Capitulo Veinticuatro
Capitulo Veinticuatro
Moving On
Back at Town Hall, Twilight was surprised to see Vera wake up from her small coma courtesy of Derpy. She ignored the crowd in front of the entrance and approached her "Vera, are you alright?"
Vera moaned lightly as she rubbed her head "A little; my head still hurts from when I woke up."
Derpy chuckled awkwardly "Yeah, that was my bad. Sorry..." She said as her ears drooped.
Vera blinked at Derpy "That was you?" She asked as she tilted her head "I never knew that..."
"Wait a minute..." Twilight said before she herself looked confused "You mean you don't remember Derpy chasing after you and knocking you out?"
Vera stared at Twilight "I was being chased? The last thing I remembered was working with my sisters, Rarity, Fluttershy, and Spike at the spa. Derpy and her family were helping us when they arrived, and that was all that I can remember."
Twilight rubbed her chin "But how can that be possible when you and your sisters were afraid of Starrk?"
Vera craned her head with an incredulous glance "What? Sure, he damaged Ponyville, but what reason do I have to be afraid of Starrk?" She defended.
Applejack huffed at Vera with skeptical eyes "That sure as hay was th' way yer sisters acted when they came here." She said pointedly.
Big Macintosh nodded in agreement "Eeyup."
Sparkler widened her eyes 'Impossible! My spell wore off?' She looked over at Derpy and snuck a glare 'So that cross-eyed buffoon is responsible for this...'
Rarity frowned "You and your sisters acted in such a way and ran off shortly after! Which reminds me..." She looked down at the crowd and spotted Aloe and Lotus looking up, fear still lingering in their eyes "We should probably consult with them as well."
Lilynette, who broke away from Pinkie's grip, looked over at Aloe and Lotus as well with a suspicious glance "Hey, you're right!" She pointed an accusing hoof "Get up here, you two!" Lilynette barked authoritively.
Aloe and Lotus cautiously went up the stairs up to where their sister stood with the group, and Lilynette squinted her eyes at them "If your sister's not afraid of Starrk anymore, then why are you two still acting cowardly?"
Lotus shook her head "We're not acting! We're terrified of his presence." She gasped when she remembered Lilynette "And you're a part of him! He must've planned to leave and let you finish us off!"
Lilynette growled "Are you stupid!? Yeah, maybe I don't like you or the other ponies around here, but why would I wanna kill you?"
Derpy, Dinky, and Sparkler trotted up behind the red filly, the former looking threatened "Okay, that's enough. It's one thing to drive Starrky out of town, but Lily had nothing to do with the way you're acting!" Derpy snapped.
Twilight narrowed her eyes at Aloe and Lotus "She's right. But what also strikes me as suspicious is how you two are still acting this way, while Vera is oblivious to this whole situation after she woke up."
Lilynette hummed after she heard Twilight before she grinned deviously "Only one way to find out..." She said before she hopped up and punched Lotus square on the head, causing her to fly back from the stairs and tumble across the ground until she laid knocked out from Lilynette's hit. The crowd gasped and murmured tentatively at the scene.
Vera watched with widened eyes "Lotus!" She called out before galloping to her sister's side.
The others stared dumbfounded at the sudden action, and Rarity pointed a hoof "Lilynette, are you out of your mind!?"
Lilynette cast a sideways glare at Rarity "Of course not. I'm just trying to test something out is all!" She looked over at Lotus as she laid down, the crowd next to her growing more concerned and fearful of the red filly.
Aloe shrieked and backed away from Lilynette "My sister was right! Lilynette is just as destructive as Starrk!" She said as she galloped towards Lotus with Vera.
Derpy was just as surprised, until she looked over at Vera and gave a low gasp before turning to her friends "Wait a minute, everypony! Lilynette might be onto something!" She said as she moved to join Aloe at Lotus' side. While Aloe and Vera stared with tearful and worried eyes, Derpy's eyes rotated while they squinted. After a small moment, black mist began to trail out of Lotus' closed eyes, causing Derpy to perk up "It happened again!"
Twilight was curious at Derpy's shift of behavior and trotted towards her and Aloe "What happened? What's going on?" She said as she inspected Lotus for any head injuries.
Derpy quickly turned her head to Twilight "When I knocked out Vera after tackling her, some black stuff just seeped out of her eyes and she was back to normal after she woke up. I think the same thing might happen to Lotus as well!"
Vera looked over at Derpy with hope in her eyes "Are you certain? She's not dead?"
Derpy smiled cheerfully at Aloe "Of course not. She'll wake up and act like she was never afraid of Starrky to begin with; just like you!"
