"Wow! Now that was an eventful day, wasn't it, Starlight?" Twilight asked, trotting down the hall of her castle alongside Spike and her newest student, Starlight Glimmer.
There was no response; Starlight was staring silently at the ground.
"Starlight?" Twilight called again.
Starlight snapped out of her thoughts and faced her newfound mentor and friend. "What? Yeah, it was eventful indeed..." She paused for a moment, turning her gaze to the ground again. "But it was eventful in the bad meaning of the word."
"Hey, it wasn't completely bad. You made a lot of new friends," Twilight replied.
"But before that, I..."
"We forgive you for what you've done, so you may as well forgive yourself."
That's easier said than done, Starlight thought, despite the tiny smile on her face.
"We'll try to find you a house to stay at in Ponyville," Twilight changed the subject. "But it's night now, so you have to stay here in my castle until we get you a house. There are plenty of rooms here, and me and Spike live alone, so choose whatever room you want."
"Wait, you're going to let me sleep in your castle? Do you really trust me that much?!" Starlight said, stopping in her tracks and looking at the Alicorn with sheer surprise.
Twilight stopped trotting and faced Starlight. "Well, I've just told you I had forgiven you for what you've done."
"How...how do you know I won't betray you?!" Starlight stuttered, still shocked by Twilight's attitude and how she was dealing with the situation as if it was nothing. "I...I'm sorry. You're now my friend, Princess Twilight, that's for sure, but aren't you even a little...worried?"
"Ah...my room's door is sealed with a magic lock that can only be opened by either me or Spike!" Twilight said, smiling jokingly.
"You know I can teleport, right?" A tiny, playful smirk crept into Starlight's lips. "I mean, that's how I entered your castle in the first place."
"Well, good luck with that plan," Twilight continued trotting. "And yes, I do trust you that much."
Starlight's jaw dropped. She closed her eyes, smiled, and chuckled. Looks like friendship is magic indeed, she thought, trotting after Twilight.
Starlight didn't even choose the room. Regarding the first room Twilight showed her, Starlight said simply, "Yes, this one," entered the room, and slumped on the bed, facing Twilight with her back.
Twilight blinked in confusion. "Um, do you want anything? Are the pillows comfortable? Do you want to have dinner?"
Starlight sighed sadly, not turning to face Twilight. "I'm fine. I just need to sleep."
"Are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
There was no reply. Twilight knew Starlight couldn't be asleep that fast, but she took her silence as a polite 'Leave me alone for now', so she closed the door and headed to her own room.
After wearing her pajamas and sleeping hat, Twilight lay on her bed, staring at the ceiling. "She wasn't normal, Spike," she said.
"Yeah, definitely," Spike replied, preparing his small bed for sleep.
"What do you think her problem is?"
"I don't know, but I think traveling through time to take revenge on a Princess and almost destroying all of Equestria in the process then suddenly being friends with the same Princess she had tried to hurt and even sleeping in her castle was too much to take in in one day?"
Twilight widened her eyes, taken aback by the huge reply. "Wow! Well, when you put it that it way, it does seem like too much to take in in one day."
"It is too much. Also, I'm going to ask you the same question Starlight asked: Do you really trust her that much?!"
Twilight chuckled. "Spike, her asking me how do I know she won't betray me was the biggest proof that she won't. Besides, what can she do? She doesn't have Starswirl's spell anymore. What can she do else? Enter my room, steal my Cutie Mark and run? I doubt she'll be able to run for too long with the Cutie Mark of a Princess floating by her side before we manage to catch her." She paused and shook her head. "Spike! Please, stop making me worried! I don't want to think about her that way."
"Okay, okay! But what you said was right. She truly can't do anything bad and get away with it now."
"But I'm still curious, why did she seem so… sad? I mean, why would she be sad?! She has made more friends in one day than she has made during her entire life..." Twilight stopped mid-sentence, then gasped. She had just answered her own question. She sat up in the bed, a wide smile across her face. "Yes! That's it, Spike! I know what's wrong with her! I can't believe I took so long to figure it out!"
"Really? What is it?"
"Just sleep, Spike. You'll need to sleep well, because we're waking up early tomorrow!" With that, Twilight slumped onto her bed and slid under the covers.
Spike stared in shock. "What?! But, but...but..." He groaned, burying his face in his pillow.
oOo
The sunlight of the next day caressed Starlight's eyelids gently, snapping her out of her slumber and making her cover her eyes.
I should've closed the curtains before I slept last night, she thought, slipping from under her covers and stretching her limbs. At least I'm sleeping in a castle after I have had to sleep in places I don't want to remember. She chuckled. Now that's a big jump! I mean, how many non-Alicorn ponies get to sleep in a cosy bed in a crystal castle? Oh, Starlight! Only one night at this castle and you're already becoming spoiled! She let out a little laugh, but her smile quickly faded, and she faced the ground again, trotting towards the door. But that only changed a little; too little.
After trotting through only two halls, Starlight realized something: she was alone. That was odd. Was Twilight still asleep? No way. According to what she knew about Twilight, she should had been awake by that time, either reading or having breakfast, unless she had left the castle for some reason. Did I oversleep or something? she wondered. "Princess Twilight!" she called, and the only response was her echo, confirming she was alone. First she lets me sleep in her castle, and now leaves me inside it alone?!
