Starlight looked around her room. She had honestly never stayed in such a…basic room before. Even in her house back in her village, she had more amenities. All was good, though. She just needed a place to sleep for the next few days.
Starlight dropped off her bags and decided to go get some lunch. It would be a late lunch, so she was going to miss the crowds. That was probably a good thing. Starlight didn't much feel like being around anybody right now.
She started down the street toward The Hayburger. It was a nice day and the sun felt amazing on her fur. She had all but forgotten about what happened by the time she got to the restaurant. She ordered her food and waited.
"Starlight!"
She turned toward the cheerful familiar voice. The familiar face caused Starlight to smile. Trixie cantered over. She gave Starlight a hug and a simple peck on the lips.
"Hey, Trixie. Did you find everything you needed?"
"The GREAT and POWERFUL Trixie always finds what she is looking for."
Starlight could only chuckle at her marefriend's theatrics. She could be a bit much, sometimes, but when they were home, she was nothing but the most loving marefriend a pony could ask for. Completely crass sometimes, but loving just the same. Starlight gave her another kiss on the cheek.
"Trixie, shut up. What do you want for lunch?"
"Just a double Hayburger for me. No fries. I don't like the hayfries here."
Starlight chuckled again, “I know, Trixie. We’ve been dating for, what, a year now?”
Trixie tapped her chin in thought. Then her eyes got big as saucers. “Oh my gosh! It’s our anniversary!”
Starlight straight out laughed at this. And she laughed some more. She put her hoof out onto Trixie’s shoulder. “Haha Trixie, it’s not our anniver-“
Trixie didn’t have any bags. What she did have, however, was a look of both fear and worry. Starlight glanced around and noticed that there were a few ponies that were trying to pretend to not notice what was happening.
“Starlight,” Her attention whipped back to Trixie’s confused expression, “Did you say we were dating?”
Starlight didn’t know how it happened, but simultaneously her heart jumped to her throat while her stomach sank all the way to the pits of Tartarus. Her mind was reeling. She was getting clammy. She was starting to see spots appear in her vision. And she knew if she didn’t do something fast, she was going to just faint.
Starlight bolted out the door. She just ran. She ignored Pinkie Pie waving. She ignored Maud glancing at her in the Plaza. She ignored the Apple Family at their cart. She ignored Rarity stitching in her window. And she especially ignored Trixie following behind her and screaming her name.
Starlight made it to her hotel room and slammed the door behind her. She resolved to just staying in her hotel room for the remainder of the time this was going to take. And possibly for the rest of her life. She sat on the floor, put her head in her hooves and began to weep. She cried until she had no more tears.
********************
Starlight was startled awake by some light knocking on her door. Apparently she had cried herself to sleep on the floor. It was dark in her room. The sun was down and, obviously, she hadn’t lit any lights. She stood up and stumbled to the door. She was surprised to see Twilight standing there when she opened the door.
“Hey Starlight. Trixie came and told us about what happened. Well, what she saw happen. I’m glad you talked with me about it earlier. I’m guessing it was the same sort of thing as what happened with Maud?”
All Starlight could do was nod. And it was about this time that Starlight’s stomach decided to growl the loudest it had ever growled. Starlight gave a sheepish smile.
“I, uh, haven’t eaten all day. Heh.”
“Yeah I kind of figured that, since it’s late and you ran away from your lunch. Here,” Twilight hovered a small package out of her saddlebag, “I put together something with what we had at the castle. I’m not as good a cook as Pinkie Pie or Applejack, but I used to cook for myself a lot so I know my way around the kitchen.”
Starlight grabbed it and placed it on the side table. “Thank you, Twilight. And, yeah. It was…similar. The transition into this…hallucination was completely seamless. And it was different than with Maud, because Trixie and I were…established. We had been dating for almost a year, so the strong NEW feelings weren’t there. They were subtle. Still there, but I was accustomed to them. Or something. And…I think I kissed her.”
“You,” Twilight cleared her throat, “You did. Twice. She was very confused and worried when she got to the castle. And frankly, so am I. Starlight I want you to stay here while I look into some things. Don’t go anywhere. I’ll have Spike bring you some supplies in the morning. Is there anything you might want to help you entertain yourself?”
Starlight thought about it for a second. Nothing really came to mind, so she just shook her head. “Okay, Starlight. If anything comes to mind, just let Spike know when he gets here in the morning.”
“Will do.” Her emotional exhaustion came through causing Twilight to reach out and give her a hug.
“We’ll figure this out, Starlight. And Maud will be sticking around and working on that crystal in the basement. OH! I never told you what Maud found during her examination.”
“Oh yeah. She had me really light that thing up down there.”
“That’s just the thing. None of your light was going through the crystal. The light that it’s giving off is coming from inside it. It’s not catching or refracting any of the external light around it. Maud says that it’s the same sort of crystal that the castle is made out of. It’s nothing special. But the fact that it’s being weird with the light is suggesting that it’s magical. I was actually doing research on it all day until Trixie came to us in the late afternoon. I didn’t find anything substantial yet, but I will.”
“I’m sure you will, Twilight. You always figure these things out.”
Twilight caught her disappointment in her voice, “Starlight, that crystal doesn’t matter right now, though. What matters is you. I know that I talk about research and what I was doing all day, but all that is over, because now the focus is one hundred percent on figuring out what is happening with you. I can’t imagine the stress you’re under right now.”
“It’s…” Starlight sniffled, “It’s a lot, Twilight.” She broke down into quiet sobs once more. Twilight’s embrace brought little comfort, but at least she wasn’t alone.