The people who lived in the town of Canterlot had come to see many a strange sight in recent years. And these tended to come in one of two categories. Either they were massive threats that they had to flee from for their very lives, or they were sights that, while bizarre, simply weren't worth worrying about. And today, those who walked in the Canterlot Mall were very definitely experiencing the latter. A girl with purple hair and a beanie, sitting quietly by herself, staring at her fingers as she wiggled them constantly. Some stopped for a moment to watch her do it, other simply passed her by. As for the girl herself, she did what she did with a sense of both wonder, confusion and disgust all at the same time. But, her solitude did not last forever, and it wasn't long before one of Canterlot's most noted residents, Sunset Shimmer, arrived to join her, carrying a pair of sweet-looking milkshakes.
"Sorry it took so long."
Starlight looked up, smiling to her and graciously accepting the drink from her host. Together, the two girls sat and slurped their respective milkshakes for a time, and after having done so, let out contented sighs.
"Ah! Now that’s the stuff!" Starlight commented.
Chuckling, Sunset nodded.
"I try not to have it too much, but yeah, it's pretty good."
After continuing to drink her milkshake for a time, Starlight once more looked to her newly-acquired fingers.
“How did you ever get used to these things?!”
Gazing upwards to her, Sunset smirked slightly.
“Believe me, fingers are only the start of the weirdness. You should see what’s under our clothes!”
Hearing that, Starlight now looked down to her shirt, as though it was the first time she’d ever really paid attention to it. Then, before Sunset really noticed, the other ex-unicorn reached down to start pulling up that clothing item. It was only when Starlight had exposed the part of her midriff just below her bra that Sunset finally saw her, looking to her with shock and, with lightning reflexes, reached forward and made her put her shirt back down again.
“What?” Starlight asked.
Looking around to make sure nobody had seen that, Sunset answered, looking a touch embarrassed as she did so.
“Um...let’s wait until we’re someplace more private before you start...you know...exploring stuff.”
Starlight shook her head over this confusing behaviour, but nevertheless shrugged her shoulders, accepting those words. Then, shortly afterwards, she looked to her fellow Equestrian once more.
"How long have you been here now, Sunset?"
Sunset sighed, scratching the back of her head briefly.
"Years? I lost count a while back."
But, she smiled soon afterwards.
"I miss Equestria, it's true...but I've come to love my life here."
Starlight considered that.
"I can imagine. Your friends, the fun you have...it seems pretty nice."
Again, Sunset laughed.
"Trust me, things haven't always been easy. There have been plenty of bumps in the road before I got to this point."
Starlight considered that, tracing a finger around the rim of her glass as she mused on her friend's words.
"Preaching to the choir on that one."
Sunset looked to her, her expression softening a bit.
"Trust me, I know the feeling."
Starlight too glanced to her, raising an eyebrow and prompting Sunset to continue.
"Believe me, I've had those moments too. You stop and think on all the mistakes you made. All the bad times you brought for others before you got to where you are now."
Hearing that, Starlight too looked to her with softness.
"Does it ever go away? Completely?"
Chuckling, Sunset shook her head.
"Afraid not."
Starlight sighed, rolling her eyes.
"No, I guess not."
She took another sip of her milkshake, and as she did so, Sunset looked to her with curiosity.
"Can I ask you something?"
Starlight looked to her, nodding and giving silent permission, which Sunset took as she finally asked her question.
"Those things you did...it's just...I was wondering..."
Looking to her, it was clear that Starlight understood what was coming, and so finished the question pre-emptively.
"Why did I do it?"
Though looking at least a little embarrassed, Sunset nodded, and in the silence that followed, Starlight looked away, thinking hard on the matter.
"It's a long story. My only friend moved away when I was little and...I guess I just kept pushing people away after that."
Her eyes narrowed.
"I made myself more and more isolated...and when I was alone...I didn't have anypony to help me. I just...became the kind of pony who dwelt on all those bad things, kept wanting everything to be right, the way I wanted it, and..."
A grimace formed on her face.
"...others suffered for it. I just...never thought that..."
"That there was another way?"
Starlight looked to Sunset after she'd finished her words for her, and saw her smiling.
"Like I said...I know the feeling."
For a while, they stared at one another, and when the moment passed, it was now Starlight who looked to her with curiosity.
"And you? Twilight mentioned a basic story of what happened, but...no details."
Sunset nodded, sighing as she did so.
"It's what you've probably heard. Arrogant student of Celestia. Kept on thinking I was the best of the best. I got angry at her when I felt that she was holding me back, keeping things from me."
Regret took centre stage in her expression.
"I left...both to take what I thought should have been mine...but also just to spite her."
She let out a long exhale.
"I was...petty. I was terrible. I did what I did for selfish reasons and not once did I ever consider the ones I was hurting. To me, they were just tools, and I didn’t care how many I hurt or how much I was destroying their friendships. The Rainbow and Applejack and others of this world? I’d torn them apart for years before Princess Twilight got to us!"
Looking away, self-hatred was evident in her expression.
“I was...a monster.”
Sunset may well have remained in this unhappy state, had it not been for Starlight placing her hand upon her, gaining her attention. In the silence that now fell between them, they found themselves smiling at one another, even to the point of laughter afterwards.
"What kind of a pair are we?" Sunset asked.
Starlight shrugged her shoulders.
"Just a pair of petty, power-hungry mares...or...er...I guess I should say girls, right?"
Again, the two laughed, and a lot of the bad feeling of the moment seemed to flow away as a result of this. But, when it died down, Sunset sighed, before speaking up to her fellow Equestrian.
"Although...I think mine was the more petty motivation."
Starlight snorted.
"What? No! Mine was way more pathetic!"
Sunset rolled her eyes.
"Oh please! My plan involved making an army of evil teenagers! Top that!"
Starlight leaned forward, a smirk forming on her lips.
"Ha! My power let me take away a pony's cutie mark! Making them basically useless at everything!"
Sunset opened her mouth to speak a retort, only to stop as she took in her friend's words.
"Oh, right, I remember Twilight talking about that. How did you do that?"
Starlight considered that.
"Well, it really came down to my deep rage over ponies getting their cutie marks, which, with me being a silly little filly, I blamed for taking my friend away from me. And so I used that to fuel my magic, and boom! Equality cutie marks and no talents! Actually started to enjoy doing after a..."
Suddenly, both girls realised what it was they were doing, leading to a pair of nervous chuckles from both of them.
"Um...maybe it's best if we don’t give each other bad-guy pointers," Starlight suggested.
Sunset smiled to her.
"Good point. Besides, that's kind of Adagio's job."
Starlight nodded, then paused, as her smile faded, looking to Sunset once more.
“Um...that’s that Siren lady, right?”
Sunset nodded, prompting Starlight to keep speaking.
“Is she really that bad?”
Leaning back into her chair, Sunset let out a hearty laugh.
“Trust me, Starlight, you have no idea.”
