Starlight Glimmer, the Princess of Friendship's brand new pupil, walked down one of the halls of the castle. The hall was big and long, and it seemed like a thousand rooms were all in this one hallway; and this is only the first of many. Who knew that the castle had so many rooms?
This will take some getting used too. Starlight thought in her head. Even her "break-in" inside the castle was tedious, which was surprising since the castle looked really small on the outside. It took her maybe at least 30 minutes to find the room where the Map was. She was thankful that Twilight didn't arrive at the castle early, or else she would've found a vengeful and embarrassed unicorn roaming around the rooms, hoping to find the sacred table.
She should really add some security guards or at least a few locks to her castle. She also thought. Who knows what Starlight could've done while she waited for Twilight? She could've stolen some valuable items or books, and even more. But luckily for her, money wasn't her motivation at the time. But, she had to admit that it was a little tempting...
But now that she was back to the present, instead of dealing with the long stupid hallways for only one time, as she thought, now she had to deal with them all the time from now on.
Starlight shook her head to get the negative thoughts out of her mind. But I can't complain. she told herself. She was grateful that Twilight had a good heart and decided to take Starlight in as her very first pupil, much to her surprise. Others would probably put her in Tartarus for her evil crimes. Would she blame them? Most likely not. After all, she could've destroyed time if she wanted too. But even before that, she ran a harmful utopia, used her magic for evil as she took away cutie marks from a pony, and forced them to be happy about it.
Even if the same mare had reformed and is determined to move on to a better lifestyle, the guilt from her cruel actions would never go away. Even if no pony mentions about her shady past, she would remind herself time and time again about how she came dangerously close to ruining the entirety and future of Equestria. After all, no one said that reformation was easy, and she knows that she's far from being an exception.
Starlight cleared her throat as she continued walking. The doors looked exactly the same, making it nearly impossible to know which one leads where. She creaked each one of the doors open to see what was inside, and to see if she found the right room. She had seen so many rooms, but none of them were the ones that she was looking for. Starlight now began to wonder if the castle came with directions on the wall. She hoped that it did.
"Going somewhere?"
Starlight's ears perked up when she recognized the voice of Spike. He peeked behind the corner and looked at Starlight with a confused stare.
"Oh, I'm just trying to find the dining room." Starlight answered him sheepishly. It was probably amusing to Spike that a pony who had threatened Equestria countless times couldn't find a single room in a seemingly tiny castle.
"Oh, I'm just going there right now." Spike told her with a smile. He walked past an embarrassed Starlight and he opened one of the doors that was next to the door that Starlight was about to go in.
Figures. Starlight rolled her eyes in annoyance. With a deep breath, she opened the door with her magic, and walked in.
As she nervously stepped inside one of the castle doors, she was greeted by Twilight, who was sitting on one end of the table. In front of her was a plate of food.
"Good evening, Starlight! Come and eat." Twilight welcomed her warmly.
Starlight greeted her back with a nod. "Thank you, Twilight." she told her modestly.
But before she could sit down, she decided to look around the room. She gazed in awe at the crystal pillars that were on the walls. While the pillars were everywhere in the castle, it still didn't make it any less beautiful to look at.
As she walked up to the table, her eyes widened when she saw the plates and bowls. Even they were made out of crystals! What is this, the Crystal Empire?
"I see that you're amazed by the plates and bowls." Twilight told her while Starlight continued to stare. "I know, I was amazed myself when I saw that they came with the castle."
After looking at the plates long enough, Starlight sat down onto the chair. She looked down at her food. It was only a few apples with apple pie on the side.
"I know that you have just been redeemed, and today has been a long day for the three of us. So I decided to let you have an easy meal." Twilight told her pupil.
Starlight stared down at the meal, then looked up at Twilight. "Thank you, Twilight." she said.
Starlight grabbed one of the knives on the table and began cutting the apple into little slices. While she was doing that, Twilight and Spike looked confused.
"You don't bite it?" Twilight asked her, while not trying to sound rude.
Starlight quickly stopped what she was doing. She looked at Twilight with an apologetic gaze. Was it unusual for a pony to cut apples? Did Twilight think that she was weird? "Is... that wrong?" she gulped. She struggled to find the words.
Twilight looked a little shocked. "Oh, no no. Not at all." she said. "It's just that I'm not used to seeing ponies eat apple slices."
Without thought, Starlight quickly teleported the apple slices away and bit onto the apple, hoping that it would please Twilight. "See? There."
But Twilight looked discouraged. "Starlight, it doesn't matter what way you eat it. An apple is just an apple." she told her. Beside her, Spike nodded.
