LOST IN SHADOW
HOW STARLIGHT GLIMMER HAD ENDED UP IN THIS PITCH BLACK LABYRINTH SHE didn't know. She had gone through Kronos's portal with Twilight; logic should have dictated that they'd both be in the same area upon exiting that doorway, but when Starlight found herself in this void of a cave, she saw that she was all alone. Of course, that was activating her light magic, channeling it through her horn.
Even that light barely penetrated the darkness in front of her, and she could feel herself getting more fatigued with every passing second. It had been nearly three days, and outside of having nothing but the small rations she'd brought along, she hadn't had anything to eat or drink since then. She'd already gone through most of the food and water she'd brought along, though not from eating it herself; some of it had gone to keep these strange creatures from attacking her.
Even in this darkness, she could make out their image. The large crab creatures had begun chasing her the moment she arrived in this cavern. Starlight had been on the run, with very little rest; this small cubby-hole in the wall – which she'd checked and made sure that it was clear of any hostile creatures – was so far the best cover she'd had, and it gave her a chance to get a little bit of sleep.
But that still left the question of where in the hoof everyone else was.
Starlight Glimmer lay in her little hole, out of sight of the monstrous crabs patrolling outside, and decided that she should try to get a little bit of sleep. She hadn't even realized how exhausted she was from trying to stay hidden from these monsters; if she wasn't sneaking through the darkness, she was running blind; her muzzle was still sore from running into that one large rock.
Starlight curled up on the ground, resting her head on her front hooves and closed her eyes. Sleep came quickly, as did the dreams.
Most of the dreams came and went like the wind, but every once in a while, the dreams stayed. Sometimes they were fun, like the dream where she was flying through space with Discord; and sometimes they made her reflect on her past.
Starlight groaned as she tried to stop thinking about the dream.
She stood in the barren wasteland, looking out at what had once been the beautiful land she called home. Everyone and everything that lived here….It was all gone, all life eradicated.
Everyone and everything was dead, and it was all her fault.
No. No, it wasn't her fault. It wasn't. It was that mare, Twilight Sparkle. She had ruined everything. The village she worked to build had been taken from her, and all of her fellow ponies had turned their backs on her after getting their cutie marks back –
"No!" she screamed. "That's not me! I'm not that pony anymore! I just want to put it all behind me!"
But she couldn't, no matter how hard she tried. It had happened, and her attempts at changing the past had resulted in this, this….This extinction of all life.
The wind howled, blowing the dust into her eyes. She blinked the dust away, trying to focus on something – anything – other than how she had gotten here. Starswirl the Bearded's spell had enabled her to alter history, change events so they fit her needs, but she saw now that that was a huge mistake. Not even Tartarus existed anymore.
Starlight hung her head in shame. She wished she could alter events without killing everything in Equestria, but now it was clear that it was a lost cause.
The ground rumbled beneath her hooves. Tiny cracks began to appear. Those cracks began to grow, and the ground began to split apart. Starlight gasped as the ground beneath her opened up, revealing the dark abyss below.
The darkness began to glow fiery red. Starlight Glimmer had just enough time to scream before she was engulfed in a geyser of magma.
Starlight's eyes snapped open. She clamped her mouth shut with her hooves, keeping the scream from escaping. Slowly, she let out the breath she'd been holding; it was just another dream, but this one was one of the worst. She'd never had a dream quite that bad. Was her consciousness trying to tell her something? Was this a sign that her past was still haunting her?
It was so hard to believe that dreams like that one stemmed from her feeling a sense of jealousy as a filly. And no matter how hard she tried, she couldn't ignore her past. Everything she had done, everything she had been, it defined her. Her becoming Twilight Sparkle's student was, if she was being honest with herself, an attempt to redeem herself in her eyes, if nopony else's. Yes, she had made a lot of friends – Twilight Sparkle, Rainbow Dash, Rarity, Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity, Trixie, Discord, Thorax, Spike, Princess Celestia, Princess Luna, Shining Armor, Princess Cadance, more friends than she had ever thought she'd have in her entire life.
