Twilight Sparkle flew down over to Ponyville with Spike riding on her back and once they landed, Spike got off of Twilight and the two of them began to walk back to the Castle of Friendship. "Starlight Glimmer?" Spike asked Twilight. "I was sure I saw her, Spike. But when I looked again, she was gone. I'm just worried what she could be up to." Twilight explained. "Nothing good I bet! I heard she wasn't happy the last time you saw her." Spike said. "Forcing everypony in her village to have the same Cutie Mark wasn't right. We had to do something." Twilight told Spike. "And now she's coming back for revenge." Spike replied. Twilight was shaking in fear before Spike ran up to catch up with her as he then told her, "Eh, or she was really interested in your speech!" the purple dragon said. "Honestly Spike, I'm not really sure what I saw." Twilight said before she and Spike continued to walk back home. "But as long as I have my friends, I know everything will be alright." she said.
At the Castle of Friendship, Twilight Sparkle hung her saddlebags and Spike put away his suitcase before they continued their conversation as they were about to walk over to the Cutie Map room. "Maybe I was just more stressed about that speech than I thought." Twilight said. "Tee-yeah! That sounds better than Starlight Glimmer coming back with an evil plot for revenge." Spike agreed. Twilight opens the doors to the Cutie Map room as she enters it while talking to Spike, "Well when you say it like that, it sound kinda silly." she said. But then Spike saw an unwanted visitor and he made a horrified expression as he exclaimed, "Or it's totally true!" Twilight blinked before she and Spike saw the light purple unicorn sitting on Fluttershy's throne with her back legs crossed onto the Cutie Map with a malevolent grin on her face. It was Starlight Glimmer!
"Welcome home, Twilight!" Starlight greeted.
Twilight Sparkle and Spike were shocked to see Starlight Glimmer who not only broke into the Castle of Friendship uninvited, but their thoughts of her coming back for revenge were true. "Starlight?! What are you doing here?!" Twilight said to Starlight in a shocked tone of voice. Starlight laughed evilly before she replied, "I'm glad you asked, Princess!" the evil unicorn said before she got off of Fluttershy's throne and then used her magic to make Twilight's friends visible as Applejack, Rarity, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and Pinkie Pie appeared to be strapped onto their respective thrones while tied up in some sort of magic cyan ropes while their mouths were gagged. Twilight and Spike were horrified to see that Starlight was holding their friends hostage and that she was waiting for their return.
"GIRLS!" Twilight yelled. Her friends muffled in terror as Starlight laughed evilly again before Twilight glared angrily at the former cult leader. "Let my friends go, Starlight!" she yelled at Starlight. "Oh, I will Twilight Sparkle. But first...Give me your Cutie Mark or I will destroy your friends!" Starlight demanded as she threatened Twilight's friends. "Why?!" Spike asked in fear for Rarity's life as she screamed while her mouth was gagged with Starlight's magic. Starlight replied, "So that I can obtain the Cutie Mark of a Princess and then use its power to become an Alicorn!" she told Twilight and Spike. "I won't let you steal my Cutie Mark again, Starlight Glimmer." Twilight told her foe. "Oh, but I insist that you give up your Cutie Mark and let me have it! Otherwise I would hate to see you lose your friends." the power-hungry unicorn said. Twilight Sparkle realized that if she refused to let Starlight Glimmer steal her Cutie Mark again so that she can do Celestia knows what with it, then Starlight would destroy her friends. The situation reminded Twilight Sparkle of that one time Tirek forced her to let him absorb the Princesses' Alicorn magic from within her in exchange for her friends' release.
"You try my patience, Twilight. Surrender and let me have your Cutie Mark so that I can absorb its power to become an Alicorn Princess and I will release your friends. Or keep it and I will destroy your friends!" Starlight threatened once more. "Starlight, wait!" Twilight yelled, getting Starlight's attention before she would do anything to harm her friends with her magic. "If I surrender and let you steal my Cutie Mark again so you can have it, will you keep your promise to let go of my friends?" Twilight asked. Starlight made an evil grin again before she replied, "You have my word." Twilight's friends muffled while screaming to beg Twilight not to let Starlight steal her Cutie Mark again, but Twilight told her friends, "I'm sorry. But I have to sacrifice my Cutie Mark to Starlight Glimmer so that she can release you from your restraints."
