Twilight waved a hoof slowly in front of the charmed Starlight, who simply followed its motions placidly. "I know you're in there, Starlight. Now, we're actually going to do something nice."

Luna perked an ear curiously, but kept her snout shut.

"I want you to see that, while forced, it's very hard to truly enjoy anything." She looked back to Luna. "As for you, servant, kiss her." She pointed at Starlight's snout.

Luna blinked rapidly, but didn't move immediately to comply.

Twilight hiked a brow. "Go on..." Luna still looked unsure. Twilight snorted. "Speak."

Luna nodded. "Very well. I... Starlight seems like a lovely mare, but I do not wish to have this between us. While I would delight in further exploration of our friendship, I don't want it this way."

Twilight nodded even as it came to her. She was going in a bad direction. "Very well. Starlight?"

"Yes, Twilight?" asked Starlight in her monotone.

"Let the Starlight inside speak."

"Stop this right now!" suddenly shouted Starlight. Her face was still placid. She could only control her throat, mouth, and lips. "Twilight!"

Twilight reached up and pat Starlight's cheek. "Let's take a different tact. Starlight?"

"Does it involve letting me free?"

Twilight inclined her head towards Luna. "Do you like her?"

Starlight hesitated. "We just met..."

"If I wanted you to take part in a... very intensive friendship lesson, you would say?"

Starlight managed to force her ears back. "Let me go, Twilight. I don't like this. I don't like it at all. Let. Me. Go."

That was fairly blunt. Twilight had to concede her case. Starlight would not... be handled that way, not if she wanted to keep Starlight as a friend. Her horn twinkled as she released the spell on Starlight.

Starlight suddenly pounced on Twilight, bearing her to the ground. "You need to check your priorities, teacher! That was entirely uncalled for." She sat down on Twilight, huffing and puffing. "Never do that again, never! I said I'm sorry. I won't do it again." She clenched her teeth hard. "You... didn't have to rub it in my face."

Luna looked between Starlight and the Twilight she had pinned to the ground. With a glowing horn, she hefted Starlight up, just for Starlight to shatter the grasp with a flash and growl at Luna like a cornered animal. "You want to test me? Fine. I owe you a duel. Right now, let's go."

Luna and Starlight vanished, leaving Twilight behind.

Twilight sat up, heart heavy as it sank in how she had bungled the whole thing up.

A knocking made her jump in place. "Who is it?"

The door opened and Spike peeked in. "Hey... um, you have a moment?"

Twilight sank, wings drooping. "Yeah, sure... Go on, tell me how terrible of a teacher I am."

Spike slipped in and closed the door behind himself. "Aw, don't say that. You're a great teacher!"

Twilight frowned at him. "Pfft, yeah... right. I violated Starlight and the teacher-student bond. She may never trust me again!" She put a hoof on either of Spike's shoulders. "I'm a terrible teacher."

Spike reached up and put a claw on one of her hooves, holding her. "Hey, look, you were just getting, um, carried away. I... kind of think Luna liked it. She's taking being your student super seriously, even the weird parts. Every student is different." He nodded quickly. "Starlight's a lot like you. And you do your best when you help her like Celestia helped you."

Twilight blinked. "What?"

"Think about it." He rolled a claw. "A hooves-off approach, pointing her in the right direction and helping her keep on the right path. Push too hard and she resents it. If you say you're sorry, I bet she'll forgive you. Heck, she's done worse."

Twilight shook her head. "Two wrongs don't make a right. Gah, how could I forget something so basic." She pressed a hoof against her own face before a little forced laugh escaped her. "I just made exactly the same mistake she made. Some teacher..."

Spike shrugged. "She'll get over it if you're really sorry, don't string yourself up about it. About Luna..."

Twilight paled. Was she really acting that way towards Luna? "I'm going to be thrown in jail for a thousand moons..."

Spike waved it off. "Nah. You aren't watching her as much as you really oughta be. I mean, what do I know, I guess, but I think she really likes it."

"But why?" Twilight scowled with deepening thought. With a flash, she conjured a chalkboard and began drawing over it, trying to figure out how their relationship worked and what purpose it served.

Suddenly, she had it. With a huge grin, she pointed at it. "There it is!"

Spike saw a lot of doodles and lines and things. "I don't get it."

Twilight reared up and tapped the top of her diagram. "Luna has spent most of her adult life being the top of the command structure. She wants to fit in better in the modern world, where ponies have a more even distribution of such authority. She wants to step down from where she is, but instead of just going to where everypony else is..." She lowered a hoof a bit. "She wants to experience it from the other end." The hoof sank rapidly. "She wants to learn from a position of complete subservience. It's very aggressive, but it just might work to teach her what it's like to not be in charge."

Spike slowly tilted his head. "I guess that makes sense. I suppose that means she trusts you."

Twilight blinked.

Spike shrugged a little. "Well, if she didn't, she wouldn't give you that kind of power over her, right? She's trusting you."

"She's trusting me," Twilight practically whispered to herself as things began to click into place. "I have to make sure I don't betray that trust." She hopped to her hooves. "It's time I started being a good teacher! To both of them!"

Spike lifted a lone finger. "Not in the same way, right?"

