Sunset’s couch-bed wasn’t anything fantastic, but it was the Cloudsdale Deluxe Hotel compared to Starlight's sleeping bag. The bag provided less cushion than the carpet underneath her, and there was hardly any wiggle room to speak of – not at all helped with the other sleeping bags around the room. The pillow that Pinkie gave her was comfortable enough, at least, but even that was less preferable to her previous accommodations. All this, along with her still not being fully accustomed to her body, made her spend at least an hour tossing and turning before she was able to fall to sleep.
So, when she finally did wake up, she found the room surprisingly empty and devoid of life. Just as she wondered what had happened to every… body (nailed it!), she suddenly could make out indistinct voices coming from outside, through the wide-open bedroom door. She pulled her body out of the sleeping bag carefully, before slowly dragging herself out the room.
She followed the noise down a flight of stairs, holding onto the handrail to not trip over her own feet, and a couple of hallways and corridors later, she had found herself in the kitchen. Six girls politely chatted around a large, round, wooden table; while Pinkie Pie was baking a distinctly doughy breakfast -- another similarity between her and her pony counterpart --, spills and drips already marking on the counter in front of her.
Starlight quietly took her own seat.
“Oh, good morning, Starlight!” Sunset Shimmer said, with a kind smile that always managed to make Starlight feel warm and fuzzy inside.
“And a good morning to you, too!” she happily replied.
“We were just chatting about how awesome your visit has been so far,” said Rainbow Dash, leaning toward Starlight.
“...Really?” said Starlight, eyes widening. Though the praise was unexpected, this time she accepted it eagerly.
“Yes, darling,” Rarity replied kindly. “We’ve definitely enjoyed your company.”
“I’m glad you two have gotten along so well,” Fluttershy smiled to Sunset Shimmer.
“I know,” Sunset beamed, “I didn’t think much of bringing her here at first, but it didn’t take us long to realize just how much we had in common together. Plus, it felt really nice to show a fellow unicorn what it’s like to live here.”
Such phrasing reminded Rainbow Dash to ask a particular question on her mind: “…How did you survive when you first arrived in this world, anyway? I can’t even imagine how hard it must have been to turn into… well, one of us.”
Sunset slightly cringed at the question. “I… honestly don’t want to talk about it.”
“Well, why not?” Starlight asked all of a sudden. “I feel there’s nothing wrong with talking about these things with your friends.” Her expression was subtle, yet innocent.
Sunset Shimmer turned to face Starlight, still a little uncomfortable. “It’s… not exactly a part of my life I like to look back on. You probably understand.”
Everyone paused in silence for a moment, before Applejack finally summed it up. “Well, I think it’s best we respect her wishes. After all, I think all of us have dark secrets of our own.”
“Mine was certainly dark. You could say it was my personal midnight,” Twilight muttered.
Sunset patted her on the back, and Twilight's shoulders relaxed, comforted by the gesture.
“Oh, I’m sure it can’t be any worse than what I’ve done…” said Starlight before she could think.
“Somehow, I doubt it,” Sunset sighed. “You manipulated a village; at least they still had a choice in the matter.”
“Well…” Starlight began, only to hesitate. She wasn’t sure her friends should really know about her previous acts. But the more she thought about it, the more she figured – if these friends were anything like Princess Twilight’s, they would understand for sure; not to mention they have earned her trust. So, after a deep breath in, she continued: “…See, my only fillyhood friend pretty much left my life just after he discovered his special talent. This led to me wishing everyone in the village to be equal, to prevent this from happening to anypony else. So, I…” she shrinked before letting out the last part, “…took away their cutie marks.”
The six just gave perplexed looks upon mention of the pony-specific symbols at first, but they didn’t have too much time to think as Sunset Shimmer suddenly went from curious to serious. “Wait… you used magic to take away the town’s cutie marks?”
Starlight solemnly nodded, nervously leaning herself as far back as she could in her seat.
“…Why would you do something like that?!” Sunset said, suddenly growing louder while slamming her palms on the table. “Don’t you know how dangerous it is to use magic against cutie marks?”
