I'll find a way...
That was the last words Twilight had heard before she opened her eyes. All she could see was her bedroom window, and the crystal walls that surrounded the room. She closed her eyes shut as the sunlight kept blinding her eyes.
My head hurts... Twilight thought as she slowly straightened herself in the bed to rub her forehead. She started to rub her cheek, which felt a little numb. She couldn't imagine why. I'm in so much pain. Well, physically.
Her ears perked as she heard running hoofsteps in her room. Alarmed, Twilight looked up to see the source. All she saw was a tip of a tail dashing out of the room, although she couldn't make out the shape and color. Twilight blinked by the sight, then slowly started getting a little terrified. Was that the pony—
"She's awake, you two!" A voice broke through her thoughts. Twilight sighed in relief as she recognized Trixie's voice, calling out of the room. But... why did she announce that she was awake? How long had she been out?
"Trixie?" Twilight tried to call the mare. She heard hoofsteps heading towards her room. Trixie creaked the door open with her head, peeking inside. "What is it? The others will be here any moment." She told the princess.
"W-who?" Twilight scratched her head.
Trixie looked a little annoyed by her response, but then her head peeked out the door, along with the sounds of more hoofsteps. "You'll find out right now."
Not too long after, Discord slithered into the room, and walked next to the bed. From the look of his pupils, he looked surprised. "Oh, you weren't joking."
"Why would I joke about this?" An exasperated Trixie asked.
Coming after Discord, Starlight entered the room. Twilight had to note that she still couldn't get used to her mane being straight, since she was so used to it being a curl. But she did expect Starlight to look happy and relieved that she's alright. But for some reason she looked... hesitant.
"Starlight? What's wrong?" Twilight asked her straight away. The others turned to look at the unicorn, as if wondering why she asked the question.
Starlight seemed to be uncomfortable by the stares, but she seemed to ignore it as she started to speak. "Nothing is wrong. But I'm just... wary." she told her.
Twilight twitched her ear. "About what? Aren't you happy that I have recovered?"
"Of course I'm happy that you have recovered. But are you?" Starlight asked firmly.
"Yes?" A confused Twilight answered her.
Starlight lowered her ears as her gaze went from hesitant and nervous, to suspicion and anger. "I don't believe you."
Twilight felt a pang in her heart when she said the words. What?
"She seems fine to me." Trixie told her, meanwhile Discord looked unsure.
"Is she? How do we know the curse isn't pretending to be her?" Starlight asked. Twilight became alarmed by the tiny hatred in her tone.
"But it is me!" Twilight pleaded. "I'm better!"
"That's what I thought last time. But then we have been betrayed, captured, and almost killed." Starlight spat. This time, she didn't try to hide her hatred anymore.
"But the curse isn't in me anymore. It left!" Twilight told her desperately. But Starlight didn't seem to budge. Did I just lose Starlight's trust? she asked worriedly. She hoped that it was not the case.
"She's right. How do we know if she's really better?" Trixie jumped in the conversation. She looked at Twilight with a worried expression. "What if you're not Twilight?"
"What..." Twilight tried to comprehend what was happening. Are they really this scared that they can't tell me apart anymore?
"As we know, there is still more to this curse that we have not known. Who knows what else it can do?" Discord added in. Although, strangely, he looked at Twilight in a sympathetic gaze.
Twilight took in a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. She faced Starlight's angry gaze, while trying not to flinch by how fierce it looked. "Look, I know I may seem I'm being controlled by the curse. But I swear to Celestia, I am not—"
"Twilight! You're awake!" A familiar voice can be heard behind Starlight, which even spooked the unicorn a little by how sudden it was. Spike rushed inside the room and jumped onto Twilight's bed, and hugged her tightly. "I thought I lost you!" he said as if he was almost ready to cry.
Here's the welcome I was hoping for. Twilight thought gratefully as she hugged him back. Thankful that at least someone welcomed her.
But then she noticed Starlight looking at Spike worriedly, her signs of her previous emotions not visible. But when she looked back to Twilight, she looked angrier than before. What's going on with her?
"I thought I lost you!" Spike said while he continued to hug Twilight. She could feel tiny streaks of tears running down her back, and his hugs began to get tighter.
"Ok, ok. That's enough." Twilight said as she pushed Spike away when it got too uncomfortable.
Spike smiled as tears went down his face. Suddenly, he turned towards Starlight. "Isn't this great?" he asked happily.
Starlight made no response.
Spike's expression faltered. "What's wrong? Aren't you happy that she's awake?"
After a few seconds of silence, she nodded. "Of course I'm happy that she's awake. But, I'm just worried about what comes next." She said as she shot a glare at Twilight.
Once again, Twilight flinched by her fierce gaze. While Spike started to look worried.
Discord and Trixie looked a little uncomfortable by the situation. They shot glances at each other, not sure of what to do.
As if noticing the situation she was making, she turned to leave. Before she left the room, Starlight turned to glare at Twilight. "Don't think about toying with me, 'Twilight'. Because I will be watching you, and if I catch you slipping up around him, you'll be sorry."
She slammed the door as she walked out.
Trixie chuckled nervously. "Forgive me, Twilight. Starlight has been noticeably harsher lately, but it's only because she had a bad day." she said while patting Twilight's head as a way of "comforting" her. "Maybe talk to her tomorrow and maybe she'll stop having a fit. Heheheh...."
Trixie quickly trotted out of the room and presumably followed Starlight.
Discord looked at Twilight and simply shrugged. He walked out the room and closed the door.
Now that they were alone, Spike slowly turned his head to Twilight. "What... was that?"
Twilight sighed sadly. "I don't know Spike. Starlight hasn't threatened me like that since her villain days."
"I haven't seen her that angry since... yeah, her villain days." Spike agreed.
Twilight shrugged her shoulders. "What do I do, Spike? My former student probably hates me now, thinking that I'm the curse."
Spike put his claw onto her shoulder. "She doesn't hate you, Twi. She's probably just a little cautious."
Twilight sighed again. "She probably has a right to be. I am the one that let the curse affect me again. But how can I make Starlight understand without her making suspicions?"
After she asked the question, Spike jumped down from the bed. "Don't worry, Twilight. I'll talk to her."
Twilight raised an eyebrow. "You will? What makes you think that she will listen?"
"If it comes out of your mouth, then it won't. But Starlight trusts me more than she trusts you, apparently. I'll find a way to make her see. Don't worry."
I guess that makes sense. Twilight thought. After all, the only times Starlight was angry is when it was directed at her. "Ok, but be careful. I don't know how angry she is towards me, and I don't want her to take it out on you."
Spike patted Twilight's elbow with a smug expression. "Oh, Twilight. Trust me. I've dealt with worse."