My Own Reflection
It's another one of those days where I couldn't decide whether or not to even bother getting out of bed.
Luckily for me, it was Saturday, so there wasn't any school. I was content to simply lie on my back, looking up at the uneven paint on the ceiling, something that had always bothered me. However, in the conga line of garbage life had decided to throw my way, it ranked very low on the totem pole, so I ignored it.
I brushed a lock of purple and turquoise hair out of my face, wishing I could just fall back asleep and stay asleep. It wasn't like anything in my life was going to change today, no matter how much other people disagreed with me on that. Besides, half the staff at my school would probably be grateful if I never showed up again. So who was I to—
"Chipmunk cheeks! Wakey wakey! Breakfast time!"
I groaned to myself. Of course Dad wouldn't let me sleep the day away. I could ignore him for a while, but he'd only get louder. Then he'd eventually come up here and drag me downstairs, smiling that stupid, sincere smile the whole time. A few extra minutes of sleep weren't worth that.
With a mighty heave, I managed to drag myself out of bed, trying in vain to smooth out my hair a little more. I threw on a dull purple shirt and jeans with some holes in them, more out of habit than anything else. Besides, if I did come down in my pajamas, Dad would never let me hear the end of how cute I looked in them.
I trudged down the stairs, finding my father busily flipping pancakes at the stove. My mood improved a little bit in anticipation, which I suppose speaks to my Dad's cooking skills. At least he's good at something. Nevertheless, I wasn't going to give Dad the satisfaction of knowing that. Pulling a chair up to the table, I opened the fridge, grabbing a carton of orange juice and pouring myself a glass.
It was then that dad turned around. "Oh, punkie wunk! You made it! Doesn't it make you feel amazing to get an early start to the day?"
I rolled my eyes, not that he noticed. "Sure, Dad." I started chugging my OJ, hoping I can finish breakfast quickly and get out of the house before he really gets going. Of course, my life never turned out the way I wanted it to.
"Oh, honey buns, don't drink it too fast!" He snatched the glass out of my hand. "You'll give yourself a tummy ache!"
I opened my mouth to question the idea of somebody getting a stomach ache from OJ, but Dad had already skipped back over to the stove. He scooped a pancake onto the plate, and then proceeded to put a smiley face on it with strawberries and blueberries. I couldn't stop myself from groaning as he set it in front of me.
"Dad, I'm not three anymore," I informed him, as I had done many times before. Of course, the result was no better.
"Aaaaw, is somebody a grumpy wumpkins?" Dad then proceeded to pinch my cheek with one hand and ruffle my hair with the other. "That's okay, you're still my little sweetie!"
My palm then collided with my face. Dad's constant infantilizing of me always drove me nuts, but it was particularly aggravating today, for reasons I wasn't sure about. I picked up my fork to begin eating.
"Now, Starlight," Dad continued, sitting down in the chair opposite me, "I got a call from Sire's Hollow High yesterday. I heard you got into another little tiff?"
"Dad, we talked about this," I started, gripping the fork so hard my knuckles turned white.
"There, there, spunky, it's okay," Dad said, ruffling my hair. "I just want to know if you got any boo-boos—"
"DAD!"
I slammed my fist into the table, causing everything on it to rattle, sending silverware clattering to the floor. My unfinished glass of OJ tipped over, spilling onto the hard woodfloor. Dad flinched back as though I'd hit him, an idea that was actually kind of appealing right now.
"I AM SICK AND TIRED OF THIS CRAP YOU PULL!" I shouted, shaking my fist in his face. "I'M SICK OF BEING TREATED LIKE A BABY! I'M SICK OF YOU!"
Dad opened his mouth, but no sound came out. I could already see the tears starting to form in the corners of his eyes, but I didn't care. I snatched the pancake off the plate, sending the fruit tumbling to the floor, cramming it into my mouth and swallowing it, before I stomped over to the door, grabbing the handle and yanking it open, and stormed out into the day, slamming the door shut behind me. I faintly heard Dad call after me a couple of times, but my rage was burning so hot I didn't care.
I walked for a while, the way you do when you're so angry you can't even see. I wasn't even paying attention to where I was going, just stomping along wherever my brain happened to direct my feet. My anger had simmered down a little after a while, but I wasn't willing to go back and face Dad. I finally looked up, finding myself in Canterlot Park, which, of course, had a large number of people galavanting around. I groaned to myself, though it seemed nobody had seen me yet.
