Twinkling Through The Dark

As the five ponies approached Steller Clockwork’s and Evernight Blisses’ home, Starlight felt understandably depressed. For in one day, she had almost had a complete nervous breakdown, nearly committed double regicide and almost electrocuted her most beloved pony to death and now was going to reunite with her parents, who she has not seen or spoken to in almost 14 years, today was not the best day in her life to say the least.

As Twilight knocked on the door, Starlight was beyond apprehensive, wanting to flee at the first possible opportunity, however Luna and Celestia completely blocked off any means of escape and were not taking chances this time around and had Starlight wrapped in their wings, not only as a means to prevent her escaping, but to try to keep her warm for it was so cold, that ice was forming on their wingtips.

“Twilight, what are you doing up at this hour for?” Steller asked as he answered the door before also noticing the Royal Sisters. “Princess Luna, Princess Celestia? What might bring you two here at this hour as well?” he went on asking.

“Hello Steller. It has been a few years since our last meeting. Do you still remember what I said to you all of those years ago?” Celestia said trying to jog Steller’s memory, which it did. “The same stars that aid in the escape of the Mare in the Moon will bring your daughter home.” Steller repeated Celestia’s statement. But before he could process what this meant, Luna chimed in.

“Well, I think that there is a very special pony who you would want to see again.” Luna said as Twilight stepped to the side to reveal Starlight standing behind her, with Starlight’s mane completely obscuring one side of her face. “Go on now.” Celestia said, pushing Starlight closer to her father who by now was in a complete state of disbelief. Steller took a step forward but Starlight turned her head away in shame for what she had done and expected to get the most severe verbal lashing in her life.

But she instead felt her head being turned to face her father and Steller brushed aside Starlight’s mane to show her bloodshot, purple eyes, for even though this was the first time Steller had ever seen his own daughter as an adult mare, he could still see the filly he once remembered. He then hugged her harder than ever in his life and started sobbing uncontrollably as 14 years of heartache and grief were coming to an end.

“Dad…I’m so…so…..so” Starlight stammered before her father placed a hoof over her lips. “I never thought… after all this time, you would look as beautiful as the day we lost you.” Steller said as tears started to flow down both Steller’s and Starlight’s face, in fact everypony there was quite touched by those words. Starlight began to finally realise that despite anything she had done, all of the pain she had caused them, her parents love for her was as strong as it has ever been.

“Come inside Starlight, you must be freezing, everypony come in!” Steller said as he walked his daughter over to the lounge and everypony followed with Celestia tending to Sunburst as best as she could. Starlight then looked at Sunburst with despair. “I hope he finds some pony good in his life.” Starlight said sadly. “What do you mean Starlight?” Twilight said noting a sense of resignation in Starlight’s tone.

“After what I did to him, I wouldn’t be surprised that he’ll never be my friend again, let alone his filly-friend.” Starlight stated that feeling that this was the end of her relationship with Sunburst. Twilight then observed; “Sunburst was the one who willingly risking his own life, against my frantic protests mind you, to do what he did.”

“He did? I don’t understand?” Starlight said, not getting Twilight’s point. “Would any pony else do what he did for you if he didn’t love you deeply.” Twilight said with Starlight starting to weep as she felt deeply touched by his actions. It was then that Starlight finally understood what that one act represented; that no matter what happens, Sunburst would be there for her. Twilight could only smile back as she heard hoof steps coming from above.

“Starlight, I think some pony else would like to see you.” Twilight said as Evernight came downstairs with Steller next to her. Starlight got up and trotted up to her mother and without a moment of hesitation, hugged her as hard as she could, sobbing all the way, with Evernight doing likewise. “My little Starly has come home, you have come back to us!!!” Evernight said as she after all of these years, finally got to see her beloved daughter once again.

