Princess Twilight now has her own pupil: Starlight Glimmer. But Starlight can't seem to place herself in a comfortable position.
Starlight Glimmer has just reformed and is now Princess Twilight Sparkle's pupil. Starlight knows about and tries to hide her past, and her feelings, but when she puts them off for too long, she seems to hurt herself in a way that nopony is comfortable with.
*Be sure to check out my new sequel to this story: Second Thoughts Thanks, everyone!
Starlight Glimmer tossed and turned in bed. She couldn’t sleep knowing she was in an actual princess’s castle, let alone be her pupil! “After everything I’ve done, does she really trust me enough to let me sleep here?”
Starlight sat up in bed and teleported to the bathroom next door. She turned on the lights, looking at herself in the mirror. Her bangs formed an equal sign when they were turned 90°, which Starlight didn’t like anymore. They were just a reminder of her dark past.
Starlight took a comb and brushed her bangs together. Then, she moved them to one side, matching the ends of it with her mane. “There,” she sighed contentedly. “All better.”
She walked back to her bedroom, yawning. She laid down on her bed and put on a blanket. She slept better knowing that she wouldn’t carry around an equal sign everywhere she went.
Starlight dipped her quill in the ink and brushed it against the paper. She smiled when she finished drawing it and hung it up on the wall near her door. “No equals allowed,” she read aloud. “Now that, I can accept.”
Starlight heard a knock on her door. “Come in,” she called, revealing Twilight.
She smiled at Starlight. “You look different. I like the new bangs.”
Starlight looked at her bangs and blew on them. “I just didn’t like the old ones. They kind of remind me of…” Starlight looked down at her hooves, which were digging at the ground.
“How was your first night in the castle?” Twilight asked, seeing how desperate Starlight was to change the subject.
Starlight bit her lip. “It was good. Thanks again for letting me stay here, Princess Twilight. I really don’t feel like I deserve such a thing.”
“Please, don’t call me Princess. I’m proud just to be your friend, and your teacher. I don’t care about what you did in the past,” Twilight scoffed. “So, do you want to join us for breakfast?”
“I actually have an option?” she remarked.
Twilight giggled. “What did you think I was going to do, let you starve?”
“Yeah?” Starlight said, confused.
“Oh, Starlight. I’d never do that. We’re friends now, remember?”
“Uh…”
“Come on, Starlight. I don’t want you to be too hungry on your first day in Ponyville! We’re going to have some fun and get you used to the friendliest place in all Equestria!” Twilight trotted to the dining room, dragging Starlight with her magic.
Starlight shook her head a few times, making sure it wasn’t a dream. The Princess of Friendship, along with her friends, playing at a park like it was nothing. Nothing weird to be royalty and still run around in streams of water and jump in puddles like you were anypony else.
“Come on, Starlight!” Twilight called. “Come join us!”
Starlight got off of the rock she was on and walked over to join her new friends, a nervous look on her face. She got pushed by a jet of water right as she reached her mentor. She laughed, trying to avoid the water like Twilight’s friends.
They walked to the most scenic place in the park, wrapped in towels, their manes soaked. Starlight walked to a swing set and slightly rocked herself, a slight smile on her face. Until two ponies walked by.
Flitter looked at Starlight, and looked away when they made eye contact. Cloud Chaser, though, whispered something into Flitter’s ear. Starlight tried to hear the conversation. Unfortunately, she did.
“Hey, isn’t she that pony who lives with the Princess?”
“Yeah? So?”
“I heard she tried to destroy Equestria.”
“Really? Like the Newbie to Friendship?”
“Mm-hm. I think she also stole the cutie marks of a whole village.”
“No way! If she has magic that powerful, imagine what she could do to us!”
“What if she fries our brains?”
“Can she do that?”
“If she can fight an alicorn, she can certainly do something like that!”
“Or worse!”
Flitter and Cloud looked at Starlight for a brief moment and trotted away, trying to act like they hadn’t said anything about her. Too late. She knew.
Starlight made sure that Flitter and Cloud were out of her sight before she burst into tears and ran straight to the castle. Her mane was already dry by the time she reached the castle.
Starlight slammed the door as soon as she was inside. Spike, who was sweeping the ground with a broom, bumped into her. “Hey, Starlight,” he greeted, turning around to face her. “So, how was your day? What did you do?”
