It had been a long two months.
Starlight had not been expecting that she of all ponies would be trying to stop a villain from wreaking havoc but here she was.
Luna had come to her in a dream, there had been reports of a villainous pony stealing cutie marks from civilians. She felt that Starlight would be the best suited for stopping this threat as she had prior knowledge of cutie mark magic.
For once, Starlight’s past had been an advantage for her friends, she wasn’t sure how to feel about that.
However, she ended up leaving in secret. She couldn’t bare the thought of putting her friends in danger with this situation so she and Luna had agreed to keep the whole thing a secret. So when she did leave, she did end up writing a note about how she had to leave for her sake, but could not give a guarantee about her return. She didn’t mention the villainous threat, she knew Twilight would definitely go after her then.
She finally found the pony who she was after, I’m a cave she had found him, he had a dark green coat, a black shiny mane, and a yellow star as a cutie mark.
She soon blasted the pony from behind but he was quick to get back up again and glared at the mare, “You would be wise to stay out of my way.” He said threateningly.
“Stay out of your way? Doesn’t sound like me.” Starlight said with a glare before lighting up her horn.
Back at Twilight’s castle, Spike had been roaming around the halls in the light of dawn, it felt pretty empty to be honest, now that Starlight was gone, it was just him and Twilight and it was tough to live with somepony who was so downtrodden all the time.
He soon stopped by Starlight’s room and saw Twilight was inside.
“Oh boy.” Spike sighed before walking inside the room to see Twilight looking at Starlight’s mirror from the graduation/medal of honor party.
“Twilight? Are you okay?” Spike asked sadly.
“Oh I’m just fine Spike.” Twilight smiled with a tearful grin, “After all, I’m just reminiscing about one of my good friends who left… likely for good… without saying goodbye.” She then wiped her eyes with a sniff.
“Twilight. If the mirror upsets you, we can take it down.” Spike told the alicorn comfortingly.
“No.” Twilight sighed as she turned to Spike, “I actually want it here.”
“But you look so sad when looking at it.” Spike argued softly.
“Yeah well, in a way, I like it. It’s a piece of Starlight that will always remain here. Even if she’s gone.” Twilight said with a soft smile.
“You really miss her don’t you?” Spike asked with a sigh.
“How could I not? I was close with her Spike, even with her past, we still managed to have a close bond and for her to suddenly leave, I… I just hope wherever she is, she’s happy.” Twilight said as she let her herself lie on the floor.
Spike patted Twilight’s head in comfort, he missed Starlight too, though in a way, he also was mad at her for what she caused.
Does she not know how much everypony cares about her? Well guess what? They do! If she ever comes back, I swear I will never let her live this down. Spike thought to himself bitterly.
We then see Starlight had wiped her brow as the defeated green pony laid down on the ground.
Starlight soon turned to the jar of cutie marks behind her and used her magic to release the cutie marks and soon they flew off into the distance, likely to the ponies who they were stolen from.
Starlight soon used her magic to levitate the green pony and teleported into the throne room of Canterlot where Luna was waiting.
“Ah. Starlight Glimmer. I’m glad you were able to detain Iggy.” Luna said happily.
“Yeah. I will admit he put up quite a fight.” Starlight smiled sheepishly, “I’m glad I defeated him though. Otherwise the two months I spent tracking him down would’ve meant nothing.” She laughed bitterly.
Luna’s face grew more remorseful as she sighed, “Starlight Glimmer, I’m so sorry we had you do this. You know I would never want to subject you to leaving your friends.”
“I never held a grudge Luna.” Starlight reassured her, “It’s not your fault this happened.”
“At least now you can finally go home.” Luna said happily.
“And that’s great.” Starlight smiled warmly before nervously frowning, “I just hope my friends haven’t suffered a great deal without me.”
“I imagine your sudden reappearance will be shocking to them, but hopefully it will not be long before you rekindle.” Luna admits to the unicorn.
“I think I know where I can start my reintroduction at.” Starlight said happily.
Sunburst was a little tired as you could see from his bored look, however, he was curious to know who was at the door so early in the morning when he heard knocking.
Soon he opened the door and was shocked at what he saw.
“Hey Sunburst. I guess this is the second time I suddenly reappeared into your life huh?” Starlight asked with a sheepish grin.
“Starlight? Is this really you or am I still dreaming?” Sunburst asked, hoping that he wasn’t hallucinating right now.
“No. It’s really me.” Starlight smiled warmly.
Sunburst immediately embraced the mare tightly, much to her shock, “Where have you been?!” He asked excitedly, “All of us really missed you!”
Starlight returned his hug but soon his words sunk in and she frowned a bit, “How has everypony been without me? Especially Twilight and Trixie.”
Sunburst released Starlight from the hug and sighed, “They’re both still upset over you leaving. Twilight especially. They’re doing better now but they’re still hurt.”
Starlight felt a wave of guilt crash over her, how could she do this to them? Why didn’t she just say goodbye herself instead of chasing after some random villain with no notice.
“And yet… you’re still happy to see me despite knowing what I caused?” Starlight said sadly.
“Starlight, I know you. You’d never want to intentionally hurt anypony you care about, I’m just happy you’re back again.” Sunburst said softly.
Starlight smiled at Sunburst’s words and sighed happily, “Thanks buddy. However, I do need to mend some wounds. Are you up for a trip to Ponyville?” She asked with a smirk.
“Really?” Sunburst asked in shock.
“Hey. I need somepony with me for emotional support. Who better than you?” Starlight asked with a smile.
“Well, if you’re sure, than I’m in.” Sunburst said happily much to Starlight’s delight.