I was just contemplating running away and finding something else to do, when my phone rang. Grabbing it out of my pocket, I let out another moan when I saw who it was calling me: my peer mentor. Due to multiple instances of me fighting with other students, the school administration had come close to sending me to juvie, but had instead opted to assign me a volunteer mentor from another school until my behavior 'improved.' I hated it, of course. She was my age, she had no right to tell me what to do. Nonetheless, I answered the phone, if only because she'd keep calling until I did.
"Hey, Starlight!" came Sunset Shimmer's annoyingly cheery voice.
"What do you want, Shimmer?" I snapped back at her. I wasn't in the mood for her to lecture me on my 'issues.' It wasn't like she had anything to offer me, anyway.
"Listen, Starlight. I heard you got into another fight this week and I just wanted to—"
"He was showing off," I growled. "Dancing around with that stupid trophy like it meant something. All I did was give him exactly what he was asking for."
"Starlight, you know you can't assault other students—"
"No, you know what? Shut up!" I yelled into the phone. "That little creep deserved everything I gave to him. I'm not gonna listen to you drone on and on and on about how 'wrong' it was! I do what I want, you got that?!"
I waited for Shimmer to break down. To start sobbing, like Dad always did. After all, she seemed like the same kind of whiny, self-righteous, naive idiot. Instead, she made no sound, and I actually had to check to make sure she hadn't hung up. I was surprised, if I have to be totally honest. I would've expected her to report that I was a lost cause after that little outburst.
"Are you finished?" she finally asked, breaking the silence. I actually froze where I was, not prepared for this response. Shimmer didn't sound annoyed or angry with me. Instead, she sounded like she was just accepting the state I was in, and she wasn't going to force me to cheer up or some crap like that. I was so caught off-guard, I didn't know what to do.
"Um...yeah, I guess," I finally managed to get out, feeling like an idiot. I couldn't think of anything better to say, though.
"Listen, Starlight," Shimmer continued. "There's somebody I want to introduce you to. Somebody who I think you'll have a lot in common with, who you'll be more open to talking to. I might be wrong, but I honestly believe it'll be good for you."
"I don't—" I started.
"Look, I'll make you a deal. You come to this one meeting, and then I'll never ask you to do anything again. No matter how it goes, I'll leave you alone after this, if that's what you still want. Please."
I mulled over her words for a minute. Shimmer wanted me to meet someone, probably someone who claimed to have been as bad as I was and then 'seen the light' or some nonsense like that. Of course, I wasn't keen on it, but the promise of having Shimmer get off my back was tempting. All I had to do was get through one more round of her crap.
"...fine," I grudgingly agreed, after a moment of debate.
"Excellent. Meet me at Canterlot High, by the old Wondercolt statue in one hour."
"Why there?" I asked, genuinely curious. Shimmer was usually comfortable enough to come to my actual house to do our in-person meetings.
"Well...let's just say there'll be less questions to answer if we meet there. Trust me." Then she hung up, leaving me confused and burnt out.
I sighed, not looking forward to this in the slightest. I was absolutely sure it was going to be a waste of time. Though I would finally be free of Shimmer after this, so that was something to look forward to, at least.
I dragged myself down to Canterlot High. I didn't go to school there, but I knew the place by reputation. Who in the school district didn't, at this point? Of course, the rumors of magic and students growing wings and such were bull, but there were still some interesting things floating around. Some crazy Battle of the Bands, the school finally managing to tie Crystal Prep in the Friendship Games (what a dumb name for a contest) after so many years of straight losing, something was clearly going on. Maybe they were cheating. I didn't care enough to find out, but it was worth noting.
It was then that I noticed Shimmer standing by the corner of the school, waving to get my attention. Once again, I began to regret agreeing to this deal. Still, it was too late to back out now. I walked over to her.
"Thanks for coming, Starlight," she said, with that stupid smile on her face. "I promise, you won't regret this!"
"Okay, where's this motivational speaker you paid to talk down to me?" I asked.
Shimmer frowned a little, but she clearly didn't let it get to her. "Okay, now I'm not gonna lie to you: This is gonna be weird. Probably the weirdest experience in your entire life. But just stick with it, alright?" Then she started beckoning with one hand, and another person came out from behind the wall.
I usually consider myself a fairly stable, calm person. That blowup I had during breakfast isn't how I typically act. I can mostly roll with anything. But, if I have to be honest, when that figure stepped into my sight, my jaw dropped harder than a sledgehammer.
Because she was me.
