Maple jumped as a pink-and-purple whirlwind tore through the kitchen in a fit of tears and crashed out the door, leaving it swinging behind her. Willow arched an eyebrow, silently asking if she knew what that was about and whether she wanted to handle it herself. Maple shook her head.
A thumping announced the presence of another body coming down the stairs. Alder tumbled to the bottom, looking torn between panic and worry as he scurried halfway up to his mother. "I swear, I didn't do anything!" he emphatically protested, jaw flapping. "All I did was ask her if she wanted to be friends, and she took off like she'd seen a ghost! She didn't even tell me what her name was!"
Willow shushed him with a hoof, looking to Maple. "Do you want to go talk to her?"
Maple stared back, shrinking. "But I don't know what to do! I don't know how to handle-"
"Shhhh," Willow interrupted. "Then I've got it." She briefly knelt to Alder, whispering, "I believe you. I'll go talk to her, okay?"
The colt nodded, clear relief on his face. He turned around and scampered back up the stairs, leaving Willow to push her way outdoors and try to find Starlight.
Standing on the small patio that ringed her house, she raised her nose and sniffed. It wasn't raining, but the air told her there would soon be more... and she wagered Starlight would be able to tell that just as well as her. There was no trace of the filly, but with that in mind, the most likely direction she would have ran would be... this way.
Willow walked hurriedly, yet kept her steps soft. There was an art to sneaking up on a foal who had recently ran off. Approach too fast or loudly, and they'd likely avoid you. Appear without warning, and they'd think you were hunting them and clam up, or even bolt. You had to let them know you were coming without causing them to spook... you had to make them feel like they had a choice whether to see you or not. Fortunately, Willow was skilled in giving such choices.
She threaded her body through two close-pressed houses, slowing as she heard Starlight's sniffling come into earshot. One by one, she moved her hooves forward, tail down and posture loose until the filly saw her. Starlight looked up and hiccupped.
Instead of talking, Willow chose a dry spot and sat down a safe distance away, looking at an angle where Starlight was in her peripheral, but not her focus. Then she did nothing, waiting and listening to the filly's breathing. Thankfully, there were no pedestrians around.
Eventually, looking straight ahead, she said, "You gave my son quite a fright back there."
Starlight sniffled. "Sorry."
"Oh, I'm not worried about him," Willow said with a hint of reassurance. "If I was, I wouldn't be out here, right now. But he's a resilient child. He'll shrug it off quickly."
No response greeted her ears. Marginally, she turned her head and saw Starlight staring at the ground, unblinking. She waited three slow breaths, and said, "Is there anything I can do?"
That did the trick. Starlight didn't look up, but she muttered, "No. I'm fine. He just surprised me." She hesitated, and eventually added, "He reminded me of Sunburst."
Willow said nothing, sensing she wasn't done... and keep talking, she did. "He was my best friend back in Equestria. We did everything together, until the day h-he got his cutie mark. Then his parents packed him up and shipped him off somewhere where I'd never see him again. That's how things worked, back there. You accidentally do some magic and lift a dumb stack of books, and everyone says you have to do that for the rest of your life. That's why I ran away." Starlight paused, and wiped at her face with a hoof. "He's dead now. To me. Because they changed who he was. They've probably got him locked up in some dumb school full of books and make him go around telling ponies that he's going to shelve books for the rest of his life. Maybe the cutie mark makes him enjoy it, too. It's stupid."
Willow blinked several times while Starlight was rambling, getting the feeling that she was missing some important context. Perhaps it had been given to Maple, instead. But she shelved the confusion in the back of her mind, simply sitting and listening as the filly continued to talk.
"You're lucky not to have a cutie mark," Starlight finished glumly. "You never had to change who you are. Or had any other dumb ponies try to change it."
Willow's heart sank slightly. "Would you believe me if I told you I regret not getting one?"
"What?" Starlight narrowed her eyes. "No."
"Good," Willow sighed. "Because I don't. There's no point in worrying what might have been."
Starlight looked suspiciously at her. "Buuut?"
"But that doesn't mean my life has never been involuntarily changed," Willow said softly. "Life happens. And with it come all sorts of twists and turns that make you live in ways you'd never imagine... and those don't always happen when a pony gets branded. Finding the power to make your dreams come true is a big change... but it's not the only thing that can happen out of nowhere and never be undone."
"Huh?" Starlight stood up and took a step closer.
Willow spread her forelegs, still sitting up and looking as far as the distance would let her. "Come here. I have a story I'd like to tell you, if you don't mind..."
"A story?" Starlight moved closer. Her voice was no longer shaking. That was a good sign.
"A story," Willow repeated. "About when I was younger. Maple and Amber are in it, too. When we were young, we were quite close. We still are, but for different reasons."
Starlight stopped. "You're not going to try to convince me to get a cutie mark, are you?"
Willow glanced down at her own, bare flank, and laughed ruefully. "Do I look like the best pony to tell you that?" She shook her head, and added, "I'm not, Starlight. I don't want to convince you of anything. I just want to tell you about the time my life took a giant turn nopony saw coming... not me, at least. And how it had nothing to do with getting branded at all."
"Why?" Starlight looked unconvinced, but she took a step closer.
"Because it sounds like you were perfectly happy with your life and how it was going, until something changed you couldn't control." Willow sighed, motioning again for Starlight to join her and looking away. "I just wanted to show you that I know how that feels. And while I'm not going to try to convince you of anything..." Her gaze softened. "I don't want you to take it out in the wrong place."
She received no verbal answer... but did feel something soft brushing up against her leg. She looked, and Starlight was there, trying to appear noncommittal and doing a very poor job of it. Laughing slightly, she lifted the limb and tucked Starlight against her chest. "I take it that's a yes, then?"
"Okay," Starlight mumbled, sitting under Willow with her back to the mare.
"Well, then," Willow sighed as thunder rumbled in the distance. It would probably begin raining soon; she fluffed her fur in defense. "It all began on that day, ten years ago..."