//------------------------------//
// Chapter 2: Starlight's Refusal 
// Story: Starlight and Aurora 
// by twilightsparkle3562 
//------------------------------//

                  While Luna was dealing with the situation that came in the form of Starlight Glimmer's supposed mother, Starlight had returned to the Castle of Friendship along with Trixie after the two friends had finished another performance in another town of Equestria. The protégé of Princess Twilight was looking forward to a much deserved break after a long tour with her newest friend.
              
                 "They sure enjoyed the Manticore moonshot dive, didn't they?" Starlight commented as she and Trixie walked into Twilight’s castle, worn out from the performance and the wagon ride back to Ponyville. "I will admit that you got to love those Manehattanites, Trixie."

                 "Indeed, Starlight," Trixie replied. "At this rate I’ll have to come up with a way to top this act. I wonder what Hoofdini also did that I haven’t accomplished yet?"

                 "Isn't he your idol?" Starlight asked. "I mean, can't you just do something that he did for a new generation of ponies to behold?"

                "I have to be unique, Starlight," Trixie explained as they entered Twilight's throne room. "I mean, The Great and Powerful Trixie has to be unique as well as repentitive. The same trick gets old if done too often."

                Starlight could only let out a small chuckle  Upon walking in, the two saw Twilight sitting at the table, reading what appeared to be a scroll that she’d gotten from Canterlot. Both Trixie and Starlight thought that it was another one of those long important requests to Twilight on a friendship problem that she had to solve, so they thought nothing of it. Little did they know, this scroll was far more important than they realized. It wasn’t until they noticed a look of nervousness on Twilight’s face, that either of the unicorns suspected something was up.

                "Um, Twilight?" Starlight asked as Twilight focused on the article. "Is everything all right?"

                Twilight continued to stare at the article, not even taking notice. But, she didn't stay focused for long and directed all of her attention towards the two unicorns. The look on her face was one of grave concern and worry over what had just been presented to her. "

Starlight," she anixously spoke. "I just got this message from Princess Celestia and it says that there’s a pony claiming to be your mother, who’s looking for you. Is that true?"

                Starlight's face immediately turned from a smile to a frown upon hearing this. At the same time, a look of bitterness came onto her face.

               "Who are you talking about?" Starlight nervously replied, looking away from Twilight. "You must be mistaken, Twilight. I don’t have a mother, not anymore!"

               "I'm not mistaken, Starlight,"  Twilight responded, rising from her throne. "Princess Celestia says that Princes Luna spoke to a pony who said she was looking for you, and she said her name was Aurora Glimmer. If she is your mother, then we…."

                "…should not meet," Starlight sharply interrupted, the sound of her voice causing both Twilight and Trixie to jump. "You don't know anything about what my mother did to me! All she cared about was herself, not me! She didn’t even care when I ran off!"

                 "Um, Starlight, don't you think you’re overreacting to all of this?" Trixie suggested. "I mean, I grew up in an orphanage, but I cared deeply for the caretakers who raised me. And I know if I had a mother who was looking for me, I’d be happy to see her."

                  "Trixie has a point, Starlight," Twilight chimed in with a smile. "Perhaps you should see her again and make her feel better. I mean, according to this scroll she’s been worried about you for ten years, that’s a very long time."

                 "No, I won't see her!" Starlight snapped, looking sharply at Twilight. "You don't know what she was like, Twilight! That mare was never there for me when I needed her and I don't care about her anymore! So, just don't talk to me about her, all right?! There’s a reason why I grew so attached to Sunburst!"

                 Twilight couldn't believe how childish Starlight was acting. But before she could say another word, Starlight stormed out of the throne room, slamming the door behind her. This course of action left both Twilight and Trixie speechless.

                 "Why is she acting like this, Princess?" Trixie gasped. "I know that if my caretakers were around, I would welcome them with open hooves."

                 "I would welcome my mother with the same acts," Twilight added. "But maybe Starlight’s accusations aren’t entirely without reason. Perhaps it would be best if I go to Canterlot and find out more. Something tells me that Starlight isn't telling me the whole truth about all of this, but it’s clear she won’t talk to me about it. Can I trust you and Spike keep her company, until I can figure out what to do to get them to patch things up?" she asked the magician.

                "Of course, Princess. I’ll try to see if maybe I can get some answers from Starlight on my own, maybe she’ll open up to me," Trixie answered. “Will she be alright?”

                “Hopefully, yes. But if worse comes to worse, give her a wide berth and let her vent,” Twilight suggested. “I wish I had a better idea of what to do, but I’ve got little to go on. Just make sure Starlight is okay.” She instructed, then darted out of the throne room and out the door. 

               



             Trixie was now alone, as she wandered throughout the castle looking for Starlight. Like Twilight, Trixie couldn't believe Starlight was acting like this, and like Twilight, she wanted to get to the bottom of things. But what could she do? Trixie had been an orphan for her entire childhood, she’d never had a pony she could consider a mother.

             Trixie searched high and low until, she came across Starlight in Twilight's private study. Starlight was clearly upset over the situation, if the tears dripping down her face were any indication.

              "Have you ever wondered why I've been so private about my personal life?" Starlight asked to no one in particular.

              "Um, you've never told me about my personal life until now, Starlight," Trixie reluctantly replied. "But, I can tell you that if both of us could be given a second chance, then why should your own mother be any different?"

              "My mother was a pony who never cared for my feelings, Trixie," Starlight cried, not even bothering to look at her friend. "When I tried to find a friend to replace Sunburst, after he left for Canterlot, she was the only pony for me to be friends with. But, when I tried to ask her to be my friend, she said that she was already my mother and didn't want to be my friend."

              "What’s the matter with that?" Trixie wondered. "She is your friend in a way, Starlight. She helped raise you into the pony that you are today. I mean, don't you think that maybe this is a bit extreme to say the least?"

              "It’s not extreme, Trixie!" cried Starlight, turning around sharply. "When I was in my greatest moment of despair, did she help me? No, she did not! I wanted to have her as a friend and she said no. Why should I consider it to be extreme that I’m acting this way?! When she rejected my offer of friendship, I felt like my whole world had come crumbling down! I never tried to make anymore friends after that, because I thought for sure they’d reject me like she did! I know that doesn’t excuse the monster I became, but maybe if she’d just tried to reach out to me when I needed her most, I wouldn’t have ended up the way I did!"

              Trixie backed away in shock! Like Twilight, she knew that she needed to find a way to make Starlight see, that she was indeed overreacting. But how could she do so if she had no idea what Starlight’s mother was actually like?

              



               Meanwhile, Twilight had arrived in Canterlot. And soon, she would come face to face with the pony claiming to be her student's mother…