Starlight sighed as she looked at the next applicant. "Trixie. I love you. I really do. But what the hay do you know about counseling? Rejected," she grumbled, stamping down on the paper.
With a swish of her horn, the unicorn added Trixie's sheet to the growing list of rejected applications. It seemed like everypony and their grandma was applying to the School of Friendship. While it was encouraging to see this, especially in light of the Battle of the Bell, very few of them were qualified for what they were asking.
Starlight thumped her head on the desk. "How did Twilight ever do this? This is ridiculous. Half of the ponies don't even know what the job would be. And the other half should probably be in prison."
She sighed as she looked out a nearby window. "I hope the girls don't take Twilight up on that offer of hers. I don't think the school would survive without them."
Tears welled up in her eyes, as her head hit the desk again. "Oh, who am I kidding? I'm not ready for this! I shouldn't be here! This is Twilight's dream. Her legacy. It can't survive without her."
Starlight sniffed as the tears came thick and fast now. It had been a recurring thought to her. Ever since Twilight had ascended the High Throne of Equestria. While she wouldn't be moving out of Ponyville (to the unbridled joy of the entire town), she would be too busy to handle both ruling Equestria and running the School of Friendship.
Starlight knew her mentor and best friend had all the confidence in the world that she could handle the role of Headmare. Starlight, though, wished she could say she felt the same way.
A knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. Quickly wiping away her tears, Starlight put on her best teaching smile. "Come in," she called.
Silverstream poked her head in as the door opened. "Professor Starlight? Is this a bad time?"
Starlight shook her head, gesturing at the chair before the desk. "Not at all, Silverstream. Cocoa?" She asked, beginning the process for herself at least.
Silverstream nodded excitedly as she took the offered chair. It had become something of a ritual the two of them shared. Out of all the students at the school who had come to see the unicorn in her role as Guidance Councilor, only Cozy Glow had done so more times than Silverstream.
The young hippogriff was as friendly and outgoing as they came. But she had a lot of troubles underneath her bubbly exterior. Years living under the threat of the Storm King had taken a toll on her.
As the cocoa got warm, Starlight took a seat as well. "So what brings you by, Silverstream? No one's picking on you, are they?"
Silverstream shook her head. "No. No one said or done anything. Not after Gallus promised to rip to shreds anyone he could get his talons on if they even so much as thought about it."
Starlight rolled her eyes. She didn't doubt Gallus meant every word of it either. But she would be having words with him later about threats like that. "What is it then? Bad memories?"
Silverstream shook her head. She paused a moment before she continued. "What do you do when you have a crush on somepony?"
Starlight blinked. That was something she hadn't been expecting to hear today. But one look in the young hippogriff's eyes showed that she was serious, so she only smiled. "That depends. Do I know him?"
Silverstream nodded. "Yeah. You know her." Her smile dropped a moment later though. "That's not a problem, is it?"
Rather taken aback by the abrupt change in attitude, Starlight was quick to recover. "Of course not. I won't judge you, no matter who you like that way. I doubt your friends will either. You'll find the vast majority of ponies are accepting of the idea. Very few are homophobic, and if they ever say or do something to show it, they're ostracized and ignored for being so backward."
Silverstream sighed in relief. That was a weight off of her shoulders. Her friends had been right, again. Sandbar had even said the same thing when she had asked him. The others had been just as surprised, but also just as understanding.
Starlight seemed to guess her thoughts. "I'm assuming your friends know all about this?"
Silverstream nodded. "Yeah. They know. Ocellus was the one who said I should do something about it. But I don't know if I'm ready to confess to her or not. So I came here."
Starlight nodded. If anything, Silverstream and her friends reminded her of Twilight and the girls. Their friendship was just that strong. Maybe that was why the Tree of Harmony seemed so interested in them. But that was beside the point. "Well. The best thing to do is to tell her how you really feel about her."
"But what if she says no?" Silverstream replied, her gaze falling. "I don't want to lose our friendship over something like this."
