Twilight stared in shock at the sight of her sister slapping one of her best friends. Things for Starlight weren't going particularly well in the friendship category, and Twilight felt she was to blame. What if she let go of Starlight a little too early when she wasn't ready? What if the reason she wasn't ready for these things was that her mentor failed her in that regard? Perhaps the nagging voice in her mind was right the whole time, she was never good enough to be Starlight's teacher. She wasn't good enough to be a princess for all she knew. The voice inside her head spoke again.

"You're nothing, you're weak, worthless. You failed your friends, your sister, and Celestia. After all, the incident in the Empire proved that you can't do anything. You had to have your friends come in and save the day. With Tirek, you had to rely on your friends once more. And let's not forget Chrysalis. You were helpless, pathetic. You had to have your sister and her sub-par band of so-called 'heroes' come in to save you. Face it, you don't deserve those wings, Celestia made a mistake with your ascension."

Twilight sank to the floor. "No... that's not true... I'm not worthless..." she sobbed.

"Oh really? Then why did Celestia tell you that you'd failed her, and yourself?"

Her eyes widened at the mention of her vision in the Crystal Empire. "That wasn't real, I know it wasn't!"

"It may not have happened, but that doesn't mean Celestia hadn't toyed with the idea of getting rid of you. We both know it, the only reason she kept you around was as a last resort. It's shame, really. So much power, so much potential, all gone to waste," the voice replied. Twilight's eyes began watering as she lay on the cold castle floor. She didn't even notice the black mist flowing from her horn and didn't bat an eye as it took a form similar to her own, only this version was made entirely of shadow and was slightly taller. The misty figure used a shadowy tendril to lift it's double's head, wiping some tears from her eyes. "There there Twilight, I can't say I blame you. Celestia has been wasting your talents, having you save her country instead of fine-tuning your own abilities and using them for your own gain. She used you, just as she did her sister. Luna had talents that were darker, more mysterious and unknown. Of course, Celestia didn't want anything but light in her kingdom, so she made her sister suppress her talents, and you know how that worked out. And now, she's repeating history," the shadow said. Her voice was alluring and seductive, an entrancing whisper.

"Y-you're not wrong. Ever since I was a filly, Celestia has been telling me to only go towards the light, and never look back. She pretty much taught me that anything not in her teachings was not to be dealt with by anypony," Twilight admitted. "I'd be lying if I said she was flawless." Twilight's double seemed to become a little more solid and started developing a distinct mouth and teeth. Seeing that it had become more grounded in the physical world, the figure, unknown to Twilight, gave a malicious grin and disappeared back into her horn. She got up and stretched her joints, only then realizing that despite how long the exchange had seemed, it was really only a few seconds. Weird, she thought. It occurred to her that she ought to check on Starlight, given her recent discovery. "I just hope she's calmed down."

Starlight let out a scream as she blew up a picture she had of Sunburst, one of many pieces of memorabilia she had destroyed in her rage. She stared at the pile of shredded paper and broken glass. That was everything, she had no reminders left of Sunburst. Or Trix- no, she wasn't even going to think of her name. She sighed, glancing at the pictures of Twilight's friends that were on her dresser. She noticed that one picture was of her friend who shall not be named, hidden behind several other photos. Starlight pulled the picture towards her with her magic, blinking away tears at the thought of what she had just done. I hit her, I've never done that to anypony before, she thought in shock. Starlight laid there on her bed, for about a minute when she heard a knock at her door.

"Starlight?" Twilight called from the other side of the door. Starlight chose not to respond. She didn't want her former mentor to know that she was back where she had started. With no friends, anger issues, and no clue what was next. She was better than this, wasn't she? "No, not really," she said to herself. The sound of Twilight's hoof against the door filled her ears again. She didn't want to face her, not right now, at least. She was at her all-time worst since her, "redemption", if she could even call it that. Come to think of it, what exactly had she done to prove herself? She'd switched cutie marks with no guarantee it would work, and it sure as the sun wasn't right. She tried to use mind control, for Celestia's sake. And that wasn't even the worst she had done. If her barely leading a group of misfits and barely saving Twilight and her friends, and letting Chrysalis get away was her at her best... then what was she the rest of the time? She walked to the door and peered through the gap, and sure enough, Twilight was still there. Starlight almost felt guilty about this. Twilight was being so patient with her, and had absolutely no idea what she had done. Unless, she thought,she already knows, and she's still being so... nice. She didn't deserve this. Somehow, she knew Twilight believed she was a failure, and yet, she was giving her a chance. After all this. After nearly destroying the world as they knew it, multiple times, Twilight was kind enough to give her another chance. What a load of bull. Starlight lit her horn to levitate a blanket, which and put over the door to muffle the sound of Twilight's knocking. Despite this, she was still at the door. Starlight sighed. Might as well get it over with. However, the second she got up, a shockwave of pain went through her head. Starlight collapsed from the sheer pain of her headache and let out a soft cry of pain before losing consciousness.

"Shh...it's okay... Just close your eyes..."

Author's Notes:

DISCLAIMER: The views expressed by these characters on themselves and/or each other do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of the author and/or readers.

Sorry for not updating in like, a year. I'm not dead, by the way. I'm splitting this chapter into two parts because I'm too damn lazy to write an extra 500 words for Starlight's demon-shadow-thing encounter. I don't know what to call them yet. Sorry the ending is so shitty by the way.