Applejack, Pinkie Pie, Rarity and Fluttershy are in an alleyway having nervous looks as hey glance at a nearby Starlight, who has a confident smile.
"Uh," AJ spoke, "Are you sure this is a good idea, Starlight?"
"Yeah," said Fluttershy, "I mean, no offense, but that whole incident where you combined spells that resulted in you hypnotizing us and flooding Twilight's castle really made me uncomfortable."
"All of us, darling," said Rarity.
"Don't forget that she made me burn cake!" snapped Pinkie, but the others just ignored that.
"Guys," said Starlight in assurance, "I know that last time didn't go so well, but I've been been practicing my combination spells so that I won't repeat the same mistake again."
"And have you perfected them enough to make sure nothing goes wrong?" asked Rarity.
"As a matter of fact, I have," said Starlight confidently, "Now do you want to wat to stop Rainbow and this 'Bitter Taste' character or not?"
"Well obviously," said Applejack, "But I'm just not sure that-"
"Too late!" shouted Starlight as she began her spell.
"Wait" shouted Pinkie Pie, only for them to teleport away from the alley. Starlight catches her breath as her horn sizzles
"Good luck out there, everypony." said Starlight in between breaths, "You're going to need it."
Unknown to Starlight, there was someone witnessing this from the shadows. Seeing Starlight's tired state, the mysterious pony strikes Starlight with a beam of magic. Before Starlight had a chance to reacts, she was hit with the beam of magic, which held her in place.
"Wha-what's going on?!" Starlight cried out.
Suddenly, she felt something happening to her flank and began moaning in pain.
She looked to her flank and saw that her cutie mark is being removed. She gasps in shock and pain, but she was utterly helpless as her mark was now removed from her flank and ow floats near to the pony hiding in the shadows. Starlight's blank flank is now replaced by an equal sign while her color scheme was a lot darker and the magic hold on her disappears as the drops down on her belly to the ground as if she was just shot by a gun. Getting up groggily, she looks to her flank and is utterly shocked by the equal sign on it.
"Oh no!" cried out Starlight.
"Oh yes!" said the mysterious pony, catching Starlight's attention as she turned and saw her cutie mark floating in the air covered by grey aura. Out of the shadows comes Bitter Taste, wearing a nasty grin on his face.
"You!" said Starlight in shock, "You're the pony who corrupted Rainbow Dash!"
"Guilty!" Bitter Taste said flamboyantly, "And I'm also the pony who's going to make sure ponies like you are kept in line!"
"Give me back my cutie mark!" said Starlight.
"Hmm," said Bitter Taste in thought, "No."
Suddenly, his horn turns red, so does his aura, as Starlight's cutie mark started to be warped. Gasping at seeing this, Starlight immediately took action and tried to stop him physically, but Bitter Taste resourcefully jumped on her and pinned her down as the spell continued. As she struggled to get out of his grasp, Starlight can only look in horror as he cutie mark begins evaporating from existence. Once it does, Bitter Taste stops his spell. Starlight's face looked completely and utterly shocked as she witnessed this horrible event.
"Wh-wh-what did you just do?" Starlight said, too shocked to keep trying to get out of the villain's grasp.
"I used a eradication spell on your cutie mark," said Biter Taste matter-of-factly, "Now, without your cutie mark, you can't use magic anymore for the rest of your days."
Starlight was too appalled to say something.
"How does it feel Starlight?" mocked Bitter Taste, "To be hit with the same spell as you did to those ponies who lived in your old village? To be deprived of the thing that defines you? To know how Twilight and her friends felt when you took their cutie marks by force?!"
Starlight looked positively peeved (excuse my language), "Well, at least I never tried to destroy their cutie marks!"
"Oh, real nice," said Bitter Taste sarcastically, "Setting yourself up as the lesser of two evils. Well my dear, at least I didn't meddle with the space-time continuum."
Starlight looked annoyed, "Am I ever going to live that down?"
"Quiet you!" Bitter Taste demanded, "Twilight may have had the heart to restrain any penalty that you deserve for your crimes, but I am another story!"
He uses his magic to pick Starlight up.
"Wha-what are you going to do to me?" Starlight asked in fear, "You already deprived me of my powers!"
"True," admitted Bitter Taste, "But even without your magic, you can still be a threat to me and the new ruler of Equestria. And I'm someone who knows when to tie up loose ends. Now let me think."
He spends a moment of contemplating before getting an idea.
"Oh, I know!"
He blasts a beam at Starlight and since she's an open target, she is hit with it with no problem. She cries in pain before she suddenly vanishes. He then gives a cruel smile.
"Let's see she try to get out of that. said Butter Taste.
...
Starlight found herself in a dark place.
"Hello?" Starlight cried out, but no answer came.
"Is anyone here?"
She decided to look around and she saw a barely lit place and walked to it.
"Well, this looks helpful," she snarked.
She wet into the lit location and saw saw that it was composed of a bunch of broken down gem-like rocks, with some of them still on the wall, and a small cave in the wall. From the amount of spider-webs shown, it looks like this place is ancient.
"Wait a minute," Starlight started to muse before giving a shocked look.
"I'm in the caves beneath Canterlot!"
TO BE CONTINUED...