Starlight looked at her hooves, which had started digging at the ground again. “We played at the water park. It was fun.” At least until those ponies brought up my dark past.
“Where are the girls?” he asked, looking around.
“They’re back at the park. I was just tired and headed home early,” she explained, faking a yawn.
“Oh, okay. Well, goodnight, Starlight!” he said, resuming his sweeping.
“You too, Spike,” she said, trotting away before coming back. “Where is my room, again?”
Starlight sat up to the sound of Twilight’s voice outside.
“She was tired enough to skip dinner?”
“Well, I don’t know. She just said she was tired and went into her room.”
“She never told me about anything. Where is she?”
“She’s in her room. Like she has been all evening.”
Starlight heard hoofsteps, and it sounded like they got closer and closer.
Starlight gasped and quickly flipped her pillow over to hide the tear stains. She dropped her head on the pillow, covered herself with a blanket, faced away from the door, and closed her eyes, pretending to be asleep.
She slowed her breath as Twilight got nearer and nearer, and soon she opened the door and walked in. Starlight felt the princess get closer and closer until she was standing right over her bed.
Starlight couldn’t see how Twilight was feeling, because her eyes were squeezed shut, but she had a feeling that she was suspicious of her behavior.
Starlight opened her eyes to see Twilight standing next to her bed, a worried look on her face. “Good morning, Starlight,” Twilight said in a distracted tone.
“Good morning, Pri- I mean, Twilight,” Starlight responded, knowing that she would soon be interrogated on yesterday’s events.
“Did something happen yesterday that made you leave the park early? Without telling me?” Twilight asked as nicely as she could. Starlight winced, shook her head, and looked away. “Are you sure?” she provoked.
Starlight sighed. “I was really tired and I left the park. It’s as simple as that.”
“Really? Were you actually tired enough to skip dinner? To not tell me where you were?” Twilight asked, her voice rising.
Starlight shook her head, knowing that she had to tell the truth sometime. And anyways, she didn’t want to hear Twilight yell like that again.
She took a deep breath and spoke calmly again. “I’m sorry, but you had us worried when we couldn’t find you. What’s really happening?”
“I heard a few ponies talking about me. About my past and what I might do to them now that I was here,” Starlight said, her lip trembling, a tear forming. “I never want to do that to anyone, and I never want to hurt them, but they hurt me.”
“And how do you feel about that?”
“Bad. I don’t know,” she said, not wanting to talk about her feelings. Even if she did want to, she was struggling to explain it.
“Well, at least join us for breakfast,” Twilight said, hopping off Starlight’s bed. She walked to the throne room, and Starlight decided to follow her.
Starlight sat in Spike’s throne, because everyone else’s seats were taken. Starlight lifted a pancake to her mouth but didn’t eat it. Everyone was looking at her, and they looked concerned. Starlight dropped her pancake back onto her plate. She had just lost her appetite.
She turned to Twilight. “I’m sorry, I’ll just have lunch instead,” she said, quickly jumping out of Spike’s throne and teleporting out of the castle.
Starlight gave the salespony three bits and placed the philodendron in her saddlebag. Then she walked to a supply stand and bought a big sheet of cloth, a few sticks, string and ribbon. She gave the pony her bits as she walked away, putting her new materials in her bag. Starlight then walked to where a pair of ponies were, waiting in line.
One was a unicorn, her hair a light shade of teal and white. The other was an earth pony with blue and pink hair. They turned around to face her, and the earth pony greeted her. “Hello, are you new here? What’s your name?” she asked.
Starlight noticed that the unicorn looked at her friend in suspicion, but just shook off the feeling. “Um, hi. Yeah, I’m… new? And my name’s Starlight,” she answered, unsure of what to say.
“Well, welcome to Ponyville! My name’s Bon Bon, and this is Lyra. Do you want our spot in line?” the earth pony named Bon Bon asked.
Starlight shook her head. “You were here first and I can’t take your spot.”
“Please do, we weren’t buying anything, just looking at the options,” the unicorn, Lyra, said.
“Um, okay. Thanks!” Starlight said with a smile. Maybe most ponies here are friendly! she thought to herself. Starlight took a container of purple paint and a paintbrush. She placed them in her backpack and walked away from the line. Turning around she saw Lyra and Bon Bon sitting on a bench, talking.