There were differences, certainly. She wore torn pants, a weirdo vest/shirt combo, and a pink beanie I wouldn't be caught dead with. But she had the same eyes, the same hair, the same skin color I see every time I look in the mirror. We might as well have been identical twins.
"I just...I...what?!" I managed to sputter out, pointing one hand.
"Uh, hi there," said the other me, waving awkwardly with one hand. Holy crap, she even had the same voice!
"What...what are you?!" I shouted. "Is this some kind of Invasion of the Body Snatchers—"
"No, no, nothing like that," insisted Shimmer, hurriedly grabbing my shoulders. I was too freaked out to get angry at her. "Starlight Glimmer, meet...Starlight Glimmer."
"Are you sure this was a good idea, Sunset?" asked the other me. "She doesn't seem to be taking it too well."
"Of course I'm not taking this well!" I snapped, though it was more out of sheer confusion than anger.
"Look, why don't we all sit down?" Shimmer suggested. "I think we're gonna need to explain everything before we can get anywhere."
"So, let me get this straight," I started, "not only are you my doppelganger from an alternate universe, but in that universe, you're a unicorn? And Shimmer's from there as well?"
"Pretty much, yeah," said the other Starlight. "When you get down to it, it's really not that complicated."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm tempted to call everything you just said bull, but considering the insane amount of effort it would've taken to fake you—copying my skin, my hair, even my voice—I'm inclined to believe anything." I'd have to rethink my opinion of the supposed magic around Canterlot High, as well.
Shimmer smiled awkwardly. "I told you it was gonna be weird."
Other Starlight (I guess I could call her pony Starlight, or whatever) looked over at her. "Sunset, could you give us a few? This'll be easier if we're alone."
Shimmer nodded, getting to her feet. "Holler if you need me," she insisted, then walked off to do who knows what.
"So..." I started, staring at P-Starlight, unsure how to proceed. "This is awkward."
"It is, isn't it?" she replied. "I knew it would be, considering Sunset was asking me to talk to myself, but it's another thing to experience it first hoof—I mean, hand." She held up her own hand, wiggling her fingers. "I'm still not used to these."
I sighed. "Look...me, I admit that this is more than I was expecting, but I still don't see what you could possibly offer me. You come from magical pony land, you couldn't possibly understand the crap I have to deal with in this crappy life."
"Maybe I can't," she admitted, surprising me again. "After all, I don't really know you. I only know what Sunset told me about you. But...I think we might have more in common than you'd guess."
"Like what?"
"Well..." She seemed afraid of what she was about to say. "I'm gonna guess you had an upsetting experience when you were a kid, involving...Sunburst?"
I flinched. I'm not exaggerating, I actually flinched. I hadn't heard that name in so long. It brought back everything I'd spent years suppressing. My hands found their way to my upper arms and began rubbing, as I felt a sudden chill go through me. I looked at my counterpart, trying desperately to stop myself from tearing up in front of her.
"How...how did you know?" I tried to demand, but it came out as pleading.
P-Starlight smiled a patient smile, placing her hand on my shoulder. "When we were foals—remember, we're ponies where I'm from—he was my best friend. Then, one day, he discovered his special talent in magic, got his Cutie Mark, and left my hometown. I didn't see him for years after that. I know humans don't have Cutie Marks, but I'm assuming something similar happened to you?"
Despite my reluctance to do so, I found myself pouring out the truth, having to pause just to catch my breath. "We were...just kids. He was my best friend...my only friend. Then the school decided...he needed to skip a grade. We don't even go to the same school anymore...he's going to Crystal Prep, but my Dad couldn't afford it." I gritted my teeth, trying to look angry in spite of the tears that were threatening to spill. "Dad...useless Dad didn't make enough money. Talents, intelligence...all it does is ruin lives and divide us. He abandoned me the second he found out he was better than me."
"And now you vent your rage on any kid that seems special," P-Starlight concluded. I rounded on her, clenching both fists, but she raised her hands in a gesture of peace. "Hey, what I did was way worse than anything you're capable of! I stole the special talents of an entire village, forcing them to live in this crazy, equality-obsessed village where nobody was allowed to be good at anything. Then, when I got stopped, I tried to take my revenge on the ponies who beat me by using a time-travel spell to ruin their lives, and nearly reduced the land of Equestria to a desolate wasteland."
