My Brave Pony: Starfleet Magic Season XI

by DakariKingMykan

Episode 11: Final Part: Growing Growth

“Previously on Starfleet Magic…”

The battle against Jewel began, with Grand Ruler Celesto using his Spiritual Duplication Art to keep the creature at bay. Jewel had also revealed the true history of her murder and how her enragement led her down the dark path to vengeance. Suddenly Jewel bean to rage with power, and his majesty had reached his breaking point and collapsed fatally weak.

EPISODE ELEVEN

Grand Ruler lay in Celestia’s arms, still looking pale, weak, and hardly making a sound.

Tears were flowing in Celestia’s eyes.

“Is he…?” asked Krysta.

The Valkyries all shuddered at the very thought, but Starla scanned life signs with her visor, “No, he’s still alive… just barely. He needs rest.”

She quickly ordered the sentries to go and get the paramedics. Teleporting would not be an option, for his majesty would have to be transferred by regular means in his condition.

Rarity fell to her knees, fanning herself with her shield. “Thank heavens, he’s alright!” she cried.

Fluttershy and Pinkie wiped the tears from their eyes with their capes.

Celestia could only hold her fallen husband close, letting her tears softly drop down onto his face, and he just lay there so silent, so still.

Jewel began to laugh as she could see them all from how high she was. “So that’s it, eh?” she hissed. “I must admit it was very clever of you; too bad it wasn’t good enough.”

She began to flare up again to send more of her bolts everywhere.

“What can we do?” wailed Buddy.

“We may be a team of plenty,
But we can’t stop them; not that many!” added Rhymey.

“We have to try!” said Lightning “Everyone, charge up for big barrage attack!”

Before that could happen, Jewel suddenly gasped, and she began to groan and wail again as that same glowing light appeared in her center.

“Check it out!” said Swift.

“What is that?”

Jewel continued to growl and groan while trying to supress the force.

The light only grew brighter and stronger, and a voice seemed to call out, “…Help me!! Let me out of here!!”

*Mykan’s POV*

“That voice!” I cried “…It’s Lil’ Fair!”

The others all gasped, and Lightning scanned the vocal patterns with his visor, and his mini-computer confirmed it.

The hostages were all untied, and while many of them were still weak, Sole Maker glared up angrily at the evil creature. “It’s all her fault!” he growled. “That thing possessed Lil’!”

The rest of us gasped, and Sole told us what we needed to hear.

“So Jewel’s spirit possessed Lil?” asked Dyno.

Myte then realized, remembering all the reports of the dangers happening; Lil was present in each and every situation. “Ay’ Ay’ Ay’! It all makes sense now!”

Up in the air, Jewel growled as she struggled for control, “You… get back… down!!”

“Let me go!” Lil demanded “I don’t want to be like this! I never did!!”

Through her struggling throes, Lil confessed to everything about how she was angry and that Jewel tricked her into possessing her so that she wouldn’t have to ever grow up.

“…If I had known it would come to this, I would never have let you talk me into this!”

“You see…?! You hear that?!” yelled Sole “She admitted it! It’s all her fault …Stupid brat!!”

“Hey!” I snapped at him “How can you say that? She’s your daughter.”

Having grown fully insane from all the traumas and ordeals, Sole began to blab like a maniac, “She’s a pathetic mistake that should never have been born! I should’ve killed her when I had the chance!”

“SOLE!!” snapped Lady Fair. She couldn’t believe what she had just heard, “…You tried to kill our daughter?!”

The other workers showed horrid expressions at him; but not nearly as much as the men and I.

Fortunately, we had no time to worry about that…

Jewel let out a huge roar and finally managed to supress Lil back inside of her. “I’ve waited a long, long time for this moment!” She flew up higher, and was glowing brightly to unleash more power. “…REVENGE IS MINE!!” she shouted.

Before Lightning would rally everyone to prepare and interception…

…Another bright glow of light flashed into the sky.