“Starlight, we would like to show you something.” Steller said as guided Starlight upstairs towards her old bedroom. “We never gave up on you Starlight, we always hoped you would one day, come back home. So we kept everything as it was when you left.” Steller said trying to hold back his emotions as Starlight was looking around her room, remembering all of the pleasant memories that came with this place and the items in it. At this point, she could not hold it in any longer and curled up on the floor and releasing all of the feelings and emotions she had been repressing for most of her life in this moment.

“I’ve been a terrible pony! I’ve been ruining so many lives I can’t keep track of them all!! I’ve been a horrible leader, tormenting them in ways that I realise now were so horrible I can’t describe it!!! I’ve been a terrible student, brainwashing my teacher’s friends, messing with her most prised possessions and harming her mentors!!! I’ve been a monster, who almost killed the one I love the most in the whole of Equestria without realising what I was doing!!!”

“But…. but the worst part is that I’ve been the cruellest kind of pony to my parent’s. Blinded to my own anger and irrational hatred, I could not see that my own mother and father were the most supportive and understanding ponies in all of Equestria…. I…. I have…. I HAVE BEEN THE WORST KIND OF DAUGHTER ANY PONY COULD WANT!!!!!!!!” Starlight rambled on, sometimes incoherently due to the heartbreaking sobbing, crying, and screaming as she lay there, as a pony who’s very soul had been torn so many times that it was incalculable how much damage all of this has been causing her.
All Starlight’s parents could do is cuddle next to the sobbing wreck that was their daughter and let her let all of the stress out for that was the only way she could cope with the emotional turmoil she was going through. Twilight and Luna were also standing there and also could not stand to see Starlight like this and lay next to her to try to tell her that everything in her life wasn’t all her fault.

“Starlight, you are not a terrible student, for it is I who has failed you so often it scares me. I try to tell you not make friends out of my personal grudges, prioritise petty items over your development, and completely underestimating what it takes to teach you well, for I don’t have or probably never will have the wealth of knowledge or experience to teach you as well as Princess Celestia did for me. You have in fact did more to change yourself for the better than I have guided you to do so, and for that I’m so proud of you Starlight.” Twilight said admitting that she had been the main reason for Starlight’s failings much more often than on Starlight’s part.

“Honey, it is also our fault as parents for not doing enough to support you” Evernight went on. “Mum, you haven’t been…” Starlight tried to object but she was stopped as her father went on. “Had we have known what your full potential was, or if we knew what you would of became, I would of sold our bookshop to pay for you to go to Canterlot for it is now obvious that you needed the kind of teaching that Princess Twilight received. We are terrible parents for letting this happen to you, what kind of a father, unwillingly or not, lets his own daughter go through all this and not do anything to stop it. I and your mother completely understand if you chose not to forgive us for failing you so completely and utterly.” Steller said trying to get Starlight to understand that it’s the actions of the parents that help determine what a kind of a pony their foal becomes.

“Mum, dad, do you know what the biggest and most unexpected lesson that Twilight has taught me? Is that everypony deserves a second chance, regardless of their actions. If that weren’t the case, I would be at the very least, sent to Tartarus for my actions, or most likely condemned to death. If anything else, it is I that should be begging for forgiveness from you as it was I who ran always from home, I who never even bothered to see or write to you for almost my whole life, I who deserves to be left unloved by any pony.” Starlight stating that her parents aren’t the ones who should be begging for forgiveness for their actions and that after what she has done to those who loved her, she felt that being unloved by any pony felt like the best punishment she could receive. But there was one who would not let her suffer that fate.

“No Starlight, you don’t deserve that at all.” Sunburst said as he finally got back up and came upstairs when he heard Starlight breaking down and just felt like he had to get to her, although it was hard to keep his balance, let alone climb a flight of stairs.

“You…. you don’t hate me at all? Even all that I did to you, you still care about me?” Starlight said, shocked that Sunburst would still care from her. “Starlight, I know what you went through after we were separated, it made what happened to me an afterthought in comparison. I understand that it wasn’t my choice to leave for I was only a colt and my parents thought it was in my best interest, but they never understood what would that one reasonable action would do to you, Starlight.”