“I just… didn’t want others’ special talents to get in the way of friendships again… And I just kept telling herself that it was right thing to do.”
Not even a millisecond after she finished, Sunset continued, just as thunderous as before. “Did you even think about…”
She stopped herself mid-sentence when she saw the other girls staring at her with concern, with Applejack and Pinkie also gesturing wildly for her to calm down.
Remembering to always take her friends’ word, she gave herself multiple deep breaths before she found herself able to continue in a more subdued tone. “…Sorry, I just get like that when I hear people are misusing magic for… selfish reasons.”
Twilight quietly nodded.
“Not that I’m really one to talk,” Sunset added on. “I’d say what I did was worse.”
Rainbow shrugged slightly, while Pinkie went back to finish her cooking.
Starlight, still timid in voice, couldn’t help but be intrigued. “…What exactly do you mean by that? I don’t see how what I did is really any better from some…” She barely resisted a chuckle, “…zombie army.”
“It’s probably best ya don’t know,” said Applejack. “It took a long time for the school for forgive her, and we always know not to remind Sunset herself about it.”
“But I told her about what I did, didn’t I?”
“Well, let’s just say we’re kind of sugarcoating the details a little bit,” Rainbow Dash replied.
Starlight’s interest only peaked even further, despite her better judgement. She completely failed to notice Sunset crossing her arms and looking toward Pinkie out of discomfort.
“Well, judging by her reaction I could only assume what I did was worse. And if I was able to spew it out to you all, I don’t see why…”
“I stole and used Princess Twilight’s crown to seek revenge on Princess Celestia for not giving me what I wanted,” Sunset finally blurted out, reluctant and ashamed. Turning her head right back towards Pinkie, who was putting her treats in the oven in typical Pinkie fashion, she tacked on: “And don’t even ask what I did before all that.”
There was a long, awkward pause. The non-Equestrians looked all around the table, either confused, exhausted, curious, or worried. The five could tell just from the expressions what exactly everyone was thinking, even if they had no idea what to say.
The silence was finally broken by Pinkie Pie, now leaning against the nearest wall, lowering her smile after letting the tone sink in. “Hey, why are all my besties down in the dumpies?”
“Sunset just told me why she thought her past deeds were worse than mine,” Starlight replied without thinking. “She certainly has me beat on the revenge part, at least.”
“Wait... revenge?” said Fluttershy, scratching her head. “I don’t recall you saying anything about that.”
Starlight bit her tongue, realizing what she just implied. “Oh, uh… sorry, I meant to say… uh, ‘past deeds’,” she innocently smiled. “I just misspoke, happens all the time.”
Even though none of the girls bought her fib, only Sunset felt the need to speak up about it, bringing her full attention back to Starlight as she did so. “I don’t know, after my own statement and how anxious you’ve been toward a lot of things, I can only assume there’s more to your story as well.”
The accusatory, uncomfortable tone made Starlight tense. “Wait, why do you find it okay for you to hide these details and not me?”
“Honestly, darling, she does have a point there. We probably should at least respect her desires,” Rarity said.
Sunset sighed, knowing deep inside that she shouldn’t be upset. But no matter what her conscience told her, her mind just couldn’t let it slide. “I feel it’s important to know what kind of magical abilities Princess Twilight’s student has. I would like to know exactly the Princess has been up to, after all.”
“…I don’t know, it does sound a little suspicious, but c’mon, ya should know better than anyone that Starlight Glimmer’s been quite the pleasant guest,” Applejack said .
“Not to mention… the mirror,” Twilight shuddered.
As much as Starlight appreciated those who sided with her, she couldn’t help but feel like she was being backed into a corner – not just because of Sunset’s insistence, but also out of how much it was even discussed to begin with.
Pinkie Pie zipped from one side of the table, to the other, and leaned to the wall closest to Starlight. “Ah, come on girls,” she said. “It’s not like we haven’t had our fair shares of scary demons and magical mishaps. Surely what she has to say can’t be anything out of the ordinary… which isn’t so ordinary in hindsight, but still.”
