Tis shall not be anything formal
Steps were heard scattering on the royal polished floors throughout the hallways of Canterlot Castle.
Starlight Glimmer was entreated to be met by the one and only Princess of the Night, which she was extremely nervous about. She had talked to the princesses upfront before but that was because of a friendship problem and to save Equestria. But this was something she had no clue why the princess had needed her acquaintance.
Despite her long time being with Twilight’s friends, she still had not yet grown used to the fact that they were always around in the presence of royalty.
Beads of sweat were dripping down her forehead as the clock on the wall kept ticking every time she was stomping about. She soon stopped to place her forehooves on a nearby windowsill and rest her face atop. Examining the wonderful scenery before her two crystal teal eyes glimmering within the sunshine, she could finally reduce the catastrophe she was holding against her shoulders.
With a exhale of the breath she had been holding during the past hasty minutes nervously panicking about, she could see all different kinds of creatures and three pony tribes all playing together, living in harmony, under the gleaming ray of sunshine washing over them from the clear blue sky.
If only somewhere in her life she knew that everyone is especially different in their own unique way. Starlight let out a frustrated sigh as memories of her shameful past came pouring onto her as well as she felt like everything around her had suddenly turned pitch black and shoulders were getting cold tension.
A few moments later, Starlight's face was relaxed on her hooves, peacefully watching the beautiful, natural view. Until she was suddenly caught off-track as the door of the throne room had creaked. This made her head perked up from her trance and turned around to see the door sway open within the presence of blue magic.
A tall, dark blue alicorn was standing in the doorway, looking pleasantly pleased to see the lavender unicorn in front of her. Starlight was nervous, her legs were wobbling like jelly sitting alone on a plate trying to remain its balance, due to the princess' presence.
''Starlight Glimmer!'' Luna exclaimed royally, trotting forward to approach her and break the silence. ''So lovely to see thy again. Please, may thy come in.''
Starlight gulped, flashing a nervous smile at the princess before reluctantly trotting into the grand throne room as the princess’ spoken request. Luna spread out one of her wings to push her inside before entering herself and using her magic to close the door behind them.
The throne room was massive, there were two equal-heightened thrones which was something new and different. There were also some yellow stars and moons decorated on the walls of the throne room now. Water was rushing down peacefully beside both of the two high thrones.
''Wow,'' Starlight murmured. ''This place has changed a lot since the last time I was here.''
''Mmm, yes, indeed.'' Luna nodded. ''We insisted our sister to make both of our thrones an equal height or otherwise it would not be fair.''
''I know what's that feels like,'' Starlight said. She was rubbing her arm as she lowered her eyes to the ground in a miserable way.
Luna lifted her chin to meet her teal eyes. ''Which is why we have brought thy here.''
''About what?'' Starlight asked, tilting her head sideways as she was confused on what the alicorn was inferring.
Luna trotted up the staircase to take a seat on her glorious throne, whereas the unicorn just stood in her place.
''You know how my sister has had somepony to guide over the years?''
Starlight nodded. ''Twilight told me about being her protégé, but what has that got to do to why I'm here?''
Luna spread out her wings. ''We have called thy here because we want to take thy under our wing and guide thy along the path just like our sister has once done. We feel somewhat...lonely.''
Starlight's eyes went wide. ''I'm sorry, but what was that?''
Luna trotted down to approach her. ''We want to guide thy along the way just like our sister once did.''
Starlight froze, trying to process her brain and ears if she had heard that right. There was just silence between the two ponies in the throne room and all they could hear was the water rushing down swiftly.
''Y-You...want me to...be your protégé as well?''
Luna looked uneasy. ''Well, not exactly protégé but it will do.'' She paused, turning to glance at the lavender unicorn with a raised eyebrow. ''Why? Are thy nervous?''
Starlight couldn't help but nod at that question, hastily. She soon found herself standing under the alicorn's wing as she wrapped it around her.
''Do not be nervous, my child. There shall be no formalities between thy and we. Thou hast seen Twilight acting towards our sister?''
