Why Loved, Then Hated
Why Love, then Hate
Ch. 1
It was an interesting day for Starlight Glimmer. In the early morning, she woke up with eagerness to destroy the princess of friendship's livelihood. As the day went on, the mare traveled through time, trying to destroy Princess Twilight Sparkle's past, so she and her friends never got their cutie marks in unison. However, through a bit of convincing from the princess herself, Starlight Glimmer stopped herself from destroying Star Swirl's scroll that allowed Twilight to travel along with her.
And now, Starlight was now laying awake on a nice soft bed in the middle of the night. She was not only in a nice cozy place to stay, but in Twilight Sparkle's own castle. It astonished the unicorn when the princess allowed her to stay in her large estate, considering all she had done in not even the last twenty-four hours. But it was understandable that Twilight would do such a thing; she was the princess of friendship after all.
Starlight was laying on her belly, unable to sleep. She kept thinking about the mercy that was given to her. She couldn't believe that after all she had done, Twilight Sparkle and her friends were able to give her a wonderful day, reminding her the true joy of friendship. Nopony has ever been this nice to her.
Well... it's at least been years since she was treated like a great friend.
There were other things that was keeping the mare up. Guilt was one of them. Because Twilight Sparkle was now her friend, pain stabbed into the mare's heart. Every now and then, Starlight Glimmer would think about what would happen if she actually tore that scroll in two. The thought made the unicorn shiver in fear and was trying to shake the horrible thoughts out of her mind.
But that's not what was truly bothering Starlight Glimmer.
The other thing that was keeping Starlight awake was untold motivation. Twilight Sparkle understood why she did what she did to the village she was controlling. However, there were some other things that were left unsaid and Starlight Glimmer felt that it would not be a bad idea to tell the princess her other purposes, considering she was her friend after all.
Looking up at the high ceiling, Starlight let out a sigh and wondered if Twilight was still awake at this hour. She thought that maybe venting about her past a bit would help her regain the ability to sleep.
Removing herself from her comfortable bed, the pony made her way through her dimly lit room and opened the door that lead into the castle. The door creaked loudly as she pushed it open, the sound echoing off the large, stony walls.
Looking to the left and then the right, Starlight looked to see if anypony was out and about. Though, it didn't surprise her that there was not a single soul to be seen because it was night time. Starlight thought about just wondering around the castle for a while and have sleep slowly creep up on her, but felt that her host would not appreciate having a unicorn who tried to destroy her once snooping around at night.
But just as she was about to go back into her room, Starlight saw a small streak of light crack from one of the doors that was inside the long hallway. Slowly, she went over to the door. Her hooves seemed louder than usual as they knocked on the tile. The distance from her room to the one with light felt like she was walking a mile wide gap. Nevertheless, Starlight continued toward the yellow lit room.
Approaching the door, the mare gulped, hoping that Twilight was inside the room. Starlight also hoped that she was not intruding and disturbing her friend if she was in there. Trying to take a peak, Starlight opened the door slowly to see if her friend was inside the room. As she opened it, the door screeched with a loud creak. Flustered, the mare stopped. She didn't want to have bothered her friend and wanted to keep herself hidden. After a short moment, Starlight tried again. This time, the door cooperated with the mare as she opened it slowly and quietly.
Stretching her neck, Starlight peaked her head into the room. A glance to the left and then a glance to the right. Nopony. The mare noticed the source of light came from a small fireplace that lit up a large library. Starlight has not seen this room yet and was happy to see at least somepony came to visit this nice place of knowledge. She could only assume that Twilight was the last one here, considering she was quite the smart mare and an alicorn no less.
Thinking that there is nothing else to be done about Twilight's absence, Starlight felt that she should go back to her room. She turned around to return to her resting place.
“Starlight?”
Instinctively, Starlight shrieked loudly and hopped around to see a quadruped figure standing a good distance away. The mare's voice echoed in the hall and caused the figure to flinch.