*POV End*

Everyone looked up, and gazed in awe…

It was an image of a beautiful, fully-grown mare. She had a lovely pale white coat, with a long sapphire mane, thick, long eyelashes, and a smiled as warm as daylight.

“What is that?” asked Applejack.

Rarity tilted her head down, and she could see, “…It’s Artie!”

The other ladies all looked across the field and saw Artie holding a painting up, and using his magic to display the picture in the sky—just like in the previous battle when Jewel battled Mykan.

Artie felt ready to kick himself for having arrived so late, but all he did right now was hope and pray that his plan would do what he hoped.

“Come on, please work!” he muttered softly.

Everyone continued to look up at the beautiful pony.

“A picture?” asked Spike “…That was Artie’s idea?”

“But who is it?” wondered Buddy.

“I think I know...” said Lightning, and his theory was correct… for Jewel herself was totally memorized by the picture far ahead of her. She looked so calm, and quiet—even her aura had stopped flashing.

“I don’t believe it…” she said softly as she floated in closer. “…That’s me! The real me…”

Artie had taken the old photo of Jewel and painted an idealistic picture of what she would look like as an adult.

Jewel had longed to see something like this—how she would look without her condition, or her mutation.

A queer expression came over Jewel’s face, as if she were going to cry. Even as a spirit, she still had the feelings of a mortal.

“That’s what I would have looked like… If I only… could have…”

She floated softly to the ground, silent and soft, and would you believe… she actually shed a tear though she was a ghost.

All was totally silent. Nobody seemed willing to make a move towards the crestfallen creature… except for Sole.

“What are you all just standing here for?!” he shouted “Go get her already!!”

When the soldiers did nothing but give him a look, he picked up a huge stick on the ground and prepared to charge after her himself. “Fine, I’ll do it myself!!”

“Sole, don’t!!” cried Lady.

He didn’t listening or seem to care, still driven by his insanity, but he also didn’t get very far as Lightning quickly apprehended him. “That’s enough out of you!”

Seeing him now as committing actual conspiracies and admitting to crimes, Lightning passed him to the others, and Buddy used his magic to bind Sole’s wrists and ankles in glowing shackles.

“You can’t do this to me!!” Sole protested.

“Just watch us.” Buddy sneered at him.

As for Jewel, she gazed down at her ghoulish hands, and then back up at the picture in the sky.

“All the things I ever wanted to be…” she paused “But it never could happen then, and it can’t happen now.”

She now began to realize, for the first time in a long time-- for so long she wanted to grow up, but the option was never hers, and now here she was trying to stop those who did have the option and would probably, and likely, end up as miserable as she was if she took that option away from them.

She looked up and around at everyone who was staring at her.

With a heavy and grieving amount of emotions, Jewel saw no other choice but to end her wicked, and senseless vengeance, and she did so by releasing Lil Fair from her clutches.

She lay on the ground, weary, but fine.

“Lil!” cried Lady.

Swift ran over to the little filly and helped her up.

Artie ceased his picture magic, convinced he had succeeded.

That’s when Jewel began to glow again, but this time with a pure light. “What’s happening to me?” she wondered.

Everyone else wondered the same thing, but suddenly, Jewel transformed from a ghoul into an actual version of her adult form.

Everyone gazed at her in awe, and then… a bright beam of light shone down from the heavens, and who should appear then but the angel of Twilight Sparkle.

Lightning, Spike, Celestia… all gazed at her with shocking, saddened, but slight joyful expressions; as did everyone else.

Twilight gazed down at the now pony spirit of Jewel and said, “You have let go of the rage that cursed you, and you’ve come to terms with your death.

What happened to you in life was truly tragic, but you have thankfully learned from it, and now you can be free.”

Jewel broke down sobbing miserably. “Please! Take me away.”

That was exactly what Twilight had come for and offered her hand to the sad spirit.

Jewel took it, and the two of them began to rise off into the sky.

