//------------------------------// // A Comforting Confrontation // Story: A Glimmer of the Past // by milesprower06 //------------------------------// The next morning, Starlight Glimmer had awoken much, much more relaxed than she had been when she had winked into Our Town. She had taken Double Diamond up on that shower, of course, but it wasn't until Luna found her in her dream that she began to calm down. Luna promised her that she would talk to Twilight, and Starlight was betting that the Princess of the Night would be able to make her mentor understand far better than she could. So after thanking Our Town's second citizen profusely for the bed for the night, Starlight visited Sugar Belle's bakery for breakfast, when the town baker insisted she have something to eat before returning home, even though she didn't have a single bit on her at the time. She nibbled at the delicious muffin and sipped at the orange juice, because she wasn't quite ready to put 100% faith in the words of Princess Luna. She had set her mind at ease in her sleep, but now that she was wide awake, she was nervous about returning to Twilight. When she reached the halfway point of her muffin 10 minutes later, however, she realized that the longer she put it off, the worse she was going to feel, and she couldn't stay here all day. She believed Luna wholeheartedly when she said how worried Twilight had been after she vanished, and it wouldn't be fair to keep her wondering and worrying. Starlight finished her muffin, promised to return with a generous tip on her next visit, stepped out into the middle of the road, and lit her horn up, moments before vanishing. After a moment, Twilight's castle loomed in front of her as she reappeared in front of the steps to the main entrance. It was nearly 10:00 in the morning. Twilight was no doubt up and about by now. She took another deep breath, and trotted up the stairs, and went through the main doors, immediately going up to the second story and down the right corridor towards her room. She rounded the last corner... And saw Twilight sitting outside her open bedroom door and she stopped in her tracks. The Princess looked up at her with a smile, and Starlight's cheeks immediately went red. "Good morning Starlight. Wasn't sure if you'd walk in or just teleport in." The unicorn tried her best to smile back as she closed in on her mentor. "Listen Twilight, I'm really sor—" Starlight held her tongue when Twilight held up her hoof. "No, Starlight. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to invade your privacy. The only reason I unlocked your door last night was because I was afraid you had hurt yourself when I heard the startled scream and the lamp knock over. I was only trying to return an assignment I had forgotten to give to you." "Oh... Um, well, alright then." Starlight walked past Twilight into her room, and the alicorn followed her in. Starlight noticed that save for the wet diaper she had left here after teleporting, that everything else was where she had left it. "Luna did her best to explain what this side of you is, but I couldn't get very specific with her. Do you mind if I ask you a couple questions?" Twilight asked as Starlight slumped down into her beanbag chair. "Twilight, I'm living in your home. I can't promise it won't feel super awkward, but you can ask me whatever you'd like." Starlight immediately told her, cheeks flushing again . "First off, I want to immediately say that I don't have a problem with it. Luna was very clear in explaining that it was a part of who you are, and I certainly want to give you the space and privacy to nurture that part of yourself." "Th-thank you, Twilight. That means a lot." Starlight replied with a smile. She wasn't expecting that to be the first thing out of Twilight's mouth, and was honestly too petrified to dare ask herself. "So... How long have you had that stuff?" "A... A couple months." "That's all? That's how long you've had these desires? Luna suggested it was much longer and deeper." Twilight asked her, a bit perplexed. "No, no. I started getting these urges back a year ago when you first offered to take me under your wing. I guess there was a part of me that held on to my foalhood after Sunburst left all those years ago. I've only started indulging in it for the past two months or so." Twilight nodded in understanding. "Lastly... Luna said that there were likely some pieces of these fantasies that you're still longing for. I want to make myself as clear as I possibly can; if you want to keep this to yourself, say the word, and I will never mention it again. But..." Now it was Twilight's turn to tint her cheeks red. "I just want you to know... Sunburst and I are willing to try our hooves at being your... Caretakers... If you decide that's something you want to try. Luna asked him to provide a little more insight into what it was like for you growing up, and was ready to make him completely forget his time spent in your dreamscape, but it wasn't necessary. He's perfectly alright with this side of you too." Starlight gave her an absolutely dumbfounded stare, finding her next few breaths hard to come by. Now her oldest friend knew? "R-Really?" She said, barely loud enough for Twilight to hear her. The Princess of Friendship nodded. "If you decide that's something you'd like to try, just let us know. Weekends would probably work out best. And if not, like I said, you'll never hear a word about it from either of us. I just wanted you to know that we're up for it if you are. I don't want you to hide this part of yourself if you don't want to." Twilight's horn lit up, she grabbed Starlight's pacifier lanyard from the floor next to the beanbag chair, and fastened it around the unicorn's neck. "Take the rest of the day for yourself. I promise I won't open the door if you lock it, and I'll wait more than two seconds to open the door if I hear you knock anything over." Twilight said with a wink, then walked off back into the hallway, shutting the door behind her. Starlight wasn't sure whether she should have chuckled or fainted.