Something in that reply seemed to click for Starlight, as her smile softened. "It's Twilight, isn't it?" She chuckled at the hippogriff's shocked expression. "I've seen how the two of you interact and get along. You make a cute couple."
Silverstream blushed. "What else can I say? Twilight is just so. Everything. Kind. Smart. Caring. Beautiful." Her blush grew even redder. "Available."
The two broke into helpless giggles at that last bit. "But you're afraid she is out of your league?" Starlight asked after a moment.
Silverstream nodded, her head falling. "She's the Princess of Equestria now. She won't have time for something like this. And why would she ever think about it? Let alone with me?"
And there it was. Starlight nodded knowingly. "Silverstream. I'll tell you something that Twilight once told me, back when I became her student. Her title shouldn't mean anything to her friends. In fact, she hates it if one of us treats her like a princess. That won't change now. Not to her friends. No matter that she is now ruling Equestria."
She took the hippogriff's claws in her hooves. "And never, ever, think that you're not good enough for anyone. Anyone will tell you that you are as smart, kind, caring, and as beautiful as they come. Twilight knows that as well."
That eased her worries somewhat, but there was still one thing. "But what if she says no? I don't want to lose our friendship," Silverstream replied.
Starlight didn't reply for a moment, before sighing. "I can't tell you how she would react. Only Twilight can tell you that. But I know one thing for certain. No matter what she says, Twilight will not hate you for how you feel about her. Even if she says no, you two will always be friends." She chuckled. "Would it be awkward? Very. But you two are mature enough that it would not affect your friendship."
Silverstream smiled, almost doing a happy dance in her chair before leaning over and pulling Starlight into a hug. "Thanks, Professor Starlight."
Starlight giggled as she returned the hug, grabbing the hot cocoa as she did. "You're very welcome, Silverstream. Twilight should be back any day now. I hope it works out for you. The both of you."
Silverstream nodded as she pulled back and sat back down. For a while afterward, the two were just happy to share cocoa together, and not think about anything else.
***
Twilight sighed as she looked at the pony across from her. "Are you sure about this?"
Tempest Shadow, or Fizzlepop Berrytwist to her friends, nodded. "I mean it, Twilight. I'm trying to get away from the military. Only a delusional idiot would think I would want to get back into it."
Twilight nodded. She could see the unicorn meant it as well. "Did you at least look at the Royal Guard?"
Tempest rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I did. Frankly, the level of incompetence and stupid at every level is beyond even what I thought. And after what you said your brother did during your Sibling Supreme, I question how and why he made Captain. Princess Celestia should not have ruled for as long as she did with these idiots protecting her."
Twilight sighed. As much as she wanted to fight Tempest on this, and especially about her brother, the facts said otherwise. The Royal Guard was a joke. And not even a funny one at that. "Could it be fixed?"
Tempest shrugged. "Maybe. But it would take years to do so. And by someone who didn't grow up in its culture. More years than I've got, even if I wanted to."
Twilight nodded, a small smile forming. "Well. If you ever change your mind, you are more than welcome to join. And you'll always have a place in Ponyville or Canterlot."
Tempest smiled as she turned to leave. "Thanks, Twilight." Before slipping out the door.
As she left, Twilight groaned. "That's the last time I listen to Cadance about this sort of thing. I told her Fizzlepop didn't want it. But no!" She grumbled, thumping her head on the desk in her Study, which had once been Princess Celestia's own Study in fact.
She sighed as she looked out a nearby window. The sun was getting lower now, and it would soon be time for her to lower it and raise the moon. A task that was becoming surprisingly easy as the days wore on. Maybe it was just her new position or something.
Her eyes though were drawn to the distant town of Ponyville. From this high up, Twilight could just make out the Castle of Friendship. Her smile grew. It would be great to be home again. A break from the hustle and bustle of Canterlot.
Author's Note
Alright, I admit that Tempest's rant about the idiots who think that she should join the Royal Guard is based on my own view of the idea, and the stories that have it.
No, I'm not sorry at all.
That said, this is a seriously underused ship between Twilight and Silverstream. Time to change that.