I backed away a little, surprised at this turn of events. My doppelganger's words didn't sound phony. My first reaction was to actually believe she'd done all this bad crap and was repentant for it, and now she was legitimately trying to connect with me over this. Plus, she'd gone through something similar with her own Sunburst, so she seemed to understand the pain I was feeling.
"Does your Firelight...I mean, Dad...does he treat you like a little kid, too?" I ventured.
She gave a small chuckle at that. "He used to. Okay, sometimes, he still does. But we had a civil discussion about how much it bothered me, and he backed off. But that's not the big problem here."
She placed both her hands on my shoulders, making direct eye contact with me. "I know that what happened with Sunburst makes you hate those who use their talents. Even worse, it makes you distrustful of friendship in general, because if he left, what's to stop somebody else from doing the same? But I'm gonna ask you a question someone once asked me: why didn't you just stay in touch with Sunburst? I know you humans have something called phones."
At that moment, it was like I'd been wearing a blindfold and earmuffs for years and somebody just tore them off. It was such an obvious question, I wondered why nobody had ever asked me before. Suddenly, all I could feel was shame. I'd been lashing out at people who'd never done anything to me over one tiny incident.
"I...I...I don't know..." I finally managed to get out.
P-Starlight nodded. "I didn't know why either. I guess what happened was that I kept putting it off, until I felt it was too late. Then I decided Cutie Marks were to blame, just to avoid taking responsibility for my own failure. Because friendship is a two-way street. You have to work to keep your friendships together.
"What I'm trying to tell you is...you don't have to be so angry and bitter over this. You have the power to fix it, to make new friends, to actually be happy. I managed to reconnect with my Sunburst after all the terrible things I did. I was afraid he'd have changed so much we'd be incompatible even as friends, or that he'd want nothing to do with me after what I'd become. But I was wrong, and if your Sunburst is anything like mine, he's as afraid of you as you are of him.
"As for Dad...like I said, just have a talk with him. Tell him what you're feeling. He's probably just trying to help you in the way he knows how. I promise, he'll understand."
I swallowed, fighting to prevent myself from breaking down into tears in front of her. I still had my pride, after all. Nonetheless, I looked my counterpart in the eyes and nodded.
"I'll try," I squeezed out.
P-Starlight smiled warmly, and in another move that caught me off-guard, she actually wrapped her arms around me, pulling my body against her. I froze where I stood, unsure what I was supposed to do now. I slowly started to raise my arms to return the hug, but she let me go before I got very far. I think she knew it made me feel awkward, even if I needed it, so she didn't force me to return it.
"You'll be okay, I promise," she said.
I found myself walking back to my house, hands in my pockets, nerves racing. After our little conversation, P-Starlight had called Sunset back, and we'd had a small discussion about my future. I admitted to Sunset that she'd impressed me, finding the one person in the world who I'd listen to. I'd promised I'd try to avoid getting into fights, but this time, I actually meant it. It turned out, Sunset was friends with some Crystal Prep kids, and they would be able to track down Sunburst for me, and hopefully, I'd be able to make up for that mistake.
But before that, I'd have to face my other big screw up.
Looking up, I saw I'd reached my destination. I stared at the door for a few minutes, wishing I didn't have to go through it, before sighing and digging into my pocket for my key. Putting it off wasn't gonna get me anywhere. Might as well bite the bullet.
I unlocked the door and walked in. "Dad?" I called into the house, but he didn't respond. I groaned to myself. This was already starting great.
I walked through the house, checking every room. It didn't take me long to find Dad, sitting by the fireplace. Of course, there was no actual fire in there, but he stared into it anyway. I fiddled with my hands, afraid. He had to know I was here by now.
"I...I'm sorry, Dad," I finally admitted.
For a few moments, nothing happened. Dad's fingers gripped the armrest of his chair harder, but he didn't turn around. I swallowed again, more scared than I'd been before. Eventually, Dad broke the silence.
"I'm sorry too, Starlight."
I trembled a little, afraid he was angry, but when he continued speaking, it was in a calm, clear voice.
"I know you haven't really felt happy since you were a kid. I thought, y'know, if I made things like they were back then, maybe you'd feel better. But I was wrong. I'm sorry."
"That doesn't excuse how I've been treating you," I mumbled.
Then he finally turned around, looking at me with tears in his eyes, but there was something else there, as well.
Hope.
I fell into his hug.
