An Unlikely Love: The Tale of Two Friendship Students

While the rest of the day went by normally, the same could not be said for that night. For the first time in weeks, Trixie decided to sleep in her bedroom while Starlight was pacing back and forth in her room. She headed to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror. She glared at herself, she scowled at her mane style. She hated that mane style because it made her look weak. The only reason she wore it like that is so that Twilight would think that she had indeed changed. She decided the time for change had come, a change back to a more powerful, confident Starlight. She used her magic to restore her old mane style. She smiled at her reflection and snickered, "Just like old times! Watch out Twibitch, here comes Starlight Glimmer!"

Once Starlight was sure that Trixie and Twilight had both fallen asleep, she self-levitated and began to fly towards the library. While she had thought of various ways to make Twilight pay, she knew of one that would work, time travel. She vowed to herself that once she did this, that nopony would talk her out of preventing Twilight and her friends from meeting.

When she arrived in the library she lit up her horn and headed to a corner that Twilight had locked off from everypony but herself, Starswirl's works. She easily unlocked the door and began to go through the scrolls. Much to Starlight's delight, it didn't take her long to find the scroll that she originally stole and altered from Canterlot. She was reading over it and realized that for it to truly work in her advantage, that everything would have to change, everything from the moment that Twilight failed to hatch that egg, even her own future. She said to herself, "This time, there will be no second chances. Once I stop that rainboom, that map will not exist, she will have an absolutely different future, I will have an absolutely different future and nopony but me will have any memory of anything that happened after her failed attempt to hatch that egg!"

Once Starlight finished altering the spell to how it would work the way she wanted, she decided that rather than going back up to bed that she would wait in the throne room for Twilight. She knew that Twilight got up early and usually headed in there before starting her day and wanted to do this prior to Trixie waking up.

While it seemed like it was forever, morning finally arrived and the light woke Starlight up. She realized that she couldn't be seen at first so she flew up to the ceiling and waited for Twilight to arrive. Right on schedule, around 0645, Twilight headed into the throne room. She heard a voice sneer, "Good Morning Twilight!"

Twilight looked around and said, "Wait a minute, who is that?" She began to giggle, "I could have sworn that was Starlight but she doesn't sneer like that anymore."

Starlight levitated down onto the table and fired her energy into it causing the map to appear. Starlight sneered, "Is that so princess?"

Twilight saw what she did and noticed she had saddlebags on and was wearing her old mane style. She said, "Starlight, this isn't funny. This isn't April Fools' Day."

Starlight sneered, "Well no shit Twilight! Today's no joke, it's the day I punish you for trying to turn Trixie against me." She began to levitate herself and fired a beam first to the scroll and then on the map where Canterlot is. The time portal opened and she began to get sucked in. She decided she wanted to see Twilight's reaction when she altered everything before they would be returned to that exact point, the moment of the failed attempt so she grabbed Twilight and took her with her.

Just like before, they traveled back in time but this time, they did not land in Cloudsdale, they landed in Canterlot Castle, right outside of the exam room on the day of Twilight's entrance exam. Twilight saw this and said, "Wait a minute, this is the day I hatched Spi..."

Starlight put a forcefield on the filly Twilight's horn and interrupted, "No, it's the day you FAILED to hatch Spike!"

Twilight's eyes shrank. "Wait, you can't do this! Don't you remember what happened last time you tried doing this? Don't you remember that horrible desolation we returned to?"

Starlight laughed, "That was with the first alteration. This time, we will return to where we were when you failed! You will vanish and all that will be is the sad little filly in there that will have to go to PUBLIC SCHOOL!"

Twilight replied, "But I'll remember. The map will still be there and once I do get into Celestia's school I'll meet my friends and we will stop this. I won't let you into my school."

Starlight knocked her over and planted her hoof on her, pressing down hard. "Wrong Miss Sparkle, without you, there will be no map, there will be no castle and you won't even have a school. You'll simply become Twilight Sparkle, a unicorn with average power who will likely wind up only being special because your brother will marry Cadence....oops, I mean Chrysalis!"

Twilight yelled, "But without me and my friends, who will stop Nightmare Moon, who will stop Chrysalis, who will stop Discord and who will stop Tirek?"

Starlight laughed, "Oh don't worry about that. When I return to my hometown as a filly, the scroll will come with me as will ALL of the knowledge I have.....AND my cutie mark." She got down in Twilight's face and laughed, "Who knows, when my parents see my abilities, I could very well be the one that gets sent to Canterlot, becomes Celestia's protege and be the one to go with your friends to stop all of Equestria's enemies and become a princess!" She nudged her and continued, "Wouldn't that be ironic? Who knows, maybe you could become MY friendship student!"

Both ponies looked into the exam room as a pony wheeled in a dragon's egg on a cart. They heard an older voice ask, "Well Miss Sparkle?"

Starlight intensified the force field on the filly's horn as Twilight asked, "Starlight, why are you doing this?"

Starlight sneered, "Because I heard what you were saying to Trixie. I heard you planting the seeds of doubt in her mind." She got down in Twilight's face and continued, "Remember last time when I said a cutie mark for a cutie mark? This time it is either I have a future with Trixie or your future is ruined!"

Twilight snapped, "Starlight, this isn't right. Are you really going to just throw away ever meeting Trixie over me trying to get her to see that you two shouldn't cling together. You said you'll remember everything, just think of how not having her in your life will consume you, no matter how powerful and important you become."

Starlight pressed down on her harder and sneered, "At this point it doesn't matter. Knowing you will never become anypony important will more than offset any heartache I could ever have not having Trixie in my life."

Twilight began to cry, "What do I have to do to make you stop this? What do I have to do to get you to release my filly self and hatch Spike?"

Starlight growled, "When we return, you will tell Trixie that we talked and that your suspicions were wrong." She looked in the room and saw the filly Twilight trying to hatch the egg. She continued, "The sonic rainboom happens in thirty seconds. Which will it be, you remaining a princess or a totally different destiny?"

Twilight lowered her head in defeat, "You win Starlight. Again my magic can't stop you so I'll admit I was wrong to Trixie."

Starlight released the hold on filly Twilight and *BOOM,* the sonic rainboom's power took hold hold of filly Twilight and she hatched Spike. The time portal opened up and sucked Starlight and Twilight back to the very moment they left. As they landed on the table the scroll began to get sucked up into the portal but Starlight grabbed a hold of it and put it in her saddlebag. Twilight asked, "Starlight, why did you do that? Why didn't you just let it go like last time?"

Starlight got in her face and growled, "To keep you in check. If you don't do what you promise or if you ever try to stab me in the back like you did with Trixie, I can fix that before you even have a chance to stop me."

Despite being a powerful Alicorn princess, Twilight knew Starlight had more power and realized that while she has a lot more skills in friendship and still has a lot to teach, that she better tread lightly because of Starlight's magical ability. Twilight sighed, "Ok Starlight. I'll admit I was wrong to Trixie today."

Starlight replied, "No, the three of us will have a talk about this." Starlight saw Twilight eying her saddlebag and continued, "And don't even think of trying to take my scroll. I enchanted this spell so I'm the only one who can cast it and I know it by heart. If you take my scroll I'll just write the spell on a different scroll." Starlight looked at the clock and noticed it was close to 0700. She became more cheerful, "Let's go have some breakfast. I'm very hungry and I don't want Trixie to be worried about me."

Starlight headed to the dining hall with her head held high while Twilight followed with her head hung low. She felt almost ashamed that despite being a princess, that she had to walk on eggshells if she didn't want to have her past wiped out and have a new destiny set for her.