At least Starlight had a pretty good idea where to find Trixie—after all, she had told Starlight of her planned tour in great detail. She was heading for Little Trottington on her way to Rainbow Falls, from where she would either return to Ponyville right away, or take a detour to Rockville and the surrounding villages.
She couldn’t have gotten too far the night before, as she had left not too long before sunset. She probably hadn’t even crossed the Everfree Forest yet. With her cart slowing her down Starlight and Twilight would be able to catch up.
“Let’s hurry,” Starlight said. “I have a bad feeling about this.”
“I guess I could carry you—“
Starlight just stared at her. Several images from last night flashed before her mind’s eye, none of them making her even consider getting near Twilight’s sensitive wings, let alone riding on her… back. “Or I could just use my magic,” she said with a shaky voice. “Let’s go.” Without looking back at Twilight she cast her spell and, engulfed in the glow of her magic, she took off and sped down the road. The princess took off too and flew behind her.
The sun was shining brightly as Starlight flew along, towards the distant green wall that marked the edge of Everfree Forest. It would be a few hours before they would catch up, even considering the slower speed of a single mare pulling a cart. At least with Twilight flying behind her, she didn’t constantly feel reminded of last night.
And with that distraction out of the way, her mind could turn to the question she really hadn’t wanted to think about—but when they got to Trixie, she knew she’d need a good answer. At least if she was going to salvage her relationship at all.
What in Tartarus was I thinking?
Her thoughts turned to last night. Before she had ended up on the library sofa with Twilight. Was that the reason she had slipped up? Their fight, and Trixie’s departure? Was that all?
Sure, there had been a few fights recently, and they never seemed to lead anywhere. But that was just a phase, right? Trixie and she just needed to figure out where they wanted to take their relationship, and considering their respective temperaments it wasn’t surprising that they clashed occasionally. Starlight’s sense of order versus Trixie’s… irresponsibility? Maybe relentless independence sounded more positive…
Starlight’s thoughts inadvertently turned back to last night. Not too long after their fight…
***
“I can’t believe it,” Starlight muttered to herself when she found Trixie’s spot in the castle’s front yard empty. She had actually left. Without even a word. Just up and left, after Starlight had begged her to stay. Or rather, had screamed at her that she positively had to stay and that she was sick of Trixie’s constant trips—which amounted to the same thing, really.
Starlight turned to the castle. She considered blasting a magic beam at the nearby trees, just because, but heroically reined herself in. Instead, she slammed open the castle doors and stormed through the main hallway. Absentmindedly she wiped some tears from her face. What was she crying for anyway?
Before she even reached the stairs, the main library’s door opened, and Twilight’s head peeked out. “Starlight Glimmer?” she asked. “Is everything okay?”
“Yeah,” Starlight growled. “Just brilliant!”
“Sure? You look… Starlight, are you crying?”
“No!” she snapped. “I’m not crying! I’m totally peachy! Everything is a-okay!” There was a flash of purple light, and then she found herself enveloped in a gentle hug. Despite herself and everything, Starlight smiled weakly. “Gee, Twilight, I told you I’m fine.”
“And I chose to not believe a word you said, silly filly,” Twilight murmured. She released Starlight and took a step back. “Wanna talk about it?”
“Not particularly.”
“Then how about you get comfy in the library while I make us some tea, and then we’ll talk about anything you want, and specifically not about what upset you?”
It was impossible to resist the worried smile Twilight was giving her, and yet she had to try. “Is that an assignment from my mentor?”
“I can make it one,” Twilight said. “If I have to.”
Starlight chuckled and wiped her eyes. “Alright.”
“I’ll be there in a bit,” Twilight reassured her as she hurried off to the kitchen.
Settling into the cushions of Twilight’s favorite reading sofa—which was objectively the best sofa in the library—Starlight tried to calm down a bit. It wasn’t like she and Trixie hadn’t had this discussion before, she told herself. And it sure wasn’t the first time things between the two headstrong mares had turned heated.
