- Written by Jeremy Whitley, Art by Tony Fleecs, Coloring by Heather Breckel
The most legendary ponies are all gathered, and now they must face the might of the Sirens! The future of Equestria is at stake, and hidden danger looms in the group’s midst!
Tropes:
- Broken Pedestal: Sunburst seems to feel this way about Star Swirl (whom he previously idolized as much as Twilight) after hearing Stygian's story.Sunburst: Star Swirl misunderstood the Elements of Harmony. He discounted your contribution. He exiled you. He also dumped those sirens into a world where they nearly took over. And it's probably because he locked himself away that Luna ended up becoming Nightmare Moon. What if Star Swirl the Bearded is the greatest villain in the history of Equestria?
- Call-Forward:
- Star Swirl dismisses the idea of trying to talk the Sirens down, just as he would do in the future.
- Somnambula declares that if Stygian had an element, it would be "friendship".
- Commonality Connection: Sunburst and Stygian form a connection over their scholarly leanings.
- Heart Is an Awesome Power: When Star Swirl questions what Stygian brings to the group, the others tell him that he was the one who brought them together, with Somnambula stating that he represents friendship, which she feels is very important.
- I Just Want to Be Special: After seeing the Pillars defeat the Sirens, Stygian resolves to find a way to become a hero himself.
- I'm Not a Hero, I'm...: Stygian considers himself a scholar rather than a hero.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Star Swirl doesn't tell Celestia and Luna about the Pillars, believing it's "for the best" that they don't know about them.
- "Not So Different" Remark: After hearing Stygian's full story, Sunburst suggests that he could have turned out just like Twilight, as scholarly ponies with natural leadership skills, if things had gone differently.
- Start of Darkness: Stygian loses his opinion of the Pillars, particularly Star Swirl, and begins to resent his perceived inability to contribute, setting his path to becoming the Pony of Shadows.
- Thou Shalt Not Kill: Both Mage Meadowbrook and Star Swirl are revealed to believe in this.Meadowbrook: I'm a healer, Star Swirl. I protect and help ponies. I'm not going to help you destroy these creatures, evil or not.
Star Swirl: Destroy? Something so drastic would only be a last resort. But I do not believe anything so drastic will be necessary. - You Are Better Than You Think You Are: Sunburst tells Stygian this, pointing out that he had the wisdom to turn away the Sirens when he first encountered them, that he made it his mission to save his village from them, and that he gathered together the Pillars, helping them with their own problems on the way. He goes on to suggest that Stygian could have been just like Twilight if things had gone differently, assuring his fellow scholar that he is a hero.