As they went up, Twilight looked down at all her friends, and finally towards Lightning.

He looked up at her, and cracked a small smile and he nodded at her, which she reciprocated back at him.

Some of the friends shed a tear or two to have seen her again, and now seeing her go, but Lil only looked up at Jewel.

Jewel looked tearfully down at her. “…I’m sorry, Lil.” was all she could say before the light faded, and the spirits were gone.

Lil could only shed tears for Jewel; having been inside of her and seeing and feeling her rage and emotions, she finally understood how Jewel really felt. “All she ever wanted was to grow up…” she paused “…And she never could. She wouldn’t get to experience all the things she dreamed of.”

Lil began to feel ashamed for the way she had acted towards growing up in general, and all this finally made her realize perhaps it was time for a change.

She cried softly, and Swift could only hold her softly letting her get it all out. “It’s okay…” he whispered to her. “You’ll be alright. You’ll see…”

Everyone felt deeply moved for her… except for Sole who still saw her as nothing but a “Lousy, rotten, little brat!”

Lightning turned and stared furiously at the disgraceful stallion. “Don’t knock her, Sole. Even if she was those things, she has a good excuse.”

Sole scoffed, “Yeah? What’s that?”

“...Having you as a father.”

Sole felt insulted and most infuriated, but there was no hope for him now as Lightning made it official, “…You’re under arrest.”

Sole sneered at the commander, “You really don’t think much of me. Is that it?”

Rhymey jeered at him,

“We’ll put it to you and make it clear,
You’ll never be father of the year.

You had a bad reputation before,
And you’ll be tried for it, and more.”

Sole snuffed, “You think I care what people think about me?”

Having had enough of his snobbery, Lightning decided to lay into him.

“Well it’s time you did start thinking that, and maybe you wouldn’t be in this fix. You’re more responsible for all this happening than you want to be.”

“Is that right?”

“You bet’cha that’s right, mister, and I’m going be fully blunt with you.

You grew up the way you did-- all work and no play-- and from all that you spawned a reputation that made you a bad person in the public’s eye, no matter how good a service you worked, your attitude was always pure scum…

Then things got worse for you. You had your life all figured out. You married your hottie solely because of how she looked, and even she saw nothing wrong with that. The both of you were happy and living it high and getting rich, but then you got careless and you got your wife pregnant, and the two of you didn’t even know about it, writing it off as some condition…

And things changed; the kid was born, and all your dreams and goals were flushed because you became a father and had to take on the responsibility for another life…

…But you had a choice, and that’s more than Lil ever had. Nobody asked her who she wanted for parents, but she needed parents and loving ones far more than any rich-punk life you wanted.

Now, you didn’t want the kid, you didn’t want the responsibilities. You felt the kid ruined your life, so you used your choice; you had as little to do with her upbringing as possible, preferring to punish her at every corner, scare her half to death to let her know you were the boss, then you decided you had enough, and you go and try and kill her…

…And you have the gall… the monumental gall to stand there and denounce her and all children everywhere because you don’t like kids.”

Sole looked ready to beat the living daylights out him, but even if he weren’t bound by the other officers, he already knew he wouldn’t have a chance.

“You’re really beating into me, you know?” he growled. “This is overkill! You are using verbal brutality on me!”

“Am I?” scoffed Lightning. “Even so… it’s more than justified, because this is the same way you treated others every day, and that’s nowhere near as what’s coming for you now.”

Sole said nothing more, but he did look back and forth at everyone else glaring at him, even Lady Fair.

Dyno and Myte then approached her.

“You better come with us too.” said Dyno.

“What? Why me…?” asked Lady.

“Tell us…” said Myte “Did you always let your husband do what he did; we’re you as neglectful to your daughter as he was?”

Lady denied it, “No, I mean I wasn’t harsh. I gave Lil’ a good home. I was there for her when I wanted to be… I mean when I wasn’t busy.”