Feeling embarrassed once again, Starlight rubbed her mouth with one of her hooves. Then she realized that napkins were on the table. Realizing what she had done, she looked back at Twilight worriedly. Great, I'm suddenly a slob now.
"Is everything ok?" Twilight asked her in a concerned tone.
Starlight sighed as she set the apple down back onto the plate. "No." she told her.
Twilight sympathetic. "What has been bothering you?"
Starlight hesitated to answer. She wanted to tell Twilight how she was feeling, but would that make her not grateful? She didn't want to risk it. So, she turned her head away to avoid both of their gazes as much as possible.
"Starlight?" Spike asked her. He sounded concerned too.
After maybe a few seconds of awkward silence, Twilight decided to speak up. "Starlight, you are always welcome to express what has been troubling you. After all, we are friends now, not bitter enemies. Whatever problems you have, we will be there for you."
I shouldn't leave them hanging. They are only trying to help. She said in her thoughts. Taking a deep breath she started to speak. "Well, everything is troubling." she admitted.
Spike tilted his head. "What do you mean?"
Starlight stared at the castle interior while she waved her hoof. "All of this."
Twilight looked confused. "What's wrong with the castle walls?"
"It's not about the castle walls, Twilight. Its about living here in the castle." she said, hoping that it would be enough. But since Twilight and Spike still looked confused, she sighed.
"It just feels embarrassing, being lost in the castle. First off, I don't know where the rooms are so it feels like I'm in a jungle of doors; and secondly, even eating an apple in front of you is embarrassing if I somehow do it wrong." she admitted.
After hearing her words, Twilight and Spike looked at each other, then back at Starlight.
"Starlight, you have just been reformed only hours ago. Of course you're going to get lost in the castle. This is the first— erm, second time you have been here. Even I have gotten lost in the castle a few times before." Twilight explained.
"And about the apple thing? It's perfectly ok if you bite or cut an apple. There is no law to which way you should eat an apple." Spike added. "You do not need to feel embarrassed towards us."
"But that's easier said than done." Starlight objected, although she was grateful of their words.
Twilight got up from the chair and comforted Starlight by touching her shoulder with her hoof. Starlight shivered a little by how cold her hoof felt.
"It may feel impossible now, but eventually you will get the hang of the castle and towards us. You are new to friendship. You have to prove nothing." she said encouragingly.
Starlight thought about her words. Afterwards, she smiled a little at Twilight. "Thank you."
Twilight and Spike smiled back.
Chime!
The three looked at the clock that was outside above the doors. The time showed 10:00 PM.
"Oh, it's getting late." Twilight told herself as she yawned. She looked towards Starlight, who started yawning as well. "Do you feel tired?"
Starlight nodded a little.
"Well, I sure am tired!" Spike yawned as he got out of the chair. He started rubbing his eyes. "Starlight, do you want me to show you to your room?"
Starlight smiled. "Sure."
Before they left, Twilight started to speak. "I'm sorry that dinner went this way. It was very different with how I originally planned it... but I am grateful that you spoke up about your thoughts, Starlight."
Starlight nodded. "Yeah, I guess it does help to get things off of my chest."
After they said goodnight to each other, Starlight and Spike left the room. Meanwhile Twilight looked on in approval.
"She'll learn someday." Twilight muttered in hope. She turned towards the table and started cleaning up.
After a short walk, Starlight and Spike arrived at her bedroom. It was empty and plain for now, since there was only a bed and a desk inside. But she'll decorate it with her things somehow. Yet she couldn't help but feel a pang of sorrow and a little regret when she saw the room. It reminded her too much of Our Town.
"Are you ok?" Spike asked her.
She nodded. "Yes, sorry. It just reminds me of... bad memories."
"I see." he pondered. He started stepping out of the room. "Well, anyways, I'm about to head out for the night. Do you have anything else you want to say for today?"
Starlight thought about it, but she couldn't think of any. "Not really, Spike. I pretty much said all of my troubles in the dining room. I believe that I will be ok."
"If you say so." Spike shrugged. He blew out a candle that lit up Starlight's room. "Goodnight, Starlight."
"Goodnight, Spike." She said back.
Then the door closed.
Finally being alone, Starlight looked out at the window and stared at the beautiful moon that was in the sky. She looked at the moon for a while, meanwhile she hoped that her redemption would go out smoothly and nothing bad would happen.
I hope that I will be OK. she silently prayed.
Afterwards, she climbed into her bed and closed her eyes, now wondering what would happen tomorrow.