Also LikedSimilarAuthor
- TCC56 · 12k words · 140 1 · 1.7k views
- Rune Soldier Dan · 6.3k words · 303 5 · 4.1k views
- Peni Parker · 2.1k words · 160 4 · 2.1k views
- River Road · 11k words · 187 4 · 2.9k views
- James Pwyll · 21k words · 46 2 · 883 views
- Pokeprof · 13k words · 151 6 · 4.1k views
- Hotel_Chicken · 1k words · 239 1 · 2.7k views
- Rated Ponystar · 2.2k words · 102 3 · 3.6k views
Stats
Page generated in 0.148 seconds
Total duration
1,093 users online
2,517,188 hits today, 2,328,677 yesterday
FIMFiction
My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic Fanfiction
Designed and coded by knighty & Xaquseg - © 2011-2024
Follow & Support Us
Support us
SubStar
Chat!
Discord
Follow us
Twitter
MLP: Friendship is Magic® - © 2024 Hasbro Inc.®
Fimfiction is in no way affiliated with or endorsed by Hasbro Inc.®
Simple, but very effective. It could've stood a bit more fleshing out here and there, but you mapped Starlight to a teenage human version very well, to say nothing of the talk between the two. Even Glimmer-grade arbitrary skepticism doesn't up well to a doppelganger created with an hour of prep time. Fine work indeed. Best of luck in the judging.
10454065
Thanks.
This was good drama! Yay how her and Firelight made up at the end!
----
Well... Given FOME's Hollow Shades, makes things a bit ominous, but here, it could just be a distant highschool. Which fits.
----
----
Oh! Sunburst moving to Crystal Prep like how he's in the Crystal Empire!
... Took me writing this comment to get that!
Very good story.
Good work on this.
very well done! Did she manage to reconnect with Sunburst?
10454455
I say she did.
This is getting out of hand. Now there are two of them 😜
Naw seriously. As someone who worked with at-risk youth kids in the past, I found human Starlight's reactions to be pretty realistic. Nicely done.
10454461
well howsabout a sequel detailing such, eh?
10454569
I'll think about it.
Actually, it was established that Sunburst didn't read or respond to any mail from his hometown, so trying to keep in touch was useless.
I imagine this would be the response to her lack of a respond letter from Sunburst.
derpicdn.net/img/view/2018/2/18/1659408.png
I kind of laugh at people who keep saying, ' Well, why didn't she just keep in touch'. Because that's kind of a two way street. She can send all the letters she wants. If hes not going to bother reading them and writing back, it kind of ends up pointless. Who can blame her for thinking Sunburst abandoned her. Thinking Sunburst didn't think she was worth keeping in touch with.
And by the time sho would have been old enough to go to Canterlot on her own, he would have been long gone after failing. And schools don't tend to keep track of where there failed students end up.
This is kind of why I see Starlight as still a teen, around 18 or 19, or fresh out of her teens when she meets the Mane 6. Because I believe Sunburst moved to the Crystal Empire right after failing Wizard school in order to avoid the disgrace of going back home a failure. An Empire which would have only been back for a year or two.
I see Starlight reaching 18 around the start of season 4 and going on to start building her village around the middle of the season. This fits with Mauds flashback, where we see Our Town in the middle of construction, which could only happen near the end of season 4, since Maud only just started her rock Studies at the beginning of season 4 and she was doing her rock dissertation for her studies when she met Starlight..
Not to mention it explains Starlights impulsiveness because she is still an impulsive teen, around 19, when she becomes Twilight's student.
Well technically Sunny cheated by using another world.
But that was great! Hopefully this means Human Starlight will stay in contact with Sunset.
This actually helps human Sunburst too, as pony Sunburst felt really inferior in the Gifted School as he had knowledge but lacked the power to show it off Human Sunburst in a setting like Crystal prep is going to be really smart but lack the social skills and courage to stand out with out someone like Starlight there to back him up.
This is decent. Good work!
"Don't make the same mistakes I did", eh?
...I didn't realise humans had cutie marks to steal, or time travel spells to abuse. Or hypnosis spells, for that matter.
She was, once - then a group of six girls used extradimensional magic to shoot a rainbow at her, obliterating her personal demon.
...What? You didn't see that? Or the giant glowing sirens or alicorn not too long after? Huh. Humans really are blind and oblivious.