Starlight tried to think about it and all she could imagine was all of the times where Twilight would get stressed out to impress her mentor on important events or celebrations.
''And you would make me into an alicorn just like Twilight?'' Starlight guessed, a little bit excited.
''Alicorn is in thy nature already,'' Luna said. ''There shall be no need to make thy into an alicorn when thy are already powerful. Besides, thy will lose all that power once thy become an alicorn. Believe us.''
Starlight chortled. ''Yeah, I believe you. Trixie told me how Twilight would be so powerfully spectacular as a unicorn but literally can't defend herself right now.''
Luna eyed her. ''Is that so? Who is this Trixie thou speakest of?''
Starlight cluttered. ''Anyway, what do you do when you're the princess' protégé?''
''We get to know each other first,'' Luna noted. ''Isn't that what thou do in friendship thy call it?''
''Yes,'' Starlight allowed, ''and we haven't properly met each other, just when the world was in danger.''
''Indeed.'' Luna nodded. ''So what do thou do for an introduction?''
''We talk about what we like and do, what our hobbies are,'' Starlight gabbled. ''I'm waffling again, aren't I?''
''What is waffling thou speakest of?''
With another gulp, Starlight quickly said, ''nothing!''
Luna eyed her for a second.
''Thou are a lot more to get nervous about than Twilight Sparkle,'' Luna noted as she spotted drops of sweat falling down the unicorn's forehead. ''Anyway, how are thy so powerful, even more than an alicorn?''
Starlight's head perked up. ''Pardon?''
''I said how are thy so powerful,'' Luna repeated, ''even more than an alicorn?''
''W-Well, you might not want to know the reason behind it. It's sort of a long story.''
The tall, dark blue alicorn was moving a couch directly towards the lavender unicorn and then sat comfortably on it with a bag of popcorn levitating in the air beside her in her magical surge.
''And a horrid one too,'' Starlight quickly added.
The bag of popcorn immediately fell to the ground.
''What could be so horrid other than being banished to the moon for a thousand years by thou own sister for creating an eternal night in Equestria because thou were jealous of thou own sister?''
''Oh my gosh!'' Starlight exclaimed. ''I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to.''
''It's quite alright,'' said Luna. ''Remember, no thinking we are better than one another. We are both ponies, aren't we?''
''Yes, your highness.'' Starlight quickly gave a respectful blob.
''Although, you could tell Twilight that,'' Starlight muttered underneath her breath.
''What was that?''
Starlight shook her head. ''I mean I was once just a heartbroken little filly. Sunburst knew everything about magic and taught me all. Although, my magic was so powerful for my age that I couldn't do anything that properly. Then Sunburst got his cutie mark and got sent off to magic kindergarten in Canterlot.''
She went on. ''I stayed in Sire's Hollow, my home town. Heartbroken and desperate for my cutie mark. I believed that cutie marks were the problem. Without cutie marks, no one would feel like an outcast or feel different. We are all equal! That's how Twilight and her friends found me, at ''Our Town'' - a village that I had created and stole everyone's cutie marks from.''
She turned to the alicorn. ''I won't continue to go further, I don't want to lose somepony as a friend who knows what I have been through.''
Luna stared at her for a moment, then slowly wrapped a wing around her. ''Getting your cutie mark last is no big of a deal, we are all different and cutie marks take time.''
''I wish I knew that before,'' Starlight muttered.
Luna lifted her chin to meet at eye level. ''I, too, was suddenly seen as an outcast. My sister was shown to be brighter than I, everyone worshipped the sun princess, they all adored her. I was so sick of it that my bitterness ended up blackening my heart.'' She turned to her. ''And you already know the rest.''
''Huh.'' Starlight shared a moment to think. ''I guess you and I really are alike.''
Luna nodded. ''Although, how did you manage to steal or swap cutie marks? I remember that previous incident with my sister and us. You're a talented and powerful young unicorn, you know that?''
Starlight rubbed her foreleg. ''Well, after Sunburst had left with his new cutie mark, I started going into depth of cutie mark research. I still don't know where my cutie mark had come from. It's all just a blur, just all of a sudden when I was doing some spells I was creating.''