Starlight was sure they were talking about her, but she couldn’t help but eavesdrop.
“Yeah, really! She’s been staying in touch with me ever since a few weeks ago when she visited Canterlot. She said some powerful unicorn named Starlight Glimmer had her in this time loop,” she heard Lyra say.
Bon Bon’s voice was calmer, sweeter, like the way Fluttershy spoke, but she was a bit louder than Fluttershy. “Well, she seemed pretty nice to me.”
“Yeah, she may seem that way. Twilight said that Starlight had come ‘a long way’ since when she had done all that,” Lyra said, a sense of distrust in her voice.
Bon Bon still couldn’t believe such a nice pony did such bad things. “Are you sure that was her? I know they have the same first name, but…”
“Oh, I’m sure of it. Purple and teal mane, glimmery cutie mark, that definitely sounds like her. She was, apparently, pretty bad,” Lyra answered. Starlight’s ears dropped. Twilight was talking negatively about her? Lyra threw in a few good things, but Starlight couldn’t help but feel that Twilight didn’t trust her.
“Well, I’m sure she won’t do that again. She’s so nice!” Bon Bon argued.
“Yeah, I know,” Lyra answered with sarcasm thrown in.
Starlight walked away from where Lyra and Bon Bon were sitting. She managed to keep her tears in, but her eyes still stung, and the words hurt her just as much as the last time. Starlight wanted to go back to the castle, but now she felt unwelcome.
Starlight didn’t run back to the castle. She could only walk, thinking about everything that happened. She just decided that she would confront Twilight the next time they met. Starlight looked around and teleported herself into her room.
Starlight made sure not to drop any tears as she sewed the teal ribbons on to her purple kite. She attached a long string and wrapped it around a wooden spool. She set her kite off to the side as she laid down on her bed, sobbing again. She looked at her plant for comfort, but even she couldn’t cheer Starlight up.
Twilight opened the door without knocking, and this time, she looked angry, but still worried. “Starlight, you’ve skipped three meals in a row! You need to eat!” Twilight hesitated when she saw Starlight crying. “I’m sorry. Did something happen to you?”
Starlight ignored the comment and put on her own angry face and a determined voice. “And you need to tell me about something you told to somepony else. What did you tell your friend, Bon Bon?”
“I didn’t say anything to Bon Bon. Not about you, at least. Now come on. You need some food, and Spike’s cooked up a storm.”
Starlight looked angry and confused, until she realized her mistake. “I meant Lyra. The unicorn. What did you tell her about me? I’m not eating until I know what happened.”
“Well, just that you’ve come a long way, and now you’re my pupil.”
Starlight shook her head. “The whole conversation.”
Twilight sighed and told her pupil about her conversation with Lyra the other day.
“Hey, Lyra!” Twilight called as she was walking to her castle.
“Hi Twilight!” Lyra responded, waving for her to come over.
Twilight was too excited to keep it to herself. “Guess what happened today?”
“What?” Lyra asked, intrigued. Twilight wasn’t usually this ecstatic.
“I met this powerful unicorn. Her magic was about as strong as mine!” Twilight said, trying not to reveal too much.
Lyra thought for a moment. “Really? A unicorn with alicorn level magic?”
“Yeah. Her name’s Starlight Glimmer.”
“So, what happened?” Lyra asked, now very interested.
“Well, she went through this time loop and brought me along with her, and she almost, well, caused a bit of chaos until she realized-”
“Hold on. She almost destroyed Equestria?” Lyra asked, seeing right through her friend’s statement.
“Well, yeah,” Twilight hesitated, “but she’s past that.”
“So what did you do about it?” Lyra knew that anyone who did something that bad deserved something big.
Twilight giggled. “Well, she’s my pupil now! My first student ever! And she’s learning about friendship!”
“Wow. That’s not much of a punishment,” she complained.
“I don’t want to punish her. I want her to learn about friendship so that she’ll never do that again,” Twilight argued.
“Hmm. What did she look like?”
“Well, she has a purple mane with a teal streak, and her cutie mark is a glimmer of magic. Huh, I guess that might explain why she’s so good at magic!”
“Yeah, sure,” Lyra grumbled, walking away.
“I’m sorry I told her. I was just excited to have my first student ever,” Twilight apologized.
“Is that really what happened?” Starlight asked, now unsure of what to think.
