The sun had slowly begun to set after a long day in Equestria. Crickets started to chirp from every direction as the birds quieted and flew back to their homes. The trees swayed rhythmically in the slight breeze that was brought about every night. The few rays of sunlight that were left shown on the small town of Ponyville, where not everypony had settled in for the night. Some were out enjoying the crisp evening air, some were just on their way home, and some were up reading in bed, which is exactly what Twilight was doing when Starlight came in.
Starlight had just become Twilight's student in friendship not too long ago, after realizing that taking away ponies' cutie marks was not the solution to her friendship problems. Starlight had been trying her hardest to redeem herself since then, and felt that she was improving. Her and her old friend, Sunburst, had already made up after all those years, so that had to mean something.
As for the moment, the light purple unicorn stood in the doorway of Twilight's bedroom nervously, fidgeting with her hooves. In her head, she debated whether or not to step in and talk to the princess, seeing as she had her head in a book. But before she could say anything, Twilight had finally looked up from her Daring Do book-which she had already read 7 times-and noticed Starlight at the door.
"Starlight?" she asked, causing Starlight to jerk her head up. "What are you doing up?"
"Well, uh, I wanted to...talk to you," Starlight replied, though she didn't move from her spot. There was a silence, but then Twilight patted the space next to her in the bed, motioning for Starlight to sit with her. Starlight happily obliged and did so with a warm smile on her face.
"So, what was it you wanted to talk about?" Twilight asked thoughtfully.
Starlight hesitated, searching for a distraction. "Are you sure? You seem a little busy." She eyed the weathered book that was still levitating in Twilight's magical aura.
"What, this old thing? Nah, I've already read it plenty of times." She giggled and set the book on her bedside table before turning her attention to Starlight once again. "Besides, I want you to know that I'm always here if you want to talk."
This reassured Starlight and made her feel warm inside. It made her happy to have a friend who would listen to her again. It gave her the confidence she needed to speak, yet there was a bit of unease in her voice. With a deep breath, she asked, "Twilight, do you remember me?"
The question threw Twilight off. She tilted her head confusion written on her face. "What do you mean?"
"Do you remember me?" Starlight repeated. "From when we were fillies?"
Twilight's expression didn't change. She still had no idea where this conversation came from or where it was going. "Um...no. I don't." She cleared her throat, trying not to be rude, and regained her original posture. "We only first met when I came to your town of equality to solve the friendship problem." When she saw Starlight flinch, she blushed and added, "Oh, sorry."
Starlight shook her head. "No, it's fine. It wasn't really that, anyway." There were a few moments of silence as Starlight lowered her gaze away from Twilight's. "Do you...really not remember?"
Twilight's heart ached whenever she looked at her friend's face, which was in a depressed frown. She wanted to remember-she really did-but she just didn't know of having any friends when she was younger except for her old friends in Canterlot. Even then, she had treated them so poorly because she was always busy reading and studying. "I might not remember, but maybe you could tell me how we knew each other. It could jog my memory a bit." Twi put a hoof around Starlight's shoulders.
Starlight sighed, a small smile reappearing on her face. Maybe helping Twilight remember would make her feel better. "Alright."
Magic Kindergarten
Recess. The time of day that everypony loved and waited for in suspense through every lesson. A time where the students could have a chance to run around outside with their friends to let their energy out before returning to their humid, stuffy classroom. A time to give their brains a break, not to mention the teacher. How could somepony not enjoy such an amazing and wonderful experience?
Well, Twilight Sparkle didn't, nor did Starlight Glimmer. Twilight thought of recess as a time waster. There were so many other things that she could be learning at that time, like magic or math or science. Of course, she had asked the teacher about removing recess from the school schedule. Written an essay to her about it, even. But she was going against everypony else in the class, and failed at her goal. Instead, she brought a book outside with her each day so she could read at the park bench.
As for Starlight, she wanted to enjoy recess, but she just couldn't. She didn't have any friends to play with, which left her with very few things to do out there.
Although, she knew all that would change today. The bell rang to signal recess time, and ponies sprinted out the door before even being dismissed. Twilight lagged behind, a book levitating in front of her face, while Starlight was even farther back, following Twilight.
Today, she would ask her. Today she would ask Twilight Sparkle to be her friend. Even though she was incredibly shy, this would work out. Starlight had envied the unicorn ever since the first day of school. She was the best student in the class. She always got all A's on everything, and she seemed to know a lot about magic. More than her, anyway. The only thing she didn't have were friends. But Starlight would fix that. Starlight would be her one and only friend. Because everypony wanted friends, right? Right. And Twilight would definitely want to be her friend.
Twilight had sat down on the bench, as always, and Starlight, with a deep breath, went to sit next to her. "Hey," she smiled at the pony next to her, but she didn't reply. A frown tugged at the corners of her mouth, but she ignored it. "Um, hello?"
Twilight's eyes widened when she realized somepony was talking to her. "What? Huh? Oh." She turned to Starlight. "Can I help you with something?"
"Well, I was just wondering...You looked kind of lonely over here...I don't have anyone to..." Twilight had turned back to her book, as if she thought she was one hundred times better than everyone else. Starlight hung her head and squeaked, "Do you want to be my friend?"
There was silence. Twilight wanted to say she didn't have time for friends, but she could glimpse this pony's expression, and immediately felt bad. So, instead, she replied, "Sure."
"I know now that you only said that out of pity for me, and that you never really intended to play with me the way I expected. But I didn't know that then."
Twilight opened her mouth to speak, to defend herself, but Starlight held up a hoof.
"I know what you're going to say. At least let me finish." Twilight's mouth closed.
Time went on. Twilight would occasionally play with Starlight, sometimes laugh at her jokes, but they never really got close. Twi was always busy studying. Whenever they did a project together, it would never be really 'together'. Twilight liked to do all of the work so Starlight could never learn anything. Sure, she would always get a good grade, but what she really wanted was a good friend.
Eventually, their friendship ended before it ever really began. Twilight meet Moon Dancer and her friends, and stopped talking to Starlight altogether. She had gone home crying that day, but it didn't last long. She soon met Sunburst and she forgot about Twilight.
"And you know the rest. Sunburst leaves me and my path of evil begins," Starlight sighed. "You can talk now, Twilight."
Twilight let out the breath she had been holding in. "Oh, my gosh, Starlight! I had no idea! Why didn't you tell me?"
"I didn't think it mattered. Besides, I thought you knew...You do remember now, right?"
"I do." She couldn't meet Starlight's eyes. "I was a terrible friend back then. I can't believe I contributed in your decision to take away cutie marks! I hadn't even realized..."
Starlight yawned and laid down on the bed. "Don't worry about it. I think we both know that I've done worse." There was a tired edge to her voice.
"Well, just know that I'm a better friend now and I'll never do that again! If you want, I-" Twilight was cut off by the sound of snoring. She looked down to see Starlight fast asleep by her side. She smiled and used her magic to pull the blanket over them both. "Goodnight, Starlight."
Author's Note
I really hope you enjoyed this story! Just a quick little one shot, but it took a lot of thought. I actually managed to write it in one night! I'm also trying to write more and be more active! 
I wrote this straight through midnight, so I haven't proofread it yet. Feel free to critique below! 