But before she could revisit the argument, Twilight returned with two steaming cups of tea. “I’ve been working on a quick-boil spell for a while, and I think I’ve figured it out!” Twilight beamed, floating a cup over to Starlight before settling down on the sofa next to her.
For a while they just sat in silence, each levitating her cup and occasionally taking a sip. Eventually Twilight asked, “So, do you want to talk about it?”
“… no.” Before she could elaborate, she found herself wrapped in a soft purple wing and gently pulled in. With an exhausted sigh she leaned against Twilight’s shoulder, enjoying the warmth of the hug. She felt like she could finally relax and get some rest. Just let Twilight hold her for a bit, while she collected herself. “Thanks.”
“Was it the usual?” Twilight asked, her voice full of sympathy. Starlight felt a lump in her throat and nodded, just to be safe. It was as if Twilight could see right through her. Of course she knew of the troubles she and Trixie had been having, and she had always offered kindness and advice to Starlight. And not once had she said I told you so. “I’m so sorry, Starlight,” Twilight whispered and gently stroked her side with her wingtip.
“I can’t believe she ran off again,” Starlight muttered. “What’s the point of even having a fillyfriend if she’s never around? I mean, it’s safer for the castle, I guess, but… why can’t she just turn everything into teacups here?”
Twilight just continued to stroke her, not saying anything. Letting her process everything at her own speed. “It’s like she doesn’t even care how I feel.” She was welling up again, but this time it was alright. Twilight wasn’t going to think any less of her.
“I’m… very certain she does care.”
“Then why did she have to go? Why can’t she be here with me, the way you are?” Starlight huffed. She felt a few tears on her cheeks. Twilight didn’t reply and instead nuzzled her cheek.
Why couldn’t she feel this safe and taken care of more often?
***
At which point things had escalated very quickly, away from comforting-a-friend territory to, well, other things. To cheating territory. And horn territory.
Was she really that pathetic that her only way of dealing with an argument was to… do all these things with another mare? With Twilight? Was she really that big a jerk?
So she had been upset about the fight and Trixie’s departure, and Twilight had comforted her. But that was still no reason at all to start making out and end up… well. Comforting one another was what friends did. It was perfectly normal. Make-outs and worse were not.
On top of that, the fight hadn’t even been a new one. Or a big deal, either. Starlight had simply tried—again—to have a calm discussion about their living arrangements, maybe mentioning the cute cottage she had had her eye on for a while now. But before she could even get there Trixie surprised her with plans to go on yet another magic tour. To the south. The day after tomorrow, probably.
And then Starlight had just lost it. They had had discussions about the frequent tours, and Starlight had tried her best to convey to Trixie that she wanted her to stay in Ponyville for more than just a few days, and she just couldn’t believe that Trixie was pulling this kind of stunt again. That she was running off once more without even considering how Starlight felt about it. That she needed her independence.
What about my needs?I needed her to be around. Starlight hung her head, trying to not give into the anger that was still festering somewhere underneath the surface. Now was not the time.
Just when did everything become so difficult? she wondered.
But—had it really ever been any different? Even in their early days, when they had just become friends, there had been… incidents. The bottled up anger, for instance. Or Trixie’s behavior during Sunburst’s visit. And many other instances of unprovoked magical explosions or just plain old sticking her hoof in her mouth and saying or doing something stupid.
And yet, when they had started dating, nothing of this had seemed to matter anymore. She had loved Trixie’s unconventional ways. How she always challenged her. How independent she was.
Independent, my flank! Try selfish and irresponsible for a change!
But whatever she called it, it didn’t change how much she loved Trixie for just being her. For being irresponsible and sometimes not giving a darn about what anypony was thinking. For being reckless and a general safety hazard. For teaching Starlight to ease up a little now and then, and not freak out about all the vagaries that life with Trixie brought.
And for sometimes being so amazingly cute and vulnerable, when the two of them were alone…
“I can’t believe I did this to her,” she murmured to herself. “She deserves so much better.” She shook her head. “She’ll hate my guts, and rightfully so.”
