Lost Words

Starlight walked into the café and sat down at a table near the back of the room. It was bustling with ponies—not a good sign if she was trying not to be spotted. She slumped down in her seat, exhausted and famished. She had a saddlebag on, and decided to put it down on the seat she was in. Hopefully nopony would take it. Or her bag, for that matter.

She rushed to the restroom first. After relieving herself, she looked into the mirror. She was a mess! She wet her hair and smoothened it out. She washed her face next, then her hooves. After that, she was clean enough.

She walked back to the seat she was in earlier, only to find that there was a group of four stallions sitting there. She just stood there, not knowing what to do, until one of them eyed her angrily. "Can we help you?" he scolded.

Starlight eyed them awkwardly. "Well, it's just that I was sitting there first. Could you, maybe, move?"

The gang laughed. "Move? Yeah right. We're in this spot fair and square. How 'bout you move?" Another scoffed. Starlight gritted her teeth. She was sure she had the spot before them, and they knew it too.

"Ugh, fine. I'll move. But where's my saddlebag?" she asked. When all she got in response was a silence, she scowled. "Give me my bag and I'll move." They didn't budge. One of them even looked close to snickering. She'd had enough. While making her horn glow, she shouted, "WHERE IS IT?"

And then they started laughing. A waitress walked up to her with an empathetic look. "Boys." she declared. "Listen. I'm not putting up with this again. Either give her the bag or give her the seat."

Starlight wondered what she meant by "again," but decided it was best not to question it. "Is giving neither an option? Because we're picking that either way."

The attendant sighed. "Well duh, it's an option, and the price of choosing that option is getting banned. Deal?"

The gang rolled their eyes. "Her bag's over there," the biggest one said, pointing to a small, isolated table in the corner of the shop. Starlight knew for a fact that she hadn't put her bag there, but decided it was best not to protest. She walked to the table and sat down on it, angry and ashamed. She had to have a waitress stand up for her? What a loser.

"Sorry about them," came a gentle voice, interrupting her thoughts. "They do it a lot. I'm actually excited for the day they get banned from our café. It'll be a lot more peaceful then."

Starlight just smiled at her. She didn't have much to say, except thank you. But she was currently at a loss for words. "If you don't mind me asking, what's your name?" she asked. She wasn't much of a conversation starter.

"I'm Gloria Brightfield—Glory, I suppose. Yours?"

"Uhh, Starlight Glimmer. That's a beautiful name, by the way." She didn't have much else to say, and staring at Glory would be awkward, so she gazed down and fiddled with the bag in her hooves.

"Are you alright, Starlight?" Glory asked. "Did they shoplift something valuable from you?"

Starlight hadn't even considered that possibility. She opened her bag to see that it was mostly empty. She struggled to find the words. "I..." Glory was patient and kind. She waited for Starlight to continue. "I didn't have much in here other than a journal and a few bits. And right now, I've only got one bit in here."

"Ugh! They should be banned already. I don't know how the Gang is still allowed here with all the things they've done." She turned to Starlight. "How many bits did you have?"

"Umm, around three, I think?" Glory nodded. She walked away from Starlight's table, approaching the boys. She had a conversation with them, and it took a few minutes, but she returned with a journal and 2 bits.

"Sorry about that." Starlight nodded, implying that it was alright. "Did you want to order anything?"

Starlight was starving earlier, but she only had three bits to go off of. "I don't have enough. Maybe I'll just take a water."

Glory looked concerned, but nodded and headed to the kitchen anyways. Starlight buried her head in her hooves and started to sob. She didn't feel like going back home anymore. She wanted to see her friends again, but she was scared now. Scared that she would hurt them in some way, any way at all. And now she'd trapped herself in this strange town.

She hadn't even realized it before, but her seat was the one closet to the door. That meant that when the Gang wanted to exit, they would walk past her crying self. And they did. Starlight heard them laughing, one at a time heading out of the door. The café had a bell too, meaning that she could hear when they left. She'd heard only three bells, and she was expecting a fourth too, but it didn't come. She'd assumed that one had gone with another.

