//------------------------------// // Chapter 3: Going a Little Deeper // Story: Starlight and Aurora // by twilightsparkle3562 //------------------------------//                                                                    With Trixie and Spike staying with Starlight back at her castle, Twilight flew off to Canterlot to find out the truth about who Aurora Glimmer was, and why she wanted to bring Starlight home.  Up until this moment, Twilight thought of Starlight as a troubled individual that needed to be pushed in the right direction.  Now, there was the fact that Starlight had a mother who longed to be with her daughter again. But Starlight seemed to want no part of it.                 “Princess Twilight,” a guard greeted as Twilight landed in front of Canterlot Castle. “The Royal Sisters have been expecting you.”                 “Where is the pony in question?” asked Twilight as they led her inside. “This Aurora Glimmer?”                  “With the Royal Sisters,” another guard replied.  “Apparently, she came in the dead of night to seek our help in finding her daughter, Starlight Glimmer.  Since she was residing with you, the sisters thought maybe you could provide some light on the situation.”                    Twilight took in what the guards had said, then made her way into the throne room where Celestia and Luna were standing with,Aurora Glimmer.                      Seeing Twilight gave Aurora hope that maybe, just maybe, The Princess of Friendship would be willing to reunite her with her daughter.                   “Twilight, thank you for coming on such short notice,” Celestia smiled as she hugged her youngest equal.  “I hope you will try your best to help Aurora reunite with Starlight Glimmer.  She has been here…”                   “…the entire night,” finished Twilight as she walked over to Aurora.  “I understand you want to be reunited with your daughter, Aurora.  I’m Twilight Sparkle, the Princess of Friendship.”                   The middle aged unicorn bowed before the princess as Twilight gave her uncomfortable princess smile to herself.  “It’s an honor to meet you at last, Princess Twilight,” remarked Aurora as she rose to her feet.  “The Royal Sisters tell me you are teaching my daughter about The Magic of Friendship, is that correct?”                   “Yes, I have been teaching her, Aurora,” Twilight nodded.  “So far, it’s a work in progress and she does have a long way to go towards earning her place. But already I’m seeing promising signs.”                   “I’m not surprised, Princess Twilight,” Aurora sighed, looking down at the ground and walking over towards a window.  “Starlight had always thought of wanting to follow her own path.  But, when I tried to encourage her by befriending other ponies, she abandoned her true path and ran away from home, never to return.”                    Hearing this brought back memories to Celestia of Sunset Shimmer, a former student of hers that had run away to another other world that she now called home. In fact, Celestia could see that she and Aurora connected in a way.  They both were in the same situation and it took Twilight herself to make both Sunset and Starlight see the error of their ways.                 “Sister, are you all right?” asked Luna while Celestia lowered her head.  “You look a little bit, disturbed.”                 “Oh, I’m sorry, sister,” Celestia hastily answered.  “It’s just, all of this reminds me of when Sunset Shimmer abandoned her studies, that’s all.  You know that even I tried to help Sunset myself once, but unlike Sunburst and Twilight there was nothing I could to stop her from ending up on the wrong path..”                  “You did what needed to be done, ”Luna replied, placing a wing around her big sister.  “Not everypony becomes a student of Equestria’s eldest princess, or becomes one of us, or becomes a Crystaller to a newborn alicorn.”                   .                   “Well, it appears to me, that Starlight wants to pretend you don’t even exist, Aurora,” Twilight observed, approaching the troubled unicorn. “Because when I tried to tell her you were looking for her, she just…”                  “She just doesn’t see it, Princess Twilight,” Aurora interrupted.  “I wanted to try and help Starlight find a pony her age that would have the same common interest as her.  But, all she wanted was to be friends with me. I couldn’t be her friend, not if it meant filling the gap Sunburst left in her heart. I didn’t mean to push her away.”                    Like Celestia, Twilight was also beginning to have a flashback.  In a sense, she and Aurora were connected, because they’d both tried to force a friendship onto Starlight.  Granted, in Twilight’s case things had worked out for the better in the end. She’d tried to force a friendship onto Starlight, because Celestia was coming for an important dinner, and that had failed. But if what Aurora said was true, then in a way she had unintentionally made a bad situation even worse, and unlike Twilight things didn’t work out for the best in the end.                  “I hope that since you’re teaching her,” continued Aurora.  “Perhaps she can finally see the light at last, Princess Twilight.”                  “But, don’t you want her to come home?” wondered Twilight, who was now slightly confused.  “I mean, you’ve been looking for Starlight for ten years.”                 “I do want her to come home, Princess,” Aurora replied, as they walked away from the window.  “I mean, I know that Starlight and I haven’t had the best of relationships compared to most mothers and daughters. But I just want to see her again and have her return home as a pony with a friend other than Sunburst, not that I dislike Sunburst at all.”                 “Well, Starlight has made some progress by befriending some other ponies. One in particular she’s gotten really close to.  Have you ever heard of The Great and Powerful Trixie?”                 “I’ve heard stories about her, Princess Twilight,” Auora reluctantly nodded.  “In fact, I could even remember hearing about her attempted takeover of Ponyville. I’m just not sure if a pony with a past like that is the best influence for my daughter, assuming those stories I heard about her were ture.”                   “I think my sister and I have an idea on how to help bring you both together,” Luna suggested.  “We are hosting the Duke and Duchess of Maretonia tomorrow night. And we would like to have Trixie and Starlight perform this ‘Moonshot Manticore Mouth Dive’ for our guests.”                  “Do you think they’ll come?” asked Aurora. “What if Starlight senses it’s a trap or something?”                  “Knowing Trixie, she’ll probably accept. She can never turn down a chance to perform, especially for royalty,” Twilight replied.  “Perhaps you can not only reunite with Starlight, but also see that Trixie is not who she is anymore, Aurora.  Yes, even I’ve had my rivalry and my moments with Trixie, but if Starlight can change and you can change, then so can Trixie.”                  “I do hope you’re right, Princess.” Aurora nervously commented.