Starlight's trotting led her to the Cutie Map's room. She approached the Map slowly, but then looked up, seeing something she didn't really care about the last time she had been there. It was the roots of the tree itself of Golden Oak Library.
What is it with Twilight and trees?! she thought. Her first house was a tree, then her castle looks like a tree, and now this?! After a few seconds of staring, she noticed that the gems attached to the roots weren't ordinary. She surrounded herself with a green magic aura, then floated towards the roots. She grabbed one gem in her foreleg and examined it closely, only to find a picture of Twilight, her friends and Princess Celestia. Ah, so this tree is like an album for photos? I love the idea!
Starlight examined more and more gems, watching Twilight' sweetest moments with her friends. She then paused at one gem that contained a photo of Twilight, her friends, and about a dozen of other ponies from Ponyville. She smiled warmly. Twilight, you're such a lucky bookworm! she thought, before a stray tear fell on the gem. I wish...I wish I had..., she felt a lump forming in her throat, preventing her from even finishing her own thoughts.
Suddenly, Starlight heard the castle's gates opening, followed by Twilight's voice calling her. "Starlight! Are you awake?"
Starlight wiped her tears, floated back to the ground, and galloped down the halls until she reached the gates. There, she saw Twilight and Spike. "Princess Twilight, were have you been?"
Twilight approached Starlight and placed a foreleg around her shoulder. "Please, stop calling me 'Princess'. We're friends now, remember?"
A smile crept into Starlight's face. "Okay. As you wish, Twilight."
"Now, come on. I want you to meet a friend," Twilight said, leading Starlight into the open gates of the castle.
"A new friend?" Starlight asked.
"Well, he's a friend, but he's not new."
Starlight raised an eyebrow. She, Twilight and Spike stepped outside the castle. Once her eyes adapted to the bright sunlight, Starlight couldn't believe what she was seeing. There, in front of the castle, stood a young Unicorn stallion with an orange coat that had a few spots of white, facing the castle with his back.
No, she thought, her eyes wide in shock. It can't be...
"She's here," Twilight said to the stallion.
Once she saw the stallion's face, Starlight gaped at him with her mouth open wide. It was him. Her lost childhood friend, Sunburst.
"Starlight?!" Sunburst said, a wide, surprised smile on his face. "Is that you?! I can't believe it! This morning, out of nowhere, I found Princess Twilight Sparkle herself on my doorstep, telling me that somepony special was waiting me at her castle. I never thought it was you! Gosh, look at yourself! You've become so beautiful!"
Starlight said nothing. She just faced the ground, her eyes hidden in the shade of her mane.
Sunburst's smile faded, and he wore a sad expression. "After I left, my parents kept me busy. They always said that I must keep studying magic and blah blah. I barely had any free time. I tried to send you a letter, but the mailmare said she couldn't find the address. I went to check on you by myself, but...but you were already gone. I was too late..." He turned his gaze to the ground, hiding the tears that had started to form in his eyes. "I was...too late. I thought I would never see you again. I couldn't forget you. The day I tried to find you in our home town and couldn't always haunted me. I couldn't forgive myself for losing such a wonderful friend like you. But now, this moment, seeing you again is a dream coming true. A dream I've tried to convince myself that it was impossible to happen for real."
Again, Starlight said nothing. But Twilight could see a thin thread of liquid trickling down her cheek.
"I'm sorry, Starlight," Sunburst continued. This time, failing to stop his tears from falling. "I never meant to leave you alone. Please… forgive me."
The next thing Sunburst knew, was that he was between Starlight's forelegs. She hugged him tightly, sobbing into his shoulder.
"I forgive you!" Starlight exclaimed between her sobs. "I forgive you! Please, don't leave me again!"
Sunburst wrapped his forelegs around Starlight and snuggled her mane. "I won't. I promise I'll never leave you again."
Spike tried his best to not cry, but he failed. He wiped his tears and hugged Twilight's foreleg. Suddenly, both Twilight and Spike were surrounded with a green magic aura, then dragged into a group hug created by Starlight.
"Thank you, Twilight! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Starlight shouted happily, squeezing Sunburst, Twilight and Spike.
"Yo...you're welcome!" Twilight said, choking.
"Just...let us breathe!" Spike managed to speak.
Starlight released them all, smiling sheepishly. "Thank you again, Twilight! I can't thank you enough! I'm in your debt forever! I can't believe you traveled all the way to Canterlot early in the morning just for me!"
"Of course I did! That's what friends are for." Twilight placed a foreleg on Starlight's shoulder. "Remember, Starlight, friends are always there for you."
Starlight shared a short embrace with Twilight, then went and stood beside Sunburst.
"So, wanna hang out?" Sunburst invited.
"Sure!" Starlight replied, with a wide, blush-filled smile.
"Let's have a breakfast at Sugar Cube Corner. What do you say?"
"Yes, let's do it. I'm starving."
Twilight sighed happily, watching as the two newly reunited friends trotted away.
"Do you know, Spike, what makes me happy about being the Princess of Friendship despite all the exhausting duties I have?"
"What?"
"It's that I always get to witness wonderful moments like this one..." Suddenly, Twilight's stomach growled. "And that I always get to eat my breakfast in a castle!"
With that, Twilight galloped inside her castle, followed by Spike.
