

Starlight’s eyes crease shut. “Maybe, I don’t know. I had coffee with him about 15 minutes ago, and…” Sighing, she meets Twilight’s gaze again. “You know that I never knew my mother, right?”

Twilight pouts in a mixture of thought and sympathy. “You never talked about her, so I figured as much. I didn’t know if it was a sensitive topic.”

“Today, my Dad told me he wanted to tell me ‘the secret of my birth’...Went on all these ramblings about how I already knew my mother dearly, and diatribed like wild about how fate has a circular shape, and all sorts of nonsense...I think he might be mentally ill.” Starlight’s face shows a grave concern. “I just left in a hurry.”

Twilight’s snout scrunches up. “Oh...I don’t think he’s crazy, that’s, uh, jumping to conclusions! I’m sure he’s fine.”

Starlight’s eyes flash with anger as she stares directly into Twilight’s eyes. “I know that face. What are you hiding?”

“Whaaaaat? Me? Hiding forbidden knowledge from my students?” the Princess chuckles nervously. “That’s crazy talk.”

“So help me Twilight…”

Her head falling in defeat, Twilight lets out a strained sigh. Standing up from her desk, she trots to a nearby window and looks out pensively. “Starlight...As unorganized as your father’s speech was...He’s telling the truth. I know who your mother is.”

Starlight’s features soften as she stands up from the couch. “Who? Who is it!?”

Twilight turns around. “Are you sure you want to know?”

YES,” Starlight half-screeches. “Of course I want to know who my mother is!”

“Okay, I was just checking,” Twilight says defensively. “I was hoping you would have one of those, it-doesn’t-matter epiphanies. You can follow your own path without knowing this, Starlight. There is no turning back if you learn the truth.”

Starlight uses her magic to heave a book at Twilight. It smacks her on the side of the neck.

“Ow! Alright,” Twilight huffs, rubbing her new bruise. “Geez. Take a seat.”

The two sit next to each other on the couch.

“You do indeed know your mother, Starlight,” Twilight begins cautiously. “As you know, I’ve had my share of experience with time travel magic and alternate timelines. Of course we had our standoff over that scroll...But soon after I arrived in Ponyville, I traveled through time myself. It’s a long story,” she quickly waves off, “I bet it’d take like, 22 minutes to tell, so we’ll leave that for later.” She shakes her head to recenter herself. “Point is, a few months ago, I met...me.”

Starlight, who had been listening unmoving to this point, cocks an eyebrow. “You met you?”

Future me, to be exact,” she states proudly. “I look very tall and magical, in case you were wondering.”

Starlight rolls her eyes and motions with a hoof for Twilight to get on with it.

“Right. Well, in the future, a cult of technomancers overthrows the Equestrian government. Myself and the other element-bearers are all defeated in the final battle, but you, Starlight, succeed in destroying them, ushering in a new era of peace.”

Starlight’s ears perk up. “Well, that sounds like it’s a good thing. I’m glad I figured it out.”

“That’s not the end,” Twilight warns. “The cult’s survivors hatch a plan. They send back an assassin to kill your dad, altering the future and making it so you were never born.”

Starlight’s eyes widen. “Wow. This...isn’t a joke?”

Twilight’s face remains deadly serious. “Future me was kind enough to inform me of what she did. She sent a powerful pony back in time to protect your dad...she ends up becoming your mother.”

Spike leans out from beside a short bookshelf which had been obscuring him from view. “Seriously? This sounds like a plot to a thirty year-old sci-fi film.”

Shut up, Spike!” Starlight declares. “This is serious!”

Spike glares back at Starlight. “I never knew either of my parents, but you don’t hear me bitching about it,” he grumbles, returning to his work dusting the shelves.

“And you!” Starlight accuses Twilight. “You knew this all this time and never told me!?”

Twilight smiles awkwardly again. “I didn’t really know how to go about it.”

“So who is she?”

“Wait, there’s more,” Twilight continues over Starlight’s groan. “Because this pony becomes your mother, now she’s a target for the technomancers. So I’m always vigilant about making sure I have plainclothes agents from the royal guard making sure she’s safe now. We’ll never know when, or even if, they will strike at her.”

“So who is my mom, Twilight!?” Starlight demands again, clearly annoyed.

“Future me chose to send back a powerful pony to protect your dad, but I couldn’t send back anypony in our inner circle; the cult would recognize who they were immediately. So, I sent back the most powerful magic user I could find: but one that the technomancers didn’t know.”

Starlight leans in expectantly to hear the news.

Twilight cringes and smiles awkwardly back at her. "Hehe," she chuckles. "It's...uh..."


“...So after he said that, I kicked him as hard as I could, spat in his face, and threw his food on the ground,” Trixie beams, her fiery eyes relishing her own story. “I’m the Great and Powerful Trixie, after all! I’m not going to let some shit foal talk to me like that.” She smugly takes a big sip from her bubble tea.

Starlight’s coat is so pale she looks almost pink. She curls her lips into a forced smile. “That sounds...fascinating.” She answers, her mind obviously lingering on something else besides Trixie’s story.

Trixie shrugs. “So anyway, I know it’s your birthday this weekend. I’m still a little jealous that you’re two months older than me, but Trixie forgives you. We should go see that new movie about the killer robot pony to celebrate.”

Starlight nods quietly, her eyes staring far off into the distance.

“Will your dad still be in town? Should we invite him?”

No!” Starlight quickly answers, her frenzied tone attracting the curious looks of passersby. “I-I mean...He’s a big scaredy-cat. He won’t like that movie…” She stares off again.