As her eyes adjusted, Starlight Glimmer noticed that it was Twilight Sparkle who had a glass of milk and a plate of cookies levitating near her.
“You startled me...” Starlight sighed as a chuckle escaped her.
“You almost caused me to drop my snack,” the princess replied. “What are you doing up at this hour?”
Since she was asked, Starlight had no trouble replying. “I... have a lot on my mind and am having a hard time sleeping.”
Twilight Sparkle nodded in the darkness. “Don't worry, it happens to me almost too often. Whenever I have a thought pestering my mind, I almost have to read a book or do some research just to tire myself out.”
“Hehe, yeah...”
It was a short silent moment before Twilight spoke again. “Would you like to join me in the library? I was about to read one of my favorite books from Daring Do. Perhaps we can talk about our favorite novels.”
Starlight's heart began to flutter upon the request. Of course she wanted to join her. But she didn't want to bother her friend or have Twilight think anything suspicious of her. After all, Starlight did try to hurt Twilight Sparkle not even twenty-four hours ago.
“If you don't mind my presence...” Starlight replied weakly.
“Of course I don't mind your presence,” Twilight responded with a smile. She placed a hoof on her friend's shoulder. “You are my friend. Why would I not want you around?”
Starlight couldn't beat around the bush and hide what she was feeling. “Well... considering what I have tried to do to you-”
“That was the old you,” Twilight spoke, cutting off the mare. “I believe you have changed.” Without another word, the princess made her way into the library. Looking back at her friend, she gestured Starlight to follow. Sure enough, the unicorn followed.
As both mares went into the library, Starlight smiled as she looked at the many books that were all around her. Glancing here and there, she could tell that Twilight kept the place organized, seeing how each section was not only in alphabet, but also organized by subject and content.
“You have a nice collection of books Twilight,” Starlight spoke as she followed the princess, trying to remove the silence in the air.
“Thanks. I try to keep everything in order and organized.” Twilight placed the glass of milk and plate of cookies on a small table. Two arm chairs were conveniently in front of the fireplace as they were parted by the wooden table. Without warning, Twilight Sparkle turned around to look at Starlight Glimmer. The princess had an excited look on her face, eager to say something. “Would you like to hear how I organize my books?”
“Umm... sure,” Starlight replied, startled by the sudden act, but happy that Twilight wanted to talk to her about something, even if it was something like organization. I guess the discussion of our favorite novels are going to wait I suppose...
Gasping, Twilight levitated her friend onto the left chair by the fireplace. Quickly, Twilight sat down in the vacant chair, smiling at the unicorn. “Wow, I have never had somepony want to listen to how I organize books!”
Somehow, Twilight's over the top enthusiasm about book organizing made Starlight happy. For normal ponies, they would rather listen to a griffin claw at a chalk board. For Starlight Glimmer, it made her smile at the fact that her friend really wanted to share something that was important to her. Starlight also appreciated Twilight's organization skills already, so she might as well listen as to how she does it.
Right off the bat, Twilight Sparkle quickly began to explain how she starts organizing her books. “So first, I like to get every book I own and place them in their own letter pile. After that, I organize each pile alphabetically. And then...”
If Starlight would have had to guess, Twilight was probably talking for a straight thirty minutes about how she organizes her library. For about ten minutes of that thirty, the alicorn vented about how other libraries she has gone to do not organize books the way she does. Starlight was paying attention as Twilight was talking. However, the thoughts that were keeping Starlight from sleeping crept back into her mind. Not just the She was hoping that Twilight would eventually conclude her thoughts on organizing soon; Starlight wanted to talk as well.
Lucky for the unicorn, she could tell that the enthusiastic organizer was beginning to conclude her lecture. “Another thing I like to do when sorting my books is keep specific colors together, to give that look of inconsistent pattern on my bookshelves. It makes each book look important from the one next to it. In other words,” Twilight said with a giggle and a snort, “I reeeeealy love to keep things organized.”