Pinkie hopped in the air jubilantly "Yes! I knew Starrky wasn't a cold-blooded killer!" She stopped to point at the crowd with a stern expression on her face "You folks need to get a hold of yourselves." Pinkie said firmly.
Sparkler broke into a light sweat that - luckily for her - went undetected by the other ponies 'Unfathomable. They were able to undo my plan that quickly!? I need to find a way to make sure their fear stays intact...' She bolted towards the trio surrounding Derpy, earning the attention of Dinky and Lilynette, who followed after her with curious expressions; Pinkie hopped over as well with her own curiosity.
When Lilynette gathered with the others, she inspected Lotus as well with an impatient glance and nudged at her "C'mon, get up already."
She was lightly shoved away by Twilight "Easy, Lilynette." She said as she looked at the ponies surrounding Lotus "C'mon, everypony. Let's give her some room."
Sparkler stifled a grunt and broke the silence when Lotus showed no response "I think we're acting a bit hasty on this situation. We could be lucky if she's alive, but how can we be sure she won't change her mindset?"
Lilynette scoffed "If it worked for Vera, then it should work for Lotus." She turned to Dinky "Don't you believe me, Dinky?"
Dinky stared before looking over at Vera "Well, if it did work on Ms. Vera, then maybe we could be lucky if it worked on Ms. Lotus, too." She said as she smiled at Lilynette "I think you might've helped her, sis."
Lilynette shared smile with Dinky before staring intently at Lotus' body. When a murmur was heard, Twilight perked up "She's waking up. Now to see what happens..."
Lotus shifted her body to a proper laying position and rubbed her temple with a hoof before she got up while her eyes were closed. Everypony around her stared with varying levels of anticipation until Lotus opened her eyes to blink, then looked around "Wha-...Where am I? This isn't the spa."
Derpy grinned "Morning, Lotus. Can I ask you a question?" She said as she grabbed the blue mare's attention "Are you afraid of Coyote Starrk at all?"
Lotus blinked again before frowning "Absolutely not. He saved from Cerberus, after all. We're lucky to have Ponyville still standing thanks to his help."
Derpy gasped "It worked! She's okay!" She cheered. Her and Pinkie then hugged each other to hop up and down while they squealed in delight.
Twilight stared in awe "So it's true. But why did this happen all of the sudden?"
Vera smiled and hugged Lotus "Oh, thank goodness you're alright, Lotus. I was worried you weren't going to wake up."
Lotus returned the embrace, though was confused "I was asleep? But how? Were we not repairing the spa?"
Vera stopped her hug to stare at Lotus "I felt the same way as well. I woke up at Town Hall on a couch in Mayor Mare's office." She looked down despondently "I have no recollection as to what had happened."
Lotus stared at Vera before looking at Aloe "Aloe, do you feel the same way about us?"
Aloe backed away "What do you mean? Are you saying you're not actually afraid of Coyote Starrk? He'll kill us!"
Vera and Lotus stared at their sister in shock "Aloe, that's insane." Vera chided "What caused you to act this way?"
"The same thing that happened to the two of you."
The spa sisters focused their attention on Twilight, who donned a calculating gaze "All three of you were once afraid of Coyote, though Aloe currently feels the same way. After Lilynette tested her theory on Lotus as far as Vera's fear vanishing, I've come to a conclusion..." She narrowed her eyes "Somepony's been practicing dark magic!"
Pinkie and Derpy stopped cheering "Dark magic?" Pinkie parroted "But that's bad magic. Who could possibly practice dark magic in Ponyville?"
Dinky shivered in fear "Dark magic? But who would do such a thing?"
Lilynette gritted her teeth "Whoever it was is gonna deal with me once I find them." She stomped a hoof "I'll destroy them for making Starrk leave!"
It took all the energy inside of Sparkler to hide her rage over Twilight's declaration 'Curses! I have to find a way to draw them away from any claims they could make...' She grunted and spoke up "I'm just as curious as Pinkie, but whoever did so could've possibly expected us to figure it out sooner. If we continue to act upon this, we'll only give them what they want."
Twilight hummed after hearing Sparkler out "But it doesn't make any sense other than the goal of driving Starrk out of town. Why would anypony go so far as to practice dark magic for that reason?" She looked over at Sparkler "Also, why were the spa sisters the first target?"
Sparkler froze as Twilight and everypony else looked at her. She was ready to think of a lie, but she had to choose her words carefully. Before a lie could be properly thought, however, a loud and raspy yell was heard near the Everfree Forest, drawing everypony away from the current matter. Sparkler, for her part, was both confused and relieved 'Well, there's my opportunity to think of another plan...' She thought to herself as she watched a prismatic blur near Town Hall.