She felt a hoof tap her, and she expected to see Glory there with a bottle of water. But when she looked up, she instead saw one of the ponies from the Gang. He held two bits in his magic aura. Starlight glared at him. He probably pickpocketed them from her last minute and was now here to do a magic trick and make them disappear. But he never did. His next actions rather surprised Starlight.

He held the bits out for her, not doing anything, until he grew impatient and just stuck the bits into Starlight's bag. "What was that for?" she asked. It was probably enchanted or something, anything that could secretly harm her.

"Because, Starlight, they're yours." Starlight looked into his eyes and could tell that his words were indeed genuine. "You had five bits to begin with. Glory only brought you back two."

"And why are you returning my bits?"

He shook his head. "Because I hate being part of the Gang! They're super notorious around here. And, they're the worst kind of friends a pony could have: fake friends. Kind of like everypony else, but way worse. Worst of all, they don't make any friends. Well, other than between themselves. When I saw you break down, I'd had enough. I quit the group."

Starlight was terribly reluctant to believe him, but did anways. "I... Thank you? Who are you?"

He chuckled. "I'm Ben Raindrop. And I'm always looking for a friend. Although, I've never made one before."

"Well then, I'd be happy to be the first," she told him with a smile. He sat down on the table across from her just as Glory walked back into the room, carrying a meal of potatoes, muffins, and bread. Oh, and of course, water. Starlight laughed. "I asked for water only. How am I supposed to take all this without paying? It's so much, Glory, you shouldn't have cooked it up."

Glory laughed in return. "It was my pleasure to. You seemed to be just a bit hungry as far as I could tell. You don't have to pay for it."

"But I do!" she protested. "I'll make it up to you in the future somehow."

"I could pay for it," Ben spoke up. This made Glory suspicious, but Starlight reassured her, letting her know that Ben was a good guy, unlike his ex-friends.

"I can't let you pay for it, though," Starlight giggled. "I'd have to repay you then!" The three all shared a laugh before deciding that Starlight would make it up to Ben, who'd pay for the food right now. She'd told them both thank you a million times, and still felt it wasn't enough.

"You know, I'm glad to know this town is welcoming," Starlight said as she, Glory, and Ben walked out of the café.

That got another giggle out of Glory. "It really isn't."

"No?" Starlight asked. "But I've met almost all nice ponies."

"Exactly!" the other two said in unison. Glory told her, "The ponies you've met so far may be welcoming, but I have to warn you that most of the ponies here aren't."

Starlight didn't exactly know how to feel about that. "Have you lived here your whole lives?"

Ben spoke first. "My family did. They lived here forever. Just like I have. I've pretty much learned that it's one of the worst cities in Equestria. It doesn't even have it's place on a map!"

Glory went next. "I started living here around three years ago. I moved here for... reasons that neither of you need to know about right now. But either way, I came here because I thought it would be nice. Boy, was I wrong."

"Yeah you were," Ben chuckled. Glory pushed him playfully. Starlight just watched as they talked about their life in the town they were in. How they hated it, how they wish they could be somewhere else. They referred to it as Ashtown. The name didn't make sense to her, since the town seemed to be more snow and ice than ashes.

Glory caught Starlight watching, and asked her, "Do you have a place to stay yet? If not, you could stay at my house."

"Or mine," Ben added. "Your welcome wherever you want right now."

Starlight shook her head, ashamed. She really hadn't planned ahead for anything, and it would be wrong to walk into the houses of ponies she just met, no matter how nice they were or how much they were willing to be friends. Besides, she still owed them a debt for the food she'd been served. "You're both too kind! I still need to repay you somehow, and now you're offering for me to stay in your homes?"

They all laughed for a bit, until Glory made the final decision. "How about she stays with me, since her debt goes more to Ben. I could even help her find a job, for all we know."

Ben rolled his eyes. "Alright, she's staying with you. But I need a job too, you know."

"Oh, right. I'll make sure you and Starlight get to explore your options tomorrow. And we'll give her a tour in the process of it." Ben nodded in agreement, and he and Glory gave each other adresses. They kept walking together until, at one street, Ben had to turn left while Glory kept going straight.