"Right." Twilight nodded. "Luna's curriculum can't match Starlight's. I was silly to even think that would start to work, even if there are some similarities. They both need to learn how to surrender control, but not the same way."

Spike flashed a bright smile. Things seemed to be calming down a bit. "Great! Maybe you should start with a less, um, strange start? You know, take Luna out to do something normal?"

Twilight bobbed her head. "Excellent idea! I need to start planning." She trotted off, tail swaying with every step. Her confidence had been restored. She would be the teacher they needed.

Luna threw her head to the side, sending Starlight sailing. The unicorn was in a rigid bubble that absorbed the impact in a massive cloud of dust. Starlight emerged from the cloud, borne aloft by her own magic as she fired a lethal bolt of magic at her larger foe.

Luna swat it aside with a wing as she spun around and lashed out with her hooves. She caught Starlight in the chest with a dull thud.

Starlight fell to the ground, gasping for a moment before she blinked away a few feet. "Not bad..."

"I could say the same," spoke Luna. "Do you carry resentment towards me?"

Starlight perked an ear. "For sparring?"

Luna blinked. "What? No. For... earlier."

Starlight shook her head. "You... stood up for me. Even when I couldn't do a thing." She quirked a little smile. "Thanks."

Luna nodded slowly. "You did not deserve to be treated in such a fashion. I hope you do not begrudge Twilight too severely."

Starlight clopped the ground angrily. "Why shouldn't I?!"

Luna pointed at Starlight. "At her worst, she has sunk to your own level. She will recover her bearings."

Starlight flinched as if struck as powerfully as that princess' hind legs. "I guess..."

Luna approached her potential new friend. "I swear I will protect you, should you feel threatened in this way, in the future."

Starlight beamed at that, relaxing a little. The promise of Luna was a serious affair. "Thank you... I..." She took a slow breath. "I'll try to let it go, if she never tries that again." She shuddered. "I owe the girls another round of apologies. That really was terrible."

Luna lifted a hoof. "Then Twilight did succeed, in part. You are now fully aware of just how undesirable that is."

Starlight scowled at Luna a moment before sagging. "Yeah..."

Luna sat beside Starlight. She offered a wing, and soon had the smaller unicorn wrapped gently in it. "I will protect you, but I feel confident she did not... intend this. She cares for you."

"Yeah..." sighed out Starlight. She knew Twilight cared. Twilight was just completely wrong in this case. She flashed a grin. "I get to call her out on a friendship lesson for a change."

Luna nodded. "That's the spirit. As my senior pupil, I will look to you for assistance as well. I trust you are remaining as Twilight's pupil?"

Starlight snorted. "She owes me one... but yeah, fine. I suppose I'll let this one go." She rose to her hooves. "Come on. I bet she's drawing diagrams and freaking out with us both gone." She let out a little chuckle. "Bet she's completely losing it."

As they walked back towards the friendship castle, Luna glanced to the side and down at her new friend. "You enjoy studying magic."

Was that even a question. "Yeah?"

"I am in possession of some... interesting spells, the likes of which have not been seen in Equestria for countless moons."

Starlight almost tripped as the news struck her full on. She was speaking to Luna, co-princess of Equestria. Of course she had magic! "W-what kind of spells?"

Luna smiled. "As our friendship deepens, I will reveal. This is not meant to coerce you. These spells are only to be revealed to trusted ponies. You will earn that trust, or I would be irresponsible in giving them out."

Starlight frowned a little with thought. She wanted that magic! Forbidden little nuggets of arcane lore? How could she say no? Besides, it wasn't as if Luna had been awful to be around, so far.

As fledgling friends, they entered the castle.

Twilight appeared with a pop in front of them. "Hello!" She was wearing a big fake grin. "I'm so glad to see you." She pointed at Starlight. "I'm sorry!"

Starlight cocked a brow. "Easy to say."

Twilight let out an almost delirious giggle. "Oh, well, yes. I mean to make amends. But first..." She turned to Luna. "I need to be absolutely certain. Do you wish to continue? I'll... understand if not, but I'm ready to proceed and I won't mess up again."

Luna put a hoof to her chest. "You did no wrong by me. Your misdeeds are entirely between yourself and Starlight. I am ready to proceed."

Twilight smiled. Her theory seemed to be proving true, but... She couldn't do that again. She didn't want to hurt any ponies by getting carried away. "Starlight?"

"Yes?"

Twilight nodded at her slighted student. "I have a favor to ask. You understand control, both having it, and not wanting your control taken away. You understand this, so..." She rolled a hoof slowly. "I want you to speak up if I go too far. I mean!" She squeaked. "Not between us. You... Your lessons will be different, I swear. This is about Luna." She pointed at Luna.

Luna quirked an ear between the two. "As I protect you, you will protect me, though I feel I will be in safe hooves." She dipped her head. "Instruct me, Twilight." What she had seen... Why couldn't she have been the one to be so strictly handled. She tingled a little bit at the thought of it. No command Twilight would have given would have been so horrible. She would have gladly kissed Starlight, had Luna's been the will that had been shackled, and Starlight free to enjoy the kiss with a cocky grin.

Author's Note

And it bubbles over and makes a mess on everything.

Feelings are had.

Typos are made.

Lessons are learned?