Everypony present noticed Rainbow Dash land on the ground and trot towards the entrance with an unexpected look of irritation on her face "Hey..." She greeted halfheartedly.
Twilight galloped to her friend and inspected her "Rainbow Dash, that was you, wasn't it? What happened?"
"I fell." Rainbow Dash replied instantly before shaking off her anger "So, what'd I miss while I was away?"
Twilight stared blankly at Rainbow Dash "You fell? In what?"
Rainbow Dash grunted and flailed a foreleg "It was just a tree or something. Can you just tell me what's going on?"
Twilight arched an eyebrow before looking back at Aloe, Lotus, and Vera "Well, Lilynette was able to shed some light on the situation in the form of knocking out Lotus." She winced "I'm glad she's not hurt too bad after that happened."
Rainbow Dash tilted her head in curiosity "Really? So what did you find?" She asked inquisitively.
Twilight looked back at Rainbow Dash with a serious gaze "I've come to the conclusion that somepony used dark magic to warp the minds of some of the ponyfolk. Lotus was back to normal with no memory of her acting paranoid around Starrk after she woke up."
Rainbow Dash widened her eyes "What? That's just-...but-" She shook her head "What the hay is going on? We only know one pony who's able to do dark magic, and he's gone!"
Twilight sighed "Be that as it may, we know that anypony could learn dark magic if they put their mind to it." She looked back at the spa sisters "Though, I don't know if knocking out everypony that fears Coyote would be a good idea."
Rainbow Dash snorted "What else can we do? Wait them out? They'll probably keep acting like this if we continue to ignore them!"
Sparkler saw her chance and piped up once more "I'm with Rainbow Dash. Perhaps the pony using dark magic is biding their time by having us struggle with each victim involved with their plan." She said as she looked over at the terrified crowd "Besides, we'd only become the new threat if we go after them all at once and we'll have to chase them around..."
Rainbow Dash scoffed as she stared down the ponies "That's a risk I'm willing to take; anything to get Starrk back!" She said as she stomped towards them, only to be stopped in a telekinetic hold "Hey!"
Twilight kept her hold on Rainbow Dash, though looked regretful in doing so "No, Rainbow. Sparkler's right. Besides, we're already suffering damage around town that's lucky to even be repaired. If we choose to tackle this now, we'll only slow things down."
Lilynette trotted towards Twilight "Then let me do it. I'm one for repairing this place, but I also want these idiots to remember who saved them from disaster."
Rainbow Dash smirked at Lilynette and looked over at Twilight "C'mon, Twilight; let me and Lilynette here handle this. We'll get them back to normal in no time at all. Besides, they won't even remember anything once we're through with them."
Twilight bit her lower lip as she mulled over on how to handle the situation between bringing Ponyville back to its better condition and neutralizing the fear that resides in some of the ponyfolk that once respected Starrk. She clenched her eyes shut until she shook her head "No...We can't."
Rainbow Dash and Lilynette scowled "Why not?" The two asked simultaneously.
Twilight sighed as she looked down "I know it sounds ill-favored to you, but our hooves our tied here. We're already busy with repairs, but if we go through with this, what if we end up playing a part in some grand plan and invite more danger towards Ponyville shortly after?" She looked over at Rainbow Dash "Starrk's already gone, and we were lucky to survive with his help. For all we know, this could end up being a ruse for something bigger."
Lilynette snorted defiantly 'Yeah right! As if there's another Aizen lurking around in Ponyville!'
Rainbow Dash stared until she sighed in defeat "Fine. We won't hurt them, but it's only because half of Ponyville's already in shambles. First we repair, THEN we'll knock some sense into them." She said with a determined gaze.
Twilight nodded "Of course. But first we'll have to convince them that there's nothing to fear, since their source is already gone." She released her hold on Rainbow Dash and the group headed back towards the entrance and onto the podium.
Lilynette was utterly displeased with the choice that Twilight decided to go with; she missed Starrk more than anypony in Ponyville, even if he is a slacker at times.
"Lily?"
Lilynette turned to see Dinky with a comforting smile "I know we'll see Mr. Starrk again once we're finished. Mommy says that usually good things come to those who wait."
The red filly stared at Dinky until she sighed "I hope your mom's right about that..." She said as she looked away. Lilynette received another warm nuzzle from Dinky that slightly lifted her spirits.
Twilight raised the megaphone with her magic and spoke into it "Attention, everypony. We're aware of how you feel, and we understand that we housed a powerful pony in our town, but he's gone now. As long as he's out of your sight, I'm sure he won't cause us any trouble at all."