“I can tell, hehe,” Starlight replied as she took a cookie from the plate and bit into it. As Starlight took one of her cookies, she remembered that those were her snack and remembered she had a glass of milk as well. Taking the glass and cookie, Twilight broke the rounded snack in two and dipped it into the white liquid. Curious as to what the temperature of the milk was, the princess took a sip of it. She grimaced as the milk touched her tongue. It was a bit warm, most likely because of the fire's heat. However, because she had cookies, Twilight figured the snack can still be enjoyed.
“I appreciate you listening to my love about organization,” the princess said with a smile, finishing her first cookie.
“Your welcome,” Starlight Glimmer responded as she looked at the fire. The smell of burning wood was a nice scent to the room and enjoyed watching the flames dance around the logs.
Slowly, Starlight's expression began to change into a frown and Twilight easily saw it. “Is something the matter Starlight?”
The unicorn's eyes glanced at Twilight for a brief moment before back to the source of heat and light. Starlight was glad that her friend recognized that something was wrong, but couldn't find a way to speak up.
Again, Twilight spoke, “Starlight, is there something you want to talk about?
“Y-yeah...” the mare finally said.
The princess adjusted herself before facing Starlight Glimmer. Twilight took a gander at her snack, but considered not to take another cookie; she rather focus on her friend.
“If I remember correctly,” Twilight spoke, “you said you couldn't sleep because a lot was on your mind, correct?”
“Yeah...” Starlight replied again.
“What's on your mind?” Again, Starlight couldn't get the words out of her throat. She was too embarrassed to talk to Twilight Sparkle. Perhaps it was because she has never truly vented to anypony in years. “Just remember Starlight,” the princess spoke, “you are my friend. Everything you tell me will be confidential. And if you are too uncomfortable to say anything, don't feel obligated.”
Starlight's heart warmed up upon hearing Twilight's statement. It made her feel at least comfortable to know that her conversation would only be kept between herself and the princess.
“It's just... nice to finally talk to somepony face to face like this, allowing me to vent my emotions to,” the unicorn finally said.
Twilight swiped some of her hair out of her eyes before speaking. “So you were kept up late because something has been bothering you?”
The mare nodded. “I've been feeling guilty because of what I have done and I don't think I have told you how sorry I am enough...”
“But you already have Starlight. I know you are. And I know that you are willing to change.”
A pop came from the fireplace.
“But I have not told you everything.”
Now Twilight was more than interested into listening to Starlight Glimmer. She took a sip of her warm milk and raised a brow. “What have you not told me?”
“Well... I have not told you my true intentions as to why I hated cutie marks so much.”
Another pop came from the fireplace.
Twilight glanced at the fire and back to the mare. “I thought you already told me everything.”
Starlight lifted up her arm and rotated her wrist. “Well, I did tell you a bit of it, but you saw more than what I said. You remember when I brought you to my past, right?”
Twilight Sparkle had to recall the past event. “Yes I do. You showed me the day that Sunburst got his cutie mark.”
A sigh came from the unicorn. “But do you remember what he did when he got it?”
“Umm... he was happy that he got it?”
“He ran outside and showed everypony how proud he was about getting his cutie mark!” Suddenly, several pops came from the fireplace. Starlight's voice rang out in the library; however, her voice was swallowed by the many books that were in the library, keeping the mare's outburst from echoing throughout the castle.
Twilight knew that the past was beginning to haunt Starlight and needed to allow the unicorn to tell her exactly how she felt.
Realizing she had lost her temper, Starlight quickly said, “I-I'm so sorry... I just...”
“The past makes you angry, doesn't it?”
“And sad, yes...”
“Was it because you were jealous of your friend's cutie mark? Or was it because you didn't get yours at the same time as him? If I recall, you both were using magic to stack and put away books.”
Starlight's ears retreated backwards. “It's far more than that... It's what he did before and after he got his cutie mark...”
Twilight Sparkle was astonished to hear her friends statement. “But I thought you two were the best of friends. That your friendship was inseparable. That is until...” The princess stopped herself before scratching at an already opened wound.