“Yeah, Lyra’s really not as nice as Bon Bon. She’s fun and sweet and all, but not as kind as Bon Bon. Did you run into them today?” Twilight explained, getting a nod from Starlight. “Then you know what I’m talking about. Come on, now. I can’t let you starve.”
Starlight was a bit hesitant, but came anyway. She knew she wanted some food after not having any for the past day.
Twilight paused, turning around to look at Starlight, who just stood there. “Were they spreading rumors and gossip?”
Starlight didn’t want to, but still nodded. Twilight wrapped a wing around her and took her to the dining room, neither of them saying a word.
Starlight felt something poke her hoof. She opened her eyes and saw someone looking at her. “Twilight?” she hazily asked.
“Uh, no,” the figure answered. “I’m Spike. Twilight told me to get you out of bed and give you some time to have fun today.”
“Oh,” Starlight said, closing her eyes again. “Sounds great,” she responded sarcastically.
Spike tugged at her mane. “Come on, Starlight. If you’re not going to spend time with me, at least have breakfast.”
Starlight sat up. “With you?” she repeated.
“Yeah. Twilight’s putting together some friendship lessons, so I guess I’m going to spend time with you instead,” Spike explained.
Starlight smiled for a bit. Knowing that she wouldn’t be alone in Ponyville made her a lot happier. She hopped out of bed and smiled even more. “Come on, then, Spike.”
Spike followed Starlight outside and smiled as Starlight waved for him to come over to where she was, under a shady tree. She set up a blanket and teleported a daisy sandwich and a crystal cupcake onto the blanket. Spike laughed and dug in. “Wow, thanks, Starlight!” he said, his mouth stuffed.
Starlight tilted her head, happily closing her eyes. She opened them again and took a bite of her sandwich. She watched as three ponies walked past her and Spike. They were all earth ponies, and they all had flower cutie marks. Spike gaped as he watched what happened. Starlight tried to act oblivious to the fact that they were talking about her, pointing at her and hushing themselves.
“I heard she stole the cutie marks of her whole village!”
“I heard she traveled back in time and almost wrecked time and space and Equestria!”
“I heard she tried to kill Princess Twilight!”
“Imagine what she could do to us! Oh, the horror.”
“The horror!”
“The horror!”
Starlight’s eyes widened as she watched the three fall down, their legs twitching. She gaped and put a hoof to her mouth, her eyes watering. Spike looked at her, and put a claw on her shoulder. “It’s okay, Starlight. These three can get like this pretty easily. It’s not your fault.”
Starlight wasn’t convinced. She turned away from Spike, dabbing at her eyes which were squeezed shut. Spike sighed, not wanting to see his friend so hurt. “Just take it easy, Starlight.”
Starlight looked at Spike for a brief moment. “No!” she shouted at Spike and fled. Spike extended his arm, reaching for her, but didn’t bother to go after her.
Spike walked back to the castle, looking for Twilight. He opened the library door and walked up to her. “Starlight ran away,” he explained.
Twilight dropped her papers. “What? To where?” she demanded, pressing her muzzle against Spike’s nose, and then letting go, laughing sheepishly.
“I don’t know. I let her go because I know she needs space. But I have no idea whether she’s coming back or not,” Spike sadly answered.
“Well let’s pray to Celestia that she’s okay. Meanwhile, we need to look for her,” Twilight said, now determined to find her first-ever student and new friend.
“Yeah, well, she could be anywhere. She’s got magic, remember?” he said, folding his arms in frustration.
Twilight sighed. “But still, that won’t stop me. She’s my friend, and I’ll do anything to keep her from any danger.”
Spike looked at Twilight, only the faintest glimmer of hope left in him. “Let’s just hope she’s not already in trouble.”
Starlight laid down on the snow and buried everything but her head. She closed her eyes, shivering but accepting it. After a few minutes, though, the cold became too unbearable and she sat up, yawning. She looked at the broken glass and looked away, a sting in her heart.
She took the shards of glass and placed them where they belonged. She used her magic to bind the pieces together, but she didn’t feel any happier staring at the now unharmed cutie mark vault. If anything, it made her feel worse.
She thought of when she had been eviler, and sighed and walked to the edge of the cave, looking at the village that was once under her control. They seemed so happy, even happier than when she was the leader. Makes sense. I was a terrible leader, Starlight thought.