The crowd murmured amongst themselves until a stallion pointed at Lilynette "What about her? She's a part of Starrk, so she shouldn't be left unattended. In fact, she could possibly be as dangerous as him!"
Lilynette growled "Why don't you shut u-" She was stopped by a red hoof belonging to Big Macintosh. She looked up to see him simple shake his head at her.
Derpy puffed her cheeks and effortlessly nabbed the megaphone out of Twilight's grasp to speak "Then consider her a member of the Hooves family until something happens!" She shouted "Lily's nothing like Starrk, and we'll prove it by moving on and fixing our town! Maybe then, every single one of you ponies can get over that stupid fear of yours!" Her defensive words drove the crowd to silence.
Lilynette looked up at Derpy, amazed at how she projected her anger in defending somepony like herself. She stared in mild admiration "She really cares about Coyote and I, huh?"
Dinky giggled "That's Mommy for ya." She quipped.
Fluttershy shivered at Derpy's volume "Oh my...Maybe we should do what she says. I don't think it's a good idea to keep this going."
Applejack sighed dejectedly "Guess we ain't got much of a choice. Ah'd probably side with Rainbow an' Lilynette iffin' we didn't have so much on our plates."
Twilight nodded to her friends "Okay, everypony. The reparation of Ponyville comes first, and then we'll get to the bottom of things." She held an encouraging smile "I'm sure we can follow Coyote's example and be quick about this."
Lilynette perked up and grinned "Then what are we waiting for? I wanna hurry up and find out whoever's messing with us!"
"Yeah!" Rainbow Dash chimed in "The sooner we get done with this thing, the sooner we can get my Starr-I-I mean get Starrk back!" She said with a faint blush. Lilynette raised her eyebrow at the cyan pegasus and her slip-up.
Pinkie grinned cheerfully "Alright, everypony! Back to work!" The party pony said as everypony went back to their areas of repairs.
Sparkler kept silent while she traveled with her family 'Well, at least I get to keep the fear I've snuck into those simpletons...Not only do they ward off that pesky espada, but they also act as a secondary source for my regeneration...' She smirked to herself 'All I have to do is bide my time and wait for my recovery to be complete...Then I can show these fools who is the rightful ruler of them all.'
To be continued...
Just felt like sneaking another one in for your viewing pleasure before I'm swarmed with more work from college.
Not much to say here other than expect a major derp moment in the next chapter or so...
Enjoy this chapter. Peace! 
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tsk tsk tsk, obviously rainbow has never been secretly in love before if she let that little slip up go by
And Twilight continues to be a moron.
I really hate dramatic irony sometimes.
3246283 Even in the show, Twilight can be one of the stupidest smart people ever.
Just like Sweet Apple Acres is the most successful unsuccessful farm ever.
Ever get the idea that the soundtrack to Rainbow dash's love life would be 'Heart attack' by Demi lavato?
Sombra? Red eyes, dark magic, weird smoke coming out of the eyes... Yep that sound like him
And all Starrk has to do in that time is gather the beastial forces of the Everfree before marching them over to kick your smokey ass.
Does anyone else get the feeling that the author is purposely making it look like Sombra is the villain but not directly stating it because it will be revealed that it's not actually him?
chapter seems a little rushed but still over all good. Also is Starrk going to get a bone necklace from Zecora? like the one he had when he was a espada? Because i think that would be pretty cool.
3246283 I'm with you on that one.
soooo any more Lily and Pip moments coming up soon?
3246619
Good point…could be some demon from Tartarus that did the smart thing and possess Cerberus, for all we know.
Sombra seems most likely though, since he;
A. Is a ruler
B. has powers connected to fear.
C. Is smokey.
D. Is a brilliant strategist. (As evidenced by his multiple traps. Even when his mind deteriorated in the ice, his traps nearly caused the Mane 6 to fail.)
I just see one MAJOR flaw in there plan. Waiting till works complete only gives the perpetrator more time to act. Also, the elements are over-estimating themselves what if they where to get hit by the same black magic then no-one would remember and they all would hate stark. If Celestia where to show up they could even make up some story of him doing evil stuff. If the whole village condemned him Celestia's hooves would be tied. But, that's all hinging on how powerful and subtle the black magic is.
3246771 Haven't forgotten
3246449 And it turns out it was all a red herring and it's really... Josef Stalin's ghost!
Get it, RED herring? Cuz he was Communist? Eh? Eh?
3247839
THAT JOKE WAS BAD!
AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD!
3260467 It a Team Four Star reference.
3246490
I got it!
Our villain is Smokey the Bear!