“As I said before, Sunburst and I were the best of friends. Since the first day we met, we would always play and spend time together. When we would play, we would do what any child would do: play at the park, make our own games, and, heh, play our favorite pastime event: Hot Lava Floor.” Starlight smiled brightly as her eyes were half closed, reminiscing the good times she had with her beloved friend.
“Sounds to me that you two had a lot of fun,” Twilight spoke, smiling along with her friend.
“I didn't even tell you what we did when we just spent time together,” Starlight said excitingly. “We would always have something to read together. What ever we read, we did it together. What ever we studied, there we were, sitting next to each other, side by side.”
An “aww” escaped from Twilight's lips. Her heart couldn't take how adorable both Starlight and Sunburst used to spend time together. “You two must have had a wonderful friendship.”
“Yeah...” The princess noticed her friend's wide smile slightly shrink and then grow back. “He used to tease me on occasion whenever he could.” Starlight chuckled. “And whenever he did, I would always retaliate by giving him a push or a punch in the shoulder.” She rolled her eyes. “Sunburst would just love to bug me about something and then try to run away from me. Let's just say he never got far.”
“Did you dislike the teasing?”
“Not really,” Starlight replied, turning her head to the alicorn. “When you think about it, it was all in good fun. He never did it out of spite. In fact, it made our friendship more interesting, more competitive.”
“'Interesting' you say.” Twilight went to take a sip from her glass when she noticed that there was no more milk within it. Well there goes my milk AND cookies late night snack... The mare lightly shook her head, knowing that milk and cookies were the last thing she needed to focus on. “So, if I remember from what you said earlier, you told me that there was more to it than him getting his cutie mark. What did he do to you before that?”
“I'm getting to that,” Starlight replied bluntly. Twilight kept quiet, awaiting her friend's next part of her story. Twilight understood why Starlight responded the way she did, so she didn't take it personally.
“So... one day...” Starlight was slightly hesitant to go on, but pressed forward. And something surprised Twilight. It was hard to tell because of the firelight, but the princess noticed her friend was... blushing.
“Umm... Sunburst he...” The unicorn giggled with delight. “One day, he came to my home so we can do our normal routine of going to the library and reading it together. But something was off about him that day. He looked very nervous, uncertain about something. I, of course, thought he was up to his ridiculous teasing.”
“When we got to the library, he did something unusual to our routine: he got his own book. Immediately, I knew something was up when he propped it up and hid his face from me as we sat and read our books at our usual wooden table. I, hehe, touched his shoulder and asked if everything was alright. And then... he asked me if I wanted to see a magic trick.”
At this point, Twilight could clearly see that Starlight was blushing. The alicorn was sitting in her seat, slightly shaking in anticipation at what her friend would say next .
Clearing her throat, Starlight Glimmer continued, “So I said 'sure.' He took the book I was using and opened it, propping it up next to the book he was using. Sunburst then told me to stand on the other side of the table so I didn't see what he was doing on the other side.”
“Complying, I did what I was told. When I stood on the opposite side of him, Sunburst raised his arms, lit his horn, and then swiped a hoof from behind the boarded up books. And... somehow, I don't know how he got it to this very day, but in the hoof he swiped behind those books, he was able to pull out a small rose.”
Twilight Sparkle gasped, “How sweet!”
“And after that, Sunburst walked over to me and gave it to me.” Starlight's hooves magnetized to her chin as she remembered the cute act by her friend. “And right there, he confessed that he had a big crush on me.”
“I've... that was so cute,” Twilight choked, tears almost forming in her eyes. She could also feel her throat was getting sore.
Starlight nodded very slowly, still blushing because of the past memory.
“What did you say back to him?” Twilight was very eager to here the next part of the story.
“For about five minutes, me and him stared at each other without a word. As I stared at him, he had the cutest blush on his face. If I could go back in time, I would kiss him right on the lips.”
Twilight swayed her body left in right. “You know you caaaaaaaan travel back in time with Star Swirl's scroll.”
“I would, but that would have a drastic change for the future wouldn't it?”
“But you said-”
“It was a figure of speech Twilight. Besides, it's best if this reality remains unchanged for the better...”
Twilight realized what she said was unnecessary and wished she could take it back. But like Starlight said, “...It's best if this reality remains unchanged for the better” and decided to take what she had said and that was that.
“So,” Twilight asked, “what happened next?”
With the spotlight back on her, Starlight continued, “Well, after I mustered up the strength to say something, I... I told him I couldn't be his special somepony.”
“W-WHAT?!” Twilight shouted.
A harsh leer was shot at Twilight by Starlight. “Could you not make an input please? I didn't interrupt your talk about organizing books.”
“Sorry...” Twilight's ears fell back, knowing she had crossed a thin line. She needed to find a spell that would take her voice away for a few minutes to keep her from saying something. But she didn't have the time to look, so was going to make her best attempt at staying quiet.
“So, the reason why I basically said no,” Starlight resumed, “was because my father told me that I could not have a boyfriend until I was older. Of course, I told Sunburst that. I did tel l him, however...” Twilight grabbed one of her cookies and crammed it into her mouth so she can prevent herself from interjecting. “...that we can wait until we are older before we can date.”
Itching to say something but trying to keep herself from doing so, Twilight crammed another cookie into her mouth, slowly chewing.
“Then I took the rose Sunburst wanted to give me and sniffed it.” The alicorn hummed a muffled “aww.”
“I must say, it was a sweet smelling rose,” Starlight smiled. “I then told him while we wait to get older, he can give me a pet name. Instantly, he already had one for me. At that moment, he called me Star Eyes.” Again, Twilight hummed again with delight.
“But of course, I hated the name because it sounded embarrassing. So what did my friend do? He began to chant loudly I was his star eyes and he was my heart burst.”
“MMMMMMMPPPHHH!” Twilight shuttered. She couldn't help how adorable Starlight was explaining Sunburst's childish, yet sweet act.
“So to stop his annoying chant, I punched him in the face.”
“PFFFT!” The alicorn spat out soggy chunks of chewed up cookies. “Why did you- umm-” Trying to keep herself from speaking, Twilight levitated a good amount of cookies into the air and crammed them into her mouth.
Starlight gave the princess an awkward look as she saw Twilight's crammed face. “So umm... after that day, he continued to call me that silly pet name. And even though I hit him every time he called me it, I loved it. I was that special to him that he would call me a different name. Though, I rarely called him by his pet name that he gave himself: Heart Burst. Nonetheless, our friendship bloomed. We were more open with each other, telling each other our deepest darkest secrets. The one thing that drastically changed was the teasing.” The unicorn shook her head. “I don't know why, but Sunburst's teasing increased tenfold. He would always tell me I looked cute everyday, complementing something different everyday, and he would always call me that pet name.”
“Buf fwhy ifs dat a bad fing?” Twilight said, unable to keep herself quiet, despite the many cookies that blockaded her mouth.
“Because I don't like to be flustered.” A bright smile stretched across Starlight's face. “But there was one thing he did that I just... absolutely loved.”
“An' fwhat was dat?”
The unicorn looked up at the ceiling, admiring how high it was. “When ever I was having a bad day, he and I would go to the park and sit on a bench with me. We would always go to the furthest area of the park so nopony would see us. And when it was just me and him... He would-” Starlight's voice choked for a moment as she felt her eyes build up with salty water droplets.
There was a moment of silence as the unicorn tried to collect her thoughts and fight back tears. The silence was killing Twilight Sparkle as she waited impatiently. Did he give her more flower magic tricks?! Did they kiss?! Speak my friend! SPEAK!
After a few more seconds of being quiet, Starlight Glimmer spoke again, “When we would sit at our own isolated bench away from everypony, Sunburst would sit up close against me, telling me everything was going to be okay.” She let out a happy sigh. “Just the touch from him was enough to keep me still and melt my heart.”
Twilight Sparkle swallowed the many cookies that were crammed into her mouth so she can speak coherently. “You two really were the best of friends,” she smiled.
