//------------------------------//
// 18: The Last Feeling (Pt. 1) 
// Story: Shining Together 
// by Bookish Delight 
//------------------------------//

Workdays for School of Friendship Guidance Counselor Starlight Glimmer could be categorized as "boom" and "bust," with very little in between. It was either busy with students (and sometimes faculty!) lined outside her office to the end of the hallway—often in the aftermath of an Applejack class, interestingly enough—or it was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

Starlight eventually learned to appreciate the pindrops. 

The silent moments, the quiet hours, which had originally driven her stir-crazy and scrambling for any activity just to keep her mind occupied and the clock hands moving, now couldn't last long enough. She dozed with her eyes half-open, forelegs folded behind her head and hooves crossed atop her desk, as she stirred a cocoa-filled mug that had "WORLD'S BEST COUNSELOR" printed on the front. 

(It was a... thoughtful gift from someone Starlight cared about, and who Starlight knew cared about her—even given the fact that the cup would always show "(WHO ISN'T TRIXIE)" in slightly smaller letters below the main caption whenever filled with a hot beverage. Needless to say, Starlight had an important decision to make whenever it was time for morning coffee. Still, as usual, it was the sentiment that counted.)

It was a moment comprised of perfection, and a part of Starlight wished it could last forever. She loved her position, but sometimes, after seeing one student after another for hours at a time, her mind working at full capacity to deal with life and scholastic problems on the fly every moment... well, let's just say that had she the chance to relive her offer for the position over again, with her current knowledge, she might have thought twice about it.

Before still accepting it, of course. But still twice.

A knock at the door heralded the end of her blissful downtime. Starlight stopped stirring her cocoa, took a sip, took a deep breath as the chocolate and sugar flooded her happiness receptors, and put on her best welcoming smile.

No rest for the empathetic, she recited to herself as she walked to the door. You keep these students at their best. Let's get to it.

She opened her office door to see a blue griffon on the other side. There was, to Starlight's relief, no line stretching across the hallway, and the griffon himself seemed to be both checking—and relieved—for the same thing. "H-hi, Starlight," he said when he finally looked forward again.

"Gallus!" Starlight's expression brightened. "What a nice surprise! Emphasis on both of those words." Starlight meant it, too. She had files on Gallus just like the rest of the Friendship School's students, but his already had extra notes attached despite his never having visited before. She'd observed him enough, however, and had listed him as a type she quite was familiar with: snarky, a little shifty, but deep down,  caring and vulnerable. 

She could relate to all those things, because she'd been all of those things. Heck, sometimes she'd backslide on purpose, just to indulge. Only when Twilight wasn't looking, though.

"Y-yeah. Can I come in already?" Gallus looked back and forth again. "Don't exactly want anycreature seeing me here."

"Of course, of course!" Starlight opened the door wider and stepped aside to let him in. "You do know you're always welcome here, right?"

"I do. Didn't stop me from exercising every other option first, though." Gallus rolled his eyes. "But my friends here can only go so far, and you know my family situation is... unique." His voice lowered. "I also... might be here about exactly that."

Starlight nodded, understanding in moments. "Which explains the friends' limited effectiveness."

"Yeah. I mean, they're great and I wouldn't change 'em out for anything, but..." Gallus looked up at Starlight, showing wide, glassy eyes which looked to be hoping against hope. "I guess I just feel like I need to talk to someone who's been through a bit more."

Starlight smiled, placing an earnest forehoof on Gallus's shoulder. "I know exactly how that feels, Gallus. And, speaking honestly, I'm honored that you would place your trust in me. Thank you."

"Yeah, well." Gallus looked away with tinted cheeks. "Don't make me regret it."

"Of course. One second." Starlight's horn glowed, magically moving the chairs which were normally in front of her desk to the side, and pulling a mini couch across the office to where the chairs had been. "Make yourself comfortable," she said. "Can I get you a drink?"

"Just water," Gallus said. "Don't trust myself with sugar right now."

"Coming right up." Starlight poured a cup of water from the nearby dispenser, floated it to Gallus, then sat at her desk as he took a seat on the couch. "So, Gallus," she said, pressing her hooves together, "Tell me what's on your mind."