And considering that, until then, her only friend was Sunburst, and she hadn't seen him in years. The first time she saw him since foalhood was when Princess Flurry Heart – the first alicorn to be born in the history of Equestria – was born.
She heard something move in the darkness. Slowly, she moved out of her little hiding place, but still couldn't see anything; the shadows were so thick that she wasn't even sure if she had her eyes opened. But just because she couldn't see didn't mean that she couldn't hear, and she could hear those crabs' legs moving along the cavern floor.
And they sounded like they were getting closer.
Slowly, she eased back into her hiding place. Her head swiveled left and right, afraid to turn on her light, fearing that it would draw those monsters to her.
As she slowly walked, she kept putting her front hooves out, slowly, making sure she wasn't about to walk into a rock or off a drop.
Her hoof touched something hard and smooth. Slowly, cautiously, she activated her magic, light emanating from her horn.
The crab's claws snapped open and shut as it screeched at her.
This time, there was nothing to stop the scream coming out of her mouth.
Starlight ducked out of the way of the crab's claws and started galloping away as fast as she could. She could feel the crab's claws snap at her, snipping off the hairs at the end of her tail. Her hooves clopped against the ground as she struggled to see where she was going. More and more crabs were coming out of the darkness, their claws snapping at her.
She let out a gasp as one of the crabs' claws snapped shut around her. Her legs flailed in the air as she struggled to get free.
"Put me down!" she cried. "Let me go!" Her horn lit up even more, and she fired a shot of concentrated magic at the crab's arm, blowing it off. She landed, hard, the claw releasing her, and she took off running again, her hooves smacking against the ground.
"Go away!" she cried to the crabs. "Leave me alone!" She slammed against the cave wall; there was a slight green light coming from the wall – this wasn't a wall, it was a door. She pounded her front hooves on the door, looking back to see the crabs scuttling closer. "Open up! Let me in! Please!" The door refused to open. "Oh, buck this!" She concentrated as much as she could, her horn glowing, and the door began to slide upward. It was heavy, the heaviest object she'd ever had to lift. When it was open enough for her to roll under, she did just that, letting it fall closed behind her.
Starlight lay on the ground, trying to catch her breath and let herself calm down. All four legs were shaking with adrenaline, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears.
Slowly, she stood up on four shaking legs. She took several breaths, trying to calm herself down as she looked around her new surroundings. The lighting was better in this room, though that could be due to the shimmering pool of silver liquid in the center of the room. The room was lined with several pillars lined with what looked like green moss. Thick green mist rose up from the floor.
Starlight took a few steps towards the shimmering pool in the center of the room. It didn't look like any liquid she had ever seen. Its surface was shining silver, and it was that coloration that was giving off that light. Slowly, cautiously, she reached a hoof out to the pool; pulled her hoof back – that did not look like something she wanted to touch.
A shame; she could really use something to drink.
Something moved in the darkness, startling her. Starlight stepped back from the pool and looked around, her horn illuminating the surrounding area. She could still see nothing other than the pillars.
"Wh – who's there?" she asked, her voice cracking with fear. "I – I'm sorry for just barging in like this. I just needed to get away from those giant crabs outside. Um….Can you please come out of the shadows so I can see you?"
A deep, booming voice came from the darkness. "I am Shadow. The Shadow that all fear. But you….I have never seen a creature of your likes before."
Starlight didn't know what to say. She had never heard anything like this before. The only world she had ever known was Equestria; she was a stranger here, and this person's comment just cemented that.
"Uh….My – my name is Starlight Glimmer. I – I was separated from my friends. I don't know where they are."
"Not here, if they are beings like you."
"Yes, they are ponies. And, uh, you are…?"
Slowly, a figure stepped out of the darkness. Starlight had to crane her neck to look up at this being's face, which stood almost twenty feet off the ground. She couldn't quite make out the being's face, but she could see hints of red and green among its black coloration. The being's impossibly long arms ended in clawed hands, which reached down to the knees of the being's bird-like legs. Starlight took a step back as one of the being's massive feet came down, kicking up a cloud of dust.