“Yeah...” Starlight replied coldly. “Were... I no longer care about him.” All happiness that was once within the unicorn was quickly evaporated.
The princess was in shock. “I don't understand... you two seemed to be the best of friends. You just told me all those nice things you and Sunburst did and now you turn around, saying you despise him?”
“You forget what happened the day Sunburst got his cutie mark,” Starlight said grinning toward her friend. Twilight remained mute, knowing a flood of emotions were about to be spilled.
Starlight took in a deep breath and sighed. “So, the day Sunburst got his cutie mark was the day we decided to test what we have learned in balance and levitation by stacking books on top of one another. If you don't remember what had happened, I'll refresh your memory.” Twilight Sparkle saw anger in her friend's eyes. “I was removing the bottom one when they all fell in my direction. I don't know why I didn't use my magic to stop them from falling on me. All I did was cower as they toppled over me.”
“Thankfully, Sunburst saved me a couple bruises by preventing the books from falling on me. But, in a bright spectacle of magic, my friend levitated into the air, shooting all the books back onto the shelves that they once belonged to... I have never seen something so amazing. He shined so brightly as natural magic coursed through him. And then...”
Silence... Not even the fire dared to make a slight crackle.
“After that amazing display of magic, there on his flank was his cutie mark...”
Twilight remained quiet. She saw Starlight look in her direction. Her head hung low and ears where jetted backwards.
“And... what he did next... just... destroyed me...” A single warm tear rolled down the mare's face as she continued to press on through the painful memory. “When he got his cutie mark, he ran outside and exclaimed to everypony that he got his cutie mark...”
Twilight dared herself to speak. “Why was that a bad thing?”
Starlight could take it no longer. The pain was just too much to bare. She took in a breath of air, as tears naturally rolled down her face, yelling, “BECAUSE I WASN'T THE FIRST PONY HE WENT TO WHEN HE GOT HIS CUTIE MARK! I WAS RIGHT THERE! ME, THE ONE WHO HE APPERENTLY LOVED, AND JUST RAN RIGHT PAST ME AND STRAIGHT INTO TOWN! HE DIDN'T EVEN GIVE ME A HUG OR THANKED ME OR ANYTHING!” Frustrated, Starlight Glimmer got out of her seat and threw herself onto the ground, crying. “Why... why would he just ignore me like that...,” the mare sobbed into her arms. “I thought I was your Star Eyes... the one who helped you see the one who inspired you...”
If Starlight had invested more time in the magic of invisibility, the mare would have disappeared by now. She didn't like to have herself seen in such a broken state. But Starlight understood that she needed to tell Twilight Sparkle the truth.
A hoof touched Starlight's shoulder. She looked up to see the princess of friendship standing over her. “It's alright, Starlight,” she said. “Just let it all out.”
Twilight's words warmed the broken unicorn's heart. She felt that she could tell her new friend anything at this point.
“You know,” Starlight huffed, trying to get out more words, “that was not the worst of what he did.”
“He did more?” Twilight asked.
“A better way of putting it is what he didn't do.” Knowing she would have to show her face again sometime, Starlight sat up and looked toward the fire. Staring at the flames, she felt its heat hot against her face, her stream of tears evaporating off her cheeks.
“So, literally the next day, Sunburst was shipped off to Canterlot without another word...” In her peripheral, she saw Twilight Sparkle sit down beside her. She was close, but not too close.
“It was about a few days later that Sunburst's parents came back that they told me he was staying at Canterlot because of his wonderful talent for magic. What they told me was an insult! I was just as good as he was, and he was treated like some pampered prince!”
Once again, Starlight felt Twilight's hoof on her shoulder. “Were you jealous of him because of what he got?”
“Yes. All because he got his cutie mark that finally recognized for his talent.” Starlight huffed out of her snot-clogged snout. She sniffed to prevent any mucus to escape her nose.
“Was this the birth as to why you disliked cutie marks?”
Starlight nodded. “It was. However...”
