"When do you plan to make your move?"
"After things have settled," Stella said. "The whole Nightmare Moon world business. I'm sure you'll take care of it just fine, but I want Twilight as relaxed as she can be before I come for her. There's no point in hitting someone when they're low already."
"I see," said Starlight. "I'll try to remember that."
"You won't." Stella sighed. "We both already know you won't. Stop trying to find ways to tell yourself something and just play along, or I'll have to put an end to our conversations."
"Your loss," Starlight replied. "I can afford to go without them just fine. Is the same true for you?"
Stella didn't dignify that question with an answer. She just curved her eyebrows and glared at Starlight, taking away her ability to breathe for a bit.
Starlight took it surprisingly well, a little smugly even. Once she was eventually allowed to breathe again, just a little before passing out, she still kept her expression. "You can try to pretend you're in charge of the situation all you want, but we both know you can only go so far with me."
"I could implant some false memories for whatever bruises I might leave." Stella's composure was faltering a little, a twitch in her right eyelid just barely noticeable.
"But you wouldn't. You're too much of a paranoid freak for tha-" Starlight's breath went away again before she could finish the sentence. That just made her more smug.
Stella stared at her, her breath trembling slightly. Suddenly she smashed her face against the floor, then pulled her back up.
Even through the blood trickling down her nose, Starlight still stared defiantly at the alicorn.
Stella forced herself to take deeper breaths, and do nothing else that wasn't fixing the trouble she'd caused. She cleaned away Starlight's blood and fixed her nose, and everything else going on with her face, then she gave the unicorn breath again.
"Is this how you treated your mother too?"
A magical surge from Stella's horn plunged straight into Starlight's, and the unicorn passed out from the shock. Stella stared at her body, livid, and had to force herself not to do anything else.
"Deep breaths," the alicorn began to say to herself. "Just deep breaths." Focusing on doing what she was telling herself to, she also took care of fixing up Starlight's memories. Then she left her on the bed and flew out the window. She knew she needed to get away from there, even if she hated it.