Starlight Glimmer Feels Lonely

by deadpansnarker

Rating: everyone
Tags: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, Comedy, Starlight Glimmer, Slice of Life, Twilight Sparkle
Length: 2384

Starlight Glimmer wants to know why she's been left out of so many of Twilight and her friend's adventures this season, and so decides to have a little conversation with her mentor about the situation.

Starlight Glimmer wants to know why she's been left out of so many of Twilight and her friends' adventures this season, and so decides to have a little conversation with her mentor about the situation.

Pretty much a colour-coded conversation based fic, so please bear that in mind before going in...

Set just after the events of the episode known as Every Little Thing She Does.

Published 2016-10-01 08:30:02 UTC
Last updated 2016-10-01 08:30:02 UTC

A conversation between two overpowered equines

Colour Key: Starlight Glimmer. Twilight Sparkle.

Twilight Sparkle is getting ready to head out. Sensing her opportunity, Starlight Glimmer decides to ambush her before she departs, and the pair begin to have a little chat. Let's listen in, shall we?

"Twilight, do you mind if I have a word with you for a minute?"

"Not at all, Starlight! Anything for my favourite student! First of all though..."

*Sigh*"... Yes?"

"Did you finish polishing off all the silverware? It's very important for your friendship development."

"I did such a good job, you can see your face in every spoon, fork and knife. Though, I suspect the 'friendship' part is still just a ploy..."

"Moving on. Have you tucked Spike in, too?"

"I've done that as well, and even stuck in his Rarity and Princess Ember plushies. When is he going to make his mind up..."

"My loyal assistant's romantic choices are not your concern, Ms Glimmer. Finally, we move onto..."

"I've alphabetised the library, blew away all the dust, put away all the deckchairs from the roof and written out ten thousand times, I must not use forbidden sorcery to turn my friends into mindless zombies, in my best cursive. Good enough?"

"Yes, I suppose that'll do for now. So, what was it you wanted to see me about?"

"Well, it was sort of a small question, really..."

"Is that all? Out with it then! If I can help, I will."

"Just a little precursor: Try not to get offended..."

"Offended? Starlight Glimmer... you should know me better than that by now! As the official representative of Celestia in this region, It is my duty to always maintain a level head, and not let such petty concerns cloud my judgement!"

"What about the time Rainbow Dash called you a supernerd, and you spent the rest of the day in the library, sulking? You didn't even come out for the annual Ponyville bookathon..."

*Grumbles* "T-that was a long time ago. I've grown up, matured in so many ways. You shouldn't judge ponies based on their past, Starlight. I thought you of all mares would know that..."

"Twilight, it was only last week."

"C-can we just get to the point please? I have some princessy duties to perform, so could you hurry it up a bit?"

"Okay, if you say so. Here goes..." *Deep intake of breath* "T-Twilight...?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"D-do y-you..."

"Well?"

"A-actually, t-truthfully..."

"Spit it out, Starlight!"

"L-like me...?"

"...Are you serious, Ms Glimmer? Whatever gave you cause to think that I hate you?"

"...I didn't say I thought you hated me, it''s just..."

"What a silly thing to ask. After all we've been through together. Why, we saved the Crystal Empire from the wrath of a rampaging baby..."

"Twilight..."

"We helped Trixie out with her act, stopping her from becoming a manticore's lunch in the process..."

"Twilight..."

"Then there was the incident with Thorax, when you were one of the first to see that his intentions were anything but evil..."

"Twilight..."

"We fixed the map, Spent Hearthswarming together, had a magical battle royale and chillaxed all day amongst many other such fun things. So why on Equestria would you think..."

"Twilight! You're not listening to me! You're right, we have done a lot together since I gave up my insane crusade for equality, and it's been great..."

"But? I'm sensing a 'but' here, and you know how I hate buts."

"Well, I'm afraid you're going to have to tolerate mine. What I'm getting at is, despite all the wonderful times we've enjoyed..."

"Go on..."

"I also feel like I've missed out on so much else. Almost as if, you left me out of your fun with our friends on purpose, and only dragged me along on occasions when it was absolutely necessary."

"An interesting perspective. Care to elaborate?"