(Wow, I haven't commented on a story in ages…)
3262408 That's a God-awful lie!
3262483 Which one?
3263710 That last part
3263722 Okay, that is a fat lie.
Specifically, I haven't commented on a non-recent story that's been in my fav's list for at least three months.
3263747 Okay, that works
3263753 Phew! No dungeon for me!
Uh, I mean, thank you for not smacking with that paddle!
Er…
3263776 Sorry, but I'm *puts on sunglasses*
3263884 YEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA- no.
Hey guess what I'm commenting on your story becAUSE F**K YOU THATS WHY MAKE MOAR NAAAW if it's ok with you that is...
3283580
You're ability to convince me otherwise is sexy.
I love you like Rainbow crushes on Starrk.
(Only a phase until I find where you live and touch you when-nvm)
WHY AM I ON FIMFIC! I'VE GOT A PAPER!
SHIT!
3283826 Buy me dinner first and we'll talk, but until then, stay tuned, friend
"Therefor, the solution is to punch all of ponyville!"
Oh and I noticed this earlier, but the mystery villain in Sparkler seemed to completely ignore this fact.
At no point after he arrived in Ponyville did the villain overhear anyone speak about "Lilyanette being a part of Starrk" so I found it confusing when he/she/Sparkler didn't react to the statement "Lily's a part of Starrk too! She could be just as dangerous!"
That's just a little observation.
~Ay ee ay ee ay
I'm your little butterfly
Green, black, and blue
Make the colors in the sky~
Ay ay ay ay ay, Rainbow Dash has a love crush.
Red to violet are the shades that match her blush.
~Ah ee ay ee ay
Ah ee ay ee ay
Ah ee ay ee ay
Where's my samurai?~
Sombra's inconsistent. When did he learn Lilynette was Coyote's other half? And where's a Shinigami when you need one?
...
Sheesh. I didn't know it was possible for me to get high without smoking. Keep up the good work.
This story gets just a plain hooves up by me simple as that
When is a update coming?
3374298 It updates at my own pace. I'm sorry if I'm keeping you waiting, but there's a small thing called Writer's Block that many folks have to deal with now and then
Can't wait for what comes next !
Lilynette snorted defiantly 'Yeah right! As if there's another Aizen lurking around in Ponyville!'
Could Aizen be responsible? But then again how?
3374306
The mystery villain is Sombra. That is all.
the villain as a NO SHIT sorta thing
I can't take it anymore! The destruction of the dramatic irony back in chapter 14 was bad enough but now the plot contrivances have gone through the roof. I'll sum it up with a line from this chapter:
May I remind Lilynette that her other half not only abandoned her but did so completely under his own free will? I'm going to list every single problem I have with Starrk leaving like this, and the last few chapters as a whole:
- he has no real reason to
- he's leaving behind the other half of his fucking soul who, not only was created with the single purpose of keeping him company, but is literally part of him
- if he stayed for five more minutes he would've found out that the ponies were under the influence of dark magic and fear him for no real reason
- Lilynette watches him walk away and doesn't follow as if her surrogate family is more important than the other half of her soul
- Starrk is apparently too scared to face up to a bunch of ponies who fear him but is perfectly fine with strolling through the Everfree
- Starrk, despite fighting loneliness for his entire existence, wants to be alone for no reason at all
- despite finding a way to not only make everypony like Starrk again, but also break the evil spell that none other than Twilight Sparkle has acknowledged is affecting them, they don't utilize said cure on the bullshit logic that it might be a distraction (whether it is or not, you should break an evil spell's hold as quickly as possible)
- Aloe easily survived her "treatment" and it has worked on two of the afflicted ponies now, neither of whom appear to have any major injuries and are perfectly fine not even one minute after being "treated", why isn't everyone being KOed like this again?
- despite the knowledge that Lilynette is literally part of Starrk, the ponies who are deathly afraid of him are perfectly cool with letting her run around after getting yelled at (which didn't work earlier)
- the town is under attack from a villain wielding dark magic and they're leaving their best defender in his self-imposed exile that they can get him out of in about 5 minutes if they just fly to Zecora's and explain the situation
- for some reason fixing the town is more important than finding someone who is casting an evil spell
After the disaster of chapter 14 I forced myself to continue reading, even though the best part of the story had been brutally murdered, under the false assumption that this story would still be good without it. Now the only reason I'm still reading is to see if these plot contrivances actually get anywhere and, more importantly, if anything interesting happens that actually makes me want to read the next chapter.
3632829 well isn't it obvious? he's the true mastermind of it all. heck he even planned celestia and luna's birth.
Their really is no reason not to just knock all the ponies out. At worst it is one day off.