Twilight Sparkle woke up that morning with a moan. Forcing herself out of bed, she trudged over to her bathroom and looked in the mirror, causing her to let out a "Gah!"
Her mane was a complete, knotted mess. She sighed and levitated her brush over. This seemed to happen often, especially when she didn't sleep well; and lately, she hadn't.
Once she was satisfied with her mane, she exited the room and turned to go to the castle's kitchen. As she walked the halls, her thoughts turned to what had been troubling her: her new student, Starlight Glimmer.
It wasn't that Starlight had been causing trouble; it was quite the opposite. It truly seemed she'd turned her ways around, and was eager to make up for her actions. Twilight knew it was unlikely Starlight would try getting any crazy revenge again.
Still.... much as she hated to admit, she couldn't help having a little nagging voice at the back of her mind. What if Starlight had a relapse?
She didn't know why she thought this. Did Starlight take her offer of friendship too quickly? She didn't know. Perhaps it was just that Starlight was the first villain not to have a magic-rainbow-friendship-blast-to-the-face beforehoof. All previous villains had had this in one form or another, and only afterwards were they reformed or imprisoned. None had been reformed without going through this process first. Except maybe Discord; but Discord was... well, Discord.
Twilight knew she was most likely just being paranoid; but it was in her nature: being cautious, careful, and paranoid (when the situation seemed bad). And the less sleep she got, the worse her paranoid-ness tended to get.
Finally coming to the kitchen door, she heard a noise from inside. Thinking Spike had gotten up early and started breakfast, she eagerly pushed the door open and trotted inside.
"Good-" yawn, "morning, Spike," she sleepily said... to an empty kitchen? She glanced around the room for the missing dragon. "Spike?"
At this, a very not-dragon head poked out of the pantry. "Oh! Good morning, Twilight!" ~~the object of her worry~~ her student greeted, smiling.
Startled, Twilight jumped back. "Oh! Uh, h-hi, Starlight!" She tried to match the smile, but couldn't help wondering if the unicorn's smile was a little too wide.
"I woke up early and figured I'd get some breakfast. Hope you don't mind," Starlight explained, exiting the pantry with a loaf of bread in her magic.
"Of course not; it's your home too now, after all."
Starlight gave a grateful smile. "Thanks again, for that. Why don't you sit down? I'll make you some breakfast, too," she offered. Turning to face the counter, she set the bread down and untwisted the tie on the bag.
"That'd be great," Twilight replied, magically pulling out a chair at the table. "So... where is Spike, do you know?"
Starlight levitated a knife from the drawer. "Oh, I don't think we'll be hearing anything from him anytime soon," she casually said as she inspected it.
Twilight jerked sharply, and the chair, still in her magic grip, was sent flying into the wall. "W-WHAT?!" Her breath quickened as she noticed the jar of thick-looking red liquid next to the knife. Trying to force the strength in her voice, "What... did you do?" It came out a whisper.
"Yeah, I passed by his room and heard him snoring pretty loudly. Sounded like a deep sleep. He's probably going to enjoy sleeping in today," Starlight continued, using the butterknife to spread the strawberry jelly on a slice of bread. Placing it on a plate, she turned around toward the table, and finally noticed the chair against the wall. She raised an eyebrow. "Uh, what happened?"
Twilight forced a nervous smile. "I... missed?"
Frowning, Starlight set her plate down. "Twilight... are you okay? You seem a bit... jumpy today."
The alicorn sighed. "Sorry; I'm just a bit... stressed."
Starlight grinned. "I know what you need." Her horn began charging up, getting brighter and brighter. "PREPARE TO BE ZAPPED!"
Twilight just barely had the time to throw up a shield before the unicorn fired a powerful blast. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited for the impact, hoping this one wouldn't create a crater in her castle.
She waited a few more seconds.
And a few more.
Finally she opened her eyes, only to find Starlight facing the counter once again. She quickly dropped her shield as the other pony turned around. "Breakfast's ready!" she declared.
"What the hay was that?" Twilight exclaimed.
"It's a new spell I've been working on," Starlight explained. "A zap of heat and energy magic that makes toast instantly, anywhere, anytime!" She proudly set the plate on the table.