Her excuses didn’t hold up, and she was placed under arrest for suspected Child Neglect and Endangerment.

Lady made no attempt to resist or say anything. The more she realized her flaws, the more she realized it was time she answered for them; especially seeing as how Lil’ was placed in great danger because of it all.

As for Artie, he kept looking down at his painting of Jewel and was ever so thankful that his plan worked.

The Equestrians and Starla all approached him.

“Zecora’s book said we had to help Jewel come to terms with her death to free her spirit, and I figured if she saw what she would have looked like…” he said nothing else, because it wasn’t important now.

“But what took you so long in getting here?” Rainbow asked.

Artie was a bit embarrassed to admit…

“I had just finished the painting and was on my out, but when I went into the kitchen to kiss Sunset and Sun Stream goodbye, but Sun Stream got a little carried away with her spoonful of baby food.

She splattered the painting, forcing me to redo and correct it. I barely managed to make it here in time.”

The ladies were more than forgiving and just grateful he made it.

“Celesto…” Celestia cried, and everyone turned to face their majesties.

Grand Ruler still didn’t look very good and needed hospital treatment at once. Fortunately, the sentries arrived with the paramedics just in time to take him into town.

Three days later, his majesty began to awaken…

“Ce…les…tia…?” he groaned in a very soft tone as he began to open his eyes. His vision was rather weak from fatigue, but slowly coming clear. “…Celestia?”

“Shh… it’s alright, dear.” she said softly to him while stroking his forehead.

He found he was at the New Ponyville General Hospital, where he had spent the last three days resting, and regaining his strength.

Dr. Penny assured him. “Looks like you’re going to make a full recovery, sire.” Then she left and allowed the visitors to come in.

Princess Luna had come for a very short visit, bringing the children with her.

“Daddy!” they both cried softly, having been told to keep their voices down.

They were so happy to see their father was alive and well, but he was still too weak to effectively hug them or even sit up.

“You scared us.” cried Castor.

“We were so worried about you and mother.” added Leilani.

Celestia hugged her children softly. “We’re so sorry, we just couldn’t bear to tell you and have you overly worried… but I suppose it didn’t really help. You know us better.”

The children gave her honest stares.

This made Grand Ruler all the more determined to get well again and then work hard to discover alternate ways of battling spirits without have to rely on the Spiritual Duplication Art again. It was just too dangerous and nearly did him in.

…Still, at least he carried out his part and helped greatly in the battle.

Just then, in came Lightning, Starla, and Krysta. Starla had brought “Get Well” flowers for his majesty, which flattered him.

“How are you feeling?” asked Krysta.

His majesty gave a weak smile, “…Like a large asteroid fell on me.”

Everyone held in a chuckle, but it was nice to know he would make it fine.

“What’s been going on?” he then asked.

Lightning held up a newspaper with front page news from Canterlot.

“Trial was held yesterday for Sole Maker.” answered Lightning.

Celestia took the paper and read aloud from it.

“The results of the trial…

The suspect, “Sole Maker” was found guilty for Child Endangerment, Child Neglect, and attempted murder. However, due to his obvious insanity stemming from his hate of children, he was admitted to the psychiatric ward on Planet Xandra for examination.

If he is proven to be totally insane, he will be kept as a patient until such a time he may be released, or otherwise face a prison sentence ranging from five to fifteen years.

Should he ever be released, the odds are doubtful the courts will allow him near his family again, unless proven he has changed for the better.

His shoe company is now holding meetings and council to determine a new leader to run everything until such a time, if any, that Sole will return.”

Everyone felt satisfied to hear of this.

Celestia continued reading, about Lil Fair and her mother.

“Lil fair was not charged in any manner, as she was proven to be not responsible for any and all damages, or attacks to the citizens of New Ponyville.

Her mother, Lady Fair, was however charged on a count of Child Neglect, for her inept parenting skills, and being an enabler to her husband. However, due to her not being as estranged from her daughter and in view that her child needed a proper parent… Lady Fair was placed on probation for a year, in which time she was ordered to attend a-thousand hours of Parenting Courses, and attain a solid, well-paying job to support her family.