Sunset put her head out of her hands, and solemnly explained herself. “It’s just… after hearing about how harmful her magic can get, it kind of scares me as to what she’s even capable of…”
It was at that moment that Starlight couldn’t keep her temptation in any longer, and no matter how wrong it was, she had to get it out – and did so as quickly as her lips possibly could. “I continuously messed with the Sonic Rainboom that gave the entire council their marks so I could get back at Twilight for disrupting my system of equality.” The instant she finished, she slammed her head on the table.
“Or… maybe it can be a little unordinary,” Pinkie Pie murmured, slightly nervous. She then jumped right back to the oven to check on her culinary treats.
Sunset, her face and arms trembling, quickly leaped off her chair without a word and tightly grabbed Starlight’s arm, her eyes glowing pure white. Starlight’s lips mouthed a simple “What”, only for her own eyes to widen with dread upon recollection of Sunset doing the exact same thing to Juniper Montage.
“Sunset, wait…!” Applejack exclaimed, jumping out of her seat to approach the two girls.
“Did the Dazzlings finally get to you?” Pinkie exclaimed simultaneously, prompting a quick, confused gaze from the other five.
But no matter how much they attempted to remind Sunset, all she did was suddenly start to pull Starlight upstairs, leaving the six too speechless to speak up any further. Rainbow Dash, using her super speed, beat them to Pinkie Pie’s room to blockade it with her arms spread out wide. “Sunset Shimmer, it’s not like you to act like this,” Rarity said sternly, who was the next to walk upstairs..
Sunset Shimmer paused and remembered to take a couple deep breaths. By the time she finished, Pinkie and Applejack caught up to them, while the rest preferred to observe from the bottom of the stairs.
“You’re… you’re right,” Sunset admitted at last. “It’s just… when I find out someone has been acting this callous with magic so powerful… I can’t help but get annoyed, especially considering what I and a few others went through.”
Starlight only got more nervous, gulped nervously. That wasn’t lost on the others. “But.. but…” She knew she had to say something, but she had no idea what.
“I learned from when I did something like that, didn’t I?” Twilight brought up, from halfway up the stairs.
“She did it twice, not to mention way worse!” Sunset said, slamming her fist on the top of the railing, which made Twilight go back down a few steps.
“Well, it’s safe to say these nice girls could have done without your own eruption,” Starlight snapped back. “Not to mention I actually bothered to confront my past; surely it wouldn’t hurt to give Princess Celestia a visit once in a while to…”
“You… you wouldn’t understand!” Sunset retorted, with tears starting to build.
“Uh, girls…” a concerned Fluttershy said, her voice obviously being too quiet to get either girl’s attention.
“I’m fairly certain you just said that I would.”
“Well, that was before I learned about just how… careless you’ve been!”
“Uh, you sure this is solving anything…?” Applejack asked.
Still not listening, the two just kept glaring at each other bitterly. With her now getting a more direct look at Sunset’s negative mood than ever before, Starlight suddenly felt her heart sink, thus she too broke into a sob of tears.
“No… it’s you who doesn’t understand! I didn’t mean to hurt anypony!”
Before Sunset could respond, Starlight rushed down the stairs and, feeling the need to escape the air of negativity, escaped out the front door. As soon as she ran outside, she could only think of one place she knew how to get to that could also help calm her down, and she continued heading in that general direction.
Back in the house, there was finally enough of a quiet moment for Sunset to collect her thoughts and regain her composure. Only now did it fully dawn on her what exactly had happened, and the already horrible throb in her chest was only made worse by the worried, anxious looks on the others’ faces.
“I… I… I don’t know what came over me,” she cried. “I don’t know why I still manage to... screw up like this!”
“You let your own pet peeves regarding the use of magic get the better of you.” said Twilight, but gentle her voice may have been, Sunset still couldn’t help but feel reproached.