She felt tears form but wiped them away. “I just cause trouble for Twilight. I’m nothing but a bunch of overrated problems for her. I don’t deserve such praise. I deserve to live in this little cave and watch as my villagers have fun without me.” Even though she was trying to hold back tears, streams of them ran down her cheeks anyways. “Sorry, Twilight,” she whispered to the cold air around her. “Sorry for everything I did to you.”
Starlight laid down on the rocks instead of the snow and rolled into a ball, warming herself for the night. Her thoughts pushed at her all night.
I have to be perfect for her. It was too much pressure. And I can’t ask her for help. I’d be imperfect. I’d be seen as demanding. I’d be… hurting everypony else.
Starlight couldn’t convince herself that she deserved a better life than this, but her mind seemed a bit unsure. She just closed her eyes and tried to forget about everything. Nothing’s wrong, Starlight, she told herself. You belong here.
But something pulled her away from that statement.
“Thanks for coming, everypony,” Twilight said, taking slow, deep breaths.
Applejack caught on and nodded, a bit worried. “What’s wrong, sugarcube?”
“Well, it’s about Starlight,” she started.
“Did she stop eating?” Rainbow Dash asked.
“Or maybe,” Pinkie suggested, “she’s stopped having fun.”
“Oh no!” Fluttershy said, running her hooves through her mane.
Spike shook his head. “We actually have no idea.”
Everyone looked confused as Spike said this. Rarity tilted her head, asking “Then why did you bring us here?”
Twilight took a deep breath as she and Spike exchanged nervous glances. “You see,” she started, “Starlight’s, well, she…”
“SHE RAN AWAY!” Spike yelled, clutching his ears. Everypony but Twilight gasped. She lowered her head and then looked into everypony’s eyes.
Starlight heard voices. She hid behind a rock, shaking in fear that somepony would find her. Then she calmed down, realizing that living in Ponyville was what she craved the most. She stepped out from behind the rock and saw Twilight’s friends, even Spike. But no Twilight.
Starlight happily waved at them, but they didn’t answer back. They just motioned for her to follow them, which she did. Now she was wary of them. Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie were usually talkative, bouncing or flying. But no, they were walking, just like everyone else. And no one was talking. Even Starlight, who wanted more than anything to talk to her friends, kept quiet.
They arrived at the castle, and Starlight walked to Twilight’s room. She turned around to ask her friends what was going on, but they were gone already, the door shut behind them. She just shook it off and went to Twilight’s room. She would know what to do.
As soon as Starlight opened the door, Twilight turned around. She was smiling, unlike the others, but not a welcome smile. “Are you a changeling or something?” she asked, mustering enough courage to even speak.
Twilight shook her head and frowned. “You, Starlight Glimmer, don’t deserve to be my pupil.”
“I know, Princess. I’m sorry for all those mistakes I made. I know I have to be perfect for you, but don’t I have time to fix my mistakes? To make up for them?” Starlight asked, unsure of whether she wanted to know the answer or not. In a whisper, she said, "Didn't you want me to?"
“No.”
Starlight bit her lip. No? She couldn’t just move on past those words. It was always hard for her to take things easy and move past them, and this felt just as hurtful as when Sunburst first left. Maybe even more. “I know I just cause a bunch of problems, but I can’t solve them on my own. But I know I can’t have you solve them either,” she went on, her eyes struggling to keep her tears from falling.
“No.”
Starlight put her head down, waterfalls flowing down from her watery eyes. Knowing that she wasn’t wanted anymore, she walked away. But someone called after her. In Twilight’s voice, mixed with a bit of loudness.
Starlight looked back to see an angry Twilight, right as her mentor burst into white sparks, revealing another pony. Another alicorn.
“Are you…” Starlight said, searching for her answer. “Princess Luna? Why are you here? What happened to Twilight?”
Luna nodded. “Starlight Glimmer, I am here to protect you from what is hurting you. Dreams are my specialty.”
“A dream?”
Luna nodded again. “I know of your pain. I was once cruel, as you were, but I am reformed now. Changed, because of six fine ponies. I happen to know that the same ponies helped you change, too, and that they are now your friends, are they not? You know, friends can do a lot, and can be hurt if their friend is hurt.”
“Yes,” she answered, now feeling guilty for running away. “They are. I think they are hurt because I was. But mostly because I ran away. And I feel guilty that I did something bad to my friends.”