Twilight raised a brow.
The moment Starlight looked away from the fire, tears began to flow once more. “...I didn't tell you what he didn't do that truly made me hate him and cutie marks.”
“Well, what did he not do?” Twilight asked, curious to learn even more about her friend's true reasoning behind disapproving cutie marks.
Taking in a breath of air, Starlight sighed, still looking in Twilight's direction but toward the ground. “So, after hearing about Sunburst's fortune about going to Canterlot, I wrote letters to him and gave them to his parents so that they can mail it to him. I wrote five letters. And not a single reply back...”
“Did you ask Sunburst's parents if they ever delivered them to him?”
Starlight glanced up at Twilight , humiliated that she had to cry in front of her friend again. “They knew that he and I were the best of friends. Of course they would. At least, I hope they did. They told me that they did.” The unicorn shook her head, knowing she was about to go of course with her conversation. “Regardless of them, I wrote five letters and didn't get a single reply back...”
Again, the fire grew quiet.
“No reply... Not one. NOT ONE!” Starlight clenched her eyes shut, tears splashing as her eye lids closed. “MY SO CALLED BEST FRIEND DIDN'T EVEN WRITE TO ME ONCE, LET ALONE RESPOND TO A SINGLE LETTER! I EVEN ASKED HIS PARENTS IF HE EVER WROTE BACK AND EVEN THEY TOLD ME HE DOESN'T WRITE BACK TO THEM!”
Turning to the fire, the unicorn's tears disappeared in a vapor. Starlight can feel the true heat of the hot coals that rested at the bottom of the fireplace. “Gee... I wonder why, Starlight,” she said sarcastically, “I wonder why your friend never replied back. Oh, I know! It was his ACCURSED CUTIE MARK! You must have been SO PROUD OF YOURSELF to get your special talent and then run off to a school where all the smart, special, and LUCKY unicorns go to!”
This time, Twilight Sparkle reached around Starlight Glimmer and pulled her in close, knowing her friend needed comfort. Starlight didn't rebel against the alicorn's decision. She knew Twilight was trying to help.
“I hated him for what he did to me... Not just for him running off to Canterlot and not writing back to me once, but for every sweet thing he told me as well.”
“You... hated him because of his past complements?” Twilight didn't understand Starlight Glimmer's reason.
The unicorn turned her head to look at Twilight. Half of Starlight's face was lit by the fireplace. The other half was not.
“Yes,” Starlight replied weakly.
“Why?”
“Because the moment he moved away, I... I...” Starlight couldn't stand the fireplace's heat any longer and looked away from it all together. “I slowly began to fall in love with that idiot! Everything- he told me, everything he did with me... was gone. And somehow, his absence made me crave him. I wanted him. I needed him. I- missed him... especially his touch.”
Twilight sat up and opened her arms to Starlight, waiting to comfort her upset friend. Starlight didn't give the offer a second thought. The mare fell into the alicorn's arms. Twilight felt Starlight squeeze her body. “I'm sorry you had to go though that,” the princess said.
“Why are you sorry?” the unicorn replied. “You had nothing to do with my past pain. Well... maybe just a tiny bit, but I am over that.”
Twilight giggled, “I know.”
It was after a moment of silence before Starlight began to speak again. “I want to ask you something Twilight.”
“Ask away.”
Both mare's broke their hold on each other and looked back at one another. “Have you ever had a stallion tell you amazing and nice things, and then, after getting something so much better, turn around and forget your very existence?”
The princess replied, “No... I don't...” Twilight saw her friend staring down at the floor, surprised to see Starlight Glimmer still able to squeeze tears out of her eyes.
Letting out a sigh, Starlight said, “Because my so-called friend ran off and forgot about me, it broke my heart. It destroyed me. I felt like I was worth nothing. And despite my hatred that grew for him, I still wanted him. I wanted to be with him. I wanted to here his complements. To hear his annoying teasing. To be next to him. And... to maybe... kiss him...”