So is the Twilight Sparkle that won the Fall Formal - I don't know how Canterlot High can get away with photos or records of that event, honestly, when there's certifiable evidence "Twilight Sparkle" was being miserable at Crystal Prep at the time. Massive contradiction, there, when you don't know about magic and a portal to a land of sapient equines.
not half bad
That's where you're wrong Starlight. It's not simply about age, it's about actuality being an adult. There are 14-year-old women and 40-year-old girls (along with 14-year-old men and 40-year-old boys). A 14-year-old woman outranks a 40-year-old girl, in my book. If you are an overgrown child, and your mentor is a young woman: She kind of does get to tell you want to do.
10455934
Not to mention, unknown to her, Sunset would be about 30 in Pony years. If not older. She would have to be at least 10 years older then Twilight and the pony crew.
10456034
What makes you say that?
10456055
She was an adult when she went through the mirror and was Celestia's personal protege before Twilight, who became Celestia's personal protege as a little child.
Not to mention Twilight would have had to become her student quite a while after Sunsets disappearance to explain why she would not have heard about Sunset from anypony or have any indication there was someone before her.
10456159
I think Sunset could well have been a teenager, when she went through the mirror. For that matter: Twilight herself could well have been a teenager, when she moved to Ponyville.
Plus time might not flow at the same speed on the two sides of the mirror. It seems unlikely that Sunset spent ten years in high school.
Wonderful story, with the human Starlight and her dad fleshed out.
In my opinion Starlight doesn't get enough love. YMMV.
Ooh, a story about Starlight—
Oh. It's not a big deal, but I get a ping of sadness every time I see hyphens used like this in a published work.
It's a solid idea, to wield a wiser Starlight against a younger one. This is also the pony who got Twilight to give up on the idea of doing things 'by the book'.
I think there are some missed opportunities in here to strengthen the plot and/or world. For one, Pony Starlight has to assume everything despite being friends with Human Starlight's peer mentor, and otherwise a group of friends (especially Twilight) that could probably figure out if Sunburst had indeed managed to analogously hurt Starlight's feelings.
And given how Human Starlight's narration lets us know exactly what she thinks of everyone, "P-Starlight" also seems like a missed opportunity for referring to her doppelganger.
Overall, the Sunset vs. Human Starlight and Human vs. Pony Starlight moments were an enjoyable read.
10456325
Thanks for the feedback. Though I have a couple of questions.
1.
Did I use it incorrectly? One of my old editors told me that was the correct way to write cut-off sentences like that.
2.
...Is that a urine joke?
10456521
Pony-Starlight.
10456521
It's probably not the usage, but the execution. Alt+0151 creates what you're looking for, without it looking jank since it's an actual em dash instead of two conjoined hyphens.
10456521
1. Double-hyphens aren't wrong, exactly, but em dashes are likely better used for anything that you'll present to a reader. When I double-checked this, I did see a suggestion for double-hyphens in screenwriting, but that was it. I don't know how that conversation with your old editor went, but if anyone claims that something is the One True Way (for everything), take it with a grain of salt.
2. I just copied the term from your story. I presume it means "Pony Starlight", just abbreviated. My point was simply that you could have had Human Starlight append something that reflects her perspective to Pony Starlight's name instead of just an abbreviated generic term just so the readers can tell them apart. Heck, you even pretty much did this, though only one time:
(Then we go to "P-Starlight" with no explanation.)
10457579
Oh, I thought you were talking about how human Starlight insults everyone in her head, and were saying that "P-Starlight" was a missed opportunity for her to think of it like "Pee-Starlight" or something like that. My bad.
10456521
10456716
10456785
10457579
10457722
I mean, for what it's worth, I'm pretty sure that a piss joke could be really funny, and somehow made to work in-character with her.
10458148
Indeed.
10455771
That was my first thought, too: there's a whole class of mistakes that human Starlight is inherently incapable of ever making, and pony Starlight has made a lot of them.
You did a great job. I loved this and I really do hope you make more stories like this because it was pretty good and I really liked Human Starlights character dev.
After reading your post, I decided to read the story to see why you thought it deserve a win...For me, it was an okay story. Nothing special but ok.
Yeah, trying to make things like they were when she was 4 to cheer her up was stupid but... you know, I can't bring myself to be mad at Firelight. Here's a guy who loves his daughter probably more than anything else, who saw that she was unhappy and didn't know what to do to help her. In that kind of panic that dads fall into when they feel like they're failing their kids, he picked up the first idea that made even a little sense to him — however misguided and foolish — and ran for the end zone.
Well I - I just want to see the light
And I - I don't want to lose my sight
I'm not growing up
I'm just burning out
And I stepped in line
To walk amongst the dead
Yes, these are both Green Day references
11000523
Lol