What if Starlight Initially Won?

[Wonderbolt Slipstream 263]

What would happen if Starlight won while in equality village?

[ggg-2 3,550]

Then the rest of season 5 wouldn't exist.

[Once In A Blue Moon 894]

I suspect that Celestia would eventually notice the absence of her former student and Starlight's plans would still be undone. One potential difference would be if Starlight then proceeded to take vengeance against Celestia using the time spell rather than going after Twilight. If we assume that the crystal map would still use Twilight to intervene then the season finale would be similar in premise if not in content - potentially seeing Starlight interfere in events throughout Celestia's lifespan (who knows how many thousands of years of history.) 

Whilst seeing more of Celestia's past would be interesting, I think that the alternative outcomes presented in the finale are more interesting due to their relevance.

[Drunkfrank 1,125]

Spike would eventually notice how long they were gone, remember where the map marked, and call in Celestia to help.
Celestia would one shot Starlight

Starlight would go back  in time to take revenge against Celestia
Instead of magic equality like Twilight and Starlightr Celestia would easily body Starlight and fix everything. However Celestia wouldn't give Starlight a reformation.

[Goat-kun 2,498]

Knock, knock.

Who's there?

Storm King.

Storm King who?

Storm King who has an army of creatures who don't have cutie marks and can defeat powerful ponies like the trash they are. Thank you for keeping the last pony princess safe for me, now hand her over and watch helplessly as we sack your village. Time travel? Powerful magic? I raise you one angry unicorn and a petrifaction thingamajig.

[Thrond 3,257]

It depends on what you mean by "won." If Twilight & co. were simply held in the cell for much longer, I suppose someone else would step in before actual damage could be done, but if she held out long enough, the mane six might have absorbed enough of the brainwashing that they'd have trouble re-integrating into society. Now that would be interesting, albeit fairly dark. 

[ShootingStar159 2,155]

I mean, when you look at it a certain way, Starlight did win. Sure, she got kicked out the village, but in the end she got what she always wanted, friends who wouldn’t leave her.

Honestly, there is a lot of ways it could go down. But if you want a “canon” alternate ending, in other words an ending that could actually happen on the show, than I think Twilight would still be able to connect with Starlight and eventually convince her what she was doing was wrong. It’s not like it took much effort on Twilight’s part to convince her she was wrong, all she had to do was stop trying to beat Starlight and start trying to understand her.

 

Edited April 15, 2018 by ShootingStar159

[EpicEnergy 22,082]

Equality would have spread, and Equestria as we know it would have been ultimately destroyed. Starlight would be a dictator, with everypony brainwashed into believing her ideologies.

[Evil Pink One 12,986]

Truth be told starlight would've killed the villains IF she ruled Equestria who knows.... She might've been a good ruler.

Control is important... Which she clearly has experience.

Power... Yup she ain't an alicorn and she can kick ass...

Truth be told who ever wins is painted as the hero and who ever loses is either painted as a villain.

If twilight lost I bet haters would show up and support starlight. Etc. 

Who knows really?