“When you told me what happened to you after I left for Magic School, I felt so incredibly guilty for damaging you so much, destroying your whole life and leaving you as you are now as a wreak of a pony, alone, unwanted, and an feeling of abandonment so strong that you almost destroyed Equestria. It’s all my fault, if I had known what would have happened to you, I would have never left you in the first place. I certainly cannot leave you now Starlight. I can’t leave the mare I love with all of my heart. I can’t lose you again, not again.” Sunburst said as he knelt in front of Starlight crying his heart out and blaming himself for all the pain he had caused Starlight.

Starlight was at a complete loss of words, she had no idea how much Sunburst blamed himself for everything that happened, or the pain that her life story caused him. And even after everything she had done to him, he still loved her so much was beyond her wildest imagination. “Sunburst, I had no idea that you felt this way, I’m so sorry Sunburst, for everything, and… and I love you so much, please don’t do that again! I can’t lose you again!” Starlight said sobbing while hugging Sunburst as hard as she could. But before Sunburst could respond, Luna spoke out. “I think we will retire to bed.” Luna said with Twilight following close behind. “Sunburst, are you coming? I’m pretty sure your parents would be getting worried after you bolted out of home like you did.” Twilight asked.

“Don’t worry Twilight, Princess Celestia has already gone to tell them where I am and to let them know that I’m staying with Starlight tonight. After everything that has happened, she needs me here to comfort her.” Sunburst said with Twilight giving a suggestive look, taking what Sunburst said completely out of context.

“NO, not in that way!! First the Princess of Love, second my own farther and now third the Princess of Friendship! Why everypony must be teasing me like this!” Sunburst called out. Starlight, seeing an opportunity to help the ever reddening Sunburst, decided to tease her teacher back. “Well Sunburst, I think Twilight here is just teasing you because she is quite jealous that you have at least got a special some pony.” Starlight said while giving Twilight a smirk. Twilight, well didn’t take it too well and her right eye twitched. “STARLIGHT!!!!!!” Twilight yelled out at Starlight teasing her for still being single, and a princess to boot. Starlight, her parents, Sunburst and even Princess Luna started to laugh at Twilight’s expense. “It’s not FUNNY! IT’S NOT FUNNY AT ALL!!!!!!” Twilight cried out as Luna pushed Twilight out of the room while rolling her eyes.

“Anyway, I think that we should all be heading off now. For its going to be a big day tomorrow” Evernight said as she now has got to look after almost the entire royal family, with no warning mind you. Then both she and Steller came up and hugged Starlight.

“Welcome back home honey, we’ll see you in the morning.” Steller said. “I love you mum and dad.” Starlight said back then they left her room, leaving Starlight and Sunburst alone together. “Starlight, could we lay down, I’m still a bit disorientated.” Sunburst said noting how he was still trying to recover after everything that had happened tonight. Starlight then lifted Sunburst into her bed and then climbed in herself.

Sunburst looked at the time and saw it had just past midnight so Sunburst then reached inside his coat and pulled the gift box out and handed it to Starlight.

Starlight opened the box and was amazed to what was inside; it was a locket in the shape of her cutie mark, edged in gold leaf, with the mark made of the same type of crystal that the Crystal Heart was made of. “Open it.” Sunburst said and as Starlight did, she was dumbstruck to see a picture of themselves when they were foals on the inside and a message above it. It read;

“To my dearest Starlight; may your beauty and grace light up my heart as bright as all of the stars in the night sky.”

“Happy Birthday, Starlight.” Sunburst said and at that point, Starlight could not hold it back any longer and started to passionately kiss Sunburst. For tonight, all of the bad memories of when she left home were now being replaced with those of reunion, understanding, and love of those who would always be there for her.