Trixie swallows her latest sip of bubble tea and sighs in relief. “Good. Between you and me, Starlight,” she leans toward Starlight furtively and lowers her voice to a whisper, “Your dad has always acted a little weird around me.”

Starlight whimpers softly.

Author's Note:

Doo doo DOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Doo DOO doooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

I'm so sorry

Comments ( 95 )

I'm fuckin' dyin'.

I knew it was going to be either Twilight or Trixie!

It's going to take some time for Starlight to get used to who her mom is.:rainbowlaugh:

Wow what a twist Who knew it was gonna be her own best friend.

... Me thinks Twilight is trolling Starlight here. This is too stupid otherwise...

Have a fav anyway.

10345794
This is just as stupid when Twilight got her first experience with time travel. So very plausible!

Well then... okay! Not really sure what say so... have a ballon 🎈

i still think this is one giant troll from twilight.

“Whaaaaat? Me? Hiding forbidden knowledge from my students?” the Princess chuckles nervously. “That’s crazy talk.”

"And besides! Obviously, I get it from Celestia. Assuming this all was actually a thing, of course." :rainbowlaugh:

I went into this thinking it'd be Twilight. I'm actually very well-pleased to see that wasn't the case--because this is better. :trixieshiftleft:

This is a doctor who episode I know it just haven't seen it yet

No. Bad bookhorse. No secrets for you.

I admit it, you got me.

You got me. This is hilarious. Now I kind of would like to see a Pony Terminator and how Trixie and Glimmer's Dad met.

Starlight you can never forget now. Remember all those things you helped Trixie with? How you stopped the Changelings together? Mother-Daughter Bonding!

I don't know what's freaky: Trixie being Starlight's mom or Spike use the word bitching as a catchphrase.

Come with me if you want to TRIX!

^-(\ Okay that was pretty damn funny! Not bad! Not bad at all!

Well. Using forbidden artifacts to take over a small town does seem like the irresponsible overreaction Starlight would do if she was humiliated. Must be genetic.

10345979

Its Terminator, ya silly goose! :derpytongue2:

I watched Terminator a week or two ago. How convenient. :rainbowderp:

The sad thing is that would explain a lot of why Twi was so concerned when the friendship started.

This was hilarious. Also congrats! This has reached #1 on featured list. Well deserved.

“Seriously? This sounds like a plot to a thirty year-old sci-fi film.”

Shut up, Spike!” Starlight declares. “This is serious!”

Spike: "I'll be back."

:derpytongue2:

10346373
Woo hoo! I’m always glad to be at #1- but more importantly I’m glad you liked it :D

Now that Starlight knows about the rise of the technomancers leading to her genesis, there's a very important question that needs answering: Did Mama Trixie meet a dark fate and perish? Or did she return to her native timepoint? Or is she still kicking around somewhere in the present? :pinkiegasp:

Excellent job on this one-shot. Definitely an entertaining job on the exchanges and characterizations here. The Whole Plot Reference to the Terminator was quite well done. And, yeah, I could see where Future Trixie could go back to try to protect her future best friend's father, Firelight and Future-Trixie - shall we say, got a bit closer than either of them planned and, after a bit over eleven months of fending off technomancers, Starlight was born.

All in all, it's both funny AND makes you think.

“I bet it’d take like, 22 minutes to tell, so we’ll leave that for later.”

I'd watch that.

I wonder what everyone reactions would be if Starlight and Trixe were dating, and they all ready had sex multiple times till this point.:rainbowlaugh: Good thing they're just friends or this will be really akward.

No mention how a below average stage mage like Trixie spawning the most powerful unicorn ever since Starswirl?

I knew it was going to be Trixie - - - - - , but that didn't spoil the reveal. Good job.

Good story all around. I loved all the fourth wall breaking meta jokes. Thanks for a fun and funny story to read.

-Coco the Bearded:twilightsmile:

... What would have happened if Starlight never stopped Trixie from feeding herself to the Manticore?

What a hell of a twist! Such events like that happening to anyone would probably make 'em all shocked! Poor Starlight! Gotta say, always am impressed to see these sweet and humorous lil stories ya make! They're all just so good and such a treat to read! Hope ya don't mind, but I just NEEDED to make a reading on this fantastic bundle of words ya made!

Audio Linky: https://youtu.be/K2ei81plEs8

(I don't mean to offend anyone with this comment in any way!)

I thought for sure Twilight was gonna pull a Vader on Starlight. Oh well, this is probably for the best~

“Of course we had our standoff over that scroll...But soon after I arrived in Ponyville, I traveled through time myself. It’s a long story,” she quickly waves off, “I bet it’d take like, 22 minutes to tell, so we’ll leave that for later.”

I’m guessing that’s an “It’s About Time” reference?

At least it wasn't Flurry Heart

Starlight's mother... is TRIXIE!? :pinkiegasp:

10346415
Now we need a sequel where a terminator style future Spike comes back to hunter down Starlight.

Starlight: "Her!? But we... did things..."

10346817
Always a great pleasure to have you read my stories!

And- you work fast! :o

I'm so sorry

LIES AND SLANDER!!!:pinkiegasp:

I really want a sequel to happen, where they meet up again after Trixie has gone back in time

This was a fun reading. And the reference to Terminator was simply hilarious! Trixie being the mother of Starlight, how... how dare you XD

It's like the story equivalent of popcorn. It's exacactly what I wanted!

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