“You don’t know that,” Twilight said from behind her.
“Yeah I do. I betrayed her trust, and she’s gonna hate me for it,” Starlight said glumly.
“And what makes you so sure? We made a terrible mistake, sure, but have you ever considered that she might actually want to salvage your relationship as much as you do? We’ll make sure this never happens again, and then—”
“I,” Starlight softly interrupted her.
“Huh?”
“I. It was I who cheated, not you, and I’ll make sure it never happens again. If she doesn’t send me packing right away, that is.”
“It takes two ponies,” Twilight disagreed. “You couldn’t have… done it without me.”
Starlight turned to have a look at Twilight. The princess looked almost as sullen as she did, staring down at her hooves. Starlight shook her head—she wasn’t going to allow Twilight to take the blame. Her relationship—her fault.
“Stop it, Twilight,” she said. “You know how things were between me and Trixie—“
“Are,” Twilight interrupted her. “Things are between you and Trixie.”
Starlight shrugged. “Fine, whatever. But you know the state of affairs. The arguments. Her irresponsibility. We just haven’t been doing great. I mean, let’s face it—it was probably just a matter of time. And opportunity.”
“So in other words, anypony would have sufficed,” Twilight murmured.
“I guess.” Starlight shrugged. “We should probably turn it up a notch. The anticipation is killing me.”
***
They travelled on. Before long they entered the green gloomy twilight of the Everfree Forest.
It was still not exactly a safe place, but after the Tree of Harmony had been restored the situation had gradually gotten better. There were still Timberwolves and all other kinds of dangerous critters, but during the day and staying on the main roads it was feasible to travel. They had made good progress, and by Starlight’s estimate they would catch up with Trixie shortly after passing the ruined Castle of the Two Sisters.
Twilight hadn’t spoken again for a while now, and so Starlight was free to brood over the previous day to her heart’s content. Or rather, as she told herself, revisit the case she was going to make once they caught up with Trixie.
What it came down to was, I was lonely and frustrated.
And then Twilight just happened to be there? Starlight sneaked a glance over her shoulder, back at Twilight, who was fluttering a few yards behind her.
If she was going to be honest with herself, Starlight had to admit that she still found Twilight hot. Just because she had eventually gotten over her crush—with generous help from Trixie—didn’t mean she had stopped finding her attractive. Those long, slender legs; the bright, curious eyes; the majestic wings; her powerful, powerful horn…
Starlight blushed, her mind inevitably returning to last night, and she tried to focus on something else. Anything else. Anything but the sensation of Twilight’s silky fur, and those things she had done with her tongue—
She pressed her hoof to her forehead. “That is not helping one bit!”
“Hmm?”
“Um, nothing!” There was no way she was going to discuss Twilight’s tongue tricks with her.
Not again.
Not even to beg her to show her how to do that…
Maybe in the unlikely case everything turned out well, to make it up to Trixie…
She shook her head. Not now!
What mattered was still what she was going to tell Trixie. Somehow Starlight assumed that mentioning her past crush on Twilight wouldn’t really help her case. If anything, Trixie would be even angrier.
Not that it mattered. Whatever her feelings for Twilight had been after moving to Ponyville—her feelings for her mentor, to be precise; for the Princess of Friendship no less—it had nothing to do with last night. It had been… an opportunity. At that rate, as Twilight had said earlier, probably anypony would have done.
Done it, she couldn’t help thinking.
And even if she had somehow acted on her long-gone crush on Twilight when she had kissed her back—and then her front—that didn’t change anything, she resolutely told herself. It may have been some delayed wish-fulfillment, but cheating was cheating, and that was that.
And what was she going to tell Trixie again?
“We’re getting close to the castle,” Twilight said. “The canopy isn’t that dense in this part. I’m going to fly up and see if I can spot her.”
“Yeah.”
With a few flaps of her wings Twilight gained height. Starlight didn’t look up. Just to be safe.