"I have many names," the being said. "But the Matoran call me Makuta."
"Ma – Makuta?" Just hearing, just saying, the name made her hair stand up on end and sent a shiver down her spine. "Do you…live here?"
Makuta chuckled. "I suppose that would be one way of putting it. But I am more curious about you, Starlight Glimmer. What are you? Where are you from? And why are you here?"
"I…." Starlight Glimmer's voice caught in her throat; she wasn't sure if she should answer this Makuta guy. What if he was working with the guy Kronos sent them to investigate? What if he was the one they were supposed to investigate?
"You won't answer?" Makuta asked. "Then allow me to investigate myself." He reached out to Starlight with one of his clawed hands.
Starlight backed away. "What are you doing?"
"Let's find out where you come from and why you're here," Makuta answered. One of his fingers touched her forehead, and her body went stiff. "Let's see what you're hiding, Outlander."
No! Starlight tried to yell, but found her voice wouldn't come out of her mouth. She was forced to give Makuta all of her memories – her sense of betrayal by Sunburst, her takeover of that little village, her going into hiding after being chased off by the Elements of Harmony, her near destruction of all life in Equestria, her becoming Twilight's student, Flurry Heart's birth, her defeat of the remnants of the Changeling race, their mission for Kronos –
"Ah, that's it," Makuta said as he pulled his hand away. Starlight collapsed to the ground. "Sent to investigate the being whose shadows are seeping to other worlds. I don't suppose this Kronos fellow sent you and your little friends to investigate me, did he?"
Starlight said nothing; she was still reeling from Makuta fishing through her mind. She looked up at him, breathing heavily.
"Nothing to say? Then perhaps I should take your vow of silence as a yes."
How could Starlight speak? She was so exhausted, her body was so weak from hunger and thirst. And besides, she didn't trust this Makuta fellow; she wasn't sure she should tell him anything about the mission.
She looked up at him, up at the monster standing above her.
"You – what are you?"
"I told you my name. I am the Master of Shadows. And this, Starlight Glimmer, is my domain. And you, well, let's just say that you're my guest. Hmmm….Now, what else was it that I saw in the dark recesses of your mind? Ah, yes, there's something buried deep within. Let's see what it is."
"No!" Starlight cried as she crawled back away from Makuta's clawed hand. "Get away!" She fired a blast of magic at Makuta, hitting him in the arm. "Keep your claws away from me!"
"You cannot keep your shadows hidden forever, Starlight Glimmer," Makuta said as his fingers brushed against her forehead. She groaned in anguish as she felt his shadows bore their way into her mind, bringing the shadows of her past back to the forefront –
And she watched as the shadows materialized into a mirror image of herself.
"What – what is this?" she asked as Makuta stepped away.
The Shadow Starlight opened her eyes, staring down at Starlight. Starlight stared up at her mirror self, who looked down at her, a malicious grin on her furred face. Her muted blue eyes bored into Starlight's own.
And then she spoke.
"Hello, Me."
"What? How?"
"Oh, surprised how your inner darkness can be standing in front of you right now, Starlight?" Shadow Starlight asked. "I suppose we can thank Makuta for that." She stepped around Starlight, who was still lying on the ground. Starlight felt herself being lifted off the ground as Shadow Starlight surrounded her with her magic. "On your hooves now." Starlight's hooves touched the ground; her legs wobbled weakly beneath her. "I know," Shadow Starlight said. "I know, you're tired. Three days with very little food or water. But you don't need to worry about that anymore. I can help you, Starlight Glimmer. All you have to do is give up that cutie mark of yours."
Starlight turned to glare at her shadowed counterpart. "What?"
"Your cutie mark is the source of your weakness." She showed Starlight her own cutie mark, a gray equals sign. "Surrender your cutie mark, and your sorrows will all fade away."
It was strange hearing the same pick-up line she had spent years using on other ponies. Now that she was actually hearing it, she realized how ridiculous she must have sounded, given everything she had learned in the most recent months.
