No one should have to be alone when they die.
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Starlight had been feeling weird all day, like that once in a blue moon where you wake up as if you never went to sleep in the first place; eyes open, no lingering drowsiness, and a dream half-remembered that transitions cleanly into reality. Her horn lit up if only briefly and casually threw the thin and slightly scratchy blanket off the bed, only shortly preceding herself. While slightly disoriented and maybe just thirsty, she stepped around her mauve nightstand to her windowsill, instead shoving the curtains aside by her hoof, peering outside at the stimulating landscape from her castletop perch, the beautiful valley beyond Ponyville, perfectly framed to meet her eyes just as it met the sun fighting its way slowly up the horizon between each peak.
A gentle rapping at the door broke Starlight from her reverie.
"Starlight, breakfast is almost ready!" Twilight's voice called out, stifled justly by the wood. A warm smile found her face, small, but sincere as she stepped towards the door. She pulled it back with her foreleg and welcomed her friend's visage kindly.
"Morning Twilight." Starlight said, minus her usual inflection. She stepped aside, letting Starlight walk out before they began to make their way to the dining room, side by side all the while. With a flick of her head, she blindly closed the door behind them with a soft click just as their front hooves met the stairs.
"Have any good dreams?" Twilight spoke up a flight later, her musical voice never failing to lighten up the room.
"Heh, not really. I remember Spike was in my room trying to figure out a puzzle cube when I went to sleep. It wasn't there when I woke up, so I can only assume he pawned it for gems." A cute laughter was shared between the two just as they stepped from the carpeted stairway onto the colder white stone floors of the main castle, the large stained-glass doors to the kitchen a short few meters away.
She pushed one aside and Twilight followed right behind, the former taking a seat at the red-plush bar stools that bordered the central island. Her hooves clinked against the tinny halfsteps, gently climbing up to the counter where everyone's breakfast sat, save her own, which floated over only a few brief seconds later on behalf of her host, who had apparently donned a twee apron in the last moment or so.
"Where's Spike?" Starlight asked, seeing a distinct lack of the little purple dragon anywhere in the room.
Twilight shrugged. "I sent him off to get some milk for breakfast but he isn't back yet, he left an hour ago."
"Eh." Starlight turned her dreary eyes back to her plate, hooves on the table. Magic once again coursed through her veins, this time with more fervor, as she finally started to wake up. A few minutes later and the delicious cakes were nothing more than a memory, the purple mare wiping her lips with a napkin and leaning forward to lie her head on the cool stone, something enjoyed for probably a few minutes too long before a familiar face wandered into the hall.
A timely thud brought the door closed behind Spike as a "Hey Starlight!" broke the silence in a surprisingly welcome manner.
Hearing the door open and leaning back up left Starlight feeling a little out of place, like she did just a bit ago in bed, the only major difference being the cool cheek she was resting on the countertop serving as a present reminder of abject reality.
"I got the milk," he said and turned to Twilight, setting it up on the counter. "Sorry I'm late," he turned again, now to his other best friend, "I was getting you a present." Spike set a small metal thing on the tabletop, brandishing a scarab-like pattern indented it's blue steel plate. "Don't think I forgot it's your birthday, Glimmer. I know you like rare stuff to talk about for when Sunburst shows up."
She chuckled akwardly at the unexpected gesture, glaring down at the weird trinket. "The lady at the store said it's from some limited collection that hasn't been produced for a few decades. I'm not sure what it is though... future study topic perhaps?" He seemed amused at his own becoming.
"It's... interesting, thank you Spike." Starlight replied, trying to sound genuine as she spoke almost defeatedly. Starlight had hoped no one would remember her birthday, and in truth she had almost forgotten herself. Despite how much progress she made, she never felt wholly at place here, with real friends that cared how she felt and a place to call home. She had wasted so many years of her life on what can only be described in retrospect as childish antics, that all and all just made everypony's lives worse for having happened. And now she was twenty-six. An adult, but it didn't feel like it.
She felt short, physically and mentally, like whenever she let her guard down the ponies around her towered over her, curving in ways that fought gravity just to oppress her presence. She knew she didn't deserve any of this after what she put those ponies through, but she was shown mercy anyways, like a divine being holding her tight and telling her everything was gonna be okay.
Without another word, she silently thanked Twilight with a nod and made off for her room again, now with a glass of milk that Twilight had poured and that weird medallion. A sluggish trek that paradoxically went by too fast to process. She opened her room to a squeak from the door, something that happened whenever she swung it back too far, and closed it again to go sit at her desk. In between the rhythmic beats of her internal drum, she took notice in the sunlight that its light seemed to change the color of her new toy, from almost blue to a silvery color, bordering gold on its intricate edges...