After a few more minutes of walking, they finally arrived at Glory's home. It was a small log cabin with a few birdhouses hanging from the many trees surrounding it. It was actually so hidden by the trees that Starlight wouldn't have even found it if not for the guidance of her friend. It seemed to be a secret to most ponies. Starlight gaped in awe. It was all so beautiful. "This place is amazing!" she said.

Glory smiled. "Glad you think so. Although, it only looks this great on the outside. I like nature too much to keep it locked up in my small cabin just like that."

"It sort of reminds me of one of my friends' homes. She loves nature and animals, and in her home, there are burrows and birdhouses everywhere. She even ran out of trees to hang a birdhouse on."

"Really? Your friend sounds like my kind of pony," Glory noted with a smile. "What was her name?"

"Fluttershy." Just saying the name brought back memories, but for some reason, fear came along with them. Fluttershy was basically the opposite of intimidating, but still it scared her. What would Fluttershy think of her now? What would any of them think about her? She was probably unwanted, yes, and maybe that was what scared her. That if she returned, she would feel unwelcome and regret ever coming back. To be honest, she was even afraid of herself.

Glory gaped once she'd processed the name Starlight had just said. "Fluttershy? As in the Fluttershy Breeze, the Element of Kindness?" Starlight nodded. She'd forgotten that her friends were the Guardians of Harmony, and the fact that she was running from them. Stupid move, Starlight, she cursed herself. Now what, you'll be found out?

"You're so lucky, you know that?"

"Not really," Starlight whispered. She was a runaway, and hadn't even realized that she was running away from some of Equestria's best known figures. Glory raised an eyebrow but decided not to push it any further just yet. She invited Starlight to come inside, which she did with much disinclination.

Once inside, she realized just how small this space was. It only had two rooms: a bathroom and a main room. In the main room were a small desk, a couch, and a rug. Starlight sat down on the rug as Glory hopped onto the couch. It was a medium-sized couch, enough to fit around two, maybe three if everypony cooperated. She motioned to the empty space on the couch, implying that Starlight could sit with her if she wanted. Starlight just shook her head and shivered. Ashtown was really cold, even in Glory's comforting log cabin.

"You cold?" Glory asked rhetorically. She hopped off the couch and opened a drawer that was in the table. She pulled out earmuffs, a fringy scarf, and apparent snow boots. "I got these from my family for Hearth's Warming three months back. You can have 'em if you'd like, 'cause I'm not gonna wear any of that shit when I have clothes from years back. There are memories sewed into these stitches here."

Starlight gaped. "For me? But your old things are all so... old! And besides, the new ones look like they were made just for you! I mean, orange earmuffs to match your cutie mark, as well as a yellow-pink scarf for your mane and eyes, and the snowboots too! Why would you want to give them up?"

Glory giggled. "These are brand-new, a fresh start, all without the memories I've made. It's the memories that count, Starlight, not the prettiness or value. Besides, if I give these to you, you'll be able to make so many memories in them. Including this one right now."

With a smile, Starlight reluctantly accepted the gifts. "They are so picturesque. Not really my style, just saying."

"Ha ha, very funny," Glory laughed. "They are perfect on you, and you aren't making any excuses to avoid them."

"Okay, fine, but," Starlight started as a thought crossed her mind. "Wouldn't you be cold without them? I mean, your other gear seems great, but they're also torn and thin. Cold can easily get through to you."

Glory seemingly had a comeback for everything Starlight said. "I'd assume you'd be just as cold, if not even more, than me. I've lived here a while, Star. You come from 'Ponyville,' which I've heard to be warm and cool weather, perfect temperatures." Glory got dreamy about living in Ponyville before shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "You were SO lucky, Star. I'm not sure if I'll ever get why you left your amazing hometown."

Starlight blushed. She shouldn't have left Ponyville, but she couldn't go back now, either. Stress building up, she knew what was right and wrong, but couldn't take the right path. She thought of the one reason that sounded reasonable enough. "Yeah, it was pretty sweet there," she said at first in a quiet, monotone voice. Anypony could tell she was lying. In a more authentic tone, she spoke up with, "But I can't stand being there, either. Besides, if I'd never run away, I'd never have met you, Glory. And you're a great friend. My friend."