“I never wanted to feel that pain again. That is why I created a village so that everypony can have the same cutie mark. So they don't feel the same pain I felt.”
Twilight brought her hoof to her chin. “Now I truly understand why you did what you did with the village you created. I mean, I knew that it was because of your friend getting his cutie mark. I just never knew it was that deep...”
“At least now you know why I loved, then hated my friend. A-and cutie marks of course.”
Starlight's statement made Twilight think. “You loved cutie marks before?” the princess asked.
“Well, I always wanted to get my cutie mark as quickly as I can, so I practiced and studied magic really hard along side Sunburst. Of course, because of his blessing, it dawned into me despising cutie marks all together.”
“That brings up another question, Starlight,” Twilight spoke, curious about her friend. “Do you still hate cutie marks?”
It was in interesting question. Starlight hadn't thought about her current thoughts about cutie marks or where she stands with them. “I... don't know? I don't... think so?”
“I have a feeling that you don't,” Twilight smiled.
“Yeah, hehe.” Starlight then creased her brow a bit. “I know I still hate Sunburst for all the pain he caused me...”
Twilight leaned over to her friend a bit. “But if given the chance, would you at least talk to him once more?”
“I'd more likely kick him in the chest than be civil. Like I said, he brought pain upon me, and I would be more than happy to deliver.”
The princess was beginning to see the old Starlight Glimmer and wanted to change that quickly. “Don't you think that would be a bit to the extreme? What if he had a reason as to why he didn't write back? Or, what if he realized what he did was wrong and wanted to apologize?”
The heated unicorn calmed herself down as she thought about the possibilities. “I will admit, it would be very nice to at least see him again. But, I would still be angry with him- I don't know...”
The princess smiled at the mare. “One more question: Are you glad you got all that off your chest, or at least told me your true intentions as to why you disliked cutie marks?”
“Yes,” Starlight smiled. “It makes me feel special, knowing that another pony is willing to listen. It's a feeling I... haven’t felt in a long time...”
“That's good to hear.”
Suddenly, Starlight let out a loud yawn. “Wow, I am tired all of a sudden...”
“Then why don't you go and get some rest then.”
“Good idea.” Both mares gave a quick hug before the unicorn got up and made for the door. Before she left the library, Starlight said aloud, “Thank you for everything Twilight. Thank you for your mercy.” The princess had no chance to reply as Starlight closed the library door. Twilight looked at the fire and noticed that the logs that were in there before were all burned up. Looking to the woodpile to the left, Twilight levitated a piece of wood, and placed it into the fire.
Once again, the fireplace began to crackle as the heat and hot coals claimed the log.
A grin slowly grew on Twilight's face. Lucky for you, Starlight Glimmer, I know quite a lot of unicorns. I wonder if my friends from Canterlot know anything about your friend Sunburst.
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My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
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Interesting fic here, hope you continue on with this.
Romance tag?
Beautiful. Just absolutely beautiful.
You did a fantastic job of adding on to a topic that actually could be canon to the show. It seemed a bit rear-ended on Starlight hating cutie-marks because her friend left her, but with this here... I see more of what the writers could've added to the show: more of Starlight's personal history.
You, my friend, have just earned a place in my book.
So good!!! Can't wait for more.
Very good. I'll be following this story.
Why do I have a suspicion that Twilight's not going to like where Sunburst is when she finds him?
6696734 Thank you. The only thing us fans and fan fiction writers can do for the time being is assume what went through Starlight Glimmer's mind when she was heart broken by her old friend. Starlight Glimmer is a huge hot topic for speculation so expect this sight to be flooded with fan fictions about her.
But I do thank you for the feedback
Gee. Did you ever consider maybe he didn't want to be around you anymore because you kept causing him physical pain?
Well, I'm glad to see this isn't a 'Starlight overreacts just because her friend moves away' fic. This goes more in-depth behind her reasoning. Have a like.
I feel like you should make more use of contractions when the characters are apeaking. It sounds a little unnatural for everyone to say things like "have not" rather than "haven't"