“What she means is,” Rarity said, “that we all lose our temper from time to time. I’ll admit, while I do agree she was careless and all, Princess Twilight clearly saw enough good in her to take her in.”
“It’s not exactly that,” said Sunset, wiping off tears with her arm, “though it certainly doesn’t help. It’s just… I got so upset at her, I drove her out of the house.”
“Aww, and I wanted to show her my topping surprise!” Pinkie took a blueberry with grains of sugar out of her pocket, and tossed it into the air,the majority of the blueberry juice landing right on the wall between Sunset and Rarity.
“I’ll just clean that up later,” Pinkie shrugged, before the oven played a cheery, familiar tune. “Ooh, muffins are ready!” She zoomed back into the kitchen, minding her own business.
“Don’t worry, Sunset,” said Applejack reassuringly, approaching Sunset’s side. “You’ve definitely done a much better job at changing yourself for the better than most others would have.”
Fluttershy added. “Yes, and I think it’s safe to say that, for the most part, you’ve definitely grown into someone I think we could all look up to.”
“Thanks. But… will she ever forgive me for just turning on her like that? What is even going to happen to her now that she’s on her own?”
“On it!” Rainbow Dash said, just before she once again flashed with superhuman speed, running out of the house to follow Starlight’s path.
Sunset, knowing she had come up with a plan of sorts, finally was able to stop her tears. Her guilt, however, still roared inside of her.
***
“So, what basically happened was… I said some things, she said some things, and we both yelled at each other and got into this big fight.”
Starlight Glimmer was sitting with Juniper Montage at a table in the mall’s food court, enjoying a nourishing, refreshing lunch of a chef salad and a hamburger, respectively.
Juniper Montage chewed her juicy sandwich -- which a part of Starlight found disturbing, while the rest found strangely tempting.
“Well, I’ve certainly had my fair share of conflicts like that. My uncle and I would argue over what I was allowed to do on set, and my career counselor seriously thought I’d be a better project manager than an actress.” She replied flatly after she swallowed, rolling her eyes. “And of course, there’s that thing with the mirror and…” She paused, looking down. She knew she didn’t have to finish her sentence, nor did she want to.
“Don’t get me wrong, even the best of us get into fights,” Starlight agreed. “But Sunset Shimmer… she’s just been so nice to me during my visit. She let me sleep at her place, she showed me so many wonderful things around here, and she’s just overall been a really nice person to be around,… until… well, that happened.”
“So?” Juniper asked, slightly leaning after placing her burger back down onto her plate. “It just sounds like water under the bridge to me. I mean, you said the stuff with the town happened how many months ago? And besides, like you said, it’s not like she never did anything like that.”
“It was more about… the specific context.”
Juniper shrugged. “Well, I suppose that makes a little more sense. Though I have a little trouble remembering exactly what she did say the other day -- I actually thought she said something about some pony world… now that would be crazy, right?”
Starlight chuckled nervously.
“Anyway, I’m not really sure why you turned to me to help you out with this,” Juniper said. “But I suppose it is the least I could do after you offered me a second chance… besides paying for lunch, anyway.”
She took another bite from her burger before responding, while Starlight picked slowly at her salad.
“Honestly, I guess you should really consider what exactly you both got upset about. Y’know, what led her to feel this way, and what led you to feel that way -- that kind of jazz. I can’t say I know much about how these friendships work, but what I do know is -- sometimes things just don’t go your way, and you need to move on.”
Starlight paused, expecting more out of her new friend. After the silence became a little awkward, she responded: “...Is that really it?”
“Well, I did say you couldn’t exactly expect a lot out of me.”
“I mean, I believe you and all, but… it’s hard to move on when you know how much you’ve frustrated someone who has otherwise been so incredibly accepting, interesting, and kind…”
“She got incredibly upset at me, too,” Juniper brought up. “But when I put her in danger like that, she still found it in her heart to forgive me. I can’t imagine it would be any different with you, unless you also happen to have her in a magic mirror.”
“I can’t say that I do,” Starlight replied playfully.
