Ever since the "incident", Starlight's day had gone relatively smoothly. She'd spent time with her friends, cleaned up most of the mess she'd made, and had pretty much enjoyed the rest of her day. Applejack and the others had gone their separate ways by this point, and now Starlight was alone for the first time today, sitting in her chambers and letting out a long sigh.
"Well...that was something."
She hopped off the side of her bed, heading straight for a nearby book at her desk, only to stop when she heard a knocking upon her door.
"Oh. Um...come in?"
The door swung open, revealing her mentor, Twilight, on the other side. Starlight smiled as the young Princess entered.
"Twilight! Hi! Is everything okay?"
The alicorn smiled and nodded, using her magic to close the door behind her.
"Oh, sure! Everything's fine!"
The way she'd said that wasn't her usual calm tone, which instantly caused Starlight to raise an eyebrow.
"Are...are you okay?"
Twilight considered that, letting out a sigh as she approached her student.
"Starlight...we need to talk."
Starlight's smile faded at this.
"What? Is there still more mess left?"
Twilight shook her head.
"No. It's about the spell you cast. Something I've been meaning to say to you about it."
A look of concern crossed Starlight's face.
"Er...what?"
Her teacher placed her hoof upon her own chin, pondering this.
"Hmmm...how best to put this?"
Then, she looked Starlight right in the eye.
"It was...too villainy."
There was a pause, and Starlight gave a long blink.
"I...I don't think that's actually a word."
Twilight frowned.
"You're missing the point!"
To that, Starlight looked away and grumbled.
"How many times am I going to hear that today?"
Then she looked back to Twilight and put on a smile.
"What is the point then?"
Twilight sighed.
"The point....is that what you did was something only a bad guy would do!"
Starlight's eyes widened, and she gained a panicked expression.
"I'M NOT EVIL ANYMORE!!! I SWEAR!!!"
Twilight took a step backwards, prompting Starlight to regain her earlier look.
"Oh! Sorry! Old habits, hehe..."
The young Princess smiled nervously to this, before then clearing her throat and addressing her once more.
"The only time magic has been used to control ponies' minds is when villains use it. Like Queen Chrysalis. She did something similar to my brother once."
The other mare took on a look of curiosity.
"Really?"
Twilight nodded.
"Yep. Zombie eyes, no ability to think for himself. The works."
Starlight let her ears droop.
"I...I know what I did was over-the-line, but...villainy?"
Twilight nodded grimly.
"I'm afraid so. This wasn't just some case of misunderstanding how friends behave towards one another. You actively imposed your will upon others, through magic. That's not the act of...well...good people."
Starlight pondered this, humming to herself before using her magic to levitate a nearby pad of paper to her.
"Out of curiosity...would it also be evil to use magic to make sure ponies don't hum that annoying song they like to do while they're having their morning jog?"
Though taken aback, Twilight quickly composed herself.
"Er...yeah, I guess so."
Starlight wrote that down.
"Interesting. And erasing ponies' memories about you when they try to get you to join in on their bake sales?"
Twilight stared at her.
"...Yes, that too."
Starlight seemed intrigued.
"Fascinating. And what about those times when somepony annoys you, like when they chew really loudly, and you have this urge to..."
But she was halted by a raised hoof from Twilight.
"Yes, Starlight. Whatever it was that you were about to say, yes, that's evil too."
The unicorn nodded.
"Hmmm...I still have a lot to learn."
In spite of the discomfort her student's words had yielded, Twilight nevertheless managed a smile.
"Look, Starlight...you just have to remember one thing. When dealing with friendship problems...using magic alone is not going to be the answer."
Starlight looked to her, then bore a genuine smile, nodding in response.
"I'll...try to remember."
Moving closer to her, Twilight placed her hoof upon her shoulders.
"Don't worry about it. The others forgave you, and so have I. If nothing else, you had good reasons for doing what you did. Friendship is still something new to you, and it takes time to get used to all the little things you need to keep in mind."
She giggled slightly.
"Believe me, I know that better than a lot of people. I mean, heck, I still make cue-cards and plan-sheets for sleepovers for goodness sake!"
Starlight couldn't help but laugh at that.
"Seriously?"
The Princess nodded.
"Yep. Still drives my friends nuts, but yeah."
The two mares laughed together, doing much to relieve the tension between them. Twilight smiled, pleased over everything that had been said thus far, before turning. For both she and Starlight now looked upon Spike, who entered the room and addressed her.
"There you are, Twilight! I've been looking all over for you!"
The young Princess giggled.
"Sorry, Spike. I've just been telling Starlight here how it isn't nice to control ponies' minds with magic."
A sly smirk crept over the dragon's face.
"Ah, telling her about that time you made everypony obsessed with that old doll of yours, right?"
A silence fell, and Twilight stared at Spike blankly, all while Starlight looked to her mentor with a knowing smile.
"A doll, eh?"
Slowly, Twilight looked to her student, putting on a nervous smile.
"Well...in fairness, I suppose nopony's perfect...right?"
Starlight chuckled.
"I'll keep that in mind."