Twilight peered at the rather burnt piece of bread before her. "I... see."
Starlight rubbed the back of her neck. "I'm, uh, still working out a few things. Haven't quite found the right amount of energy to put into it to make it come out right. You should've seen my first try. There wasn't even any bread left."
Twilight gently pushed the plate of charcoal away. "Y'know, I'm not really that hungry. I've, uh... got a big day planned." Spying her saddlebags near the door, she floated them over and settled them on her back. 'A day out by myself is just what I need,' she thought.
"Oh, okay." Starlight thought for a moment. "Want me to make lunch for you? No toast, I promise," she joked.
Twilight's panic nerves had been jumpscared so many times that morning, it was really starting to get to her. In the back of Twilight's mind, the little voice often known as 'reason' was muffled out by her fog of paranoid thoughts. Which was probably why her first conclusion was, 'Poisoned food.'
"No!" she squeaked, a little too quickly. "I mean... I'll just stop and get something out. As a Princess, I think it's important to support the local businesses, you know?" she explained in what she hoped was a convincing way.
Starlight frowned for a moment. "I... guess that makes sense." She brightened. "Speaking of local businesses..." She levitated a basket full of fresh red apples out into view. "I got these from Applejack at the market yesterday. They're really good." She picked one from the top and held it out to Twilight, smiling. "Want one for the road?"
The little voice's door was closed with an 'Out of Order' sign hanging in front. 'Apples,' Twilight thought, 'the oldest poisoning trick in the book. I take a bite, and sure it all seems fine at first until suddenly WHAM! I collapse and fall in a coma and then... and then...' Twilight's mind kinda blanked on that one. 'Okay so I don't know what then but it can't be good if she's poisoned me for it!'
'IF! IF!' the voice desperately tried to shout through the door. It was ignored.
Realizing Starlight was still waiting for her answer and not trusting herself to make a good excuse, she decided to (politely?) accept. "Sure it looks great thanks gotta go bye!" she said hurriedly, rushing out the door and leaving a very confused unicorn alone in the kitchen.
On her way down the hall, she stared at the apple she held in her magenta colored magic. Still not willing to risk it, she considered tossing it on her way out... until the thought of a fiery-raging Applejack made her think otherwise. 'I'll just stick it in my saddlebags for now and decide what to do with it later,' she decided.
As she reached the castle door she faintly heard Starlight's voice from the kitchen. "Morning Spike! Want some toast?"
"That depends," she heard him reply, "on what this stuff on the table is 'sposed to be."
Late that afternoon, Twilight trotted back to the castle with a happy sigh. She'd finally gotten to have a relaxing, peaceful day. She'd taken a stroll through the park, then settled down on her favorite spot and done some reading. Afterwards she'd stopped at the Ponyville café for lunch, then taken a nice long nap on a cloud.
"Rainbow Dash was right about those clouds," she said to herself. "I haven't slept that good in days!"
Now that she finally got some restful sleep, her mind felt much clearer, and she felt better about everything that had happened. And, finally, she'd stopped by Sugarcube Corner and picked up some treats for all of them.
Closing the door behind her, she was about to announce her return, when she heard voices coming from a nearby room.
"No!" came Spike's voice.
"Yes! And with that, Ponyville is mine!"
The voice was Starlight's.
Twilight hoofpumped. 'Ah-ha! I was right!' The hoof came down as her eyes widened. 'Oh no! I was right!'
Starlight continued. "My plan is working perfectly! And soon, all of Equestria will be MINE!!!!!!!!" And she laughed like a maniac.
Twilight turned and bolted out the door. 'I have to get the girls! We have to stop her!' Suddenly she stopped and turned back toward the castle. 'Oh no! Spike's still in there!'
For a moment she was torn between running to save him first or hurrying to get the girls and saving them all.
She heard Starlight's crazy laughter again.
Finally she decided, 'Oh screw it! Spike has firebreath! He'll be fine!' and bolted off to find her friends.
She was long gone before Spike spoke up. "Um, Starlight?"
"WHAT?" she snapped, at being interrupted.
"Chill. It's just Monopony."
Author's Note
Bonus Chapter coming soon!
Eventually.
Eh, don't hold your breath.