"...Well, for a start, there was your visit to the Dragon Lands. I've always wanted to know what they looked like, having lived in a small village for most of my life. But when I woke up that morning, you'd already left. Why did you decide to take Rarity, instead of me?"

"This isn't a competition, Starlight. Rarity has a close connection with Spike as you know, that's why she wanted to come. Also, we weren't there to go sightseeing. It was a very dangerous adventure, full of lava pits, steep cliffs and bad-tempered giant reptiles..."

"You make it sound like I need to be babied. My powers could have come in great help during your little quest, but instead you decide to drag along another unicorn who, and this goes no further than here, is far inferior to me in the magic department."

"It's not like we were defenseless, Starlight..."

"Oh, I forgot. You were in camouflage. From what I can gather, it was very convincing. Fooled the dragons for all of five seconds."

"Six seconds, actually. That's beside the issue, though... it wasn't a vacation, we were attending to a very serious matter. Surely you must understand, I can't include you in everything?"

"Well, if that were just a one-off, I wouldn't mind so much. But I've detected a bit of a pattern in being left out of big events. Mind if I continue?"

"Please do. This should be informative."

"Thank you. Now, I won't include the Cutie Map quests in my little tirade, since I understand the need for only the selected pair to undertake those missions. Though, I must say, it still sounds like a rather stupid way of solving problems. Many hooves make light work, after all..."

"I've heard this from you before. Shall we stick to the present matter, please?"

"Of course. My next complaint is when you and the rest of our friends went to see Dash's debut as a Wonderbolt. Again, all I did was take a little stroll into town, and when I'd got back, you'd disappeared on the train! Without even leaving me so much as a note!"

"We didn't think you'd be interested, Starlight. Until recently, you hadn't even heard of the Wonderbolts, so..."

"Exactly my point! If would have been the perfect chance for me to learn about the group, and see if they lived up to the hype! But you denied me that opportunity, Twilight. Can't you see, how I could have felt a little ostracized, all on my own, while the rest of you had fun?"

"It wasn't that great, Starlight. In case you hadn't heard, Dash's performance was a bit of a disaster..."

"Well, I still would've liked to be there in her hour of need. After all, she's my friend too! At least, I thought she was..."

"...Tell you what. The next time the Wonderbolts have a show, I'll get us two box seats front centre, so we won't miss a thing! I'll even request Spitfire to give you a talk about the history of the organisation, if you're that interested..."

"Thanks, I might take you up on that. It still feels like an afterthought, though. Why couldn't you have done all that in the first place? There's other stuff, too..."

"Such as...?"

"You didn't invite me to the opening of Rarity's new boutique."

"W-we thought it would be boring for you."

"Again, I'd have preferred to be the judge of that for myself. Just because I'm not really into fashion now, doesn't mean that I can't learn. Reading the reviews of it afterwards, it sounded like you all did a good job in helping her out. I would have loved to have been a part of that..."

"... Well, it wasn't quite that simple, but now I know how you feel, we'll definitely include you on the next one. It's an ever-expanding business, after all..."

"Like with the Wonderbolts show, that sounds like a case of shutting the stable door after the ponies have bolted, but I appreciate the gesture. Just a few more queries, then I'm finished. Are you ready, Twilight?"

"I guess so."

"I'm none too fussed about not helping out at Applejack's farm the day she was at the spa, manual labour is not really my thing. But why wasn't I asked to attend the Applewood Derby? The buckball game against Appleloosa? The trip the six of you took to Yakyakistan... and don't give me that 'I thought it might be too cold for you' excuse. You didn't even let me in on that massive prank you played on Rainbow Dash... why did you confine me to my room that evening?"

"...Because Starlight, to be frank, you do have a tendency to get a little carried away with your magic, and you may have decided to add a few 'extras' to our plan, which could have... complicated matters. As for the rest... I really don't know. Maybe you just slipped our minds. I'm sorry..."

"Well, as slippery as your minds are, I can't help but feel a little isolated right now. I mean, while you and your friends have had a year of excitement and elation, I've been stuck in this drafty castle alone most of the time..."

"You had Spike for company for the majority of that. Also, I thought you said the chilliness didn't bother you..."