Anypony would have sufficed, Twilight had said. Was that really the case? Would Starlight have allowed this to happen if it had been anypony else? Somepony she hadn’t used to be crazy about? Somepony who didn’t happen to be the first pony in decades to be her close friend without the use of mind control magic?
Well, ponyfeathers.
And speaking of which—
She was interrupted by Twilight calling out from high above, “I see her! Looks like she’s set up camp at the old crossroads behind the castle gardens.”
“How far?” she called back.
“I’d say twenty minutes, maybe less if we hurry.”
“Then let’s.” Without waiting for a reply Starlight propelled herself forward. She heard Twilight flapping, and soon the princess was flying next to her, no longer in her wake. She couldn’t help but look at her. “You okay?”
“I guess.”
“You know, considering that technically you made me do this, you look… unwell. We can still back out, you know.”
“You still want to back out?”
“No kidding, Princess.”
“Then why don’t you? Did my appeal to your honorable side actually get through to you? Or are you simply aware that the Forgall spell isn’t going to work?”
“The latter,” Starlight immediately replied. If she knew a way to fix this situation without talking to Trixie, like casting a nice spell instead perhaps, she wouldn’t be here. And she’d definitely prefer that.
That spell would open certain princess-related possibilities, too.
She tore her eyes open and shook her head. Where had that come from? What a terrible thought!
If Trixie is being unreasonable and doesn’t kick my flank for what I did, I’ll have to do it myself!
Then they turned around a long bend and saw Trixie’s cart in a short distance, a campfire burning happily in front of it.
Time was up.
Trixie noticed them when they were about a hundred meters away. Surprised she stood up, a half-eaten sandwich dropping from her levitation magic. She made a few tentative steps towards the two ponies flying towards her, and when they were close enough, she greeted them warmly.
“What are you doing here?”
For a few seconds Starlight could just stare at Trixie. Maybe she should have started her planning with the first thing she’d say to Trixie, but as it was she just had no idea what to say.
Trixie finally broke the awkward silence. “If you’ve come to convince me to cancel my tour and come back to Ponyville, then forget it! Not even Princess Twilight will be able to sway the Great and Powerful Trixie, at least not today!”
“No, that’s…” Starlight trailed off.
“Starlight, just tell her,” Twilight urged her.
Starlight took a deep breath. “Trixie, there’s something I must tell you.” She noticed that her knees were shaking. She took another deep breath.
Then there was a flash of turquoise light.
“Starlight!” Twilight scolded. “What are you doing?”
“I can’t! I just can’t deal with this!” Starlight whined. She collapsed to the ground and buried her face in her hooves so she didn’t have to look at the magic bubble she had caught Trixie in. The puzzled expression frozen on the blue unicorn’s face would have been almost comical, had the circumstances been less messed up.
“Isn’t there anything you’ve learned about using powerful magic spells to avoid having to deal with friendship problems? As you may remember, this isn’t the first time this occurs, and I’m really wondering what else I, as your mentor, can do to make the lesson stick!”
Starlight shook her head to rid herself of the unwelcome thought. “It stuck! It really has stuck, I promise! Just this time… right now… I can’t, okay? I can’t confront her, not right now, in the middle of the forest, with you distracting me…”
“How in Equestria am I distracting you? I’m trying my best to help you focus on the task at hoof!”
“It’s not… I know you’re trying to help, but I… my thoughts… I keep thinking about last night, and having the… cornus delicti right in front of me is really not helping at all, if you know what I mean.”
“I think I might have a vague idea, yes,” Twilight murmured, blushing, and averted her gaze. “I am suffering from the same… affliction.” She nervously shuffled her hooves before adding “Cornus delictorum might be more accurate, actually. Because there were several instances…”
Starlight groaned. “Twilight, I really don’t care about the intricacies of Ancient Equestrian grammar right now!” She pressed her hoof against her forehead. “Whatever. I just never should’ve let you talk me into coming here.”
“I’m sorry I pushed you, Starlight. I thought it would be for the best.” Twilight hung her head.
“It wasn’t you damn fault!” Starlight cried out. “I came into your castle, and I had sex with you despite being with Trixie! None of this is your fault, so stop saying that, okay?”
"But it is!” Twilight shouted back. “I’m your mentor, for Celestia’s sake! I’m supposed to be responsible! I should never have gone along with it, because Starlight—I also had sex with you. And that makes it my fault as well!”
“Drop it already!” Starlight turned to Twilight and planted herself right in front of her, their snouts almost touching. “Stop it! I came to you, I cried into your coat, I kissed you, and I touched your—“
Twilight put her hoof on Starlight’s mouth to keep her from going into more unneeded detail. “But I went along. I didn’t have the fortitude to stop you because…”
“Huh?”
“Never mind. The fact of the matter is that I didn’t stop it and instead went along with it… several times… and that makes it my fault too.”
The pleading look in Twilight’s eyes was almost impossible to bear. Her mouth still covered by Twilight’s hoof, Starlight rolled her eyes, but finally nodded her agreement. Twilight sighed, looking relieved, and removed her hoof. “Still doesn’t change the fact that I’m not ready to confront Trixie.”
“It’s the right thing to do, you know,” Twilight murmured.
Starlight thought about that for a few seconds. Then she nodded again. “I know.”
“Then—“
“Just not now. I need some time to process this. I’m not ready!” She turned away from Twilight and began pacing. “I’m just not ready.”
Twilight followed her steps for a few moments, not saying anything. Then she asked, “So what are you going to do then?”
“I’ll tell her,” Starlight said. “Just not right now. Right now I’ll wish her good luck for her tour and tell her that I’ll be missing her and that I’ll be waiting for her to return. We’ll go back to Ponyville, and I’ll make use of the time to get myself sorted out. And when Trixie is back I’ll tell her. And hope she’ll forgive me.”
Twilight nodded solemnly. “Okay.” She cleared her throat. “If you need support I’ll be glad to… I’ll be there.”
Starlight smiled and shook her head. “Much appreciated, but I think I should probably keep my distance from you for a while. Distraction and all, you know?”
Twilight swallowed audibly. “Yeah,” she said, hanging her head. “I guess that makes sense.”
For a while they stood in front of each other, both mares hanging their heads and lost in their thoughts. Finally Twilight nodded towards Trixie, who was still suspended in the turquoise ball of magic. “You should probably release her.”
Starlight nodded and discarded the spell. Trixie stared at her, and she hurried to say, “Trixie, dear, so glad we caught up with you. I really just wanted to wish you good luck for your tour, and… yeah. I’m gonna miss you back in Ponyville, but I realize that you have to do this.”
Trixie glared daggers at her. “You do realize that your stupid bubble is not sound proof, right?”
Twilight and Starlight spoke in unison. “Oh fiddlesticks.”
***
Trixie faced them, her head lowered and her front legs apart, almost as if she was about to charge at them. Her wizard hat sitting cocked on her had somewhat ruined the threatening image. She was shaking.
“You… I… you… the Great and Powerful…” she stammered, trembling with fury.
Starlight rushed over to her and made to hug her in an attempt to calm her down, but before she reached Trixie she found the lower part of her body engulfed in an electric blue glow, holding her in place. “Trixie, I can explain,” she cried.
“What is there to explain?” Trixie shouted. “You’ve explained everything already! I’m not that stupid, you know!”
“Trixie, I don’t think you’re stupid. We both don’t!” Starlight looked over to Twilight who nodded emphatically.
“Oh, is that right? Thanks, that means a lot, coming from the two of you!” Trixie sat down on her haunches. She looked stunned. Shaking her head, she said, “I was an idiot though, wasn’t I. For trusting you.”
“Trixie, I know I messed up, and you’ve every right to be mad, but please, we can fix this! Let me re-earn your trust!” Starlight pleaded.