“Well, as friends, they will surely be able to help you, no matter how much you think you can’t live up to her. Just tell them how you feel. I know for a fact that they can help you.”
“But what if I don’t like talking about my feelings?” Starlight asked.
“From what I have seen so far, you’re comfortable enough to simply spread the point across. Just tell them, Starlight. They will listen.”
Starlight nodded as she watched Luna walk out of the castle, into the moon.
Twilight trotted throughout Ponyville, asking everypony she saw if they had seen Starlight. She sighed when nopony had said yes, other than the flower girls. She sulked past Fluttershy’s cottage and looked up, her ears flipped down. Then, she looked up to see a wild, spiky forest. Twilight’s eyes sparkled. If I was seeking solitude, then that’s where I would go, she thought. She ran into the Everfree Forest, unfortunately, alone.
Fluttershy moved the leaves to reveal an opening, though no one was there. She looked down at Pinkie Pie and shook her head. Pinkie Pie repeated the gesture when she couldn’t find Starlight under any stones or boulders.
Rainbow Dash dashed from place to place, asking if they had seen a purple unicorn with a teal streak in her bangs. Unfortunately, no one had seen her. Rainbow zoomed to the circus, asking anypony if they had seen Starlight. Still no. She even went to the magician on stage, Jackpot, asking him if he’d seen Starlight. Still no.
Rainbow Dash pulled her mane in anger and flew straight out the doors of Las Pegasus.
Applejack swore that she’d buck a million apple trees to find which one Starlight was in. And so she did.
While Applejack bucked every single tree in Sweet Apple Acres, Rarity searched Manehattan. No Starlight, though. Then, she went to Fillydelphia. Still nothing. “Where could she be?” she asked herself.
Spike walked into the town, greeted by warm, welcoming smiles. Real, friendly smiles. He hugged Sugar Belle, Double Diamond, and Party Favor, who offered him muffins. He beamed and took one, stuffing his mouth as he spoke. “Hrrv oo shin Shtrrloit?” he asked, barely anyone understanding him. Then, Party Favor lifted his hoof, as if to snap.
“I haven’t seen Starlight ever since she came back with Princess Twilight to apologize,” he answered.
Everyone agreed to this, nodding their heads along, when Night Glider spoke up. “You know, come to think of it, I have seen a bit of suspicious activity near the cave. Such as a faint glow coming from there."
“Well, then, let’s go!” Spike shouted, running towards the Cutie Mark cave. When they arrived, breathless, they saw hoofprints in the snow. They walked into the cave, a unicorn casting a light spell so that they could see. More hoofprints, Spike observed. They led to a tall rock, but when he checked behind it, no one was there, much to everyone’s surprise.
Spike took the train back to Ponyville, thinking of Starlight trying to be on her own. Where’s the loneliest place? he asked himself. When the train arrived at the station, he got off, already knowing where to go. Spike walked into the dark forest, sure that Starlight would be there. And he was sure he was right when he felt somepony lying on the ground. He felt for a horn, afraid it might be Starlight. He felt one and screamed. The pony was unconscious, and breathing slow breaths. He quickly picked her up and took her to Zecora’s hut.
Spike arrived on Zecora’s doorstep, bringing the pony inside. But surprisingly, it wasn’t Starlight. It was Twilight!
Zecora walked into the hut, rushing over to where Spike was. “Is this an injured friend you bring, One that has clearly hurt her wing?” Spike nodded, stepping back to give Zecora some space. “Though her reaction may be tragic, I think I can fix this with some magic.”
Spike helped Zecora mix up a potion, which they fed to Twilight as soon as possible. Soon enough, she awoke and rubbed her eyes. She felt a jolt of pain and looked at her wing. “Did-did something happen?”
Spike nodded. “Starlight went missing, and you went into the Everfree Forest looking for her. Luckily, I did, too. I found you and brought you here, but…”
Twilight folded her wings, wincing at the pain. She stood up, her legs shaky and painful with every step. Zecora nodded. “The sprain is a thing you should restore, as for side effects, there won’t be many more. You should stay and rest in here, before that pain draws even more near.”
Then Spike held Twilight steady as they walked outside. “Thanks for your help, Zecora,” she squeaked. “But Spike and I have to go. Starlight could be even further away now!”