"Aww, isn't that touching?" Starlight said mockingly before she points her horn at Twilight and tells her, "Now hold still Princess Twilight. This won't hurt much." she said before she used her magic to remove Twilight's Cutie Mark from her flank once again as she screams in pain much to her friends' horror. After Starlight removes Twilight's Cutie Mark once again, the purple Alicorn Princess falls to the ground, feeling weak with Spike checking on her. "At last! After all these years. The Cutie Mark of an Alicorn Princess belongs to ME! Won't be needing my old Cutie Mark anymore." Starlight Glimmer said before placing Twilight's Cutie Mark onto her flank. But when she did, Starlight sprouted wings that were evil looking and Starlight got up on her hind hooves and raised her front hooves high while laughing maniacally. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" Spike helped Twilight got up before he pointed at what Starlight was turning into. "LOOK!" he said.
Starlight Glimmer was transforming into a demonic Alicorn as her eyes turned red, her teeth turned into sharp teeth, her mane and tail grew larger and longer, and she grew into the size of Nightmare Moon. Starlight's color scheme turned dark with cyan accents and when her transformation was completed, she was now a demonic Alicorn as she then laughed before unleashing her new power as it hit the ceiling, destroying the roots of the Golden Oakes Library containing Twilight's memories of when she first arrived in Ponyville, and destroying the roof of the Castle of Friendship before the turquoise laser hit the sky and turned it dark with dark clouds swirling around above the Castle of Friendship. Every pony were scared and confused as to what was going on. The Pegasus tried to control this evil-looking weather, but they were unable to control it as it sparked out of control. Starlight Glimmer looked at Twilight Sparkle with an evil grin bearing sharp teeth before she let go of the Mane 5 as she then told our main heroes, "Thank you for your generosity, Twilight. I look forward to when I rid the world of Cutie Marks and take over Equestria. Soon, every pony will bow down to me! The Empress of Equality and Friendship! HAHAHAHAHAHA!" Starlight Glimmer laughed maniacally before she spread out her new wings and flew outside of the Castle of Friendship before she began to wreak havoc among the citizens of Ponyville.
"Twilight, your Cutie Mark. It's gone!" Spike exclaimed. Twilight looked at her side and she noticed that she didn't have an Equal Sign for a Cutie Mark. But why? Applejack, Rarity, Pinkie Pie, Fluttershy, and Rainbow Dash checked up on Twilight Sparkle and they could see that she was weak and harmed. "Twilight, how could you?" Rarity asked. "I'm sorry, girls. But I had to let Starlight steal my Cutie Mark to convince her to set you all free." Twilight told her friends. "But now she's wreaking havoc on Ponyville. I say we go out there and kick that power-hungry unicorn's butt and get your Cutie Mark back!" Rainbow Dash said as she was about to fly outside to stop Starlight Glimmer but Applejack caught her by the tail. "Now hold on there, Rainbow! We can't fight Starlight now that she's an all-powerful Alicorn." Applejack told Rainbow Dash. "We need to report this to Princess Celestia and Princess Luna. Maybe they can help us defeat her." Rarity suggested. "I knew that Starlight Glimmer was trouble! But now she's an evil demon Alicorn thingy and I think we should definitely use the Elements of Harmony to defeat her!" Pinkie Pie said. "Maybe we could ask Discord if he could help us defeat Starlight and that he can use his chaos magic to get Twilight's Cutie Mark back," said Fluttershy. "What do you think, Twilight?" Applejack asked as he let go of Rainbow Dash's tail. Twilight Sparkle paused before she answered, "I...I don't know! I don't know what to do. Starlight's stolen my Cutie Mark. Without it, I'm powerless to stop her. I don't think the Elements of Harmony would work without my Cutie Mark."
"Don't worry, Twilight. We're here for you." Rainbow Dash told Twilight. "Together we can stand up against Starlight Glimmer." she said. "Alright. Then here's what we're all gonna do to stop Starlight Glimmer. Spike? Send an urgent letter to Celestia and Luna so that maybe they can help us defeat Starlight and get my Cutie Mark back. The rest of my friends and I will go to the Tree of Harmony to get the Elements of Harmony in case something bad happens." Twilight told her friends. "You got it, Twilight." Spike said.
TO BE CONTINUED...