"It's really not a difficult decision," Shadow Starlight continued. She put a hoof on Starlight's chin, turning her gaze up to her. "Surrender your cutie mark, and say goodbye to all of your weaknesses. We will be equal, you and I."
Starlight slapped her dark counterpart's hoof away and stepped back. "No. I know what you're trying to do, and I won't be a part of it. I'm not going to be a part of something I gave up long ago!"
"Gave up. It's funny you should use those words, because that's exactly what you did to me!" Shadow Starlight glowed. Her horn glowed, and Starlight was sent flying into a pillar with a burst of magic. Pain shot up and down Starlight's body as she fell to the ground. "Tell me why!" Shadow Starlight bellowed. "Why did you abandon me?" She trotted towards Starlight, using her magic to hold her to the floor. "You locked me away, left me to rot in the far corners of your mind! You forgot about me!"
Starlight struggled to get to her hooves, but her dark counterpart's magic was holding her down. Coupled with her exhaustion, she could barely move.
"It doesn't feel good, does it, Starlight Glimmer?" Shadow Starlight hissed. "Being held down? Held back? You feel that weight holding you down? That's how I've felt for the last five months! It doesn't feel good, does it?" She lowered her face to Starlight. "Does it hurt?"
Starlight gave no answer. She just stared at her shadowed self, her gaze shifting between her and Makuta, who was watching in the shadows. This was all because of him; she wouldn't be in this predicament if he hadn't brought this Shadow Starlight Glimmer out of her mind.
But then again, maybe he wasn't the only one to blame. After all, Shadow Starlight was the pony that she herself had once been. And she did come into Makuta's chamber of her own free will, even if she didn't know Makuta was here at the time. She had just come here to escape those monster crabs outside; she had no idea that Makuta would make her literally face herself.
"Nothing to say, Starlight Glimmer?" Shadow Starlight asked. "I've got plenty to say to you. I've spent the last several months deep inside your mind, watching you, listening to you, and everything I've seen has been sickening. This is what we've been reduced to? Another lovey-dovey pony preaching about friendship? You are Starlight Glimmer, not Twilight Sparkle! You once ruled over an entire town of ponies who followed you without question!"
"Because I stripped them of their identity!" Starlight countered. "And why? Because I was jealous of Sunburst's ability?"
"Because that is who you are!" Shadow Starlight shouted. "Not this pathetic pile of pony puke at my hooves. What happened to you? I'll tell you what happened to you – you faltered."
"I – I moved on. I put my past behind me."
"Did you? Did you really? If that's the case, then why the hoof do I still exist? Why are you still haunted by me? I know you are. You can't stop thinking about me. You keep having nightmares about me."
You're broken, so am I
I'm better off alone
No one to turn to and nothing to call my own
Outspoken, so am I
Explosive words that your world wouldn't understand
Turn away again
You're beaten, so am I
I've got a heart of stone
No medication can cure what has taken hold
You're hurting, so will I
When I awake and remember why I've been running from your
World
Dishonored by your world
Your world
I'm haunted by your world
My blood is cold as ice
Or so I have been told
Show no emotion, and it can destroy your soul
Another sacrifice
To a tormentor your world wouldn't understand
Turn away again
You're angered, so am I
A thousand fires burn
A land of darkness from which I cannot return
You're aching, so will I
When I awake and discover that I have been damaged by your
World
Dishonored by your world
Your world
I'm haunted by your world
Never will I be welcomed
Amongst the heartless monsters you surround yourself with
Feeding off the pain and misfortune of others
A maniacal unit of sub-pony parasites
Warped into a feeding frenzy with the smell of fresh blood
Open your eyes and see the creatures for what they are
A swirling mess of hatred and envy
Don't be naive enough to think you're unaffected
The conversion has already begun
You're frightened, so am I
A world of demons wait
Watching the movements and filling my heart with hate
You're burning, so will I
When I awake and discover how I have been ravaged by your
World
Dishonored by your world
Your world
I'm haunted by your world
Starlgiht Glimmer glared at her dark counterpart, knowing that she had no one to blame for this creature's existence but herself.