With a giggle, Glory climbed down from the couch and sat on the rug with Starlight. "Sugarcoating things, huh?" This made Starlight break out into a smile. "You know, I'm always here to listen if you want to talk."

"About what?" Starlight asked, although she knew precisely what Glory wanted.

"Your past," Glory answered with an eye roll. "It sounds interesting so far."

"What?"

Once Starlight had said that, Glory looked just about as shocked as her. "You know, you've got an engrossing past. From what I hear so far, you were friends with the Guardians of Harmony themselves! Oh, could you imagine a life like that? Oh my gosh, you don't even have to imagine! You used to live it!"

Starlight sighed a breath of relief. She thought Glory had somehow known of her dictatorship. With a still solemn expression, she said, "'Used to' is the key word there."

"And I'm just trying to get why."

"I don't know!" Starlight almost shouted. She was fed up already, and this conversation was only making it worse.

Glory seemed just as irritated. "Fine, then! Don't tell me about yourself. It's not like friends are supposed to do that."

Starlight groaned. "I guess we are. Introducing myself and, unfortunately, my past was something Twilight always told me to do whenever I met someone new and trustworthy."

"Twilight?" Glory asked with a bubbly voice and sparkly eyes. "Princess Twilight Sparkle? The Princess of Friendship?" A nod from Starlight made her squeal with excitemeny. "I can't believe it! You were actually a student of Princess Twilight!"

"Ha ha, looks like you now know my past. I guess I don't have to tell you any more?"

Glory shot her a playful glare. "You know as well as I do that this isn't what I meant. Now tell me for real."

"Just like you're doing?"

This made Glory blush. She really hadn't thought about it that way, but she wanted to learn Starlight's past, especially knowing she was friends with The Guardians of Harmony. "Fine. I'll tell you once you tell me. But you first."

Starlight stood up and got onto the couch. "Maybe later. I just don't want to. Besides," she said with a smirk, "I'm not desperate to hear either story, unlike you."

They laughed together and Starlight closed her eyes. She wanted to sleep, and she could've possibly been dreaming, but it was about all the memories she had made in Ponyville, the home she had run away from. They disturbed her terribly, making her toss and turn throughout the night, and she had no idea why it was that bad. With a groan, she woke up.

Sitting up, she felt a sharp twinge in her left leg. Of course. She'd injured it before, but it was numbed by the cold air all around her. Despite it still being cold in Glory's cabin, it was warm enough, and especially with the winter gear, for her to feel the injury again.

She winced with pain every time she moved, until she finally relaxed herself at a position where she laid down. Closing her eyes, she sighed in defeat and lit her horn just to test if it worked or not. It did. "Are you alright?" came a soft voice. Glory was smiling at her frown. She had a way of doing that, being optimistic in the worst times. Trying to cheer her up. It reminded her of Pinkie Pie.

And that's what she said. "Pinkie..."

"What?"

Starlight shook her head. "No, no. I'm fine, I'm fine."

"Wound up over something again, I presume? Maybe your old friends?" Glory suggested. Under her breath, she muttered, "The ones you left behind?" Another shake of the head.

"You can tell me, you know. There's already a camaraderie between us, if you get what I mean. Besides, telling me your backstory means I'll tell you mine." Starlight didn't know what to do. She didn't want her new friend to hate her because of her past. But she did want to make a friend. To let somepony know how she was feeling. It was hard to make that happen, though. One thing that did make her even more reluctant was that first part. A camaraderie between us. It sounded so formal, too formal, and Starlight doubted they were close enough for story sharing.

"Later," Starlight said. "But it's not the history that bothers me. It's this leg. I think I twisted it when I fell down yesterday on my way to Ashtown."

Glory winced when she saw the injury of Starlight's leg. It was swollen and looked just as painful as it felt. "Oh, poor thing. I'll get some pillows and water for you." Starlight wanted to protest, but she couldn't. She felt so weak, as well as bound to the bed.

"Thank you. So much. Again." Starlight closed her eyes, glad she had a friend. She would tell her story sometime. Sometime soon.