“Don’t bother!” Trixie cried. “I know perfectly well that you were just settling for me because you couldn’t have her!” She pointed an accusing hoof at Twilight. “Isn’t it right? Just like everypony else you fell for those shapely flanks. The kind, loving eyes. The strong yet sensitive wings. The powerful horn. And she’s a princess to boot!” She snorted. “Nopony could have expected you to settle for a washed-up second-rate showmare, and yet you did. At least that’s what you made me believe!”
Starlight looked at her in despair. Trixie had it all wrong! “That was before we met, Trixie! I was over her when things started and—“
Twilight inhaled sharply. She hadn’t known, Starlight realized. Awkward!
“I guess I should be grateful then,” Trixie snarled. “Hah! As if!”
“Trixie—“ Twilight began.
Trixie turned to Twilight, her gaze enough to silence the princess. “And you, dear Princess of Friendship. What are those aspects of the Magic of Friendship again that you and your friends like to go on and on and on about unless somepony stops you? Laughter? Like when you thought of the Great and Powerful Trixie, and how you had once more bested me?” Twilight winced.
“Loyalty? Honesty? Kindness?” Again Twilight winced at each word, as if she had been whipped. “Like when you stole my love from me?
“Generosity!” Trixie screamed, and Twilight flinched back. “Don’t make me laugh! You wanted her all to yourself from the day she and I met! That’s why you didn’t want us to become friends, and that’s why you jumped her horn the first opportunity you got and destroyed our relationship!”
Tears were running down Trixie’s cheeks; Starlight couldn’t tell if from anger or hurt, and at this point it didn’t even matter. Trixie was beside herself. And could she really blame her?
“That’s not true, Trixie,” Twilight murmured, hardly audible. “I didn’t want to keep her for myself. Not when you were becoming friends and I was skeptical. That was only later when—“ Starlight gasped, and Twilight turned to her, shocked at what she had just revealed. She bit her lip and stared at Starlight, her wide eyes pleading for forgiveness.
Trixie nodded grimly. “As I thought.” She levitated her hat off her head and gave a mock curtsy. “I bow before you, Princess Twilight Sparkle. You have truly defeated me, as was undoubtedly your plan from the beginning. And you even got me to believe you were my friend. Bravo! Very good showmareship, indeed!”
“Trixie, I am your friend!” Twilight said, her voice choked from the tears she was trying to hold back.
“My friend.” Trixie spoke the word slowly and carefully, as if sampling its flavor. With an innocent smile she continued, “And you’re Starlight’s friend, too. So, maybe, now that I’m in the market again, maybe you could treat the Great and Powerful Trixie to a friendly night, just like you did with Starlight? Isn’t that what friends do!” The last words she yelled at the top of her lungs.
What the hay? Starlight struggled against Trixie’s spell still holding her in place. She needed to get out! The magic budged, but didn’t break.
Twilight shrunk back. “Trixie, that’s not what friends… I mean…”
Trixie watched her squirm for a few seconds. Then she had enough. “Spare me! I hereby wash my hooves of both of you. Should I never see you again, it would still be too soon! Oh, worry none,” she added in a deceptively friendly voice. “I’ve learnt my lesson, and won’t pick up a new plan for revenge and world domination. I’m just a washed-up second-rate showmare, after all. You two really put me in my place.”
With a flick of her magic Trixie tossed a few items that were scattered around her campsite into her cart and slammed the door shut. Starlight could only watch, still under the effect of Trixie’s holding spell; Twilight looked on apathetically. “Farewell, traitors. You truly deserve each other.”
“Trixie!” Starlight yelled. She still couldn’t break free from the holding spell. Trixie chose to ignore her, and Starlight found herself out of options. But the spell was only preventing her from moving, not from using magic.
Her spell hit Trixie square in the back of her head, and she collapsed right next to her cart. Only now the holding spell vanished.
“Starlight?” Twilight asked, her voice shaky. “What did you do?”
“Forgall with a mild sedative,” Starlight replied, way more calmly than she felt. She was shaking.
“Starlight!” Twilight chided. “I thought we’d gone over this! This is not the right way to fix this!”