Luna's eyes went wide. ''You can create spells? Tis not even I, an alicorn for ten thousand years, could do that!''
''It's probably not so big of a deal. I bet any unicorn fool could do that. Like when Twilight completed that unfinished Starswirl the Bearded's masterpiece. She's so special.'' She gave out a long sigh. ''I hate talking like this about one of my friends.''
Starlight suddenly felt a hoof shove below her chin, lifting it up to face the alicorn's crystal night teal eyes.
''Having a cutie mark does not define you nor tells you what not to do. What you choose what a cutie mark identifies is all that matters,'' Luna explained. ''So tell me, what do you see in your cutie mark?''
Glancing at the glimmer on her flank, she bit her lip. ''This might be funny but it reminds me of...toothpaste.''
Soon, she found herself the only one chuckling. Then she stopped once she saw a look on the alicorn's face. Clearing up her throat to excuse herself, Luna took this opportunity to articulate further.
''Okay, then maybe thou cutie mark shall define...’’ Luna considered thoughtfully, ‘’...filling up an empty toothpaste with thy magic. Transfiguration!''
Starlight thought about it for a second. But then she shook her head.
Luna rubbed her chin. ''What is one thing that thy most desire in the whole wide world of Equestria?''
''I, err, this might be embarrassing but...''
''Nothing is embarrassing,'' Luna interjected. ''Thy just need to toughen thyself up.''
''Right.'' She cleared her throat. ''I like...kites? But that can't have anything to do with my cutie mark, can it?''
''Sure it can.'' Luna glanced at the lavender unicorn's flank (don't think of this as inappropriate, you cur). ''We can already imagine that purple star as a kite and that glimmer could be thy magic!''
The lavender unicorn thought about it for a moment, then moved her head upwards and downwards, implying she had liked the sound of that.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door from outside of the throne room. The door swayed open with a glow of golden magic to have a tall, white alicorn appear in the way.
''Hi, Luna!'' she beamed. ''Sorry to interrupt your friendly conversation but I would just like to ask...where did you put my secret stash of cakes again? I can't seem to find it anywhere in the kitchen cabinets or under my bed. And hello, Starlight! How are you doing?''
Starlight hesitantly lifted up her hoof to wave. ''I'm doing good and...secret stash of cakes?''
''Uhm...'' Celestia mumbled. ''You heard nothing!'' And with that, she quickly slammed the doors closed again and flew her way through the castle corridors to head off to the royal kitchen again for a double checkup.
''What was that about?'' Starlight asked, looking at the alicorn beside her.
''Her and her obsession with cake.''
Starlight's eyes were goggled. ''You mean the rumours were true? She really is obsessed with cake? And I got told that by her own sister? Wow! I can't wait to tell Twilight!''
''We believe that she already knows,'' said Luna casually.
''Oh,'' Starlight said, having her voice sink.
Luna turned towards her, placing a hoof below her chin again to meet her teal eyes. ''Now, we know how our sister would assign Twilight Sparkle some friendship lessons, but thy have already done that when thou art was Twilight Sparkle's student. But we promise thou art that we would not gain a crush on thy just like our sister has on Twilight Sparkle.''
Luna leaned in to draw herself closer to Starlight’s ear so she could whisper quietly. ''Just between thy and we, she sleeps with a stuffed toy in the form of Twilight Sparkle.''
''I heard that, Luna!'' a voice boomed from the hallways of the castle.
''Shut up, Tia,'' Luna said, not bothered to turn around to the sound of her sister's voice.
Starlight laughed. ''Well, what do I do for you then?''
''We have not been into detail about this,'' Luna murmured. ''Then we guess that's why Twilight tends to plan a schedule everywhere she goes. We should start becoming like her.''
Starlight chuckled, but then not a moment too soon, she deadpanned. ''Please. No.''
Author's Note
I find it unbearable how these two characters has never been seen together in the show, apart from ''To Where and Back Again'' and ''A Royal Problem''.
