As Twilight Sparkle stepped outside of her bedroom for the first time in what felt like weeks (but in reality was probably only a day or two), rubbing her eyes and nursing a killer headache, she found her twenty-two year old ex-mentee and friend, Starlight Glimmer, waiting on Twilight’s favourite purple loveseat with her beanie pulled over her head.
Upon seeing her mentor arrive, she leapt up from the couch and exclaimed, “Finally, I was wondering how long it would take for you to get tired of pillow-fort pouting.” She had hoped that the comment would earn at least an eye-roll, but Twilight just ignored it.
Sadly moping over to the coffee maker, which must have looked pretty pathetic to Starlight, if the sigh Twilight heard from her was any indication, she said, “If you’re here to cheer me up, it’s not going to work. Everybody already tried.”
“Oh, I saw.” Starlight said with a laugh, trying to lighten the mood, “But it got you outta there, right?” Twilight grimaced. Oops. That joke just fell flat on it’s behind. “I’m not gonna cheer you up,” Starlight said chuckling, knowing that what she was about to say was probably going to do the opposite. She trailed over to stand besides Twilight, leaning on the counter. “I’m going to tell you what you did wrong.”
“What?” Twilight shot, confused and, not that she was going to admit it, a little insulted; her own ex-student, telling her what she did wrong? It hurt her more than she cared to say. Her eyes narrowed, as if daring Starlight to say something more. The look had no effect on her, however, having been subject to many of these glares over the years.
She continued, though she chose her next words carefully, mindful of Twilight’s state of mind, “You gave up too easily.” At Twilight’s conflicted expression, Starlight tried to defend herself. “Hey, you made me a guidance counsellor,” she pointed a finger at her and finished with a self-satisfied smirk, “that means tough love.”
Twilight pushed her hand away, walking towards the kitchen island, her eyes falling on the EEA rulebook still open, sitting next to her lesson plans and pictures of the school. She sighed, tiredly. “They were right you know.” She smiled tightly at her mentee’s confused expression, her head tilting to the side a little, her face asking her to elaborate. The older woman allowed herself a small, sentimental smile. No matter what, Starlight would still be the same, curious student to Twilight, even if she were twenty-two. “I failed. The new school was a disaster.”
Starlight sighed at Twilight’s self-pity. When it came to these things, her mentor would never learn to stop blaming herself. “Well, so was I when you met me.”
And Starlight was right, she had been a disaster of a kid; at thirteen years of age, she already knew how to manipulate and bully people into doing what she wanted, even managing to land herself and a few others in juvenile detention. Twilight and her wife, Sunset Shimmer, had taken her under their wing, regardless of her faults. It had taken a while, and Starlight had hated the both of them, but they persisted, and turned her life around.
“You showed me that when you know in your heart something is right, you stand up for it.” Starlight had walked back to the island to embrace Twilight in a side hug, of sorts. It was strange because of the angle, but Twilight was touched by the gesture. “You stood up for me, you took a chance on me when nobody else would. Why not on the school?”
Twilight shook her head. Though what Starlight said held some truth, there was still one problem. “I can’t go against the EEA, the entire school board! They’re in charge of all the schools in the Equestrian district! And besides the rulebook—”
“Oh, screw the EEA!” Starlight said, passionately, her arms flailing and detaching their hold on Twilight, coming down to slam the book. “Screw the rulebook! It doesn’t matter. Write your own rules. Do it your way. Why should you let somebody else stop you from achieving your dream?”
Twilight smiled, thinking for a second. Starlight really had come a long way, and, yes, though she had some help from Twilight and Sunset, a lot of it was due to herself and her choices. She really was a remarkable woman. “You’re right. Why we’re doing this should be more important than how we’re doing it. And we’re doing this.”
“Now that’s the Twilight I know!” Starlight grinned, her enthusiastic comment making her mentor chuckle. “How can I help?”
Twilight smiled warmly at her, opening her arms to pull her into a soft embrace. “Starlight, you already have.” They stayed hugging for a while, happily enjoying each other’s presence, before Starlight pulled back, suddenly remembering something.
Starlight squeeze her tightly before pulling back and saying, “Oh yeah, I almost forgot, you should probably call Sunset.” She handed Twilight her phone—that she had charged for two nights prior in a row—before casually laying back down on the couch.
“Why?” Twilight asked, her eyes wide and worried. Immediately panicking for her wife, who was on a business trip in Canterlot for a few days more, she frantically turned to Starlight. “Is something wrong? Oh no, I knew I should have—”
“No, no,” said Starlight, laughing a little, amused at her actions and spousal worry, “she’s fine. She was just worried about you. Applejack may have told her about your situation with the EEA and the Chancellor. I told her I’d talk to you, but she probably needs to hear from you herself.”
Twilight immediately relaxed, happy to know her wife was alright. “Oh. Good. I will.” And she lowered herself to the couch, switching on her phone, ready to call her wife.
Seeing Twilight look slightly awkward as she sat down and began to dial Sunset’s number, Starlight decided to take her leave. “I’ll get out of your hair now, Twilight. I was gonna go out with Trixie anyway. Oh, and Sunset reminded me to take Spike away for awhile; she thought you might need some peace and quiet.” She laughed, knowing that Twilight would get none if Spike were here, not that that was a bad thing. She just knew that everyone needs some time alone now and then, no matter how much they loved their son. “See you later, and call me if you need anything.”
Twilight nodded. “I will. Have fun on your date. And Starlight,” she called just as the younger woman was about to leave the room, “thank you, for everything.”
“Just consider this a little pick me up. I owe you one anyway.” Starlight said, closing the door behind her as she left.
Author's Note
hey! I wrote this a while ago but never got to publishing it, so here it is! it's a little rusty, but I hope you enjoy it. leave your thoughts, if you want 
thanks,
kiki