Starlight carefully engulfed Trixie’s limp body in her magic and sat her down leaning against the side of her cart. “There. She’ll think she fell asleep during her little stop.”
“Would you please stop ignoring my entirely reasonable objections!”
“I can’t deal with it!” Starlight cried out. “This… this can’t be right! Not like this!”
“But, moral considerations pushed aside—didn’t we also conclude that the Forgall spell doesn’t actually solve the problem at hoof?”
Starlight examined the scene around the cart. As far as she could tell nothing looked suspicious. “Let’s hurry, she won’t be out for much longer. Twenty minutes, maybe.” After one last look at her sleeping fillyfriend Starlight turned around and started walking back to where they had come from.
Twilight hurried to follow her. “Starlight! It isn’t going to work and—“
“The only ponies in Equestria who know about last night are you and me,” Starlight explained. She needed to remain calm so she wouldn’t start screaming and possibly tossing around space time continuum-altering magic spells. “I have zero inclination whatsoever to tell Trixie. Not again. So if you don’t tell her, she’ll never know. And, as a nice little bonus, if she does experience any inconsistencies we’ll be able to do something about it because we still remember.”
“That… sounds reasonable. But you also sounded reasonable last night!”
“Yes, you were right—erasing both our memories won’t work. We’ll just have the same result again and again. But we can do this! It’s the least we can do!” She was getting agitated, and she really didn’t want to. Annoyed she wiped a tear from her eye.
“So you’re going to keep lying to Trixie?” Twilight asked. There must have been something in Starlight’s expression that made her add, “Not judging! Just curious!”
Starlight huffed. “Yes. That’s what I will do. And I will make sure it never happens again, and make sure to be a model fillyfriend.” She wiped her eyes again.
Suddenly she found herself wrapped in a pair of hooves and a pair of wings. “I’m so sorry, Starlight.”
Starlight buried her face in Twilight’s coat. “Trixie shouldn’t have to deal with all this. She didn’t do anything wrong. And you saw how she reacted. She’s got some serious self-esteem issues.
“So I’ll deal with it for her. She deserves some slack. She doesn’t deserve… this. I’ll deal with it so that she can be as happy as she deserves.” She looked into Twilight’s eyes. “That’s why I’m deliberately ignoring a solid dozen of lessons learned about not using powerful magic to resolve friendship problems. I really hope you understand this.”
“I admit I hadn’t looked at it this way. I guess Forgall might be a feasible solution after all. This time.”
Starlight gave her a wan smile. “Thanks. That means a lot to me.” She sniffed. “I’ll need some help to get by, I think. I feel awful. It’d be even more awful if my favorite mentor was cross with me.”
“Not at all,” Twilight hurried to reassure her.
“Will you be alright though, Twilight? What with… everything? I could probably cast Forgall on you too, so you don’t have to deal with anything… unpleasant.”
Twilight smiled back at her. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine,” she said with certainty. On impulse she gave Starlight a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth. Starlight only then saw the tears welling up in Twilight eyes, and the betrayal.
Then Twilight’s spell hit her right in the forehead.
***
Twilight gently caught Starlight’s collapsing body in her magic and floated her onto her back. “I’m so sorry, Starlight,” she whispered. She could only hope that Starlight would understand. Hypothetically. She would never be able to, since she would never know.
Forgall and a pretty hard-hitting sedative. It would take her a few hours to get Starlight back to the castle, and she couldn’t risk her waking up early.
Now only Twilight knew. She would care of any inconsistencies Starlight would experience, lest she caught on, but she’d manage.
She made a mental note to return The power of sharing to Starlight’s room before she woke up. And another triple-choc pecan cookie. The lending list needed to be updated. They would also have to have another discussion of the book. It might actually be fun—she quite liked the book.
It was the least she could do. Starlight deserved to be happy. She shouldn’t have to go through so much pain because of one single slip-up. Making sure of that, Twilight told herself, was her prerogative as princess and mentor.
And she really really didn’t want to give up any of the precious memories of last night.