If these conditions are not well met and she cannot prove to be a better parent; Lil will be awarded custody of children’s protection court, and placed in a foster home until such a time that her parents may get their acts together.”

Lady Fair did manage to find a good job, and a most enjoyable on; she worked at the spa where she and her friends used to attend together. She was a masseuse and beautician. With her many experiences as a client, she already had fine knowledge of products and management, and whenever her friends dropped by they could still talk up a storm.

“Whoever would have thought working could be so enjoyable?” she kept asking herself.

Other than getting thirty percent off products and services, she was also able to make whole new friends whom she tended to when they came to the spa.

“I wonder what will happen to Lil?” said Starla.

“Oh, I wouldn’t worry about her.” replied Lightning, and he motioned at the window.

The others all looked outside, and could see children happily playing the fields away from the hospital, while under the supervision of The Cutiemark crusaders, who held up their promise to help Lil recover from her troubles, reconcile with her friends, and maybe realize that growing up wasn’t so bad.

Other parents, who heard of Sole Maker and his shameful ways, were also inspired to be better parents themselves, and not push their own kids so hard.

Melody still had to practice piano, but she was given fair time for fun and games too.

Tee Base was able to have his fun and practice athletics at the same time with his friends.

Soarina, now that she was feeling better and all healed from her misfortune on the playground, was still determined to become a Wonderbolt, but she figured maybe she was a little hard on Lil and others around her for acting superior to them. She, too, decided to kick back and have some fun here and there.

Now that Lil was free from her father’s negligence, she was free to have all the fun she wanted, provided she still do good on her homework-- her mother’s rule. Other than all this, she was free to experience growing up and responsibility her own way, with the right guidance to help her.

…She never looked so happy, and she broke into a small song.

What will I grow up to be?
I’ll just wait and I’ll see.
Take it all as it comes,
Hanging out with my chums…

I’ll wait and see,
Just wait and see,
The future’s a wide-open mystery
Just wait and see,
Oh, wait and see,
There’s so much to be found,
To take me where I’m bound,
For now… just wait and see.

I can balance work and play
I just have to know the way
I have time to sort it out,
And I don’t need to scream or shout…

‘Cause…

I’ll wait and see,
Just wait and see,
It’s all out there waiting for me
Just wait and see,
Oh, wait and see,
There’s so much to be found,
To take me where I’m bound,
For now… just wait and see.

An instrumental solo played as scenes were shown of Lil’ having a well-balanced and better life…

…Playing with her friends, and then studying for school, to more playing with her friends, to helping her mother out at work.

Her grades improved immensely, and she slept much better at night.

Being free of her father’s insane and pushy ways got rid of much of the stress weighing on her, and her mother’s rapidly growing success, and parenting skills was truly the start of a great life for her.

As for her future, it was all up to her…

I’ll wait and see,
Just wait and see,
It’s all out there waiting for me
Just wait and see,
Oh, wait and see,
There’s so much to be found,
To take me where I’m bound,
For now… just wait and see.

Her friends and the Crusaders huddled around her in a fun group hug, and Lil’s smile just shined like the sun.

She was going to be alright.

(Promo)

In our next episode: The Dream Knight finally confides in Castor and Leilani revealing more of his purpose and his true name. Meanwhile, the School of Nightmares is growing stronger with power, and is revealed to have a founder who speaks personally to staff regarding future attacks.

What is the Dream Knight true purpose and what schemes will the enemies concoct?

Don’t miss the next exciting episode of “Starfleet Magic!”

(Next Episode: “What in the Dream-World…”)

Author's Note:

Just because you are Good Worker, and Great Success... does not mean you are truly a good person.

A person's true nature can never be judged by wealth, power, fame, intellect, or accomplishment...

...Only their Actions and their Attitude decides that.