"Don't try and change the subject! What I want to know is your reasons for leaving me out of so many of your action-packed escapades, and whether it has anything to do with you still not fully trusting me after what I tried to do."

"Well, in terms of excuses for being suspicious about a pony, I dare say attempting to destroy the world is quite a good one. Also, I have to admit, there have been occasions where I've had my doubts about your motivations, and I may have even secretly followed you around once, to make sure you were on the straight and narrow..."

"I know. I was there. How did you and that DJ fit inside that tiny hedge, anyway?"

"With great difficulty. Anyway, the fact is, that's all behind us now! Despite your little slip-up recently, I have full confidence in you now. The mistakes you do make are honest ones borne out of attempts at self-improvement, and I even saw you throw away that old equals-sign poster which was up on your bedroom wall for so long! Too long, if you ask me."

"Sometimes it's hard to let go of the past..."

"I know, and that's why even though I forgave you a long time ago, I still may have had a few lingering hang-ups about your consistent inclusion in our social group..."

"S-so, you admit it! I knew it was too good to be true! I guess my crimes really are unpardonable, after all. Should I pack my bags now, or later on?!"

"Now you're the one who isn't listening! What I'm saying is... we'll make more of an effort to incorporate you into our activities together, if it is indeed the case we unconsciously left you out on account of our slight paranoia."

"Incorporate? Gee, thanks. I feel so special all of a sudden."

"Argh, you know what I meant! I wish Fluttershy was here, she's much better at making ponies feel better than I am. Let me put it another way: We like you. We value you. And, believe it or not... we trust you. Is that clear enough, Starlight Glimmer?"

"...I guess so, but I wouldn't start thinking about writing my own advice column, if I were you."

"Actually, I already do. It's serialised in the national press, under the secret alias 'Twilight Twinkle'. Ingenious, huh?"

"Wow, what a pseudonym, I never would have figured out who it was."

"Well, thank you, I chose it myself. Are you familiar with my work?"

"I did try writing to her once about an ongoing problem I had with megalomania, but I found her printed consultation both rambling and asinine. Now I know why."

"...Well, that's just your opinion. I'm sure I've successfully helped many ponies out there..."

"... with insomnia. Anyway, I was only kidding. I don't read newspapers, they're all just tools of propaganda anyway, for somepony's secret agenda."

"E-er, Starlight... I don't mean to bring up the past again, but don't you think you're being just a tad hypocritica..."

"Enough. I've said my piece, and you've cheered me up a little, so thanks for that. I'll make myself scarce, and you can call me if I'm needed for something really important later on, such as waxing the floor. There's bound to be a friendship metaphor you can work in there somewhere, right?"

"... Starlight, would you like to come with me on my duties?"

"What, right now? Are you serious?"

"Yes, I think you've earned it. Just think of this as a fresh start, a new chapter in our relationship. I never want you to feel that you're alone again."

"Thank you. So, where are we headed, Oh great teacher of mine?"

"First, we're going to judge a beauty contest for mules. Then, we're off to the river to help dredge up rubbish from the depths, to show the local community that royals can get their hooves dirty with the best of them. After that, and you'll enjoy this, we're going to participate in the construction of the world's biggest house of cards! Each individual card takes around five minutes to carefully place, and they'll be no talking, whispering or any kind of sudden movement allowed. So, what do you think? Pretty super, eh?!"

"G-great, Twilight...*Mutters* "Why did I have to go and open my big mouth..."

..................................................................................................................

Later on, Spike wakes up, wanders into the main hall, and quickly realises nopony is there...

"Um, Twilight? Starlight? Anypony home? Oh, not again..."

He sighs in annoyance, stares at the cuddly Rarity and Ember dolls he has clutched in his claws, before a mischievous grin finds it's way onto his scaly face.

"Looks like it's just you and me, ladies. Now, who gets to sit on Spikey-Wikey's lap, while he reads his comic books? Oh, please don't fight over me, girls. I'm not worth it..."

Author's Note

This was an experimentation work. I hope you enjoyed it. Feel free to comment down below, good or bad. I'll be waiting... :pinkiehappy: