Princess Luna, Mentor

Early the next morning, Starlight was on the first train to Canterlot, knowing that she was about to sit down with the Princess of the Night herself. When she arrived in Canterlot, Starlight was escorted towards Luna's private quarters by two of Celestia's guards. The former dictator of a small town took several deep breaths, nervously anticipating of what was to come.

"Your highness," said the guard, knocking on the door to Luna's quarters. "Starlight Glimmer is here to see you."

The door opened and Princess Luna came out, looking over at Starlight with a warming expression on her face. Seeing Luna smile made Starlight feel somewhat relaxed.

"Hello, Starlight," she said. "Come on in."

Stepping into Luna's quarters, Starlight was amazed at the sight of how Luna's quarters looked to her. At the far corner of the room was a desk and a small chair in front of it.

"It's…very nice," Starlight remarked, trying not to be rude to Luna. "You seem to be very laid back, Princess Luna."

"Well, I try to have my life not be so strict and stern," said Luna as an opossum crawled onto her back. "Tiberus, we have a guest."

The opossum chittered nervously and went off his mistresses' back.

"Excuse me, Starlight. This is my pet opossum, Tiberus. He's very friendly."

"I see," Starlight said, as the opossum chittered, studying Starlight up and down. "He seems cute."

"That's what makes him such a great companion for me. My sister has her phoenix and I have my opossum. Have you ever considered the fact of obtaining a companion for yourself?"

"Not at the moment, Princess Luna."

The two mares sat down at the desk and the session began.

"Although I would like to have one at least one day."

"Don't we all, Starlight? Care for some hot chocolate?"

A glass of hot chocolate sat in front of Starlight and she drank it.

"Thanks. Actually, Princess Luna, there is something that I have been meaning to ask you."

"Oh, what is it?"

"Have you ever been judged on your past?"

This caused Luna to widen her eyes in surprise.

"In a way, yes. Why do you ask?"

"Because, ponies have been judging me on my past, particularly Twilight herself. When I met my friend Trixie, she and I instantly connected because we both had some not-so-good moments with other ponies. But, she changed her ways as did I, but some ponies still feel like we shouldn't be entirely forgiven."

"I can understand what you are saying, Starlight Glimmer," remarked Luna. "Even after I stopped becoming Nightmare Moon, I still have ponies that will judge me for who I was instead of who I am now. But, even though it is hard, I have come to learn to accept it."

"You've had to learn to accept it, Luna?"

"Yes, because we can't make others like us for who we are or what we were," explained Luna, lowering her chin onto her forelegs. "There are going to be naysayers because that's who they are and how they are meant to be. I mean, think about it. Discord is judged, Trixie is judged, even Thorax is judged because he once served under Queen Chrysalis. However, each one has learned to cope with the criticism."

Starlight considered what Luna was saying and realized that this was going to be the first of many life lessons she was going to have to learn.

"Tell me something," continued Luna, taking a drink of hot chocolate. "Let's pretend this scenario: you come across a journalist who says that no matter what happens, you will still be considered that dictator or despot for as long as you remain alive. What do you do?"

Taking a deep breath, Starlight thought of how to put herself in the situation that Luna was describing to her.

"Tell them that they should just put themselves in my shoes and see that I am not the same pony as I once was?"

"No, Starlight," she answered, nodding her head from side to side. "What you do is to just simply move on, because all you would be doing is wasting your breath on something that is unfixable."

To prove her point, Luna reached into her desk and pulled out a newspaper, pushing it over for Starlight to look at. It was a picture of Luna and a headline that read that she was and always will be viewed as a monster for trying to bring eternal night to Equestria.

"Luna, what's on this paper, its awful!" gasped Starlight, her eyes widening in shock and disbelief.

"It is," sighed Luna, pushing the paper away. "But, the reason I didn't respond back at it was because that is their opinion of me and their opinion alone. We can't let one little thing just define us for who we are. When all is said and done, we look at the pony making these comments and say to ourselves that we are stronger than that one pony. I've put myself through enough sorrow and pain as it is and the more we dwell on one little thing such as this, we tend to forget what is really important in our lives."

…

Right then and there, Starlight realized that she had learned her first real life lesson and when she returned to the castle of friendship that night, Starlight shared her session with Twilight.

"Starlight," she said as they sat in the throne room. "I think Luna has a very deep point about others who judge. The only reason I judged you being with Trixie was because I feared she would be a bad influence on you, not because I hated her as a pony."

"Well, you certainly didn't sound that way when you said that to me, Twilight."

"Because I was protecting you and I had to learn that lesson for myself."

"By the way," wondered Starlight. "Were you ever aware that Luna was featured in the newspaper?"

"Of course, I was aware Starlight," answered Twilight. "Because I thought Luna was going to take it hard, especially after her breakdown fighting the Tantabus. But, to my surprise, she didn't take it personal and just went about her business. You see, this is why you and Luna build such a strong connection with each other, Starlight. Who knows what you will both be discussing next?"

Sure enough, those lessons would come sooner than Starlight would think…