Zecora’s eyes widened. “If it’s Starlight Glimmer you speak of, then she’ll give you more than a little shove. Be careful, kind, and be yourself, who knows, the end could be swell!”
Twilight smiled. “She already is nice. But she’s run away, and we still can’t find her. We searched the Everfree Forest for her, but she wasn’t here.”
“Or at least not in the parts we searched,” Spike added.
Zecora nodded. “Good luck on your search for your missing friend, hopefully she’s as happy as we intend. If I see her in my home, surely I will let you know.”
Twilight and Spike looked at each other, smiling. Starlight would’ve been happy to hear that someone actually cared for her.
Twilight and her friends met back at the castle. In the throne room, they sat, brainstorming places where Starlight might be. “She wasn’t in the orchard,” Applejack told everyone.
“Why would she be?” Rainbow rejected. “It’s not like she’s a fan of farming. She always struck me as more of the adventurous type. I checked in Las Pegasus, and she wasn’t there.”
“Doesn’t she like attention?” Rarity asked. “I checked Manehattan and Fillydelphia, but no one I asked had seen Starlight.”
“I thought she’d be trying to avoid attention, actually. Wasn’t she trying to hide and run away from anyone who had anything to say about her? I checked this open space, and the area around it, because it’s calm and peaceful and somewhere you can go to avoid ponies. That's why I want to start a sanctuary there someday,” Fluttershy noted, her hooves running through her mane again.
“Hey, wait! I checked there too! Fluttershy and I didn’t think she wanted to be around anypony, but I couldn’t find her under any rocks,” Pinkie added, her mane slightly deflating. Everyone made weird faces at this, except Twilight.
“I don’t think Starlight would be under a rock,” Twilight said, frowning. If Starlight wasn’t missing, then she probably would have giggled. But nothing was funny about your friend that had run away from home. “But I agree with you. Starlight wouldn’t want to be around anypony, not after the way they talked about her. Spike and I checked in the Everfree Forest, but we couldn’t find her. Also, I sprained my wing, so I had to rush to the doctor’s office. But Zecora said she would keep an eye out for Starlight, and we don’t have any new news back. Yet.”
They all sat in silence for a little while, and then heard noises upstairs. Noises that sounded a bit like… muffled hoofsteps! Someone was home, and they just had to hope that that someone was Starlight Glimmer.
Starlight jumped and turned around. Her door was now open, and standing at the doorway were six ponies and a dragon, just the ponies(and dragon) that she wanted to see the most. Starlight rushed to Twilight and happily embraced her, tears forming and squeezing their way out of her eyes. Starlight didn’t even try to stop the tears from flowing.
Twilight returned the hug and stepped back, examining her pupil. “You’re okay!” she happily exclaimed. She kept the smile on, until she saw Starlight’s face. There were an excessive amount of tears, and Starlight looked worried, frowning. Her body was shaking terribly, so much that she almost fell down. “Are you okay?” Twilight questioned.
Starlight shook her head no, but still answered yes anyways. “A lot better now that you’re all here. Ever since I had that nightmare, I’ve been wanting to talk to you.”
A thought came to Twilight's mind. “Are you… Did you…” she stammered.
Starlight tilted her head and asked, “Did I what?”
“Have you left your room ever since you came back from wherever?”
Starlight blushed and looked away, but nodded her head.
“Really?” a suspecting Twilight interrogated.
“To use the bathroom,” Starlight said. Twilight raised an eyebrow and motioned with her hoof that she wanted more. “Only to use the bathroom,” she confirmed.
"When did you return, exactly?"
"Um, around a few hours ago?" Starlight answered, unsure.
Twilight was about to respond, when Spike interfered. “Woah, woah. Hold up. You said you wanted to talk to us about something?”
Starlight sighed, glad that someone had changed the subject. “Yeah. I feel like I’ve been upsetting you lately. All that shouting, all that running away business. I’m sorry.” Starlight looked down at the ground, her head moving down.
Twilight held her hoof to her chin, a warm smile on her face. “Luckily, we all forgave you for what you did in the past. Which means we can forgive you again. Those are things you shouldn’t have to feel sorry about. All that matters now is that you’re back.”
Starlight looked at the ponies Twilight was motioning to. She stood up and everyone surrounded her in a warm embrace. “It’s good to be back.”
