"Oh my darling little Starlight.....you have yourself a nice good cry. Mummy will be here for you, as long as you need. Always."

So this is Starlight Glimmer's mother, Glory.

Warmhearted, loving, and utterly brilliant, Glory was a unicorn with the extraordinarily rare ability to grant wishes. She once lived in Sire's Hollow with her husband Firelight, where she was a respected teacher in the community, and adored by her friends and family. Glory loved Starlight Glimmer terribly, as much as a mother could ever love her foal.

Benevolent wish magic is a talent that was thought to be long lost to history. It can only be wielded by magic-users who possess both immense power, as well as true purity of heart. Otherwise, the wish will backfire and become a curse. Discord, for example, can grant wishes, but always with a monkey's paw sort of caveat where the wish will inevitably end up making life worse for the wisher. Pandora, Discord's daughter, is also capable of wish magic, but cannot do so without the wisher being willing to trade something of equal value to the requested wish (eg. a lock of hair, a prized possession, a dubious favor, etc). Glory, however, could dispense wishes with no such ominous side effects or payment needed. While her power certainly wasn't infinite (she could/would not, say, grant immortality, or force a pony to fall in love), she was certainly capable of granting a pony courage, or healing a child from a minor illness, or helping an old widow recall a forgotten treasured memory.

However, there is a reason why wish-granters are a rare breed. Unbeknownst to Glory and her family, the strain of her wish magic was causing damage to the magical pathways within her horn and cerebral cortex. Following a holiday festival where Glory cast magic finale fireworks for Starlight and the neighborhood foals, she collapsed suddenly from a brain bleed. Although Firelight and Starlight remained at her bedside, Glory never regained consciousness, and died a few days later.

Her abrupt, unexpected death was deeply traumatic for young Starlight. It factored heavily into Starlight's unhealthy and obsessive attachment style (*cough*Sunburst*cough*), as well as the surly rebellious anger that plagued her teen years. Glory's memory sat within Starlight's subconscious for a long time, directly feeding into Starlight's bitter conclusion that exceptional talents were evil. As leader of Our Town, Starlight may have been manipulative and tyrannical, but it’s entirely possible she truly believed she was saving her cult members from the cruel consequences of magical gifts. Free yourself from your cutie mark, free yourself from suffering.....

Starlight is insecure in many of her relationships, even in the show. She latched into Sunburst hard enough that his leaving was enough for her to justify forming a cult, and later on, her cult members stepping out from under her control is enough for her to become verbally and physically abusive to them, even firing a blast of magic intended to maim or kill them. She formed unhealthy attachments to her cult followers and uses brainwashing and intimidation to prevent them from leaving her. Post-Our Town, she leans hard on Twilight and becomes anxious when Twi isn't around to guide her, often to the point of panic attacks. In my story, her attachment to Midnight is deep but shaky, due to Starlight's fear of abandonment, she tightens her grip around Midnight the further away her daughter pulls. Deep inside Starlight there's a little filly that doesn't understand why her mom had to go away, and this trauma affects nearly all of her relationships.

Firelight has never gotten over losing his wife, and spent much of Starlight's childhood spoiling her and drowning her with love so she wouldn't be too poorly affected by the loss of her mother.....this did not work. As Starlight is the last fragment of his family, Firelight greatly dreads accepting that she's grown up and doesn't need him as much anymore.

Starlight meanwhile acts out her longing for a mother by dutifully, almost desperately, playing the role of a mother herself. First to her cult followers, and later to Midnight Abyss. Much like her father before her, Starlight coddles and controls her daughter because she's terrified of being abandoned. Poor Glory remains a ghost that haunts her small family...... and it is after her that Midnight Abyss (Morning Glory) is named.

Starlight is deeply guilty over the fact that as the years go by, it's becoming harder and harder to remember much about her mother.....but at least she can remember Glory's voice. Sweet, gentle, and comforting, like a warm embrace on a cold winter night. (I like to think she sounded a lot like Moominmama.)