This managed to get a chuckle out of Juniper, as she continued eating her burger. Starlight thought about the advice, and responded accordingly. “I so want to believe you, but I guess I’m just worried I’ll… make her upset again. After all, it was my big mouth that got us into this fight in the first place.”
Juniper paused to swallow her food before responding. “Well, if there’s anything Uncle Canter told me that I took to heart, it’s that - when you are being watched, be it a camera or live audience, you should always know what to say to leave the best impression you can.”
“But… but…” Starlight sputtered, trying to come up with another response, but found herself at a loss. The funny thing is, she always knew what to say when put in a leadership position, but there was something about more casual situations that made her either too anxious or too carefree. She sighed, “I guess I just didn’t take these exchanges seriously enough before. In hindsight, I feel stupid for not figuring this out earlier…”
Juniper had just taken the last bite out of her meal as Starlight finished. “Well, you told me it’s never too late to make up for your mistakes, I guess the same applies to you.”
It dawned on Starlight just how true that statement actually was, particularly after recalling how Princess Twilight took her in after her time travel mess. Now it only came off as even more obvious to her, but she held back a frown to express her gratitude.
“So it does. Thanks for your help, Juniper Montage. I guess you were the person I had to talk with to feel better.”
Juniper stood off her chair and posed proudly like a movie star in a photo shoot. “Yep, just goes to show that even I amaze myself sometimes,” she replied. “But anyway, I must be heading back to work; my break’s almost over. Thanks for coming by to see me again, Starlight!”
“Oh, you’re the one to thank,” said Starlight modestly, holding out her arm to Juniper, who returned it with a handshake. This one proved much more firm and genuine.
After waving each other goodbye, Starlight returned to her seat at the table, resuming her dish of leaves, cheese, and various other veggies while becoming lost in her own thoughts yet again. As surprisingly useful as the advice she got was, she still wasn’t sure exactly how confident she felt about facing someone whose last memories of her were just that… unpleasant, to say the least. This was something she knew for sure she had to think long and hard about.
***
Sunset Shimmer’s spirits slightly rose after enjoying Pinkie Pie’s homemade blueberry muffin, but even with that and a little time to herself in the bedroom, nothing could fully cheer her up after the little episode. Just the fact that she might have driven off such a great friend with her temper left her ashamed, embarrassed, and somewhat worried about the future all at once. It doesn’t help that the last thing she wanted to occur at this point in her progress was a relapse.
The two main questions in her head were “What was I even thinking?” and “What even came over me?”, her mind constantly trying to reason through one or both. But try as it might, it simply couldn’t. Sure, Starlight was a dangerous magic user, but in her fit she overlooked one key detail -- Starlight has changed. Just like how everyone else viewed herself right after her own reformation. The similarities were almost too much for Sunset to take in, so she grabbed her phone in an attempt to distract herself, only to find a text from Rainbow.
“Saw Star Glim with Juniper Montage. I think Star is talking about the fight. She seems to be calming down. I think she needs time 2 herself tho.”
The fact she now had one less thing to worry about was definitely reassuring to a certain degree, but still... Not knowing what else to do, she reached into her bag, grabbed out her journal, and began to write the first words she could think of.
Hey, Princess Twilight.
For the most part, Starlight Glimmer seems to have really enjoyed her visit in our world, as have my friends and I. The movie premiere went really well, she gained a new friend all on her own, and she particularly seemed to love the slumber party and spa trip.
However, not long ago, things got a little… sour between us. Basically, we ended up talking about our pasts and… we ended up basically one-upping each other in who was worse, and this inevitably resulted with us getting at each other’s throats, and she… ran away from me. Thankfully, we haven’t lost her but… I’m worried about our friendship. Will she forgive me after how I snapped at her? Will I be able to look past her faults in the future? How can we even fully make up from a fight of this magnitude?
I just don’t know what to do. I’m not sure if you’d have the answer, but I feel like if anyone would know, it’d be you.
Hope to hear from you soon,
Sunset Shimmer